Non-operative Versus Operative Management of Perianal Abscess in Infants: A 10-year Retrospective Study at Two Centres in the United Kingdom.

Background: Perianal abscess (PA), with or without fistula-in-ano (FIA) is common in infants. Treatment options include incision and drainage under general anaesthesia or non-operative treatments, such as antibiotics and/or aspiration under local anaesthetic, which avoid the risks of surgery. Current management is based on surgeon preference due to a poor underlying evidence base.

Utility of iron concentration two to four hours post ingestion in predicting toxicity.

Introduction: Iron products are widely available over the counter and have the potential to cause serious toxicity. Iron concentrations can be used to prognosticate and guide treatment during acute ingestions. Traditionally, a concentration of 350 μg/dL with symptoms, or 500 μg/dL without symptoms, is considered toxic and will likely need treatment to prevent decompensation.

Imaging of Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma.

Upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) originates in the renal pelvis or ureters and typically affects elderly patients, with its incidence increasing over the past few decades. UTUC is a distinct clinical entity with more aggressive clinical behavior than that of lower tract urothelial carcinoma. Due to the significant challenge of acquiring an adequate tissue sample for biopsy, comprehensive risk stratification is required for treatment planning, including radical nephroureterectomy and kidney-sparing management.

Impact of a national tsetse control programme to eliminate Gambian sleeping sickness in Uganda: a spatiotemporal modelling study.

Introduction: Tsetse flies () transmit , which causes gambiense human African trypanosomiasis (gHAT). As part of national efforts to eliminate gHAT as a public health problem, Uganda implemented a large-scale programme of deploying Tiny Targets, which comprise panels of insecticide-treated material which attract and kill tsetse. At its peak, the programme was the largest tsetse control operation in Africa.

The Diagnostic Value of Immunohistochemistry Markers in Hirschsprung Disease; A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) markers are employed to improve the diagnostic yield when testing for Hirschsprung disease (HSCR). Yet, a superior test has not been identified.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the diagnostic test accuracy (DTA) of IHC markers.

Concentrations and predictors of select nutrients in Canadian human milk samples from the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals pregnancy cohort.

Background: Human milk (HM) composition data are widely used in clinical, regulatory, and public health initiatives. The existing HM profiles in United States and Canadian nutrient databanks are outdated and now considered inappropriate to estimate current nutrient intakes. Recent reviews have underscored the limited North American data available to generate a new profile.

Small dams drive Anopheles abundance during the dry season in a high malaria burden area of Malawi.

This study explores the influence of small dams on the exposure to malaria vectors during the dry season in Kasungu district, Malawi, an area recently identified as high priority for malaria interventions by the National Malaria Control Programme. Small dam impoundments provide communities with a continuous supply of water for domestic and agricultural activities across sub-Saharan Africa and are considered vital to food security and climate change resilience. However, these permanent water bodies also create ideal breeding sites for mosquitoes in typically arid landscapes.

Treatment response in patients with clinical and supportive laboratory features of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy without demyelinative findings on nerve conduction studies: A retrospective study.

Introduction/aims: Not all patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) have evidence of demyelination on nerve conduction studies (NCS). Patients with "supportive" evidence of CIDP on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound (US), or nerve biopsy but not on NCS, often receive immunomodulating therapy. We evaluated the treatment response of patients with clinical and supportive features of CIDP lacking NCS evidence of demyelination.

A baseline epidemiological survey for malaria and schistosomiasis reveals an alarming burden in primary schools despite ongoing control in Chikwawa District, southern Malawi.

Our study rationale was to establish contemporary epidemiological data on malaria and schistosomiasis among school-going children in Chikwawa District before future environmental changes associated with the Shire Valley Transformation Programme occurred. Our cross-sectional surveys tested 1134 children from 21 government-owned primary schools (approximately 50 children per school); rapid diagnostic tests for malaria (Humasis Pf/PAN) and intestinal schistosomiasis (urine-Circulating Cathodic Antigen) were used, with urine reagents strips and egg-filtration with microscopy for urogenital schistosomiasis. All infected children were treated with an appropriate dose of Lonart® (for malaria) and/or Cesol® (for schistosomiasis).

A geospatial analysis of local intermediate snail host distributions provides insight into schistosomiasis risk within under-sampled areas of southern Lake Malawi.

Background: Along the southern shoreline of Lake Malawi, the incidence of schistosomiasis is increasing with snails of the genera Bulinus and Biomphalaria transmitting urogenital and intestinal schistosomiasis, respectively. Since the underlying distribution of snails is partially known, often being focal, developing pragmatic spatial models that interpolate snail information across under-sampled regions is required to understand and assess current and future risk of schistosomiasis.

Methods: A secondary geospatial analysis of recently collected malacological and environmental survey data was undertaken.

Effects of (Piperales: Piperaceae) Essential Oil and Its Main Component Dillapiole on Detoxifying Enzymes and Acetylcholinesterase Activity of (Acari: Ixodidae).

is a species of tick in the family Ixodidae, with equids and capybaras among its preferred hosts. In this study, the acaricidal activity of the essential oil (EO) from and its main component, Dillapiole, were evaluated against larvae of to establish lethal concentration values and assess the effects of these compounds on tick enzymes. Dillapiole exhibited slightly greater activity (LC = 3.

Impact of four years of annually repeated indoor residual spraying (IRS) with Actellic 300CS on routinely reported malaria cases in an agricultural setting in Malawi.

Indoor residual spraying (IRS) is one of the main vector control tools used in malaria prevention. This study evaluates IRS in the context of a privately run campaign conducted across a low-lying, irrigated, sugarcane estate from Illovo Sugar, in the Chikwawa district of Malawi. The effect of Actellic 300CS annual spraying over four years (2015-2018) was assessed using a negative binomial mixed effects model, in an area where pyrethroid resistance has previously been identified.

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chromosomal microarray as a diagnostic tool for mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma: A validation study.

Mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma (MTSCC) shows significant overlap with papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC), and harbor recurrent copy-number alterations (CNA). We evaluated 16 RCC with features suggestive of MTSCC using chromosomal microarrays. The cohort was comprised of 8 females and males, each, with an age range of 33-79 years (median, 59), and a tumor size range of 3.

Gestational choline supplementation ameliorates T-maze reversal learning deficits induced by first trimester binge alcohol exposure in weanling lambs.

In rodent models of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), cognitive deficits are implicated in impaired T-maze spatial reversal learning. Rat studies have indicated supplemental administration of choline during the developmental period of alcohol exposure can ameliorate spatial reversal deficits. This study tested whether beneficial effects of prenatal choline supplementation could be confirmed in a sheep model of binge exposure in the first trimester equivalent.

Elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem in Malawi.

Background: Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes, causing severe pain, disfiguring, and disabling clinical conditions such as lymphoedema and hydrocoele. LF is a global public health problem affecting 72 countries, primarily in Africa and Asia. Since 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) has led the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) to support all endemic regions.

Continuous-wave second-harmonic generation in the far-UVC pumped by a blue laser diode.

Far-UVC light in the wavelength range of 200-230 nm has attracted renewed interest because of its safety for human exposure and effectiveness in inactivating pathogens. Here we present a compact solid-state far-UVC laser source based on second-harmonic generation (SHG) using a low-cost commercially-available blue laser diode pump. Leveraging the high intensity of light in a nanophotonic waveguide and heterogeneous integration, our approach achieves Cherenkov phase-matching across a bonded interface consisting of a silicon nitride (SiN) waveguide and a beta barium borate (BBO) nonlinear crystal.