Melanin-Binding-Based Discovery of Topically Instilled Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors for Targeted Delivery and Prolonged Action in the Eye.

Glaucoma is a vision-threatening disease that is currently treated with intraocular-pressure-reducing eyedrops that are instilled once or multiple times daily. Unfortunately, the treatment is associated with low patient adherence and suboptimal treatment outcomes. We developed carbonic anhydrase II inhibitors (CAI-II) for a prolonged reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP).

Targeting ocular tissues with intravenously administered aptamers selected by SELEX.

Ocular diseases create a significant economic burden and decrease in quality of life worldwide. Drugs and carrier molecules that penetrate ocular tissues after intravenous administration are needed for more efficient and patient-friendly treatment of ocular diseases. Here, ocular barrier-penetrating aptamers were selected through the utilization of SELEX and intravenous injection in rats.

[New Swedish national guidelines - management of Percuteaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) and other enteral feeding tubes].

Numerous patients stand to gain significant health benefits from enteral nutrition support facilitated by percutaneous feeding tubes. Consequently it is crucial for endoscopists, general practitioners, surgeons and neurologists to be well-versed with indications, contraindications and potential complications of PEG and other enteral feeding tubes. In this context we present a concise overview of the new national guidelines by the Swedish Society of Gastroenterology regarding the management of PEG and other enteral feeding tubes.

Design, Methods, and Participation in Riksmaten Young Children-A Swedish National Dietary Survey.

Background: National dietary surveys provide essential data for risk benefit assessments of foods and nutrients, for management and policy development. Physical activity measurement and biomonitoring can provide important complementary data but are less commonly included.

Objectives: This study aimed to describe the study design and methods of the cross-sectional Swedish national dietary survey Riksmaten Young Children (Riksmaten småbarn), of children aged 9 mo, 18 mo, and 4 y.

Using costing to facilitate policy making towards Universal Health Coverage: findings and recommendations from country-level experiences.

As countries progress towards universal health coverage (UHC), they frequently develop explicit packages of health services compatible with UHC goals. As part of the Disease Control Initiative 3 Country Translation project, a systematic survey instrument was developed and used to review the experience of five low-income and lower-middle-income countries-Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Somalia and Sudan-in estimating the cost of their proposed packages. The paper highlights the main results of the survey, providing information about how costing exercises were conducted and used and what country teams perceived to be the main challenges.

Alterations in Healthy Adult Canine Faecal Microbiome and Selected Metabolites as a Result of Feeding a Commercial Complete Synbiotic Diet with NCIMB 10415.

In dogs, the use of probiotics for preventive or therapeutic purposes has become increasingly common, however the evidence for beneficial effects are often limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of feeding a diet containing NCIMB 10415 on faecal quality, faecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations, serum concentrations of cholesterol, triglycerides, cobalamin and folate as well as faecal microbiome in adult dogs. Eleven healthy client owned dogs were enrolled in a randomized, double-blinded crossover study.

Obesity-induced changes in gene expression in feline adipose and skeletal muscle tissue.

Indoor-confined cats are prone to developing obesity due to a sedentary life and an energy intake exceeding energy requirements. As in humans, feline obesity decreases insulin sensitivity and increases the risk of developing feline diabetes mellitus, but the pathophysiological mechanisms are currently poorly understood. Human obesity-related metabolic alterations seem to relate to changes in the expression of genes involved in glucose metabolism, insulin action and inflammation.

Analytical performance of a canine ELISA monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 assay for use in cats and evaluation of circulating levels in normal weight and obese cats.

Background: In human and murine obesity, adipose tissue dwelling macrophages and adipocytes produce monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) leading to systemic low-grade inflammation. The aim of the study was to validate a canine MCP-1 ELISA assay for use in cats and to investigate whether a difference in MCP-1 concentrations could be detected between: a) cats having normal or elevated circulating serum amyloid A (SAA) levels and b) normal weight and obese cats. Serum obtained from 36 client-owned cats of various breed, age and sex with normal (n = 20) to elevated SAA (n = 16) was used for the validation of the canine MCP-1 ELISA assay.

Mortality and complications after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy: a retrospective multicentre study.

Background: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is the method of choice for patients in need of long-term nutritional support or gastric decompression. Although it is considered safe, complications and relatively high mortality rates have been reported. We aimed to identify risk factors for complications and mortality after PEG in routine healthcare.

Late follow-up of genital and ophthalmologic chronic graft-vs-host disease in females after allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Introduction: Genital chronic graft-vs-host disease (cGvHD) is a common late effect after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. In a previous cross-sectional study, prevalence, signs and symptoms of genital and extra-genital cGvHD were accounted for in a cohort of 42 women. Classifications of cGvHD were performed as per the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 2005 criteria.

Cost-Effectiveness of Interventions to Improve Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Outcomes: A WHO-CHOICE Analysis for Eastern Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia.

Background: Information on cost-effectiveness allows policy-makers to evaluate if they are using currently available resources effectively and efficiently. Our objective is to examine the cost-effectiveness of health interventions to improve maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) outcomes, to provide global evidence relative to the context of two geographic regions.

Methods: We consider interventions across the life course from adolescence to pregnancy and for children up to 5 years old.

Is Universal Health Coverage Affordable? Estimated Costs and Fiscal Space Analysis for the Ethiopian Essential Health Services Package.

Estimating the required resources for implementing an essential health services package (EHSP) is vital to examine its feasibility and affordability. This study aimed to estimate the financial resources required to implement the Ethiopian EHSP from 2020 to 2030. Furthermore, we explored potential alternatives to increase the fiscal space for health in Ethiopia.

Progressive Realisation of Universal Health Coverage in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Beyond the "Best Buys".

Background: World Health Organization Choosing Interventions that are Cost-Effective (WHO CHOICE) has been a programme of the WHO for 20 years. In this latest update, we present for the first time a cross-programme analysis of the comparative cost-effectiveness of 479 intervention scenarios across 20 disease programmes and risk factors.

Methods: This analysis follows the standard WHO CHOICE approach to generalized cost-effectiveness analysis applied to two regions, Eastern sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

Methods for the Economic Evaluation of Health Care Interventions for Priority Setting in the Health System: An Update From WHO CHOICE.

The World Health Organization's (WHO's) Choosing Interventions that are Cost-Effective (CHOICE) programme has been a global leader in the field of economic evaluation, specifically cost-effectiveness analysis for almost 20 years. WHO-CHOICE takes a "generalized" approach to cost-effectiveness analysis that can be seen as a quantitative assessment of current and future efficiency within a health system. This supports priority setting processes, ensuring that health stewards know how to spend resources in order to achieve the highest health gain as one consideration in strategic planning.

Hydroxyapatite reinforced Ti6Al4V composites for load-bearing implants.

Titanium has been used in various biomedical applications; however, titanium exhibits poor wear resistance, and its bioinert surface slows osseointegration in vivo. In this study, directed energy deposition (DED)-based additive manufacturing (AM) was used to process hydroxyapatite (HA) reinforced Ti6Al4V (Ti64) composites to improve biocompatibility and wear resistance simultaneously. Electron micrographs of the composites revealed dense microstructures where HA was observed at the β-phase grain boundaries.

Generalised cost-effectiveness analysis of 159 health interventions for the Ethiopian essential health service package.

Background: Cost effectiveness was a criterion used to revise Ethiopia's essential health service package (EHSP) in 2019. However, there are few cost-effectiveness studies from Ethiopia or directly transferable evidence from other low-income countries to inform a comprehensive revision of the Ethiopian EHSP. Therefore, this paper reports average cost-effectiveness ratios (ACERs) of 159 health interventions used in the revision of Ethiopia's EHSP.

Revision of the Ethiopian Essential Health Service Package: An Explication of the Process and Methods Used.

To make progress toward universal health coverage, countries should define the type and mix of health services that respond to their populations' needs. Ethiopia revised its essential health services package (EHSP) in 2019. This paper describes the process, methodology and key features of the new EHSP.

Cost-Effectiveness of Testing and Treatment for Hepatitis B Virus and Hepatitis C Virus Infections: An Analysis by Scenarios, Regions, and Income.

Objectives: Testing and treatment for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are highly effective, high-impact interventions. This article aims to estimate the cost-effectiveness of scaling up these interventions by scenarios, regions, and income groups.

Methods: We modeled costs and impacts of hepatitis elimination in 67 low- and middle-income countries from 2016 to 2030.

Guide posts for investment in primary health care and projected resource needs in 67 low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling study.

Background: Primary health care (PHC) is a driving force for advancing towards universal health coverage (UHC). PHC-oriented health systems bring enormous benefits but require substantial financial investments. Here, we aim to present measures for PHC investments and project the associated resource needs.

Additional resource needs for viral hepatitis elimination through universal health coverage: projections in 67 low-income and middle-income countries, 2016-30.

Background: The World Health Assembly calls for elimination of viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030 (ie, -90% incidence and -65% mortality). However, WHO's 2017 cost projections to achieve health-related Sustainable Development Goals did not include the resources needed for hepatitis testing and treatment. We aimed to estimate the incremental commodity cost of adding scaled up interventions for testing and treatment of hepatitis to WHO's investment scenarios.

Estimating health plan costs with the OneHealth tool, Cambodia.

Objective: To do resource and cost projections for the entire Cambodian health sector using the OneHealth tool, during the development of the third national health strategic plan 2016-2020.

Methods: Through a consultative process, the health ministry estimated the needed and available resources to implement the strategic plan. The health ministry used the OneHealth Tool to estimate costs of expanding public sector service provision and compared these to estimates of projected available financing.