Tactile bill-tip organs in seabirds suggest conservation of a deep avian symplesiomorphy.

Birds' bills are their main tactile interface with the outside world. Tactile bill-tip organs associated with specialized foraging techniques are present in several bird groups, yet remain understudied in most clades. One example is Austrodyptornithes, the major seabird clade uniting Procellariiformes (albatrosses and petrels) and Sphenisciformes (penguins).

Three-dimensional trans-rectal and trans-abdominal ultrasound image fusion for the guidance of gynecologic brachytherapy procedures: a proof of concept study.

High dose-rate brachytherapy is a treatment technique for gynecologic cancers where intracavitary applicators are placed within the patient's pelvic cavity. To ensure accurate radiation delivery, localization of the applicator at the time of insertion is vital. This study proposes a novel method for acquiring, registering, and fusing three-dimensional (3D) trans-abdominal and 3D trans-rectal ultrasound (US) images for visualization of the pelvic anatomy and applicators during gynecologic brachytherapy.

Assessing Machine Learning for Diagnostic Classification of Hypertension Types Identified by Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring.

Background: Inaccurate blood pressure (BP) classification results in inappropriate treatment. We tested whether machine learning (ML), using routine clinical data, can serve as a reliable alternative to ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) in classifying BP status.

Methods: This study employed a multicentre approach involving 3 derivation cohorts from Glasgow, Gdańsk, and Birmingham, and a fourth independent evaluation cohort.

The influence of rehydration on decomposition in the Highveld region of South Africa-Using a pig model.

Researchers have observed that rainfall may re-initiate decomposition in desiccated tissue; however, no conclusive research-based evidence exists on the specific effects of rehydration on decomposition. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effects of artificial rehydration on the progression of decomposition following the advanced stage of decomposition. Twelve adult pig cadavers (8 experimental; 4 controls) were placed in the central Highveld of South Africa during cooler (April-July 2021) and warmer (August-November 2021) months.

Cardiovascular precision medicine - A pharmacogenomic perspective.

Precision medicine envisages the integration of an individual's clinical and biological features obtained from laboratory tests, imaging, high-throughput omics and health records, to drive a personalised approach to diagnosis and treatment with a higher chance of success. As only up to half of patients respond to medication prescribed following the current one-size-fits-all treatment strategy, the need for a more personalised approach is evident. One of the routes to transforming healthcare through precision medicine is pharmacogenomics (PGx).

Fire deaths in Cape Town, South Africa: A retrospective review of medico-legal and toxicological findings (2006 - 2018).

Background: In South Africa, fire-related deaths are common, particularly within dense informal housing settlements. Published data on deaths from fire incidents in Cape Town is sparse. Additionally, little emphasis has been placed on the role of toxicological investigations in these deaths, despite the known risk of alcohol and drug impairment to burn injury.

The Effect of a Probiotic and Essential Oils Compared to an Ionophore on the Rumen Microbiome Composition of Feedlot Cattle.

The rising concern of antibiotic growth promoter use in livestock has necessitated the investigation into alternative feed additives. The effect of a probiotic and essential oils to an ionophore on the rumen microbiome composition of Bonsmara bulls raised under feedlot conditions was compared. Forty-eight Bonsmara weaners were allocated to four groups: a group with basal diet (CON) and three groups supplemented with monensin (MON), probiotic (PRO), and essential oils (EO).

Three-dimensional ultrasound to investigate synovitis in first carpometacarpal osteoarthritis: A feasibility study.

Background: Synovitis is one of the defining characteristics of osteoarthritis (OA) in the carpometacarpal (CMC1) joint of the thumb. Quantitative characterization of synovial volume is important for furthering our understanding of CMC1 OA disease progression, treatment response, and monitoring strategies. In previous studies, three-dimensional ultrasound (3-D US) has demonstrated the feasibility of being a point-of-care system for monitoring knee OA.

Establishing plausibility of cardiovascular adverse effects of immunotherapies using Mendelian randomisation.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKis) have raised concerns over serious unexpected cardiovascular adverse events. The widespread pleiotropy in genome-wide association studies offers an opportunity to identify cardiovascular risks from in-development drugs to help inform appropriate trial design and pharmacovigilance strategies. This study uses the Mendelian randomization (MR) approach to study the causal effects of 9 cardiovascular risk factors on ischemic stroke risk both independently and by mediation, followed by an interrogation of the implicated expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) to determine if the enriched pathways can explain the adverse stroke events observed with ICI or JAKi treatment.

Survey and Evaluation of Hypertension Machine Learning Research.

Background Machine learning (ML) is pervasive in all fields of research, from automating tasks to complex decision-making. However, applications in different specialities are variable and generally limited. Like other conditions, the number of studies employing ML in hypertension research is growing rapidly.

The Role of Alcohol and Drug Intoxication in Fire-Related Incidents in Africa: A Systematic Review.

Fire-related burns contribute significantly to the global burden of burn injury and mortality. Alcohol and/or drug intoxication poses a risk to burn and fire-related injury, whether intentional or unintentional, but such evidence is scarce in the African context. This review aimed to fill the knowledge gap on health determinants of fire-related morbidity and mortality regionally by investigating the role of alcohol and drug intoxication in such events.

The International Prognostic Score and HIV status predict red cell concentrate transfusion needs in Hodgkin lymphoma.

Despite the burden of anemia among Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients, data evaluating red cell concentrate transfusion are limited. We retrospectively studied 285 newly diagnosed HL patients who received first-line adriamycin, bleomycin sulfate, vinblastine sulfate, and dacarbazine (ABVD) treatment at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town. HIV prevalence in the cohort was 39.

Automatic femoral articular cartilage segmentation using deep learning in three-dimensional ultrasound images of the knee.

Objective: This study aimed to develop a deep learning-based approach to automatically segment the femoral articular cartilage (FAC) in 3D ultrasound (US) images of the knee to increase time efficiency and decrease rater variability.

Design: Our method involved deep learning predictions on 2DUS slices sampled in the transverse plane to view the cartilage of the femoral trochlea, followed by reconstruction into a 3D surface. A 2D U-Net was modified and trained using a dataset of 200 2DUS images resliced from 20 3DUS images.

A genomic deep field view of hypertension.

Blood pressure is regulated by a complex neurohumoral system including the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, natriuretic peptides, endothelial pathways, the sympathetic nervous system, and the immune system. This review charts the evolution of our understanding of the genomic basis of hypertension at increasing resolution over the last 5 decades from monogenic causes to polygenic associations, spanning ∼30 monogenic rare variants and >1500 single nucleotide variants. Unexpected early wins from blood pressure genomics include deepening of our understanding of the complex causation of hypertension; refinement of causal estimates bidirectionally between blood pressure, risk factors, and outcomes through Mendelian randomization; risk stratification using polygenic risk scores; and opportunities for precision medicine and drug repurposing.

Comparative morphology and soft tissue histology of the remote-touch bill-tip organ in three ibis species of differing foraging ecology.

Ibises (order: Pelecaniformes, family: Threskiornithidae) are probe-foraging birds that use 'remote-touch' to locate prey items hidden in opaque substrates. This sensory capability allows them to locate their prey using high-frequency vibrations in the substrate in the absence of other sensory cues. Remote-touch is facilitated by a specialised bill-tip organ, comprising high densities of mechanoreceptors (Herbst corpuscles) embedded in numerous foramina in the beak bones.

Spatially tracked whole-breast three-dimensional ultrasound system toward point-of-care breast cancer screening in high-risk women with dense breasts.

Background: Mammographic screening has reduced mortality in women through the early detection of breast cancer. However, the sensitivity for breast cancer detection is significantly reduced in women with dense breasts, in addition to being an independent risk factor. Ultrasound (US) has been proven effective in detecting small, early-stage, and invasive cancers in women with dense breasts.

Predictors of poor haematopoietic stem cell mobilisation in patients with haematological malignancies at a South African centre.

Background: Autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) is an established consolidation strategy in the treatment of haematological malignancies, however poor mobilisation (PM) can contribute to patient morbidity and high resource utilisation. Identifying the incidence, risk factors for PM and engraftment outcomes are important goals in our resource limited setting.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients with haematological malignancies that consecutively underwent ASCT at Groote Schuur hospital, Cape Town, South Africa from January 2013 to January 2019.

Farm-level emission intensities of smallholder cattle (Bos indicus; B. indicus-B. taurus crosses) production systems in highlands and semi-arid regions.

Ruminants are central to the economic and nutritional life of much of sub-Saharan Africa, but cattle are now blamed for having a disproportionately large negative environmental impact through emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG). However, the mechanism underlying excessive emissions occurring only on some farms is imperfectly understood. Reliable estimates of emissions themselves are frequently lacking due to a paucity of reliable data.

Data describing cattle performance and feed characteristics to calculate enteric methane emissions in smallholder livestock systems in Bomet County, Kenya.

This dataset describes the performance of cattle in smallholder livestock systems of Bomet county in western Kenya. Information on live weight, milk production and quality, herd dynamics, and other production parameters were collected from field visits. Animals were weighed on scales; milk yield was recorded using a Mazzican® milk collection and transport vessel provided to each farm and milk was analyzed for butterfat content (%).

Outcomes for Patients With Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia in South Africa.

Background: The characteristics and outcomes of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) from sub-Saharan Africa have not been published.

Patients And Methods: We report retrospectively on consecutively diagnosed APL patients treated in Cape Town, South Africa, during 1998-2019. A total of 69 patients were treated, of whom 27 (39%) were classified as having high risk APL.

Cretaceous origins of the vibrotactile bill-tip organ in birds.

Some probe-foraging birds locate their buried prey by detecting mechanical vibrations in the substrate using a specialized tactile bill-tip organ comprising mechanoreceptors embedded in densely clustered pits in the bone at the tip of their beak. This remarkable sensory modality is known as 'remote touch', and the associated bill-tip organ is found in probe-foraging taxa belonging to both the palaeognathous (in kiwi) and neognathous (in ibises and shorebirds) clades of modern birds. Intriguingly, a structurally similar bill-tip organ is also present in the beaks of extant, non-probing palaeognathous birds (e.

Faunal input at host plants: Can camel thorn trees use nutrients imported by resident sociable weavers?

"Islands of fertility" result from the focussing of water and nutrients around many shrub or tree species due to plants foraging for resources. Plant-animal feedbacks may amplify the development of such islands through environmental modification due to, for example, faunal deposition of nutrients and seeds. Fauna residing within vegetation clumps are likely to exert stronger feedbacks on their hosts than itinerant species.