The objective was to implement CI under national tuberculosis programmatic conditions and to advocate for its scaling up. Contact investigation was implemented in 150 Basic Management Units identified across eight countries. The target populations (children <5 years and persons living with HIV (PLHIV)) were evaluated during home and clinic visits using standardized tools, clinical examinations and, according to each country, additional tests. Contacts with active TB received TB treatment and those eligible received TB preventive therapy (TPT). Data were collected each quarter using standardized forms. Meetings were organized with partners to share preliminary results and advocate for scaling up. From October 2020 to December 2021, 9049 home visits were performed. The proportions of children <5 years and PLHIV who were screened and diagnosed with active TB were, respectively, 2.6% and 10.1%. Ninety-three percent of children <5 years and 98% of PLHIV living at home received TPT or TB treatment, respectively. The scale-up for contact investigation partially or at national level in 2022 was effective in six of the eight countries included in the project. These results indicate that CI is feasible under programmatic conditions within the National TB Programs of African countries.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed8010029 | DOI Listing |
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int
January 2025
Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC, USA.
Liquid low-level radioactive waste at the Savannah River Site contains several species of mercury, including inorganic, elemental, and methylmercury. This waste is solidified and stabilized in a cementitious waste form referred to as saltstone. Soluble mercury is stabilized as β-cinnabar, HgS as the result of reaction between the mercury and sulfur present in blast furnace slag, one of the cementitious reagents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Intellect Disabil
January 2025
Pro Vice Chancellor, Staffordshire University, UK.
Background: Autism spectrum disorder poses challenges in social communication and behavior, while Intellectual disabilities are characterized by deficits in cognitive, social, and adaptive skills, frequently accompanied by stereotypies and challenging behaviors. Despite the progress made in autism spectrum disorder research, there is often a lack of research focusing on individuals with co-occurring autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. Robot-assisted autism therapies are effective in addressing these needs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Biol Macromol
January 2025
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Southeast University, Jiangning District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 211189, PR China. Electronic address:
Inkless paper made from photochromic materials has garnered significant interest owing to its potential to reduce both ink and paper pollution during production. In this research, we synthesized a dual-material film (EC-PVP/PGMEA/PMoA) and conducted a detailed investigation of its photochromic response to visible light and its microstructural properties. Initially, the film appeared as a translucent yellow, but upon exposure to visible light, it shifted to blue with a maximum absorption peak of 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPharmacoeconomics
January 2025
Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, 138 Shengli Road, Tainan, 704, Taiwan.
Background And Objective: Approximately half of lung adenocarcinomas in East Asia harbor epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. EGFR testing followed by tissue-based next-generation sequencing (NGS), upfront tissue-based NGS, and complementary NGS approaches have emerged on the front line to guide personalized therapy. We study the cost effectiveness of exclusionary EGFR testing for Taiwanese patients newly diagnosed with advanced lung adenocarcinoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBull Math Biol
January 2025
Department of Mathematics, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 14, Povo, 38123, Trento, Italy.
One of the strategies used in some countries to contain the COVID-19 epidemic has been the test-and-isolate policy, generally coupled with contact tracing. Such strategies have been examined in several simulation models, but a theoretical analysis of their effectiveness in simple epidemic model is, to our knowledge, missing. In this paper, we present four epidemic models of either SIR or SEIR type, in which it is assumed that at fixed times the whole population (or a part of the population) is tested and, if positive, isolated.
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