Joint spatio-temporal modelling of adverse pregnancy outcomes sharing common risk factors at sub-county level in Kenya, 2016-2019.

Background: Adverse pregnancy outcomes jointly account for a high proportion of mortality and morbidity among pregnant women and their infants. Furthermore, the burden attributed to adverse pregnancy outcomes remains high and inadequately characterised due to the intricate interplay of its etiology and shared set of important risk factors. This study sought to quantify and map the underlying risk of multiple adverse pregnancy outcomes in Kenya at sub-county level using a shared component space-time modelling framework.

Facility Managers' Perceptions of Support and Supervision of Ward Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams in National Health Insurance Pilot Districts in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A Qualitative Study.

Introduction: Evidence from many countries suggests that provision of home and community-based health services, linked to care at fixed primary health care facilities, is critical to good health outcomes. In South Africa, the Ward-Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams are well placed to provide these services. The teams report to a primary health care facility through their outreach team leader.

Knowledge, attitude and practice towards cervical cancer prevention among mothers of girls aged between 9 and 14 years: a cross sectional survey in Zimbabwe.

Background: Cervical cancer (CC) morbidity and mortality is still high in developing countries like Zimbabwe. Treatment for CC is out of reach for many women, hence the need to maximise on prevention which mainly includes screening and administering human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. Knowledge about CC prevention is a prerequisite for utilisation of all the available options for CC prevention, yet little is known about its levels and the corresponding attitudes and practices on cancer prevention methods within the society.

Ending the evidence gap for pregnancy, HIV and co-infections: ethics guidance from the PHASES project.

Introduction: While pregnant people have been an important focus for HIV research, critical evidence gaps remain regarding prevention, co-infection, and safety and efficacy of new antiretroviral therapies in pregnancy. Such gaps can result in harm: without safety data, drugs used may carry unacceptable risks to the foetus or pregnant person; without pregnancy-specific dosing data, pregnant people face risks of both toxicity and undertreatment; and delays in gathering evidence can limit access to beneficial next-generation drugs. Despite recognition of the need, numerous barriers and ethical complexities have limited progress.

Health workers' disrespectful and abusive behaviour towards women during labour and delivery: A qualitative study in Durban, South Africa.

Background: A high prevalence of disrespectful and abusive behaviour by health workers towards women during labour and delivery has been widely described in health facilities, particularly in Africa, and is a worldwide public health concern. Such behaviours are barriers to care-seeking, and are associated with adverse outcomes for mothers and newborns. This paper reports experiences of disrespectful care among informal working women in three public health facilities in Durban, South Africa.

Examining the state of energy poverty in Rwanda: An inter-indicator analysis.

This paper adopted an inter-indicator analytical approach to investigate the state of energy poverty in Rwanda. It used a nationally representative sample of 14458 households from Rwanda's Integrated Living Standard Survey conducted between October 2016 and October 2017. The first indicator entailed a multidimensional analysis of energy poverty using eleven pointers of energy deprivation.

The Effect of Organoselenium Compounds on Histone Deacetylase Inhibition and Their Potential for Cancer Therapy.

Genetic and epigenetic changes alter gene expression, contributing to cancer. Epigenetic changes in cancer arise from alterations in DNA and histone modifications that lead to tumour suppressor gene silencing and the activation of oncogenes. The acetylation status of histones and non-histone proteins are determined by the histone deacetylases and histone acetyltransferases that control gene transcription.

Training, Attitudes, and Practice (TAP) among healthcare professionals in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, South Africa: A health promotion and disease prevention perspective.

Background: Healthcare professionals (HCPs) play a pivotal role in ensuring access to quality healthcare of patients. However, their role in health promotion (HP) and disease prevention (DP) has not been fully explored. This study aimed at determining how training, attitude, and practice (TAP) of HCPs influence their practice of HP and DP.

Phylogenetic analysis of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from different sources using Multilocus Sequence Typing Scheme.

The emergence and worldwide distribution of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains has become a major public health threat. The objective of this study was to investigate the clonal relatedness of A. baumannii isolates collected from clinical and extra-hospital environments in Mthatha, South Africa.

Bridelia ferruginea Benth. (Euphorbiaceae) mitigates oxidative imbalance and lipotoxicity, with concomitant modulation of insulin signaling pathways via GLUT4 upregulation in hepatic tissues of diabetic rats.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Bridelia ferruginea Benth. (Euphorbiaceae) is among the medicinal plants commonly used for the management of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and its complications.

Aim Of The Study: The hepato-therapeutic effect of the butanol fraction of Bridelia ferruginea leaves was investigated in diabetic rats.

AdaBoost Metalearning Methodology for Modeling the Incipient Dissociation Conditions of Clathrate Hydrates.

This paper proposes the AdaBoost metalearning methodology to combine the outcomes of tree-based models of classification and the regression tree (CART) algorithm for estimating the equilibrium dissociation temperature of clathrate hydrates. In addition to the AdaBoost-CART models, models based on the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and artificial neural network (ANN) approaches were also developed. Training and testing of the models were done utilizing a gathered database of more than 3500 experimental data on incipient dissociation conditions of CO and other hydrate systems.

Durability Assessment and Microstructure of High-Strength Performance Bricks Produced from PET Waste and Foundry Sand.

Fired clay brickwork in buildings is prone to cracks and deterioration upon exposure to long-time acidic contamination and water absorption, hence decreasing the bearing capacity of masonry walls. As its contribution toward resolving this challenge, this study assessed the durability and morphological characteristics of high-strength performance bricks produced from a mixture of PET waste (PW) and foundry sand (FS). The PET waste bricks (PWBs) were produced through different proportioning (PW: FS) of 20%, 30%, and 40% of the dry mass of FS.

Nanobodies Enhancing Cancer Visualization, Diagnosis and Therapeutics.

Worldwide, cancer is a serious health concern due to the increasing rates of incidence and mortality. Conventional cancer imaging, diagnosis and treatment practices continue to substantially contribute to the fight against cancer. However, these practices do have some risks, adverse effects and limitations, which can affect patient outcomes.

Interventions for managing professional isolation among health professionals in low resource environments: A scoping review.

Background: Professional isolation is viewed as a sense of isolation from ones professional peers and this has contributed to compromised quality of health service delivery as well as quality of life for health professionals in low resource environments. Professional isolation is a multidimensional concept which may be either geographic, social, and/or ideological. However, professional isolation in low resource environments remains poorly defined with a limited body of research focusing on health professionals.

Fusaric acid induces hepatic global m6A RNA methylation and differential expression of m6A regulatory genes - a pilot study.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is an abundant epitranscriptomic mark that regulates gene expression to execute cellular developmental programmes and environmental adaptation. Fusaric acid (FA) is a mycotoxin that contaminates agricultural foods and exerts toxicity in humans and animals; however, its epitranscriptomic effects are unclear. We investigated the effect of FA on global m6A RNA methylation and mRNA expression levels of key m6A regulatory genes in C57BL/6 mouse livers.

Effect of Pith/Fiber Separation, Binders and Hybridization on Energy Density and Physical Properties of Bagasse Briquettes.

Improvements on energy density of loose biomass such as sugarcane feedstock is crucial in the technology of biomass energy conversion and generation. South Africa is one of the producers and refiners of sugarcane. High energy density of sugarcane bagasse biomass through separation and briquetting is imperative in developing adequate streams and quality energy generation from sugarcane upstream milling processes.

'I can no longer do my work like how I used to': a mixed methods longitudinal cohort study exploring how informal working mothers balance the requirements of livelihood and safe childcare in South Africa.

Background: Returning to work after childbirth is challenging for working mothers. Childcare quality may have lifelong effects on children's health, development and cognitive function. Over 60% of working women globally are informal workers without employment or maternity protection, but little is known about how these women care for their children.

Planning reform to competency based curricula in undergraduate nursing and midwifery education: A qualitative study.

Background: Reform to Competency-based curricula, a standard for training health professionals of the 21st century, requires rigorous planning for successful implementation. However, although the reform defines the direction of the schools and quality of their products, it lacks in planning and prominence which could lead to the failure and waste of resources.

Objective: To explore the processes of planning reform to Competency-based curricula in undergraduate nursing and midwifery education in Rwanda.

Preprints in times of COVID19: the time is ripe for agreeing on terminology and good practices.

Over recent years, the research community has been increasingly using preprint servers to share manuscripts that are not yet peer-reviewed. Even if it enables quick dissemination of research findings, this practice raises several challenges in publication ethics and integrity. In particular, preprints have become an important source of information for stakeholders interested in COVID19 research developments, including traditional media, social media, and policy makers.

"I just became like a log of wood … I was paralyzed all over my body": women's lived experiences of tonic immobility following rape.

Tonic immobility is considered the last involuntary self-protecting act/mechanism experienced by victims of rape when they are under attack. It is associated with trauma related mental health risks post-rape. Despite this, tonic immobility has not received priority as an area of research on Nigerian female victims of rape.

A qualitative exploratory study of selected physicians' perceptions of the management of non-communicable diseases at a referral hospital in Zimbabwe.

Introduction: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have recently become a global public health burden and a leading cause of premature death, mainly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The aim of the study was to explore physicians' perceptions on the availability and quality of clinical care for the management of NCDs.

Methods: This was a qualitative exploratory study meant to obtain expert perceptions on clinical care delivery for NCDs in one Zimbabwean central hospital setting.

Enablers and hindrances to health promotion and disease prevention practices among healthcare workers in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, South Africa.

Health promotion (HP) and disease prevention (DP) practices among healthcare workers (HCWs) are key to achieving universal health coverage. This study identified HP and DP enablers and hindrances and compared them at different healthcare levels in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, South Africa. An exploratory cross-sectional study using a structured questionnaire was conducted among HCWs (n = 501) from 23 hospitals.

Intensive care unit hospitalisation costs associated with road traffic crashes at a central hospital in KwaZulu-Natal for the 2017/18 financial year.

Background: The financial and physical impacts of road traffic crashes are borne by the individual, the extended family, society, the health sector and the economy of the country. The main contributors to these costs are the loss of productivity and the accrual of ongoing healthcare costs over a long-term period. There is limited information available on the cost of admitting seriously injured patients post accidents to a central hospital intensive care unit.

Pavement Quality Index Rating Strategy Using Fracture Energy Analysis for Implementing Smart Road Infrastructure.

Developing a responsive pavement-management infrastructure system is of paramount importance, accentuated by the quest for sustainability through adoption of the Road Traffic Management System. Technological advances have been witnessed in developed countries concerning the development of smart, sustainable transportation infrastructure. However, the same cannot be said of developing countries.