Blood Transfusions for Chronic Malaria Anemia in Prisoners of War on the Thai-Burma Railway 1943-1945.

Allied prisoners of war (POWs) working on the Imperial Japanese Army's railroad from Thailand to Burma during 1943-1945 devised a blood transfusion service to rescue severely ill fellow prisoners who were otherwise unlikely to survive the war. Extant transfusion records (1,251 recipients, 1,189 donors) in ledger books held by the United Kingdom National Archives at Kew were accessed and analyzed. Survival to the end of the war in 1945 was determined from Commonwealth War Graves Commission records.

Attitudes toward scale-up of an Intensive Combination Approach to Rollback the Epidemic in Nigerian adolescents (iCARE) intervention for youth in Nigeria: results of a mixed methods early-implementation study.

Background: Youth living with HIV (YLH) are disproportionately impacted by HIV with poor outcomes along the entire HIV care continuum. In a 2020-2022 pilot study, iCARE Nigeria, successfully tested a combination intervention incorporating mobile health technology and peer navigation to: 1) improve testing and linkage to HIV care for young men, especially young men who have sex with men (YMSM) and 2) improve medication adherence and treatment outcomes for YLH. The intervention was scaled up to 5 sites in 3 Nigerian cities.

How Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases Challenge Our Understanding of Viral Infections.

The twenty-first century has witnessed a wave of severe infectious disease outbreaks, having a devastating impact on lives and healthcare systems around the globe [...

Exploring perceptions and attitudes towards vaccines in a remote western DRC health zone.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) struggles with low full childhood vaccination coverage (around 50 %) and a high children-under-five mortality rate (79 deaths per 1000 live births). This situation is potentially exacerbated by vaccine hesitancy, which was identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the top 10 global health threats in 2019. To gain deeper insights into levels of vaccine confidence possibly influencing vaccination coverage, we explored perceptions and attitudes towards childhood and adult vaccines in Boende (Tshuapa province, western DRC), which experienced an Ebola outbreak in 2014 and hosted the EBL2007 Ebola vaccine trial (2019-2022).

Identifying the main drivers of transmission in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal.

In this study, we employed a modeling approach to describe how changes in age-specific epidemiological characteristics, such as behaviour, i.e. contact patterns, susceptibility and infectivity, influence the basic reproduction number , while accounting for heterogeneity in transmission.

Risk Identification and Mitigation of Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in Military Training Environments.

Objective: Staphylococcus aureus (SA), including methicillin-resistant strains (MRSAs), is a major cause of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in military populations. This study investigated SSTI incidence and SA carriage in a military training site over 16 weeks using a prospective observational cohort design.

Methods: Two training cohorts provided pre- and post-training self-collected swabs for bacterial carriage, and environmental swabs from accommodations, personal items, and training facilities.

Assessing the relationship between mental health and AUDIT score among older sexual and gender minorities.

Introduction: Alcohol use, and its relationship with mental health outcomes, remains a public health priority. Yet, little research has focused on this association among aging sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations with even less dedicated to the unique issues of those aging with HIV, a gap we begin to fill here.

Methods: Data for this analysis originated from the Columbus Healthy Aging Project (CHAP), a cross-sectional survey among adults ≥50 years who reside in the Columbus, Ohio.

Optimization and analytical validation of the Allplex HPV28 genotyping assay for use in first-void urine samples.

Despite first-void urine (FVU) being increasingly recognized as a credible specimen for human papillomavirus (HPV) detection, there is a lack of well-validated testing methods providing full quantitative genotyping required for vaccine impact monitoring from FVU samples. The Allplex HPV28 assay, capable of individually detecting 28 HPV genotypes, presents a promising method. We aimed to evaluate its genotype-specific performance on FVU samples, following optimization of FVU preanalytics.

Glucocorticoid-Dependent Retinal Degeneration and Vision Impairment in Mice Susceptible to Prenatal Stress-Induced Behavioral Abnormalities.

Chronic exposure to prenatal stress can impair neurogenesis and lead to irreversible cognitive and neuropsychiatric abnormalities in offspring. The retina is part of the nervous system; however, the impacts of prenatal stress on retinal neurogenesis and visual function remain unclear. This study examined how elevated prenatal glucocorticoid levels differentially affect retinal development in the offspring of pregnant mice exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS).

Identification of potent HSV antivirals using 3D bioprinted human skin equivalents.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection has worldwide public health concerns and lifelong medical impacts. The standard therapy, acyclovir, has limited efficacy in preventing HSV subclinical virus shedding, and drug resistance occurs in immunocompromised patients, highlighting the need for novel therapeutics. HSV infection manifests in the skin epidermal layer, but current drug discovery utilizes Vero cells and fibroblasts monolayer cultures, capturing neither relevance nor tissue environment.

Dominant negative mutations cause ADA2 deficiency in heterozygous carriers.

Human ADA2 deficiency (DADA2) is an inborn error of immunity with a broad clinical phenotype which encompasses vasculopathy including livedo racemosa and lacunar strokes, as well as hemato-immunological features. Diagnosis is based on the combination of decreased serum ADA2 activity and the identification of biallelic deleterious alleles in the gene. DADA2 carriers harbor a single pathogenic variant in and are mostly considered healthy and asymptomatic.

The HPV prevention and control program in Poland: progress and the way forward.

This review assesses Poland's activities in preventing and managing human papillomavirus (HPV)-related diseases, summarizing information from the 2023 HPV Prevention and Control Board meeting. Progress in primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention identifies opportunities to strengthen control of cervical cancer. Poland's national HPV vaccination program, launched in June 2023, initially achieved suboptimal coverage.

EGHRIN conclusions on pandemic preparedness: no whole-of-society approach without society.

Pandemic preparedness necessitates a multifaceted approach that emphasizes societal factors, such as building trust and acknowledges cultural and societal differences, with a focus on protecting vulnerable groups. To support these goals, the European Global Health Research Institutes Network has outlined a comprehensive transdisciplinary approach through a set of multilevel recommendations.

A systematic review and individual bacterial species level meta-analysis of in vitro studies on the efficacy of ceftazidime/avibactam combined with other antimicrobials against carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria.

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (CR-GNB) develop resistance to many antimicrobials. To effectively manage infections caused by these organisms, novel agents and/or combinations of antimicrobials are required.

Objectives: Evaluated the in vitro efficacy of ceftazidime/avibactam in combination with other antimicrobials against CR-GNB.

An agarose fluidic chip for high-throughput organoid imaging.

Modern cell and developmental biology increasingly relies on 3D cell culture systems such as organoids. However, routine interrogation with microscopy is often hindered by tedious, non-standardized sample mounting, limiting throughput. To address these bottlenecks, we have developed a pipeline for imaging intact organoids in flow, utilizing a transparent agarose fluidic chip that enables efficient and consistent recordings with theoretically unlimited throughput.

Long-term co-circulation of multiple arboviruses in southeast Australia revealed by xeno-monitoring and viral whole-genome sequencing.

Arbovirus surveillance of wild-caught mosquitoes is an affordable and sensitive means of monitoring virus transmission dynamics at various spatial-temporal scales, and emergence and re-emergence during epidemic and interepidemic periods. A variety of molecular diagnostics for arbovirus screening of mosquitoes (known as xeno-monitoring) are available, but most provide limited information about virus diversity. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based screening coupled with RNA sequencing is an increasingly affordable and sensitive pipeline for integrating complete viral genome sequencing into surveillance programs.

Linear Mixed Modeling of Federated Data When Only the Mean, Covariance, and Sample Size Are Available.

In medical research, individual-level patient data provide invaluable information, but the patients' right to confidentiality remains of utmost priority. This poses a huge challenge when estimating statistical models such as a linear mixed model, which is an extension of linear regression models that can account for potential heterogeneity whenever data come from different data providers. Federated learning tackles this hurdle by estimating parameters without retrieving individual-level data.

Characterization of Newly Isolated Bacteriophages Targeting Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Klebsiella pneumoniae, a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen, is increasingly resistant to carbapenems in clinical settings. This growing problem necessitates the development of alternative antibiotics, with phage therapy being one promising option. In this study, we investigated novel phages targeting carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) and evaluated their lytic capacity against clinical isolates of CRKP.

The spread of molecular markers of artemisinin partial resistance and diagnostic evasion in Eritrea: a retrospective molecular epidemiology study.

Background: Eritrea was the first African country to discontinue the use of histidine rich protein 2 (HRP2)-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for malaria diagnosis following reports of a high prevalence of pfhrp2/3-deleted Plasmodium falciparum parasites causing false-negative results in the country. Eritrea was also the first African country to report partial artemisinin resistance due to the P falciparum kelch13 (pfk13) Arg622Ile mutation. We aimed to characterise the spatial distribution of pfk13 mutants and their interactions with pfhrp2/3 deletions in Eritrea and to assess the role of the use of HRP2-detecting RDTs and antimalarial (artesunate-amodiaquine) therapy in the spread of the two variants.

Cellular respiration in dendritic cells: Exploring oxygen-dependent pathways for potential therapeutic interventions.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized antigen-presenting cells crucial for initiating and regulating adaptive immune responses, making them promising candidates for therapeutic interventions in various immune-mediated diseases. Increasing evidence suggests that the microenvironment in which cells are cultured, as well as the milieu in which they perform their functions, significantly impact their immunomodulatory properties. Among these environmental factors, the role of oxygen in DC biology and its significance for both their in vitro generation and in vivo therapeutic application require investigation.

Pathogen genomics in healthcare: overcoming barriers to proactive surveillance.

Pathogen genomic surveillance in healthcare has the potential to enhance patient safety by detecting outbreaks earlier, thereby reducing morbidity and mortality. Despite benefits, there are barriers to adoption, including cost, expertise, and lack of standardized methodologies and incentives. This commentary advocates for 1) investment from healthcare payors, public health, and regulatory bodies and 2) additional research on genomic surveillance for improving patient outcomes and reducing infections.

The effects of a home telerehabilitation-based program on the cardiopulmonary function and quality of life in post-COVID-19 patients.

Background: Relatively few studies have explored the impact of home telerehabilitation-based (HTB) programs on patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effect of HTB programs on the cardiopulmonary function, body composition, muscle strength, and quality of life (QoL) of patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome.

Methods: A quasi-experimental study was performed.