Efficacy and safety of fenofibrate in combination with phototherapy for the treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia: a systematic review and meta-analyses.

Phototherapy is the standard treatment for neonatal jaundice. We aimed to review the efficacy and safety of fenofibrate as an adjunct therapy. Twelve databases were searched and a systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted.

Net impact of air conditioning on heat-related mortality in Japanese cities.

Background: Air conditioning (AC) presents a viable means of tackling the ill-effects of heat on human health. However, AC releases additional anthropogenic heat outdoors, and this could be detrimental to human health, especially in urban communities. This study determined the excess heat-related mortality attributable to anthropogenic heat from AC use under various projected global warming scenarios in seven Japanese cities.

Impact and cost-effectiveness of measles vaccination through microarray patches in 70 low-income and middle-income countries: mathematical modelling and early-stage economic evaluation.

Background: Microarray patches (MAPs) are a promising technology being developed to reduce barriers to vaccine delivery based on needles and syringes (N&S). To address the evidence gap on the public health value of applying this potential technology to immunisation programmes, we evaluated the health impact on measles burden and cost-effectiveness of introducing measles-rubella MAPs (MR-MAPs) in 70 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods: We used an age-structured dynamic model of measles transmission and vaccination to project measles cases, deaths and disability-adjusted life-years during 2030-2040.

Estimation of waning vaccine effectiveness from population-level surveillance data in multi-variant epidemics.

Monitoring time-varying vaccine effectiveness (e.g., due to waning of immunity and the emergence of novel variants) provides crucial information for outbreak control.

The full health, economic, and social benefits of prospective Strep A vaccination.

Recent research has documented a wide range of health, economic, and social benefits conferred by vaccination, beyond the direct reductions in morbidity, mortality, and future healthcare costs traditionally captured in economic evaluations. In this paper, we describe the societal benefits that would likely stem from widespread administration of safe and effective vaccines against Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A), which was estimated to be the fifth-leading cause of infectious disease deaths globally prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. We then estimate the global societal gains from prospective Strep A vaccination through a value-per-statistical-life approach.

Socio-economic factors and its influence on the association between temperature and dengue incidence in 61 Provinces of the Philippines, 2010-2019.

Background: Temperature has a significant impact on dengue incidence, however, changes on the temperature-dengue relationship across axes of socio-economic vulnerability is not well described. This study sought to determine the association between dengue and temperature in multiple locations in the Philippines and explore the effect modification by socio-economic factors.

Method: Nationwide dengue cases per province from 2010 to 2019 and data on temperature were obtained from the Philippines' Department of Health-Epidemiological Bureau and ERA5-land, respectively.

Stillbirth rates and their determinants in a national maternity hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 2017-2020: a cross-sectional assessment with a nested case-control study.

Background: In Cambodia, stillbirths and their underlying factors have not been systematically studied. This study aimed to assess the proportion and trends in stillbirths between 2017 and 2020 in a large maternity referral hospital in the country and identify their key determinants to inform future prevention efforts.

Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional analysis with a nested case-control study of women giving birth at the National Maternal and Child Health Centre (NMCHC) in Phnom Penh, 2017-2020.

IL-27 produced during acute malaria infection regulates Plasmodium-specific memory CD4 T cells.

Malaria infection elicits both protective and pathogenic immune responses, and IL-27 is a critical cytokine that regulate effector responses during infection. Here, we identified a critical window of CD4 T cell responses that is targeted by IL-27. Neutralization of IL-27 during acute infection with Plasmodium chabaudi expanded specific CD4 T cells, which were maintained at high levels thereafter.

Long COVID-19 syndrome associated with Omicron XBB.1.5 infection: a case report.

Background: There is interest in lingering non-specific symptoms after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, referred to as Long coronavirus disease 2019 (Long COVID-19). It remains unknown whether the risk of Long COVID-19 is associated with pre-existing comorbidities or initial COVID-19 severity, including infections due to new Omicron lineages which predominated in 2023.

Objectives: The aim of this case report was to characterize the clinical features of acute XBB.

Immune escape and waning immunity of COVID-19 monovalent mRNA vaccines against symptomatic infection with BA.1/BA.2 and BA.5 in Japan.

Background: Repeated emergence of variants with immune escape capacity and waning immunity from vaccination are major concerns for COVID-19. We examined whether the surge in Omicron subvariant BA.5 cases was due to immune escape or waning immunity through vaccine effectiveness (VE) evaluation.

How to increase and maintain high immunization coverage: Vaccination Demand Resilience (VDR) framework.

Background: Resilience in vaccination demand is ever more critical as the COVID-19 pandemic has increased our understanding of the importance of vaccines on health and well-being. Yet timid demand for COVID-19 vaccines where available and reduced uptake of routine immunizations globally further raise the urgent need to build vaccination resilience. We demonstrate the complexity of vaccination demand and resilience in a framework where relevant dimensions are intertwined, fluid, and contextual.

Interactive effects of ambient fine particulate matter and ozone on daily mortality in 372 cities: two stage time series analysis.

Objective: To investigate potential interactive effects of fine particulate matter (PM) and ozone (O) on daily mortality at global level.

Design: Two stage time series analysis.

Setting: 372 cities across 19 countries and regions.

Perceptions of Obstetrics/Gynecology Surgeons on Non-medically Indicated Cesarean Sections: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Numerous factors can influence decisions regarding the type of delivery of human babies. There is an increasing demand for non-medically indicated cesarean sections (CS) (non-miCS) or CS on request (CSor). Therefore, this survey study aimed to identify the factors that may foster the decision of CS among obstetricians.

Barriers to the hospital treatment among Bede snake charmers in Bangladesh with special reference to venomous snakebite.

Snakebite envenoming is a potentially life-threatening global public health issue with Bangladesh having one of the highest rates of snakebite cases. The Bede, a nomadic ethnic group in Bangladesh, traditionally engages in snake-related business such as snake charming. The Bede relies on their own ethnomedicinal practitioners for snakebite treatment while there is a lack of concrete evidence on the effectiveness of such ethnomedicinal treatment.

The role of nursing leadership in promoting evidence-based nursing practice.

Although the undermining of the nursing profession, time constraints, and the lack of inclusive teaching of evidence-based nursing (EBN) in the nursing school's curriculum have long been identified as being some of the main barriers to the adoption of evidence-based practice (EBP) by nurses, the specific role of nurse leaders in directly influencing and supporting evidence-based nursing is not well demonstrated. This opinion piece discusses potential factors that influence the implementation of EBP into clinical routine practice, as well as how nursing leadership styles can contribute to its promotion in contemporary healthcare settings.

Bilateral Endometriotic Cystic Ovaries and Huge Splenic Epithelial Cyst With Elevated CA-125, CA19-9: A Report of a Rare Case.

Histologically benign splenic cysts (SCs) resemble splenic sacs. SCs are rare. Here, we present and discuss a new case of bilateral endometriotic cystic ovaries with massive SCs.

High Summer Temperatures and Heat Stroke Mortality in Spain.

Background: Heat stroke is a significant cause of mortality in response to high summer temperatures. There is limited evidence on the pattern and magnitude of the association between temperature and heat stroke mortality. We examined this association in Spain, using data from a 27-year follow-up period.

Effects of Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) Boosting and Household Factors on Latrine Ownership in Siaya County, Kenya.

Community-led total sanitation (CLTS) is a widely used approach for enhancing sanitation practices. However, the impact of boosted CLTS on household latrine ownership has not been adequately evaluated. This study aims to investigate the factors associated with latrine possession among households, with a specific focus on single and CLTS-boosting implementation.

Feasibility, accuracy and acceptability of self-sampled human papillomavirus testing using careHPV in Cambodia: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: Self-sampled human papillomavirus (HPV) testing is a potential option for cervical cancer screening, but research is scarce in Cambodia. We evaluated the feasibility, accuracy, and acceptability of self-sampled HPV testing using careHPV.

Methods: A cross-sectional study including women aged 20-49 years attending 2 national hospitals in the capital city was conducted.

Insights from the COVID-19 pandemic: trends in development assistance committee countries' aid allocation, 2011-2021.

Background: Official Development Assistance (ODA) significantly aids sustainable development in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted aid allocation, posing challenges for attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Objective: This study explores and underscores the profound implications of shifts in ODA allocation by Development Assistance Committee (DAC) member countries, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, offering a unique perspective on the evolving landscape of international aid.

Specific and sensitive loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method for Madurella strains, eumycetoma filamentous fungi causative agent.

Background: Filamentous fungi of the genus Madurella are the primary causative agents of mycetoma, a disease observed in tropical and subtropical regions. Since early diagnostics based on a morphological approach are difficult and have many shortcomings, a molecular diagnostic method suitable for rural settings is required. In this study, we developed the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method to present a foundational technique of the diagnosis of Madurella spp.

UbiN, a novel Rhodobacter capsulatus decarboxylative hydroxylase involved in aerobic ubiquinone biosynthesis.

Ubiquinone (UQ) is a lipophilic electron carrier that functions in the respiratory and photosynthetic electron transfer chains of proteobacteria and eukaryotes. Bacterial UQ biosynthesis is well studied in the gammaproteobacterium Escherichia coli, in which most bacterial UQ-biosynthetic enzymes have been identified. However, these enzymes are not always conserved among UQ-containing bacteria.

Characterization of Transferrable Mechanisms of Quinolone Resistance (TMQR) among Quinolone-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae causing Urinary Tract Infection in Nepalese Children.

Background: Transferrable mechanisms of quinolone resistance (TMQR) can lead to fluoroquinolone non-susceptibility in addition to chromosomal mechanisms. Some evidence suggests that fluoroquinolone resistance is increasing among the pediatric population. We sought to determine the occurrence of TMQR genes among quinolone-resistant E.