The Concept of Pain in Children Attending Primary School: Implications for School-Based Pain Education.

A child's concept of pain comprises their understanding of what pain is, the purpose of pain, and biological processes underpinning pain. The concept of pain can influence pain experiences, pain beliefs, and pain-related behaviour. This study aimed to assess the concept of pain among children attending primary schools in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

Carotid-Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity in Children in South Africa: Reference Values for the Vicorder Device.

Atherosclerosis often starts in childhood, tracking to adulthood. In children, early vascular disease can be detected as arterial stiffness. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity is considered the non-invasive gold standard method for measuring arterial stiffness and widely accepted for use in children.

Assessment of the impact of HIV infection on the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis and pubertal development among adolescent girls at a tertiary centre in Zimbabwe: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Proper planning of reproductive health needs for HIV-infected adolescents requires a clear understanding of the effects of HIV infection on adolescents' pubertal development.

Objective: To assess the effects of HIV infection on the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis, ovarian reserve and pubertal development in adolescent girls at a tertiary hospital in Zimbabwe.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey of HIV-infected adolescent girls aged 10-19 years, with available CD4 + count results at a tertiary hospital in Zimbabwe.

Cardiovascular risk and allostatic load in PTSD: The role of cumulative trauma and resilience in affected and trauma-exposed adults.

Background: The pathophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) involves dysregulation of stress-sensitive biological systems due to repeated trauma exposure, predisposing individuals to the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Allostatic load (AL), an indicator of maladaptive stress responses, could shed light on the underlying biological mechanisms. We determined whether CVD risk and AL were associated with trauma load and resilience in women with PTSD and trauma-exposed controls (TEC).

A longitudinal analysis of neurocognitive profiles in South African women with HIV.

HIV and the consequences of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) disproportionally affect South African women. Longitudinal neurocognitive data on women with HIV are limited. We tracked longitudinal neurocognitive profiles of South African women with HIV (baseline = 140) compared to women without HIV (baseline = 156).

Effectiveness of dissemination strategies of maternal clinical guidelines: A narrative review.

Background:  Maternal clinical guidelines (MCGs) provide evidence-based recommendations for skilled birth professionals (SBPs) at the point of care. The dissemination strategies and use of MCGs are inconsistent among skilled birth providers despite their potential to improve the maternal care outcomes.

Aim:  This study examined the effectiveness of dissemination strategies of MCGs by SBPs in a primary care setting.

Graduate perceptions of their interprofessional practice: Lessons for undergraduate training.

Background:  Interprofessional education (IPE) during undergraduate training (UGT) is considered important for new graduates to collaborate inter-professionally. There are, however, well-documented workplace challenges that hinder their involvement in interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) such as professional hierarchy, poor role clarification and communication challenges.

Aim:  This article explores graduates' perceptions of the value rural undergraduate IPE had on their IPCP during their first year of work.

Joint embedding-classifier learning for interpretable collaborative filtering.

Background: Interpretability is a topical question in recommender systems, especially in healthcare applications. An interpretable classifier quantifies the importance of each input feature for the predicted item-user association in a non-ambiguous fashion.

Results: We introduce the novel Joint Embedding Learning-classifier for improved Interpretability (JELI).

Genomics yields biological and phenotypic insights into bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a leading contributor to the global burden of disease. Despite high heritability (60-80%), the majority of the underlying genetic determinants remain unknown. We analysed data from participants of European, East Asian, African American and Latino ancestries (n = 158,036 cases with bipolar disorder, 2.

Bi-ventricular elastic material parameters estimation using 3D CMR myocardial strains in rheumatic heart disease patients.

Understanding the elastic material behavior of myocardium during the diastolic phase is critical for evaluating cardiac function and improving treatments for diastolic abnormalities. This study introduces a novel multi-objective optimization framework that incorporates both strain and volume measurements to enhance the accuracy of myocardial property assessments in Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) patients and healthy controls. By employing global volume and strain measurements instead of segmented strains from the sixteen AHA regions, we achieve a robust alignment with the Klotz curve across all groups, indicating an accurate simulation of end-diastolic pressure-volume relationships (EDPVRs).

Environmental Impact of Meat Protein Substitutes: A Mini-Review.

The expansion of alternative food industries, including cultured meat, is often promoted as a strategy to reduce environmental pollution, particularly greenhouse gas emissions. However, comprehensive data on the environmental impacts of these industries remains limited. This study examines the environmental impacts of traditional meat and meat substitute production, highlighting their respective advantages and disadvantages.

Cutting-Edge Technologies of Meat Analogs: A Review.

This study was conducted to investigate the recent research trends of alternative protein foods being developed to replace traditional livestock foods and thus determine the current state of the technology and the potential for industrialization. The results of this study showed that the technology related to cultured meat has not yet reached industrialization. However, serum-free media development, technologies to improve culture efficiency, and technologies to improve taste and flavor are being researched.

Theoretical impact of a bedside decision-making tool on antibiotic use for suspected neonatal healthcare-associated infection: an observational study.

Background And Objectives: Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a leading contributor to morbidity and mortality in hospitalised neonates. Diagnosing neonatal HAI is challenging owing to non-specific symptoms and lack of definitive diagnostic markers, contributing to high rates of inappropriate antibiotic use. This study evaluated the theoretical impact of implementing a bedside tool for decision-making on antibiotic length of therapy (LOT).

Insights from a century of data reveal global trends in ex situ living plant collections.

Ex situ living plant collections play a crucial role in providing nature-based solutions to twenty-first century global challenges. However, the complex dynamics of these artificial ecosystems are poorly quantified and understood, affecting biodiversity storage, conservation and utilization. To evaluate the management of ex situ plant diversity, we analysed a century of data comprising 2.

Comprehensive evaluation of pure and hybrid collaborative filtering in drug repurposing.

Drug development is known to be a costly and time-consuming process, which is prone to high failure rates. Drug repurposing allows drug discovery by reusing already approved compounds. The outcomes of past clinical trials can be used to predict novel drug-disease associations by leveraging drug- and disease-related similarities.

Platelet aggregation and thromboelastometry monitoring in women with preeclampsia: a prospective observational study.

Background: Thrombocytopenia affects 12-20% of women with preeclampsia and a low platelet count impairs coagulation. Women with preeclampsia have an increased risk of both cerebral hemorrhage, thromboembolism, and postpartum hemorrhage. Studies of platelet function and coagulation in women with preeclampsia show conflicting results.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis resisters despite HIV exhibit activated T cells and macrophages in their pulmonary alveoli.

Natural resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection in some people with HIV (PWH) is unexplained. We performed single cell RNA-sequencing of bronchoalveolar lavage cells, unstimulated or ex vivo stimulated with Mtb, for 7 PWH who were TST & IGRA positive (called LTBI) and 6 who were persistently TST & IGRA negative (called resisters). Alveolar macrophages (AM) from resisters displayed a baseline M1 macrophage phenotype while AM from LTBI did not.

Optimising Instrumented Mouthguard Data Analysis: Video Synchronisation Using a Cross-correlation Approach.

Purpose: Head acceleration events (HAEs) are a growing concern in contact sports, prompting two rugby governing bodies to mandate instrumented mouthguards (iMGs). This has resulted in an influx of data imposing financial and time constraints. This study presents two computational methods that leverage a dataset of video-coded match events: cross-correlation synchronisation aligns iMG data to a video recording, by providing playback timestamps for each HAE, enabling analysts to locate them in video footage; and post-synchronisation event matching identifies the coded match event (e.

Advances in the awareness of tuberculosis-associated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Tuberculosis (TB) significantly increases the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), positioning TB-associated COPD (TB-COPD) as a distinct category within the spectrum of respiratory diseases prevalent, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This condition results from the body's immune response to TB, leading to prolonged inflammation and consequent persistent lung damage. Diagnostic approaches, particularly post-bronchodilator spirometry, are vital for identifying airflow obstruction and confirming TB-COPD.

Receiver design for the REACH global 21-cm signal experiment.

We detail the REACH radiometric system designed to enable measurements of the 21-cm neutral hydrogen line. Included is the radiometer architecture and end-to-end system simulations as well as a discussion of the challenges intrinsic to highly-calibratable system development. Following this, we share laboratory results based on the calculation of noise wave parameters utilising an over-constrained least squares approach.

Urinary incontinence (UI) in older women in low- and middle-income countries: a rapid review and case study from Burkina Faso.

The prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) in older women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is not well understood. We conducted a rapid literature review to assess the burden of UI in this population and contextualize findings from a household survey of women aged 40 and older in Nouna, in northwestern Burkina Faso. The rapid review included 21 survey articles.

A Needle in a Haystack: Transient Porosity in a Closed Pore Square Lattice Coordination Network.

Guest transport through discrete voids (closed pores) in crystalline solids is poorly understood. Herein, we report the gas sorption properties of a nonporous coordination network, [Co(bib)2Cl2]n·2MeOH (sql-bib-Co-Cl-α), featuring square lattice (sql) topology and the bent linker 1,3-bis(1H-imidazol-1-yl)benzene (bib). The as-synthesized sql-bib-Co-Cl-α has 11.

En bloc resection of large bladder tumor: is it feasible and reasonable?

Purpose Of Review: Transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) remains the basis of bladder tumor diagnosis and an effective means of treating nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). There are several limitations to this procedure: TURBT may cause free floating of malignant cells in the bladder and as a result re-implantation and early recurrence. Also, it does not allow the pathologist to define the correct spatial orientation of the specimen.

A randomized controlled, trial on effects of mobile phone text messaging in combination with motivational interviewing versus standard infant feeding counselling on breastfeeding and child health outcomes, among women living with HIV.

Background: Despite efforts to promote optimal breastfeeding practices, the practice of exclusive breastfeeding is low in South Africa. We conducted a trial to determine whether text messaging plus motivational interviewing prolonged exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life and improved child health outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a randomized parallel group-controlled trial between July 2022 and May 2024, at a secondary-level healthcare facility.

A qualitative exploration of feedback experience among final-year physiotherapy students using activity theory.

Background: Feedback is an important part of learning, however, it often does not have the desired effect. Much work has been done exploring students' engagement with feedback and factors which may impact engagement. Mutual understanding of feedback and feedback practice on the part of the student and educator is essential.