Age- and sex-specific incidence rates and future projections for hip fractures in Zimbabwe.

Introduction: Population ageing in Africa is increasing healthcare demands. Hip fractures require multidisciplinary care and are considered an indicator condition for age-related health services. We aimed to estimate current hip fracture incidence in Zimbabwe, compare rates against other regional estimates and estimate future fracture numbers.

Strengthening advanced therapy for sickle cell disease in Africa: experience from sickle cell disease centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Despite progress in healthcare services for individuals living with sickle cell disease (SCD) in Africa, substantial gaps remain in advanced treatments for SCD. To help address this burden, Tanzania has established one of the largest single-centre SCD programmes in the world and developed an advanced therapy programme for SCD focused on patient engagement and advocacy, clinical activities involving exchange blood transfusion (ExBT) and haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), gene therapy (GT) preparedness, and enabling partnerships. This report describes the programme's genesis, structure and progress achieved.

Avoiding never events in orthopaedics theatres: a quality improvement project.

Never events in the operating room are a surgeon's nightmare, with an incidence rate of 54%. These events are highly stressful for theatre staff and significantly compromise patient safety. The aim of this project is to avoid never events in trauma and orthopaedic theatres by ensuring that theatre staff adhere to the surgical pause and imaging pause protocols through regular audits.

Genital orf.

A man in his early 40s presented with extensive skin lesions in the groin and genital regions. The lesions were erythematous and maculopapular but evolved into vesicles and pustules with surrounding cellulitis. He stated that he grips livestock between his legs for sheep shearing.

Antimicrobial resistance on Ships: A Narrative review.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a global health challenge, particularly in maritime environments where unique conditions foster its emergence and spread. Characterized by confined spaces, high population density, and extensive global mobility, ships create a setting ripe for the development and dissemination of resistant pathogens. This review aims to analyse the contributing factors, epidemiological challenges, mitigation strategies specific to AMR on ships and to propose future research directions, bridging a significant gap in the literature.

Maternal obesity associates with altered humoral immunity in blood and colostrum.

Maternal obesity is a condition with increasing prevalence worldwide, that correlates with negative infant outcomes. Here we performed an observational cross-sectional study, where peripheral blood and colostrum samples from 37 mothers with BMI between 18.5-25 or > 30 kg/m (21 and 16 mothers, respectively) were collected 24-48 h postpartum.

From Mapping to Elimination: A Comprehensive Overview of Rwanda's Schistosomiasis Program.

Objectives: Schistosomiasis (SCH) remains a public health challenge in Rwanda despite ongoing interventions. This paper provides an overview of Rwanda's SCH journey, highlighting progress made through mass drug administration (MDA), diagnostic advancements, and strategic partnerships with key stakeholders.

Methods: Since 2014, the point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen (POC-CCA) test has been introduced alongside Kato-Katz (KK), improving mapping accuracy and detecting low-intensity infections.

Bigger is not necessarily better - 2-ring circular frames associated with shorter duration of treatment in the management of complex tibial fractures - a retrospective cohort study.

Frame configuration for the management of complex tibial fractures is highly variable and is dependent upon both fracture pattern and surgeon preference. The optimal number of rings to use when designing a frame remains uncertain. Traditionally larger, multi-ring-per-segment constructs have been assumed to offer optimal stability and therefore favourable conditions for fracture healing but there is little in-vivo evidence for this and the recent concept of reverse dynamisation challenges this approach.

Quantification of micro- and nano-plastics in atmospheric fine particles by pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with chromatographic peak reconstruction.

The effects of micro- and nano-plastics (MNPs) on human health are of global concern because MNPs are ubiquitous, persistent, and potentially toxic, particularly when bound to atmospheric fine particles (PM). Traditional quantitative analysis of MNPs by pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) is often inaccurate because of false positive signals caused by similar polymers and organic compounds. In this study, a reliable analytical strategy combining HNO digestion and chromatographic peak reconstruction was developed to improve the precision of pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of multiple MNPs bound to PM.

Salivary cortisol measures across the clinical stages of psychosis: An individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis.

Background: Studies of salivary cortisol levels in psychosis have yielded inconsistent findings, which may be attributable to heterogeneity in cortisol measurement, illness stage, and approaches to dealing with sampling factors and potential confounders. To address these issues, we performed an individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis comparing individuals at different stages of psychosis to controls using five different salivary cortisol measures and explored potential effect modifiers.

Methods: Salivary cortisol data from five London-based cohorts were used to derive the cortisol awakening response, total daytime cortisol output, basal cortisol, and diurnal slope measures (wake-to-evening and peak-to-evening).

Bridging Classrooms and Communities: The Transformative Impact of Community-Based Dental Education on the Learning Experiences of Undergraduate Students.

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of community-based dental education (CBDE) on the learning experiences of undergraduate dental students and recent dental graduates from two diverse geographical regions.

Methods: The study followed a cross-sectional design, conducted online using Google Forms, with ethical approval from Qatar University. A non-probability purposive sampling method was used to recruit dental students and recent graduates from three institutions in India and one in Qatar.

The biodiversity of ice-free Antarctica database.

Antarctica is one of Earth's most untouched, inhospitable, and poorly known regions. Although knowledge of its biodiversity has increased over recent decades, a diverse, wide-ranging, and spatially explicit compilation of the biodiversity that inhabits Antarctica's permanently ice-free areas is unavailable. This absence hinders both Antarctic biodiversity research and the integration of Antarctica in global biodiversity-related studies.

Selective disappearance based on navigational efficiency in a long-lived seabird.

Whilst efficient movement through space is thought to increase the fitness of long-distance migrants, evidence that selection acts upon such traits remains elusive. Here, using 228 migratory tracks collected from 102 adult breeding common terns (Sterna hirundo) aged 3-22 years, we find evidence that older terns navigate more efficiently than younger terns and that efficient navigation leads to a reduced migration duration and earlier arrival at the breeding and wintering grounds. We additionally find that the age-specificity of navigational efficiency in adult breeding birds cannot be explained by within-individual change with age (i.

Machine learning meta-analysis identifies individual characteristics moderating cognitive intervention efficacy for anxiety and depression symptoms.

Cognitive training is a promising intervention for psychological distress; however, its effectiveness has yielded inconsistent outcomes across studies. This research is a pre-registered individual-level meta-analysis to identify factors contributing to cognitive training efficacy for anxiety and depression symptoms. Machine learning methods, alongside traditional statistical approaches, were employed to analyze 22 datasets with 1544 participants who underwent working memory training, attention bias modification, interpretation bias modification, or inhibitory control training.

Post-processing methods for delay embedding and feature scaling of reservoir computers.

Reservoir computing is a machine learning method that is well-suited for complex time series prediction tasks. Both delay embedding and the projection of input data into a higher-dimensional space play important roles in enabling accurate predictions. We establish simple post-processing methods that train on past node states at uniformly or randomly-delayed timeshifts.

Evaluation of auditory alerting systems for safe electric scooter operations.

It is well understood that a significant shift away from fossil fuel based transportation is necessary to limit the impacts of the climate crisis. Electric micromobility modes, such as electric scooters and electric bikes, have the potential to offer a lower-emission alternative to journeys made with internal combustion engine vehicles, and such modes of transport are becoming increasingly commonplace on our streets. Although offering advantages such as reduced air pollution and greater personal mobility, the widespread approval and uptake of electric micromobility is not without its challenges.

Sanctuary for vulnerable Arctic species at the Borealis Mud Volcano.

Borealis is a recently discovered submerged mud volcano in the Polar North Atlantic, differing from the numerous methane seepages previously identified in the region. Here we show in situ observations from a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), capturing the release of warm (11.5 °C) Neogene sediments and methane-rich fluids from a gryphon at Borealis.

Do final-year medical students in Scotland have the knowledge and confidence to deliver the physical activity guidelines? A cross-sectional online survey to evaluate changes over a decade.

Objectives: This study assessed knowledge of physical activity (PA) guidelines and confidence to deliver PA advice, across current final-year medical students in Scotland. This follows a 2013 survey finding that this cohort lacked this knowledge and confidence; thus, authors recommended improvements to undergraduate medical PA education and re-evaluation of these measures thereafter.

Design: A cross-sectional online survey.

Combined PARP14 inhibition and PD-1 blockade promotes cytotoxic T cell quiescence and modulates macrophage polarization in relapsed melanoma.

Background: Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) signaling blockade by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) effectively restores immune surveillance to treat melanoma. However, chronic interferon-gamma (IFNγ)-induced immune homeostatic responses in melanoma cells contribute to immune evasion and acquired resistance to ICI. Poly ADP ribosyl polymerase 14 (PARP14), an IFNγ-responsive gene product, partially mediates IFNγ-driven resistance.