400 results match your criteria: "University of Kwa-Zulu Natal[Affiliation]"

Background: Although a few studies have assessed occupational exposure and knowledge on post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for HIV among health care workers (HCWs), limited information is available on the factors that influence the use of HIV PEP among HCWs after occupational exposure in Cameroon. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and determinants of occupational exposure to HIV infection and identify factors (knowledge, attitudes, and practices) that influence compliance to the use of HIV PEP among HCWs in the Biyem-Assi, Buea, and Limbe health districts.

Methods: A stratified cross-sectional study was carried out among health care workers from the Biyem-Assi, Buea, and Limbe health districts of Cameroon.

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Chemical Sensor Nanotechnology in Pharmaceutical Drug Research.

Nanomaterials (Basel)

August 2022

National Laser Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P.O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.

The increase in demand for pharmaceutical treatments due to pandemic-related illnesses has created a need for improved quality control in drug manufacturing. Understanding the physical, biological, and chemical properties of APIs is an important area of health-related research. As such, research into enhanced chemical sensing and analysis of pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for drug development, delivery and monitoring has become immensely popular in the nanotechnology space.

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In some instances, unsuppressed HIV has been associated with severe COVID-19 disease, but the mechanisms underpinning this susceptibility are still unclear. Here, we assessed the impact of HIV infection on the quality and epitope specificity of SARS-CoV-2 T cell responses in the first wave and second wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in South Africa. Flow cytometry was used to measure T cell responses following peripheral blood mononuclear cell stimulation with SARS-CoV-2 peptide pools.

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The faunistic knowledge of the Diptera of Morocco recorded from 1787 to 2021 is summarized and updated in this first catalogue of Moroccan Diptera species. A total of 3057 species, classified into 948 genera and 93 families (21 Nematocera and 72 Brachycera), are listed. Taxa (superfamily, family, genus and species) have been updated according to current interpretations, based on reviews in the literature, the expertise of authors and contributors, and recently conducted fieldwork.

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A retrospective identification of risk factors associated with fetal macrosomia.

Afr J Reprod Health

July 2022

HIV Research Group, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Kwa Zulu-Natal, South Africa.

Despite extensive work on macrosomia, it is impossible to predict women at risk. Current prediction strategies which include clinical examination and ultrasound are imprecise. This study aims to determine the risk factors associated with macrosomia.

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Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global public health concern amongst young people. Consequently, prevention efforts in the form of participatory interventions have been implemented, mainly in face-to-face settings. However, in recent years, there has been a growing interest to deliver participatory IPV prevention interventions online, and this has been exacerbated by COVID-19 imposed limitations.

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Objectives: To investigate factors associated with hospital length of stay (LOS) in patients admitted with suspected malaria using a competing risk approach.

Setting: County government referrals and major faith-based hospitals in Kenya in 2018.

Design: Secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey data.

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is commonly used in traditional medicine owing to its many therapeutic properties including but not limited to antioxidant and antitumor potential. This study examined the antioxidant and antiproliferative effects of its crude (C) and fractionated (C3) ethanolic leaf extracts in THP-1 cells. In THP-1 cells, C and C3 cytotoxicity was evaluated (WST-1 viability assay; 24 h; [0.

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What sets AI systems and AI-powered medical robots apart from all other forms of advanced medical technology is their ability to operate at least to some degree autonomously from the human health care practitioner and to use machine-learning to generate new, often unforeseen, analysis and predictions. This poses challenges under the current framework of laws, regulations, and ethical guidelines applicable to health care in South Africa. The article outlines these challenges and sets out guiding principles for a normative framework to regulate the use of AI in health care.

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Genetic Improvement of Wheat for Drought Tolerance: Progress, Challenges and Opportunities.

Plants (Basel)

May 2022

African Centre for Crop Improvement, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg 3209, South Africa.

Wheat production and productivity are challenged by recurrent droughts associated with climate change globally. Drought and heat stress resilient cultivars can alleviate yield loss in marginal production agro-ecologies. The ability of some crop genotypes to thrive and yield in drought conditions is attributable to the inherent genetic variation and environmental adaptation, presenting opportunities to develop drought-tolerant varieties.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focuses on the challenges pregnant women in Nkwen, Cameroon, face regarding malaria prevention methods and treatment, emphasizing the vulnerability of this group.
  • - Conducted with 51 women at a medical health center, the research found that while all participants recognized malaria symptoms, only 20% received preventive treatment during pregnancy and 53% used insecticide-treated bed nets.
  • - The findings suggest that increasing education for pregnant women and their partners on the importance of these prevention methods is crucial to reduce malaria-related health risks.
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Background And Purpose: Considerable overlap exists in the MR imaging features of hypoglycemic injury and hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, with similar predilections for the occipital and parietal lobes. In partial, prolonged hypoxia-ischemia, there is cortical destruction at the interarterial watershed zones, and in concomitant hypoglycemia and hypoxia-ischemia, an exaggerated final common pathway injury occurs. We interrogated secondary white matter tract-based thalamic injury as a tool to separate pure injuries in each group.

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The extent to which Omicron infection, with or without previous vaccination, elicits protection against the previously dominant Delta (B.1.617.

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On-X mitral valve leaflet embolization presenting as acute pulmonary oedema.

Egypt Heart J

May 2022

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of Kwa Zulu Natal, Durban, South Africa.

Background: Structural valve failure in the form of leaflet fracture and embolization is an uncommon complication. Severe valve regurgitation with pulmonary oedema in a patient with a history of a prosthetic cardiac valve requires urgent diagnosis. An echocardiogram is essential in identifying the cause of valve failure.

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In this study, we show how surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) can be used to monitor the molecular behaviour of aspirin and tenofovir as a means of screening medication for quality control purposes. Gold-coated slides combined with gold/dextran nanoaggregates were used to provide signal enhancement of the drugs using SERS. Aspirin (10% /) and tenofovir (20% /) were analysed in the presence of the nanomaterials to determine trends in molecular response to changes in gold/dextran concentrations.

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Article Synopsis
  • Traumatic skull fractures are traditionally categorized into base or vault injuries, with compound elevated skull fractures being a newer, less-researched type.
  • This study aimed to evaluate 18 patients with compound elevated skull fractures regarding their clinical presentations, neuro-radiological findings, management strategies, and complications.
  • The results showed various age demographics, common symptoms like neurological deficits, and identified three neuro-radiological subtypes, with most patients requiring surgical intervention and a majority achieving favorable outcomes.
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Objective: To construct algorithms with a sequential decision analysis pathway for monitoring of the fetal heart rate and managing fetal heart rate bradycardia, late decelerations and tachycardia during labour.

Population: Low-risk pregnant women in labour with singleton cephalic term pregnancies.

Setting: Institutional births in low- and middle-income countries.

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Purpose: Actinium-225-labeled prostate-specific membrane antigen ([Ac]Ac-PSMA-617) is safe and effective in the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). No study has specifically assessed its safety in patients with extensive skeletal metastases of mCRPC. We aimed to investigate the hematologic toxicity and efficacy of [Ac]Ac-PSMA-617 therapy in patients with extensive skeletal metastases of mCRPC.

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Saponins are steroidal or triterpenoid glycoside that is distinguished by the soap-forming nature. Different saponins have been characterized and purified and are gaining attention in cancer chemotherapy. Saponins possess high structural diversity, which is linked to the anticancer activities.

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Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global concern. Interventions designed to prevent IPV are often participatory in nature, implemented in face-to-face settings and seek to create 'safe social spaces'. We however do not fully understand how safe social spaces can be created in online spaces.

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Malnutrition and Dietary Habits Alter the Immune System Which May Consequently Influence SARS-CoV-2 Virulence: A Review.

Int J Mol Sci

February 2022

Discipline of Medical Biochemistry, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Science, College of Health Sciences, Howard College Campus, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa.

COVID-19, resulting from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is a major pandemic that the world is fighting. SARS-CoV-2 primarily causes lung infection by attaching to the ACE2 receptor on the alveolar epithelial cells. However, the ACE2 receptor is also present in intestinal epithelial cells, suggesting a link between nutrition, virulence and clinical outcomes of COVID-19.

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Background: The Government's aspiration to make Kenya a middle-income country and achieve the United Nations' sustainable development goal 3, 'good health and well-being', are threatened by poor quality of mental health services. Environment and lack of a conceptual model of nursing to guide care were some of the reasons that were attributed to poor quality of mental health services. The purpose of the study was to discover and describe an appropriate conceptual model of mental health nursing practice.

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Physiological genomics plays a crucial role in responding to stressful life events, such as violence and traumatic stress. This exposure to traumatic stress can trigger several physiological pathways, which are associated with genetic variability. Exposure to traumatic stress can result in the development of behavioural and psychiatric disorders, such as aggressive behaviour and anxiety disorders.

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