Mesoporous Polydopamine Nano-Bowls Demonstrate a High Entrapment Efficiency and pH-Responsive Release of Paclitaxel for Suppressing A549 Lung Cancer Cell Proliferation In Vitro.

The effectiveness of paclitaxel (PTX) in treating non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is restricted by its poor pharmacokinetic profile and side effects. This limitation stems from the lack of a suitable delivery vector to efficiently target cancer cells. Therefore, there is a critical need to develop an efficient carrier for the optimised delivery of PTX in NSCLC therapy.

Diabetic Nephropathy-Associated Impaired Aortic Function Is Not Mediated by Mean Arterial Pressure and Its Determinants.

The study aimed to assess the potential impacts of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and its determinants (cardiac output and systemic vascular resistance) on diabetic nephropathy (DNP)-associated impaired aortic function. This multi-ethnic study included 115 chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients (67 non-dialysis and 48 dialysis). Six aortic function measures were evaluated by SpygmoCor.

Scoping Review of Climate Change Adaptation Interventions for Health: Implications for Policy and Practice.

Climate change is among the greatest threats to health in the 21st century, requiring the urgent scaling-up of adaptation interventions. We aim to summarise adaptation interventions that were funded by the Belmont Forum and the European Union, the largest global funders of climate change and health research. A systematic search was conducted (updated February 2023) to identify articles on adaptation interventions for health within this funding network.

Weighing In: Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonism for Persons With HIV.

Weight gain among persons with HIV PWH) on contemporary antiretroviral therapy (ART) can extend beyond an initial return-to-health phenomenon and lead to overweight/obesity in the first 1 to 2 years, resulting in enhanced cardiometabolic risk. Factors that may contribute to increased weight gain include specific ART regimens (those initiating dolutegravir and tenofovir alafenamide or withdrawing tenofovir disoproxil and efavirenz), women with HIV, and certain virologic factors including lower baseline CD4 count and higher HIV viral load. Weight reduction starting at 5% body weight confers metabolic protection, such as improved hypertension and dysglycemia.

Genomic diversity of the African malaria vector .

s.s. is a formidable human malaria vector across sub-Saharan Africa.

Sex hormone-binding globulin, testosterone and type 2 diabetes risk in middle-aged African women: exploring the impact of HIV and menopause.

Objectives: Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and testosterone are differentially associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk. We investigated whether these associations differ by HIV and menopausal status in Black South African women living with (WLWH) and without HIV (WLWOH).

Design: Cross-sectional observational.

Inflammatory reactivity is unrelated to childhood adversity or provoked modulation of nociception.

Adversity in childhood is robustly associated with persistent pain in adulthood. Neuro-immune interactions are a candidate mechanistic link between childhood adversity and persistent pain, given that both childhood adversity and persistent pain are associated with neural and immune upregulation in adulthood. As such, we aimed to clarify whether immune reactivity is associated with provoked differences in nociceptive processing in humans.

Incisor cross-sectional area at the cementoenamel junction correlates with an increased reliance on frugivory in anthropoid primates.

Diet is one of a limited set of key ecological parameters defining primate species. A detailed understanding of dental functional correlates with primate diet is a key component for accurate dietary inference in fossil primates. Although considerable effort has been devoted to understanding post-canine dental function, incisor function remains poorly understood.

Aboveground biomass estimation in a grassland ecosystem using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and machine learning algorithms.

The grassland ecosystem forms a critical part of the natural ecosystem, covering up to 15-26% of the Earth's land surface. Grassland significantly impacts the carbon cycle and climate regulation by storing carbon dioxide. The organic matter found in grassland biomass, which acts as a carbon source, greatly expands the carbon stock in terrestrial ecosystems.

'I'm not ok, we are not ok': an exploration into the embodied precarity experienced by disabled people and their family members living in rural South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research suggests that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on disabled people was magnified compared with the impact on non-disabled people; however, little is known about the experiences of disabled people living in rural areas, particularly those in the Global South. Disabled people living in rural areas experience significant challenges related to poverty, food insecurity and access to information and healthcare. Data were collected in the Nkomazi East Municipality in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Turning the band alignment of carbon dots for visible-light-driven enzymatic asymmetric reduction of aromatic ketone.

Keto reductases are crucial NAD(P)H-dependent enzymes used for the enantioselective synthesis of alcohols from prochiral ketones. Typically, the NADPH cofactor is regenerated through a second enzyme and/or substrate. However, photocatalytic cofactor regeneration using water as a sacrificial electron and hydrogen donor presents a promising alternative, albeit a challenging one.

Biome conservatism prevailed in repeated long-distance colonization of Madagascar's mountains by Helichrysum (Compositae, Gnaphalieae).

Colonization and diversification processes are responsible for the distinctiveness of island biotas, with Madagascar standing out as abiodiversity hotspot exceptionally rich in species and endemism. Regardless of its significance, the evolutionary history and diversification drivers of Madagascar's flora remain understudied. Here we focus on Helichrysum (Compositae, Gnaphalieae) to investigate the evolutionary and biogeographic origins of the Malagasy flora.

Effect of case management on viral load in adult clients enrolled due to non-suppression in Capricorn District, South Africa: A case control study.

Background: Case management is a structured, client centered approach that incorporates various strategies such as employing lay counsellors to provide psychosocial and adherence support to strengthen antiretroviral (ART) adherence, improve retention in care and viral load (VL) suppression. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of case management on VL in clients enrolled due to non-suppression (> = 50 copies/ml) in Capricorn District, Limpopo Province.

Methods: We conducted a case control study using two datasets (1) cases were selected from case management data collected from June 2021 to November 2022 at 35 facilities and captured on the REDCap system.

Change management for services redesign in healthcare: a conceptual framework.

Introduction: The introduction of process innovations in healthcare organizations faces challenges in knowledge sharing and incorporating best practices due to a strong professional autonomy, leading to resistance to change. The healthcare paradigm is shifting towards value-based organizations with a patient-centered approach, requiring multidisciplinary care. Change management is crucial, but current approaches are often limited.

AIDS-related mycoses: advances, challenges, and future directions.

Fungal infections are a major contributor to mortality for people with HIV/AIDS. Recently, researchers, clinicians, industry experts, and policymakers convened for the triennial AIDS-Related Mycoses Meeting to address critical gaps in the management of AIDS-related mycoses. Delegates highlighted several scientifically driven milestones that have significantly reduced fungal-related deaths, and the need to address outstanding challenges in diagnosis, treatment, and research.

Paternal Zinc Deficiency and Its Transgenerational Effects on Zinc Transporters in Drosophila.

The nutritional status of fathers plays a significant role in influencing the growth, metabolism, and susceptibility to diseases in their offspring. Paternal zinc deficiency can lead to developmental programming effects on the offspring's zinc homeostasis. This study investigated the effects of paternal zinc deficiency on the zinc homeostasis of offspring in a Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) model.

N-acetylcysteine modulates markers of oxidation, inflammation and infection in tuberculosis.

Background: Half the global tuberculosis health burden is due to post-tuberculosis lung disease. Host-directed therapies have been proposed to reduce this burden. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) provides the conditionally essential amino acid cysteine required for synthesis of glutathione, an antioxidant thiol.

Multilevel modelling of the determinants of under-five deaths in South Africa: Evidence from the 2016 Demographic Health Survey.

Although South Africa is among the countries with lower under-five mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa, the country has failed to meet the national targets set to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The study aimed to examine multilevel determinants of deaths of children under five in South Africa. Secondary data from the 2016 South Africa Demographic Health Survey was used to conduct bivariate and multilevel logistic regression analyses.

Association of female genital schistosomiasis and human papillomavirus and cervical pre-cancer: a systematic review.

Background: S. haematobium is a recognized carcinogen and is associated with squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder. Its association with high-risk(HR) human papillomavirus (HPV) persistence, cervical pre-cancer and cervical cancer incidence has not been fully explored.

Prevalence of food and housing insecurity among direct support professionals in New York.

Background: Low earnings are associated with household insecurity. Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) provide support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, typically for wages close to state minimums, and may experience insecurity.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of food and housing insecurity among DSPs.

Taxonomic revision of the SK 15 mandible based on bone and tooth structural organization.

The hominin mandible SK 15 was discovered in April 1949 in Swartkrans Member 2, dated to ∼1.4 Ma. Albeit distorted on the right side, the left and right corpus of SK 15 are relatively low and thick, even compared to most Early to Middle Pleistocene Homo specimens.

Disentangling Sources of Momentum Fluctuations in Xe+Xe and Pb+Pb Collisions with the ATLAS Detector.

High-energy nuclear collisions create a quark-gluon plasma, whose initial condition and subsequent expansion vary from event to event, impacting the distribution of the eventwise average transverse momentum [P([p_{T}])]. Disentangling the contributions from fluctuations in the nuclear overlap size (geometrical component) and other sources at a fixed size (intrinsic component) remains a challenge. This problem is addressed by measuring the mean, variance, and skewness of P([p_{T}]) in ^{208}Pb+^{208}Pb and ^{129}Xe+^{129}Xe collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.

Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia Treatment: New Developments.

Purpose Of Review: Homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HoFH) is characterized by marked elevation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) and premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. This is a review of novel pharmacological therapies to lower LDLC in patients with HoFH.

Recent Findings: Novel therapies can be broadly divided by whether their efficacy is dependent or independent of residual low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) function.

The Incidence and Aetiology of Maxillofacial Trauma and Concomitant Traumatic Brain Injury in a Johannesburg Tertiary Hospital.

Objective: To investigate the incidence and etiology of maxillofacial trauma (MFT) and its association with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Background: Anecdotal evidence suggests that there is an association between MFT and TBI and that higher incidences of TBI are associated with frontal bone and mid-facial fractures. Despite the large volume of maxillofacial facial fractures treated in the authors' unit, no study has been undertaken to establish the relationship between TBI and maxillofacial fractures.

The incidence of snakebite in South Africa and the challenges associated with lack of reporting.

Background: Snakebite is a public health challenge that has a substantial impact on humans and snakes. Annually, millions of people are affected by snakebite globally but there is a paucity of detailed data on snakebite incidences. The aim of this study was to assess the patterns of snakebite incidences in South Africa.