97 research outputs found

    A case report of a giant fallopian tube leiomyoma mimicking a mesenteric tumor.

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    Leiomyomas are benign tumors usually found in the uterus although other organs such as the vagina and the ovaries can be involved. The most common etiology of tubal disorders is infection, but tubal leiomyomas remain a rare possibility. We hereby present a case-report of fallopian tube leiomyoma undiagnosed preoperatively despite the technological progress in radiologic imaging. The diagnosis was only made at laparotomy. In this case report, diagnostic measures and the difficulties encountered are discussed.KEY WORDS: Abdominal mass- Fallopian tube fibroid - Diagnosis

    Setting-up nurse-led pilot clinics for the management of non-communicable diseases at primary health care level in resource-limited settings of Africa

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    Background: This article describes the setting-up process for nurse-led pilot clinics for the management of four chronic diseases: asthma, type 2 diabetes mellitus, epilepsy and hypertension at the primary health care level in urban and rural Cameroon. Methods: The Biyem-Assi urban and the Bafut rural health districts in Cameroon served as settings for this study. International and local guidelines were identified and adapted to the country’s circumstances. Training and follow-up tools were developed and nurses trained by experienced physicians in the management of the four conditions. Basic diagnostic and follow-up materials were provided and relevant essential drugs made available. Results: Forty six nurses attended six training courses. By the second year of activity, three and four clinics were operational in the urban and the rural areas respectively. By then, 925 patients had been registered in the clinics. This represented a 68.5% increase from the first year. While the rural clinics relied mainly on essential drugs for their prescriptions, a prescription pattern combining generic and proprietary drugs was observed in the urban clinics. Conclusion: In the quest for cost-effective health care for NCD in sub-Saharan Africa, rethinking health workforce and service delivery has relevance. Nurse-led clinics, algorithm driven service delivery stands as alternatives to overcome the shortage of trained physicians and other issues relating to access to care

    Cassava mealybug, Phenacoccus manihoti Matile-Ferrero.

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    Eliciting Emotion and Action Increases Social Media Engagement: An Analysis of Influential Orthopaedic Surgeons

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    Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the Instagram practices of current orthopaedic surgeons and the components associated with highest reach and interactions. Methods: The top 25 orthopaedic surgeon Instagram profiles using the hashtag #ortho were ranked by the number of followers. Account information regarding followers, posts, engagement percentage, average likes, average comments, average video view, average video likes, average video comments, and estimated cost per post was recorded using social media marketing tools. An analysis of each Instagram profiles\u27 top 10 posts, based on number of likes, was conducted. A coding framework was developed to categorized posting strategies utilized. Results: Twenty-five Instagram accounts and 250 Instagram posts were included in the analysis. Accounts with increased engagement rating had a significantly greater number of likes and video views. When examining post characteristics that influenced the number of likes a post generated, posts that elicited negative emotions received 52.6% and 70.7% more likes than positive emotions ( Conclusions: The present investigation found that the most effective strategies to generate more interactions on Instagram are those that elicit emotional responses and provoke viewer engagement by asking questions and directing actions. Additionally, it was found that promotional content was not well received by viewers. Clinical Relevance: Orthopaedic surgeons have an opportunity to connect with colleagues, patients, and interested viewers through social media platforms in order to enhance their practice, disseminate educational content, and contribute to the social media presence of orthopaedic surgery

    Mapping suitable great ape habitat in and around the Lobéké National Park, South-East Cameroon

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    Abstract As a result of extensive data collection efforts over the last 20?30 years, there is quite a good understanding of the large-scale geographic distribution and range limits of African great apes. However, as human activities increasingly fragment great ape spatial distribution, a better understanding of what constitutes suitable great ape habitat is needed to inform conservation and resource extraction management. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) inhabit the Lobéké National Park and its surrounding forest management units (FMUs) in South-East Cameroon. Both park and neighboring forestry concessions require reliable evidence on key factors driving great ape distribution for their management plans, yet this information is largely missing and incomplete. This study aimed at mapping great ape habitat suitability in the area and at identifying the most influential predictors among three predictor categories, including landscape predictors (dense forest, swampy forest, distance to water bodies, and topography), human disturbance predictors (hunting, deforestation, distance to roads, and population density), and bioclimatic predictor (annual precipitation). We found that about 63% of highly to moderately suitable chimpanzee habitat occurred within the Lobéké National Park, while only 8.4% of similar habitat conditions occurred within FMUs. For gorillas, highly and moderately suitable habitats occurred within the Lobéké National Park and its surrounding FMUs (82.6% and 65.5%, respectively). Key determinants of suitable chimpanzee habitat were hunting pressure and dense forest, with species occurrence probability optimal at relatively lower hunting rates and at relatively high-dense forest areas. Key determinants of suitable gorilla habitat were hunting pressure, dense forests, swampy forests, and slope, with species occurrence probability optimal at relatively high-dense and swampy forest areas and at areas with mild slopes. Our findings show differential response of the two ape species to forestry activities in the study area, thus aligning with previous studies

    In vitro Anticancer Screening of 24 Locally Used Nigerian Medicinal Plants

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    Background: Plants that are used as traditional medicine represent a relevant pool for selecting plant candidates that may have anticancer properties. In this study, the ethnomedicinal approach was used to select several medicinal plants native to Nigeria, on the basis of their local or traditional uses. The collected plants were then evaluated for cytoxicity. Methods: The antitumor activity of methanolic extracts obtained from 24 of the selected plants, were evaluated in vitro on five human cancer cell lines. Results: Results obtained from the plants screened indicate that 18 plant extracts of folk medicine exhibited promising cytotoxic activity against human carcinoma cell lines. Erythrophleum suaveolens (Guill. & Perr.) Brenan was found to demonstrate potent anti-cancer activity in this study exhibiting IC50 = 0.2-1.3 μ\mug/ml. Conclusions: Based on the significantly potent activity of some plants extracts reported here, further studies aimed at mechanism elucidation and bio-guided isolation of active anticancer compounds is currently underway.Chemistry and Chemical Biolog

    The Macroeconomic Consequences of Renouncing to Universal Access to Antiretroviral Treatment for HIV in Africa: A Micro-Simulation Model

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    AIM: Previous economic literature on the cost-effectiveness of antiretroviral treatment (ART) programs has been mainly focused on the microeconomic consequences of alternative use of resources devoted to the fight against the HIV pandemic. We rather aim at forecasting the consequences of alternative scenarios for the macroeconomic performance of countries. METHODS: We used a micro-simulation model based on individuals aged 15-49 selected from nationally representative surveys (DHS for Cameroon, Tanzania and Swaziland) to compare alternative scenarios : 1-freezing of ART programs to current levels of access, 2- universal access (scaling up to 100% coverage by 2015, with two variants defining ART eligibility according to previous or current WHO guidelines). We introduced an "artificial" ageing process by programming methods. Individuals could evolve through different health states: HIV negative, HIV positive (with different stages of the syndrome). Scenarios of ART procurement determine this dynamics. The macroeconomic impact is obtained using sample weights that take into account the resulting age-structure of the population in each scenario and modeling of the consequences on total growth of the economy. RESULTS: Increased levels of ART coverage result in decreasing HIV incidence and related mortality. Universal access to ART has a positive impact on workers' productivity; the evaluations performed for Swaziland and Cameroon show that universal access would imply net cost-savings at the scale of the society, when the full macroeconomic consequences are introduced in the calculations. In Tanzania, ART access programs imply a net cost for the economy, but 70% of costs are covered by GDP gains at the 2034 horizon, even in the extended coverage option promoted by WHO guidelines initiating ART at levels of 350 cc/mm(3) CD4 cell counts. CONCLUSION: Universal Access ART scaling-up strategies, which are more costly in the short term, remain the best economic choice in the long term. Renouncing or significantly delaying the achievement of this goal, due to "legitimate" short term budgetary constraints would be a misguided choice

    Track E Implementation Science, Health Systems and Economics

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    Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138412/1/jia218443.pd

    Quantitative estimates of glacial refugia for chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ) since the Last Interglacial (120,000 BP)

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    Paleoclimate reconstructions have enhanced our understanding of how past climates have shaped present-day biodiversity. We hypothesize that the geographic extent of Pleistocene forest refugia and suitable habitat fluctuated significantly in time during the late Quaternary for chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Using bioclimatic variables representing monthly temperature and precipitation estimates, past human population density data, and an extensive database of georeferenced presence points, we built a model of changing habitat suitability for chimpanzees at fine spatio-temporal scales dating back to the Last Interglacial (120,000 BP). Our models cover a spatial resolution of 0.0467° (approximately 5.19 km2 grid cells) and a temporal resolution of between 1000 and 4000 years. Using our model, we mapped habitat stability over time using three approaches, comparing our modeled stability estimates to existing knowledge of Afrotropical refugia, as well as contemporary patterns of major keystone tropical food resources used by chimpanzees, figs (Moraceae), and palms (Arecacae). Results show habitat stability congruent with known glacial refugia across Africa, suggesting their extents may have been underestimated for chimpanzees, with potentially up to approximately 60,000 km2 of previously unrecognized glacial refugia. The refugia we highlight coincide with higher species richness for figs and palms. Our results provide spatio-temporally explicit insights into the role of refugia across the chimpanzee range, forming the empirical foundation for developing and testing hypotheses about behavioral, ecological, and genetic diversity with additional data. This methodology can be applied to other species and geographic areas when sufficient data are available
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