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Abstract Background Tuberculosis (TB) preventive treatment (TPT) is a long-standing recommendation for children exposed to TB but remains poorly implemented. Home-based contact management may increase access and coverage of TPT among children exposed to TB in their households. Methods Sixty in-depth interviews were conducted with key informants including program managers, TB providers (known as TB focal persons), health extension workers and caregivers whose children had recently engaged with TB prevention services in Oromia, Ethiopia in 2021 to understand the barriers and facilitators to providing home-based TB prevention services for children aged

Abstract Marek’s disease virus (MDV) integrates its genome into the telomeres of host chromosomes and causes fatal lymphomas in chickens. This integration is facilitated by telomeric repeat sequences (TMRs) at the ends of the viral genome, and is crucial for MDV-induced lymphomagenesis. The SB-1 vaccine virus is commonly used in commercial bivalent vaccines against MDV and also contains TMRs at its ends. Here, we demonstrate that SB-1 efficiently integrates its genome into the chromosomes of latently infected T cells. Deletion of the TMRs from the SB-1 genome did not affect virus replication, but severely impaired virus integration and genome maintenance in latently infected T cells and in chickens. Strikingly, the reduced integration and maintenance of latent SB-1 significantly impaired vaccine protection. Taken together, our data revealed that the TMRs facilitate SB-1 integration and that integration and/or maintenance of the latent viral genome is critical for vaccine protection.

Abstract A 7‐month‐old male French bulldog was referred for abnormal mentation and gait. Physical examination revealed a dome shaped calvarium and persistent bregmatic fontanelle. Neurological examination revealed proprioceptive ataxia, pelvic limb paraparesis and strabismus with moderate ventriculomegaly, thinning of the cerebral parenchyma, and widened cerebral sulci on magnetic resonance imaging. Masses were identified in the region of the thyroid, which appeared heterogeneous and hyperintense in T1‐weighted and T2‐weighted compared with the adjacent muscle signal masses were identified. Radiological diagnosis was hydrocephalus “ex vacuo” and goiter. Blood test revealed abnormally low total thyroxine (TT4), free thyroxine (FT4), and normal thyrotropin concentration. A diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism was confirmed by positive genetic test for thyroid peroxidase mutation. Thyroxine supplementation treatment rapidly improved clinical signs.

Background: The South African government is faced with the challenge of expediting the provision of basic services while at the same time complying with public sector procurement regulations. The adherence to regulations results in delays in the provision of infrastructure for public schools. Aim: The article seeks to assess the impact of public procurement processes on service delivery with regard to the provision of infrastructure to public schools. Setting: The article focusses on secondary schools in Queensburgh, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Methods: The article employed a qualitative research method and primary data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with eight Public Works officials and eight contractors that conduct business with the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works (DPW). Purposive sampling had been utilised to identify participants. Results: The article revealed that procurement processes profoundly impact the speed and quality of infrastructural delivery, and in many cases negatively, with delays being experienced. Conclusion: The study showed that the procurement processes affect the delivery of infrastructure in public schools. Contribution: This can assist the South African government in designing procurement in a manner that will expedite service delivery. This is not only going to assist in the provision of schools’ infrastructure in Queensburgh area but should also become a blueprint to eliminate backlogs and delays in service delivery.

Background: Hospitalized neonates are vulnerable to infection and have high rates of antibiotic utilization. Methods: Fourteen South African neonatal units (seven public, seven private sector) assembled multidisciplinary teams involving neonatologists, microbiologists, pharmacists, and nurses to implement prospective audit and feedback neonatal antimicrobial stewardship (NeoAMS) interventions. The teams attended seven online training sessions. Pharmacists conducted weekday antibiotic prescription reviews in the neonatal intensive care unit and/or neonatal wards providing feedback to the clinical teams. Anonymized demographic and NeoAMS interventions data were aggregated for descriptive purposes and statistical analysis. Findings: During the 20-week NeoAMS intervention in 2022, 565 neonates were enrolled. Pharmacists evaluated seven hundred antibiotic prescription episodes; rule-out sepsis (180; 26%) and culture-negative sepsis (138; 20%) were the most frequent indications for antibiotic prescription. For infection episodes with an identified pathogen, only 51% (116/229) of empiric treatments provided adequate antimicrobial coverage. Pharmacists recommended 437 NeoAMS interventions (0·6 per antibiotic prescription episode), with antibiotic discontinuation (42%), therapeutic drug monitoring (17%), and dosing (15%) recommendations most frequent. Neonatal clinicians’ acceptance rates for AMS recommendations were high (338; 77%). Mean antibiotic length of therapy decreased by 24% from 9·1 to 6·9 days (0·1 day decrease per intervention week; P = 0·001), with the greatest decline in length of therapy for culture-negative sepsis (8·2 days (95% CI 5·7-11·7) to 5·9 days (95% CI 4·6-7·5); P = 0·032). Interpretation: This neonatal AMS programme was successfully implemented in heterogenous and resource-limited settings. Pharmacist-recommended AMS interventions had high rates of clinician acceptance. The NeoAMS intervention significantly reduced neonatal antibiotic use, particularly for culture-negative sepsis. Funding: A grant from Merck provided partial support.

This contribution is structured in the genre of an academic letter to a deceased colleague, in this case Prof. Johan Adam Heyns (1928–1994). He was appointed for a short period from 1966 to 1970 as a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Theology at Stellenbosch University. This contribution offers a reappraisal of this period in the academic career of Prof. Heyns. His main focus at the time, in line with his teaching duties, was on apologetics and, to some extent, also ethics. The author engages with Prof. Heyns’s views at the time and offers a sixfold mirror to position this phase of his career, namely in terms of the tensions between orthodoxy and modernity, between the philosophical influence of Henk Stoker and the theological influence of Herman Bavinck, and between the implementation of apartheid and the struggle against that. This mirror is held up in order to reflect on the early, middle and later stages of any academic career including that of the author, to contrast the radiance and risk of youthful academic rigour and the wisdom but also the rigidity that may come with mature age. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The research done, is not of an interdisciplinary nature. This article contributes to a growing corpus of literature assessing the legacy of Prof. Johan Adam Heyns.

Contributed by scholars from diverse traditions and perspectives around the world, this article evidences both unifying and diversifying impulses in Christian ethics and moral thinking. Christian ethics is understood as both lived experience and academic study reflecting upon practice, deploying moral norms, engaging present-day issues, and more. Major topics include climate change, the body, peacemaking, and more. Consideration is also paid to the powerful the role of the Bible in the everyday lives and decision-making of Christian people. Persistent emphases include God’s bias to the poor and how God’s gift of the earth to all in common requires human beings to ensure that those things necessary for life are available to all, including future generations. Christian ethics is shown to be distinctive because it follows from belief in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, and capable of argumentation without direct reference to revelation. Together, and in a conscious effort to reflect the polyphony of Pentecost (Acts 2:4–6), the contributors find Christian ethics to be an academic discipline of both sorrow and hope.

Experimental structural data for bis(terpyridine)iron(II) and a series of related iron(II) complexes, featuring either substituted terpyridine or tris-azinyl analogues of terpyridine, are presented and analyzed in terms of the Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) from the average experimental data for each specific complex. The experimental structural data are then juxtaposed with density functional theory (DFT) calculated data obtained using various combinations of DFT functionals and basis sets, with and without the inclusion of Grimme D3 empirical dispersion correction. These diverse computational approaches yield optimized geometries that are subsequently compared against the available experimental structural data to assess their accuracy. The aim is to identify a reliable DFT method for determining the geometries of bis(terpyridine)iron(II) and its related complexes.

The present research work reports the preparation of Hyphaene thebaica derived-biochar (HTBC) and its applicability as eco-friendly and low-cost adsorbent for the removal of methyl orange (MO) dye. The main physicochemical characteristics of HTBC including its morphology, crystallinity and chemical function groups were determined through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed that HTBC adsorbent was found to be constituted by heterogeneous surface with mesoporous having a surface area of 33.38 m2/g and pore diameter of 23.53 nm, and carboxylic and amine functional groups. Adsorption experiments were conducted using batch mode, by varying key adsorption parameters such as contact time, solution pH, adsorbent dosage and concentration. Adsorption isotherm modelling revealed that the Langmuir model (higher R2 and lower χ2) provided a better fit for MO adsorption onto HTBC, while the adsorption kinetics followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Under optimized conditions (pH 2, HTBC dose of 0.03 g, initial dye concentration of 100 mg/L, 313 K, 270 rpm), the maximum Langmuir monolayer adsorption capacity for MO adsorption onto HTBC was found to be 264.922 mg/g. According the thermodynamic parameters, it can be deduced that MO adsorption on HTBC was exothermic and spontaneous. Adsorption mechanism can be attributed to various interactions, including electrostatic attraction, H-bonding, and π-π interaction. In light of these findings, biochar from Hyphaene thebaica shells can be considered a cost-effective and biodegradable adsorbent with significant potential for the treatment of water contaminated with anionic dyes.

Abstract Recent biological surveys of ancient inselbergs in southern Malawi and northern Mozambique have led to the discovery and description of many species new to science, and overlapping centres of endemism across multiple taxa. Combining these endemic taxa with data on geology and climate, we propose the ‘South East Africa Montane Archipelago’ (SEAMA) as a distinct ecoregion of global biological importance. The ecoregion encompasses 30 granitic inselbergs reaching > 1000 m above sea level, hosting the largest (Mt Mabu) and smallest (Mt Lico) mid-elevation rainforests in southern Africa, as well as biologically unique montane grasslands. Endemic taxa include 127 plants, 45 vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and 45 invertebrate species (butterflies, freshwater crabs), and two endemic genera of plants and reptiles. Existing dated phylogenies of endemic animal lineages suggests this endemism arose from divergence events coinciding with repeated isolation of these mountains from the pan-African forests, together with the mountains’ great age and relative climatic stability. Since 2000, the SEAMA has lost 18% of its primary humid forest cover (up to 43% in some sites)—one of the highest deforestation rates in Africa. Urgently rectifying this situation, while addressing the resource needs of local communities, is a global priority for biodiversity conservation.

Abstract The aim of the study was to investigate whether the content of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) messages predicts communication outcomes in South African nonprofit organisations (NPOs). The study found a positive association between CSR message content and CSR communication outcomes. Additionally, CSR message content in nonprofit organisations is positively linked to their CSR communication outcomes. Furthermore, support for community-related activities positively impacts CSR communication outcomes, thereby explaining the correlation between CSR message content and communication effectiveness. The study lays the groundwork for non-profit organisations seeking optimisation of their CSR messaging to achieve a wider socio-economic impact on the public at large. These results underscore the importance for nonprofit organisations to strategically develop CSR messages that highlight their support for community-related activities. By emphasising such content in their communication efforts, organisations can enhance their CSR communication outcomes, potentially fostering stronger relationships with stakeholders and garnering increased support for their initiatives.

Abstract Background The need for rehabilitation in low-to-middle income countries (LMICs) is rapidly increasing as more people are living longer with chronic diseases. Primary health care (PHC) is ideally placed to provide the spectrum of care required to meet most of the complex and evolving population's health needs locally. This study aimed to describe the patient journeys of adults attending primary care in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa to understand the factors that affected their access to primary care rehabilitation services (or the lack thereof) and obtain suggestions on how rehabilitation may be enhanced at primary care. Methods A maximum variation sampling approach was used to purposefully select persons with varied chronic health conditions and demographic characteristics to gain diverse perspectives regarding their rehabilitation needs and ways in which the current rehabilitation services at primary care may be enhanced. Data were collected via face-to-face semi-structured interviews between March and June 2022 which were electronically recorded. Inductive thematic analysis of transcribed data was done and coded in Atlas.ti.22®. Results Twenty-five adult patients participated in the study. The patients had different experiences at their local PHC facilities that affected their access to rehabilitation at primary care. The study found that most patients were not able to access rehabilitation at primary care. There were several personal and contextual factors that resulted in the patients having a low perceived need to receive rehabilitation that potentially lowered patients' demand for and utilization of rehabilitation at primary care. Patients suggested increasing rehabilitation workforce at primary care, improving availability of assistive devices, increasing their knowledge regarding rehabilitation, and facilitating socio-economic integration into their communities. Conclusions Patients attending primary care are not guaranteed access to rehabilitation by virtue of having entered the PHC system. It is important to consider the patient perspectives regarding their health needs and suggestions for enhancing care.

Thyroid gland vascular proliferations pose a challenge to pathologists, radiologists and surgeons. This is illustrated in the case of a 36-year-old woman who underwent a diagnostic thyroid lobectomy for a suspected follicular neoplasm according to cytology. Histological diagnosis confirmed a follicular adenoma as well as a cavernous haemangioma or venous malformation. Contribution: Thyroid vascular lesions are rare. Evolving nomenclature and application of the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies classification are discussed. Pertinent radiological clues are highlighted to pre-empt the diagnosis and avoid potential surgical complications.

The Kruger National Park is the largest protected area in South Africa and one of the most extensively surveyed in sub-Saharan Africa. Scientific studies, passive sampling from rangers and citizen science records have resulted in comprehensive faunal species lists spanning the entire park. Albeit, numerous frog records from different sources exist, they reveal contrasting species assemblages for the northern reaches of the park. This inconsistency leads to problems in conducting ecological work and implementing conservation legislation, as the baseline data are not congruent across sources. This is problematic because the northern Kruger National Park is known as the Ramsar-declared Makuleke Wetland System. Although this system receives rigorous conservation efforts, there is a lack of a comprehensive and up-to-date list of frog species. In this study, we aimed to develop an updated regional baseline using a combination of published literature, citizen science and museum records, supplemented with active field surveys. Field surveys of the study region resulted in the identification of 18 species from 10 families of frogs. When combined with existing records, the Makuleke Contractual Park is expected to play host to at least 30 frog species. In addition to collating existing data into a single source, the field component of this study also revealed the first record of Tomopterna natalensis for the area during active surveys, reconfirmed the presence of several frogs, several of which have not been recorded in the region in over 50 years and provided the first confirmed national record of Afrixalus crotalus using phylogenetic reconstruction. Conservation implications: Comprehensive species lists are fundamental for robust management protocols and ecological research. By collating data from multiple sources, this article presents an improved and updated frog list for the region, which will aid conservation, management and any long-term wetland ecosystem monitoring efforts in the region.

Abstract In 2013, the World Health Organisation (WHO) updated the recommendations for micronutrient deficiency correction in hospitalised under‐5 children with complicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM). This study aimed to describe the micronutrient deficiency correction practices in relation to WHO 2013 recommendations. Data from medical records of under‐5 children admitted for SAM management at two hospitals in South Africa and three tertiary hospitals in Ghana were extracted. Micronutrient correction practices were compared to the WHO 2013 recommendations by considering the dosage, timing of micronutrient supplementation (vitamin A, iron and folic acid) and therapeutic feeds administered. In total, 723 medical records were included. Nearly half (48.3%) of the children received at least one of the studied micronutrients as a supplement. Vitamin A was supplemented in 27.4% of the children, while iron and folic acid were supplemented in 9.5% and 34.9%, respectively. Among the children who received vitamin A, 60.1% received the first dose on Day 1 of admission. Also, 46.4% of the iron‐supplemented children received iron within the first week of admission. Vitamin A, iron and folic acid were administered within the dose range of 100,000–180,000 IU, 3.1–7.7 mg per kg per day, and 3–5 mg per day, respectively. Additionally, 71.7% of the children reportedly received therapeutic feeds that met WHO recommendations. The micronutrient deficiency correction practices regarding dose and timing differed from the 2013 WHO guidelines. Qualitative studies investigating the reasons for the disparities are recommended.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are a type of solar cell that has an ABX3 structure and have found applications in photoluminescence, sensors and actuators, ferroelectric and piezoelectric devices, semiconductors, and supercapacitors. Despite being cheaper and easier to fabricate than the silicon-based solar cells, their use has been hampered by the accompanying surface defects leading to thermal and moisture instability and reduced photovoltaic performances. Bidentate ligands have been reported to improve the photovoltaic properties of perovskites by increasing the short-circuit current density (Jsc), the open-circuit voltage (Voc), the fill factor (FF), the power conversion efficiency (PCE), and the hysteresis. Passivation of some PSCs has led to certified efficiencies of 26.4% and 33.7% in a single and heterojunction materials, respectively. In addition to the improved photovoltaic performances, bidentate ligand-derived perovskites have been reported to improve operational stability wherein the perovskite retained above 99% of its earliest power conversion efficiency even after 5000 h of constant heating at 80 °C, humidity of 60%, or illumination of 3.0 W. Beside passivation using bidentate ligands, the use of impurities for doping and interface optimization has also been linked to improved perovskite performance. However, with doping, there is an introduction of more uncoordinated metal ions at the perovskite surface during surface optimization. The nicotinimidamide, N,N-diethyldithiocarbamate and the isobutylhydrazine were the most outstanding bidentate ligands used for the passivation of perovskite, showing power conversion efficiency of 25.30, 24.52, and 24.25% respectively. We also observed that the replacement of MA in MAPbI3 (methylammonium lead iodide) perovskite reported by Mas-Montoya with FA, giving FAPbI3 (formamidinium lead iodide) perovskite reported by Liu's, group, led to improvement in the efficiency from 16.20 to 24.52% using N,N-diethyldithiocarbamate for passivation. This review x-rayed the role of bidentate ligands in the surface passivation of perovskite solar cells leading to improved stability and photovoltaic performances.

No abstract available.

Abstract First‐time‐in‐human (FTIH) trials are designed to generate information on the safety, tolerability, as well as the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics profile of new drugs. To ensure the safety of participants, these trials need to be conducted at specifically equipped phase I clinical trial units (CTUs). In accordance with the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) Guideline for Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and the European Union (EU) regulatory guidelines, one of the aims of the European Regime Accelerator for Tuberculosis (ERA4TB) project is to collaboratively create a feasibility tool, through a partnership between public and private entities, for the validation of CTUs selected to conduct FTIH trials. A feasibility form, encompassing nine sections, was created to gather information on the unit in relation to key attributes of FTIH trials. Collaboratively, industry and academic partners defined the minimal criteria to ensure the adherence of CTUs to the principles of ICH GCP and regulations outlined by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the execution of FTIH trials. Subsequently, all CTUs available for the project were assessed for FTIH trial eligibility. The introduction of the certification procedure through the feasibility tool within ERA4TB resulted in the accreditation of the five academic CTUs, which are now prepared to carry out FTIH trials as part of the Consortium. The developed feasibility tool aims to establish open and widely used minimum requirements for the validation of academic CTUs as FTIH units, marking it as the inaugural tool for CTU validation resulting from the collaboration between industry and academia within the ERA4TB project. The established partnership has enabled an innovative and novel way of working.

BackgroundWe evaluated Nix-TB trial data (NCT02333799, N = 109) to provide dosing recommendations to potentially minimize linezolid toxicity in patients with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis. .MethodsA pharmacokinetic model and toxicodynamic models for peripheral neuropathy, hemoglobin, and platelets were developed. Simulations compared safety outcomes for daily linezolid of 1200 and 600 mg, with and without dose adjustments for toxicity. Severe neuropathy was based on symptom scores from the Brief Peripheral Neuropathy Screen. Severe anemia and thrombocytopenia were defined as ≥ grade 3 adverse events according to the NIAID Division of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Adult Toxicity table.ResultsPredicted concentration-time profiles were a major predictor in all toxicodynamic models. Simulations showed higher percentages of patients with severe neuropathy (median, 19%; 90% confidence interval [CI], 17%-22% vs 5%, 4%-7%) and severe anemia (15%, 12%-17% vs 1%, 0%-2%) between 1200 and 600 mg daily linezolid. No differences in severe thrombocytopenia were observed (median, 10% decrease in hemoglobin level after 4 weeks of treatment would have maximum sensitivity (82%) and specificity (84%) for predicting severe anemia. Reducing the dose from 1200 to 600 mg triggered by this marker may prevent 60% (90% CI, 45%-72%) of severe anemia.ConclusionsSimple neuropathy symptom and hemoglobin monitoring may guide linezolid dosing to avoid toxicities, but prospective testing is needed to confirm the benefit-to-risk ratio.