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Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with significant psychological and social distress worldwide. We investigated fear and depression among adults in Cameroon during different phases of the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods An online survey was conducted in Cameroon from June–December 2020 using a structured questionnaire. Socio-demographic data and information regarding COVID-19 history were obtained. Fear and depressive symptoms were assessed using the Fear of COVID-19 score (FCV-19S) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), respectively. Responses were clustered in weeks to better appreciate their evolution over time. Results Overall, 7381 responses from all ten regions of Cameroon were analysed (median age: 30 years, 73.3% male). The prevalence of depression (PHQ-9 score ≥ 10) was 8.4%, and that of high fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19S scores ≥19) was 57.4%. These rates were similar across genders, age-groups, and region of residence. While mean weekly PHQ-9 scores remained fairly stable throughout the study period (range: 2.53–3.21; p = 0.101), mean FCV-19S scores were highest during the early weeks but decreased significantly thereafter (from 20.31 to 18.34; p

Se considera que las conductas prosiciales son incompatibles con violencia y agresión y contribuyen a la reciprocidad, solidaridad y a la cohesión social. El objetivo de este estudio es aplicar y evaluar el programa Interpersonal Prosocial Cognitivo de Resolución de Problemas, el cual busca promover la conducta prosocial en niños de Rwanda que cursan la escuela primaria. Participaron 118 alumnos divididos en cuatro clases, de los cuales dos formaron el grupo control (n = 59) y dos conformaron el grupo experimental (n = 59). Se administraron pre y post tests. Los resultados muestran que los niños que pariticiparon del programa aumentaron sus onductas prosociales y adquirieron habilidades para la resolución de problemas interpersonales. Los resultados pueden tener implicancias tanto para investigaciones futuras en el campo de la promoción de cohesión social así como en el diseño de políticas.

Abstract Background Surveys conducted in 1991–1992 in the Mbam Valley (Cameroon) revealed that onchocerciasis was highly endemic, with community microfilarial loads (CMFL) > 100 microfilariae/snip in some villages. Also in 1991–1992, a survey of suspected cases of epilepsy (SCE) found 746 SCE using a questionnaire administered to individuals identified by key informants, with prevalences reaching 13.6% in some communities. From 1998, annual community-directed treatment with ivermectin (CDTI) was implemented to control onchocerciasis. In 2017, a door-to-door household survey was conducted in three of the villages visited in 1991–1992, using a standardized 5-item epilepsy screening questionnaire. Results In 2017, a total of 2286 individuals living in 324 households were screened (582 in Bayomen, 553 in Ngongol and 1151 in Nyamongo) and 112 SCE were identified (4.9%). Neurologists examined 92 of these SCE and confirmed the diagnosis of epilepsy for 81 of them (3.5%). Between the surveys in 1991–1992 and 2017, the prevalence of SCE decreased from 13.6% to 2.5% in Bayomen (P = 0.001), from 8.7% to 6.6% in Ngongol (P = 0.205) and from 6.4% to 5.4% in Nyamongo (P = 0.282). The median age of SCE shifted from 20 (IQR: 12–23) to 29 years (IQR: 18–33; P = 0.018) in Bayomen, from 16 (IQR: 12–21) to 26 years (IQR: 21–39; P

Almost 25 years after the extreme cruelty and violence that occurred in Rwanda during the genocide of 1994, the perpetrators and victims live together as neighbors. Psychology is of extraordinary value in explaining both the horror and its overcoming. We cannot explain the processes of interpersonal or national reconciliation without first understanding the dynamics of conflict in general, and of the Rwandan conflict in particular. Before, during and after any violent conflict, emotional, cognitive and behavioral processes take place, affecting those involved and making them capable of the best and the worst. This is the objective of this article: to understand the psychological processes that lead to violent conflict and to analyze the conditions for reconstruction, and personal and social reconciliation, focused on the case of Rwanda, one of the most relevant scenarios for studying violence and the overcoming of it.

Abstract Background A high epilepsy prevalence has been reported in several onchocerciasis-endemic villages along the Mbam and Sanaga river valleys in Cameroon, including Bilomo and Kelleng. We sought to determine the prevalence of epilepsy in these two villages following more than 13 years of community-directed treatment with ivermectin (CDTI). Methods Door-to-door surveys were performed on the entire resident population in the villages in August 2017 and January 2018. Epilepsy was diagnosed using a 2-step approach: administration of a standardized 5-item questionnaire followed by confirmation by a neurologist. Previously published diagnostic criteria for onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy (OAE) were used. Ov16 serology was done for children aged 7–10 years to assess onchocerciasis transmission. Findings were compared with previous data from these two villages. Results A total of 1525 individuals (1321 in Bilomo and 204 in Kelleng) in 233 households were surveyed in both villages. The crude prevalence of epilepsy was 4.6% in Bilomo (2017) and 7.8% in Kelleng (2018), including 12 (15.6% of cases) persons with epilepsy (PWE) with nodding seizures. The age and sex-standardized prevalence in Kelleng decreased from 13.5% in 2004 to 9.3% in 2018 (P

Although rabies represents an important public health threat, it is still a neglected disease in Asia and Africa where it causes tens of thousands of deaths annually despite available human and animal vaccines. In the Central African Republic (CAR), an endemic country for rabies, this disease remains poorly investigated.To evaluate the extent of the threat that rabies poses in the CAR, we analyzed data for 2012 from the National Reference Laboratory for Rabies, where laboratory confirmation was performed by immunofluorescence and PCR for both animal and human suspected cases, and data from the only anti-rabies dispensary of the country and only place where post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is available. Both are located in Bangui, the capital of the CAR. For positive samples, a portion of the N gene was amplified and sequenced to determine the molecular epidemiology of circulating strains.In 2012, 966 exposed persons visited the anti-rabies dispensary and 632 received a post-exposure rabies vaccination. More than 90% of the exposed persons were from Bangui and its suburbs and almost 60% of them were under 15-years of age. No rabies-related human death was confirmed. Of the 82 samples from suspected rabid dogs tested, 69 were confirmed positive. Most of the rabid dogs were owned although unvaccinated. There was a strong spatiotemporal correlation within Bangui and within the country between reported human exposures and detection of rabid dogs (P

Neurofibromin (NF1) is a negative regulator of RAS signaling, frequently mutated in cancer. NF1-mutant melanoma is a highly malignant tumor for which targeted therapies are lacking. Here, we use biochemical and pharmacological assays on patient-derived models and isogenic cell lines to identify potential pharmacologic targets, revealing that NF1-null melanomas are dependent on RAS activation and that MEK inhibition relieves ERK-dependent negative feedback, increasing RAS signaling. MEK inhibition with avutometinib abrogates the adaptive rebound in ERK signaling, but the antitumor effects are limited. However, concurrent inhibition of MEK and SOS1 abrogates ERK activation, induces cell death, and suppresses tumor growth. In contrast to the NF1-deficient setting, concurrent SOS1 and SOS2 depletion is required to completely inhibit RAS signaling in NF1 wild-type cells. In sum, our data provide a mechanistic rationale for enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of MEK inhibitors by exploiting the lower residual SOS activity in NF1-null tumor cells., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests M.H.H., D.G., and F.S. are employees of Boehringer Ingelheim. T.M. is a consultant for Immunos Therapeutics, Daiichi Sankyo Co, TigaTX, Normunity, and Pfizer; is a cofounder of and equity holder in IMVAQ Therapeutics; has received research grants funding from Surface Oncology, Kyn Therapeutics, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Adaptive Biotechnologies, Leap Therapeutics, and Aprea Therapeutics; currently receives research funding from Bristol Myers Squibb, Enterome SA, and ReAlta Life Sciences; and is an inventor on patent applications related to work on oncolytic viral therapy, alpha virus-based vaccine, neoantigen modeling, CD40, GITR, OX40, PD-1, and CTLA-4. J.D.W. is a consultant for Apricity, Ascentage Pharma, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Bicara Therapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Daiichi Sankyo, Dragonfly, Imvaq, Larkspur, Takeda, Tizona, Trishula Therapeutics, Immunocore (on their data safety board), and Scancell; received grant/research support from Bristol Myers Squibb and Enterome; has equity in Apricity, Arsenal IO/CellCarta, Ascentage, Imvaq, Linneaus, Larkspur, Georgiamune, Maverick, Tizona Therapeutics, and XenImmune; and is an inventor on the following patents: Xenogeneic DNA Vaccines, Newcastle Disease Viruses for Cancer Therapy, Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell Assay, Prediction of Responsiveness to Treatment with Immunomodulatory Therapeutics and Method of Monitoring Abscopal Effects During Such Treatment, Anti-PD1 Antibody, Anti-CTLA4 Antibodies, and Anti-GITR Antibodies and Methods of Use Thereof. Z.Y. is a past scientific advisory board (SAB) member of MapKure and currently an employee of Loxo Oncology at Lilly. D.S. reports personal fees from Pfizer, Vividion Therapeutics, BridgeBio, FogPharma, FORE Therapeutics, Scorpion Therapeutics, and Rain Therapeutics outside the submitted work. S.M. reports grants from Boehringer Ingelheim and Daiichi Sankyo outside the submitted work and is a SAB member of Bionseek. N.R. is on the SAB and owns equity in BeiGene, Zai Labs, MapKure, Ribon, and Effector; is also on the SAB of AstraZeneca and Chugai and a past SAB member of Novartis, Millennium-Takeda, Kura, and Araxes; and is a consultant to Revolution Medicines, Tarveda, Array-Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Eli Lilly. He receives research funding from Revolution Medicines, AstraZeneca, Array Pfizer, and Boehringer Ingelheim and owns equity in Kura Oncology and Fortress., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

As of March 2022, the COVID-19 vaccination rate in Chad approximated 1%. There are no published reports of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy or beliefs in Chad. We aimed to study COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy among community members, patients, and health care workers in urban Chad. We recruited a prospective convenience sample of adult patients, community members, and healthcare workers from N'Djamena, Chad between August-October 2021. Participants completed a 15-minute, 25-question survey instrument exploring demographic, social, and clinical variables related to COVID-19 and an adapted WHO SAGE Vaccine Hesitancy Survey. Primary outcomes were vaccine acceptance and vaccine hesitancy. Regression models were fit to assess associations between Vaccine Hesitancy Scale (VHS) scores, ranging from 10 (least hesitant) to 50 (most hesitant) points, and pre-selected variables of interest. An inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative vaccine hesitancy responses. Of 508 participants (32% female; mean age 32 years), 162 were patients, 153 were community members, and 193 were healthcare workers. COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was significantly higher among patients (67%) than community members (44%) or healthcare workers (47%), p < .001. The average VHS score was 29 points (patients = 27.0, community members = 28.9, healthcare workers = 29.4), and more than one-third of participants were classified as highly vaccine hesitant (score >30 points). Knowing someone who died from COVID-19, believing local healthcare workers support vaccination, trusting the government, having a higher socioeconomic status (i.e. having electricity), and reporting medical comorbidities were each associated with less vaccine hesitancy (all p < .05). The vaccine concerns most frequently endorsed were: vaccine side effects (48%), efficacy (38%), safety (34%), concerns about the pharmaceutical industry (27%), and lack of government trust (21%). Four main themes arose from qualitative vaccine hesitancy responses (n = 116): education, trust, clinical concerns, and misinformation and false beliefs. Overall, COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was low, including among health care workers, and reasons for vaccine hesitancy were broad. We detail the most commonly reported concerns of urban Chadians for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine; we also identify subgroups most likely to endorse vaccine hesitancy. These analyses may inform future vaccination outreach campaigns in N'Djamena., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2022 Rice et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)