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Geospatial data reporting from surveillance and immunization efforts is a key aspect of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Polio Eradication Initiative in Africa. These activities are coordinated through the WHO Regional Office for Africa Geographic Information Systems Centre. To ensure the accuracy of field-collected data, the WHO Regional Office for Africa Geographic Information Systems Centre has developed mobile phone apps such as electronic surveillance (eSURV) and integrated supportive supervision (ISS) geospatial data collection programs. While eSURV and ISS have played a vital role in efforts to eradicate polio and control other communicable diseases in Africa, disease surveillance efforts have been hampered by incomplete and inaccurate listings of health care sites throughout the continent. To address this shortcoming, data compiled from eSURV and ISS are being used to develop, update, and validate a Health Facility master list for the WHO African region that contains comprehensive listings of the names, locations, and types of health facilities in each member state. The WHO and Ministry of Health field officers are responsible for documenting and transmitting the relevant geospatial location information regarding health facilities and traditional medicine sites using the eSURV and ISS form; this information is then used to update the Health Facility master list and is also made available to national ministries of health to update their respective health facility lists. This consolidation of health facility information into a single registry is expected to improve disease surveillance and facilitate epidemiologic research for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, as well as aid public health efforts directed at other diseases across the African continent. This review examines active surveillance using eSURV at the district, country, and regional levels, highlighting its role in supporting polio surveillance and immunization efforts, as well as its potential to serve as a fundamental basis for broader public health initiatives and research throughout Africa.

Fixatives and fixation protocol have a profound effect on both the morphology and epitope sensitivity of ovarian tissue, which hampers accurate ovarian tissue evaluation. We aimed to establish the most suitable fixation protocol for feline (Felis catus) ovarian tissue. Fragments (1.5 mm diameter) were punched from 1 mm-thick feline ovarian tissue, divided into three groups then fixed with three different fixatives (Bouin, neutral buffered formalin [NBF] and form acetic acid [new compound fixative formulation for ovarian tissue composed of 5% acetic acid in NBF]) for five fixation periods. Subsequently, fragments were processed and evaluated for the morphology and intensity of immunohistochemical signals against three antigens (Ki-67, MCM-7 and activated caspase-3). Proportions of grade 1 or morphologically intact follicles were significantly lower in NBF when compared with Bouin and form acetic acid fixatives. However, Bouin fixative had the lowest mean DAB intensity (p < 0.05) in all three antigen targets, while NBF had the highest (p < 0.05) in Ki-67 and caspase-3, but in MCM-7, it was no different from form acetic acid. In conclusion, form acetic acid maintained ovarian tissue architecture with excellent follicular morphology in the same manner as Bouin fixative, and it also maintained reasonable DAB signals similar to NBF, thus providing a better alternative for feline ovarian tissue studies.

Background: Conflicts and disasters often result in large-scale population displacement due to destruction of properties, means of livelihood and the environment. Internal displacement has a significant effect on the mental health of affected populations. Depression and Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) increase from 10% in the general population to 15%-20% in the crisis-affected population. Aim: To determine the Prevalence depression and PTSD symptomatology and factors that predispose to symptomatic depression and PTSD. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of 450 internally displaced persons (IDPs) was conducted, using a multistage sampling technique. The Hopkins symptom checklist was used to screen participants for symptoms of depression, and the Harvard trauma questionnaire was used to diagnose PTSD. Result: The mean age of the IDPs was 35± 15years.With 55.1% being females. About 94.2% met the criteria for symptoms of PTSD while 98.4% met the criteria for symptomatic depression. Some factors that predispose to both depression and PTSD were female gender and having symptoms of depression while having non-overcrowded accommodation has a protective effect. However only having symptoms of depression remained statistically significant. Conclusion: The study revealed that, PTSD and depression symptomatology were highly prevalent among the internally displaced persons. It is recommended that, Yobe State Government through Emergency Management Agency should develop psychosocial intervention program aimed to reach out to those IDPs for rehabilitation to avoid complications such as suicidal attempts.

The output processer of interval type-2 fuzzy logic systems (IT2FLSs) is a complex operator which performs type-reduction plus defuzzification (TR+D) tasks. In this paper, a complexity-reduced yet high-performance TR+D for IT2FLSs based on Maclaurin series approximation is utilized within a feedback-error-learning (FEL) control structure for controlling linear move stages. IT2FLSs are widely used for control purposes, as they provide extra degrees of freedom to increase control accuracies. FEL benefits from a classical controller, which is responsible for providing overall system stability, as well as a guideline for the training mechanism for IT2FLSs. The Kalman filter approach is utilized to tune IT2FLS parameters in this FEL structure. The proposed control method is applied to a linear stage in real time. Using an identification process, a model of the real-time linear stage is developed. Simulation results indicate that the proposed FEL approach using the Kalman filter as an estimator is an effective approach that outperforms the gradient descent-based FEL method and the proportional derivative (PD) classical controller. Motivated by the performance of the proposed Kalman filter-based FEL approach, it is used to control a linear move stage in real time. The position feedback of the move stage is provided by a precision laser interferometer capable of performing measurements with an accuracy of less than 1   μ m . Using this measurement system in a feedback loop with the proposed control algorithm, the overall steady state of the system is less than 20   μ m . The results illustrate the high-precision control capability of the proposed controller in real-time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communicable diseases are illnesses caused by pathogenic biological agents, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, and protozoa. Such diseases spread among people through contact with contaminated surfaces, bodily fluids, or blood products, or through the air, insect bites, or consuming contaminated food and beverages. Although some communicable diseases can be treated or prevented by taking medication and vaccines, there has been an increase in awareness of adopting a healthy diet to aid in the prevention and reversal of these diseases. One popular diet is a plant-based diet. Plant-based diets generally consist of vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and fruits, without any animal-source foods or artificial ingredients. Over the years, this diet has continuously increased in popularity. Reasons for following a plant-based diet are varied but include health benefits, such as improving immunity, and reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. Scientific evidence even shows that just an increased vegetable intake can decrease the occurrence of chronic diseases caused by viruses, such as hepatitis viruses, and reduce the risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019. Therefore, this mini review discusses the effectiveness of adopting a plant-based diet in ameliorating diseases caused by selected viruses and its limitations.

Simple Summary: Reliable assessment of ovarian tissue depends on the ability of the fixation protocol to preserve its near in vivo appearance and composition. The goal of this study was to find the most suitable fixation protocol for feline ovarian tissue. Equal ovarian tissue fragments were obtained and divided into three groups then fixed with three different fixatives (Bouin, neutral buffered formalin [NBF] and form acetic acid) for five time points and assessed for histology and immunohistochemistry. Bouin exhibited good results for morphology but not immunohistochemistry, while NBF exhibited the best results for immunohistochemistry but not morphology. The most suitable fixative for both morphology and immunohistochemistry was form acetic acid, which invariably makes it a better alternative for feline ovarian tissue studies. Fixatives and fixation protocol have a profound effect on both the morphology and epitope sensitivity of ovarian tissue, which hampers accurate ovarian tissue evaluation. We aimed to establish the most suitable fixation protocol for feline (Felis catus) ovarian tissue. Fragments (1.5 mm diameter) were punched from 1 mm-thick feline ovarian tissue, divided into three groups then fixed with three different fixatives (Bouin, neutral buffered formalin [NBF] and form acetic acid [new compound fixative formulation for ovarian tissue composed of 5% acetic acid in NBF]) for five fixation periods. Subsequently, fragments were processed and evaluated for the morphology and intensity of immunohistochemical signals against three antigens (Ki-67, MCM-7 and activated caspase-3). Proportions of grade 1 or morphologically intact follicles were significantly lower in NBF when compared with Bouin and form acetic acid fixatives. However, Bouin fixative had the lowest mean DAB intensity (p < 0.05) in all three antigen targets, while NBF had the highest (p < 0.05) in Ki-67 and caspase-3, but in MCM-7, it was no different from form acetic acid. In conclusion, form acetic acid maintained ovarian tissue architecture with excellent follicular morphology in the same manner as Bouin fixative, and it also maintained reasonable DAB signals similar to NBF, thus providing a better alternative for feline ovarian tissue studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Populations of many galliform species have declined mainly due to habitat loss and over-hunting, notably the Congo peacock, which has been classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The domestic turkey, being a species of least concern, which has been reported to be closely related to peacocks, could serve as a model for the optimization of assisted reproductive technologies for the Congo peacock. This study was aimed at developing a suitable turkey semen extender for artificial insemination in field conditions. Semen was collected using the dorso-abdominal massage technique from seven turkey toms and analyzed. Ejaculates with >70% motility and >80% live spermatozoa were pooled and divided into four aliquots (four treatments). Each of the four treatments was extended in a soybean-based extender or an egg yolk-based extender, with or without L-ascorbic acid. Two liquid preservation protocols (ambient temperature (35 °C) and chilled (4 °C)) were employed, and quality parameters including motility, viability and morphology were evaluated. The results show that the two extenders were similar with regard to semen quality parameters, and L-ascorbic acid supplementation of the turkey semen extenders improved semen quality during liquid storage.

Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is an emerging technique for non-invasively imaging the ocular vasculature, enabling quantitative measurements of retinal vascular anatomy. As extensions of the central nervous system, the optic nerve and the retina share many vascular characteristics with the brain. Measuring the structural and functional changes within the ocular vasculature may be useful as an objective approach for non-invasively evaluating the cerebrovascular architecture. The current article reviews the most recent applications of OCTA imaging at the eye-brain interface and highlights the emerging vascular biomarkers for neurodegenerative optic neuropathies, as reported in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, and mitochondrial optic neuropathies. These ophthalmologic findings offer objective measures of a more accessible clinical marker and may improve our understanding of neurodegenerative disease.

In vitro embryo production in cats and dogs still presents some challenges, and it needs to be optimized to transfer efficient protocols to related wild, endangered species. While the chemical composition of culture media has been the focus of several studies, the importance of culture substrates for oocyte and embryo culture has often been neglected. Traditional in vitro systems, i.e., two-dimensional cultures, do not resemble the physiological environments where cells develop, and they may cause morphological and functional alterations to oocytes and embryos. More modern three-dimensional and microfluidic culture system better mimic the structure and the stimuli found in in vivo conditions, and they could better support the development of oocytes and embryos in vitro, as well as the maintenance of more physiological behaviors. This review describes the different culture systems tested for domestic carnivore reproductive cells along the years, and it summarizes their effects on cultured cells with the purpose of analyzing innovative options to improve in vitro embryo production outcomes.

Introduction: New diagnostic methods like immunohistochemistry staining in skin cancer can help the physicians to have more accurate diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to compare a method based on decision tree for differential diagnosis of two kind of skin cancer (Basal cell cancer and Squamous cell cancer) based on the results of staining methods. Method: Sixty skin cancer patients’ data from Malaysia were assessed by two methods of decision tree, CART and CHAID, in data mining and using Clementine 12 and SPSS 19. The results of three staining methods including B-cell lymphoma-2 antibody (BCL2), Galectin-3 (Cytoplasm), and Galectin-3 (Nucleus) were analyzed. The best predictive model for decision tree induction was compared with another researcher-made model based on critical values resulted from Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: In final synthetic model, the sensitivity and specificity for Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) were 82.1% and 100%, and for Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) were 100% and 82.8%, respectively. The overall accuracy of the model was 90.38% and the positive predictive values (PPV) for SCC and BCC were 82.1% and 100%, and the positive likelihood ratios (PLR) were 5.8 and 5.5 respectively. Conclusion: The decision tree model based on two methods of immunohistochemistry staining in skin cancer, can help in the diagnosis of these malignant disease and provide further studies.