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Background Objectives Materials & methods Results Discussion Conclusion As of 2019, high unmet contraceptive needs in low‐ and middle‐income countries result in nearly half of all pregnancies being unintended. Additional male contraceptive options could help, but gaps remain in assessing demand for them. As the development of novel male contraceptives progresses, addressing these gaps would help inform policy and scientific direction.Measure consumer demand for novel male contraceptives and identify product attributes associated with men's preferences.A cross‐sectional, probability‐based‐sample survey was conducted with 12,435 sexually active, fertile cisgender, heterosexual men aged 18–60 years, and 9,122 of their female partners in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Kenya, Nigeria, DR Congo, and Côte d'Ivoire from May 2021 to October 2022. The survey was also conducted in the United States among 3,243 of these men in April 2022. A follow‐up with 3,070 men in May 2023 assessed potential changes in demand after the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision. The surveys assessed contraceptive use, perceptions, and sociodemographic characteristics, and a discrete choice experiment evaluated preferences for 11 potential product attributes. Data from female partners in the six LMICs indicated their interest and trust in male partners’ contraceptive use.On average, 61% of men showed interest in trying novel male contraceptives in their first year of availability, ranging from 39% and 49% (pre‐ and post‐Dobbs) in the United States to 76% in Nigeria and Bangladesh. Form of administration and time of use drove men's product preferences. Female partners’ interest and trust in male contraceptive use were high across geographies.This study reveals strong latent demand for novel male contraceptives, highlighting the potential for novel male methods to meet unmet needs, and female partners’ trust in men to use them.High demand for novel male contraceptives among men and their partners exists, supporting investment in their development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clearance of senescent cells (SnCs) can prevent several age-related pathologies, including bone loss. However, the local versus systemic roles of SnCs in mediating tissue dysfunction remain unclear. Thus, we developed a mouse model (p16-LOX-ATTAC) that allowed for inducible SnC elimination (senolysis) in a cell-specific manner and compared the effects of local versus systemic senolysis during aging using bone as a prototype tissue. Specific removal of Sn osteocytes prevented age-related bone loss at the spine, but not the femur, by improving bone formation without affecting osteoclasts or marrow adipocytes. By contrast, systemic senolysis prevented bone loss at the spine and femur and not only improved bone formation, but also reduced osteoclast and marrow adipocyte numbers. Transplantation of SnCs into the peritoneal cavity of young mice caused bone loss and also induced senescence in distant host osteocytes. Collectively, our findings provide proof-of-concept evidence that local senolysis has health benefits in the context of aging, but, importantly, that local senolysis only partially replicates the benefits of systemic senolysis. Furthermore, we establish that SnCs, through their senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), lead to senescence in distant cells. Therefore, our study indicates that optimizing senolytic drugs may require systemic instead of local SnC targeting to extend healthy aging., Introduction The aging population and life expectancy continue to increase (1), and while unlikely to reverse course, this trend of more people living longer creates challenges that society remains poorly [...]

Introduction: Alloimmunisation to red blood cell antigens, resulting from genetic disparities between donors and recipients, is one of the risks associated with blood transfusions. Antibody screening cells are used to detect unexpected antibodies. The risk of alloimmunisation is higher in patients who have undergone multiple blood transfusions. Aim: To estimate the frequency of various Red Blood Cell (RBC) alloantibodies and to determine the types of antibodies present in repeatedly transfused patients. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 patients with a history of multiple blood transfusions from October 1, 2019, to April 30, 2021, at the blood centre of Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (SGRDIMSR), Amritsar, Punjab, India. Antibody detection and identification were performed, and the results were recorded. The data was statistically analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0 to draw relevant conclusions. The observations were tabulated in the form of numbers and percentages. Categorical data was analysed using the Chi-square test. The level of significance was determined as p≤0.05. Results: The study included 200 patients who were on multiple transfusions. The most common blood group among the patients was B positive (39%), followed by O positive (26%). The majority of patients (73.50%) had solid malignancies, followed by 28 (14%) thalassemia patients and 25 (12.50%) patients with chronic kidney disease. Solid malignancies included patients with breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, and liver cancer. Alloantibodies were found in 15 patients (7.50%), of which 11 had solid malignancies and 4 had thalassemia. The most frequent antibody detected was the anti-K antibody (40%). Alloantibody formation was observed in both males and females. However, no statistical significance was found between gender and alloimmunisation (p=0.940). Conclusion: The effect of alloimmunisation can be avoided by routine RBC antibody screening before blood transfusion, especially in patients with a history of multiple blood transfusions. These measures decrease the incidence of red blood cell alloimmunisation and delayed hemolytic transfusion reactions in multi-transfused patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was on brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) seeds var. Punjab Nagina. The quality of brinjal seeds in terms of vigour and viability severely declines due to natural ageing during storage between harvesting and the next sowing season. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of various priming treatments on the quality and storability of brinjal seeds. The freshly harvested seed was divided into two lots. One of these seed lots was subjected to accelerated ageing to obtain low-vigour seed and the other lot was considered to be high vigour. The high and low-vigour seeds were primed with KNO3 (1%), GA3 (100ppm), KH2PO4 (0.1M), PEG 6000 (30%) and H2O, respectively, for 12 hours at 25°C. Thereafter, the seeds were stored in moisture-impervious bags for 12 months in a refrigerator (4°C). The objective was to observe whether the priming treatments improve the seed vigour and retain the advantages obtained during storage. The seeds were drawn at three monthly intervals, viz., zero, three, six, nine and twelve months of storage for studying germination percentage, speed of germination, mean days to germination, seedling length, root length, shoot length, seedling dry weight and seedling vigour index. With an increase in storage duration, a decline in the physiological aspect of seed quality was observed in both high and low-vigour seeds. All the priming treatments improved the germination-related parameters in both high and low-vigour seeds over control, but the extent of improvement varied. Seed priming with GA3 (100ppm) and KNO3 (1%) were the best treatments for both high and low-vigour seeds, even after storage for 12 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]