BMC Research Notes最新文献

Objective: A major obstacle to developing effective therapies for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a uniformly fatal 4R tauopathy, is the absence of an animal model that faithfully reproduces the anatomical, cytopathological, and spatiotemporal progression of disease. Inoculation-based models, using human postmortem brain material bearing disease-specific proteopathic tau seeds, hold great translational potential for modeling tauopathies. Here we conducted key studies towards the development of an inoculation-based PSP model, using human postmortem brain to target three subcortical nuclei impacted in early disease.

Results: We evaluated the impact of five different PSP brain extracts on the extent and distribution of tau pathology following inoculation into 6hTau transgenic mice expressing all six isoforms of human tau. Our findings demonstrate that 2% sarkosyl-insoluble tau successfully recapitulates core cytopathological features of PSP when introduced into disease-relevant nuclei. However, we also identify a major limitation in the restricted yield of 2% sarkosyl-insoluble tau, which significantly impedes the scalability and reproducibility of this approach. We conclude that further progress will likely require alternative strategies to generate a stable and scalable source of tau proteopathic seeds, to support a robust and reproducible inoculation-based mouse model of PSP.

Objective: Quinolones, critically important antimicrobials, pose public health risks due to potential antimicrobial resistance, allergic reactions, and other toxicities when residues persist in food. This study aimed to qualitatively and quantitatively assess quinolone residues in chicken meat and eggs supplied to Kathmandu, Nepal. Additionally, data on antibiotic usage trends were collected through a standardized questionnaire using Epicollect + Android application. A total of 120 chicken meat and 120 eggs were collected from five designated sectors. Initial screening for quinolone residues was performed using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, and samples exceeding the maximum residue limit (MRL) were further analyzed using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography.

Results: Quinolone residues were detected in 88.3% of chicken meat and 80% of egg samples. Three chicken meat samples from Kathmandu exceeded the MRL (> 100ppb), with Enrofloxacin found in commercial and education sectors and both Enrofloxacin and Ciprofloxacin in the health sector. In eggs, residue prevalence was 83.9% in Kathmandu followed by Bhaktapur (76.9%) and Lalitpur (65%). Household eggs had the most residues (100%), and the education sector had the least (66.7%) (p = 0.0219). These findings indicate widespread and unregulated quinolone use in poultry production, highlighting the urgent need for prudent antibiotic stewardship to reduce antimicrobial resistance and associated health risks.

Objective: Stigma and discrimination in healthcare settings remain significant barriers to achieving the global goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Despite progress, interventions to address these issues are limited in Malaysia, where Health4All module being one of the few implemented in healthcare settings to reduce HIV-related stigma. This study explores the barriers and facilitators to its implementation, aiming to enhance its effectiveness in addressing stigma within these environments.

Results: Using the Delphi method, expert opinions from public health and primary care sectors were collected over three iterative rounds to identify and prioritize barriers and facilitators to implementing the Health4All module. Data were obtained via email, with each round refining the previous findings. The implementation was facilitated by strong leadership, adequate funding, clinic champions, established HIV teams, and active staff engagement. Key barriers included workforce shortages, high turnover, recruitment challenges among key populations, language and content limitations, and online training constraints such as technical issues and limited interaction. Despite these challenges, cost-effective online delivery and targeted incentives improved uptake, emphasizing the critical influence of organizational, individual, and systemic factors on successful implementation. The findings provide a valuable foundation for future efforts to enhance healthcare practices and outcomes.

Objective: This study used the Knowledge and Access Power (KAP) mobile platform to assess the awareness and knowledge of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) among adolescents in the Greater Accra and Eastern Regions of Ghana.

Methods: A mobile application, referred to as the KAP app was designed to assess SRH awareness and knowledge. To evaluate SRH awareness and knowledge among adolescents, an invitation to download and access the mobile application was sent via social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp. A total of 386 adolescents downloaded the app and attempted the pre- and post-module quizzes.

Results: From the quiz participation snapshot data, users attempted 1,040 quizzes. Descriptive statistics revealed that the overall average score received on SRH before completing the learning modules was 67.98 (SD = 26.597), while the overall average score gained on SRH after completing the learning modules was 73.66 (SD = 25.142). The pre- and post-module SRH scores were compared using a paired samples t-test, and the results showed a statistically significant difference between the two sets of scores [t(182) = -2.58, p = 0.010]. Based on these findings, using the KAP app can help increase SRH knowledge among teenagers.