This diagnostic/prognostic study describes the use of cell-free transcriptomics, urine metabolomics, and plasma proteomics for identifying the biological measurements associated with preterm birth.

Background The WHO recommends 20 mg/day of supplemental zinc for children with acute diarrhea for 10-14 days; in previous trials this dosage improved diarrhea but increased vomiting. Methods We randomly assigned 4500 children ages 6 to 59 months in India and Tanzania with acute diarrhea to one of three arms (5, 10 or 20 mg zinc sulfate for 14 days). The three primary outcomes were diarrhea duration >5 days and mean number of stools (tested for non-inferiority), and vomiting within 30 minutes of zinc administration (tested for superiority). Results The proportion of children with diarrhea duration >5 days was 6.5%, 7.7%, 7.2% in the 20 mg, 10 mg and 5 mg groups, respectively. The difference between 20 mg and 10 mg dosages was 1.2% (upper bound of one-sided 98.75% CI 3.6%) and between 20 mg and 5 mg was 0.7% (upper bound 3.0%), both below the 4% noninferiority margin (4%). The mean number of loose stools was 10.7, 10.9, and 10.8 in the 20 mg, 10 mg and 5 mg groups, respectively. The differences between 20 mg and 10 mg groups was 0.3 (upper bound 1.1), and between 20 mg and 5 mg group, 0.1 (upper bound 0.9), both below the noninferiority margin (2 stools). Vomiting within 30 minutes of zinc administration occurred in 19.3%, 15.6%, 13.7%, respectively, and was significantly lower in the 10 mg (relative risk 0.81, 97.5% CI 0.67 to 0.96) and 5 mg (0.71, 97.5% CI 0.59 to 0.86) groups. Both dosages also reduced vomiting after 30 minutes of dosing. Conclusion Compared with the standard 20 mg dosage of zinc, lower dosages had noninferior efficacy for diarrhea and reduced vomiting in children with diarrhea. NCT03078842.

The present study was designed to evaluate relative contribution of different polyphenols (total phenolics, flavonoids, flavonols) and their antioxidants activities in aqueous extracts of different parts of some plants; Argemone mexicana, Datura metel, Calotropis procera, Thevetia peruviana, and Cannabis sativa. The antioxidants (total phenolics, flavonoids, flavones) were determined by chemical methods. The antioxidant capacities of these extracts were evaluated by FRAP assay. The results demonstrated that phenolic content was maximally present in leaves of T. peruviana. This plant exhibited minimum phenolic content in its flower as compared to other plants. The flower of D. metel contained maximum phenolic content. The flavonoids were present in highest quantity in leaves of C. procera while T. peruviana flowers showed maximum flavonoid content. The fruits of C. sativa contained maximum quantity of flavonoid as compared to other plants tested. The flower extract of C. sativa possessed highest FRAP value followed by A. mexicana and fruit of C. procera. The values of ratios of different polyphenolic compounds present in plant extracts indicated that flower of D. metel contained maximum total flavonoids and minimum phenolics. These results suggested that levels of total phenolics, flavonoids and their FRAP indices exhibited specificity to different plants and their parts.

Efforts to map the burden of infections globally have shown a high prevalence of genital infections, including Chlamydia trachomatis, in sub-Saharan Africa. This retrospective study aimed to investigate the prevalence of selected non-viral genital infections among pregnant women in Pemba Island, Tanzania. Vaginal swabs were collected during pregnancy and stored in eNAT buffer. Detection of C. trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrheae, Trichomonas vaginalis, and Mycoplasma genitalium pathogens was performed by PCR using validated detection kits. Vaginal samples of 439 pregnant women between 16 and 48 years were tested. In fifty-five (12.5%) of them, at least one genital pathogen was detected. The most prevalent pathogen was T. vaginalis (7.1%), followed by C. trachomatis (4.6%) and M. genitalium (2.1%). None of the vaginal samples tested positive for N. gonorrheae. Consequently, among positive samples, 7.3% were for C. trachomatis and at least one other genital pathogen. This study provides insights on the burden of the four studied genital infections, and on the coinfections among pregnant women in Pemba Island, Tanzania. These results offer a starting point that can be useful to design further research in the field of maternal and child health in Pemba Island.

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