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The polariton-polariton interaction strength is an important parameter for all kinds of applications using the nonlinear properties of polaritons, such as optical switching and single-photon blockade devices. In this paper, we review and compare the results of a series of experiments on polariton-polariton interactions in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs microcavity polariton structures and present an updated analysis of these experiments. We show that not just the energy shift of the spectral lines but also the results of measurements sensitive to the polariton scattering rate are important for the calibration of the interaction parameter at low excitation density. We find that when adjustments are made to correct for recent understanding of the experiments, the value of the interaction parameter at low density is lower than previous reported, but still significantly higher than theoretically predicted.

In this reply to S. Durbin's comment on our original paper "Ultrafast terahertz-field-driven ionic response in ferroelectric BaTiO3," we concur that his final equations 8 and 9 more accurately describe the change in diffracted intensity as a function of Ti displacement. We also provide an alternative derivation based on an ensemble average over unit cells. The conclusions of the paper are unaffected by this correction.

The dynamical processes associated with electric field manipulation of the polarization in a ferroelectric remain largely unknown but fundamentally determine the speed and functionality of ferroelectric materials and devices. Here we apply subpicosecond duration, single-cycle terahertz pulses as an ultrafast electric field bias to prototypical BaTiO3 ferroelectric thin films with the atomic-scale response probed by femtosecond x-ray-scattering techniques. We show that electric fields applied perpendicular to the ferroelectric polarization drive large-amplitude displacements of the titanium atoms along the ferroelectric polarization axis, comparable to that of the built-in displacements associated with the intrinsic polarization and incoherent across unit cells. This effect is associated with a dynamic rotation of the ferroelectric polarization switching on and then off on picosecond time scales. These transient polarization modulations are followed by long-lived vibrational heating effects driven by resonant excitation of the ferroelectric soft mode, as reflected in changes in the c-axis tetragonality. The ultrafast structural characterization described here enables a direct comparison with first-principles-based molecular-dynamics simulations, with good agreement obtained.

Background and Study Aim. The sportive periodization originated from the military periodization of ancient civilizations and of the Greek Tetrad for the sportive preparation the ancient Greek athletes. The objective of the review was to explain the periodization of the Roman military training. Materials and Methods. The articles were selected in January and February of 2024 in 10 databases (Google Scholar, PubMed, Research Gate, Scielo, Redalyc, Scopus, DOAJ, ScienceDirect, Semantic Scholar, and Latindex) with the following keywords: Roman military training, Roman soldiers, Roman Empire territory, Tetrad during Roman military training, Roman military equipment, and Roman military tactics. Results. Ancient Rome conquered almost all Western Europe, North Africa, and part of the Middle East because the nation was very militarized. The military training during ancient Rome for the soldiers and sailors had several types of training that were physical training, training, technical training, and technical and tactical training. So, for the war coach to organize all these training sessions for the Roman military, he needed to structure the periodization. The periodization of the Roman military training was used with several mesocycles of 4 to 6 months of duration during various moments of the year for the soldier and the sailor to always be prepared for war. In 146 B.C., the Roman Empire conquered ancient Greece and after this moment, the Romans used the scientific knowledge of the Greeks to structure the Roman military training. Then, the Romans used the Tetrad of the Greeks to structure the military training. Roman military training was structured with several Tetrad during 4 to 6 months. Therefore, the Tetrad was inserted into the mesocycle of 4 to 6 months. Conclusions. In conclusion, the periodization of the Roman military training was very organized for the military to achieve a high performance in the war.

Abstract Background Hospital admission outcomes for people living with HIV (PLHIV) in resource-limited settings are understudied. We describe in-hospital mortality and associated clinical-demographic factors among PLHIV admitted at a tertiary-level public hospital in Uganda. Methods We performed a cross-sectional analysis of routinely collected data for PLHIV admitted at Kiruddu National Referral Hospital between March 2020 and March 2023. We estimated the proportion of PLHIV who had died during hospitalization and performed logistic regression modelling to identify predictors of mortality. Results Of the 5,827 hospitalized PLHIV, the median age was 39 years (interquartile range [IQR] 31–49) and 3,293 (56.51%) were female. The median CD4 + cell count was 109 cells/µL (IQR 25–343). At admission, 3,710 (63.67%) were active on antiretroviral therapy (ART); 1,144 (19.63%) had interrupted ART > 3 months and 973 (16.70%) were ART naïve. In-hospital mortality was 26% (1,524) with a median time-to-death of 3 days (IQR 1–7). Factors associated with mortality (with adjusted odds ratios) included ART interruption, 1.33, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.13–1.57, p 0.001; CD4 + counts ≤ 200 cells/µL 1.59, 95%CI 1.33–1.91, p 20 km from hospital 1.23, 95%CI 1.04–1.46, p 0.014; hospital readmission 0.7, 95%CI 0.56–0.88, p 0.002; chronic lung disease 0.62, 95%CI 0.41–0.92, p 0.019; and neurologic disease 0.46, 95%CI 0.32–0.68, p

Background Problems: The recovery process plays an important role in maintaining athletic performance and preventing fatigue among players. Research Objectives: This systematic review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current research on athlete fatigue recovery, including the various methods used to enhance recovery, the limitations of existing studies, and potential areas for future research. Methods: This study was reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). We designed the study using the PICOS strategy. We sourced the literature from established research sources in the Scopus databases. The final data used for this study consisted of 24 articles. Findings and Results: The main findings confirmed that aquatic therapies, such as hot-and-cold-water immersion (HWI) and cold-water immersion (CWI), along with a number of other alternative methods, provide a strong foundation for improving athletes' recovery and performance. In addition, various novel therapies such as curcumin supplements, electrostimulation, and high-intensity interval training (HIT) also offer great potential for accelerating athletes’ recovery. Conclusion: The findings from this study highlight various recovery methods that can help reduce athletes’ fatigue after competition or training. This study also noted limitations and provided suggestions for future research, guiding researchers to further understand and improve athlete recovery holistically.

IntroductionThe availability of quality primary health care (PHC) services in Nigeria is limited. The PHC system faces significant challenges and the improvement and expansion of PHC services is constrained by low government spending on health, especially on PHC. Out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures dominate health spending in Nigeria and the reliance on OOP payments leads to financial burdens on the poorest and most vulnerable populations. To address these challenges, the Nigerian government has implemented several legislative and policy reforms, including the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act enacted in 2022 to make health insurance mandatory for all Nigerian citizens and residents. Our study aimed to determine the costs of providing PHC services at public health facilities in Kaduna and Kano, Nigeria. We compared the actual PHC service delivery costs to the normative costs of delivering the Minimum Service Package (MSP) in the two states.MethodsWe collected primary data from 50 health facilities (25 per state), including PHC facilities—health posts, health clinics, health centers—and general hospitals. Data on facility-level recurrent costs were collected retrospectively for 2019 to estimate economic costs from the provider’s perspective. Statewide actual costs were estimated by extrapolating the PHC cost estimates at sampled health facilities, while normative costs were derived using standard treatment protocols (STPs) and the populations requiring PHC services in each state.ResultsWe found that average actual PHC costs per capita at PHC facilities—where most PHC services should be provided according to government guidelines—ranged from US$ 18.9 to US$ 28 in Kaduna and US$ 15.9 to US$ 20.4 in Kano, depending on the estimation methods used. When also considering the costs of PHC services provided at general hospitals—where approximately a third of PHC services are delivered in both states—the actual per capita costs of PHC services ranged from US$ 20 to US$ 30.6 in Kaduna and US$ 17.8 to US$ 22 in Kano. All estimates of actual PHC costs per capita were markedly lower than the normative per capita costs of delivering quality PHC services to all those who need them, projected at US$ 44.9 in Kaduna and US$ 49.5 in Kano.DiscussionBridging this resource gap would require significant increases in expenditures on PHC in both states. These results can provide useful information for ongoing discussions on the implementation of the NHIA Act including the refinement of provider payment strategies to ensure that PHC providers are remunerated fairly and that they are incentivized to provide quality PHC services.

Background. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women worldwide. Regular breast self-examination has been known to effectively detect breast cancer occurrence early. The study aimed at determining the knowledge, attitude, and practice of adolescents on breast self-examination among first-year Certificate female students in St Michael Lubaga Hospital Training School, Kampala district, Uganda. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was done for 30 first-year Certificate female students in St Michael Lubaga Hospital Training School, Kampala, Uganda. Data was analyzed using Excel and presented in front of tables. Results: The results of the study showed that the majority 23(76.7%) of the respondents knew about breast cancer and breast self-examination, with the majority 15(75%) having got the information from health workers. However, the majority 25(83.3%) had a fairly good attitude towards BSE and the majority of them had a fairly good practice of BSE. Conclusion: Generally, knowledge of breast cancer and breast self-examination is good among adolescents. However, their attitude towards breast self-examination is relatively average and the practice is fairly good. Recommendation: This calls for the organization of education sessions to further create awareness of breast self-examination among the adolescents in St Michael Lubaga Hospital Training School.

Internal tandem duplication of Fms‐like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3/ITD) occurs in about 30% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and is associated with poor response to conventional treatment and adverse outcome. Here, we reported that human FLT3/ITD expression led to axis duplication and dorsalization in about 50% of zebrafish embryos. The morphologic phenotype was accompanied by ectopic expression of a morphogen follistatin (fst) during early embryonic development. Increase in fst expression also occurred in adult FLT3/ITD‐transgenic zebrafish, Flt3/ITD knock‐in mice, and human FLT3/ITD AML cells. Overexpression of human FST317 and FST344 isoforms enhanced clonogenicity and leukemia engraftment in xenotransplantation model via RET,IL2RA, and CCL5 upregulation. Specific targeting of FST by shRNA, CRISPR/Cas9, or antisense oligo inhibited leukemic growth in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, serum FST positively correlated with leukemia engraftment in FLT3/ITD AML patient‐derived xenograft mice and leukemia blast percentage in primary AML patients. In FLT3/ITD AML patients treated with FLT3 inhibitor quizartinib, serum FST levels correlated with clinical response. These observations supported FST as a novel therapeutic target and biomarker in FLT3/ITD AML. Synopsis: FLT3/ITD is one of the most commonly mutated genes in acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive hematological malignancy with poor prognosis. Here, embryonic morphogen FST is identified as a novel biomarker and therapeutic target for human FLT3/ITD‐mutated acute myeloid leukemia. The embryonic morphogen FST was overexpressed in FLT3/ITD‐expressing zebrafish, Flt3/ITD knock‐in mice and human FLT3/ITD AML.A novel FLT3/ITD‐p90RSK‐CREB‐FST signaling cascade was uncovered in human AML.FST is a novel therapeutic target and biomarker in FLT3/ITD AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Limited understanding exists about the development of online one-stop shops for evidence in a limited-resource setting, such as Uganda. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive account of the development process of the online resource for local policy and systems-relevant information in this setting. Methods: We utilized a case study design to address our objective where the case (i.e., unit of analysis) was defined as “the Uganda clearinghouse for health policy and system (UCHPS) the development process”. We collected data from multiple sources, including key informant interviews, participant observations, and archival records to develop a comprehensive account of the case under investigation. Results: We found out that the development of Uganda clearinghouse for health policy and system (UCHPS) followed a seven-step process, characterized by iterations that occurred within and between the steps. The essential components of the process included concept development, prototyping the key structure, engaging with policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders, mobilizing and indexing the content, disseminating the resource, user-testing, and updating the system. Conclusion: Our study provides key steps for developing a one-stop shop for local evidence to inform health policy and system decisions. Researchers and institutions, especially those in low and middle income countries (LMICs) may apply this step-by-step inventory to develop similar resources. The inventory is based on knowledge translation (KT) evidence and product design principles along with insights drawn from the practical experience of developing an online KT platform in a limited-resource setting.

The recent developments in the design, planning, and operation of distribution systems indicate the need for a modern integrated infrastructure in which participants are managed through the perceptions of a utility company in an economic network (e.g., energy loss reduction, restoration, etc.). The penetration of distributed generation units in power systems are growing due to their significant influence on the key attributes of power systems. As a result, the placement, type, and size of distributed generations have an essential role in reducing power loss and lowering costs. Power loss minimization, investment and cost reduction, and voltage profile improvement combine to form a conceivable goal function for distributed generation allocation in a constrained optimization problem, and they require a complex procedure to control them in the most appropriate way while satisfying network constraints. Such a complex decision-making procedure can be solved by adjusting the dynamic optimal power flow problem to the associated network. The purpose of the present work is to handle the distributed generation allocation problem for photovoltaic units, attempting to reduce energy and investment costs while accounting for generation unpredictability as well as load fluctuation. The problem is analyzed under various scenarios of solar radiation through a stochastic programming technique because of the intense uncertainty of solar energy resources. The formulation of photovoltaic distributed generation allocation is represented as a mixed-integer second-order conic programming problem. The IEEE 33-bus and real-world 136-bus distribution systems are tested. The findings illustrate the efficacy of the proposed mathematical model and the role of appropriate distributed generation allocation.

Issues such as climate change, water scarcity, population growth, and distribution losses have stimulated the use of new technologies to manage water resources. This is how the concept of smart water management emerged as a subcategory of the concept of smart cities. This article aimed first to identify the applications of smart water-management systems described in academic articles either as applications in development or as applications already implemented or as future trends; and, second, to classify them according to the processes in the value chain of public water supply services. To this end, a systematic review of the literature was carried out, in which 100 mentions of applications were identified in 62 selected articles; then, the mentions were grouped into 10 categories. The most frequent application categories were smart meters, implementation models and architectures, and loss management. Among the processes of the value chain, applications in processes of distribution and water use were highly predominant. The lack of detail about the integration between the different applications for a smart water-management system was pointed out as a limitation and an opportunity for future research development, especially in terms of a technological roadmap study based on the relationship between smart meters and loss management.

Community antiretroviral groups (CAGs) is one of the innovative and efficient differentiated service delivery models (DSDM) for reaching persons needing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment in the community. Since DSDM adoption in Uganda, evidence suggests better care outcomes for patients in DSDM compared to counterparts in routine health facility care. However, uptake of CAG models for eligible community groups of persons living with HIV (PLHIV) has been slow in Arua district, Uganda and stakeholders' perceptions regarding its implementation unexplored. The objective of the study was to determine the uptake, barriers and facilitators influencing CAG model implementation in Arua district, Uganda. We conducted a parallel convergent mixed-methods study from March 2020 to December 2020 at Adumi health centre IV and Kuluva hospital in Arua district. We enrolled and extracted data for every fifth virally suppressed participant on antiretroviral therapy (ART) at the two health facilities. Data were analysed using STATA 13.0. Uptake was determined as the proportion of eligible PLHIV that were enrolled into a group. We performed logistic regression to determine factors associated with uptake. We conducted one focus group discussion per facility among healthcare workers involved in the management of PLHIV. We also conducted 7 focus group discussions among PLHIV across the two facilities. Thematic analysis was used to describe the data. A total of 399 PLHIV were eligible for CAG, 61.6% were female, and 44.9% were on dolutegravir (DTG) based regimen. Uptake was 6.8%, 95% CI (4.7-9.7) and was found to be significantly associated with being divorced or separated in a marriage (OR; 0.14, 95%CI; 0.02-0.92, P = 0.014). Members picking drugs in turns, comforting and encouraging others to take the drugs, and health workers advising them to join and stay with other group members were perceived as facilitators to uptake of community antiretroviral group delivery model. Having few and distant eligible members in the local area to form a group, lack of transport among the member to pick the drugs when it's their turn, misunderstandings and lack of confidentiality amongst the members, and lack of partner disclosure were perceived as barriers to uptake of community antiretroviral group delivery model. Uptake of community antiretroviral group delivery model in Arua district is very low. There may be a need to support community antiretroviral group delivery models with income- generating activities, transport facilitation, closer community drug pick-up points and improved partner disclosure support mechanisms among married group members.

Tuberculosis preventive therapy (TPT) effectively decreases rates of developing active tuberculosis disease in people living with HIV (PLHIV) who are at increased risk. The Uganda Ministry of Health launched a 100-day campaign to scale-up TPT in PLHIV in July 2019. We sought to examine the effect of the campaign on trends of TPT uptake and characteristics associated with TPT uptake and completion among persons in HIV care. We retrospectively reviewed routinely collected data from 2016 to 2019 at six urban public health facilities in Uganda. HIV care database and paper-based TPT registers at six public health facilities in Kampala, Uganda were retrospectively reviewed. Estimated trends of TPT (given as Isoniazid monotherapy) uptake and completion across the 4 years, among PLHIV aged 15 years and above, and factors associated, were examined using Poisson regression model with robust standard errors using generalized estimating equation (GEE) models. On average, a total of 39,774 PLHIV aged 15 years and above were eligible for TPT each calendar year at the six health facilities. Across all 4 years, more than 70% were females (range: 73.5% -74.6%) and the median age ranged from 33 to 34 years. From 2016 quarter one to 2019 quarter two, TPT uptake was consistently below 25%, but, as expected, the uptake significantly increased by about 3-folds from 22.1% to 61.2%, in 2019 quarter two (i.e. before the roll-out of the 100-day accelerated TPT intervention) and quarter three (i.e. after the roll-out of the 100-day accelerated TPT intervention) respectively. This increase remained highly significant even after adjusting for patients' baseline characteristics (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] = 2.58 [95%CI 2.45, 2.72], P-value

Marques-Junior, N.K. (2020). Impacto del puñetazo y de la patada en los deportes de combate: una revisión sistemática. PENSAR EN MOVIMIENTO: Revista de Ciencias del Ejercicio y la Salud, 18(2), 1-27. El objetivo de la revisión sistemática fue presentar el impacto del puñetazo y de la patada en algunos deportes de combate. Los artículos fueron recuperados de internet entre septiembre de 2018 y agosto de 2019. La recopilación de los artículos se realizó por medio de Google Scholar, Research Gate y PubMed. La revisión sistemática contó con 19 artículos científicos. El golpe con el puño de mayor impacto, en los luchadores masculinos, fue el golpe recto del boxeo con 4800 ± 601 newtons (N); mientras que, en las mujeres, fue el jab del boxeo con 1170.7 ± 165.3 N. El impacto de la patada del taekwondo femenino (TKD) tuvo un mayor resultado realizando el tchagui con 2490.3 ± 846.2 N y en el sexo masculino tuvo un mayor resultado del impacto realizando la bandal tchagui del TKD con 6400 ± 898 N. En conclusión, el impacto del puñetazo y de la patada de los deportes de combate es un contenido importante para que el atleta conozca el ataque más efectivo.

Marques-Junior, N.K. (2020). Impacto do soco e do chute dos esportes de combate: uma revisão sistemática. PENSAR EN MOVIMIENTO: Revista de Ciencias del Ejercicio y la Salud, 18(2), 1- 28. O objetivo da revisão sistemática foi apresentar o impacto do soco e do chute de alguns esportes de combate. Os artigos foram identificados na internet durante setembro de 2018 a agosto de 2019. A coleta de artigos foi praticada no Google Scholar, no Research Gate e no PubMed. A revisão sistemática teve 19 artigos científicos. O maior impacto de soco do lutador masculino foi o direto do boxe com 4800 ± 601 newtons (N). A lutadora do sexo feminino o maior impacto foi o jab d|o boxe com 1170.7 ± 165.3 N. O impacto do chute no taekwondo feminino (TKD) teve um resultado maior do que tui tchagui com 2490.3 ± 846.2 N e no masculino teve um resultado de maior impacto do bandal tchagui do TKD de 6400 ± 898 N. Em conclusão, o impacto do soco e do chute dos esportes de combate é um conteúdo importante para o atleta conhecer o ataque mais eficaz.

The objective of the systematic review and of the meta-analysis was to determine the improvement of the vertical jump during the years or not and compare the vertical jump of the volleyball players versus the double players practiced in the sand. This study followed the methodology proposed the PRISMA statement. The studies were identified in electronic databases during January of 2017 to February of 2017. The author used the FIOCRUZ library to collect some scientific articles. Of these studies, 51 studies were included in this research. The best CMJ of the systematic review was of the double volleyball with 89 ± 7.25 cm. But the best CMJS (81.7 ± 8.83 cm), the best SPJ (97.63 ± 7.32 cm) and the best BJ (78.6 ± 6.30 cm) were of the years 70 to 90 of the indoor volleyball. The Shapiro Wilk test detected no normal data of the effect size. Kruskal Wallis Anova and new statistical detected statistical difference of the CMJ of the years 70 to 90 (effect size of 6.07 ± 6.68) versus the CMJ of the years 10 to 16 (ES of 0.86 ± 1.14) and of the years 00 to 16 (ES of 1 ± 1.13). In conclusion, the years 70 to 90 the CMJS, the SPJ and the BJ of the volleyball players had a higher jump than other years, but these results are not conclusive because of the limitations of the study.

O objetivo da revisão foi de sugerir uma política pública com jogos esportivos coletivos através de adaptação do modelo chileno para ser aplicado no Brasil. O artigo de revisão foi dividido em três capítulos que informam como elaborar uma política pública com jogos esportivos coletivos. Em conclusão, essa sugestão de política pública merece mais estudo científico antes de ser aplicada na população brasileira.

O American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recomenda o uso do questionário da estratificação de risco da doença cardiovascular com o intuito da pessoa iniciar o esporte e a atividade física com segurança. Esse instrumento é de baixo custo financeiro, sendo indicado a sua aplicação porque ele fornece uma visão geral do praticante do esporte e da atividade física. O objetivo do artigo foi de ensinar como usar a estratificação de risco do ACSM no Excel®. A revisão ensinou passo a passo como o professor deve utilizar essa ferramenta. Em conclusão, a estratificação de risco do ACSM no Excel® é uma excelente ferramenta para os profissionais do esporte e da atividade física.

O objetivo do artigo foi de ensinar como usar o Excel® para calcular o percentual de gordura por circunferência. O primeiro procedimento para estabelecer o percentual de gordura pela circunferência é coletar os dados nos pontos anatômicos indicados conforme o sexo e a idade. Os locais das medidas de circunferência são indicados por McArdle, Katch e Katch (2011), sendo o abdômen, o glúteo, a coxa direita, o braço direito, o antebraço direito e a panturrilha direita. Após o avaliador estabelecer a circunferência do avaliado, merece consultar a constante de conversão do sexo e da idade avaliada para substituir o valor da circunferência pela constante correspondente. O autor programou no Excel® essas equações, basta inserir as constantes que o resultado é estabelecido após o enter. Os demais cálculos (massa corporal magra, peso ideal e peso de gordura em excesso) vão ser fornecidos imediatamente porque foram programados no Excel®. Em conclusão, calcular o percentual de gordura no Excel® e outros cálculos antropométricos torna essa tarefa veloz e fácil.

O objetivo da revisão foi explicar os mecanismos neurofisiológicos e biomecânicos do treino de força reativa e ensinar como usar o software Kinovea® nessa sessão. A revisão foi dividida em três capítulos. O capítulo 1 foi ensinado a biomecânica dos membros inferiores durante o treino de força reativa, o capítulo 2 o tema foi os componentes mecânicos do trabalho muscular e o capítulo 3 a explicação foi sobre o uso do software Kinovea® nessa sessão. Em conclusão, o treino de força reativa foi ensinado nessa revisão para o treinador adquirir um conhecimento teórico e prático com o intuito de prescrever adequadamente essa sessão.

Abstract Background People of all ages are flooded with health claims about treatment effects (benefits and harms of treatments). Many of these are not reliable, and many people lack skills to assess their reliability. Primary school is the ideal time to begin to teach these skills, to lay a foundation for continued learning and enable children to make well-informed health choices, as they grow older. However, these skills are rarely being taught and yet there are no rigorously developed and evaluated resources for teaching these skills. Objectives To develop the Informed Health Choices (IHC) resources (for learning and teaching people to assess claims about the effects of treatments) for primary school children and teachers. Methods We prototyped, piloted, and user-tested resources in four settings that included Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Norway. We employed a user-centred approach to designing IHC resources which entailed multiple iterative cycles of development (determining content scope, generating ideas, prototyping, testing, analysing and refining) based on continuous close collaboration with teachers and children. Results We identified 24 Key Concepts that are important for children to learn. We developed a comic book and a separate exercise book to introduce and explain the Key Concepts to the children, combining lessons with exercises and classroom activities. We developed a teachers’ guide to supplement the resources for children. Conclusion By employing a user-centred approach to designing resources to teach primary children to think critically about treatment claims and choices, we developed learning resources that end users experienced as useful, easy to use and well-suited to use in diverse classroom settings.

Abstract Background Controlled prescription drug use disorders are a growing global health challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa. Effective supply chain regulations on dispensing and stock control are important for controlling this epidemic. Since compliance with these regulations in resource-limited countries is poor, there is need to understand its predictors in order to reduce the risk of prescription drug use disorders. Methods A mixed-methods study utilizing a structured questionnaire and a simulated client guide was undertaken in Kampala and Mbale towns in Uganda. The questionnaire recorded self-reported dispensing and verified stock control practices and their covariates from 101 private pharmacies. The guide recorded actual dispensing practices from 27 pharmacies. Snowball sampling was done to enrich the sample with pharmacies that stock opioids. The mean compliance with good dispensing and stock control practices was calculated. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied to identify predictors of compliance. Results The mean compliance with dispensing and stock control requirements was 82.9% and 23%, respectively. Twenty percent and 40% of the pharmacies dispensed pethidine without a prescription and with invalid prescriptions, respectively. Having a pharmacist on duty (OR = 5.17; p = 0.02), prior in-service training on narcotics regulations (OR = 3.51; p = 0.04), and previous narcotics audits by the regulator (OR = 5.11; p = 0.01) were independent predictors of compliance with stock control requirements. Pharmacies with a previous history of poor compliance with dispensing requirements were less likely to demonstrate good compliance (OR = 0.21; p = 0.01). Conclusions There is suboptimal compliance to controlled prescription drug regulations among Uganda’s pharmacies. A previous history of poor compliance to dispensing requirements predicted low compliance in subsequent assessments. Training and regulatory audits increased compliance in stock control but not dispensing. Expansion of training and audits to more pharmacies and/or incentives for compliance are necessary.

Abstract Background Claims about what we need to do to improve our health are everywhere. Most interventions simply tell people what to do, and do not empower them to critically assess health information. Our objective was to design mass media resources to enable the public to critically appraise the trustworthiness of claims about the benefits and harms of treatments and make informed health choices. Methods Research was conducted between 2013 and 2016 across multiple iterative phases. Participants included researchers, journalists, parents, other members of the public. First, we developed a list of 32 key concepts that people need to understand to be able to assess the trustworthiness of claims about treatment effects. Next, we used a human-centred design approach, to generate ideas for resources for teaching the key concepts, and developed and user-tested prototypes through qualitative interviews. We addressed identified problems and repeated this process until we had a product that was deemed relevant and desirable by our target audience, and feasible to implement. Results We generated over 160 ideas, mostly radio-based. After prototyping some of these, we found that a podcast produced collaboratively by health researchers and journalists was the most promising approach. We developed eight episodes of the Informed Health Choices podcast, a song on critical thinking about treatments and a reminder checklist. Early versions of the podcast were reportedly too long, boring and confusing. We shortened the episodes, included one key concept per episode, and changed to story-telling with skits. The final version of the podcast was found to be useful, understandable, credible and desirable. Conclusion We found many problems with various prototypes of mass media resources. Using a human-centred design approach, we overcame those problems. We have developed a guide to help others prepare similar podcasts.