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Conclusions. ATR inhibitor 2 clinical trial Outpatient waiting times from arrival at health facility until receiving care were significantly distinct amongst two health facility levels, revealing longer at DHs compared to at CHCs. There was significantly higher proportion of outpatients examined immediately at CHCs compared to at DHs. Our study suggests that, vulnerable populations, with longer outpatient waiting time, should be dealt with in appropriate models towards each medical facility according to key socioeconomic factors to contribute to simplify the process of medical examination and treatment for outpatients.With an aging population, there is a proportional increase in the prevalence of intervertebral disc diseases. Intervertebral disc diseases are the leading cause of lower back pain and disability. With a high prevalence of asymptomatic intervertebral disc diseases, there is a need for accurate diagnosis, which is key to management. A thorough understanding of the pathophysiology and clinical manifestation aids in understanding the natural history of these conditions. Recent developments in radiological and biomarker investigations have potential to provide noninvasive alternatives to the gold standard, invasive discogram. There is a large volume of literature on the management of intervertebral disc diseases, which we categorized into five headings (a) Relief of pain by conservative management, (b) restorative treatment by molecular therapy, (c) reconstructive treatment by percutaneous intervertebral disc techniques, (d) relieving compression and replacement surgery, and (e) rigid fusion surgery. This review article aims to provide an overview on various current diagnostic and treatment options and discuss the interplay between each arms of these scientific and treatment advancements, hence providing an outlook of their potential future developments and collaborations in the management of intervertebral disc diseases.Virus-like particles (VLPs) are multimeric nanostructures composed of one or more structural proteins of a virus in the absence of genetic material. Having similar morphology to natural viruses but lacking any pathogenicity or infectivity, VLPs have gradually become a safe substitute for inactivated or attenuated vaccines. VLPs can achieve tissue-specific targeting and complete and effective cell penetration. With highly ordered epitope repeats, VLPs have excellent immunogenicity and can induce strong cellular and humoral immune responses. In addition, as a type of nanocarrier, VLPs can be used to display antigenic epitopes or deliver small molecules. VLPs have thus become powerful tools for vaccinology and biomedical research. This review highlights the versatility of VLPs in antigen presentation, drug delivery, and vaccine technology.Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b is an obligate aerobic methane-utilizing alpha-proteobacterium. Since its isolation, M. trichosporium OB3b has been established as a model organism to study methane metabolism in type II methanotrophs. M. trichosporium OB3b utilizes soluble and particulate methane monooxygenase (sMMO and pMMO respectively) for methane oxidation. While the source of electrons is known for sMMO, there is less consensus regarding electron donor to pMMO. To investigate this and other questions regarding methane metabolism, the genome-scale metabolic model for M. trichosporium OB3b (model ID iMsOB3b) was reconstructed. The model accurately predicted oxygen methane molar uptake ratios and specific growth rates on nitrate-supplemented medium with methane as carbon and energy source. The redox-arm mechanism which links methane oxidation with complex I of electron transport chain has been found to be the most optimal mode of electron transfer. The model was also qualitatively validated on ammonium-supplemented medium indicating its potential to accurately predict methane metabolism in different environmental conditions. Finally, in silico investigations regarding flux distribution in central carbon metabolism of M. trichosporium OB3b were performed. Overall, iMsOB3b can be used as an organism-specific knowledgebase and a platform for hypothesis-driven theoretical investigations of methane metabolism.Deficits in the cerebral microcirculation contribute to age-related cognitive decline. In a pilot study of postmenopausal women, we found that supplementation with a low dose of resveratrol, a phytoestrogen, for 14 weeks improved cerebrovascular and cognitive functions. We have since undertaken a larger, longer term study to confirm these benefits. Postmenopausal women aged 45-85 years (n = 129) were randomized to take placebo or 75 mg trans-resveratrol twice daily for 12 months. Effects on cognition, cerebral blood flow, cerebrovascular responsiveness (CVR) and cardiometabolic markers (blood pressure, diabetes markers and fasting lipids) were assessed. Compared to placebo, resveratrol improved overall cognitive performance (P less then 0.001) and attenuated the decline in CVR to cognitive stimuli (P = 0.038). The latter effect was associated with reduction of fasting blood glucose (r = -0.339, P = 0.023). This long-term study confirms that regular consumption of resveratrol can enhance cognitive and cerebrovascular functions in postmenopausal women, with the potential to slow cognitive decline due to ageing and menopause.Unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as bad eating behaviors and cigarette smoking, have major detrimental impacts on health. However, the inter-relations between obesity and smoking are still not fully understood. We thus developed an experimental model of high-fat diet-fed obese C57BL/6 male mice chronically exposed to cigarette smoke. Our study evaluated for the first time the resulting effects of the combined exposure to unhealthy diet and cigarette smoke on several metabolic, pulmonary, intestinal, and cardiac parameters. We showed that the chronic exposure to cigarette smoke modified the pattern of body fat distribution in favor of the visceral depots in obese mice, impaired the respiratory function, triggered pulmonary inflammation and emphysema, and was associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis, cardiac hypertrophy and myocardial fibrosis.