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Back Background ground Ciprofloxacin (cipro) is a broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone antibiotic active against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. It is used extensively in both animals and humans due to its high bioavailability and the wide range of susceptible infections. However, the use of substandard (poor quality) and counterfeit formulations of cipro in low-and middle-income countries has contributed to an increased risk of treatment failure due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Poor quality medicines especially have been linked to AMR. Therefore, there is a pressing need to screen for quality of cipro in low-resource settings. Methods Methods We have addressed this need by developing a low-cost fluorescence assay capable of quantifying the amount of cipro in tablets. In this assay, cipro is dissolved in deionized water and mixed with palladium(II) and methyl cellulose. Upon addition of these reagents, quenching of cipro is observed and quantified.

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Telemedicine has seen widespread adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic. The implementation of telemedicine projects can be complex, with over 75% of telemedicine initiatives failing in the implementation phase. Health organizations that want to adopt telemedicine as part of their healthcare delivery programs struggle to plan and implement sustainable and scalable initiatives effectively. This paper presents the Telemedicine Program Design Canvas - a tool to guide health organizations in planning telemedicine interventions and drive intervention success. It was developed and validated through six workshops with users and stakeholders of telemedicine. Based on the workshops and the lessons learned from the subsequent interventions of these projects, we identified the fourteen key elements that must be addressed while planning and implementing a telemedicine project. We organized these into a simple visual tool that health organizations could use. The fourteen elements include - the Problem, Ecosystem, Patients, Patient Journey, Patient Engagement & Trust, Providers, Provider Training, Provider Engagement, Channels, Technology, Medicines & Diagnostics, Desired Outcomes, Costs, and Revenues. The tool was then tested and validated by applying it with a new group of six telemedicine projects. Overall, the perspectives of 108 users and stakeholders of telemedicine projects, including organizational leadership, doctors, nurses, midwives, community health workers, patients, policymakers, technologists, legal and finance experts, were included in the development of the tool. The Telemedicine Program Design Canvas provides a structured and straightforward method for the rapid prototyping and holistic planning of telemedicine interventions.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the world’s most urgent public health threats. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 2.8 million people get an antibiotic-resistant infection each year, and more than 35,000 people die in the United States from these infections. The development of new antibiotics is essential to combat this crisis and prevent the loss of additional lives. Natural products have historically been an essential source for the discovery of novel antibacterial agents. Furthermore, several studies have shown Puerto Rican plant extracts possess biologically active compounds. Therefore, we sought to determine whether extracts derived from Puerto Rican plants have broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against a variety of pathogenic bacteria. Using a broth microdilution assay, we screened thirteen extracts generated from different plant species for antibacterial activity. Each extract was tested against the ESKAPE pathogens, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp, which are known to exhibit multidrug resistance. All extracts tested thus far were ineffective at inhibiting bacterial growth with the exception of the Bucida buceras leaf extract which showed broad spectrum antibacterial activity against E. faecalis, K. pneumoniae, and E. aerogenes. We are currently validating the antimicrobial activity of B. buceras extract through other antibiotic susceptibility assays. Here, we have shown that Puerto Rican plants have potential as a source of novel antimicrobial agents.