IntroductionCameroon is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as having a critical shortage of health personnel. This is further complicated by the geographic distributional inequalities of the national health workforce. This shortfall impedes Cameroons’ progress of improving the human resources for health (HRH) to meet up with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. However, it is unknown whether the health workforce of Cameroon is distributed equally across geographic regions. Additionally, indicators other than population levels have not been used to measure health care needs. This study aimed to assess the adequacy, evenness of distribution and challenges faced by the health workforce across the different regions of Cameroon.MethodsNational health personnel availability and distribution were assessed by use of end-of-year census data for 2011 obtained from the MoPH data base. The inequalities and distribution of the workforce were estimated using Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve and linear regression was used to determine the relation between health personnel density and selected health outcomes. Alternative indicators to determine health care needs were illustrated using concentration curves.ResultsSignificant geographic inequalities in the availability of health workforce exist in Cameroon. Some regions have a higher number of physicians (per person) than others leading to poor health outcomes across the regions. 70 % of regions have a density of health personnel-to-population per 1,000 that is less than 1.5, implying acute shortage of health personnel. Poor working and living conditions, coupled with limited opportunities for career progress accounted for some documented 232 physicians and 205 nurses that migrated from the public sector. Significant distributional inequality was noticed when under-five infant mortality and malaria prevalence rate were used as indicators to measure health care needs.ConclusionOur results show an absolute shortage of public health personnel in Cameroon that is further complicated by the geographic distributional inequalities across the regions of the nation. Cameroon aims to achieve universal health coverage by 2035; to realize this objective, policies targeting training, recruitment, retention and effective deployment of motivated and supported health workforce as well as the development and improvement of health infrastructures remain the major challenge.

The steroid hormone ecdysone has a central role in the developmental transitions of insects through its control of responsive protein-coding and microRNA (miRNA) gene expression. However, the complete regulatory network controlling the expression of these genes remains to be elucidated. In this study, we performed cross-linking immunoprecipitation coupled with deep sequencing of endogenous Argonaute 1 (Ago1) protein, the core effector of the miRNA pathway, in Drosophila S2 cells. We found that regulatory interactions between miRNAs and their cognate targets were substantially altered by Ago1 in response to ecdysone signaling. Additionally, during the larva-to-adult metamorphosis, miR-252-5p was up-regulated via the canonical ecdysone-signaling pathway. Moreover, we provide evidence that miR-252-5p targets Abelson interacting protein ( Abi) to decrease the protein levels of cyclins A and B, controlling the cell cycle. Overall, our data suggest a potential role for the ecdysone/miR-252-5p/Abi regulatory axis partly in cell-cycle control during metamorphosis in Drosophila.-Lim, D.-H., Lee, S., Han, J. Y., Choi, M.-S., Hong, J.-S., Seong, Y., Kwon, Y.-S., Lee, Y. S. Ecdysone-responsive microR-252-5p controls the cell cycle by targeting Abi in Drosophila.

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BackgroundAcute kidney injury (AKI) is frequently detected in deceased donors (DDs), and it could be associated with adverse clinical outcomes in corresponding kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). In this regard, we sought to identify which criteria is better between the KDIGO and AKIN criteria for the diagnosis of AKI in DDs in the prediction of clinical outcomes after kidney transplantation (KT).MethodsTwo hundred eighty-five cases of deceased donor kidney transplantation (DDKT) were included. We divided them into three groups; the non-AKI by both KDIGO and AKIN criteria group (n = 120), the AKI by KDIGO only group (n = 61), and the AKI by both criteria group (n = 104) according to the diagnosis of AKI using the KDIGO and AKIN criteria in the corresponding 205 DDs. We compared the development of delayed graft function (DGF), the change in allograft function, the allograft survival among the three groups.ResultsThe incidence of DGF was significantly higher in the AKI by KDIGO only and the AKI by both criteria groups than in the non-AKI by both criteria group (P < 0.05 each). But no difference was detected between the AKI by KDIGO only group and the AKI by both criteria group (P > 0.05). Therefore, the KDIGO criteria had a better predictive value for DGF occurrence than the AKIN criteria (Area under the curve = 0.72 versus 0.63, P < 0.05) in Receiver Operation Characteristic analysis. On comparison of allograft function, the AKI by KDIGO only and the AKI by both criteria groups showed a significantly deteriorating pattern by 6 months after KT in comparison with the non-AKI by both criteria group (P < 0.05). However, the differences disappeared at 1 year from KT and long-term allograft survival did not differ among the three groups. AKI stage either by KDIGO or AKIN in DDs did not affect long-term allograft survival in corresponding KTRs as well.ConclusionsThe KDIGO criteria may be more useful for predicting DGF than the AKIN criteria. However, AKI or AKI stage by either criteria in DDs failed to affect long-term allograft outcomes in KTRs.

Lithium has two naturally occurring isotopes, 6 Li and 7 Li, with approximate relative abundances of 7.5% and 92.5%, respectively. Due to large Li isotope variations in nature, lithium isotopes have the potential to reveal important information relevant to nuclear technology, biomedicine, astrophysics, and geochemistry. With the advent of multi-collector inductively coupled mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS), studies of Li isotopes have largely focused on the analysis of geological materials, with varying degrees of accuracy. However, this technique has often been affected by either baseline interferences or isobaric interferences on mass 6 and 7 during ionization in Ar plasma, which is mainly due to the Li compound with hydrogen gas, and double-charged nitrogen and carbon ions at higher levels of RF power. In this study, we reduced baseline interferences in Ar plasma using a cool plasma ($800 W) technique with a X-type cone. Lithium was separated using a cation exchange column (BioRad AG50W-X8, 200-400 mesh) with a mixture of 6 N HNO 3 and 80% methanol at <0.2 mL min À1 elution speed. The short-term reproducibility of d 7 Li values of the NASS-5 seawater standard was 30.55 AE 0.45& (2s, n ¼ 15). Measured d 7 Li values of rock and seawater standards ranged from 2.48 to 30.55&, in good agreements with reported values.