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Forty eight of the African continent's 54 sovereign states are located in the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region, with the government of each defining and shaping its own health services and delivery systems. This paper reviews the trends and patterns of contraceptive practice in the region. Using survey data available from the Demographic and Health Surveys and Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020, the study finds modern contraceptive practice to be on the rise overall but with much geographic variation. The contraceptive methods most frequently used are injectables and, more recently, implants. Higher levels of use are observed among unmarried sexually active than married females. Although use is rising, contraceptive discontinuation rates are also high. Recent program initiatives discussed include expanding long-acting contraceptive options, promoting and delivering contraceptive methods in the postpartum period, and relying on community health workers for contraceptive outreach and service delivery. SSA's family planning situation remains challenged by weak health systems which must address competing priorities to manage disease prevention as well as primary health care. Increasing investments in family planning delivery in many SSA countries, however, augur for continued rapid uptake of modern contraception, possibly matching if not outpacing the record of other regions.

Yu Zhang,1,* Qi Zhang,1,* Jing Sun,2 Huijie Liu,1 Qingfeng Li1 1Department of Oncology, Xiangyang Central Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Hubei College of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441000, Hubei, China; 2International Joint Cancer Institute, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: Lung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Evidences suggest that both LC cancer stem cells (CSCs) and cancer cells are supposed to be eliminated to achieve superior treatment effect against LC. Salinomycin could eradiate CSCs in various types of cancers, and gefitinib is a first-line therapy in LC. The purpose of the present study was to develop salinomycin-loaded nanoparticles (salinomycin-NPs) combined with gefitinib-loaded nanoparticles (gefitinib-NPs) to eradicate both LC CSCs and cancer cells. Methods: Salinomycin and gefitinib were encapsulated separately by poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol) nanoparticles by the emulsion/solvent evaporation approach. The anti-LC activity of salinomycin-NPs and gefitinib-NPs was investigated. Results: Salinomycin-NPs and gefitinib-NPs are of ~140 nm in size, high drug encapsulation efficacy and sustained release of drugs. CD133+ LC CSCs showed the characteristics of CSCs, including significantly enhanced stem cell gene expression, tumorsphere formation ability, and tumorigenicity in mice. Both salinomycin and salinomycin-NPs are capable of selectively inhibiting LC CSCs, as reflected by their enhanced cytotoxic effects toward CD133+ LC CSCs and ability to reduce tumorsphere formation in LC cell lines, whereas gefitinib and gefitinib-NPs could significantly inhibit LC cells. Salinomycin-NPs and salinomycin could reduce the population of LC CSCs in the tumors in vivo. It is noteworthy that salinomycin-NPs combined with gefitinib-NPs inhibited the growth of tumors more efficiently compared with salinomycin combined with gefitinib or single salinomycin-NPs or gefitinib-NPs. Conclusion: Salinomycin-NPs combined with gefitinib-NPs represent a potential approach for LC by inhibiting both LC CSCs and cancer cells. Keywords: cancer stem cells, lung cancer, nanoparticles, salinomycin, gefitinib

Toxicity and horizontal transmission of 1% fipronil dust of activated carbon were measured using the subterranean termite Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki in laboratory conditions. 1% fipronil dust of activated carbon has delayed toxicity towards C. formosanus compared with 0.5% fipronil dust of French chalk; knockdown times KT50 and KT90 were delayed by >9 and >15 h respectively. Furthermore, 1% fipronil dust of activated carbon showed excellent primary and secondary horizontal transfer levels. In primary horizontal transfer, recipient mortalities reached 100% by 24, 48 and 72 h at donor-recipient ratios of 1:1, 1:5 and 1:10, respectively. High transfer efficacies were also found if donor-recipient ratios were greatly increased: mortality reached 100% at 9 d at ratio 1:25 and >90% at 12 d at 1:50. In secondary horizontal transfer, the toxicant transmitting ability of C. formosanus was greater when the primary horizontal transfer ratio was lower, and the highest transfer efficacy was found with a donor-recipient ratio of 1:1 - recipient mortalities reached 100% at 5 d and 11 d, respectively. Application of 1% fipronil dust of activated carbon overcomes the problem that that too high a concentration kills termites before they can contaminate their nestmates, while a lower concentration may not supply a sufficient dose for effective transfer from treated to untreated termites; this preparation has delayed toxicity, dose-dependent toxicity in horizontal transfer and high efficacy to control C. formosanus.

Yun Xie,1 Qin Li,2 Zhanwei Gao,3 Jiaming Sun,4 Dong Li,5 Candice Harvey,6 Jiazhi Qu,7 Sean Snow,8 Qingfeng Li1 1Plastic Surgery Department of Shanghai 9th People's Hospital, Shanghai, People's Republic of China; 2Plastic Surgery Department of General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command of PLA, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China; 3Plastic Surgery Department of Japan Friendship Hospital, Chaoyang, Beijing, People's Republic of China; 4Plastic Surgery Department of Union Hospital Tongji Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China; 5Plastic Surgery Department of Peking University Third Hospital, Haidian, Beijing, People's Republic of China; 6Allergan Aesthetics, an AbbVie Company, Marlow, UK; 7Allergan Aesthetics, an AbbVie Company, Beijing, People's Republic of China; 8Allergan Aesthetics, an AbbVie Company, Irvine, CA, USACorrespondence: Qingfeng Li, Shanghai 9th People's Hospital, No. 639, Zizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China, Tel + 86-21-53315615, Fax + 86-21-63089567, Email dr.liqingfeng@yahoo.comPurpose: Hyaluronic acid injectable gels are commonly used to treat nasolabial folds (NLFs). We evaluated the safety and effectiveness of VYC-17.5L for correcting NLFs in Chinese subjects.Patients and Methods: This prospective, multicenter, double-blind, within-subject‒controlled study randomized adults with moderate-to-severe NLFs to VYC-17.5L treatment (initial and touch-up) in 1 NLF and control (without lidocaine) in the contralateral NLF. Effectiveness endpoints at 6 months included noninferiority of VYC-17.5L to control in NLF Severity Scale response rate (primary endpoint), subject-reported procedural pain (11-point scale), and investigator and subject assessments using the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS).Results: A total of 175 subjects were included. The primary endpoint was met, with response rates of 84.2% for VYC-17.5L and 82.5% for control. Mean pain scores after initial and touch-up treatments were 2.4 for VYC-17.5L versus 5.2 for control (P < 0.001) and 2.0 versus 3.3 (P < 0.001), respectively. Investigator-rated GAIS scores were 86.5% for VYC-17.5L versus 86.0% for control. There were no between-group differences in subject-rated GAIS scores. Safety profiles were comparable for VYC-17.5L and control.Conclusion: VYC-17.5L was noninferior to control without lidocaine for correcting moderate-to-severe NLFs in Chinese subjects and was superior to control in reducing procedural pain.Keywords: hyaluronic acid, dermal fillers, lidocaine