To compare clinical radiography training experiences (structure, resources, participation, feedback) and self-perceived competence/practice readiness between public and private radiography centres in Lagos State, Nigeria.

Comparative cross-sectional survey design from August to October 2025 using a validated self-administered questionnaire distributed in person during departmental seminars and clinical debriefings at University of Lagos-affiliated centres.

Centre-based settings at public and private radiodiagnostic centres.

A total of 260 final-year students and recent graduates, 130 each from public and private radiodiagnostic centres. Inclusion criteria included: age ≥18 years, with ≥6 months clinical exposure, from centres affiliated to the University of Lagos. All participants completed the self-administered questionnaire. There were no interventions.

The primary outcome was the self-perceived competence/practice readiness, and the secondary was participation, extent and feedback mechanisms, measured as planned without protocol deviations. All variables were measured using validated items in the questionnaire.

Private centres significantly outperformed public centres in hands-on practice and feedback, with higher self-perceived competence (mean 35.6±5.7 vs 32.8±6.4; p=0.001). There were no significant differences in training structure (p=0.78). Public centres reported higher patient loads (86.2% vs 68.5%; p=0.001) but lower equipment availability (47.7% vs 72.3%; p

Private centres were associated with higher self-perceived competence and readiness, better resources and feedback, while public centres offered greater patient volumes. Hybrid placements and targeted infrastructure investment are recommended to help address disparities in perceived readiness.

Salivary gland carcinomas (SGC) are rare tumours. The term SGC is not more than an umbrella for a variety of histogenetically, morphologically and biologically distinct entities. Accordingly, SGCs have not been sufficiently investigated to date. Their rarity makes it difficult to reach high patient numbers for individual entities in clinical studies, leading to pooling patients with different histological subtypes to attain sufficient participants. The different histological subtypes of SGC differ significantly in their clinicopathological features, such as their grading, their occurrence and their outcome. SGCs are usually stratified into low-grade, intermediate-grade or high-grade tumours. In most kinds of SGC, specific targetable molecular markers are lacking. The inclusion of immunotherapy (IT), however, might improve the outcome of patients suffering from high-grade SGCs. In order to integrate IT as a therapeutic option for SGC and to facilitate therapeutic decisions based on tumour (immune) biology, predictive and prognostic immunological biomarkers are indispensable.

In this prospective study, 500 patients will be enrolled, who are distributed in three arms. The observational cohort includes patients with malignant salivary gland tumours, whereas patients with benign tumours of a salivary gland are grouped in the control group 1. In the control cohort, 2 patients do not have a salivary gland tumour but have a planned functional surgery of the nose or ear or a maxillofacial surgery. The local immune status from the tumour tissue and the microbiome will be sampled before treatment. In addition, the systemic immune status from peripheral blood will be analysed before and after surgery and after the adjuvant and definitive chemoradiotherapy, if applicable. Clinical baseline characteristics and outcome parameters will additionally be collected. Data mining and modelling approaches will finally be applied to identify interactions of local and systemic immune parameters and to define predictive and prognostic immune signatures based on the evaluated immune markers.

Approval from the institutional review board of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg was granted in September 2023 (application number 23-292-B). The results will be disseminated to the scientific audience and the general public via presentations at conferences and publication in peer-reviewed journals.

NCT06047236.

Bangladesh is facing a growing obesity epidemic; however, evidence on sex-specific patterns and socioeconomic determinants is limited.

We aimed to investigate sex differences in obesity prevalence and to assess how socioeconomic and demographic factors influence obesity risk among adult men and women.

We analysed data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2022. Prevalence of obesity (body mass index ≥25.0 kg/m²) among men and women was estimated by sociodemographic characteristics. Two multinomial logistic regression models were fitted: first, to quantify sex-specific odds of obesity with socio-demographic variables as interaction terms for effect modification; and second, adjusted sex-stratified models to assess determinants of obesity separately in men and women.

Overall, 30% of our participants had obesity, with women more affected than men (36% vs 20%; adjusted OR (aOR) 2.75, 95% CI 2.53 to 3.00). Interaction analyses showed attenuation of the female-male difference among those with higher education (interaction aOR 0.57, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.74), richest quintile (interaction aOR 0.63, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.83) and urban residence (interaction aOR 0.81, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.96). Obesity was positively associated with age, education, wealth and urban residence, with stronger effects in men, except for higher education (interaction aOR 0.65, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.89), richest quintile (interaction aOR 0.72, 95% CI 0.54 to 0.98) and urban residence (interaction aOR 0.84, 95% CI 0.70 to 0.98).

Obesity disproportionately affected women, although association with socio-demographic factors was stronger in men. Targeted sex-specific interventions that address socioeconomic and contextual determinants are needed to mitigate obesity burden in Bangladesh.

To investigate whether treatment with oral corticosteroids and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) improves pregnancy outcomes in women with unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) following assisted reproduction technology (ART) treatment.

A randomised, double-blinded, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial conducted from January 2021 to February 2024.

A single-centre trial at a Danish tertiary clinic for RPL management.

80 women with at least two consecutive early pregnancy losses following ART, age 18–41 years, body mass index below 35, and no identified cause of RPL. Forty participants were allocated to each group, with 37 fulfilling the protocol criteria in each group.

Participants were randomised to receive either a combination of low-dose oral prednisolone starting on the first day of menstruation and IVIg given the first time around the time of embryo transfer; or matching placebo tablets and albumin infusions. Treatment continued until gestational week 8+4 in those who conceived with a total of four infusions.

The primary outcomes were the ongoing pregnancy rate (OPR) defined as a living fetus in gestational week 13 among all randomised participants and in those who conceived after embryo transfer, respectively, based on intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) analyses. Secondary outcomes included safety outcomes related to pregnancy complications and neonatal health.

OPR was equal to live birth rate. Among all randomised participants (ITT), the OPR was 25.0% in the treatment group and 15.0% in the placebo group (relative risk 1.67; 95% CI 0.67 to 4.15; p=0.26). Among participants without major protocol deviations (PP), OPRs were 21.6% and 16.2%, respectively (relative risk 1.33; 95% CI 0.51 to 3.47; p=0.55). Among participants who became pregnant following embryo transfer, ongoing pregnancy occurred in 83.3% of the treatment group and 42.9% of the placebo group (relative risk 1.94; 95% CI 1.01 to 3.75; p=0.05). No differences in adverse events or neonatal outcomes were observed between the two groups.

The combination of oral corticosteroids and IVIg did not improve overall pregnancy rates in women with RPL after ART. However, among those who achieved pregnancy after embryo transfer, the risk of pregnancy loss appeared reduced. Larger randomised trials are needed to confirm these findings.

ClinicalTrials.Gov: NCT04701034. Registration date: 5 January 2021

EudraCT number: 2020-000256-35; Registration date: 11 November 2020

The North Denmark Region Committee on Health Research Ethics: N-20200066, Registration date: 16 December 2020

The Data Protection Agency: 2020-156; Registration date: 4 November 2020

WHO universal trial number: U1111-1273-8585

Date of first patient’s enrolment: 28 January 2021.

Despite a high disease burden, care-seeking for mental health symptoms is low in Bangladesh, particularly among women.

To evaluate help-seeking behaviours for anxiety and depression symptoms among Bangladeshi women aged 15–49 and its association with women’s empowerment.

Data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2022 including 2881 women reporting anxiety or depression symptoms were analysed. Help-seeking behaviours, sociodemographics and women’s empowerment using the Survey-based Women’s Empowerment (SWPER) index were assessed. Logistic regression models were used to explore associations.

The mean age of participants was 33.3 years (SD 8.7); two-thirds lived in rural areas. In the SWPER index, 83% of women had high empowerment in the attitude to violence domain, 16% in social independence and 60% in decision-making. Among women with anxiety or depression symptoms, 18.7% sought help, mainly from spouses (43%) or family (52%), and 15% consulted doctors. Women aged >30 years (adjusted OR, aOR 1.25, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.53), from rich households (aOR 1.49, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.89), and with secondary (aOR 1.47, 95% CI 1.08 to 2.01) or higher education (aOR 1.56, 95% CI 1.03 to 2.36) were more likely to seek help. High empowerment in attitude to violence (aOR 0.54, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.81) and decision-making (aOR 0.53, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.68) correlated negatively with help-seeking.

Few Bangladeshi women seek help for mental health symptoms, relying on informal sources. Age, education, wealth and employment predict help-seeking, while high empowerment level in attitude to violence and decision-making domain of SWPER index shows an inverse relationship.