Adoption of laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair (LIHR) in sub-Saharan Africa is poor. The aim of this study was to describe our experience of the feasibility and short-term efficacy of the LIHR service at a South African tertiary academic hospital.
 
  A retrospective audit of all the adult, elective, laparoscopic inguinal hernia cases that were done between November 2011 and 31 October 2016. Data were collected regarding the patient demographics, index side of hernia, type of repair, conversion rate, peri- and postoperative complications, postoperative hernia recurrence, persistent groin pain for more than three months and procedure-related mortality.
 
  One hundred and eighty-six patients were evaluated. One hundred and twenty-six (68%) patients were followed up for a mean of 38 months (3.1 years; range 9-67 months). Sixty (32%) patients were lost to follow-up. Early hernia recurrence (onset in < 7 days) occurred in one case after a totally extra-peritoneal (TEP) repair had required conversion to a trans-environment.
  Various inguinal hernia repair techniques exist, without one 'single best' option.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/cb-839.html  Hernia society guidelines recommend laparoscopic repair as one of its mainstays, provided surgeons are adequately trained. The current practice for hernia repair in South Africa as well as the surgical registrar exposure to laparoscopic repair training is unknown.
 
  To quantify the current practice of inguinal hernia surgery in hospitals affiliated to the University of Cape Town (UCT) and to assess trainee exposure to laparoscopic repair.
 
  Adult patients who underwent inguinal hernia repair during the 12-month study period, at the four UCT affiliated hospitals were included. Collected data parameters included age, gender, primary or recurrent, uni- or bilateral hernia, primary surgeon consultant or non-consultant, operative time, and open or laparoscopic technique used.
 
  Three hundred and seventy-seven patients were included. Eighty-eight (23.2%) repairs were performed laparoscopically, of which five (5.7%) were converted to open. Non-consultants were present at 70/88 (79.5%) cases performed laparoscopically and were the primary surgeon at only 15 (17%). Laparoscopic repair was performed for 63.6% of bilateral versus 19.5% of unilateral hernias, 39.4% of recurrent hernias and 45% of hernias in females. Two of the four hospitals in this study performed 81.8% of all laparoscopic repairs.
 
  Inguinal hernias in our setting are predominantly repaired by open surgery. The likelihood of laparoscopic repair varies significantly depending on which hospital the patient is referred to. Non-consultants have limited exposure to performing laparoscopic hernia repairs as the primary surgeon.
 Inguinal hernias in our setting are predominantly repaired by open surgery. The likelihood of laparoscopic repair varies significantly depending on which hospital the patient is referred to. Non-consultants have limited exposure to performing laparoscopic hernia repairs as the primary surgeon.
  Reading disability (RD) is characterized by slow and inaccurate word reading development, commonly reflecting underlying phonological problems. We have previously shown that exposure to white noise acutely improves cognitive performance in children with ADHD. The question addressed here is whether white noise exposure yields positive outcomes also for RD. There are theoretical reasons to expect such a possibility a) RD and ADHD are two overlapping neurodevelopmental disorders and b) since prior research on white noise benefits has suggested that a central mechanism might be the phenomenon of stochastic resonance, then adding certain kinds of white noise might strengthen the signal-to-noise ratio during phonological processing and phoneme-grapheme mapping.
 
  The study was conducted with a group of 30 children with RD and phonological decoding difficulties and two comparison groups one consisting of skilled readers (n=22) and another of children with mild orthographic reading problems and age adequate phonological decoding difficulties may be immediately helped by white noise during reading. Future research is needed to determine the robustness, mechanisms, and long-term practical implications of the white noise benefits in children with reading disabilities.The synthesis of four non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) with a "A-π-D-π-A" structure, in which the electron-donating core is extended, was achieved. The molecules differed by the nature of the solubilizing groups on the π-spacer and/or the presence of fluorine atoms on the peripheral electron-accepting units. The optoelectronic properties of the molecules were characterized in solution, in thin film, and in photovoltaic devices. The nature of the solubilizing groups had a minor influence on the optoelectronic properties but affected the organization in the solid state. On the other hand, the fluorine atoms influenced the optoelectronics properties and increased the photo-stability of the molecules in thin films. Compared to reference ITIC, the extended molecules showed a wider absorption across the visible range and higher lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy levels. The photovoltaic performances of the four NFAs were assessed in binary blends using PM6 (PBDB-T-2F) as the donating polymer and in ternary blends with ITIC-4F. Solar cells (active area 0.27 cm2 ) showed power conversion efficiencies of up to 11.1 % when ternary blends were processed from non-halogenated solvents, without any thermal post-treatment or use of halogenated additives, making this process compatible with industrial requirements.
  Racial and ethnic disparities in cancer outcomes have been demonstrated for several different malignancies. In this study we aimed to quantify disease-specific survival (DSS) and the 5-year conditional disease-specific survival (CDSS, the change in life expectancy with increasing survivorship) for paranasal sinus cancer by race and ethnicity.
 
  Patients with sinus cancer between 1973 and 2015 were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, End Results (SEER) registry. Kaplan-Meier analysis for DSS was stratified by race and ethnicity. Cox regression models of DSS were generated controlling for stage, age, race, and ethnicity. CDSS was calculated using Cox models. Logistic regression was conducted to identify risk factors for younger age at diagnosis, late-stage at diagnosis, and likelihood of receiving surgical intervention when recommended.
 
  The analysis included a total of 5202 patients. DSS was significantly different when stratified by race (p<0.01). Compared with White patients, Black patients (hazard ratio [HR], 1.