Cynognathus Assemblage Zone (CAZ), which is further divided into three subzones: Langbergia-Garjainia, Trirachodon-Kannemeyeria, and Cricodon-Ufudocyclops. Each subzone is characterised by the presence of a distinct species of trirachodontid, a group of gomphodont cynodonts found relatively abundantly throughout the CAZ, with the lower two subzones characterised by the medium-sized trirachodontids Langbergia and Trirachodon. The uppermost part of the formation, the Cricodon-Ufudocyclops subzone, yields trirachodontids of larger size. The majority of these trirachodontid specimens have previously been referred to Cricodon metabolus, a taxon also known from the Manda Beds of Tanzania and the Ntawere Formation of Zambia. Here we identify one of the specimens (BP/1/5538) previously referred to Cricodon as a new taxon, Guttigomphus avilionis. Guttigomphus can be distinguished from other gomphodont cynodonts by features of the upper postcanine teeth, such as an asymmetric crown in occlusal view . Our phylogenetic analysis recovers Guttigomphus as a basal member of Trirachodontidae, outside of the clade including Cricodon, Langbergia and Trirachodon.The Burgersdorp Formation of South Africa is a richly fossiliferous rock sequence at the top of the Permian–Triassic Beaufort Group and is known for its abundance of Early–Middle Triassic vertebrate remains, particularly cynodonts. Fossils from the Burgersdorp Formation are referred biostratigraphically to the  Cynognathus Assemblage Zone (CAZ). The CAZ has in turn been divided into three subunits. These were initially informally labeled subzones A–C and characterised largely by temnospondyl amphibian and cynodont index taxa (Langbergia-Garjainia (formerly subzone A), Trirachodon-Kannemeyeria (B), and Cricodon-Ufudocyclops (C) subzones  Teekloof Formation (Endothiodon Assemblage Zone)  strata in the latest Permian Cistecephalus–Daptocephalus assemblage zones  . Additioge zones . In the laniceps  and Thriiorhinus .Cynognathus and Diademodon. General concordance between the biostratigraphical CAZ  and the lithostratigraphical Burgersdorp Formation has long been recognized . The CAZ is currently thought to encompass the boundary between the late Lower (Olenekian) and early Middle (Anisian) Triassic  was originally considered to be characterised by “advanced capitosauroid amphibians”  and referring subzone C specimens to Cricodon metabolus, a species originally known from the Manda Beds of Tanzania  from this subzone, indicating high diversity in the group even in the youngest known strata where they occur.Here, we describe one of the specimens (BP/1/5538) previously assigned to cription  of anothCricodon metabolus by C. metabolus (and might therefore represent a new taxon) based on the strong apical curvature of the main cusp and two distal accessory cusps on the upper sectorial postcanine (only a single accessory cusp is present in C. metabolus) and the longer and more ovoid upper gomphodont postcanines with a large labial-mesial accessory cusp and no distal cingulum or ‘step-like’ contact between crowns.Specimen BP/1/5538 was recovered from Avilion Farm, west of the town of Sterkstroom –5. It haFor the phylogenetic analysis, a data matrix containing a total of 81 craniodental characters across 24 taxa was assembled, the majority of which were taken from previous studies conducted by Cynognathus as the sister taxon of Gomphodontia in the larger clade Cynognathia. Therefore, we used Cynognathus as the outgroup for our analysis of gomphodont relationships, as in previous studies  will represent a published work according to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), and hence the new names contained in the electronic version are effectively published under that Code from the electronic edition alone. This published work and the nomenclatural acts it contains have been registered in ZooBank, the online registration system for the ICZN. The ZooBank LSIDs (Life Science Identifiers) can be resolved, and the associated information viewed through any standard web browser by appending the LSID to the prefix THERAPSIDA Broom, 1905CYNODONTIA Owen, 1861GOMPHODONTIA Seeley, 1895aTRIRACHODONTIDAE Crompton, 1955GUTTIGOMPHUS AVILIONIS gen. et sp. nov.Holotype—BP/1/5538. A partial skull preserving the posterior snout and right interorbital region.Horizon and locality—BP/1/5538 was recovered from Avilion Farm, west of the town of Sterkstroom in the Karoo Basin of South Africa from the Cricodon-Ufudocyclops subzone of the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone, Burgersdorp Formation and as such is most likely dated to the early Middle Triassic  of the gomphodont postcanines in occlusal view. The species name avilionis refers to Avilion Farm, where BP/1/5538 was collected.Diagnosis—A combination of features distinguishes Guttigomphus avilionis from other early gomphodonts, including trirachodontids and basal traversodontids such as Pascualgnathus and Etjoia. The new taxon can be distinguished from Langbergia modisei by the absence of distinct, well-developed cingular cuspules on the upper gomphodont postcanines, location of the central cusp closer to the lingual cusp  on the upper gomphodont postcanines, and the absence of a mesial accessory cusp on the sectorial postcanine(s). The new taxon can be distinguished from Trirachodon (both species) and Cricodon metabolus by the shape of the upper gomphodont postcanines , presence of a well-developed labial-mesial accessory cusp on the upper gomphodont postcanines, weaker development of the transverse crest connecting the three main cusps of the upper gomphodont postcanines, and presence of two distal accessory cusps on the upper sectorial postcanine. The new taxon can be distinguished from the newly described Impidens hancoxi by the possession of fewer sectorials in the postcanine tooth row , upper gomphodont postcanines that are wider labially than those of Impidens, in which these teeth are wider lingually , more pronounced transverse expansion of the upper postcanines than in Impidens, less oblique inclination in the posterior-most postcanines in relation to the axis of the skull than in Impidens, and much smaller size than in Impidens .Pascualgnathus and Etjoia is predominately on the basis of a wider labial cusp on the upper postcanines  and the number and prominence of cuspules around the crown borders, with Guttigomphus avilionis presenting only faint cuspules similar to those found on more derived gomphodonts such as Scalenodon angustifrons, whereas Etjoia presents a small number of larger cuspules closer to the morphological condition found more commonly in Trirachodontidae.Distinction from the traversodontid gomphodonts DescriptionMaxilla—Parts of the maxilla are preserved on both sides of the skull .Prefrontal and lacrimal—The right lacrimal is clearly identifiable due to the presence of paired lacrimal canals on the internal surface of the anterior orbital margin. Lacrimal canals cannot be identified on the left side, as the specimen is broken just before the anterior border of the orbit. The lacrimal contacts the nasal and maxilla anteriorly and the suborbital process of the jugal ventrally. The contact between the lacrimal and the prefrontal is not readily identifiable due to the preservation of the specimen but would have been around the anterodorsal corner of the orbit. Part of the prefrontal is preserved on both sides of the specimen , and this element is trapezoidal in shape, with weakly-angled contacts with the nasal and frontal dorsally. Posteriorly, the prefrontal contacts the postorbital, excluding the frontal from the orbital margin.Postorbital—Only a small fragment of the postorbital is present on the right side. It formed part of the posterodorsal margin of the orbit. A triangular anteromedial postorbital process extends between the frontal and prefrontal in this region.Orbit—The anterior and dorsal margins of the right orbit are preserved, and are formed by the postorbital, prefrontal, lacrimal, and suborbital process of the jugal. There is a large amount of matrix within the inner surface of the orbit, obscuring some of the internal boundaries. On the left side, portions of the lacrimal and prefrontal are present but broken just before the orbital boundary, so that only parts of the inner orbit can be identified.Dentition—Three upper gomphodont postcanine crowns are preserved on each side of the specimen . The central cusp is positioned closer to the lingual than the labial margin, and there are deep occlusal basins to either side forming a concave surface between the cingula and the main cusps. The labial borders of teeth rd and re have a very gently sloping, almost flat ledge, 1–2 mm across, positioned labial to the main labial cusp. On the lingual side, the base of the main cusp merges into the border of the crown with no separating ledge.The posteriormost gomphodont postcanine on the right side  is the bual side  and 7. ALangbergia) are present on the sectorial tooth, but their apices are broken. Consistent with the rest of the post-canine series, the sectorial also possesses a sectorial labial ledge, a feature commented on by The sectorial postcanine on the right side is well preserved but incompletely erupted, and measures 2.2 mm wide transversely and 6 mm long mesiodistally. The main cusp displays a posterior curvature towards the apex (comparative to other gomphodonts) and is very faintly serrated (difficult to observe with the naked eye). At least two distal accessory cusps . There is a labial-mesial cusp and a large feature which is possibly a labial distal cusp, but since the distolabial portion of the tooth is missing it is not possibly to accurately gauge this feature in relation to the labial cusp or crown borders. Tooth ld measures 6.2 mm in transverse width and 2.9 mm in mesiodistal length across the base of the lingual cusp. Measurement of the labial cusp is not possible due to damage, but the widening trajectory of the mesial and distal crown borders clearly display the hallmark widening of the tooth on the labial side forming the droplet shaped occlusal outline.The posteriormost tooth on the left side , ld has Guttigomphus avilionis as a new species. The overall morphology appears somewhat intermediate between Langbergia modisei and Cricodon metabolus  plane in line with the border of the crown and form individual pointed apices, rather than appearing as rounded relief structures on the occlusal surface of the crown (The morphology of the upper postcanine teeth provides the primary evidence for recognition of etabolus . The sharachodon . Detailshe crown .Phylogenetic results—The New Technology search in TNT recovered two most parsimonious trees (MPTs) of 233 steps. Subsequently, a traditional search with TBR did not recover any further MPTs. The strict consensus of these two MPTs is displayed in Guttigomphus as the sister taxon to Cricodon + Trirachodon .Trirachodontidae can be considered as a monophyletic group of gomphodont cynodonts that now numbers six species and is currently found exclusively in the Character 12: character state 2, the anterior most postcanines on the maxillary tooth row are less transversely expanded post canines .Character 17: character state 2, a multitude of tiny cuspules present on the mesial and distal upper postcanine crown border.Character 18: character state 2, the upper postcanine row consists of gomphodont and sectorial postcanines .Character 40: character state 2, three cusps on the transverse row of the lower postcanines.Synapomorphy mapping in TNT reconstructs the following character state transformations as unambiguous synapomorphies of Trirachodontidae:Guttigomphus avilionis adds to our expanding knowledge of cynodont diversity in the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone. There are now at least nine cynodont taxa reported from probable Middle Triassic beds in the Karoo Basin of South Africa: Diademodon tetragonus . Of these, the specimen that we identify here as Guttigomphus avilionis was one of a number of specimens from CAZ Subzone C previously referred to Cricodon metabolus.The discovery of tragonus , Cynognaeronotus , Lumkuiaia fuzzi , Bolotrirerensis , Trirachn berryi , Trirachnemeyeri , Cricodoetabolus , Impiden hancoxi  and now Guttigomphus falls out as the earliest branching member of Trirachodontidae. It shares some features in common with the recently described early traversodontid Etjoia, such as the extent of transverse expansion on the upper post-canines, the presence of a mesial cingulum and the presence of deep occlusal basins. These features are absent in more derived trirachodontids but commonplace within Traversodontidae. These two taxa reflect the symplesiomorphies of the common ancestor between trirachodontids and traversodontids.Guttigomphus avilionis) was recovered in May 1993 by John Hancox, from the same general location as specimens BP/1/5540, BP/1/5835, and BP/1/6102. All of these were previously referred to Cricodon metabolus by Cricodon’ by Specimen BP/1/5538  and a comparable level of gomphodont transverse expansion (Cricodon metabolus holotype (UMZC T905) and specimen BP/1/8124 both display a labial cusp small in sagittal depth, appearing more like an accessory cusp or large cuspule than the prominent labial cusp on other teeth  and Probainognathia; for example the absence of the prefrontal  and postorbital, shape of the internarial vomer, the secondary palatal plate not reaching the midline, length of secondary palate relative to the tooth row  and the dorsal extent of the zygomatic arch. We also excluded characters for postcranial material due to insufficient availability of material for scoring in either the Chinese taxa or our newly described species.Our analysis attempted to include all potentially parsimony informative traits among Cynognathia and the only characters that we excluded that were included in the matrix of Etjoia, sinognathines were the only taxa within Cynognathia, other than Diademodon, to possess conical anterior-most postcanines and they have an unusually slender snout in comparison to the rest of Cynognathia.We do not clearly resolve these Chinese taxa as being either trirachodontids or traversodontids. Although recovered as the sister taxon of the African trirachodontids in our consensus tree, the placement of Sinognathinae is extremely poorly supported, and taxon sampling in our analysis does not permit testing of the probainognathian hypothesis. Further research is required into the phylogenetic positions of the sinognathines, and indeed all the relationships within Gomphodontia. It is possible that convergent trait evolution is obscuring the correct placement of sinognathines. Until the recent description of Guttigomphus avilionis is the sixth known trirachodontid species, and along with the recently described Impidens hancoxi it presents a rapidly expanding understanding of the Cricodon-Ufudocyclops subzone of the Karoo Basin’s Burgersdorp Formation. All currently undisputed trirachodontids are known from South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. A broader geographic range for the Trirachodontidae is possible, but confirmation requires additional study of various poorly known extra-African taxa, most notably the Chinese Sinognathinae. The temporal range of trirachodontids is also currently questionable; although an Anisian age is usually cited for the main CAZ fauna, the possibility that the upper Cricodon-Ufudocyclops Subzone is later (Ladinian or even Carnian) cannot be excluded at present. Radioisotopic data for these strata are needed to test whether they are coeval with “Cynognathus Zone-like” faunas globally.10.7717/peerj.14355/supp-1Supplemental Information 1Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj.14355/supp-2Supplemental Information 2Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj.14355/supp-3Supplemental Information 3Click here for additional data file.


Cirrhosis is the result of sustained liver damage leading to the diffusion of hepatic fibrosis, wherein the normal hepatic architecture is replaced by abnormally organized nodules separated by fibrous septa that connect the different vascular structures of the hepatic lobule . Chronichttp://www.healthdata.org/gbd/2019, accessed on 29 October 2022). In Europe, liver disease is now the second leading cause of years of working life lost after only ischemic heart disease [The global impact of cirrhosis on the public health is high, although not evenly distributed across the world with the poorest countries bearing the greatest burden . In the  disease . Despite disease . MoreoveThe special Issue titled “The Clinical Management of Liver Cirrhosis: Current Concepts, Recent Advances and Future Trends” includes seven manuscripts  that focus on several important topics and complications of cirrhosis. Two of them address the issue of non-invasive tests (NITs) for evaluation of liver fibrosis. The universal implementation of NITs in clinical practice has significantly reduced the number of liver biopsies, which are now mainly indicated to determine the cause of liver disease in selected cases, and not to stage fibrosis . NITs caThe remaining three original manuscripts focus on two well-known complications of cirrhosis such as acute kidney injury (AKI) and hepatic hydrothorax, and the other on osteoporosis, a complication often overlooked in this population. AKI is highly prevalent among hospitalized patients with cirrhosis (up to 47%) and is associated with a 7-fold increase in mortality . Once AKHepatic hydrothorax (HH) is another complication of cirrhosis associated with high mortality. It is defined as the presence of pleural effusion in a patient with cirrhosis without evidence of underlying cardiopulmonary disease and occurs in up to 5–12% of the patients ,16,17. MA more prevalent but often ignored complication of cirrhosis is osteoporosis, which occurs in about 30% of patients with a higher prevalence in the presence of related risk factors  . MoreoveThe meta-analysis by Castellana et al., aimed to determine the prevalence of the absence of cirrhosis in subjects with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) . This isThe last paper of this Special Issue is a review made by our group on portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in patients with cirrhosis . PVT is In conclusion, this Special Issue encompasses several important topics and complications of cirrhosis. Both of the reviews make an updated synopsis of serum NITs and PVT in the setting of cirrhosis, while the original studies provide relevant new data on each of their respective topics, further fueling the need for additional studies to bridge the gaps in knowledge.


Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis; SptP from Salmonella typhimurium; YopH from Yersinia sp. and TbpA from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The review focuses also on the potential inhibitory compounds of bacterial virulence factors and inhibitory mechanisms such as the reversible oxidation of tyrosine phosphatases.The review is focused on the bacterial protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) utilized by bacteria as virulence factors necessary for pathogenicity. The inhibition of bacterial PTPs could contribute to the arrest of the bacterial infection process. This mechanism could be utilized in the design of antimicrobial therapy as adjuvants to antibiotics. The review summaries knowledge on pathogenic bacterial protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) involved in infection process, such as: PTPA and PTPB from  Staphylococcus aureus is resistant to all β-lactam antibiotics by producing the β-lactamase enzyme. Strains of bacteria resistant to all known antibiotics have already appeared, e.g., K. pneumoniae New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) [Recently, bacterial pathogens have posed a serious threat to human health worldwide. Intensified research on bacterial pathogenesis over the last decades greatly expanded our knowledge of the mechanisms of disease processes at the molecular level. However, modern medicine is still not always able to cope with all cases. Increasing antibiotic-resistant, emerging strains and re-emerging infectious agents have become increasingly common and present enormous challenges for treating infections caused by highly resistant bacterial strains. In the process of evolution, bacteria develop mechanisms that block or bypass the pathways of the action of commonly used antibacterial drugs. For example, the MRSA strain of se (NDM) .This raises the need for a new approach to the topic of treatment and prevention of bacterial infections using non-standard and more effective antimicrobial compounds. As an answer to the growing resistance of pathogenic bacteria to antibiotic therapy, scientists need to design novel promising antimicrobial compounds that can be utilized as an addition to standard therapy, thereby increasing its effectiveness. The novelty is to target directly secreted virulence factors controlling infection processes.Due to antibiotic resistance, finding new ways to fight bacteria that are difficult to treat is now a real challenge. Numerous research studies are dedicated to the search for inhibitors of virulence factors, including bacterial tyrosine phosphatases.Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis; SptP from Salmonella typhimurium; YopH from Yersinia spp. and TbpA from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.The main goal for scientific groups is the selection and identification of suitable inhibitory compounds against pathogenic bacterial protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) involved in the infection process, such as PTPA and PTPB from This review lists selected antimicrobial compounds—inhibitors of the bacterial protein tyrosine phosphatases used as a virulence factors necessary for induction of infection. The inhibition of bacterial PTPs could contribute to the arrest of the bacterial infection process. It could be utilized in the design of modern antimicrobial therapy or as a supportive therapy for standard treatment.One of the many mechanisms of bacterial virulence is the activity of bacterial kinases and phosphatases. As in eukaryotic cells, in bacteria a lot diverse families of enzymes with this type of activity can be found. These enzymes phosphorylate and dephosphorylate various amino acid residues in proteins, most often serine (Ser), threonine (Thr), tyrosine (Tyr), histidine (His) and arginine (Arg). Phosphorylation of the specific amino acids in proteins is an essential component of many signaling pathways. In addition to protein kinases and phosphatases, an important role is played also by phosphoproteins that capture other regulatory proteins. Reversible phosphorylation and dephosphorylation can control the activity of target proteins, either directly through conformational changes in proteins, or indirectly by regulating protein–protein interactions .Reversible phosphorylation of structural and regulatory proteins is an important control mechanism in eukaryotic cells. Protein tyrosine phosphatases regulate signal transduction pathways that control numerous cell functions, including proliferation, differentiation and growth ,4. An atProtein tyrosine phosphorylation has emerged as a key tool in the control of numerous cellular functions in bacteria. Numerous bacteria utilize secreted protein tyrosine phosphatase activity to take an essential part in host–pathogen interactions involved with the manipulation of host signaling pathways and, subsequently, with the induction of infection process. Bacterial tyrosine phosphorylation/dephosphorylation is also involved in biofilm formation and community development .Bacterial protein tyrosine phosphatases and tyrosine phosphorylation represent critical mechanisms of the control of crucial processes of pathogenic bacteria. Some of those PTPs are involved in the regulation of biosynthesis of capsular and extracellular polysaccharides, critical for bacterial virulence . BacteriRecently, rapid progress in bacterial genome sequencing has led to the discovery and characterization of numerous novel virulence factors. One of the many mechanisms in bacterial infection process is the activity of bacterial kinases and phosphatases. These enzymes phosphorylate and dephosphorylate amino acid residues in proteins, most commonly serine, tyrosine or threonine. Reversible phosphorylation and dephosphorylation control the activity of target proteins by induction of conformational changes or by regulation of protein–protein interactions.The virulence of microorganisms is the ability of the pathogen to penetrate, replicate, multiply and consequently damage the tissues of the infected organism . The virSecretory molecules responsible for the virulence of the strain are located in the cell membrane or in the cytosol. Secretory factors are important ingredients that help the bacteria get through the innate and adaptive response of the host immune system. Membrane-bound virulence factors promote adhesion of bacteria and penetration into the infected cell. Cytosolic factors facilitate rapid adaptation of the bacteria in the host organism—metabolic, physiological and morphological changes . The virA characteristic phenomenon used by some virulent bacterial strains is the secretion of virulence factors into the interior of infected cells, which by changing the signaling pathways enable initiation of the infection process. These virulence factors include bacterial protein tyrosine phosphatases whose activity is necessary for the total bacterial virulence .Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive bacterium that can commonly occur on the skin and mucosa of the nasal cavity in humans, usually without causing symptoms [S. aureus can cause a wide range of ailments, from skin and soft tissue infections, through pneumonia, osteomyelitis, to sepsis [Staphylococcus aureus strains that have produced resistance to available, strong antibiotics—MRSA resistant to β-lactams, macrolides and fluoroquinolones [symptoms . Howevero sepsis . There iinolones  and vancinolones .Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiological agent of tuberculosis, is acidophilic bacteria, resistant to many environmental factors, such as drying, high and low temperature, high and low pH. Tuberculosis can be divided into pulmonary form and extrapulmonary. The most common, pulmonary, manifests itself mainly with a long-lasting cough. The extrapulmonary form mainly affects people with reduced immunity and affects the pleura, lymph nodes, bones or the urinary system [Mycobacterium tuberculosis, there are cases of difficult-to-treat rifampicin-resistant strains, requiring prolonged and intensified therapy [y system . Treatme therapy .Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria produce two low molecular weight tyrosine phosphatases: PtpA and PtpB. Crystallographic studies have shown a similarity of the PtpA and PtpB sequences with the low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatases (LMW-PTPs) family; however, their topology differs. First of all, the P-loop motif in the active site is located in the N-terminal domain of the protein, in contrast to classical and dual specific tyrosine phosphatases where this loop is located in the middle of the sequence. This difference suggests that LMW-PTPs evolved separately from classical and dual-specific PTPs [fic PTPs ,21.Staphylococcus aureus is secreted during macrophage infection and has a critical role as a bacterial effector protein that prevents host defense [S. aureus, and deletion of PtpA influences on survival and infectivity [PtpA phosphatase from  defense . PtpA phectivity .Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria secrete PTPA and PTPB phosphatases into the cytosol of the macrophage cell, where it leads to the destruction of the key components of the endocytic pathway, consequently leading to the arrest of phagosome maturation [turation .Salmonella typhimurium belongs to Gram-negative rods of the Salmonella family. It is one of the etiological factors of salmonellosis. The disease manifests itself in varying degrees of gastroenteritis. It usually resolves spontaneously, does not require causal treatment, only symptomatic. Antibiotic therapy based on fluoroquinolones or macrolides is used only in severe course or parenteral infection [nfection .Salmonella typhimurium interacts with host cells to stimulate signaling pathways, leading to a variety of cellular responses, including cytoskeleton rearrangement, cytokine production and, in some cell types, programmed cell death or apoptosis. This interaction is largely dependent on the function of proteins located at position 63 of the Salmonella chromosome. This type of protein secretion system has been identified in many Gram-negative bacteria pathogenic to animals and plants that share the ability to engage host cells in complex interactions. It is generally assumed that the main function of this mechanism is the translocation of bacterial proteins into the host cell, which can then stimulate or disrupt host cell signaling pathways [pathways .Salmonella typhimurium bacteria utilize the type III secretion system and translocate SptP phosphatase to epithelial cells, where it inhibits mitogen-activated kinases that play a role in regulating the response to external signals reaching the cell by altering gene expression or apoptosis of cells [of cells .Salmonella typhimurium. SptP has a modular structural organization that may reflect the presence of different effector domains. SptP is deployed in modular domains. The N-terminus shares sequence similarity with two other bacterial toxins secreted by functionally homologous type III secretion systems: Yersinia YopE and Pseudomonas ExoS. The C-terminal domain, on the other hand, is similar to the YopH phosphatase. The probable contribution of SptP phosphatase in Salmonella infection process include the change in cell physiology, reorganization of the cytoskeleton and entry and survival in host tissues [SptP phosphatase has been identified as an effector protein in  tissues .Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bacterium that shows great metabolic diversity. It is found in many biotic and abiotic habitats, including water, soil and various organisms. In humans, it is responsible for opportunistic infections. It is a cause of often dangerous infections in people with lowered immunity for various reasons, patients with cystic fibrosis and those who are mechanically ventilated. Most often, it causes infections of the respiratory system, the middle ear  and the urinary system . P. aeruginosa is resistant to most antibiotics, and hospital strains are often sensitive only to very strong antibiotics such as aztreonam and colistin [colistin .Pseudomonas aeruginosa has acquired a high level of drug resistance, which makes the treatment of patients infected with this pathogen extremely difficult. Critical features that contribute to the pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa include the production of multiple virulence factors, biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance [The versatility of this bacterium is related to the large number of regulatory proteins in its genome. Due to the membrane permeability barrier, sistance .P. aeruginosa is one of the most dangerous microorganisms causing nosocomial infections, the treatment of which is very difficult due to the high resistance of this bacterium to antibiotics. Critical characteristics that contribute towards the pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa include the production of virulence factors and biofilms [P. aeruginosa is secreted to the periplasm and connected with the extracellular quorum, sensing signals to extracellular polysaccharide production and biofilm formation [biofilms ,32. The biofilms . TpbA frormation . Inactivormation . In addiormation .Yersinia genus contains three species of bacteria pathogenic to humans: Yersinia pestis is the etiological agent of plague; Yersinia pseudotuberculosis infection is most often manifested by mesenteric lymphadenitis and Yersinia enterocolitica, which is responsible for a number of gastrointestinal disorders and lymphadenitis. The bacteria of the genius Yersinia are the one of the most virulent pathogens threatening humans, being the cause of many epidemics in the past and still posing a threat through the animal reservoirs or by danger of using them as a biological weapon due to their high virulence. There are still many human cases caused by Yersinia pestis, with the greatest frequency of human plague infections having occurred in Africa [Y. pestis in wild reservoir animals  is detected also in highly developed countries [Yersinia genus represents the species of bacteria pathogenic to humans: plague-causing Y. pestis, Y. pseudotuberculosis inducing tuberculosis-like symptoms and septicemia or Y. enterocolitica responsible for gastrointestinal disorders [Y. pestis is transmitted through blood by fleas from its natural reservoirs, mainly rodents, squirrels, chipmunks or rabbits, and leads to the bubonic form of plague [n Africa . Moreoveountries . Yersiniisorders . Y. pestf plague . The inhf plague . Both foYersinia spp. use the type III secretion system to translocate virulence effectors deep into the host cell. During infection, Yersinia translocates Yop virulence effectors (Yops) into the host cell, leading to the suppression of the innate immune response [Yersinia bacteria are phosphatases that are crucial during the infection process , prevents host cell adhesion and inhibits the production of reactive oxygen species by macrophages. The YopH catalytic site contains an amino acid sequence that is similar to the eukaryotic protein tyrosine phosphatase. There is a cysteine residue in the active site that is essential for catalysis and enzymatic activity [Bacteria response . Numerou process . One of activity .The secretion model for translocation leads to secretion of virulence factors, among others YopH protein tyrosine phosphatase, which is involved in the inhibition of phagocytosis used by macrophages to get rid of pathogens ,43.Due to the problem of antibiotic resistance, new ways to fight bacteria that are difficult to treat are currently being sought. Many studies are devoted to the search for inhibitors of virulence factors such as tyrosine phosphatases, which, by regulating them, could become an interesting option supporting current treatments. The phosphorylation of proteins containing tyrosine residues is a key post-translational modification controlling numerous cellular functions of bacteria. So far, a number of tyrosine phosphatases have been found to be responsible for the virulence of various bacterial strains. Many species of bacteria use the activity of protein tyrosine phosphatase in the host–pathogen interaction, influencing signaling pathways and subsequent induction of the infection process. A lot of work has been devoted to the search for tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors in the context of possible support of the current antibacterial treatment.2H) or sulfonic acid (SO3H) S. cerevisiae yeast protein) can reduce sulfinic acid residue of peroxiredoxin Tsa1 in the presence of magnesium ions and ATP [PTPs serve as key mediators of cell signaling and the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, as reversible oxidation is the main mechanism for control of PTPs’ activity. The catalytic cysteine residue in the active center of protein tyrosine phosphatases is in the form of a thiolate anion, and because of its microenvironment has a low pKa (~5.4), which induces sensitivity to oxidation. The oxidation of catalytic cysteine inhibits the ability of the enzyme to dephosphorylate the substrate, involving the transfer of a phosphate group from the substrate to the catalytic cysteine. Depending on the degree of oxidation, the cysteine residue in the active center may turn into a form of sulfenic (SOH), sulfinic  can as well. ATA is believed to be a nontoxic compound, and it is still one of the most active inhibitors of the YopH virulence factor from Streptomyces spp. [Annona muricata or karanjin from Pongamia pinnata. The therapeutic utilization of natural compounds is partially limited by their low stability and selectivity, but they can be used in the design of synthetic analogues [There are many natural compounds that inhibit different types of enzymes, including protein tyrosine phosphatases. Some natural PTP inhibitors can be extracted from plants, algae or microorganisms. For example, dephostatin has been reported to be a competitive PTP inhibitor in micromolar doses, isolated from ces spp. . Anothernalogues .Bacterial PTPs became a promising target for the design and development of novel antimicrobial compounds including small molecule inhibitors from natural sources . MascareMany studies involving NMR-based screening or molecular modeling focused also on a search for the compounds that inactivate protein tyrosine phosphatases by mimicking the natural substrate of PTPs: phosphotyrosine. The phosphotyrosyl in mimetic structures is replaced by sulfotyrosyl, thiophosphotyrosyl or phosphonomethylphenylalanine . Most inPharmacists and scientists have focused their attention on the regulatory mechanisms of the activity of protein tyrosine phosphatases because of the relationship of the development of human diseases with impaired activity of phosphatases. Protein tyrosine phosphatases become potential pharmacological targets for the design and production of drugs, including the discovery of natural substances that may act as phosphatase inhibitors ,70. The Protein phosphorylation of tyrosine residues appears to be a key tool in the regulation of cellular and physiological processes in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. Impressive progress has been made in recent years in the identification of protein kinases and protein phosphatases, which are responsible for bacterial virulence. This review is focused on bacterial tyrosine phosphates; however, there are numerous bacterial tyrosine kinases that play essential roles in bacterial virulence. An example of such a kinase is CapB2 from Staphylococcus aureus, which is responsible together with PtpA and PtpB tyrosine phosphatases for the production of polysaccharide capsule .Due to the knowledge of inhibitory mechanisms, it is possible to design strong potential inhibitors drugs that, by interacting with the active sites of tyrosine phosphatases, can provide both primary and adjuvant treatment.Based on reviewed studies, it can be concluded that potential inhibitors of bacterial tyrosine phosphatases are mainly compounds with low molar mass, of an electrophilic nature, with carboxyl groups that will form intermolecular hydrogen interactions and rich in aromatic rings that would guarantee the interaction of pi stacking with side chains of phosphatase-building amino acids.Many important questions still remain regarding, in particular, the nature of the effectors that switch on and switch off the relevant networks and the cascades of reactions taking place throughout the process of phosphorylation/dephosphorylation. There is also a gap between the growing number of those identified protein-tyrosine kinases and phosphatases and the number of designed or identified potential inhibitors. Therefore, the search for new compounds that inhibit tyrosine phosphatases seems to result in the development of new therapeutic strategies, which help in the fight against strains resistant to antibiotics and difficult bacterial infections.


Akkermansia muciniphila and butyrate-producing bacteria) have emerged in both the academic literature and industry market. In particular, research into next-generation prebiotics and probiotics has tremendously developed. However, still we are at the very beginning to understand how next-generation prebiotics and probiotics work to promote health. The beneficial mechanisms of next-generation prebiotics and probiotics have not been fully elucidated and extensive studies are crucially warranted. In this light, we introduce this Research Topic to advance our understanding of next-generation prebiotics and probiotics.Prebiotics and probiotics are widely consumed to maintain health and treat disease all over the world. Although traditional prebiotics and probiotics are easily available in the market, the search for new next-generation prebiotics and probiotics is still urgently needed to enhance their efficacy and health promoting effects. Recently, next-generation prebiotics  and probiotics  how next-generation prebiotics work to promote the growth of beneficial microbes and a healthy microbiota in the gut; (2) what effects next-generation prebiotics and probiotics have on the gut microbiota during treatment of diseases; (3) how next-generation prebiotics and probiotics work to promote intestinal health; (4) new advancements in the development of next-generation prebiotics from natural resources; (5) isolation and characterization of next-generation probiotics from human gut or other resources. We would like to bring the latest findings and discoveries in this research field, and we hope that more detailed investigations would be conducted to develop next-generation prebiotics and probiotics as a new class of functional foods or therapeutic drugs.Next-generation prebiotics and probiotics: Current status and future development.” This Research Topic contains two review articles. Feng et al. analyzed and summarized the effects of probiotics on chemotherapy-induced diarrhea and oral mucositis. They found that orally administrated probiotics could potentially decrease the incidences of chemotherapy-induced diarrhea and oral mucositis. However, more clinical studies are needed to verify this effect and the species and number of probiotics must be optimized and standardized. Huang et al. focused on the effects of probiotics on respiratory tract allergic disease including allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma. They summarized the role of probiotics as an alternative treatment for common allergic diseases in respiratory tract. By reshaping the gut microbiota, probiotics could reduce the allergen-induced hyperreactivity and cytokine release in the respiratory tract. They concluded that it is promising to treat allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma with probiotics. However, they also noted that more detailed future studies must be conducted to solidify the therapeutic effects of probiotics on respiratory tract allergic diseases.This editorial summarizes the contributions to the Frontiers Research Topic “Pan et al. investigated the probiotic effects of Bacillus licheniformis DSM5749 on the growth performance and gut microbiota of laying hens. They found that B. licheniformis DSM5749 could improve the laying performance and promote the intestinal health of hens. Additionally, B. licheniformis DSM5749 could increase the abundance of beneficial bacteria  while decrease the abundance of potential pathogenic bacteria  in the gut. This study makes B. licheniformis DSM5749 a good candidate for the development of next-generation probiotics. Dai et al. explored the prebiotic effects of different Euglena gracilis powders. Using an in vitro model, they illustrated that Euglena gracilis powders could significantly promote the growth of Lactobacillus hordei MRS 102, Lactobacillus kefiri MRS 103, Lactobacillus brevis MRS 104, Lactobacillus parabuchneri MRS 107, Lactobacillus buchneri MRS 108 and Lactobacillus fructivorans MRS 109. Zhu et al. investigated the potential beneficial effect of polydextrose on the human gut microbiota. They found that adding polydextrose to inulin could reduce the gas production while maintaining the bifidogenic effect. Further study suggested that polydextrose could promote the growth of beneficial bacteria including Faecalibacterium spp. and Roseburia spp. in the human gut. Similarly, Pi et al. investigated the effect of zymosan on the human gut microbiota and found that it could significantly increase the population of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium, Faecalibacterium and Prevotella in the gut. Moreover, zymosan also remarkably increased the gut microbiota production of H2 and short chain fatty acids including acetic acid and propionic acid. Collectively, these studies make Euglena gracilis powders, polydextrose and zymosan promising candidates for the development of next-generation prebiotics.Four original research articles were included in this Research Topic. Among the four research articles, one of them were about next-generation probiotics while the other three were about next-generation prebiotics. This Research Topic provides new insights into the study of next-generation prebiotics and probiotics. As have mentioned above, we are still at the very beginning to understand how next-generation prebiotics and probiotics work to promote health. This Research Topic provides a good beginning in this field and we anticipate that more studies could be conducted to further explore the next-generation prebiotics and probiotics.The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32101032), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2021QC110), and Qingdao Marine Biomedical Research Institute Project (HYJK2021006).The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.


The use of mobile health -based interventions for the prevention of alcohol and other psychoactive substances use is an emerging practice for which new evidence is required. This study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of a mHealth-based peer mentoring tool for early screening, brief intervention, and referral of students who abuse alcohol and other psychoactive substances. It compared the implementation of a mHealth-delivered intervention to the paper-based practice that is the standard at the University of Nairobi.A quasi-experimental study using purposive sampling was used to select a cohort of n = 100  first-year student peer mentors on two campuses of the University of Nairobi in Kenya. Data were collected on the mentors’ sociodemographic characteristics as well as the feasibility and acceptability of the interventions by way of, the magnitude of reach, feedback to investigators, referral of cases, and perceived ease of use.The mHealth-based peer mentoring tool scored high with 100% of users rating it as feasible and acceptable. Among the two study cohorts, there were no differences in the acceptability of the peer mentoring intervention. When comparing the feasibility of the peer mentoring practice, actual use of the interventions, and intervention reach, the mHealth-based cohort mentored four mentees for every one mentored by the standard practice cohort.The mHealth-based peer mentoring tool had high feasibility and acceptability among student peer mentors. The intervention provided evidence for the need to expand the availability of screening services for alcohol and other psychoactive substances use among students in the university and promote the appropriate management practices within and outside the university. Given the documented prevalence of harmful alcohol and other psychoactive substances use among young adults, the need for innovative ways to communicate behaviour change is urgent. The harmful use of psychoactive substances has a myriad of negative consequences for young adults both in the short term and long term. These eventually lead to poor life outcomes including loss of lives. Currently, there is a need for more evidence on the feasibility and acceptability of mHealth-based interventions for the prevention of the harmful use of psychoactive substances among young adults. This study adds to the body of evidence about efficacious measures for the prevention of the harmful use of alcohol and other substances among young adults. It is relevant in providing data on the feasibility and acceptability of mHealth-based peer mentoring in a university setting. Given the limited evidence of the effectiveness of mHealth-based interventions in Africa, this study adds evidence to this important but emerging practice. Finally, this study contributes to the achievement of the Global Sustainable Development Goals, specifically strengthening the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol. Excessive consumption of alcohol and other psychoactive substances among the young adult population is an issue of global health concern . In KenyThe harmful use of alcohol and other psychoactive substances among Kenyan students has been associated with widespread indiscipline and violence at school including the burning of schools and the destruction of school property . FurtherInstitutions of higher learning use various programs for the prevention of harmful alcohol and other psychoactive substance use; most of these programs focus on individual students, educating them on the negative effects of substance use .These programs include harmful psychoactive substance sensitization forums as well as awareness creation on the rules and regulations regarding alcohol and psychoactive substance use in the institutions of higher learning.The National Institute of Health has developed the ‘collegeAIM matrix’ which outlines over 60 college students’ substance use prevention interventions. These interventions include a mix of individual and environmental strategies that universities can customize for the prevention of alcohol and substance use among their students. The individual-level strategies are the use of college media to educate students about the risks of excessive alcohol drinking and the use of other psychoactive substances both licit and illicit. While the environmental-level strategies include enforcement of laws on underage drinking, use of sanctions for violation of drinking, and substance use laws . There aThe use of peer mentoring to prevent harmful substance use among young adults is an emerging practice in many institutions of learning. Mentoring is a structured and trusting relationship that brings people together to interact on activities of shared interests. Peer mentoring has been defined broadly as the practice of involving persons who share the same characteristics like age, sex, or same background to bring about a positive change .The Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) study in the USA reported a successful large-scale mentoring program that showed evidence of effectiveness and success in mentoring to reduce substance use among adolescents . Peer meCompared to non-peer mentors, peer mentors have higher credibility among their peers and interact with each other in a non-threatening manner, thus their messages are better received.This is because these are young adults with whom they identify and respect and from whom they model behaviour . A systeMobile Health  refers to the use of mobile phones and wireless technologies to support the achievement of health objectives, which includes interventions, research, and for healthcare delivery in public health practice . The useA scoping review was done in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries on the use of mHealth-based interventions to support and improve healthcare delivery.The findings indicated that, although some progress has been realized in the implementation of mHealth interventions, there are still gaps in the evidence of their effect on the quality of service delivery which should be fully explored .A systematic review of the literature provided evidence that the use of mHealth, particularly text messaging, was an acceptable, affordable and effective way to deliver messages about reducing alcohol consumption to the young adult population . AnothermHealth-based interventions for alcohol and substance use disorder (SUD) among college students present opportunities to reach them via their preferred social media forums like WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook . These fThe development of technological-based models that facilitate the early detection, diagnosis, and of effective behavioural therapies targeting alcohol and substance use disorders (SUDs) is a research priority . The curInnovative interventions, based on newer models, that can reach more college students while maximizing the scarce resources available for the provision of SUDs prevention services are therefore needed and important to prioritize.However, it is necessary to gain more knowledge and evidence about their acceptability and effectiveness from the peer mentors’ point of view.The research question addressed by this study was: does the use of a mHealth-based decision support tool for peer mentoring improve reach, information provision, and treatment referral of students with harmful alcohol and other substance use problems in a university setting? While the objective of the study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a mHealth-based tool for peer mentoring in the prevention of alcohol and substance use among students in a university setting.This study was conducted among first-year university student peer mentors on two purposively sampled campuses out of the ten campuses of the University of Nairobi, Kenya. One campus has the College of Biological and Physical Sciences which teaches science-based programs. This campus was selected to implement the mHealth-based intervention.The second campus housed the College of Education and External Studies which teaches pedagogy-based courses and was selected to implement the standard practice of paper and pen intervention. The courses offered on these campuses were all 4-year degree programs. The selection of these study campuses was based on the documented high prevalence rates of harmful alcohol and psychoactive substance use among the students of both campuses . It was,The study adopted a quasi-experimental design to implement the mHealth-based peer mentoring program for psychoactive substance use screening, brief intervention, and referral as compared to the standard practice intervention which used a paper and pen guide .The standard practice intervention collected the mentees’ biodata, followed by alcohol and substance use screening which used AUDIT and ASSIST tools. Then an appropriate information provision exercise followed, based on the identified problems.The experimental mHealth intervention cohort used a mHealth app that was developed by the principal researcher using the Open Data Kit (ODK) technology. ODK is open-source software that has been used to design and develop android-based mobile health applications. The software can implement skip logic, validation checks, and algorithm-based decision support ,26. To dThe Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST V3.0) were programmed into ODK.Inbuilt algorithms were programmed to calculate the subject’s specific substance use scores; these scores then determined the pathway for brief intervention and/or referral and linkage to care and support by the mHealth app.Screen-by-screen questions based on AUDIT and ASSIST were incorporated into the mHealth app; which was then downloaded to the peer mentors’ smartphones. The process of responding to these questions was administered by the peer mentors. Images were also inserted in the mHealth app to enable mentees to better understand questions and be able to provide correct answers. The participants were undergraduate male and female student peer mentors aged between 18 years to 25 years who were transitioning from high school to either of the two campuses for their college education. The selection was based on laid down criteria that the university uses to recruit peer mentors every year. The students were chosen as peer mentors in their first year of study, and they scored a B+ or above in the Kenya certificate of secondary examination. Moreover, they demonstrated involvement in school clubs and leadership skills.They had indicated their interest in the peer mentoring program, being role models to their fellow students, and informing them about the negative consequences of alcohol and substance use.The protocol was reviewed and approved by the Kenyatta National Hospital and the University of Nairobi Ethical Committee (KNH-UoN ERC) P98/02/2018 and licensed by NACOSTI, No: NACOSTI/P/20/5582. Standard ethical research practices were maintained throughout this study. Explanations were done to all study participants and their informed written consent was obtained. Those students who opted not to take part in this study suffered no discrimination as they continued to receive all the normal university Alcohol and Drug Abuse prevention program services. Those who chose to participate in the study received no compensation. However, the participants using the mHealth-based intervention were compensated with an equivalent of 2 dollars per month for data bundles that were used for uploading the completed intervention forms.All first-year students from the two study campuses who expressed interest to be part of the campus peer mentoring program, who had Android-based smartphones and who gave written consent were recruited to participate. However, students who were repeating their academic year of study and those who had disciplinary cases in college were excluded from the study. This was because the students may have been previously exposed to the campus mentoring and counselling programs and thus introduce a bias to the study.The study also targeted students who would be role models for positive social behaviour while on campus, therefore those repeating an academic year were deemed to be less favourable role models. These students were trained to be role models and champions for the campaign against alcohol and substance use on campus.Advertisements for the recruitment of peer mentors were made through student forums, student internet portals, student leaders, college notice boards, and the distribution of flyers on campus. Interested first-year students in the study campuses were requested to express their interest to be trained as peer mentors by making a written application to the Dean of Students’ office on their campuses. The application criteria were: first-year students who had scored at least a B+ grade at the Kenya certificate of secondary examination and demonstrated involvement in school clubs as this pointed to leadership skills.The advertisements ran for one month. A total of 120 students responded to this advertisement. Twenty applicants did not qualify for recruitment. 100 applicants were selected by a team led by the principal investigator, leaders of the student mentorship club, and the campus assistant Dean of Students.Figs After the training, the students were introduced to the details of the study and were taken through the ethical considerations and consenting process. Of the 100 peer mentors who were trained, 51 formed the mHealth-based cohort while 49 formed the standard paper-and-pen cohort. The mHealth cohort also consented to having the mHealth app for peer mentoring installed on their smartphones .The 49 standard paper-and-pen peer mentors were trained to form the comparative control group.They consented to use the standard practice, as currently is in the University of Nairobi. They used a structured paper-based interview schedule as outlined in There was no compensation given to the peer mentors from the standard practice cohort but the peer mentors from the mHealth-based group received internet data bundles of 2 USD every month for the duration of the study.The Intervention took place between January and July 2019. This 6-month study period was preceded by training of the participants in the use of their respective tools. Peer mentors on one campus were trained to use the mHealth-based intervention tool, which was a digital android-based problem identification, targeted brief intervention, and referral tool. The peer mentors in the comparative group were trained to use the usual standard paper-and-pen-based tool of the university to establish contact with at-risk students and do counselling as trained then send back a paper report to the research team. Both groups had meetings with the research team every two weeks and were followed up for six months. The peer mentors were then trained how to use the application to screen at-risk students and provide brief interventions and referrals as necessary. The mentees would be identified for the mentoring process through various means; 1. The peer mentors were trained in communication and basic counselling skills.Using these skills, they would then approach fellow students while on campus and explain to them about the peer mentoring program. Peer mentors from both the mHealth-based cohort and the standard practice cohort established contact with their mentees during regular interactions and observation of the behaviour of the mentees while on campus. These behaviours included the frequency of indulging in alcohol and substance use and social interactions of the mentees. The mentors would then ask for the mentee’s consent to participate. 2. Mentees were also referred to the peer mentors by university security personnel, or by faculty members. These were students who had violated university rules, they were given the option to go through the normal university disciplinary processes or to be attached to a peer mentor for guidance. At this point, they had a choice.Those who opted to be attached to a peer mentor, once contact was established, went through the normal consenting process, they were given the option to opt-out of the program, and only those who gave consent to participate in this program were recruited. There was no coercion on their part. The peer mentor and the mentee mutually agreed on an appropriate time and place for their meeting. 3. The peer mentors held sensitization forums on campus like sports and games, talent shows, and cultural days among other others. These events created opportunities for interaction, and entertainment and to popularize their peer mentoring services, they also wore branded uniforms to advertise their presence on campus. Their fellow students would then voluntarily seek them out when they needed to discuss matters of social concern.The mHealth-based peer mentoring intervention was advertised through social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram which are popular among college students. From these engagements, up to 31% of the mentees in the mHealth-based intervention cohort and 16% in the standard practice cohort made the initiative to seek help from peer mentors.These interactions happened between the mentor and the mentee face to face at a place and time they agreed on.Using the mHealth tools (AUDIT and ASSIST) programmed in their smartphones the mentors conducted a structured alcohol and substance use screening process and fill in the responses. After the screening, the mentor gave feedback to the mentee on the scores of their substance use screening.The mentor interpreted test scores for the mentee and then provided the appropriate intervention. The intervention could be; a brief counselling session, a scheduled follow-up session, and/or referral for further counselling by the campus student counsellor.This information on the mentor-mentee interaction was relayed to the research team, in real-time through the ODK app.The Implementation outcome measures are essential for monitoring and evaluating the success of implementation efforts , they arTAM has also been studied in resource-limited settings in Uganda and a newer model was proposed for use in such settings .The primary outcomes of the study based on this model included: the implementation measures namely the Acceptability of Intervention (AI), Intervention Appropriateness (IA), Feasibility of Intervention (FI), and the reach of the intervention . These implementation outcomes were assessed using the Acceptability of the Intervention Measure (AIM), the Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM), and the Feasibility of the Intervention Measure (FIM). These measures have been reported to have good psychometric properties .Data collection: Peer mentors’ sociodemographic data, including sex, age, the school enrolled, course of study, and mode of sponsorship among other parameters, were collected using a researcher-designed questionnaire.Initial assessment: 1) AIM 2) IAM 3) FIM. During the interaction between peer mentors and their mentees, the mHealth-based tool collected the following data on the initial contact and follow-up contacts. The number of contacts made, the duration of the interaction, and the presenting problems among other parameters. These data were then transferred directly from the peer mentor’s phone to a central ODK server for storage. Data from the standard practice cohort were collected based on a checklist and data forms developed by the researchers.The filled checklist and data forms were later collected by the principal investigator who reviewed them for data processing.Completed data forms were coded and uploaded into the EpiData 3.1 software; they were then checked for completeness and consistency.Incompletely filled forms were dropped at this point. The cleaned data were then exported to Stata software. All statistical analyses were performed using Stata software version 14.2 Special Edition. Data analysis was done using both descriptive and inferential methods.The socio-demographic data of peer mentors which contained continuous data were summarized using measures of central statistics and presented as means with standard deviations. While the categorical data were presented as frequencies and proportions.The Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM), Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM), and Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM) data were analyzed and presented as frequencies and proportions.Participants were selected by asking peer mentors in the study who were interested to participate. There were two groups in each arm of the study, each group consisted of 8 to 12 members. The total number of participants was 42.The first author moderated the group using a focused group discussion (FGD) guide specifically designed to capture their experiences during the peer mentoring process. The FGD is attached .All groups were conducted virtually using zoom and recorded. Data was transcribed from the zoom recording and analysed using NVivo software for themes deductively.The social demographic distribution of peer mentors is presented in One hundred peer mentors participated in the peer mentoring intervention program. Of these, 51 were from the mHealth-based intervention campus. Overall, there were more males, accounting for 54% of the peer mentors. The mean age of the peer mentors was 19.4 (std = 2.3) and it did not differ significantly between the two campuses.There was a statistically significant difference between the two campuses concerning the place of residence, with more peer mentors in the standard practice cohort who resided on campus (96%) compared to those in the mHealth-based cohort (76%), p = 0.020.The results, presented in Comparing the two campuses there was no significant difference in the gender of the students who sought help .Both the mHealth-based cohort and the standard practice cohort responded to questionnaires on the acceptability of the respective programs they used for peer mentoring. The acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of the peer mentoring programs were assessed using the Acceptability of Intervention questionnaire which is based on the TAM (1989) . The resThemes that emerged included; Opportunities for personal learning, growth, and development for the peer mentors, enhanced communication skills for peer mentors, learning of life skills, and improved self-awareness for peer mentors.The results showed that there was high acceptability of the peer mentoring program by the student community. The peer mentors who participated in this study reported that they got personal benefits from their participation. Most of them reported that they had gained new information and improved their communication and interpersonal skills. One peer mentor had this to say: “Through this program, I improved on my communication skills, I gained skills and confidence on how to start a conversation.” .Another one said: “I enjoyed helping my peers, I mastered all the mentoring process and the questions and the materials I had on Alcohol and Drug Abuse education came in very handy.” . Moreover, peer mentors reported that they learned life skills including time management, self-control as well as self-organization. Overall peer mentors reported that their campus life had improved due to their involvement in the peer mentoring activities. They were satisfied with their performance and they expressed willingness to continue with the peer mentoring activities on campus. One student reported that: “Students still seek me out for mentoring, it should continue and more to more campuses”  while another one reported that: “I desire to continue with this wonderful work, not to leave it” . While yet another was categorical that the program should continue: “This program should continue; it should not end here.” .A summary of the reach attained and problems identified by the peer mentors are presented in In the mHealth-based cohort, the mentors reached a total of 440 mentees, while in the standard practice cohort 100 mentees were reached. The mean number of mentees per mentor in the mHealth cohort was 8.62 (std = 13.04) with a range of  while that in the standard practice cohort was 8.33 (std = 4.40) with a range of . While the mean number of mentees reached did not differ significantly when we compared the two groups , the results show that the peer mentor who reached most mentees in the mHealth-based cohort reached almost 4 times more mentees than the counterpart in the standard practice cohort.As pertains to the problems that were presented to the peer mentors, at the end of the interventions, up to 49% of the mentees in the mHealth-based intervention cohort presented with alcohol-related problems while 28% had problems with a combination of alcohol and other drugs.In the standard practice cohort, 26% of the mentees had alcohol-related problems while 10% had a combination of alcohol and other drug problems. The results see  above shMentees from the mHealth-based campus had a higher pattern of harmful use of alcohol at 19% as compared to 5% of mentees from the standard care campus as exemplified by scores of 8–14 points on the AUDIT screening. There was a higher proportion of mentees with alcohol-related problems on the mHealth-based campus 93% (n = 237) as compared to 20% (n = 100) on the standard practice campus. Similarly, 40% of mentees from the mHealth-based campus needed intervention for substance use disorders compared to 5% of those from the standard practice campus .The results of this study show a high level of acceptance of the use of mHealth-based intervention strategies by university students who served as peer mentors across the cohorts. These results are similar to a study by Marsch and Borodovsky , which sThe peer mentors who used the mHealth-based tool mentored 4 students for every one student mentored by those using the standard practice. This difference may have been because peer mentors who used the mHealth-based tool were more motivated about the use of a technology-based tool and this may have made them more confident in their intervention. They also received 2 USD monthly bundles and this may have been a motivator too. These results could also be because the mHealth app platform felt somehow more confidential, so mentees in the mHealth-based intervention group who misused alcohol and other substances felt more comfortable reporting (or even enrolling) in a digital-based intervention than in the paper-based intervention.It could however also be because the mentors who used the standard practice failed to document and report all their interventions which would not be surprising when you consider the tedium of paper reports. Overall, these study results indicate that, although the practice of peer mentoring is acceptable to college students, its actual performance is dependent on the mode of delivery.Moreover, these findings affirm the evidence that current substance use intervention programs delivered via face-to-face interactions between the youth and a counsellor reach fewer students; with only 10–15% of adolescents receiving the interventions they need for their substance use disorders . The mHeThe results of the study provide evidence that the use of the mHealth-based tool for peer mentoring improves early identification and interventions for harmful alcohol and substance use among college students.Studies on substance use have shown that college students initiate alcohol and marijuana use most frequently while in college .Furthermore, alcohol and substance use has been documented to start and escalate when students transition from one stage of their education to another, especially during matriculation and school holidays . The peeIt is to be noted that non-specialised persons often feel incompetent to deal with any type of problem was probably in this case an indicator that using a mHealth app can overcome this deterrent even in other settings. There may also be differences in the type of students attending these two campuses concerning their areas of study. The mHealth-based campus has science-based courses while the standard practice campus teaches pedagogy-based courses. The students in these two campuses may have different intensities in their coursework. This may show in the amount of time they have to engage in leisure activities, including the consumption of alcohol and other substances.This study also provided evidence that peer mentors can be used to communicate behaviour change messages among their peers about alcohol and drug use prevention.These study findings are similar to those by Delacruz et al. , who repPeers interact in informal sessions while on campus, in halls of residence, or during recreational times thus giving multiple opportunities for mentors to initiate interactions with mentees in a non-threatening manner.This study adds to the evidence for the implementation of mHealth-based peer mentoring intervention for alcohol and substance abuse prevention among university students in a developing country. Furthermore, the results of this study have positive implications for strengthening interventions on substance use prevention through the use of a popular platform with a wider reach, among university students and will serve as a reference point for future comparative studies and scale-up interventions.This study was done on two campuses of a single public university in Kenya, the study results, therefore, cannot necessarily be generalizable to the national or global university community. Furthermore, the campuses under study did not teach similar courses which means that the academic challenges experienced by students on these campuses and how they cope with them, concerning harmful use of alcohol and drugs and therefore the feasibility-acceptability of alcohol and drug abuse prevention interventions, are not similar enough to allow for a direct correlation. It is important in future studies to explore the impact of these apparent differences on the behaviour of students regarding psychoactive substance use.The mHealth-based tool had a high level of utility among student peer mentors. The peer mentors’ approval rating of the use mHealth for alcohol and substance abuse prevention was high. mHealth-based interventions provide an opportunity to rapidly expand access and availability of evidence-based alcohol and substance abuse interventions for youth. The study results demonstrated an advantage of the mHealth-delivered intervention over the standard paper-based intervention. The mHealth-based cohort reached a larger number of college students. At the same time, mHealth-based interventions can be used in combination with face-to-face interventions or as stand-alone interventions, therefore, being more versatile compared to paper-based interventions.It is therefore important to use mHealth-based interventions more to provide interventions to young people as they have the greatest uptake and interest in using technology.While the focus of the present study was on implementation issues, further studies are recommended to evaluate the effectiveness of the mHealth-based intervention in initiating positive behaviour change towards alcohol and substance abuse prevention among university students. It is important to study how the socio-demographic characteristics of the peer mentors influence their perceptions of the mHealth-based interventions. Also, future research could seek to understand the reasons for the differences between the uptake of mHealth delivered peer mentoring as compared to the standard practice.As well it would be important in future research to test the mHealth-based versus standard practice interventions using participants of the same population  to see if mentees are still more likely to self-report higher substance use on the mHealth app than in-person.S1 File(ZIP)Click here for additional data file.S2 File(ZIP)Click here for additional data file.S3 File(ZIP)Click here for additional data file.S4 File(ZIP)Click here for additional data file.S1 Data(XLSX)Click here for additional data file.S2 Data(XLSX)Click here for additional data file.


The fetus movements play an important role in fetal well-being. With the continuous advancement of real-time scanning machines, it is feasible to observe the fetus movement in detail. The characteristics of fetal lower limb movements in prenatal examination have not been systematically investigated. This review proposes the patterns of fetal lower limb movements, the maternal influence on fetal lower limb movements, and the application of fetal lower limb movements for the diagnosis of prenatal diseases. A systematic search of literature on the lower limb movements of the fetus in uterus was performed in the databases, namely, Web of Science and Scopus. Thirty-four publications were selected. This review demonstrates that isolated fetal lower limb movements are rare and always accompanied with the movements of other body segments. Detection of the presence of fetal leg movements seems to be of no diagnostic value for fetuses with prenatal diseases. The isolated lower limb movement was statistically significant different between fetuses of low- and high-risk pregnant women. The coordinated movements of the fetal lower limbs and other parts should be considered when analyzing fetal movements in the future study. Fetus movement has long been a subject of extreme importance in the fetal growth and development. The detection and description of fetus movements offer important information on the development of intrauterine and fetal well-being . ConsequThe spontaneous movement is an expression and reflection of early neural activity, knowledge of normal development of fetus movements, and the assessment of the quality of fetus movement that might shed light on the integrity of the nervous system and neural development , 13. ThuThe fetal lower limb movements are essential for the examination of fetal neural development, but the characteristics of fetal lower limb movements have not been systematically investigated. This review proposes the patterns of fetal lower limb movements, the maternal influence on fetal lower limb movements, and the application of fetal lower limb movements for the diagnosis of prenatal diseases.The focused question was selected by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines. The focus was on the lower limb movements of the fetus in uterus.The following eligibility criteria were required: (1) only studies included the fetal lower limb movements; (2) studies concerned human fetus in uterus; and (3) published articles were written in English language and do not include historical reviews, book chapters, encyclopedia, correspondence, and short communications.The literature search was performed in the following databases: Web of Science and Scopus. All publications from 1965 up to May 2022 were included in this literature search. The literature search terms were the following combination of keyword string: “fetus” and “lower extremity movement” or “lower limb movement” or “leg movement.” Two different authors examined and checked the titles and abstracts of studies for consistency according to the stated eligibility criteria. Structured algorithm was used to select and check the articles .Frequencies of lower limb movements have increased significantly from 12 to 19 weeks in singleton fetuses in comparison with twin fetuses . Fetal lThe isolated leg movements first appeared between 9 and 12 weeks . It is dFetal body rotation refers to the fetus rolls from side to side; this movement was very active with all parts of its body involved, and the legs kicked the gestational sac wall with the flexion and extension of the feet . Fetal bGeneral movements were typically defined as a series of variable speed and amplitude motions, and lasted from a few seconds to around 1 min . Same asThe startle is characterized by the flexion or extension of the limbs and first appeared at 8–9 weeks . The fetFetus kicks against the uterine wall which was commonly of strong strength, followed by slowly return into its original position . Fetal sThe Kurjak antenatal neurodevelopmental test (KANET) for fetal neurobehavior was introduced for prenatal assessment by the use of three-dimensional or four-dimensional sonography . In thisFor fetuses with spina bifida aperta, leg movements caudal to the meningomyelocele are often observed; however, the movement disappeared shortly after delivery. It remains to be seen that the absence of leg movements is the result of the neurodevelopmental malformation or superposed traumatic damage . Parra eCarreras et al.  illustraWarsof et al.  assessedIn summary, this review demonstrates that isolated fetal lower limb movements are rare and always accompanied with the movements of other parts of the fetus. There was a statistical significance for isolated leg movement between fetuses of low- and high-risk pregnant women. The absence or presence of isolated fetal lower limb movements does not have diagnostic value in fetuses with neural tube defects or other central nervous system malformations. The coordinated movements of the fetal lower limbs and other parts should be considered when analyzing fetal movements in the future study.


The rheology of oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions thickened by starch nanoparticles is investigated here. The starch nanoparticle concentration is varied from 0 to 25 wt% based on the matrix aqueous phase. The oil concentration is varied from 0 to 65 wt%. At a given nanoparticle concentration, the emulsions are generally Newtonian at low oil concentrations. The emulsions become shear-thinning at high oil concentrations. The increase in nanoparticle concentration at a given oil concentration increases the consistency of the emulsion and enhances the shear-thinning behavior of emulsion. The rheological behavior of emulsions is described reasonably well by a power-law model. The consistency index of the emulsion increases with the increases in nanoparticle and oil concentrations. The flow behavior index of emulsion decreases with the increases in nanoparticle and oil concentrations, indicating an increase in the degree of shear-thinning in emulsion. Emulsions are dispersions of two immiscible liquids such as oil and water. In the absence of any stabilizer additive such as a surfactant, the emulsions are unstable and readily separate into oil and water layers when left unstirred. To stabilize the emulsions, a surface-active agent (surfactant) is added. The surfactant serves two functions: 1) it decreases the interfacial tension between oil and water, thereby making the formation of emulsion easier, and 2) it stabilizes the droplets against coalescence [ it decre it stabiMany natural and processed food products are emulsions. Examples of food emulsions include milk, mayonnaise, butter, margarine, and salad dressings ,4,5,6,7.One problem with emulsions is that they undergo creaming and sedimentation effects under the influence of gravity due to differences in the densities of the oil and water phases . CreaminOne commonly used approach to increase the viscosity of the matrix phase of emulsions is to incorporate a polymeric additive in the matrix fluid ,14. AlteIn this article, we report new results on the rheology of nanoparticle-thickened O/W emulsions over a broad range of nanoparticle and oil concentrations. The nanoparticle concentration was varied from 0 to approximately 25 wt% based on the matrix fluid (aqueous phase). The oil concentration of emulsion was varied from 0 to approximately 65 wt%. The emulsions were highly stable with respect to coalescence due to the presence of surfactant at the surface of the droplets. The emulsions of oil-in-water (O/W) type were prepared using the following materials: deionized water, food grade white mineral oil, nanoparticles, and non-ionic water-soluble surfactant. The oil used was Petro-Canada white mineral oil (code: Purity FG WO-15), supplied by Boucher and Jones Fuels, Waterloo . The viscosity of the batch of oil used in this study was 27.62 mPa.s at 21 °C. The nanoparticles used were experimental grade starch biopolymer nanoparticles supplied by EcoSynthetix Inc. . They are manufactured through reactive extrusion by modifying native starch. The mean diameter of the starch nanoparticles was approximately 21 nm (see The nanoparticle suspension was prepared at room temperature (≈21 °C) by slowly adding a known amount of starch nanoparticles into a known amount of aqueous phase while maintaining mixing of the suspension using a variable speed homogenizer . The aqueous phase of the suspension consisted of deionized water containing ≈1 wt% of surfactant Triton X-100 and ≈0.15 wt% biocide (Thor Acticide GA). The biocide was added to prevent any bacterial growth in the starch suspension. The suspension was agitated in the homogenizer at high speed for at least 30 min until the starch powder was fully dispersed. The nanoparticle suspension was left overnight to remove any air entrapped during the homogenization process. Six suspensions of different nanoparticle concentrations ranging from 0 to approximately 25 wt% were prepared. The nanoparticle concentration of the suspension was increased in increments of approximately 5 wt%. The emulsions of oil-in-water (O/W) type were prepared by slowly adding a known amount of oil to a known amount of starch nanosuspension while maintaining mixing of the fluids using a homogenizer. After addition of the required amount of oil, the fluids were sheared in the homogenizer at high speed for at least 30 min. The emulsion thus prepared was left overnight to remove any air entrapped during the homogenization process. A higher oil concentration emulsion was prepared by slowly adding a known amount of oil to an existing lower concentration emulsion while mixing the fluids in the homogenizer. After the addition of oil, the fluids were sheared in the homogenizer at high speed for more than 30 min. The oil concentration of the emulsion was generally increased in increments of approximately 10 wt%. The range of oil concentration for a given nanoparticle suspension was varied from 0 to approximately 65 wt%. The rheological measurements were carried out using two co-axial cylinder devices, namely: Fann viscometer and Haake viscometer. The relevant dimensions of the devices are given in The droplets of emulsions were observed using a Zeiss optical microscope with transmitted light. The photomicrographs of emulsion droplets were taken using a camera. The emulsion samples were diluted with the surfactant solution (≈1 wt%) before observation under the microscope. The dilution of the emulsion sample was necessary to allow the transmitted light to pass through the sample. The emulsion sample was diluted with the dispersion medium (≈1 wt% surfactant solution) of the emulsion to avoid any destabilization and coalescence of droplets. This technique of observing the droplet sizes microscopically by dilution of the emulsion sample with the same continuous-phase fluid as that of the emulsion has been used extensively in the literature ,36,37.us phase .It is worth mentioning that O/W emulsions tend to develop yield-stress and become viscoelastic when the oil droplet concentration becomes significantly larger than the maximum packing volume fraction of droplets  of O/W emulsions thickened with different concentrations of starch nanoparticles are shown in The increase in consistency of an emulsion with the increase in nanoparticle concentration is expected as the consistency of emulsion is directly proportional to the consistency of matrix fluid of the emulsion which increases with the increase in nanoparticle concentration. The increase in the degree of shear-thinning  versus oil concentration for emulsions at different nanoparticle concentrations where %CI is defined as:The emulsions produced were highly stable with respect to coalescence. No deterioration of rheological properties or changes in droplet sizes were observed over a period of one month. However, emulsions exhibited a creaming phenomenon wherein droplets rose through the matrix fluid under the influence of gravity . Figure The O/W emulsions thickened with starch nanoparticles are generally Newtonian at low concentrations of oil. At high concentrations of oil, the emulsions become non-Newtonian shear-thinning.The flow behavior of O/W emulsions thickened by starch nanoparticles can be described adequately using the power-law model.The power-law consistency index increases with increases in oil and nanoparticle concentrations.The power-law flow behavior index decreases with increases in oil and nanoparticle concentrations, indicating that emulsions become more shear-thinning with increases in oil and nanoparticle concentrations.The average droplet size of emulsions generally decreases with an increase in the nanoparticle concentration of the matrix phase. The droplet size distribution also becomes narrower with an increase in nanoparticle concentration.The creaming index of emulsions decreases the increases in oil and nanoparticle concentrations.Based on the experimental work and data analysis, the following conclusions can be made:


Case report of a 57-year-old male who underwent insertion of an inflatable penile prosthesis due to erectile dysfunction, secondary to poorly controlled Type 2 diabetes and Peyronie’s disease. The surgical procedure was uneventful and there were no immediate post-operative complications. During a routine follow-up, the patient described problems with the deflation of the implant and severe lower back and leg pain. Diagnostic MRI scans revealed reservoir migration, impingement of the obturator nerve and oedema in the adductor muscle group. The reservoir was initially repositioned, and later on removed due to ongoing symptoms. There were no immediate post-operative complications and the patient was discharged home the following day.A 57-year-old male underwent insertion of an inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) for erectile dysfunction (ED) secondary to poorly controlled Type 2 diabetes and Peyronie’s disease. A Coloplast Titan TouchThe patient was seen for routine follow-up in the outpatient clinic after 6 weeks. The patient reported some difficulty deflating the device and was also complaining of persistent right-sided lower back, hip and leg pain. There was evidence of muscle wasting in the medial aspect of the thigh and power was Grade 4/5 . An MRI of the penis and pelvis was performed.The MRI revealed that the reservoir had migrated from it’s initial position in Retzius space, into the right pelvic sidewall  where itThe patient went on to have the reservoir resited in an ectopic position. This procedure was later followed by a complete removal of the penile prosthesis as the patient continued to experience back and leg pain. Unfortunately, the patient has ongoing symptoms of nerve damage and suffers with life-long consequences including decreased mobility and persistent pain.ED has a prevalence of approximately 10–20% and it is often an important early marker of systemic vascular disease. Insertion of a penile prosthesis is the surgical treatment of choice for medication resistant, irreversible ED. Patient satisfaction is high following surgery and complications are relatively rare.There are two main types of IPP: two piece and three piece. The three-piece IPP has a separate reservoir which is traditionally placed in the extraperitoneal space (of Retzius) accessed via opening of the transversalis fascia at the superficial ring of the inguinal canal. The surgical maneuvers are performed to create a space for the reservoir in the extraperitoneal space and the reservoir is carefully placed within this space. The most common areas of implant migration are the inguinal canal and subcutaneous plane but others have reported migration involving the scrotum, bladder, small and large bowel, and blood vessels. Migration often results in pain, poor refilling of the reservoir as it is compressed against a nearby structure, and the patient may complain of difficulty in device deflation. Additionally, certain patient factors such as prior robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy or radical cystectomy can further complicate the anatomy, by violating the space of Retzius, and increase the chance of post-operative complications. Lack of surgical experience is also correlated with the inappropriate positioning of the reservoir and a higher risk of post-surgical complications.Blind placement of the reservoir remains a challenging step in the penoscrotal approach to three-piece IPP insertion. The most common complications after the IPP insertion include infection, mechanical failure, device erosion, corporal and urethral perforation, corporal cross-over and glans bowing. Migration of the reservoir is a rare complication with a reported rate of 0.7% , but can cause devastating consequences which might require surgical intervention.The obturator nerve originates from L2, 3 and 4 lumbar spinal nerves before descending through the psoas muscle, over the pelvic brim and along the lateral pelvic wall. It passes through the obturator foramen in the pelvis and then divides into anterior and posterior branches. The anterior branch supplies the adductor brevis, longus and gracilis muscles and sensory innervation to the medial thigh. The posterior branch innervates the obturator externus and a portion of the adductor magnus, which is partially supplied by the sciatic nerve. Sensory branches also contribute to the knee joint sensation. The obturator nerve is located laterally and inferiorly to the space of Retzius and shouldn’t be compressed by a correctly placed IPP reservoir. Presented denervation oedema appeared in both adductor brevis and magnus muscles which suggests nerve compression within the pelvis, before it’s division into the branches. The most common presenting symptom of obturator neuropathy is that of altered sensation in the medial thigh – either that of paraesthesia or pain, and hip adduction weakness. As far as the authors are aware, this is the first reported case of IPP reservoir migration causing an isolated obturator nerve palsy.Injury to the obturator nerve is rare and occurs mostly during gynaecological and urological procedures, which involve extensive retroperitoneal manipulation in obturator fossa.T2 weighted images without fat suppression show the best definition between anatomical structures and IPP components, and are the most helpful sequence to diagnose implant complications. MRI is frequently used to confirm the presence of nerve entrapment or compression, to identify the cause of neuropathies. However, direct visualisation of the compressed structure is not always possible, like in this case. In this situation, good anatomic knowledge of the peripheral nerves innervation and indirect signs of obturator nerve impingement such as denervation edema in the adductor muscle group are sufficient to confirm the diagnosis.MRI is the preferred imaging modality when it comes to the evaluation of a penile prosthesis. It has the ability to depict soft-tissues, penile anatomy and to provide detailed images of the prosthesis including the pelvic reservoir and scrotal pump. It also has the advantage of being free of ionising radiation and the ability to demonstrate anatomy on three orthogonal planes. To obtain the best quality of images, the patient should be in a supine position with penis placed, and stabilised with tape, in an anatomic position on anterior abdominal wall.Reservoir migration is a rare but important complication of three-piece IPP insertion with multiple potential sequelae.Injury to the obturator nerve is unusual and occurs mostly during gynaecological and urological procedures.The obturator nerve innervates the adductor muscle group. The adductor magnus and pectineus muscles have dual innervation.T2 weighted images are the best to review the IPP components.MRI provides an excellent adjunct to clinical examination in identifying reservoir migration where clinical suspicion exists. MRI images can be used to map out denervated muscles and thus localize and diagnose nerve entrapment.As far as the authors are aware, this is the first reported case of IPP reservoir migration causing an isolated obturator nerve palsy.