Correction: Acceptability and feasibility of HIV self-testing among transgender people in Larkana, Pakistan: Results from a pilot project.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Evaluating the reliability of a microperimetry-based method for assessing visual function in the junctional zone of geographic atrophy lesions.

Purpose: To assess the repeatability of a microperimetry methodology for quantifying visual function changes in the junctional zone of eyes with geographic atrophy (GA) in the clinical trial context.

Methods: A post hoc analysis of the OAKS phase III trial was conducted, which enrolled patients with GA secondary to age-related macular degeneration. Microperimetry using a standard 10 - 2 fovea centered grid was performed at baseline and follow-up visits.

Evaluation of Anti-Angiogenic Therapy Combined with Immunotherapy and Chemotherapy as a Strategy to Treat Locally Advanced and Metastatic Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Immunotherapy has made recent improvements in disease-free survival (DFS) and/or overall survival (OS) in all stages of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here, we review the tumor microenvironment and its immunosuppressive effects and discuss how anti-angiogenic therapies may potentiate the anti-carcinogenic effects of immunotherapy. We also review all the past literature and discuss strategies of combining anti-angiogenic therapy and immunotherapy +/- chemotherapy and hypothesize how we can use this strategy for non-small-cell lung cancer in metastatic previously untreated/previously treated settings in previously treated EGFR-mutated NSCLC for the upfront treatment of brain metastases prior to radiation therapy and for the incorporation of this strategy into stage III unresectable disease.

Evaluating the Reliability of a Microperimetry-Based Method for Assessing Visual Function in the Junctional Zone of Geographic Atrophy Lesions.

To assess the repeatability of a microperimetry methodology for quantifying visual function changes in the junctional zone of eyes with geographic atrophy (GA) in the clinical trial context. A post hoc analysis of the OAKS phase III trial was conducted, which enrolled patients with GA secondary to age-related macular degeneration. Microperimetry using a standard 10-2 fovea centered grid was performed at baseline and follow-up visits.

Syphilis infection prevalence in the Middle East and North Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can be prevented and effectively treated; yet it continues to be a cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. There is a limited understanding of the epidemiology of syphilis in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Methods: A systematic review conducted up to April 30, 2024 assessed the prevalence of syphilis and followed PRISMA guidelines, without language and date restrictions.

Insight into the Environmental Health Consciousness of Medical Students Regarding the Perceived Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health.

Climate change represents an unprecedented global public health crisis with extensive and profound implications. The Lancet Commission identified it as the foremost health challenge of the 21st century. In 2015, air pollution alone caused approximately 9 million premature deaths worldwide.

SPTLC3 regulates plasma membrane sphingolipid composition to facilitate hepatic gluconeogenesis.

SPTLC3, an inducible subunit of the serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) complex, causes production of alternative sphingoid bases, including a 16-carbon dihydrosphingosine, whose biological function is only beginning to emerge. High-fat feeding induced SPTLC3 in the liver, prompting us to produce a liver-specific knockout mouse line. Following high-fat feeding, knockout mice showed decreased fasting blood glucose, and knockout primary hepatocytes showed suppressed glucose production, a core function of hepatocytes.

Unmasking Vitamin B12 Deficiency Misdiagnosed as Myelodysplastic Syndrome.

Pancytopenia is characterized by a decrease in all three types of blood cells. Instead of being a standalone disease, it acts as a common outcome resulting from various factors, including infections, autoimmune disorders, genetic issues, nutritional deficiencies, and malignancies. Pinpointing the root cause of pancytopenia poses a challenge but is essential for devising an effective treatment plan and predicting the likely prognosis.

Correlation Between Transient Elastography and Non-invasive Biomarker Scores for the Detection of Liver Fibrosis.

Background and aim The study aimed to address the need for reliable and non-invasive biomarkers (NIBM) for detecting fibrosis among patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). Material and methods This was a diagnostic validation study executed at the Department of Gastroenterology, Jinnah Hospital, Lahore. The study was carried out from July 2023 to June 2024, enrolling a total of 88 patients using non-probability consecutive sampling.

A study of novel linear Diophantine fuzzy topological numbers and their application to communicable diseases.

The idea of linear Diophantine fuzzy sets (LDFs) is a novel tool for analysis, soft computing, and optimization. Recently, the concept of a linear Diophantine fuzzy graph has been proposed in 2022. The aim of this research is to extend topological numbers to LDFSs.

CHRONIC DIARRHOEA: NOT A RARE PRESENTATION OF VITAMIN B 12 DEFICIENCY.

Background: Diarrhoea is defined as stool frequency of more than three times in twenty-four hours or a stool weight of more than two hundred grams and it is labelled as chronic diarrhoea if it persists for more than four weeks. Chronic diarrhoea is a common gastrointestinal problem worldwide that affects three to fifteen percent of population. Objective was to determine the efficacy of vitamin B 12 replacement in treatment of chronic diarrhoea in vitamin B deficient patients.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOWER URINARY TRACT SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT-RELATED BEHAVIOUR IN HAZARA DIVISION.

Background: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) adversely affect the quality of life and are usually under-reported because of a stigma associated with these symptoms. Unless specifically probed for these symptoms, most patients do not report Lower urinary tract symptoms. This study focused on the treatment-seeking behaviour of otherwise healthy individuals who had LUTS.

Community-led interventions to re-engage people living with HIV into care in Pakistan.

Background: By 2021, Pakistan had an estimated 210 000 people living with HIV (PLHIV), and 27% of those initiated into treatment in 2020 had disengaged from care within one year.

Aim: We assessed the effectiveness of an intervention to re-engage PLHIV lost to follow-up into care in Pakistan.

Methods: Between September 2020 and May 2021, the Association of People Living with HIV (APLHIV) implemented a search and rescue intervention for PLHIV lost to follow-up in 2 large treatment centres in Pakistan.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Its Relationship With Disease Activity: A Single-Center Cross-Sectional Study From Pakistan.

Objective This study aims to determine whether disease activity was associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the Pakistani population with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Rheumatology Department of the National Hospital & Medical Centre, Lahore, Pakistan, from April 2021 to June 2022. A sample of 60 patients, both male and female, diagnosed with a case of SLE was collected through the purposive sampling technique.

Understanding childhood obesity in Pakistan: exploring the knowledge, attitudes, practices of mothers, and influential factors. A cross-sectional study.

Background: Childhood obesity is a significant public health issue with far-reaching implications. The World Health Organization reported that in 2020, around 38 million children under five were overweight or obese globally, and in 2016, 340 million children and adolescents aged 5-19 were affected. In Pakistan, the situation is alarming; 66.

Advancements in skin cancer treatment: focus on photodynamic therapy: a review.

Some of these include basal cell carcinoma (BCCs), squamous cell carcinoma (SCCs), and melanoma; skin cancer is a leading global health problem due to its high prevalence and possibly due to its serious health implications. Conventional and known therapies like surgeries, radiation therapies and chemotherapy although helpful are sometime deleterious and do not specifically attack the cancers. New advancement is half-breed technique has recently been recognized that photodynamic therapy (PDT) can be considered as a potentially effective modality by using photosensitizers which work through the generation of localized ROS on exposure to light.

Role of consolidative thoracic and prophylactic cranial radiation in extensive stage small cell lung cancer in chemo-immunotherapy era.

Introduction: The role of consolidative thoracic and prophylactic brain radiation for extensive stage small cell lung cancer patients is controversial. We investigated the factors associated with the use of any radiation therapy (RT) and whether RT has a benefit to overall survival (OS) in patients receiving any systemic therapy and whether this benefit is the same if Chemotherapy (CT) or chemo-immunotherapy (CT-IO) is used.

Material/methods: The NCDB database was queried from years 2017-2019.

Lymphatic vascular invasion: Diagnostic variability and overall survival impact on patients undergoing surgical resection.

Objective: The diagnostic criteria of lymphatic vascular invasion have not been standardized. Our investigation assesses the factors associated with lymphatic vascular invasion positive tumors and the impact of lymphatic vascular invasion on overall survival for patients with non-small cell lung cancer undergoing (bi)lobectomy with an adequate node dissection.

Methods: The National Cancer Database was queried from the years 2010 to 2015 to find surgical patients who underwent lobectomy with at least 10 lymph nodes examined (adequate node dissection) and with known lymphatic vascular invasion status.

Bacillus licheniformis as a protective agent in broiler chicken concurrently exposed to mycotoxins and necrotic enteritis: Toxicopathological and hematobiochemical perspectives.

Mycotoxins negatively impact intestinal cell viability, leading to the depletion of beneficial bacteria and rendering birds susceptible to intestinal infections such as necrotic enteritis (NE). Furthermore, they impair the effective digestion and absorption of nutrients. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Bacillus licheniformis supplementation on broiler birds exposed to mycotoxins and subsequent necrotic enteritis infection.