Treatment of Multidrug-resistant or Rifampicin-resistant Tuberculosis With an All-oral 9-month Regimen Containing Linezolid or Ethionamide in South Africa: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: In 2019, the South African tuberculosis program replaced ethionamide with linezolid as part of an all-oral 9-month regimen. We evaluated treatment outcomes for patients assigned to regimens including linezolid in 2019 and ethionamide in 2017.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included patients treated for multidrug-resistant/rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis throughout South Africa between 1 January and 31 December 2017 and 1 January to 31 December 2019.

Global burden of disease due to rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis: a mathematical modeling analysis.

In 2020, almost half a million individuals developed rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB). We estimated the global burden of RR-TB over the lifetime of affected individuals. We synthesized data on incidence, case detection, and treatment outcomes in 192 countries (99.

Argon gas plasma-treated physiological solutions stimulate immunogenic cell death and eradicates immunosuppressive CD47 protein in lung carcinoma.

Cold atmospheric plasma-treated liquids (PTLs) exhibit selective toxicity toward tumor cells and are provoked by a cocktail of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in such liquids. Compared to the gaseous phase, these reactive species are more persistent in the aqueous phase. This indirect plasma treatment method has gradually gathered interest in the discipline of plasma medicine to treat cancer.

Plasma-Generated Nitric Oxide Water Mediates Environmentally Transmitted Pathogenic Bacterial Inactivation via Intracellular Nitrosative Stress.

Over time, the proportion of resistant bacteria will increase. This is a major concern. Therefore, effective and biocompatible therapeutic strategies against these bacteria are urgently needed.

Evolutionary analysis and expression profiling of the gene family in response to abiotic stresses in tomato ().

() genes play essential roles in guarding plants against abiotic stresses, including heat, drought, and salt. In this study, the gene family in tomatoes has been characterized using bioinformatic tools. 25 putative genes in the tomato genome were found and classified into five subfamilies, with multi-subcellular localizations.

The inactivation and destruction of viruses by reactive oxygen species generated through physical and cold atmospheric plasma techniques: Current status and perspectives.

Background: Outbreaks of airborne viral infections, such as COVID-19, can cause panic regarding other severe respiratory syndrome diseases that may develop and affect public health. It is therefore necessary to develop control methods that offer protection against such viruses.

Aim Of Review: To identify a feasible solution for virus deactivation, we critically reviewed methods of generating reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can attack a wide range of molecular targets to induce antiviral activity, accounting for their flexibility in facilitating host defense mechanisms against a comprehensive range of pathogens.

Characterization of Bioactive Compounds Having Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Liliaceae Family Flower Petal Extracts.

Beneficial natural products utilized in cosmetics formulation and pharmaceutical applications are of enormous interest. Lily (Lilium) serves as an essential edible and medicinal plant species with wide classification. Here, we have performed the screening of various extracts that were prepared from flower petals grown from the bulbs of eight Lilium varieties, with a viewpoint to their applicability as a viable source of natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidants agent.

L-cysteine embedded core-shell ZnO microspheres composed of nanoclusters enhances anticancer activity against liver and breast cancer cells.

Nano-based products have become an apparent and effective option to treat liver cancer, which is a deadly disease, and minimize or eradicate these problems. The Core-shell ZnO microspheres composed of nanoclusters (ZnOMS-NCs) have shown that it is very worthwhile to administer the proliferation rate in HepG2 and MCF-7 cancer cells even at a very low concentration (5 μg/mL). ZnOMS-NCs were prepared through hydrothermal solution process and well characterized.

Target Capture Reveals the Complex Origin of Vietnamese Ginseng.

The global market of the medicinal plant ginseng is worth billions of dollars. Many ginseng species are threatened in the wild and effective sustainable development initiatives are necessary to preserve biodiversity at species and genetic level whilst meeting the demand for medicinal produce. This is also the case of Ha & Grushv.

Employing Smartphone Health Apps in Weight Management for Adolescents: Analysis on Experiences and Perspectives From Pediatric Providers.

The rising popularity of smartphone health applications (apps) offers great potential for facilitating pediatric weight management. Pediatric providers can determine health interventions for young patients with excess weight. We surveyed 51 pediatric providers at a Midwest academic medical institution and found that 78% thought currently available resources were not sufficient for pediatric weight management.

Nitric-oxide enriched plasma-activated water inactivates 229E coronavirus and alters antiviral response genes in human lung host cells.

The ongoing pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is influencing global health. Moreover, there is a major threat of future coronaviruses affecting the entire world in a similar, or even more dreadful, manner. Therefore, effective and biocompatible therapeutic options against coronaviruses are urgently needed.

Periodic Exposure of Plasma-Activated Medium Alters Fibroblast Cellular Homoeostasis.

Excess amounts of redox stress and failure to regulate homeostatic levels of reactive species are associated with several skin pathophysiologic conditions. Nonmalignant cells are assumed to cope better with higher reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) levels. However, the effect of periodic stress on this balance has not been investigated in fibroblasts in the field of plasma medicine.

Screening of and Plants and Identification of Major Phytometabolites in Potential Plant Extracts Responsible for Apoptosis Induction in Skin Melanoma and Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells.

Carcinogenesis is a major concern that severely affects the human population. Owing to persistent demand for novel therapies to treat and prohibit this lethal disease, research interest among scientists is drawing its huge focus toward natural products, as they have minimum toxicity comparable with existing treatment methods. The plants produce secondary metabolites, which are known to have the anticancer potential for clinical drug development.

Influence of Redox Stress on Crosstalk between Fibroblasts and Keratinocytes.

Although the skin is constantly subjected to endogenous and exogenous stress, it maintains a homeostatic state through wound repair and regeneration pathways. Treatment for skin diseases and injury requires a significant understanding of the various mechanisms and interactions that occur within skin cells. Keratinocytes and fibroblasts interact with each other and act as key players in the repair process.

Synthesis of stabilizer-free, homogeneous gold nanoparticles by cold atmospheric-pressure plasma jet and their optical sensing property.

Recently, cold atmospheric-pressure plasma has been studied extensively as an efficient and green method to synthesize gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Although the characteristics of the AuNPs, especially their homogeneousness, depend very much on the plasma synthesis parameters, there is a lack of a study involving these parameters systematically. Moreover, most of AuNPs-cold-plasma synthesis reports so far either required organic capping agents or resulted in highly non-uniform AuNPs.

Structural and Optical Sensing Properties of Nonthermal Atmospheric Plasma-Synthesized Polyethylene Glycol-Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles.

Polyethylene glycol-functionalized gold nanoparticles (Au@PEG NPs) were prepared by a simple plasma-assisted method without additional reducing chemicals. After irradiating tetrachloroauric acid (HAuCl) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) in aqueous medium with an argon plasma jet, the gold precursor transformed into an Au@PEG NP colloid that exhibited surface plasma resonance at 530 nm. When the plasma jet entered the water, additional reactive species were induced through interactions between plasma-generated reactive species and aqueous media.

Pulsed 3.5 GHz high power microwaves irradiation on physiological solution and their biological evaluation on human cell lines.

Microwave (MW) radiation is increasingly being used for several biological applications. Many investigations have focused on understanding the potential influences of pulsed MW irradiation on biological solutions. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of 3.

Community-wide Screening for Tuberculosis in a High-Prevalence Setting.

Background: The World Health Organization has set ambitious targets for the global elimination of tuberculosis. However, these targets will not be achieved at the current rate of progress.

Methods: We performed a cluster-randomized, controlled trial in Ca Mau Province, Vietnam, to evaluate the effectiveness of active community-wide screening, as compared with standard passive case detection alone, for reducing the prevalence of tuberculosis.

Impact of ROS Generated by Chemical, Physical, and Plasma Techniques on Cancer Attenuation.

For the last few decades, while significant improvements have been achieved in cancer therapy, this family of diseases is still considered one of the deadliest threats to human health. Thus, there is an urgent need to find novel strategies in order to tackle this vital medical issue. One of the most pivotal causes of cancer initiation is the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) inside the body.

A single amino acid substitution in the NS4B protein of Dengue virus confers enhanced virus growth and fitness in human cells in vitro through IFN-dependent host response.

Dengue virus (DENV) replication between mosquito and human hosts is hypothesized to be associated with viral determinants that interact in a differential manner between hosts. However, the understanding of inter-host viral determinants that drive DENV replication and growth between hosts is limited. Through the use of clinical isolates, we identified an amino acid variation of Ala, Met and Val at position 116 of DENV-1 NS4B.

Electrodeposited Amorphous Tungsten-doped Cobalt Oxide as an Efficient Catalyst for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Thin film of amorphous tungsten-doped cobalt oxide (W:CoO) was successfully grown on a conducting electrode via an electrochemical oxidation process employing a [Co(WS ) ] deposition bath. The W:CoO catalyst displays an attractive performance for the oxygen evolution reaction in an alkaline solution. In an NaOH solution of pH 13, W:CoO operates with a moderate onset overpotential of 230 mV and requires 320 mV overpotential to generate a catalytic current density of 10 mA cm .

Molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis and recent developments in understanding the epidemiology of tuberculosis.

The development of molecular typing techniques during the last decade has led to remarkable improvements in epidemiological studies of tuberculosis (TB) and other infectious disease. In this paper, the burden of TB disease, current issues about disease control in developed countries including Australia and the contribution of molecular typing to improved understanding of TB epidemiology are reviewed.

Radiotherapy for cancer of the head and neck: altered fractionation regimens.

A greater understanding of radiobiology led to the development of two classes of radiation fractionation schedules for the treatment of head and neck cancers. The aim of accelerated fractionation is to reduce tumour proliferation, which is a major cause of relapse, by shortening the total duration of radiotherapy. By contrast, hyperfractionation exploits the differential sensitivity of tumour cells and normal tissues to radiation, to increase the therapeutic gain.