Occult hepatitis B virus infection and current perspectives on global WHO 2030 eradication.

The current World Health Organization (WHO) Hepatitis Elimination Strategy suffers from lack of a target for diagnosing or expunging occult HBV infection. A sizable segment of the global population has an undetected HBV infection, particularly the high-risk populations and those residing in countries like India with intermediate endemicity. There is growing proof that people with hidden HBV infection can infect others, and that these infections are linked to serious chronic hepatic complications, especially hepatocellular carcinoma.

Up-regulation of SLC7A11/xCT creates a vulnerability to selenocystine-induced cytotoxicity.

The SLC7A11/xCT cystine and glutamate antiporter has emerged as an attractive target for cancer therapy due to its selective overexpression in multiple cancers and its role in preventing ferroptosis. Utilizing pharmacological and genetic approaches in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines, we demonstrate that overexpression of SLC7A11 engenders hypersensitivity towards l-selenocystine, a naturally occurring diselenide that bears close structural similarity to l-cystine. We find that the abundance of SLC7A11 positively correlates with sensitivity to l-selenocystine, but surprisingly, not to Erastin, an inhibitor of SLC7A11 activity.

Knotted lanugo in a newborn: Cultural practices revealed.

Across the world, there are varied cultural practices applied in the newborn period that pediatric dermatologists need to be familiar with. This report details a 9-day-old girl who presented with black, spike-like hairs across the back after her mother had been rubbing breast milk on her back in a circular motion for the first 7 days of life. On dermatoscopic exam, these lesions were found to be tight bundles of lanugo hairs, consistent with a diagnosis of knotted lanugo.

Plasma CXCL8 and MCP-1 as surrogate plasma biomarkers of latent tuberculosis infection among household contacts-A cross-sectional study.

Early detection of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is critical to TB elimination in the current WHO vision of End Tuberculosis Strategy. The study investigates whether detecting plasma cytokines could aid in diagnosing LTBI across household contacts (HHCs) positive for IGRA, HHCs negative for IGRA, and healthy controls. The plasma cytokines were measured using a commercial Bio-Plex Pro Human Cytokine 17-plex assay.

Plasma CXCL8 and MCP-1 as biomarkers of latent tuberculosis infection.

Background: Early detection of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is critical to TB elimination in the current WHO vision of .

Methods: We investigated whether detecting plasma cytokines could aid in diagnosing LTBI across household contacts (HHCs) positive for IGRA, HHCs negative for IGRA, and healthy controls. We also measured the plasma cytokines using a commercial assay.

The Implementation of HIV Self-Testing in Resource-Limited Settings Where the HIV Disease Burden is High.

In resource-limited settings, there is growing evidence that HIV testing is lacking among high-risk key populations such as men having sex with men, injection drug users, and transgenders largely due to stigma, discrimination, and lack of confidentiality. Findings from recent studies among high-risk key populations and the general population from various regions including resource-limited settings support the need for wider accessibility of HIV self-testing (HIV-ST) to reach those who may not otherwise have access to testing. Therefore, HIV-ST has untapped potential as a strategy to improve access to HIV testing and to increase testing frequency among key high-risk populations and their partners.

Assessing the potential of NS2B/NS3 protease inhibitors biomarker in curbing dengue virus infections: vs. approach.

An increase in the occurrence of viral infectious diseases is a global concern for human health. According to a WHO report, dengue virus (DENV) is one of the most common viral diseases affecting approximately 400 million people annually, with worsening symptoms in nearly 1% of cases. Both academic and industrial researchers have conducted numerous studies on viral epidemiology, virus structure and function, source and route of infection, treatment targets, vaccines, and drugs.