Human papillomavirus self-sampling versus provider-sampling in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review of accuracy, acceptability, cost, uptake, and equity.

Introduction: HPV self-sampling is a relatively new, cost-effective and widely accepted method, however, uptake in LMICs remains limited. We aimed to map out the evidence and identify gaps in accuracy, acceptability, cost, equity and uptake of self-sampling vs. provider-sampling in LMICs.

Implementation pilot study of community self-testing for COVID-19 among employees of manufacturing industries and their household members in 2022 to 2023.

COVID-19 self-testing is essential for enabling individuals to self-care, screen themselves and, if positive, isolate themselves. Since 2021, COVID-19 self-tests have been extensively used in high-income countries, however, their programmatic implementation in low- and middle-income countries has been delayed. An implementation pilot, mixed-methods study, was conducted in four industrial manufacturing companies, in Kedah State between November 2022 and May 2023.

Usability and acceptability of oral fluid- and blood-based hepatitis C virus self-testing among the general population and men who have sex with men in Malaysia.

Hepatitis C self-testing (HCVST) is emerging as an additional strategy that could help to expand access to HCV testing. We conducted a study to assess the usability and acceptability of two types of HCVST, oral fluid- and blood-based, among the general population and men who have sex with men (MSM) in Malaysia. An observational study was conducted in three primary care centres in Malaysia.

Assessing feasibility of a modified same-day test-and-treat model for hepatitis C among rural people who inject drugs.

Background: Despite advancements in hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment, low uptake among hard-to-reach populations remains a global issue. The current study aimed to assess the feasibility of a modified same-day test-and-treat model in improving HCV care for people who inject drugs (PWID) living in resource-constrained rural areas.

Methods: A pilot study was conducted in four primary healthcare (PHC) centers in Malaysia.

A quasi-randomised controlled trial of online distribution of home-based hepatitis C self-testing for key populations in Malaysia: a study protocol.

Background: Malaysia has an estimated hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence of 1.9% among its adult population and a history of providing HCV treatment in the public sector. In 2019, Malaysia launched a 5-year national strategic plan for viral hepatitis control and has been expanding HCV testing and treatment to the primary care and community levels, while actively engaging key populations in services for hepatitis care.

Assessing the impact of simplified HCV care on linkage to care amongst high-risk patients at primary healthcare clinics in Malaysia: a prospective observational study.

Introduction: To achieve the elimination of hepatitis C virus (HCV), substantial scale-up in access to testing and treatment is needed. This will require innovation and simplification of the care pathway, through decentralisation of testing and treatment to primary care settings and task-shifting to non-specialists. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of decentralisation of HCV testing and treatment using rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) in primary healthcare clinics (PHCs) among high-risk populations, with referral of seropositive patients for confirmatory viral load testing and treatment.

Experimental evolution of a fungal pathogen into a gut symbiont.

Gut microbes live in symbiosis with their hosts, but how mutualistic animal-microbe interactions emerge is not understood. By adaptively evolving the opportunistic fungal pathogen in the mouse gastrointestinal tract, we selected strains that not only had lost their main virulence program but also protected their new hosts against a variety of systemic infections. This protection was independent of adaptive immunity, arose as early as a single day postpriming, was dependent on increased innate cytokine responses, and was thus reminiscent of "trained immunity.

β-glucan Exposure on the Fungal Cell Wall Tightly Correlates with Competitive Fitness of Species in the Mouse Gastrointestinal Tract.

is responsible for ~400,000 systemic fungal infections annually, with an associated mortality rate of 46-75%. The human gastrointestinal (GI) tract represents the largest natural reservoir of species and is a major source of systemic fungal infections. However, the factors that control GI colonization by species are not completely understood.

Pathogenicity of Salmonella enterica in Caenorhabditis elegans relies on disseminated oxidative stress in the infected host.

Feeding Caenorhabditis elegans with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium significantly shortens the lifespan of the nematode. S. Typhimurium-infected C.

Modulation of Caenorhabditis elegans infection sensitivity by the LIN-7 cell junction protein.

In Caenorhabditis elegans, the LIN-2/7/10 protein complex regulates the activity of signalling proteins. We found that inhibiting lin-7 function, and also lin-2 and lin-10, resulted in enhanced C. elegans survival after infection by Burkholderia spp.

Small-molecular virulence inhibitors show divergent and immunomodulatory effects in infection models of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.

The virulence-associated Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 (SPI2) type III secretion system supports intracellular replication of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells. In contrast, the salicylidene acylhydrazide INP0010 and the benzimidazole omeprazole prevent virulence factor-mediated replication of S.

Gene expression profiling reveals the defining features of the classical, intermediate, and nonclassical human monocyte subsets.

New official nomenclature subdivides human monocytes into 3 subsets: the classical (CD14(++)CD16(-)), intermediate (CD14(++)CD16(+)), and nonclassical (CD14(+)CD16(++)) monocytes. This introduces new challenges, as monocyte heterogeneity is mostly understood based on 2 subsets, the CD16(-) and CD16(+) monocytes. Here, we comprehensively defined the 3 circulating human monocyte subsets using microarray, flow cytometry, and cytokine production analysis.

Identification of novel functional differences in monocyte subsets using proteomic and transcriptomic methods.

Human blood monocytes can be broadly divided into two distinct subsets: CD14+CD16- and CD14+/lowCD16+ subsets. Perturbation in their proportions in the blood has been observed in several disease conditions. Although numerous phenotypic and functional differences between the two subsets have already been described, the roles contributed by each subset during homeostasis or disease conditions are still largely unclear.