Impacts of MDR/XDR-TB on the global tuberculosis epidemic: Challenges and opportunities.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the world's second-deadliest infectious disease. Despite the availability of drugs to cure TB, control of TB is hampered by the emergence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). The presence of MDR/XDR-TB is alarming due to the low detection rate, high treatment failure, and high mortality.

Aptamer-Based Strategies to Address Challenges in COVID-19 Diagnosis and Treatments.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a highly contagious and rapidly spreading disease with significant fatality in the elderly population, has swept across the world since 2019. Since its first appearance, the causative agent, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has undergone multiple mutations, with Omicron as the predominant circulating variant of concern at the moment. The gold standard for diagnosis of COVID-19 by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect the virus is laborious and requires well-trained personnel to perform sophisticated procedures.

A molecular phylogeny of and species (Gastropoda: Trochomorphidae) in Sabah, Malaysia reveals convergent evolution of shell morphology driven by environmental influences.

There are currently eleven and four species in Sabah. The primary diagnostic character that separates the two genera is the intensity of sculpture on the shell upper surface. All species have a coarse nodular sculpture while species has a non-nodular sculpture or smooth shell.