Sand fly identification and screening for Leishmania spp. in six provinces of Thailand.

Background: Phlebotomine sand flies are vectors of Leishmania spp. At least 27 species of sand flies have been recorded in Thailand. Although human leishmaniasis cases in Thailand are mainly imported, autochthonous leishmaniasis has been increasingly reported in several regions of the country since 1999.

Long-Term Effectiveness and Safety of Tafluprost, Travoprost, and Latanoprost in Korean Patients with Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma or Normal-Tension Glaucoma: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study (LOTUS Study).

This multicenter retrospective cohort study compared the effectiveness and safety of long-term tafluprost, travoprost, or latanoprost in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) or normal-tension glaucoma (NTG). Data were extracted from electronic medical records of 300 patients treated with tafluprost, travoprost, or latanoprost for >6 months. Propensity matching for age and sex was used for effectiveness and safety comparisons.

Development and Clinical Evaluation of Serum and Urine-Based Lateral Flow Tests for Diagnosis of Human Visceral Leishmaniasis.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a fatal parasitic infection, is categorized as being neglected among tropical diseases. The use of conventional tissue aspiration for diagnosis is not possible in every setting. The immunochromatography-based lateral flow assay (LFA) has attracted attention for a long time due to its ability to give results within a few minutes, mainly in resource-poor settings.

Baseline risk factor prevalence among adolescents aged 15-17 years old: findings from National Non-communicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS) of India.

Objective: To generate national estimates of key non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors for adolescents (15-17 years) identified in the National NCD Monitoring Framework and, study the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards NCD risk behaviours among school-going adolescents.

Design And Setting: A community-based, national, crosssectional survey conducted during 2017-2018. The survey was coordinated by the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research with 10 reputed implementing research institutes/organisations across India in urban and rural areas.

Influences on catch-up growth using relative versus absolute metrics: evidence from the MAL-ED cohort study.

Background: Poor growth in early childhood has been considered irreversible after 2-3 years of age and has been associated with morbidity and mortality over the short-term and with poor economic and cognitive outcomes over the long-term. The MAL-ED cohort study was performed in eight low-income settings with the goal of evaluating relationships between the child's environment and experience (dietary, illness, and pathogen exposure, among others) and their growth and development. The goal of this analysis is to determine whether there are differences in the factors associated with growth from 24 to 60 months using two different metrics.

Nicotine stimulates CYP1A1 expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells via AP-1, NF-κB, and AhR.

Cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) is a member of a subfamily of enzymes involved in the metabolism of both endogenous and exogenous substrates and the chemical activation of xenobiotics to carcinogenic derivatives. Here, the effects of nicotine, a major psychoactive compound present in cigarette smoke, on CYP1A1 expression and human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell proliferation were investigated. Nicotine stimulated CYP1A1 expression via the transcription factors, activator protein 1, nuclear factor-kappa B, and the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) signaling pathway.

COVID-19 Transmission among Healthcare Workers at a Quarantine Facility in Thailand: Genomic and Outbreak Investigations.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand implemented a quarantine program at approved quarantine facilities for every international traveler. Here, we report an epidemiological and genomic investigation of a COVID-19 cluster consisting of seven healthcare workers (HCWs) at a quarantine facility and its partnered hospital in Thailand. Outbreak investigations were implemented to obtain contact tracing data and to establish chains of transmission.

Evaluation of the extended efficacy of the Dengvaxia vaccine against symptomatic and subclinical dengue infection.

More than half of the world's population lives in areas at risk for dengue virus infection. A vaccine will be pivotal to controlling spread, however, the only licensed vaccine, Dengvaxia, has been shown to increase the risk of severe disease in a subset of individuals. Vaccine efforts are hampered by a poor understanding of antibody responses, including those generated by vaccines, and whether antibody titers can be used as a marker of protection from infection or disease.

Limited Evidence for a Relationship between HIV-1 Glycan Shield Features in Early Infection and the Development of Neutralization Breadth.

Identifying whether viral features present in acute HIV-1 infection predetermine the development of neutralization breadth is critical to vaccine design. Incorporating such features in vaccine antigens could initiate cross-reactive antibody responses that could sufficiently protect vaccinees from HIV-1 infection despite the uniqueness of each founder virus. To understand the relationship between Env determinants and the development of neutralization breadth, we focused on 197 individuals enrolled in two cohorts in Thailand and East Africa (RV144 and RV217) and followed since their diagnosis in acute or early HIV-1 infection.

Clinical Features of Advanced Glaucoma With Optic Nerve Head Prelaminar Schisis.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical characteristics of optic nerve head (ONH) prelaminar schisis in eyes with advanced glaucoma.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: One hundred sixteen eyes with advanced glaucoma (30-2 mean deviation <-12 dB) were included.

2-D08 treatment regulates C2C12 myoblast proliferation and differentiation via the Erk1/2 and proteasome signaling pathways.

SUMOylation is one of the post-translational modifications that involves the covalent attachment of the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) to the substrate. SUMOylation regulates multiple biological processes, including myoblast proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. 2-D08 is a synthetically available flavone, which acts as a potent cell-permeable SUMOylation inhibitor.

A novel CRISPR-based malaria diagnostic capable of Plasmodium detection, species differentiation, and drug-resistance genotyping.

Background: CRISPR-based diagnostics are a new class of highly sensitive and specific assays with multiple applications in infectious disease diagnosis. SHERLOCK, or Specific High-Sensitivity Enzymatic Reporter UnLOCKing, is one such CRISPR-based diagnostic that combines recombinase polymerase pre-amplification, CRISPR-RNA base-pairing, and LwCas13a activity for nucleic acid detection.

Methods: We developed SHERLOCK assays capable of detecting all Plasmodium species known to cause human malaria and species-specific detection of P.

Historical Analysis of the Risk of Hepatitis E and Its Complications in Pregnant Women in Nepal, 1996-1998.

Hepatitis E (HE) during pregnancy can be fatal; there are no prospective risk estimates for HE and its complications during pregnancy. We followed 2,404 pregnant women for HE and pregnancy outcomes from 1996 to 1998. Subjects from Nepal were enrolled at an antenatal clinic with pregnancy of ≤ 24 weeks.

Oxidant activated soluble adenylate cyclase of Leishmania donovani regulates the cAMP-PKA signaling axis for its intra-macrophage survival during infection.

Adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) is a stress sensor molecule that transduces the cellular signal when Leishmania donovani moves from insect vector to mammalian host. At this stage, the parasite membrane-bound receptor adenylate cyclase predominantly produces cAMP to cope with the oxidative assault imposed by host macrophages. However, the role of soluble adenylate cyclase of L.

Prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis among the tribal populations in India.

Importance: There is no concrete evidence on the burden of TB among the tribal populations across India except for few studies mainly conducted in Central India with a pooled estimation of 703/100,000 with a high degree of heterogeneity.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of TB among the tribal populations in India.

Design, Participants, Setting: A survey using a multistage cluster sampling design was conducted between April 2015 and March 2020 covering 88 villages (clusters) from districts with over 70% tribal majority populations in 17 States across 6 zones of India.

Isoform-Specific Effects of Apolipoprotein E on Markers of Inflammation and Toxicity in Brain Glia and Neuronal Cells In Vitro.

Mutations to the cholesterol transport protein apolipoprotein E (ApoE) have been identified as a major risk factor for the development of sporadic or late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD), with the allele representing an increased risk and the rare allele having a reduced risk compared to the primary form. The reasons behind the change in risk are not entirely understood, though ApoE4 has been connected to inflammation and toxicity in both the brain and the periphery. The goal of this study was to better understand how the ApoE isoforms (ApoE2/3/4) confer differential AD-related risk by assessing cell-specific ApoE-related neuroinflammatory and neurotoxic effects.

Risks and benefits of timely screw removal after thoracolumbar spine fractures treated with non-fusion technique.

Background: Percutaneous-short segment screw fixation (SSSF) without bone fusion has proven to be a safe and effective modality for thoracolumbar spine fractures (TLSFs). When fracture consolidation is confirmed, pedicle screws are no longer essential, but clear indications for screw removal following fracture consolidation have not been established.

Methods: In total, we enrolled 31 patients with TLSFs who underwent screw removal following treatment using percutaneous-SSSF without fusion.

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among the general population and healthcare workers in India, December 2020-January 2021.

Background: Earlier serosurveys in India revealed seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) of 0.73% in May-June 2020 and 7.1% in August-September 2020.

Understanding health care-seeking behaviour of the tribal population in India among those with presumptive TB symptoms.

Background And Objectives: Understanding the drivers for care-seeking among those who present with symptoms of TB is crucial for early diagnosis of TB and prompt treatment, which will in turn halt further TB transmission. While TB is a challenge among the tribal population, little is known about the care-seeking behaviour and the factors influencing care-seeking behaviour among the tribal population across India.

Methodology: This community-based descriptive study was carried out in 17 states of India across 6 zones, covering 88 villages from tribal districts with over 70% tribal population.

Natural Phytochemicals in Bladder Cancer Prevention and Therapy.

Phytochemicals are natural small-molecule compounds derived from plants that have attracted attention for their anticancer activities. Some phytochemicals have been developed as first-line anticancer drugs, such as paclitaxel and vincristine. In addition, several phytochemicals show good tumor suppression functions in various cancer types.

A Novel Antigen, Otubain Cysteine Peptidase of Leishmania donovani, for the Serodiagnosis of Visceral Leishmaniasis and for Monitoring Treatment Response.

Tests for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) are not uniformly effective for all endemic regions. In a serological assay, a novel antigen, otubain cysteine peptidase, compared with rK39, showed comparable sensitivity with Indian VL serum samples and prominently increased sensitivity with Brazilian samples, as well as improved monitoring of the treatment response.

Secretory Mevalonate Kinase Regulates Host Immune Response and Facilitates Phagocytosis.

secretes over 151 proteins during cultivation. Cellular functions of one such novel protein: mevalonate kinase is discussed here; signifying its importance in infection. Visceral Leishmaniasis is a persistent infection, caused by in Indian subcontinent.

Field evaluation of four commercial light traps, trap placement, and effect of carbon dioxide on phlebotomine sand fly collection in northern Thailand.

Several light trap devices have been invented and developed to assess the abundance of sand flies. Traps available in the market have different designs and attractant combinations to catch sand fly vectors. We evaluated the efficacy of four commercial light traps and determined the effect of trap placement and carbon dioxide (CO) on sand fly collection in northern Thailand.

Dabigatran reduces thrombin-induced neuroinflammation and AD markers in vitro: Therapeutic relevance for Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Vascular risk factors such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, and elevated homocysteine levels are strongly correlated with onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Emerging evidence indicates that blood coagulation protein thrombin is associated with vascular and non-vascular risk factors of AD. Here, we examined the effect of thrombin and its direct inhibitor dabigatran on key mediators of neuro-inflammation and AD pathology in the retinoic acid (RA)-differentiated human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y.