Platinum Open Access with no APCs.

Platinum Open Access with no APCs.

Platinum Open Access with no APCs & Fast peer review/Fast publication online after article acceptance

<p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="first" dir="auto" id="d49440192e127">Tuberculosis (TB) is among the main infectious diseases responsible for global mortality worldwide. Cases in India, markedly contribute to the global TB burden. Despite substantial progress in diagnosis and treatment, challenges such as drug-resistant TB (DR-TB), HIV co-infection, and major gaps in private sector regulation hinder effective disease control. In India, TB control efforts have evolved from the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP) to the current National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP), reflecting a strategic shift from disease control to elimination. Although these initiatives have improved case detection and treatment outcomes, operational, infrastructural, and socioeconomic challenges persist. This narrative review presents an updated overview of the development of, and progress in, TB control strategies in India. Key achievements, challenges, and future directions necessary to achieve TB elimination goals in India are highlighted. In addition, global TB control programs, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on TB notification and treatment, are evaluated. </p>

<p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="first" dir="auto" id="d18398939e117">Skeletal healing is constrained by a long-standing paradox. Specifically, analgesia is clinically essential, yet neural signaling is biologically required for effective repair. Recent evidence showed that bone-innervating sensory neurons are temporally plastic rather than functionally fixed. After injury, these neurons transition from an early nociceptive state to a later pro-regenerative secretory program, including trophic factors that are required for periosteal progenitor expansion and successful callus formation. Importantly, this switch is better interpreted as stage-linked than clock-like, broadly tracking the evolution from inflammatory injury signaling toward reparative callus formation with timing varying by skeletal site, age, and injury context. This dynamic framework helps explain why broad neural inhibition can relieve pain, while inadvertently compromising osteogenesis. The translational implication is not to reduce analgesia but to redesign analgesia. Future strategies should decouple nociceptive suppression from the loss of regenerative neural output. Defining therapeutic time windows and modality-specific effects on neurotrophic signaling as well as pain and developing biomarker-guided rescue strategies will be essential for next-generation skeletal management that preserves pain control and biological healing.</p>

<p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="first" dir="auto" id="d20943211e108">Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), a leading global cause of mortality, are characterized by complex pathogenesis involving multifactorial molecular and cellular processes. Pannexin-1 (Panx1), a transmembrane channel protein, facilitates intercellular signaling through regulated release of small molecules such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP), thereby modulating diverse physiological and pathological pathways. This review explores the structural and functional landscape of Panx1, including its physiological roles, post-translational modifications and activation mechanisms. Its contributions to the pathophysiology of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, cardiac remodeling, electrophysiological abnormalities, and diabetic cardiomyopathy are emphasized. Current evidence highlights the dual pathophysiological roles of Panx1 channels in CVDs: whereas ATP-mediated activation initiates cytoprotective signaling cascades, channel hyperactivation exacerbates pathological progression. Future research should prioritize mechanistic elucidation of Panx1’s molecular biology, and the development of targeted inhibitors with enhanced specificity and therapeutic efficacy, to advance novel therapeutic strategies for cardiovascular disorders. </p>

<div xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="d1742410e160"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d1742410e161">Background:</h5> <p dir="auto" id="d1742410e163">In northeastern China, tick-borne diseases pose a major public health challenge, which is exacerbated by environmental and anthropogenic changes. This study was aimed at assessing the risk of tick bites and the effectiveness of protective measures in an endemic region, and investigating the influences of socio-demographic, behavioral, and landscape factors. </p> </div><div xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="d1742410e165"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d1742410e166">Methods:</h5> <p dir="auto" id="d1742410e168">A comprehensive online survey was conducted among 3000 participants from Heilongjiang, Liaoning, and Jilin provinces between July and August 2022. Data on self-reported tick bites, protective measures, and associated socio-demographic characteristics were gathered. Landscape analysis was conducted with satellite imagery, and the Shannon diversity index (SHDI) and forest patch density (PD) were selected to quantify landscape factors. Factors influencing tick bite incidence were identified with a logistic regression model, and linkages between landscape characteristics and exposure risk were assessed with spatial statistics. </p> </div><div xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="d1742410e170"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d1742410e171">Results:</h5> <p dir="auto" id="d1742410e173">Twenty-one percent of respondents reported experiencing tick bites, primarily during the active tick season (May to October). The self-reported incidence of tick-borne diseases (e.g., tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), Lyme disease (LD), and severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS)) varied across provinces, and notable socio-demographic factors (e.g., age, gender, occupation, and lifestyle) associated with tick exposure were identified. Adoption of protective measures was high (80.3%) among the surveyed population, particularly among those who had previously experienced tick bites. Landscape analysis revealed an inverse relationship between land use diversity and tick bite incidence, thus suggesting that areas with lower land use diversity might have higher tick bite risk. </p> </div><div xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="d1742410e175"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d1742410e176">Conclusions:</h5> <p dir="auto" id="d1742410e178">The study highlights the multifaceted nature of tick-borne disease risk in northeastern China and the importance of integrated strategies encompassing awareness, behavioral change, and environmental management to decrease tick exposure and prevent disease transmission. These insights might assist public health authorities in developing targeted interventions to combat the spread of tick-borne diseases in the region. </p> </div>

<p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="first" dir="auto" id="d13133733e150">The tumor vasculature, characterized by pathological angiogenesis and structural abnormalities, drives the progression of solid tumors by inducing hypoxia-acidosis microenvironments and therapeutic resistance. Targeting the tumor vasculature has emerged as a critical therapeutic strategy. Although conventional approaches such as anti-angiogenic drugs, vascular disrupting agents, and embolization have shown efficacy, their single-target focus hinders addressing tumor heterogeneity and evolving stage-specific needs. For example, rapid vascular disruption is effective for debulking advanced tumors, whereas vascular normalization enhances early- to mid-stage therapy by improving postoperative chemo-radiotherapy outcomes. Unlike single-mechanism interventions, ultrasound modulates acoustic parameters to achieve diverse effects including angiogenesis suppression, vessel disruption, and vasodilation, thus addressing multi-stage vascular needs. Ultrasound-based monitoring systems provide precise, dynamic vascular assessments to guide intervention strategies. Compared with traditional static imaging ultrasound offers real-time angiogenesis visualization and therapeutic response evaluation, thus enabling treatment optimization. This review synthesizes recent advances in ultrasound-based vascular targeting, emphasizing its dual role in spatiotemporally adaptive therapy and angiogenesis monitoring. We critically examine clinical translation challenges and future directions, highlighting how ultrasound-driven strategies, by bridging mechanistic precision with clinical scalability, might enable personalized, multi-effect therapeutic paradigms in oncology.</p>

<p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="first" dir="auto" id="d5571999e135">Two Irish tourists, a 72-year-old male and his 60-year-old wife, developed symptoms of m...

<p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="first" dir="auto" id="d3015824e127">Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a leading cause of death worldwide, and its rising ...