Search Results (3)

For drug-susceptible TB, the WHO-endorsed first-line regimen (isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, pyrazinamide) remains the global reference. Therapy must always be tailored to drug susceptibility, especially in MDR- and XDR-TB. HIV-associated mycobacterial infections—including Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB), disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), and Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae)—remain leading causes of morbidity and mortality in people living with HIV (PLWH). TB continues to account for the highest burden of AIDS-related deaths worldwide, while MAC and leprosy complicate care in advanced immunosuppression. This review synthesizes current evidence on epidemiology, clinical features, and management challenges of HIV–mycobacterial co-infections. We discuss drug-susceptible and drug-resistant TB therapies, drug–drug interactions with antiretroviral therapy (ART), and the clinical impact of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). Beyond established regimens, we highlight host-directed strategies such as metformin, glutathione augmentation, mTOR modulation, and vitamin D; immunotherapies including interferon-γ, GM-CSF, and IL-7; and therapeutic vaccines (M72/AS01E, MTBVAC, VPM1002) as promising adjuncts. Distinct from guideline-focused overviews, this review emphasizes non-tuberculous mycobacterial disease (NTM, including MAC) and leprosy in PLWH and synthesizes host-directed and adjunctive strategies with their translational prospects, including ART compatibility and IRIS. By integrating TB, NTM, and leprosy across the HIV care continuum, we highlight opportunities not treated in detail elsewhere—particularly HDT-enabled approaches and implementation considerations in PLWH. Full article

In wireless sensor networks, energy efficiency is important because sensor nodes have limited energy. 3-dimensional group management medium access control (3-D GM-MAC) is an attractive MAC protocol for application to the Internet of Things (IoT) environment with various sensors. 3-D GM-MAC outperforms the existing MAC schemes in terms of energy efficiency, but has some stability issues. In this paper, methods that improve the stability and transmission performance of 3-D GM-MAC are proposed. A buffer management scheme for sensor nodes is newly proposed. Fixed sensor nodes that have a higher priority than the mobile sensor nodes in determining the group numbers that were added, and an advanced group number management scheme was introduced. The proposed methods were simulated and analyzed. The newly derived buffer threshold had a similar energy efficiency to the original 3-D GM-MAC, but improved performance in the aspects of data loss rate and data collection rate. Data delay was not included in the comparison factors as 3-D GM-MAC targets non-real-time applications. When using fixed sensor nodes, the number of group number resets is reduced by about 43.4% and energy efficiency increased by about 10%. Advanced group number management improved energy efficiency by about 23.4%. In addition, the advanced group number management with periodical group number resets of the entire sensor nodes showed about a 48.9% improvement in energy efficiency. Full article

Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) is the most frequent nontuberculous mycobacteria implicated in opportunistic infections that define acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. With highly active antiretroviral therapy, disseminated MAC (dMAC) has become a rare entity. This unique case of dMAC was diagnosed in an adolescent with newly diagnosed perinatally- acquired HIV infection whose initial CD4 cell count was severely depleted and viral load was extremely high. While maximized treatment regimen had not been able to control his dMAC, improvement was noted when granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) was added. GM-CSF should be considered as an adjunctive therapy in patients with refractory dMAC. Full article