tuberculosis vaccine (Mw) (Immuvac / Cadi05 / Sepsivac)

Prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis and associated factors among suspected tuberculosis patients attending Halaba Kulito General Hospital, Ethiopia: cross-sectional study.

Mesele Derso Wale DW, Ayele Gizachew G, Gashaw Birku B, Fekadu Bisrat B et al.

Pulmonary tuberculosis remains the leading cause of mortality worldwide from a single infectious agent. This is more pronounced in resource-limited settings like Ethiopia, where HIV co-infection is more common. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis and its associated factors among suspected pulmonary tuberculosis patients attending Halaba Kulito General Hospital. A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from October 27 to December 27, 2025, at Halaba Kulito General Hospital. Sputum samples were collected and analyzed using GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay following standard operating procedures. Descriptive statistics, bivariable, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to assess factors associated with pulmonary tuberculosis, with statistical significance set at a p-value < 0.05 at a 95% confidence level. The prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis among the study participants was 8.0% (13/163; 95% CI 4.3-13.3%). HIV seropositivity (AOR = 6.683, 95% CI = 1.286-34.727) and alcohol consumption (AOR = 3.773, 95% CI = 1.047-13.593) were independently associated with pulmonary tuberculosis. This study found a non-negligible prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis among the study population. HIV seropositivity and alcohol consumption were significantly associated with pulmonary tuberculosis. These findings support the need for integrated tuberculosis and HIV services and consideration of alcohol-use assessment within tuberculosis screening and prevention activities.

Lewis-Basic Metal Sulfide Electrode Interfaces Unlock High Power Density Alkaline All-Iron Redox Flow Batteries.

Yang Wendong W, Long Xue X, Jiang Hua H, Zhang Shuangbin S et al.

Alkaline all-iron redox flow batteries (AIRFBs) are promising for safe, low-cost grid-scale energy storage using Earth-abundant elements. However, insufficient energy efficiency and power density limit practical deployment, while the interfacial kinetic origin of these losses remains unclear. Here, we identify sluggish outer-sphere electron-transfer kinetics of Fe-chelate anolytes as a key kinetic bottleneck governing polarization in alkaline AIRFBs and further link this bottleneck to limited outer Helmholtz plane (OHP)-region accessibility and weak interfacial electronic coupling. To overcome this limitation, we develop Lewis-basic sulfide interfaces that regulate the local Fe-chelate/electrode environment. These regulated interfaces convert inefficient diffusion encounters into productive sulfide-assisted outer-sphere electron-transfer events, thereby accelerating anolyte redox kinetics and suppressing polarization. An alkaline AIRFB assembled with a Ni3S4-modified electrode delivers an energy efficiency of 80.65% at 200 mA cm-2 and a peak power density of 501.2 mW cm-2, compared with 65.69% and 185.5 mW cm-2 for the pristine cell. The Ni3S4-based cell further maintains an average Coulombic efficiency of 99.9%, an average energy efficiency of 77.8%, and stable operation over 3000 cycles at 200 mA cm-2. This work reveals an interfacial kinetic bottleneck in alkaline AIRFBs and establishes Lewis-basic interface engineering as a strategy for high-power and low-cost long-duration energy storage.

Multiscale Microparticle Trapping Through Tapered-Fiber Structures and Refractive-Index Modulation.

Chen Xiaoyue X, Xiong Yubin Y, Zhu Hanbing H, Su Yinhong Y et al.

Tapered optical fibers reshape optical fields in confined spaces, enabling versatile microparticle trapping. This study establishes a continuous framework spanning near-field confinement, far-field extension, and environmental modulation by comparing flame-tapered and machine-pulled fibers. Flame tapering produces sharp tips with micrometer-scale foci; taper angles of 24°, 40°, and 60° yield focal positions of 0.2, 5.1, and 7.0 µm, respectively. A 980 nm laser is used, and stable trapping and probe-guided transport of 20 µm polystyrene microspheres were achieved at a threshold of 84 mW, with dual-particle trapping demonstrated via microlens-induced secondary potential wells. In contrast, machine-assisted tapering generates smooth end faces and long transition regions, extending working distances to 67, 122, and 163 µm. A long-transition probe further produced dual axial potential wells that stably confined 5 µm microspheres at 143 and 286 µm at powers above 500 mW. Environmental modulation revealed that increasing the external refractive index from 1.33 to 1.36 shifted the simulated focal positions from 40 to 55 µm, while ethanol-water evaporation experimentally reduced the trapping distances from 353 to 236 µm. These results show that fiber geometry defines the trapping range, whereas refractive index tunes the precise trapping position, offering a compact platform for multiscale manipulation with potential applications in cell positioning and sorting in liquid environments.

Engineered ESAT-6 Linear Epitopes in Tuberculosis: An Interesting Immunologic Signal, but Diagnostic Efficacy Still Needs Clinical Validation.

Shadbash Piruz P