rther studies with improved methodologies, including higher test sensitivity and consideration of viruses, are required to validate these findings.The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the rapid transition of in-person outpatient care to telemedicine, and clinical training to remote learning. The endocrinology fellows at the University of Michigan maintain their own continuity-of-care clinics and rotate in the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System. For these clinics, we sought to preserve patient staffing with expert attending physicians and continue the clinical training experience in a remote setting. We have adapted the online conferencing platform, Zoom, to integrate learners into a virtual teaching clinic environment. By using the Zoom "breakout room" feature, fellows are able to match staffing attending physicians to different patient cases, according to attending physicians' areas of specialty. Similar to the traditional teaching clinic environment, our remote staffing strategy has ensured that fellows continue to provide excellent patient care and fulfill educational aims across our University and VA facilities.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/LAQ824(NVP-LAQ824).html  Outpatient clinics in other University of Michigan departments and other academic centers have inquired about or have begun utilizing our method. Even beyond COVID-19, our paradigm potentially provides a convenient virtual staffing platform to serve patient populations with geographic or transportation challenges. Following implementation, stakeholders can regularly evaluate the approach to continually improve both patient care and medical education.
  Involving affected communities and people living with HIV (PLHIV) in HIV cure-focused clinical trials has ethical and practical benefits. However, there can be barriers to meaningful involvement of 'lay people' in scientific research meaning community consultation is often limited or tokenistic. This paper reports on an Australian project, the INSPIRE project (
  mprove, 
  urture and 
  trengthen education, collaboration, and communication between 
  LH
  V and 
  searchers), which aimed to explore barriers and enablers to enactment of the principles of meaningful involvement of PLHIV (MIPA) and affected communities in HIV cure-focused research.
 
  The project involved a workshop attended by 40 stakeholders involved in HIV care, research or advocacy including PLHIV, community organizations, basic scientists, and clinicians. The workshop involved a facilitated discussion about community involvement in a hypothetical HIV cure-focused clinical trial. Data were collected through notetaking and video recordings. Qualitative, thematic analysis was undertaken to organize the data and identify core themes related to MIPA.
 
  Workshop discussions revealed community stakeholders often feel their involvement in HIV clinical research is undervalued, evidenced by limited financial remuneration and minimal capacity to influence the research design or processes. Building long-term, formal and informal relationships between community organizations, PLHIV, researchers and research teams or laboratories was identified as a strategy to support MIPA at all stages of a clinical trial, from design to dissemination of findings.
 
  Enacting MIPA principles in HIV cure-focused research requires a better understanding of the potential to improve research outcomes and ensure quality in the research process.
 Enacting MIPA principles in HIV cure-focused research requires a better understanding of the potential to improve research outcomes and ensure quality in the research process.For over a decade, the binary concepts of 'sterilizing' versus 'functional' cure have provided an organizing framework for the field of HIV cure-related research. In this article, we examine how the expression 'functional cure' is employed within the field, published literature, and community understanding of HIV cure research. In our synthesis of the different meanings attributed to 'functional cure' within contemporary biomedical discourse, we argue that employing the 'functional cure' terminology poses a series of problems. The expression itself is contradictory and inconsistently used across a wide array of HIV cure research initiatives. Further, the meaning and acceptability of 'functional cure' within communities of people living with and affected by HIV is highly variable. After drawing lessons from other fields, such as cancer and infectious hepatitis cure research, we summarize our considerations and propose alternative language that may more aptly describe the scientific objectives in question. We call for closer attention to language used to describe HIV cure-related research, and for continued, significant, and strategic engagement to ensure acceptable and more precise terminology.
  Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is considered as one of the leading causes of liver disease in thalassemic patients in Iran. Over 40% of the mortality in these patients is related to HCV.
 
  The present study aimed at estimating HCV prevalence in thalassemic patients in Iran and to determine the number of infections until eradication is achieved.
 
  A meta-analysis approach was used to estimate the number of HCV-infected thalassemic patients in the country. The prevalence rate was measured using a modeling approach to predict the number of cases until eradication using several scenarios in terms of testing and treatment, in particular the use of direct acting antiviral drugs (DAAs).
 
  With the advent of DAAs with a high rate of treatment success, HCV could be eradicated earlier than originally thought among this group of patients. Based on previous predictions the number of HCV-infected thalassemic patients would have been below 66 by 2020. However, according to our predictions, the number will be less than 10 when using DAAs.
 
  We believe that HCV eradication can be achieved in thalassemic patients with an increased life expectancy by funding DAA-based new treatment strategies. This has been exemplified in Alborz, Lorestan, and South Khorasan provinces with HCV eradication in this group of patients.
 We believe that HCV eradication can be achieved in thalassemic patients with an increased life expectancy by funding DAA-based new treatment strategies. This has been exemplified in Alborz, Lorestan, and South Khorasan provinces with HCV eradication in this group of patients.