High Mortality Due to Pneumococcal Meningitis in Children With Sickle Cell Disease: A French Multicenter Observational Study From 2001 to 2021.

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) predisposes children to bacterial infections, particularly invasive pneumococcal disease. Pneumococcal immunization associated with antibiotic prophylaxis reduced the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease in these patients. However, the risk remains higher than in the general population.

Cultivated autologous limbal epithelial cell (CALEC) transplantation for limbal tem cell deficiency: a phase I/II clinical trial of the first xenobiotic-free, serum-free, antibiotic-free manufacturing protocol developed in the US.

We developed a two-stage manufacturing process utilizing cultivated autologous limbal epithelial cells (CALEC), the first xenobiotic-free, serum-free, antibiotic-free protocol developed in the United States, to treat blindness caused by unilateral limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) and conducted a single-center, single-arm, phase I/II clinical trial. Primary outcomes were feasibility (meeting release criteria) and safety (ocular infection, corneal perforation, or graft detachment). Participant eligibility included male or female participants age 18 to <90 years old and ability to provide written informed consent with LSCD.

Optimized laboratory techniques for assessing the quality of pre-stripped DMEK grafts.

This study addressed limitations in calcein-AM-based endothelial viability assays, specifically focusing on pre-stripped DMEK grafts. Key challenges included the suboptimal calcein staining and the incompatibility of the viability assay with subsequent immunofluorescence (IF). Using human corneal grafts, we employed two strategies to optimize calcein staining.

Parotid Keratocystoma: Fine Needle Aspiration Cytomorphology With Ancillary Testing Results.

Keratocystoma is a rare benign salivary gland tumor described in 1999. Only 14 cases have been reported in the histopathological literature, with three of them having had a preoperative fine needle aspiration (FNA) performed. All cytological diagnoses were not specific.

The lateral line and electrosensory systems of two holocephalans.

The mechanosensory (lateral line) and electrosensory systems are two important non-visual sensory modalities, especially in low light environments. Despite their importance, these sensory systems have received little attention in deepwater chondrichthyans. Here, we describe the morphological organisation of the peripheral lateral line and electrosensory systems in two species of chimaeras; the pale ghost shark Hydrolagus bemisi (Chimaeridae) and the Australasia narrow-nosed spookfish Harriotta avia (Rhinochimaeridae), occupying depth ranges of 400-1,100 m and 260-1,278 m, respectively.