Randomised controlled trial of early frenotomy in breastfed infants with mild-moderate tongue-tie.

Trial Design: A randomised, parallel group, pragmatic trial.

Setting: A large UK maternity hospital.

Participants: Term infants <2 weeks old with a mild or moderate degree of tongue-tie, and their mothers who were having difficulties breastfeeding.

Assessment of wastewater and recycled water quality: a comparison of lines of evidence from in vitro, in vivo and chemical analyses.

We investigated water quality at an advanced water reclamation plant and three conventional wastewater treatment plants using an "ecotoxicity toolbox" consisting of three complementary analyses (chemical analysis, in vitro bioanalysis and in situ biological monitoring), with a focus on endocrine disruption. The in vitro bioassays were chosen to provide an appropriately wide coverage of biological effects relevant to managed aquifer recharge and environmental discharge of treated wastewater, and included bioassays for bacterial toxicity (Microtox), genotoxicity (umuC), photosynthesis inhibition (Max-I-PAM) and endocrine effects (E-SCREEN and AR-CALUX). Chemical analysis of hormones and pesticides using LCMSMS was performed in parallel to correlate standard analytical methods with the in vitro assessment.

Bristol girls dance project (BGDP): protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial of an after-school dance programme to increase physical activity among 11-12 year old girls.

Background: Many children do not meet current UK physical activity (PA) guidelines. Girls are less active than boys throughout childhood, and the age-related decline in PA, particularly from early adolescence, is steeper for girls than for boys. Dance is the favourite form of PA among UK secondary school aged girls.

Sleep patterns in children with autistic spectrum disorders: a prospective cohort study.

Objective: To investigate longitudinal sleep patterns in children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs).

Study Design: Prospective longitudinal study using Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, an English cohort born in 1991-1992. Parental reports of sleep duration were collected by questionnaires at 8 time points from 6 months to 11 years.

Prospective study of avian influenza virus infections among rural Thai villagers.

Background: In 2008, 800 rural Thai adults living within Kamphaeng Phet Province were enrolled in a prospective cohort study of zoonotic influenza transmission. Serological analyses of enrollment sera suggested this cohort had experienced subclinical avian influenza virus (AIV) infections with H9N2 and H5N1 viruses.

Methods: After enrollment, participants were contacted weekly for 24 mos for acute influenza-like illnesses (ILI).

The TARGET cohort study protocol: a prospective primary care cohort study to derive and validate a clinical prediction rule to improve the targeting of antibiotics in children with respiratory tract illnesses.

Background: Children with respiratory tract infections are the single most frequent patient group to make use of primary care health care resources. The use of antibiotics remains highly prevalent in young children, but can lead to antimicrobial resistance as well as reinforcing the idea that parents should re-consult for similar symptoms. One of the main drivers of indiscriminate antimicrobial use is the lack of evidence for, and therefore uncertainty regarding, which children are at risk of poor outcome.

A role for gut-associated lymphoid tissue in shaping the human B cell repertoire.

We have tracked the fate of immature human B cells at a critical stage in their development when the mature B cell repertoire is shaped. We show that a major subset of bone marrow emigrant immature human B cells, the transitional 2 (T2) B cells, homes to gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) and that most T2 B cells isolated from human GALT are activated. Activation in GALT is a previously unknown potential fate for immature human B cells.

Structural and functional insight into an unexpectedly selective N-methyltransferase involved in plantazolicin biosynthesis.

Plantazolicin (PZN), a polyheterocyclic, N(α),N(α)-dimethylarginine-containing antibiotic, harbors remarkably specific bactericidal activity toward strains of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. Previous studies demonstrated that genetic deletion of the S-adenosyl-L-methionine-dependent methyltransferase from the PZN biosynthetic gene cluster results in the formation of desmethylPZN, which is devoid of antibiotic activity. Here we describe the in vitro reconstitution, mutational analysis, and X-ray crystallographic structure of the PZN methyltransferase.

Reducing antibiotic prescribing for children with respiratory tract infections in primary care: a systematic review.

Background: Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in children are common and often result in antibiotic prescription despite their typically self-limiting course.

Aim: To assess the effectiveness of primary care based interventions to reduce antibiotic prescribing for children with RTIs.

Design And Setting: Systematic review.

Psychosocial and educational outcomes of weight faltering in infancy in ALSPAC.

Objectives: To investigate whether infants with weight faltering have impaired psychosocial and educational outcomes in later childhood.

Design: Follow-up of infants with weight faltering in a large UK cohort study.

Setting: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).

Contributions of the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System Network to global health security in 2011.

In its 15th year, the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (GEIS) continued to make significant contributions to global public health and emerging infectious disease surveillance worldwide. As a division of the US Department of Defense's Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center since 2008, GEIS coordinated a network of surveillance and response activities through collaborations with 33 partners in 76 countries. The GEIS was involved in 73 outbreak responses in fiscal year 2011.

Identification of a novel human papillomavirus by metagenomic analysis of samples from patients with febrile respiratory illness.

As part of a virus discovery investigation using a metagenomic approach, a highly divergent novel Human papillomavirus type was identified in pooled convenience nasal/oropharyngeal swab samples collected from patients with febrile respiratory illness. Phylogenetic analysis of the whole genome and the L1 gene reveals that the new HPV identified in this study clusters with previously described gamma papillomaviruses, sharing only 61.1% (whole genome) and 63.

Seroepidemiologic investigation of an outbreak of pandemic influenza A H1N1 2009 aboard a US Navy vessel--San Diego, 2009.

Background: During summer 2009, a US Navy ship experienced an influenza-like illness outbreak with 126 laboratory-confirmed cases of pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus among the approximately 2000-person crew.

Methods: During September 24-October 9, 2009, a retrospective seroepidemiologic investigation was conducted to characterize the outbreak. We administered questionnaires, reviewed medical records, and collected post-outbreak sera from systematically sampled crewmembers.

The First-aid Advice and Safety Training (FAST) parents programme for the prevention of unintentional injuries in preschool children: a protocol.

Background: Unintentional injury is the leading cause of preventable death in children in the UK, and 0-4-year-olds frequently attend emergency departments following injuries in the home. Parenting programmes designed to support parents, promote behaviour change and enhance parent-child relationships have been shown to improve health outcomes in children. It is not known whether group-based parenting programmes have the potential to prevent unintentional injuries in preschool children.

Comparison of the effectiveness of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine and live, attenuated influenza vaccine in preventing influenza-like illness among US military service members, 2006-2009.

Background: Influenza is a significant cause of morbidity, and vaccination is the preferred preventive strategy. Data regarding the preferred influenza vaccine type among adults are limited.

Methods: The effectiveness of 2 currently available influenza vaccines LAIV and TIV in preventing influenza-like illness (ILI) was compared among US military members (aged 18-49 years) during 3 consecutive influenza seasons (2006-2009).

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in Santa Cruz, Bolivia: outbreak investigation and antibody prevalence study.

We report the results of an investigation of a small outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in 2002 in the Department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, where the disease had not previously been reported. Two cases were initially reported. The first case was a physician infected with Laguna Negra virus during a weekend visit to his ranch.

Sleep patterns in children with ADHD: a population-based cohort study from birth to 11 years.

Associations between sleep duration and disturbance in infancy and early childhood and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnoses were investigated. Data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a population-based prospective longitudinal birth-cohort study of children born in 1991-1992 in South-West England, were employed. Eight thousand, one hundred and ninety-five children were assessed using the Development and Well-Being Assessment.

IL-10-producing regulatory B cells in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

A regulatory subset of B cells has been found to modulate immune responses in autoimmunity, infection, and cancer, but it has not been investigated in the setting of human persistent viral infection. IL-10 is elevated in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection (CHB), but its cellular sources and impact on antiviral T cells have not been addressed. We investigated the role of IL-10 and regulatory B cells in the pathogenesis of CHB.