Variation in prenatal surveillance and management of anti-SSA/Ro autoantibody positive pregnancies.

Objective: To describe international surveillance and treatment strategies for managing anti-SSA/Ro autoantibody positive pregnancies.

Study Design: An electronic REDCap questionnaire was distributed to Fetal Heart Society and North American Fetal Therapy Network members which queried institution-based risk stratification, surveillance methods/frequency, conduction abnormality treatments, and postnatal anti-SSA/Ro pregnancy assessment.

Results: 101 responses from 59 centers (59% US, 17% international) were collected.

Observed protection against SARS-CoV-2 reinfection following a primary infection: A Danish cohort study among unvaccinated using two years of nationwide PCR-test data.

Background: The level of protection after a SARS-CoV-2 infection against reinfection and COVID-19 disease remains important with much of the world still unvaccinated.

Methods: Analysing nationwide, individually referable, Danish register data including RT-PCR-test results, we conducted a cohort study using Cox regression to compare SARS-CoV-2 infection rates before and after a primary infection among still unvaccinated individuals, adjusting for sex, age, comorbidity and residency region. Estimates of protection against infection were calculated as 1 minus the hazard ratio.

Reducing the burden of surveillance in pregnant women with no history of fetal atrioventricular block using the negative predictive value of anti-Ro/SSA antibody titers.

Background: The risk of fetal atrioventricular block in anti-Ro/SSA antibody-exposed pregnancies with no previous affected offspring is approximately 2%. A high antibody titer is necessary but not sufficient for atrioventricular block, and specific antibody titers do not predict risk. However, there are no data on the negative predictive value of antibody titer to identify pregnancies at low risk of fetal atrioventricular block, and may not require surveillance.

Convenient PET-tracer production via SuFEx F-fluorination of nanomolar precursor amounts.

Recently, a protocol for radiolabeling of aryl fluorosulfates ("SuFEx click radiolabeling") using ultrafast F/F isotopic exchange has been reported. Although promising, the original procedure turned out to be rather inefficient. However, systematic optimization of the reaction parameters allowed for development of a robust method for SuFEx radiolabeling which obviates the need for azeotropic drying, base addition and HPLC purification.

Preservation and Processing of Intestinal Tissue for the Assessment of Histopathology.

The intestine is often examined histologically in connection with allergies and in search for pathological changes. To be able to examine the intestine histologically with a microscope, it must be sampled and processed correctly. For microscopic analysis, the samples have to be cut into thin sections, stained, and mounted on slides.

Preparation of a First F-Labeled Agonist for M Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors.

M muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) are abundant in postsynaptic nerve terminals of all forebrain regions and have been implicated in the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease and other CNS pathologies. Consequently, major efforts have been spent in the development of subtype-selective positron emission tomography (PET) tracers for mAChRs resulting in the development of several C-labeled probes. However, protocols for the preparation of F-labeled mAChR-ligands have not been published so far.

Mucosubstances in the porcine gastrointestinal tract: Fixation, staining and quantification.

Mucins are of great interest in intestinal research and histochemical methods are often employed to identify them. Since it is in the nature of mucins that they are "hard to hold onto" once they come into contact with water, a frequently used medium in histochemistry, there are a number of challenges that may decrease diagnostic accuracy. As the outcome of methods published for microscopic detection of mucosubstances proved to be unsatisfactory in our hands, the aim was the establishment of a reliable and reproducible protocol.

Comparison of different histological protocols for the preservation and quantification of the intestinal mucus layer in pigs.

The histological characterization of the intestinal mucus layer is important for many scientific experiments investigating the interaction between intestinal microbiota, mucosal immune response and intestinal mucus production. The aim of this study was to examine and compare different fixation protocols for displaying and quantifying the intestinal mucus layer in piglets and to test which histomorphological parameters may correlate with the determined mucus layer thickness. Jejunal and colonal tissue samples of weaned piglets (n=10) were either frozen in liquid nitrogen or chemically fixed using methacarn solution.

(2R,3R,4S,5R)-2-(4-Amino-5-iodo-7H-pyrrolo-[2,3-d]pyrimidin-7-yl)-5-methyl-tetra-hydro-furan-3,4-diol.

The mol-ecular structure of the title compound, C11H13IN4O3, shows a ribo-furanos-yl-pyrrolo O-C-N-C torsion angle of 59.1 (3)°, with the central C-N bond length being 1.446 (3) Å.

Searching for markers to identify angiogenic endothelial cells: a proteomic approach.

In the field of angiogenesis research considerable effort is put in the development of in vitro assays of angiogenesis to replace animal experiments. Unfortunately, reproducibility of these assays frequently fails depending on the particular batch of endothelial cells delivered by the distributor. This is due to the lack of reliable markers for the identification and isolation of angiogenic microvascular endothelial cells that have the capacity to perform all stages of the angiogenic cascade.

The role of the nurse practitioner in level II trauma at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

Most institutions undoubtedly value the role of nurse practitioners (NPs) in a variety of specialties. The NPs derive diagnostic decision-making skills from their educational training, which is rooted in the medical model, and through patient-centered, diagnostic reasoning and care planning. Ultimately, NPs provide cost-effective yet comprehensive medical care complemented by a holistic nursing approach.

New 2alpha-tropane amides as potential PET ligands for the dopamine transporter.

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of dopamine transporter (DAT) density in the brain is a potentially valuable tool for studying the etiopathology of degenerative brain disorders. The present study evaluated five new potential competitive inhibitors of DAT as ligands for PET. The evaluation of the new compounds measured their ability to compete with the binding of the reference ligand 2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-[(131)I]iodophenyl)tropane [(131)I]beta-CIT to striatal and cortical membranes from rat and pig brain.

Evaluation of novel tropane analogues in comparison with the binding characteristics of [18F]FP-CIT and [131I]beta-CIT.

This study evaluated novel potential dopamine transporter (DAT) inhibitors as ligands for positron emission tomography. Five new tropane analogs were synthesized and compared with the known ligand 2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-iodophenyl)tropane (beta-CIT) and the recently characterized ligands N-(3-iodoprop-2E-enyl)-2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-methylphenyl)-nortropane (PE2I) and 2beta-carbofluoroethoxy-3beta-(4-methylphenyl)tropane (FETT). Evaluation with autoradiography measured the ability to antagonize the binding of [(131)I]iodine-labeled beta-CIT and [(18)F]fluorine-labeled N-(3-fluoropropyl)-2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-iodo-phenyl) nortropane in rat and pig brains.

Immunohistological examination on the distribution of collagen types I, III, IV and V in bovine post partum placentomes.

This paper describes the in situ presence and distribution of collagen types I, III, IV and V in the bovine placenta. The objective was to determine whether there are qualitative and/or quantitative differences in the collagen content of placentomes originating from cows with retained placenta and cows with normal discharge of placenta. Twelve h post partum discharge of the placenta or the incidence of retained placenta was monitored.

Isolation, culture, and preliminary characterization of ellipsoids (sheathed capillaries of Schweigger-Seidel) of the pig spleen. II. An enzyme histochemical study of in vitro cultivated ellipsoids.

Whole isolated ellipsoids (sheathed capillaries of Schweiger-Seidel) of the pig spleen were explanted in Medium 199 containing 20% fetal calf serum or horse serum respectively. Cultures were kept in a gas phase of 5% carbon dioxide in air at 37 degrees C. After about 4 days in culture the outgrowth of two morphologically different cell types was apparent.