Active surveillance of serious adverse events following transfusion of COVID-19 convalescent plasma.

Background: The reported incidence of adverse reactions following Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) convalescent plasma (CCP) transfusion has generally been lower than expected based on the incidence of transfusion reactions that have been observed in studies of conventional plasma transfusion. This raises the concern for under-reporting of adverse events in studies of CCP that rely on passive surveillance strategies.

Materials And Methods: Our institution implemented a protocol to actively identify possible adverse reactions to CCP transfusion.

Effects of Estrogen on Spermatogenesis in Transgender Women.

Objective: To characterize spermatogenesis in the estrogenized transgender patient.

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective, single-center, cross-sectional study. Seventy-two transgender women underwent gender-affirming orchiectomy between May 2015 and January 2017.

Radiographic evaluation of stillbirth: what does it contribute?

Despite advances in perinatal care, stillbirth is relatively common (1/160 births) and frequently remains unexplained. Most recent protocols for etiologic evaluation of stillbirth either omit radiography or reserve it for infants with obvious skeletal disproportion. Over the past 30 years, the Wisconsin Stillbirth Service Program has collected radiographic images from 2,032 stillbirths and second trimester losses, of which about 25% (517) showed abnormalities.

Targeting the IL-6 dependent phenotype can identify novel therapies for cholangiocarcinoma.

Background: The need for new therapies for cholangiocarcinoma is highlighted by their poor prognosis and refractoriness to chemotherapy. Increased production of Interleukin-6 promotes cholangiocarcinoma growth and contributes to chemoresistance by activating cell survival mechanisms. We sought to identify biologically active compounds capable of ameliorating the phenotypic effects of IL-6 expression and to explore their potential therapeutic use for cholangiocarcinoma.

Candidate therapeutic agents for hepatocellular cancer can be identified from phenotype-associated gene expression signatures.

Background: The presence of vascular invasion in hepatocellular cancer (HCC) correlates with prognosis, and is a critical determinant of both the therapeutic approach and the recurrence or intrahepatic metastases. The authors sought to identify candidate therapeutic agents capable of targeting the invasive phenotype in HCC.

Methods: A gene expression signature associated with vascular invasion derived from 81 human cases of HCC was used to screen a database of 453 genomic profiles associated with 164 bioactive molecules using the connectivity map.

Characterization of an immunogenic outer membrane autotransporter protein, Arp, of Bartonella henselae.

Bartonella henselae is a recently recognized pathogenic bacterium associated with cat scratch disease, bacillary angiomatosis, and bacillary peliosis. This study describes the cloning, sequencing, and characterization of an antigenic autotransporter gene from B. henselae.

Evaluation of an enzyme immunoassay for detection of immunoglobulin M antibodies to West Nile virus and the importance of background subtraction in detecting nonspecific reactivity.

Since the introduction of West Nile virus (WNV) in the United States in 1999, several assays have become commercially available to detect antibodies against WNV. Capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the detection of WNV-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for clinical testing and are available from Focus Diagnostics and PanBio, Inc. The Focus Diagnostics IgM capture ELISA utilizes a background subtraction protocol in order to detect nonspecific reactivity due to rheumatoid factor, heterophile antibodies, or other interfering substances.