The added value of serologic testing: A comparison of influenza incidence among pregnant persons based on molecular-based surveillance versus serologic testing.

Background: We examined the added value of serologic testing for estimating influenza virus infection incidence based on illness surveillance with molecular testing versus periodic serologic testing.

Methods: Pregnant persons unvaccinated against influenza at <28 weeks gestation were enrolled before the 2017 and 2018 influenza seasons in Peru and Thailand. Blood specimens were collected at enrollment and ≤14 days postpartum for testing by hemagglutination inhibition assay for antibodies against influenza reference viruses.

Impact of COVID-19 in pediatric oncology care in Latin America during the first year of the pandemic.

Background: The ongoing coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) pandemic strained medical systems worldwide. We report on the impact on pediatric oncology care in Latin American (LATAM) during its first year.

Method: Four cross-sectional surveys were electronically distributed among pediatric onco-hematologists in April/June/October 2020, and April/2021 through the Latin American Society of Pediatric Oncology (SLAOP) email list and St Jude Global regional partners.

Impact of timing of dental implant placement and loading: Summary and consensus statements of group 1-The 6th EAO Consensus Conference 2021.

Objectives: This publication reports on the EAO workshop group 1 summaries, discussions and consensus statements based on four systematic reviews evaluating the impact of timing of dental implant placement and loading.

Materials And Methods: The first of the systematic reviews was on the influence of the timing of implant placement and loading in the biological outcomes of implant-supported fixed partial dentures. The second systematic review evaluated the influence of the timing of implant placement and loading on the aesthetic outcomes in single-tooth implants.

What do pregnant women think about influenza disease and vaccination practices in selected countries.

: We evaluated knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to influenza and influenza vaccination among pregnant women in three selected countries.: During 2017, pregnant women seeking antenatal care at hospitals at participating sites were enrolled. We described characteristics and responses to KAP questions.

Performance of Symptom-Based Case Definitions to Identify Influenza Virus Infection Among Pregnant Women in Middle-Income Countries: Findings From the Pregnancy and Influenza Multinational Epidemiologic (PRIME) Study.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends case definitions for influenza surveillance that are also used in public health research, although their performance has not been assessed in many risk groups, including pregnant women in whom influenza may manifest differently. We evaluated the performance of symptom-based definitions to detect influenza in a cohort of pregnant women in India, Peru, and Thailand.

Methods: In 2017 and 2018, we contacted 11 277 pregnant women twice weekly during the influenza season to identify illnesses with new or worsened cough, runny nose, sore throat, difficulty breathing, or myalgia and collected data on other symptoms and nasal swabs for influenza real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) testing.

Incidence of influenza during pregnancy and association with pregnancy and perinatal outcomes in three middle-income countries: a multisite prospective longitudinal cohort study.

Background: Influenza vaccination during pregnancy prevents influenza among women and their infants but remains underused among pregnant women. We aimed to quantify the risk of antenatal influenza and examine its association with perinatal outcomes.

Methods: We did a prospective cohort study in pregnant women in India, Peru, and Thailand.

A new cell line for assessing HIV-1 antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity against a broad range of variants.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) studies suggest that antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) influences both virus acquisition and subsequent disease outcome. Technical issues with currently available assays, however, have limited the ability to comprehensively assess the impact of ADCC on transmission and disease progression. Commonly used ADCC assays use a target cell line, CEM.

The Pregnancy and Influenza Multinational Epidemiologic (PRIME) study: a prospective cohort study of the impact of influenza during pregnancy among women in middle-income countries.

Background: The World Health Organization identifies pregnant women as at high-risk for severe influenza, but influenza vaccines are underutilized among pregnant women. Data on influenza burden during pregnancy are largely limited to high-income countries and data on the impact of influenza on birth and perinatal outcomes are scarce.

Methods/design: This prospective, longitudinal cohort study of pregnant women in middle-income countries is designed to address three primary objectives: 1) to evaluate the effect of laboratory-confirmed influenza during pregnancy on pregnancy and perinatal outcomes; 2) to estimate the incidences of all-cause acute respiratory illness and laboratory-confirmed influenza during pregnancy; and 3) to examine the clinical spectrum of illness associated with influenza viruses.

Cost-effectiveness of the management of rh-negative pregnant women.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the most cost-effective option to prevent alloimmunization against the Rh factor.

Methods: A virtual population of Rh-negative pregnant women in Quebec was built to simulate the cost-effectiveness of preventing alloimmunization. The model considered four options: (1) systematic use of anti-D immunoglobulin; (2) fetal Rh(D) genotyping; (3) immunological determination of the father's Rh type; (4) mixed screening: immunological determination of the father's Rh type, followed if positive by fetal Rh(D) genotyping.

Cryptic sexual populations account for genetic diversity and ecological success in a widely distributed, asexual fungus-growing ant.

Sex and recombination are central processes in life generating genetic diversity. Organisms that rely on asexual propagation risk extinction due to the loss of genetic diversity and the inability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. The fungus-growing ant species Mycocepurus smithii was thought to be obligately asexual because only parthenogenetic populations have been collected from widely separated geographic localities.

Insulin resistance is associated with a modest increase in inflammation in subcutaneous adipose tissue of moderately obese women.

Aims/hypothesis: We have previously described differences in adipose cell size distribution and expression of genes related to adipocyte differentiation in subcutaneous abdominal fat obtained from insulin-sensitive (IS) and -resistant (IR) persons, matched for degree of moderate obesity. To determine whether other biological properties also differ between IR and IS obese individuals, we quantified markers of inflammatory activity in adipose tissue from overweight IR and IS individuals.

Methods: Subcutaneous abdominal tissue was obtained from moderately obese women, divided into IR (n = 14) and IS (n = 19) subgroups by determining their steady-state plasma glucose (SSPG) concentrations during the insulin suppression test.

Assent of school-age bilingual children.

This article discusses the issue of assent of school-age bilingual children to participate in a research study. The article reviews cognitive, cultural, and linguistic factors influencing verbal and nonverbal concept formation in bilingual children. At the applied level, the focus of the article is on methodological considerations in using this information to obtain assent from a child who is bilingual and speaks English as a second language.

[Atypical testicular masses: a case presentation].

A solid hypoechoic testicular mass must be considered malignant until proved otherwise, even if is nonpalpable. The clinical diagnosis depends upon the appearance of the lesion and the host reaction. A careful history and a thorough physical examination are very important.

Iodine nutrition improves in Latin America.

Iodine deficiency has been a public health problem in most Latin American countries. Massive programs of salt iodization have achieved great progress toward its elimination but no consistent monitoring has been applied. We used the ThyroMobil model to visit 163 sites in 13 countries and assess randomly selected schoolchildren of both genders 6-12 years of age.

Use of glyburide for the treatment of gestational diabetes: the San Antonio experience.

Objectives: Equivalent efficacy of glyburide and insulin for treatment of gestational diabetes (GDM) was demonstrated in a recent randomized trial. We describe our experience with glyburide in practice, and suggest factors that predict failure of glyburide treatment.

Methods: Women with GDM treated with glyburide were studied.

[Migraine and MIDAS (MIDASELA) in Colombian hospital workers].

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of migraine and its implications in the occupational and outside employment/daily activities of the workers at a regional hospital in the Cundiboyacense Plateau in Colombia.

Patients And Methods: The available members of the house staff at this institution were interviewed by applying the neuroepidemiological protocol drawn up by the World Health Organization (WHO); general doctors performed the initial screening and the determination of neurological disease was carried out by a clinical neurologist, both in patients who were positive and negative for neurological disease. Quality of life was evaluated by means of the MIDAS (Migraine Disability Assessment) survey, MIDASELA (in Spanish for Latin America); the analysis was performed using the EPI 6.

Novel PRKAG2 mutation responsible for the genetic syndrome of ventricular preexcitation and conduction system disease with childhood onset and absence of cardiac hypertrophy.

Background: We recently reported a mutation in the PRKAG2 gene to be responsible for a familial syndrome of ventricular preexcitation, atrial fibrillation, conduction defects, and cardiac hypertrophy. We now report a novel mutation in PRKAG2 causing Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and conduction system disease with onset in childhood and the absence of cardiac hypertrophy.

Methods And Results: DNA was extracted from white blood cells obtained from family members.

A novel strategy for protective Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae subunit vaccines: detergent extraction of cultures induced by iron restriction.

We have characterized antigens from Actinobacillus (A.) pleuropneumoniae grown under iron restriction with respect to their immunogenic and protective potential. Antigens were the cell-free culture supernatants (CFS) obtained after treatment of A.

A comparison of glyburide and insulin in women with gestational diabetes mellitus.

Background: Women with gestational diabetes mellitus are rarely treated with a sulfonylurea drug, because of concern about teratogenicity and neonatal hypoglycemia. There is little information about the efficacy of these drugs in this group of women.

Methods: We studied 404 women with singleton pregnancies and gestational diabetes that required treatment.

Etiology of bloody diarrhea in Bolivian children: implications for empiric therapy. Bolivian Dysentery Study Group.

In Bolivia, few data are available to guide empiric therapy for bloody diarrhea. A study was conducted between December 1994 and April 1995 to identify organisms causing bloody diarrhea in Bolivian children. Rectal swabs from children <5 years old with bloody diarrhea were examined for Salmonella, Shigella, and Campylobacter organisms; fecal specimens were examined for Entamoeba histolytica.