Tracking Smell Loss to Identify Healthcare Workers with SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Background: Healthcare workers (HCW) treating COVID-19 patients are at high risk for infection and may also spread infection through their contact with vulnerable patients. Smell loss has been associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, but it is unknown whether monitoring for smell loss can be used to identify asymptomatic infection among high risk individuals, like HCW.

Methods: We performed a prospective cohort study, tracking 473 HCW across three months to determine if smell loss could predict SARS-CoV-2 infection in this high-risk group.

Kynurenic acid underlies sex-specific immune responses to COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has poorer clinical outcomes in males compared to females, and immune responses underlie these sex-related differences in disease trajectory. As immune responses are in part regulated by metabolites, we examined whether the serum metabolome has sex-specificity for immune responses in COVID-19. In males with COVID- 19, kynurenic acid (KA) and a high KA to kynurenine (K) ratio was positively correlated with age, inflammatory cytokines, and chemokines and was negatively correlated with T cell responses, revealing that KA production is linked to immune responses in males.

Neuroinvasion of SARS-CoV-2 in human and mouse brain.

Although COVID-19 is considered to be primarily a respiratory disease, SARS-CoV-2 affects multiple organ systems including the central nervous system (CNS). Yet, there is no consensus whether the virus can infect the brain, or what the consequences of CNS infection are. Here, we used three independent approaches to probe the capacity of SARS-CoV-2 to infect the brain.

Exploratory neuroimmune profiling identifies CNS-specific alterations in COVID-19 patients with neurological involvement.

One third of COVID-19 patients develop significant neurological symptoms, yet SARS-CoV-2 is rarely detected in central nervous system (CNS) tissue, suggesting a potential role for parainfectious processes, including neuroimmune responses. We therefore examined immune parameters in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood samples from a cohort of patients with COVID-19 and significant neurological complications. We found divergent immunological responses in the CNS compartment, including increased levels of IL-12 and IL-12-associated innate and adaptive immune cell activation.

Severe scoliosis with an impaired pulmonary allograft function after pediatric unilateral lung transplantation.

Left-unilateral single-lobe lung transplantation from a living donor was performed in a 4-year-old boy who suffered from severe respiratory failure caused by bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) as a result of graft versus host disease (GVHD) after peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). The patient grew well during his early childhood years, with an excellent lung allograft function. However, severe thoracic scoliosis occurred 7 years after lung transplantation, which ultimately resulted in compression of the lung allograft followed by severe respiratory dysfunction, and the patient became dependent on mechanical ventilation support.

Nuss procedure for pectus excavatum in a patient with cleidocranial dysplasia.

Cleidocranial dysplasia is an autosomal skeletal disorder resulting from delayed or abnormal ossification of bony growth. Pectus excavatum independently presented in a 9-year-old boy with cleidocranial dysplasia and was corrected using the Nuss procedure. There were no perioperative complications, and the post-operative course was uneventful.

Pooling saliva to increase SARS-CoV-2 testing capacity.

Expanding testing capabilities is integral to managing the further spread of SARS-CoV-2 and developing reopening strategies, particularly in regards to identifying and isolating asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic individuals. Central to meeting testing demands are specimens that can be easily and reliably collected and laboratory capacity to rapidly ramp up to scale. We and others have demonstrated that high and consistent levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be detected in saliva from COVID-19 inpatients, outpatients, and asymptomatic individuals.

Evaluation of regenerated tracheal cilia function on a collagen-conjugated scaffold in a canine model.

Objectives: It is unclear whether the movement and function of the regenerated cilia on collagen-conjugated artificial trachea are the same as those of normal cilia. This study assessed the ciliary beat frequency (CBF) and ciliary transport functions (CTFs) of regenerated cilia in a canine model.

Methods: A tracheal defect introduced into the anterior portion of the cervical trachea of an adult beagle dog was covered with a collagen-conjugated prosthesis.

RUNX Binding Sites Are Enriched in Herpesvirus Genomes, and RUNX1 Overexpression Leads to Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Suppression.

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 can efficiently establish lifelong, transcriptionally silent latency states in sensory neurons to escape host detection. While host factors have previously been associated with long-range insulators in the viral genome, it is still unknown whether host transcription factors can repress viral genes more proximately to promote latency in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. Here, we assessed whether RUNX (runt-related transcription factor) transcription factors, which are critical in the development of sensory neurons, could be binding HSV-1 genome directly to suppress viral gene expression and lytic infection.

Mathematical analysis-based feasibility study of pre-emptive medicine for Staphylococcus aureus infectious disease: Early detection and antibiotic-free maintenance therapy.

Global efforts are being made to achieve the clinical implementation of pre-emptive medicine for Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infectious disease, which will realize both early detection at the pre-symptom stage and bacteriostatic therapy by antibiotic-free medicine in a future. Several research groups proposed the intercellular signal transduction factor (auto-inducing peptide: AIP) antibody, the synthesised AIP analogues and a cyclic depsipeptide with high constitutional similarity to AIP as a candidate of the pre-emptive medicine for S.

Hydrocephalus due to marked enlargement of spinal roots in a patient with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy.

Background: Hydrocephalus or papilledema has rarely been reported in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP).

Methods: We report a 65-year-old woman with a 12-year history of CIDP presenting with progressive dementia, hallucination and deterioration of gait.

Results: Neurological examination revealed cognitive impairment, symmetric proximal and distal weakness with areflexia and muscle atrophy in the distal four limbs.

Sex differences in immune responses that underlie COVID-19 disease outcomes.

There is increasing evidence that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) produces more severe symptoms and higher mortality among men than among women. However, whether immune responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) differ between sexes, and whether such differences correlate with the sex difference in the disease course of COVID-19, is currently unknown. Here we examined sex differences in viral loads, SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody titres, plasma cytokines and blood-cell phenotyping in patients with moderate COVID-19 who had not received immunomodulatory medications.

[Meningeal lymphatics, a potential target for the treatment of brain tumors].

Le système lymphatique associé au système nerveux central (SNC) regroupe les vaisseaux et ganglions lymphatiques qui sont impliqués dans le drainage du liquide céphalorachidien (LCR) et la clairance du parenchyme cérébral [1-3].

Giant Enhancement of Air Lasing by Complete Population Inversion in N_{2}^{+}.

A fine manipulation of population transfer among molecular quantum levels is a key technology for control of molecular processes. When a light field intensity is increased to the TW-PW cm^{-2} level, it becomes possible to transfer a population to specific excited levels through nonlinear light-molecule interaction, but it has been a challenge to control the extent of the population transfer. We deplete the population in the X^{2}Σ_{g}^{+}(v=0) state of N_{2}^{+} almost completely by focusing a dual-color (800 nm and 1.

Simply saliva: stability of SARS-CoV-2 detection negates the need for expensive collection devices.

Most currently approved strategies for the collection of saliva for COVID-19 diagnostics require specialized tubes containing buffers promoted for the stabilization of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and virus inactivation. Yet many of these are expensive, in limited supply, and not necessarily validated specifically for viral RNA. While saliva is a promising sample type as it can be reliably self-collected for the sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2, the expense and availability of these collection tubes are prohibitive to mass testing efforts.

The placement of multiple plastic stents still has important roles in candidates for chemotherapy for unresectable perihilar cholangiocarcinoma.

Background/purpose: Placement of uncovered self-expandable metallic stents (U-SEMSs) of patients with unresectable perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (UPHC) is recommended as the treatment of first choice to address bile stasis. The aim of this study was to determine which of the following two endoscopic stents might be the stent of first choice for the treatment of biliary stasis in patients with UPHC: plastic stents (PSs) or U-SEMSs.

Methods: U-SEMSs, deployed as a stent-in-stent, were selected as the stents of first choice from 2013 and 2014, while PSs began to be selected as the stents of first choice from 2015 onward.

Mouse model of SARS-CoV-2 reveals inflammatory role of type I interferon signaling.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) has caused over 13,000,000 cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) with a significant fatality rate. Laboratory mice have been the stalwart of therapeutic and vaccine development; however, they do not support infection by SARS-CoV-2 due to the virus's inability to use the mouse orthologue of its human entry receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2). While hACE2 transgenic mice support infection and pathogenesis, these mice are currently limited in availability and are restricted to a single genetic background.

Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes for 7,995 Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Objective: Severe acute respiratory syndrome virus (SARS-CoV-2) has infected millions of people worldwide. Our goal was to identify risk factors associated with admission and disease severity in patients with SARS-CoV-2.

Design: This was an observational, retrospective study based on real-world data for 7,995 patients with SARS-CoV-2 from a clinical data repository.

Genetic knockout and pharmacologic inhibition of NCX1 attenuate hypoxia-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The Na/Ca exchanger type-1 (NCX1) is a bidirectional transporter that is controlled by membrane potential and transmembrane gradients of Na and Ca. Vascular smooth muscle NCX1 plays an important role in intracellular Ca homeostasis and Ca signaling. We found that NCX1 was upregulated in the pulmonary arteries of mice exposed to chronic hypoxia (10% O for 4 weeks).

The Role of Immune Factors in Shaping Fetal Neurodevelopment.

Fetal neurodevelopment in utero is profoundly shaped by both systemic maternal immunity and local processes at the maternal-fetal interface. Immune pathways are a critical participant in the normal physiology of pregnancy and perturbations of maternal immunity due to infections during this period have been increasingly linked to a diverse array of poor neurological outcomes, including diseases that manifest much later in postnatal life. While experimental models of maternal immune activation (MIA) have provided groundbreaking characterizations of the maternal pathways underlying pathogenesis, less commonly examined are the immune factors that serve pathogen-independent developmental functions in the embryo and fetus.

Longitudinal analyses reveal immunological misfiring in severe COVID-19.

Recent studies have provided insights into the pathogenesis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the longitudinal immunological correlates of disease outcome remain unclear. Here we serially analysed immune responses in 113 patients with moderate or severe COVID-19.

Mouse model of SARS-CoV-2 reveals inflammatory role of type I interferon signaling.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome- Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) has caused over 5,000,000 cases of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) with significant fatality rate. Due to the urgency of this global pandemic, numerous therapeutic and vaccine trials have begun without customary safety and efficacy studies. Laboratory mice have been the stalwart of these types of studies; however, they do not support infection by SARS-CoV-2 due to the inability of its spike (S) protein to engage the mouse ortholog of its human entry receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2).