Prenatal Detection of D-TGA and Novel Interventional Program Decrease Time to Balloon Septostomy.

Infants with dextro-transposition of the great arteries (d-TGA) are at high risk for hemodynamic compromise in the immediate postnatal period due to dependence on intracardiac mixing for oxygen delivery. This period of profound hypoxemia may have long-term implications, as previous studies demonstrated patients with d-TGA are at increased risk for neurocognitive delays despite effective surgical correction in the neonatal period. Balloon atrial septostomy (BAS) is an established intervention that improves intracardiac mixing and perioperative hemodynamics.

Influence of folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation on arsenic methylation: A double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial in Bangladeshi children.

Background: Inorganic arsenic is metabolized to monomethyl- (MMAs) and dimethyl- (DMAs) species via one-carbon metabolism (OCM); this facilitates urinary arsenic elimination. OCM is influenced by folate and vitamin B12 and previous randomized control trials (RCTs) showed that folic acid (FA) supplementation increases arsenic methylation in adults. This RCT investigated the effects of FA + B12 supplementation on arsenic methylation in children, a key developmental stage where OCM supports growth.

Coordinated inflammatory responses dictate Marburg virus control by reservoir bats.

Bats are increasingly recognized as reservoirs of emerging zoonotic pathogens. Egyptian rousette bats (ERBs) are the known reservoir of Marburg virus (MARV), a filovirus that causes deadly Marburg virus disease (MVD) in humans. However, ERBs harbor MARV asymptomatically, likely due to a coadapted and specific host immunity-pathogen relationship.

Micro‒Global Positioning Systems for Identifying Nightly Opportunities for Marburg Virus Spillover to Humans by Egyptian Rousette Bats.

Marburg virus disease, caused by Marburg and Ravn orthomarburgviruses, emerges sporadically in sub-Saharan Africa and is often fatal in humans. The natural reservoir is the Egyptian rousette bat (ERB), which sheds virus in saliva, urine, and feces. Frugivorous ERBs discard test-bitten and partially eaten fruit, potentially leaving infectious virus behind that could be consumed by other susceptible animals or humans.