Imported rickettsial infections to the United Kingdom, 2015-2020.

Objective: The burden of imported rickettsial infection in the UK is not previously described. This retrospective review identifies rickettsial cases diagnosed at the national reference laboratory between 2015 and 2022.

Methods: Samples testing positive for spotted fever group, typhus group, and scrub typhus IgG/IgM on acute and convalescent blood samples, and/or PCR on tissue/blood were categorized as suspected, confirmed or past infection.

Infections in travellers returning to the UK: a retrospective analysis (2015-2020).

Background: Every year, many thousands of travellers return to the United Kingdom (UK) from visits to other countries and some will become unwell due to infections acquired abroad. Many imported infections have similar clinical presentations, such as fever and myalgia, so diagnostic testing is an important tool to improve patient management and outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine the demographics, travel history, presenting symptoms and diagnostic outcomes of referrals to the UK's specialist diagnostic Rare & Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL) for the period 2015-2020.

The impact of COVID-19 on burn referrals received via telemedicine.

Background: Burn referrals make up a significant proportion of the referrals received by the on-call Plastics surgery team at University Hospital Plymouth (UHP). UHP is a burns facility that takes referrals that are< 10% total body surface area (TBSA) in adults and< 5% in children. Since switching to a telemedicine service in 2018, this has had the benefit of not needing to see the patient face-to-face.

Viable-but-Nonculturable Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica Serovar Thompson Induced by Chlorine Stress Remain Infectious.

The microbiological safety of fresh produce is monitored almost exclusively by culture-based detection methods. However, bacterial food-borne pathogens are known to enter a viable-but-nonculturable (VBNC) state in response to environmental stresses such as chlorine, which is commonly used for fresh produce decontamination. Here, complete VBNC induction of green fluorescent protein-tagged and serovar Thompson was achieved by exposure to 12 and 3 ppm chlorine, respectively.

A simulator-based analysis of engineering treatments for right-hook bicycle crashes at signalized intersections.

A right-hook crash is a crash between a right-turning motor vehicle and an adjacent through-moving bicycle. At signalized intersections, these crashes can occur during any portion of the green interval when conflicting bicycles and vehicles are moving concurrently. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of four types of engineering countermeasures - regulatory signage, intersection pavement marking, smaller curb radius, and protected intersection design - at modifying driver behaviors that are known contributing factors in these crashes.

Risk Factors of Epstein-Barr Virus Infection Among United States Children: Data From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2009-2010.

Background: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has become a common medical condition in adolescents and young children. The objective of this study was to examine the association of low dietary intake and food insecurity with EBV infection.

Methods: Cross-sectional data were analyzed using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2010 sample population (n = 1550) aged 6 to 15 years.

Fast vaccine design and development based on correlates of protection (COPs).

New and reemerging infectious diseases call for innovative and efficient control strategies of which fast vaccine design and development represent an important element. In emergency situations, when time is limited, identification and use of correlates of protection (COPs) may play a key role as a strategic tool for accelerated vaccine design, testing, and licensure. We propose that general rules for COP-based vaccine design can be extracted from the existing knowledge of protective immune responses against a large spectrum of relevant viral and bacterial pathogens.

Comparative effectiveness of telaprevir-based triple therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Objective: To examine the effectiveness and tolerability of triple therapy with pegylated interferon (p-IFN), ribavirin (RBV), and telaprevir in patients with chronic hepatitis C receiving treatment in an academic practice setting and in a more clinically diverse population compared with patients receiving treatment in phase 3 trials.

Patients And Methods: A prospective database of all patients with viral hepatitis undergoing antiviral therapy from January 1, 2006, to July 1, 2012, was queried to identify treatment-naive and -experienced patients with chronic hepatitis C receiving dual and triple therapies. On-treatment response categories included rapid virologic response, extended rapid virologic response, early virologic response, and sustained virologic response.

Visualizing form and function in organotypic slices of the adult mouse parotid gland.

An organotypic slice preparation of the adult mouse parotid salivary gland amenable to a variety of optical assessments of fluid and protein secretion dynamics is described. The semi-intact preparation rendered without the use of enzymatic treatment permitted live-cell imaging and multiphoton analysis of cellular and supracellular signals. Toward this end we demonstrated that the parotid slice is a significant addition to the repertoire of tools available to investigators to probe exocrine structure and function since there is currently no cell culture system that fully recapitulates parotid acinar cell biology.

Mucocutaneous ulcerations secondary to methotrexate.

Although methotrexate (MTX) is used in several medical specialties including dermatology, rheumatology, and oncology, drug-induced mucocutaneous ulcerations rarely are reported. We present a 36-year-old woman with plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis being treated with oral MTX (12.5 mg weekly) and oral methoxsalen plus UVA.

Grenz ray therapy in the new millennium: still a valid treatment option?

Grenz ray therapy has declined in the United States during the past several decades with respect to availability, use, and resident training. However, it remains a simple, affordable, and effective option for managing several refractory dermatoses, especially psoriasis, hand eczema, and allergic contact dermatitis. Though high-dose grenz irradiation has been associated with the development of nonmelanoma skin cancers, grenz ray therapy is considered a safe treatment modality when administered according to the guidelines recommended herein.

Postoperative gait velocity and mean knee flexion in stance of ambulatory children with spastic diplegia four years or more after multilevel surgery.

Factors associated with longer-term outcomes of multilevel orthopaedic surgery in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy using a multivariate approach were evaluated using a retrospective pretest-posttest design. The population included 20 ambulatory children with spastic diplegia who had undergone multilevel orthopaedic surgery with a minimum of 4-year interval between a preoperative and a postoperative gait assessment. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with postoperative velocity and mean knee flexion in stance.

Synergism of rheolytic thrombectomy and embolic distal protection using the percusurge guard wire for fresh thrombus removal: an in vitro study.

Objectives: To test the effectiveness of Rheolytic Thrombectomy (RT) and distal protection balloon wires when used synergistically in an in vitro model.

Background: Although effective, currently available technologies may not be individually ideal for fresh clots removal.

Methods: Fourteen, fresh blood samples were placed in 14 plastic tubes and left to clot for 6 h.

Spatiotemporal analysis of exocytosis in mouse parotid acinar cells.

Exocrine cells of the digestive system are specialized to secrete protein and fluid in response to neuronal and/or hormonal input. Although morphologically similar, parotid and pancreatic acinar cells exhibit important functional divergence in Ca(2+) signaling properties. To address whether there are fundamental differences in exocytotic release of digestive enzyme from exocrine cells of salivary gland versus pancreas, we applied electrophysiological and optical methods to investigate spatial and temporal characteristics of zymogen-containing secretory granule fusion at the single-acinar cell level by direct or agonist-induced Ca(2+) and cAMP elevation.

Concepts of human leukemic development.

Two fundamental problems in cancer research are identification of the normal cell within which cancer initiates and identification of the cell type capable of sustaining the growth of the neoplastic clone. There is overwhelming evidence that virtually all cancers are clonal and represent the progeny of a single cell. What is less clear for most cancers is which cells within the tumor clone possess tumorigenic or 'cancer stem cell' (CSC) properties and are capable of maintaining tumor growth.

A pilot open-label trial of citalopram for restless activity and aberrant motor behaviors in Alzheimer disease.

Objective: In a prospective, open-label pilot study in probable-Alzheimer disease (AD) outpatients, the authors investigated the efficacy of citalopram to reduce restless activity and aberrant motor behaviors.

Methods: Nineteen subjects were evaluated with Neuropsychiatric Inventory subscale and total scores.

Results: There was a significant decline in aberrant motor behaviors and overall behavior problems at 4, 8, and 12 weeks.