Face masks and protection against COVID-19 and other viral respiratory infections: Assessment of benefits and harms in children.

Mask mandates for children were implemented at schools and childcare centers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the US continues to recommend masking down to the age of two in certain settings. Medical interventions should be informed by high-quality evidence and consider the possibility of harm (i.e.

Child mask mandates for COVID-19: a systematic review.

Background: Mask mandates for children during the COVID-19 pandemic varied in different locations. A risk-benefit analysis of this intervention has not yet been performed. In this study, we performed a systematic review to assess research on the effectiveness of mask wearing in children.

Ultrasensitive Clostridioides difficile Toxin Testing for Higher Diagnostic Accuracy.

Currently available diagnostic tests for infection (CDI) lack specificity or sensitivity, which has led to guideline recommendations for multistep testing algorithms. Ultrasensitive assays for detection of toxins provide measurements of disease-specific markers at very low concentrations. These assays may show improved accuracy compared to that of current testing methods and offer a potential standalone solution for CDI diagnosis, although large studies of clinical performance and accuracy are lacking.

Evaluation of Cycle Threshold, Toxin Concentration, and Clinical Characteristics of Clostridioides difficile Infection in Patients with Discordant Diagnostic Test Results.

infection (CDI) is one of the most common health care-associated infections that can cause significant morbidity and mortality. CDI diagnosis involves laboratory testing in conjunction with clinical assessment. The objective of this study was to assess the performance of various tests and to compare clinical characteristics, Xpert /Epi (PCR) cycle threshold ( ), and Singulex Clarity C.

High Agreement Between an Ultrasensitive Clostridioides difficile Toxin Assay and a C. difficile Laboratory Algorithm Utilizing GDH-and-Toxin Enzyme Immunoassays and Cytotoxin Testing.

The Singulex Clarity C. diff toxins A/B (Clarity) assay is an automated, ultrasensitive immunoassay for the detection of toxins in stool. In this study, the performance of the Clarity assay was compared to that of a multistep algorithm using an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for detection of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) and toxins A and B arbitrated by a semiquantitative cell cytotoxicity neutralization assay (CCNA).

Increased Clinical Specificity with Ultrasensitive Detection of Clostridioides difficile Toxins: Reduction of Overdiagnosis Compared to Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests.

infection (CDI) is one of the most common health care-associated infections, resulting in significant morbidity, mortality, and economic burden. Diagnosis of CDI relies on the assessment of clinical presentation and laboratory tests. We evaluated the clinical performance of ultrasensitive single-molecule counting technology for detection of toxins A and B.

Ultrasensitive Detection of Clostridioides difficile Toxins in Stool by Use of Single-Molecule Counting Technology: Comparison with Detection of Free Toxin by Cell Culture Cytotoxicity Neutralization Assay.

Laboratory tests for infection (CDI) rely on the detection of free toxin or molecular detection of toxin genes. The Singulex Clarity C. diff toxins A/B assay is a rapid, automated, and ultrasensitive assay that detects toxins A and B in stool.

Laboratory comparison between cell cytotoxicity neutralization assay and ultrasensitive single molecule counting technology for detection of Clostridioides difficile toxins A and B, PCR, enzyme immunoassays, and multistep algorithms.

Diagnostic tests for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) lack either specificity (nucleic acid amplification tests) or sensitivity (enzyme immunoassays; EIAs). The performance of the Singulex Clarity® C. diff toxins A/B assay was compared to cell cytotoxicity neutralization assay.

Ultrasensitive Detection of Clostridium difficile Toxins Reveals Suboptimal Accuracy of Toxin Gene Cycle Thresholds for Toxin Predictions.

The use of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) for the diagnosis of () infection (CDI) leads to overdiagnosis. To improve the clinical specificity of NAATs, there has been a recent interest in using toxin gene cycle thresholds ( s) to predict the presence and absence of toxins. Although there is an association between values and fecal toxin concentrations, the predictive accuracy of the former is suboptimal for use in clinical practice.

Diversity of resistance mechanisms in carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae at a health care system in Northern California, from 2013 to 2016.

The mechanism of resistance in carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) has therapeutic implications. We comprehensively characterized emerging mechanisms of resistance in CRE between 2013 and 2016 at a health system in Northern California. A total of 38.

Ultrasensitive quantification of cardiac troponin I by a Single Molecule Counting method: analytical validation and biological features.

Aim: To evaluate analytical and biological characteristics of the Singulex Clarity® cTnI assay, based upon Single Molecule Counting technology.

Methods: Assay's analytical sensitivity, precision, linearity, hook effect, cross-reactivity or interference by endogenous and exogenous substances, stability, 99th reference percentile [p99th] in EDTA plasma were evaluated in single or multi-site studies.

Results: Detection limit was 0.

Development of colorimetric sensor array for diagnosis of tuberculosis through detection of urinary volatile organic compounds.

Background: Top priorities for tuberculosis control and elimination include a simple, low-cost screening test using sputum and a non-sputum-based test in patients that do not produce sputum. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a colorimetric sensor array (CSA) test, for analysis of volatile organic compounds in urine, in the diagnosis of pulmonary TB.

Material And Methods: Urine samples were collected from individuals suspected of having pulmonary TB in Western Kenya.

Excess HB-EGF, which promotes VEGF signaling, leads to hydrocephalus.

Heparin binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor (HB-EGF) is an angiogenic factor mediating radial migration of the developing forebrain, while vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is known to influence rostral migratory stream in rodents. Cell migratory defects have been identified in animal models of hydrocephalus; however, the relationship between HB-EGF and hydrocephalus is unclear. We show that mice overexpressing human HB-EGF with β-galactosidase reporter exhibit an elevated VEGF, localization of β-galactosidase outside the subventricular zone (SVZ), subarachnoid hemorrhage, and ventriculomegaly.

Analytical Performance Characteristics of the Cepheid GeneXpert Ebola Assay for the Detection of Ebola Virus.

Background: The recently developed Xpert® Ebola Assay is a novel nucleic acid amplification test for simplified detection of Ebola virus (EBOV) in whole blood and buccal swab samples. The assay targets sequences in two EBOV genes, lowering the risk for new variants to escape detection in the test. The objective of this report is to present analytical characteristics of the Xpert® Ebola Assay on whole blood samples.

Simple Real-Time PCR and Amplicon Sequencing Method for Identification of Plasmodium Species in Human Whole Blood.

Malaria is the leading identifiable cause of fever in returning travelers. Accurate Plasmodium species identification has therapy implications for P. vivax and P.

Epidemiology of malaria in a village in the Rufiji River Delta, Tanzania: declining transmission over 25 years revealed by different parasitological metrics.

Background: Assessments of the epidemiology of malaria over time are needed to understand changes in transmission and guide control and elimination strategies.

Methods: A longitudinal population study was established in 1985 in Nyamisati village in the Rufiji River Delta, Tanzania. A physician and research team lived in the village 1984-2000.

VEGF: a potential target for hydrocephalus.

Growth factors are primarily responsible for the genesis, differentiation and proliferation of cells and maintenance of tissues. Given the central role of growth factors in signaling between cells in health and in disease, it is understandable that disruption of growth factor-mediated molecular signaling can cause diverse phenotypic consequences including cancer and neurological conditions. This review will focus on the specific questions of enlarged cerebral ventricles and hydrocephalus.

Bacteraemia caused by Actinobaculum schaalii: An overlooked pathogen?

Actinobaculum schaalii is a uropathogen resistant to ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. It requires a long culture time and specific conditions, and is therefore easily overgrown by other bacteria and regarded as part of the normal bacterial flora. We review 17 cases of A.

Traveler's encounter with nymphs in a hotel bed.

This case illustrates skin lesions in a traveler staying in a hotel bed infested with tics. Although infestation of hotels with bedbugs belonging to the Cimex genus is a growing problem worldwide, tick infestation has never been reported before.

VEGF, which is elevated in the CSF of patients with hydrocephalus, causes ventriculomegaly and ependymal changes in rats.

Hydrocephalus is a condition characterized primarily by excessive accumulation of fluid in the ventricles of the brain for which there is currently no effective pharmacological treatment. Surgery, often accompanied by complications, is the only current treatment. Extensive research in our laboratory along with work from others has suggested a link between hydrocephalus and vascular function.

Netrin-1 promotes glioblastoma cell invasiveness and angiogenesis by multiple pathways including activation of RhoA, cathepsin B, and cAMP-response element-binding protein.

Glioblastomas are very difficult tumors to treat because they are highly invasive and disseminate within the normal brain, resulting in newly growing tumors. We have identified netrin-1 as a molecule that promotes glioblastoma invasiveness. As evidence, netrin-1 stimulates glioblastoma cell invasion directly through Matrigel-coated transwells, promotes tumor cell sprouting and enhances metastasis to lymph nodes in vivo.