Evaluating the use of HEIghten critical thinking assessment to monitor critical thinking in dental students.

Purpose/objectives: Critical thinking and evidence-based dentistry are skills that dental students are required to demonstrate, but monitoring and quantifying progress can be challenging. This study is investigating whether the HEIghten critical thinking assessment (HCTA) could be used as a potential tool, both for use prior to admitting students, and to monitor whether the students' skills improve over their time at dental school.

Methods: Freshman dental students (n = 92) were given the HCTA during their first semester of dental school.

Depleting myeloid-biased haematopoietic stem cells rejuvenates aged immunity.

Ageing of the immune system is characterized by decreased lymphopoiesis and adaptive immunity, and increased inflammation and myeloid pathologies. Age-related changes in populations of self-renewing haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are thought to underlie these phenomena. During youth, HSCs with balanced output of lymphoid and myeloid cells (bal-HSCs) predominate over HSCs with myeloid-biased output (my-HSCs), thereby promoting the lymphopoiesis required for initiating adaptive immune responses, while limiting the production of myeloid cells, which can be pro-inflammatory.

Utility of Early Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Enhance Outcome Prediction in Critically Ill Children with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

Background: Many children with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) receive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during hospitalization. There are insufficient data on how different patterns of injury on early MRI inform outcomes.

Methods: Children (3-17 years) admitted in 2010-2021 for severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] score < 9) were identified using our site's trauma registry.

Acceptance and awareness of southeastern and western private practice pediatric dentists of fluoride-free toothpastes: a survey study.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) affirms that the use of fluoride, as an adjunct in the prevention of caries, is safe and effective. The AAPD encourages dentists, other healthcare providers, and parents to optimize fluoride exposures to reduce the risk of caries and to enhance the remineralization of affected teeth. However, there is resistance amongst patients towards fluoride overexposure and despite there being research on other effective remineralizing agents, most pediatric dentists primarily cater their practice to fluoride-based products.

Metabolic reprogramming through mitochondrial biogenesis drives adenosine anti-inflammatory effects: new mechanism controlling gingival fibroblast hyper-inflammatory state.

Introduction: Fibroblasts are the dominant stromal cells in the gingival lamina propria with a well-established relevance in regulation of inflammation, and in innate immunity. This is exemplified by their hypersecretion of CXCL8, enhancing leukocyte infiltration in chronic and sustained inflammatory conditions. We have previously shown adenosine to be a key metabolic nucleoside that regulates stromal inflammation, but the underlying mechanisms linking adenosine to the metabolic status of fibroblasts and to the resultant inflammatory response are unclear.

Efficacy of IV Valproic Acid and Oral Valproic Acid Tapers for the Treatment of Pediatric Headaches in the Emergency Department.

Background And Objectives: Pediatric headaches, including migraine, are a common reason for emergency department (ED) presentation. IV valproic acid (VPA) followed by oral VPA tapers are often used to abort pediatric headache and reduce recurrence, though limited data exist regarding this approach. This study evaluated the effectiveness of IV VPA and oral VPA tapers for the treatment of acute pediatric headaches in the ED in preventing return encounters.

Development and Evaluation of a Child Neurology Resident Curriculum for Communication Around Serious Illness.

Communication around serious illness is a core competency for all residencies. One-fifth of neurology residencies have no curriculum. Published curricula use didactics or role-play to assess confidence performing this skill without evaluation in clinical settings.

Practical Mouse Model to Investigate Therapeutics for Staphylococcusaureus Contaminated Surgical Mesh Implants.

Introduction: The use of prosthetic mesh in hernia repair provides a powerful tool to increase repair longevity, decrease recurrence rates, and facilitate complex abdominal wall reconstruction. Overall infection rates with mesh are low, but for those affected there is high morbidity and economic cost. The availability of a practicable small animal model would be advantageous for the preclinical testing of prophylactics, therapeutics, and new biomaterials.

CCL2: a Chemokine Potentially Promoting Early Seeding of the Latent HIV Reservoir.

HIV infects long-lived CD4 memory T cells, establishing a latent viral reservoir that necessitates lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART). How this reservoir is formed so quickly after infection remains unclear. We now show the innate inflammatory response to HIV infection results in CCL2 chemokine release, leading to recruitment of cells expressing the CCR2 receptor, including a subset of central memory CD4 T cells.

Neuroimaging for Pediatric Non-First-Time Seizures in the Emergency Department.

Background And Objectives: Neuroimaging is often part of the workup for a pediatric patient presenting with a seizure to an emergency department (ED). We aim to evaluate when neuroimaging in the ED for children with a non-first-time seizure, or nonindex seizure (NIS), is associated with an acute change in management (ACM).

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of all pediatric patients presenting to an ED from 2008 to 2018 with a NIS, excluding repeat febrile seizures, who underwent neuroimaging.

Recovery from Acute SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Development of Anamnestic Immune Responses in T Cell-Depleted Rhesus Macaques.

Severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been associated with T cell lymphopenia, but no causal effect of T cell deficiency on disease severity has been established. To investigate the specific role of T cells in recovery from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections, we studied rhesus macaques that were depleted of either CD4, CD8, or both T cell subsets prior to infection. Peak virus loads were similar in all groups, but the resolution of virus in the T cell-depleted animals was slightly delayed compared to that in controls.

Recovery from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and development of anamnestic immune responses in T cell-depleted rhesus macaques.

Severe COVID-19 has been associated with T cell lymphopenia 1,2, but no causal effect of T cell deficiency on disease severity has been established. To investigate the specific role of T cells in recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infections we studied rhesus macaques that were depleted of either CD4+, CD8+ or both T cell subsets prior to infection. Peak virus loads were similar in all groups, but the resolution of virus in the T cell-depleted animals was slightly delayed compared to controls.

Retroviral prototype foamy virus intasome binding to a nucleosome target does not determine integration efficiency.

Retroviral integrases must navigate host DNA packaged as chromatin during integration of the viral genome. Prototype foamy virus (PFV) integrase (IN) forms a tetramer bound to two viral DNA (vDNA) ends in a complex termed an intasome. PFV IN consists of four domains: the amino terminal extension domain (NED), amino terminal domain (NTD), catalytic core domain (CCD), and carboxyl terminal domain (CTD).

Why the Maternal Medication List Matters: Neonatal Toxicity From Combined Serotonergic Exposures.

Serotonergic medications are used for the prevention and treatment of depression during pregnancy. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) can cause poor neonatal adaptation, which has been attributed to withdrawal versus toxicity. Bupropion, a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor, is often used as an adjunctive agent to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SNRIs for refractory depression.

Upregulation of CD47 Is a Host Checkpoint Response to Pathogen Recognition.

It is well understood that the adaptive immune response to infectious agents includes a modulating suppressive component as well as an activating component. We now show that the very early innate response also has an immunosuppressive component. Infected cells upregulate the CD47 "don't eat me" signal, which slows the phagocytic uptake of dying and viable cells as well as downstream antigen-presenting cell (APC) functions.

Infantile Spasms: Opportunities to Improve Care.

Infantile spasm (IS) is a distinct epilepsy syndrome characterized by epileptic spasms (the clinical seizure type) and hypsarrhythmia (the electrographic abnormality). IS is frequently accompanied by impaired neurodevelopment and is often associated with structural, genetic, or metabolic etiologies. Prompt treatment of this severe epileptic encephalopathy improves long-term outcomes but remains elusive in many situations.

Clinical characteristics of enterovirus A71 neurological disease during an outbreak in children in Colorado, USA, in 2018: an observational cohort study.

Background: In May, 2018, Children's Hospital Colorado noted an outbreak of enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) neurological disease. We aimed to characterise the clinical features of EV-A71 neurological disease during this outbreak.

Methods: In this retrospective observational cohort study, children (younger than 18 years) who presented to Children's Hospital Colorado (Aurora, CO, USA) between March 1 and November 30, 2018, with neurological disease (defined by non-mutually exclusive criteria, including meningitis, encephalitis, acute flaccid myelitis, and seizures) and enterovirus detected from any biological specimen were eligible for study inclusion.

Concurrent administration of IFNα14 and cART in TKO-BLT mice enhances suppression of HIV-1 viremia but does not eliminate the latent reservoir.

Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) prevents HIV-1 replication but does not eliminate the latent reservoir and cure the infection. Type I interferons (IFN) mediate antiviral effects through different mechanisms than cART. We previously showed that IFNα14 is the most potent IFNα subtype against HIV-1 and that it can significantly reduce the HIV-1 proviral reservoir.

Incidence of Hypertension Among Children Treated With Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) or Prednisolone for Infantile Spasms.

Children with infantile spasms are often treated with hormonal therapies including adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and prednisolone. These have numerous systemic side effects including hypertension and, rarely, fatal cardiomyopathy; however, the incidence of these side effects has not been well described. This study aims to quantify the incidence and short-term sequelae of hypertension in this population.

Expression and Purification of Nuclease-Free Oxygen Scavenger Protocatechuate 3,4-Dioxygenase.

Single molecule (SM) microscopy is used in the study of dynamic molecular interactions of fluorophore labeled biomolecules in real time. However, fluorophores are prone to loss of signal via photobleaching by dissolved oxygen (O2). To prevent photobleaching and extend the fluorophore lifetime, oxygen scavenging systems (OSS) are employed to reduce O2.

A functional subset of CD8 T cells during chronic exhaustion is defined by SIRPα expression.

Prolonged exposure of CD8 T cells to antigenic stimulation, as in chronic viral infections, leads to a state of diminished function termed exhaustion. We now demonstrate that even during exhaustion there is a subset of functional CD8 T cells defined by surface expression of SIRPα, a protein not previously reported on lymphocytes. On SIRPα CD8 T cells, expression of co-inhibitory receptors is counterbalanced by expression of co-stimulatory receptors and it is only SIRPα cells that actively proliferate, transcribe IFNγ and show cytolytic activity.

Effects of Friend Virus Infection and Regulatory T Cells on the Antigen Presentation Function of B Cells.

Friend virus (FV) is a naturally occurring mouse retrovirus that infects dividing cells of the hematopoietic lineage, including antigen-presenting cells (APCs). The infection of APCs by viruses often induces their dysfunction, and it has been shown that FV infection reduces the ability of dendritic cells (DCs) to prime critical CD8 T cell responses. Nonetheless, mice mount vigorous CD8 T cell responses, so we investigated whether B cells might serve as alternative APCs during FV infection.