Adoption of C-reactive protein rapid tests for the management of acute childhood infections in hospitals in the Netherlands and England: a comparative health systems analysis.

Background: The adoption of C-reactive protein point-of-care tests (CRP POCTs) in hospitals varies across Europe. We aimed to understand the factors that contribute to different levels of adoption of CRP POCTs for the management of acute childhood infections in two countries.

Methods: Comparative qualitative analysis of the implementation of CRP POCTs in the Netherlands and England.

Primary Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 via Infection or Vaccination Determines Mucosal Antibody-Dependent ACE2 Binding Inhibition.

Background: Mucosal antibodies play a critical role in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections or reinfections by blocking the interaction of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) with the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor on the cell surface. In this study, we investigated the difference between the mucosal antibody response after primary infection and vaccination.

Methods: We assessed longitudinal changes in the quantity and capacity of nasal antibodies to neutralize the interaction of RBD with the ACE2 receptor using the spike protein and RBD from ancestral SARS-CoV-2 (Wuhan-Hu-1), as well as the RBD from the Delta and Omicron variants.

Diagnosis of childhood febrile illness using a multi-class blood RNA molecular signature.

Background: Appropriate treatment and management of children presenting with fever depend on accurate and timely diagnosis, but current diagnostic tests lack sensitivity and specificity and are frequently too slow to inform initial treatment. As an alternative to pathogen detection, host gene expression signatures in blood have shown promise in discriminating several infectious and inflammatory diseases in a dichotomous manner. However, differential diagnosis requires simultaneous consideration of multiple diseases.

Impact of infection on proteome-wide glycosylation revealed by distinct signatures for bacterial and viral pathogens.

Mechanisms of infection and pathogenesis have predominantly been studied based on differential gene or protein expression. Less is known about posttranslational modifications, which are essential for protein functional diversity. We applied an innovative glycoproteomics method to study the systemic proteome-wide glycosylation in response to infection.

SARS-CoV-2 mucosal antibody development and persistence and their relation to viral load and COVID-19 symptoms.

Although serological studies have shown that antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 play an important role in protection against (re)infection, the dynamics of mucosal antibodies during primary infection and their potential impact on viral load and the resolution of disease symptoms remain unclear. During the first pandemic wave, we assessed the longitudinal nasal antibody response in index cases with mild COVID-19 and their household contacts. Nasal and serum antibody responses were analysed for up to nine months.

Computer aided detection of tuberculosis on chest radiographs: An evaluation of the CAD4TB v6 system.

There is a growing interest in the automated analysis of chest X-Ray (CXR) as a sensitive and inexpensive means of screening susceptible populations for pulmonary tuberculosis. In this work we evaluate the latest version of CAD4TB, a commercial software platform designed for this purpose. Version 6 of CAD4TB was released in 2018 and is here tested on a fully independent dataset of 5565 CXR images with GeneXpert (Xpert) sputum test results available (854 Xpert positive subjects).

Computer-aided diagnosis for World Health Organization-defined chest radiograph primary-endpoint pneumonia in children.

Background: The chest radiograph is the most common imaging modality to assess childhood pneumonia. It has been used in epidemiological and vaccine efficacy/effectiveness studies on childhood pneumonia.

Objective: To develop computer-aided diagnosis (CAD4Kids) for chest radiography in children and to evaluate its accuracy in identifying World Health Organization (WHO)-defined chest radiograph primary-endpoint pneumonia compared to a consensus interpretation.

Automated chest X-ray reading for tuberculosis in the Philippines to improve case detection: a cohort study.

DetecTB (Diagnostic Enhanced Tools for Extra Cases of TB), an intensified tuberculosis (TB) case-finding programme targeting prisons and high-risk communities was implemented on Palawan Island, the Philippines. To evaluate the performance of TB detection based on computerised chest radiography (CXR) readings. Data from 14 094 subjects were analysed from September 2012 to June 2014.

Biosynthetic homeostasis and resilience of the complement system in health and infectious disease.

Background: The complement system is a central component of the innate immune system. Constitutive biosynthesis of complement proteins is essential for homeostasis. Dysregulation as a consequence of genetic or environmental cues can lead to inflammatory syndromes or increased susceptibility to infection.

Effects of in utero and lactational exposure to phthalates on reproductive development and glycemic homeostasis in rats.

Prenatal exposure to phthalates is associated with reproductive and metabolic systems alterations. We investigated the effects of in utero and lactational exposure to Di-(2-ethyl-hexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and Di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) on the reproductive system and glycemic homeostasis in male and female offspring of rats. Pregnant rats were exposed to equimolar doses (0.

sCARy! Risk Perceptions in Autonomous Driving: The Influence of Experience on Perceived Benefits and Barriers.

The increasing development of autonomous vehicles (AVs) influences the future of transportation. Beyond the potential benefits in terms of safety, efficiency, and comfort, also potential risks of novel driving technologies need to be addressed. In this article, we explore risk perceptions toward connected and autonomous driving in comparison to conventional driving.

Nationwide Study on the Course of Influenza A (H1N1) Infections in Hospitalized Children in the Netherlands During the Pandemic 2009-2010.

Background: The influenza H1N1 pandemic of 2009-2010, provided a unique opportunity to assess the course of disease, as well as the analysis of risk factors for severe disease in hospitalized children (< 18 years).

Methods: Retrospective national chart study on hospitalized children with H1N1 infection during the 2009-2010 pH1N1 outbreak.

Results: Nine hundred forty patients (56% boys), median age 3.

Computer-assisted chest radiography reading for tuberculosis screening in people living with diabetes mellitus.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a significant risk factor for tuberculosis (TB). We evaluated the performance of computer-aided detection for tuberculosis (CAD4TB) in people living with diabetes mellitus (PLWD) in Indonesia.

Methods: PLWD underwent symptom screening and chest X-ray (CXR); sputum was examined in those with positive symptoms and/or CXR.

Mortality and morbidity in community-acquired sepsis in European pediatric intensive care units: a prospective cohort study from the European Childhood Life-threatening Infectious Disease Study (EUCLIDS).

Background: Sepsis is one of the main reasons for non-elective admission to pediatric intensive care units (PICUs), but little is known about determinants influencing outcome. We characterized children admitted with community-acquired sepsis to European PICUs and studied risk factors for mortality and disability.

Methods: Data were collected within the collaborative Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)-funded EUCLIDS study, which is a prospective multicenter cohort study aiming to evaluate genetic determinants of susceptibility and/or severity in sepsis.

Accuracy of an automated system for tuberculosis detection on chest radiographs in high-risk screening.

Setting: Tuberculosis (TB) screening programmes can be optimised by reducing the number of chest radiographs (CXRs) requiring interpretation by human experts.

Objective: To evaluate the performance of computerised detection software in triaging CXRs in a high-throughput digital mobile TB screening programme.

Design: A retrospective evaluation of the software was performed on a database of 38 961 postero-anterior CXRs from unique individuals seen between 2005 and 2010, 87 of whom were diagnosed with TB.

Automatic versus human reading of chest X-rays in the Zambia National Tuberculosis Prevalence Survey.

Setting: Tuberculosis (TB) prevalence survey in Zambia between 2013 and 2014.

Objective: To compare the performance of automatic software (CAD4TB 5) in chest X-ray (CXR) reading with that of field (general practitioners) and central (radiologists) readers.

Design: A retrospective study comparing the performance of human and automatic reading was conducted.

Fast and effective quantification of symmetry in medical images for pathology detection: Application to chest radiography.

Purpose: Symmetry is an important feature of human anatomy and the absence of symmetry in medical images can indicate the presence of pathology. Quantification of image symmetry can then be used to improve the automatic analysis of medical images.

Methods: A method is presented that computes both local and global symmetry in 2D medical images.

An automated tuberculosis screening strategy combining X-ray-based computer-aided detection and clinical information.

Lack of human resources and radiological interpretation expertise impair tuberculosis (TB) screening programmes in TB-endemic countries. Computer-aided detection (CAD) constitutes a viable alternative for chest radiograph (CXR) reading. However, no automated techniques that exploit the additional clinical information typically available during screening exist.

Automatic detection of pleural effusion in chest radiographs.

Automated detection of Tuberculosis (TB) using chest radiographs (CXRs) is gaining popularity due to the lack of trained human readers in resource limited countries with a high TB burden. The majority of the computer-aided detection (CAD) systems for TB focus on detection of parenchymal abnormalities and ignore other important manifestations such as pleural effusion (PE). The costophrenic angle is a commonly used measure for detecting PE, but has limitations.

On Combining Multiple-Instance Learning and Active Learning for Computer-Aided Detection of Tuberculosis.

The major advantage of multiple-instance learning (MIL) applied to a computer-aided detection (CAD) system is that it allows optimizing the latter with case-level labels instead of accurate lesion outlines as traditionally required for a supervised approach. As shown in previous work, a MIL-based CAD system can perform comparably to its supervised counterpart considering complex tasks such as chest radiograph scoring in tuberculosis (TB) detection. However, despite this remarkable achievement, the uncertainty inherent to MIL can lead to a less satisfactory outcome if analysis at lower levels (e.

Automated chest-radiography as a triage for Xpert testing in resource-constrained settings: a prospective study of diagnostic accuracy and costs.

Molecular tests hold great potential for tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis, but are costly, time consuming, and HIV-infected patients are often sputum scarce. Therefore, alternative approaches are needed. We evaluated automated digital chest radiography (ACR) as a rapid and cheap pre-screen test prior to Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert).

Localized Energy-Based Normalization of Medical Images: Application to Chest Radiography.

Automated quantitative analysis systems for medical images often lack the capability to successfully process images from multiple sources. Normalization of such images prior to further analysis is a possible solution to this limitation. This work presents a general method to normalize medical images and thoroughly investigates its effectiveness for chest radiography (CXR).

Automatic Detection of Tuberculosis in Chest Radiographs Using a Combination of Textural, Focal, and Shape Abnormality Analysis.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a common disease with high mortality and morbidity rates worldwide. Automatic systems to detect TB on chest radiographs (CXRs) can improve the efficiency of diagnostic algorithms for pulmonary TB. The diverse manifestation of TB on CXRs from different populations requires a system that can be adapted to deal with different types of abnormalities.