Messaging to Reduce Booster Hesitancy among the Fully Vaccinated.

Vaccine hesitancy was a serious problem in the United States throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, due in part to the reduction in public trust in science that accompanied the pandemic. Now we are facing a new, similar but more extensive problem: booster hesitancy. Even fewer Americans are current on the mRNA booster.

The impact of probabilistic tornado warnings on risk perceptions and responses.

Many warnings issued to members of the public are deterministic in that they do not include event likelihood information. This is true of the current polygon-based tornado warning used by the American National Weather Service, although the likelihood of a tornado varies within the boundaries of the polygon. To test whether adding likelihood information benefits end users, two experimental studies and one in-person interview study were conducted.

Brain cortical assessment by MRI in fetuses with left congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

Objective: To evaluate fetal brain development using MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) in CDH (congenital diaphragmatic hernia).

Methods: 52 isolated left CDH and 104 control fetuses were imaged using MRI. Brain morphometry (Biparietal diameter-BPD, brain fronto-occipital diameter-BFOD, third ventricle, posterior ventricles, transcerebellar diameter-TCD, anteroposterior and craniocaudal cerebellar vermis diameter-AP and CC) and cortical structures (bilateral cingulate fissure-CF, insular fissure-IF, insular depth - ID) were compared with controls using Mann-Whitney test.

COVID-19: Risk perception, risk communication, and behavioral intentions.

Critical to limiting the spread of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and future pandemics is compliance with behavioral recommendations such as mask wearing and social distancing. Compliance may depend upon understanding the seriousness of the health consequences and the likelihood they will occur. However, the statistics that speak to these issues in an ongoing pandemic are complex and may be misunderstood.

Process development and validation of expanded regulatory T cells for prospective applications: an example of manufacturing a personalized advanced therapy medicinal product.

Background: A growing number of clinical trials have shown that regulatory T (T) cell transfer may have a favorable effect on the maintenance of self-tolerance and immune homeostasis in different conditions such as graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), solid organ transplantation, type 1 diabetes, and others. In this context, the availability of a robust manufacturing protocol that is able to produce a sufficient number of functional T cells represents a fundamental prerequisite for the success of a cell therapy clinical protocol. However, extended workflow guidelines for nonprofit manufacturers are currently lacking.

Iron deficiency and fatigue among adolescents with bleeding disorders.

Iron deficiency anemia is associated with heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) and, by extension, a bleeding disorder (BD). It is unknown if iron deficiency without anemia is associated with a BD in adolescents. Moreover, the threshold of ferritin associated with fatigue in adolescents with HMB is unclear.

Morphometric Analysis of Brain in Newborn with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia.

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a severe pediatric disorder with herniation of abdominal viscera into the thoracic cavity. Since neurodevelopmental impairment constitutes a common outcome, we performed morphometric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis on CDH infants to investigate cortical parameters such as cortical thickness (CT) and local gyrification index (LGI). By assessing CT and LGI distributions and their correlations with variables which might have an impact on oxygen delivery (total lung volume, TLV), we aimed to detect how altered perfusion affects cortical development in CDH.

Fertility Preservation for Pediatric and Adolescent Patients With Cancer: Medical and Ethical Considerations.

Many cancers presenting in children and adolescents are curable with surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiotherapy. Potential adverse consequences of treatment include sterility, infertility, or subfertility as a result of gonad removal, damage to germ cells as a result of adjuvant therapy, or damage to the pituitary and hypothalamus or uterus as a result of irradiation. In recent years, treatment of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies has been modified in an attempt to reduce damage to the gonadal axis.

Comparison of mediastinal shift angles obtained with ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging in fetuses with isolated left sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

Objectives: To compare ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the assessment of mediastinal shift angles (MSAs) in fetuses affected by isolated left congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). The use of MRI-MSA and US-MSA as prognostic factor for postnatal survival in fetal left CDH was also explored.

Methods: This was an observational study of 29 fetuses with prenatally diagnosed isolated left CDH, assessed with both US and MRI examinations between January 2015 and December 2018.

Outcomes after bloodstream infection in hospitalized pediatric hematology/oncology and stem cell transplant patients.

Background: Pediatric hematology/oncology (PHO) patients receiving therapy or undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) often require a central line and are at risk for bloodstream infections (BSI). There are limited data describing outcomes of BSI in PHO and HSCT patients.

Methods: This is a multicenter (n = 17) retrospective analysis of outcomes of patients who developed a BSI.

Opposite Profiles of Complement in Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS) and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) Among Patients With Antiphospholipid Antibodies (aPL).

APS is the association of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) with thromboses and/or recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). Among patients with SLE, one-third have aPL and 10-15% have a manifestation of secondary APS. Animal studies suggested that complement activation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of thrombosis and pregnancy loss in APS.

An Open-Label, Single-Arm, Efficacy Study of Tranexamic Acid in Adolescents with Heavy Menstrual Bleeding.

Study Objective: Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) occurs in up to 40% of adolescent girls, significantly affecting their daily activities. Identifying alternative treatment strategies for HMB is particularly important for adolescents who prefer not to take hormonal contraception. Our objective was to determine whether use of tranexamic acid (TA) would increase health-related quality of life and decrease menstrual blood loss (MBL) in adolescents with HMB.

Utility of a screening tool for haemostatic defects in a multicentre cohort of adolescents with heavy menstrual bleeding.

Introduction: Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) may be expected for many adolescents after menarche. Accurate assessment of HMB, a key component in the diagnosis of a haemostatic defect (HD), is a well-recognized challenge.

Aim: Our objective was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of an HMB-specific screening tool for HDs in adolescents with HMB, presenting to a secondary care setting.

Pooled human serum: A new culture supplement for bioreactor-based cell therapies. Preliminary results.

Background: Bone Marrow MSCs are an appealing source for several cell-based therapies. Many bioreactors, as the Quantum Cell Expansion System, have been developed to generate a large number of MSCs under Good Manufacturing Practice conditions by using Human Platelet Lysate (HPL). Previously we isolated in the human bone marrow a novel cell population, named Mesodermal Progenitor Cells (MPCs), which we identified as precursors of MSCs.

Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Culture and Delivery in Autologous Conditions: A Smart Approach for Orthopedic Applications.

Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (hMSCs) are cultured in vitro with different media. Limits on their use in clinical settings, however, mainly depend on potential biohazard and inflammation risks exerted by xenogeneic nutrients for their culture. Human derivatives or recombinant materials are the first choice candidates to reduce these reactions.

Measuring pediatric hematology-oncology fellows' skills in humanism and professionalism: A novel assessment instrument.

Background: Educators in pediatric hematology-oncology lack rigorously developed instruments to assess fellows' skills in humanism and professionalism.

Procedure: We developed a novel 15-item self-assessment instrument to address this gap in fellowship training. Fellows (N = 122) were asked to assess their skills in five domains: balancing competing demands of fellowship, caring for the dying patient, confronting depression and burnout, responding to challenging relationships with patients, and practicing humanistic medicine.

Early Diagnosis and Monitoring of Neurodegenerative Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis.

Background: Neurodegenerative Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (ND-LCH) is a rare, unpredictable consequence that may devastate the quality of life of patients cured from LCH. We prospectively applied a multidisciplinary diagnostic work-up to early identify and follow-up patients with ND-LCH, with the ultimate goal of better determining the appropriate time for starting therapy.

Methods: We studied 27 children and young adults with either ND-LCH verified by structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (group 1) or specific risk factors for (diabetes insipidus, craniofacial bone lesions), but no evidence of, neurodegenerative MRI changes (group 2).

Thiamine and spinocerebellar ataxia type 2.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 is a genetic disorder characterised by the degeneration of the cerebellum, its connections and degeneration in brainstem areas. Some observations indicate that high doses of thiamine may lead to the partial regression of the symptoms. One patient was under rehabilitative treatment from June 2011 to July 2012.

Safety and efficacy of topiramate in neonates with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy treated with hypothermia (NeoNATI).

Background: Despite progresses in neonatal care, the mortality and the incidence of neuro-motor disability after perinatal asphyxia have failed to show substantial improvements. In countries with a high level of perinatal care, the incidence of asphyxia responsible for moderate or severe encephalopathy is still 2-3 per 1000 term newborns. Recent trials have demonstrated that moderate hypothermia, started within 6 hours after birth and protracted for 72 hours, can significantly improve survival and reduce neurologic impairment in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.

Elbow monoarthritis: an atypical onset of juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common chronic rheumatic condition in childhood and an important cause of short and long term disability. Oligoarthritis is defined as an arthritis that affects four o fewer joints during the first 6 months of disease. The large majority of patients within this category belongs to a quite well defined disease which is not observed in adults.