Implementation of pooled saliva tests for universal screening of cCMV infection.

Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) is the most common intrauterine infection, leading to neurodevelopmental disabilities. Universal newborn infant screening of cCMV has been increasingly advocated. In the absence of a high-throughput screening test, which can identify all infected newborn infants, the development of an accurate and efficient testing strategy has remained an ongoing challenge.

Plasma Progastrin-Releasing Peptide and Chromogranin A Assays for Diagnosing and Monitoring Lung Well-Differentiated Neuroendocrine Tumors: A Brief Report.

Introduction: The use of chromogranin A (CGA) as a circulating biomarker in lung carcinoids (LCs) is limited by low specificity and sensitivity. This study aimed to evaluate plasma progastrin-releasing peptide (ProGRPp) as an alternative to plasma CGA (CGAp), for the diagnosis and follow-up of LC.

Methods: ProGRPp and CGAp concentrations were measured in 107 patients with LC and 105 patients with benign lung disease (BLD).

Predictors of Developmental and Respiratory Outcomes Among Preterm Infants With Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia.

To examine the importance of perinatal and postnatal environmental factors on developmental and respiratory outcomes among preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Preterm infants (<32 weeks of gestation) born at a single tertiary medical center between 2012 and 2015 were included. Development was assessed at 12 months corrected age.

Explant Modeling of the Immune Environment of Head and Neck Cancer.

Patients exhibit distinct responses to immunotherapies that are thought to be linked to their tumor immune environment. However, wide variations in outcomes are also observed in patients with matched baseline tumor environments, indicating that the biological response to treatment is not currently predictable using a snapshot analysis. To investigate the relationship between the immune environment of tumors and the biological response to immunotherapies, we characterized four murine head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) models on two genetic backgrounds.

A platform for locoregional T-cell immunotherapy to control HNSCC recurrence following tumor resection.

Surgical resection of head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is associated with high rates of local and distant recurrence, partially mitigated by adjuvant therapy. A pre-existing immune response in the patient's tumor is associated with better outcomes following treatment with conventional therapies, but improved options are needed for patients with poor anti-tumor immunity. We hypothesized that local delivery of tumor antigen-specific T-cells into the resection cavity following surgery would direct T-cells to residual antigens in the margins and draining lymphatics and present a platform for T-cell-targeted immunotherapy.

The efficacy of a protective protocol for oral and maxillofacial surgery procedures in a COVID-19 pandemic area-results from 1471 patients.

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of an empiric protection protocol during oral surgical treatments in a COVID-19 pandemic area and to evaluate the potential effect of postponed dental procedures on the frequency of facial infections during a lockdown period.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of a case series of a broad-spectrum of oral surgeries in a COVID-19 pandemic area. Data collection included patient age, type of procedure performed, and COVID-19 status of staff and patients.

Using Preclinical Data to Design Combination Clinical Trials of Radiation Therapy and Immunotherapy.

Immunotherapies are rapidly entering the clinic as approved treatments for diverse cancer pathologies. Radiation therapy is an integral partner in cancer therapy, commonly as part of complicated multimodality approaches that optimize patient outcomes. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that the success of radiation therapy in tumor control is due in part to immune mechanisms, and that outcomes following radiation therapy can be improved through combination with a range of immunotherapies.

Retrograde versus Antegrade Approach for the Management of Large Proximal Ureteral Stones.

. To evaluate and compare the efficacy and safety of retrograde versus antegrade ureteroscopic lithotripsy for the treatment of large proximal ureteral stones. .

Interobserver Reliability and Reproducibility of the Clinical Research Office of the Endourological Society Nomogram in Predicting Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy Results.

Objective: To assess interobserver reliability and reproducibility of the Clinical Research Office of the Endourological Society (CROES) nephrolithometric nomogram.

Patients And Methods: Preoperative data and postoperative outcomes of 100 consecutive patients who underwent percutaneous nephrolithotomy were obtained. Patients' data were reviewed separately by 4 independent urologists of different academic level: an experienced attending endourologist, a graduated fellow, a young fellow, and a resident.

Epidemiology of gingivitis in schoolchildren in Bucharest, Romania: a cross-sectional study.

Background And Objective: Gingivitis is the most prevalent oral disease in children, being strongly associated to social gradients. Many studies have reported different results concerning the extent and intra-oral distribution of gingivitis in children. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiologic parameters and socio-related risk factors of gingivitis in the 10-17-year-old Bucharest schoolchildren population and to analyze its intra-oral distribution.

Serum Thymidine Kinase 1 Activity Following Nephrectomy for Renal Cell Carcinoma and Radiofrequency Ablation of Metastases to Lung and Liver.

Background/aim: Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) is involved in DNA synthesis and is considered a reliable and sensitive marker of cell proliferation. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of measurements of serum TK1 activity following tumor ablation.

Patients And Methods: This study was performed on 32 patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who had undergone nephrectomy and 35 patients with cancer of different histology with metastases to the liver (n=28) and lung (n=7) treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA).

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy for staghorn stones: Which nomogram can better predict postoperative outcomes?

Purpose: To identify independent predictors for postoperative stone-free status after percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) for staghorn stones and to compare Guy's, CROES and STONE nomograms regarding their predictive ability and accuracy specifically for staghorn stones.

Methods: Data of 286 patients who underwent PCNL in our department were collected and analyzed. Several parameters, including the three nomograms, were analyzed to reveal independent predictors for postoperative stone-free status.

Effectiveness of Cognitive-Functional (Cog-Fun) occupational therapy intervention for young children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a controlled study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the Cognitive-Functional (Cog-Fun) intervention for young children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Method: Nineteen children ages 5-7 yr diagnosed with ADHD were allocated to treatment and wait-list control groups. After the 12-wk intervention, the control group was crossed over to treatment.

Population-based study shows improved postnatal growth in preterm very-low-birthweight infants between 1995 and 2010.

Aim: To assess whether the postnatal growth of preterm very-low-birthweight (VLBW) infants, as determined by measures of postnatal growth failure (PNGF), improved during the period 1995-2010 and to evaluate postnatal growth by gestational age (GA) and intrauterine growth groups.

Methods: The study was based on the Israel national VLBW infant database and comprised 13 531 VLBW infants of 24-32 weeks' GA, discharged at a postmenstrual age of ≤40 weeks. Z-scores were determined for weight at birth and discharge.

Using a safe taxi service to transport newborn babies home from hospital.

Aim: To evaluate an intervention to enhance parents' use of car safety seats (CSSs) for their newborn baby's first journey home from the hospital in a population not usually exposed to television, internet and mainstream printed media.

Methods: Parents of newborn babies who did not bring a CSS to the hospital before their baby was discharged were lent a CSS to use in a 'safe taxi' service. All taxi drivers were trained to install the CSS safely.

The outcomes of pregnancy in women exposed to the new macrolides in the first trimester: a prospective, multicentre, observational study.

Background: Macrolides are a group of commonly prescribed antibiotics. There is some doubt surrounding the use of the newer macrolides in pregnancy.

Objective: The present study aimed to compare outcomes of pregnancies exposed to the new macrolides clarithromycin, azithromycin and roxithromycin with non-teratogenic preparations.

Gastrointestinal colonization with ESBL-producing Klebsiella in preterm babies--is vancomycin to blame?

In this study, we examine the possible association between treatment with vancomycin and colonization with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Variables compared between newborns which developed rectal colonization and those who did not include: gestational age, birth weight, gender, and total length of hospital stay until positive stool culture or discharge, treatment with vancomycin, and positive blood culture for coagulase-negative Staphylococcus. We found that lower birth weight, younger gestational age, and treatment with vancomycin were statistically significant risk factors for gastrointestinal colonization with ESBL-producing Klebsiella.

The use of blood counts and blood cultures to screen neonates born to partially treated group B Streptococcus-carrier mothers for early-onset sepsis: is it justified?

Background: No clear recommendations exist regarding the approach to evaluate neonates born to partially treated group B Streptococcus (GBS)-carrier mothers for early-onset GBS (EO-GBS) sepsis.

Objective: To determine the yield and drawbacks of screening, all neonates born to GBS-carrier mothers who received only one dose of IV antibiotic, less than 4 hours, before delivery (partially treated).

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed of all complete blood counts (CBCs) and blood cultures obtained from infants born during the period 2005 to 2009 to GBS-positive screened mothers treated with only one dose of antibiotic prior to delivery.

Sinus floor augmentation using large (1-2 mm) or small (0.25-1 mm) bovine bone mineral particles: a prospective, intra-individual controlled clinical, micro-computerized tomography and histomorphometric study.

Objectives: To compare the amount of newly formed bone after sinus floor augmentation with two different particle sizes of bovine bone mineral (BBM) using clinical, micro-computerized tomography (CT) and histological techniques.

Methods: Bilateral sinus floor augmentations were performed in 10 patients. Six to 9 months later, bone samples were retrieved and analyzed.

In vivo degradation of collagen barrier membranes exposed to the oral cavity.

Objectives: The purpose of this human clinical trial was to compare the degradation profiles of three different collagen membranes under conditions mimicking exposure to the oral cavity.

Materials And Methods: Three collagen membranes, ribose cross-linked (RCL), glutaraldehyde cross-linked (GCL), and non-cross-linked (NCL) were tested. The membranes were placed over the buccal mucosa of 20 human volunteers, apical to the gingival margins in the maxillary premolar and molar region.

TLR2-dependent inflammatory response to Porphyromonas gingivalis is MyD88 independent, whereas MyD88 is required to clear infection.

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a gram-negative anaerobe considered to be a major periodontal pathogen. TLR2 plays a central role in the response to P. gingivalis infection in vivo.

Involvement of Toll-like receptors 2 and 4 in the innate immune response to Treponema denticola and its outer sheath components.

Treponema denticola is considered an important oral pathogen in the development and progression of periodontal diseases. In the present study, the mechanisms of recognition and activation of murine macrophages by T. denticola and its major outer sheath protein (MSP) and lipooligosaccharide (LOS or glycolipid) were investigated.

Pregnancy outcome after gestational exposure to the new macrolides: a prospective multi-center observational study.

Objectives: To determine whether the use of the new macrolides (azithromycin, clarithromycin, roxithromycin) during the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of major malformations.

Study Design: In a prospective multi-center study, pregnancy outcome was compared between pregnant women exposed to one of the new macrolides during the first trimester of pregnancy and two comparison groups one exposed to other antibiotics and the other to other non-teratogenic medications. All women enrolled in the study called one of the three participating teratogen information services (TIS).

Paroxetine and congenital malformations: meta-Analysis and consideration of potential confounding factors.

Background: Antidepressants have been commonly used by women of childbearing age. Recent studies suggest that paroxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), might specifically increase teratogenic risk.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to quantify first-trimester exposure to paroxetine and birth defects and examine potential sources of bias in the in utero or postnatal detection of more congenital malformations among women with depression.