Molecular typing and whole genome next generation sequencing of human adenovirus 8 strains recovered from four 2012 outbreaks of keratoconjunctivitis in New York State.

Ocular infections caused by human adenovirus (HAdV) are highly contagious. The most severe are usually caused by members of species HAdV-D (types HAdV8, 19, 37, 53, 54, and 56) and can manifest as epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC), often resulting in prolonged impairment of vision. During the early months of 2012, EKC outbreaks occurred in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in 3 hospitals in New York State (New York and Suffolk Counties).

Evaluation of RIDAGENE norovirus GI/GII real time RT-PCR using stool specimens collected from children and adults with acute gastroenteritis.

Background: Norovirus is the leading cause of epidemic and sporadic acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in the United States. Widespread prevalence necessitates implementation of accurate norovirus detection assays in clinical diagnostic laboratories.

Objective: To evaluate RIDAGENE norovirus GI/GII real-time RT-PCR assay (RGN RT-PCR) using stool samples from patients with sporadic AGE.

Outcomes following surgery in subgroups of comatose and very elderly patients with chronic subdural hematoma.

Increasing age and lower pre-operative Glasgow coma score (GCS) are associated with worse outcome after surgery for chronic subdural haematoma (CSDH). Only few studies have quantified outcomes specific to the very elderly or comatose patients. We aim to examine surgical outcomes in these patient groups.

A developmental cascade perspective of paediatric obesity: a conceptual model and scoping review.

Considering the immense challenge of preventing obesity, the time has come to reconceptualise the way we study the obesity development in childhood. The developmental cascade model offers a longitudinal framework to elucidate the way cumulative consequences and spreading effects of risk and protective factors, across and within biopsychosocial spheres and phases of development, can propel individuals towards obesity. In this article, we use a theory-driven model-building approach and a scoping review that included 310 published studies to propose a developmental cascade model of paediatric obesity.

Comparison of outpatient medically attended and community-level influenza-like illness-New York City, 2013-2015.

Background: Surveillance of influenza-like illness (ILI) in the United States is primarily conducted through medical settings despite a significant burden of non-medically attended ILI.

Objectives: To assess consistency between surveillance for respiratory viruses in outpatient and community settings using ILI surveillance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Influenza Incidence Surveillance Project (IISP) and the Mobile Surveillance for Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) and Influenza-Like Illness in the Community (MoSAIC) Study.

Methods: The Influenza Incidence Surveillance Project conducts ILI surveillance in 3 primary care clinics in New York City, and MoSAIC conducts community-based ILI/ARI surveillance through text messaging among a cohort of New York City residents.

The Prevalence of Cerebrovascular Abnormalities Detected in Various Diagnostic Subgroups of Spontaneous Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in the Modern Era.

Objective: To determine prevalence of cerebrovascular abnormalities in diagnostic subgroups of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in a regional neurosurgical center in the modern era.

Methods: Data of 609 consecutive patients with spontaneous SAH in a 3-year period (August 2010 to August 2013) were prospectively collected. Patients were divided into 3 diagnostic subgroups: computed tomography (CT) positive for SAH; CT negative but positive cerebrospinal fluid examination by spectrophotometry for SAH; CT negative for SAH and inconclusive cerebrospinal fluid examination.

Effects of lifestyle intervention on soluble CD163, a macrophage activation marker, in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Objective: Liver macrophages play an important role in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Soluble CD163 (sCD163), a macrophage-specific biomarker, reflects disease activity in the range of liver diseases. The impact of lifestyle intervention on sCD163 in adult NAFLD patients has not been investigated.

Coparenting Competence in Parents of Children with ASD: A Marker of Coparenting Quality.

The coparenting relationship has been linked to parenting stress, parenting self-efficacy and many other concerns associated with the development of children with ASD. Parents of children with ASD (N = 22) were interviewed to explore three domains of their coparenting relationship; (1) adaptation to the emergence of their child's autism, (2) parenting their child with ASD, (3) expectations for their child's developmental outcomes. The concept of coparenting competence, developed during analysis, describes collective perceptions of parenting efficacy.

The King laryngeal tube: a mimic of esophageal intubation in the emergency department.

The King Airway is a temporary airway device used primarily in the pre-hospital setting and typically exchanged for an endotracheal tube upon arrival to the emergency department. Since this usually occurs before imaging, many radiologists are unfamiliar with the King Airway. This lack of familiarity can have important consequences for the patient and treating team.

Vital Signs: Update on Zika Virus-Associated Birth Defects and Evaluation of All U.S. Infants with Congenital Zika Virus Exposure - U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry, 2016.

Background: In collaboration with state, tribal, local, and territorial health departments, CDC established the U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry (USZPR) in early 2016 to monitor pregnant women with laboratory evidence of possible recent Zika virus infection and their infants.

The management and outcome for patients with chronic subdural hematoma: a prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study in the United Kingdom.

Objective: Symptomatic chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) will become an increasingly common presentation in neurosurgical practice as the population ages, but quality evidence is still lacking to guide the optimal management for these patients. The British Neurosurgical Trainee Research Collaborative (BNTRC) was established by neurosurgical trainees in 2012 to improve research by combining the efforts of trainees in each of the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland's neurosurgical units (NSUs). The authors present the first study by the BNTRC that describes current management and outcomes for patients with CSDH throughout the UK and Ireland.

Comparative surgical outcome associated with the management of brain arteriovenous malformation in a regional neurosurgical centre.

Objectives: Microsurgical resection of brain arteriovenous malformation (AVMs) is challenging, however, expert surgical series from large volume centres, have reported over 95% occlusion rates with 2 to 8% risk of morbidity & mortality. Data from a regional neurosurgical unit was analysed and compared with published series for the purposes of quality control. We also compared our surgical result with other treatment modalities from the whole AVM cohort managed over the same study period.

The ubiquity of asymptomatic respiratory viral infections in the tonsils and adenoids of children and their impact on airway obstruction.

Background: Airway obstruction due to enlargement of tonsils and adenoids is a common pediatric problem resulting in sleep disordered breathing. The cause for the relatively abnormal growth of tonsils and adenoids is poorly understood.

Methods: Non-acutely ill children undergoing tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (T&A) for various reasons were enrolled prospectively in a study to determine the frequency of asymptomatic respiratory viral infections in each lymphoid tissue and to relate the number and types of virus to the degree of airway obstruction.

10-Year Institutional Retrospective Case Series of Decompressive Craniectomy for Malignant Middle Cerebral Artery Infarction (mMCAI).

Background: A 10-year (2005-2015) retrospective case series of patients undergoing decompressive craniectomy for malignant middle cerebral artery infarction (mMCAI) was undertaken.

Methods: Patient demographics, comorbidities, pre- and postoperative neurologic state, operative timescales, craniectomy dimensions, and Glasgow Outcome Scale scores were analyzed.

Results: Overall 40 patients underwent a decompressive craniectomy for mMCAI with a 30-day mortality of 17.

Maintaining balance against force perturbations: impaired mechanisms unresponsive to levodopa in Parkinson's disease.

There is evidence that postural instability associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) is not adequately improved by levodopa, implying involvement of nondopaminergic pathways. However, the mechanisms contributing to postural instability have yet to be fully identified and tested for their levodopa responsiveness. In this report we investigate balance processes that resist external forces to the body when standing.

Comprehensive sector-wide strategies to prevent and control obesity: what are the potential health and broader societal benefits? A case study from Australia.

Aim: Several countries have recently established multistakeholder strategies to prevent or control overweight and obesity; however, studies have not yet been done on their effectiveness and likely impact. This study's objectives were to (i) explore sector-wide benefits and impacts likely to accrue from implementing an obesity prevention strategy in the Australian state of New South Wales; (ii) discuss the wider implications of the findings for research and practice; and (iii) strengthen the case for sustained implementation of a comprehensive, intersectoral approach.

Method: A case study approach, including evidence reviews and illustrative epidemiological models, was used to show potential benefits from meeting selected targets and objectives specified in the strategy.

A Phase 3 Randomized Trial of Nicotinamide for Skin-Cancer Chemoprevention.

Background: Nonmelanoma skin cancers, such as basal-cell carcinoma and squamous-cell carcinoma, are common cancers that are caused principally by ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Nicotinamide (vitamin B3) has been shown to have protective effects against damage caused by UV radiation and to reduce the rate of new premalignant actinic keratoses.

Methods: In this phase 3, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial, we randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, 386 participants who had had at least two nonmelanoma skin cancers in the previous 5 years to receive 500 mg of nicotinamide twice daily or placebo for 12 months.

Defending a traditional practice in the modern era: The use of lumbar puncture in the investigation of subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Introduction: Acute severe headache is a common medical presentation, and a common area of diagnostic uncertainty. Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is the cause in a minority of patients and has a high rate of morbidity and mortality. Therefore, its conclusive diagnosis with computed tomography (CT) or lumbar puncture (LP) is paramount.

Results of surgical clipping in a neurointerventional dominant department.

Objectives: It has been 10 years since the publication of International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial (ISAT) (1-3) and the first-line treatment for cerebral aneurysms in many UK neurosurgical centres is endovascular occlusion. Local audit has shown a significant reduction in surgical clipping cases since 2002, with a fall from over 150 cases per year pre ISAT, to approximately 25 cases per year currently. More so the cases referred for surgical occlusion represent more challenging lesions.

Spontaneous Resolution of Radiotherapy-induced Craniopharyngioma Cyst.

Craniopharyngioma cyst enlargement after surgery and radiation therapy is often presumed to represent a treatment failure, instigating further management strategies. We present an eight-year-old girl with a small intrasellar residuum post-resection who then developed cystic enlargement post-radiotherapy. With close surveillance, the cyst spontaneously resolved.

The Diagnosis and Management of Brain Arteriovenous Malformations in a Single Regional Center.

Background: Cerebral arteriovenous malformations are vascular abnormalities in which arteriovenous shunting occurs through an abnormal vascular network (nidus) in the parenchyma. These lesions typically present by the third decade of life with cerebral bleeding, seizures, headache, or neurologic deficits; however, they are sometimes found incidentally.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of intracranial AVMs referred to a single regional center, over a 7-year period, was performed to review the clinical presentation, pathologic features and management outcomes from January 2005 to December 2012.

Evaluation of the Balanced Menus Challenge: a healthy food and sustainability programme in hospitals in Maryland.

Objective: The Balanced Menus Challenge (BMC) is a national effort to bring the healthiest, most sustainably produced meat available into health-care settings to preserve antibiotic effectiveness and promote good nutrition. The present study evaluated the outcomes of the BMC in the Maryland/Washington, DC region.

Design: The BMC is a cost-effective programme whereby participating hospitals reduce meat purchases by 20 % of their budget, then invest the savings into purchasing sustainably produced meat.

Identification of a novel intertypic recombinant species D human adenovirus in a pediatric stem cell transplant recipient.

Background: Human adenoviruses (HAdV) are known opportunistic pathogens in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (SCT) recipients. The detection of HAdV infection in children after SCT has been implicated as a determinant of poor outcome but specific associations between HAdV species or individual HAdV types and disease are poorly understood.

Objectives: Characterization of a HAdV-D strain isolated from multiple clinical specimens of an 11-year-old female recipient of a matched unrelated donor peripheral SCT for T-cell lymphoma and case report.

Outcome after conservative management or intervention for unruptured brain arteriovenous malformations.

Importance: Whether conservative management is superior to interventional treatment for unruptured brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs) is uncertain because of the shortage of long-term comparative data.

Objective: To compare the long-term outcomes of conservative management vs intervention for unruptured bAVM.

Design, Setting, And Population: Population-based inception cohort study of 204 residents of Scotland aged 16 years or older who were first diagnosed as having an unruptured bAVM during 1999-2003 or 2006-2010 and followed up prospectively for 12 years.