Distinct pro-inflammatory/pro-angiogenetic signatures distinguish children with Long COVID from controls.

Background: Recent proteomic studies have documented that Long COVID in adults is characterized by a pro-inflammatory signature with thromboinflammation. However, if similar events happen also in children with Long COVID has never been investigated.

Methods: We performed an extensive protein analysis of blood plasma from pediatric patients younger than 19 years of age Long COVID and a control group of children with acute COVID-19, MIS-C, and healthy controls resulted similar for sex distribution and age.

Prenatal Diagnosis of Congenital Heart Disease in Liveborn Infants in the New England Region.

Prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease requiring early cardiac catheterization or surgical intervention enables optimal delivery planning for appropriate postnatal cardiovascular intervention and care. This allows for improved morbidity and mortality. Prior national data reported prenatal diagnosis rates of 32% for congenital heart disease requiring intervention in infants in the first 6 months of life in the New England region.

Tick-borne encephalitis vaccine uptake, effectiveness, and impact in Sweden from 2018 to 2022.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is an increasing health threat in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe. TBE vaccination is commonly recommended in Sweden, but limited data are available on uptake, effectiveness, and impact of TBE vaccination. General population surveys conducted in 2019-2022 were used to estimated TBE vaccine uptake.

Nutritional support in children treated for advanced adrenocortical carcinoma.

Purpose: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare, aggressive pediatric malignancy. Advanced ACC requires multimodal treatment, including surgery and systemic chemotherapy including cisplatin, etoposide, doxorubicin, and mitotane. This is associated with significant gastrointestinal toxicity, resulting in many patients being unable to complete scheduled therapy.

KorB switching from DNA-sliding clamp to repressor mediates long-range gene silencing in a multi-drug resistance plasmid.

Examples of long-range gene regulation in bacteria are rare and generally thought to involve DNA looping. Here, using a combination of biophysical approaches including X-ray crystallography and single-molecule analysis for the KorB-KorA system in Escherichia coli, we show that long-range gene silencing on the plasmid RK2, a source of multi-drug resistance across diverse Gram-negative bacteria, is achieved cooperatively by a DNA-sliding clamp, KorB, and a clamp-locking protein, KorA. We show that KorB is a CTPase clamp that can entrap and slide along DNA to reach distal target promoters up to 1.

Effects of surgical approach and downstaging in esophageal adenocarcinoma patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a 2010-2020 National Cancer Database (NCDB) study.

Background: Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation (nCRT) has been shown to improve survival in patients with Esophageal Adenocarcinoma (EAC). The objective of this study is to assess the patient characteristics associated with tumor downstaging in a large national database. Additionally, we evaluated surgical approach and change in clinical versus pathological staging as predictors of patient survival.

Sex-specific association between maternal childhood adversities and offspring's weight gain in a Brazilian cohort.

Maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to negative health and developmental outcomes in offspring. However, whether maternal ACEs influence infant weight gain in the first months of life, and if this effect differs by infant sex, remains unclear. This study included 352 full-term newborns from low-risk pregnancies and their mothers in low-income settings in Brazil.

Salt-in-presalt electrolyte solutions for high-potential non-aqueous sodium metal batteries.

Room-temperature non-aqueous sodium metal batteries are viable candidates for cost-effective and safe electrochemical energy storage. However, they show low specific energy and poor cycle life as the use of conventional organic-based non-aqueous electrolyte solutions enables the formation of interphases that cannot prevent degradations at the positive and negative electrodes. Here, to promote the formation of inorganic NaF-rich interphases on both negative and positive electrodes, we propose the salt-in-presalt (SIPS) electrolyte formulation strategy.

Investigating the association between human brainstem microstructural integrity and hypertension using magnetic resonance relaxometry.

The brainstem plays a vital role in regulating blood pressure, and disruptions to its neural pathways have been linked to hypertension. However, it remains unclear whether subtle microstructural changes in the brainstem are associated with an individual's blood pressure status. This exploratory, cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between brainstem microstructure, myelination, and hypertensive status in 116 cognitively unimpaired adults (aged 22-94 years).

Clinical spectrum of positional downbeat nystagmus: a diagnostic approach.

Positional downbeat nystagmus (pDBN) is a common finding in dizzy patients, with etiologies ranging from benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) to central vestibular lesions. Although peripheral pDBN often presents with distinct clinical features that differentiate it from BPPV, diagnosing its etiology can be challenging. A thorough clinical evaluation, including the physical characteristics of the nystagmus, response to positional maneuvers, and neurological findings, is often sufficient to diagnose conditions that provoke pDBN such as anterior canal BPPV, atypical posterior canal BPPV, and central causes.

Relationships between structural stigma, societal stigma, and minority stress among gender minority people.

Structural stigma towards gender minority (GM; people whose current gender does not align with sex assigned at birth) people is an important contributor to minority stress (i.e., stress experienced due to one's marginalized GM identity), although existing variables are unclear in their inclusion of social norms, or societal stigma, as a key component of the construct.

Classifying tumour infiltrating lymphocytes in oral squamous cell carcinoma histopathology using joint learning framework.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common form of oral cancer, with increasing global incidence and have poor prognosis. Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are recognized as a key prognostic indicator and play a vital role in OSCC grading. However, current methods for TILs quantification are based on subjective visual assessments, leading to inter-observer variability and inconsistent diagnostic reproducibility.

Identification of candidate genes involved in Zika virus-induced reversible paralysis of mice.

Zika virus (ZIKV) causes a variety of peripheral and central nervous system complications leading to neurological symptoms such as limb weakness. We used a mouse model to identify candidate genes potentially involved in causation or recovery from ZIKV-induced acute flaccid paralysis. Using Zikv and Chat chromogenic and fluorescence in situ RNA hybridization, electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and ZIKV RT-qPCR, we determined that some paralyzed mice had infected motor neurons, but motor neurons are not reduced in number and the infection was not present in all paralyzed mice; hence infection of motor neurons were not strongly correlated with paralysis.

Cushing syndrome.

Cushing syndrome (CS) is a constellation of signs and symptoms caused by excessive exposure to exogenous or endogenous glucocorticoid hormones. Endogenous CS is caused by increased cortisol production by one or both adrenal glands (adrenal CS) or by elevated adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secretion from a pituitary tumour (Cushing disease (CD)) or non-pituitary tumour (ectopic ACTH secretion), which stimulates excessive cortisol production. CS is associated with severe multisystem morbidity, including impaired cardiovascular and metabolic function, infections and neuropsychiatric disorders, which notably reduce quality of life.

Altered olfactory responses in Fmr1 KO mice.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder oftentimes associated with abnormal social behaviors and altered sensory responsiveness. It is hypothesized that the inappropriate filtering of sensory stimuli, including olfaction, can lead to aberrant social behavior in FXS. However, previous studies investigating olfaction in animal models of FXS have shown inconsistent results.

Characterizing safety, toxicity, and breast cancer risk reduction using a long-term fulvestrant eluting implant.

For individuals at high risk of developing breast cancer, interventions to mitigate this risk include surgical removal of their breasts and ovaries or five years treatment with the anti-estrogen tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors. We hypothesized that a silicone based anti-estrogen-eluting implant placed within the breast would provide the risk reduction benefit of hormonal therapy, but without the adverse effects that limit compliance. To this end, we demonstrate that when placed adjacent to mammary tissue in the 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-induced rat breast cancer model a fulvestrant-eluting implant delays breast cancer with minimal systemic exposure.

Skeletal abnormalities caused by a Connexin43 mutation in a mouse model for autosomal recessive craniometaphyseal dysplasia.

Craniometaphyseal dysplasia (CMD), a rare craniotubular disorder, occurs in an autosomal dominant (AD) or autosomal recessive (AR) form. CMD is characterized by hyperostosis of craniofacial bones and metaphyseal flaring of long bones. Many patients with CMD suffer from neurological symptoms.

Pharmacokinetics of remimazolam, midazolam and diazepam in sheep.

Objective: To model pharmacokinetics of three benzodiazepines and their metabolites in sheep.

Study Design: A nonblinded, prospective, experimental study.

Animals: A group of six adult Hampshire-Suffolk cross-bred sheep (three females, three castrated males), 73 ± 3 kg (mean ± standard deviation).

Alkaline urine is associated with increased risk of calcium phosphate nephrolithiasis in medically complex children receiving enteral nutrition.

Introduction: Calcium phosphate stones are commonly found in medically complex children (MCC) receiving enteral feeds. The objective of this study is to investigate the etiology for calcium phosphate stones in this patient population.

Study Design: This is a retrospective cohort study of gastrostomy fed, MCC who presented to a high-volume Pediatric Stone Center from 2015 to 2019.

Heterogeneity of the Treatment Effect with PARP Inhibitors in Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer: A Living Interactive Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background And Objective: Selection of patients harboring mutations in homologous recombination repair (HRR) genes for treatment with a PARP inhibitor (PARPi) is challenging in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). To gain further insight, we quantitatively assessed the differential efficacy of PARPi therapy among patients with mCRPC and different HRR gene mutations.

Methods: This living meta-analysis (LMA) was conducted using the Living Interactive Evidence synthesis framework.

Prevalence, Diagnosis, and Management of Stress Urinary Incontinence in Women: A Collaborative Review.

Background And Objective: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI), defined as any involuntary leakage of urine associated with physical activity, remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. This review aims to provide an updated overview of the prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment of SUI in women, drawing upon recent evidence-based literature and clinical guidelines.

Methods: A systematic search of the MEDLINE database was conducted to identify only the most up-to-date and relevant studies published up to February 26, 2024, including the reference ESTER systematic review.

Incidence and Outcomes of Secondary Bladder Cancer Following Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background And Objective: There is an established association between secondary bladder cancers (SBCs) and radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer (PC), which remains a significant concern. Our aim was to update the evidence on SBC incidence across different RT modalities and to compare oncological outcomes for patients diagnosed with SBC to those diagnosed with primary bladder cancer (PBC).

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science for studies on SBC following PC.

C. neoformans meningitis without pleocytosis, hyperproteinorrachia, and hypoglycorrhachia on cerebrospinal fluid studies.

Diagnosis of cryptococcal meningitis is typically aided through CSF analysis obtained via lumbar puncture (LP), revealing elevated WBCs, increased protein, decreased glucose, and increased opening pressure. While CSF culture confirms the diagnosis, it takes days, prompting reliance on these adjuncts. AIDS from Human Immunodeficiency Virus is less commonly diagnosed in the emergency setting due to advances in testing and treatment.

Erector spinae plane block for management of acute opioid withdrawal in the emergency department: A case report.

Background: Gastrointestinal symptoms of acute opioid withdrawal are distressing for patients and are often difficult to manage with conventional therapies. Insufficiently managed opioid withdrawal symptoms may lead patients to leave against medical advice, which can increase their risk of relapse and result in poor outcomes from untreated conditions. We assessed the impact of an erector spinae plane block on the acute gastrointestinal symptoms of opioid withdrawal.