Predictive modeling of consecutive intravenous immunoglobulin treatment resistance in Kawasaki disease: A nationwide study.

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a leading cause of acquired heart disease in children, often resulting in coronary artery complications such as dilation, aneurysms, and stenosis. While intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is effective in reducing immunologic inflammation, 10-15% of patients do not respond to initial therapy, and some show resistance even after two consecutive treatments. Predicting which patients will not respond to these two IVIG treatments is crucial for guiding treatment strategies and improving outcomes.

MAP4 kinase-regulated reduced CLSTN1 expression in medulloblastoma is associated with increased invasiveness.

De-regulated protein expression contributes to tumor growth and progression in medulloblastoma (MB), the most common malignant brain tumor in children. MB is associated with impaired differentiation of specific neural progenitors, suggesting that the deregulation of proteins involved in neural physiology could contribute to the transformed phenotype in MB. Calsynthenin 1 (CLSTN1) is a neuronal protein involved in cell-cell interaction, vesicle trafficking, and synaptic signaling.

Evaluation of self-collected dried blood spots for detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibodies shows low sensitivity.

Background And Aims: Dried blood spots (DBS) have been proposed as a cost-effective surveillance method for population-wide screening of SARS-CoV-2 immunity but sensitivity of DBS based on self-collected DBS samples is unknown. To evaluate the success of vaccination strategies, it is necessary to differentiate vaccination from natural infection. Therefore, a test for antibodies against the viral nucleocapsid protein (anti-N) is desirable.

Serially quantifying TERT rearrangement breakpoints in circulating tumor DNA enables minimal residual disease monitoring in patients with neuroblastoma.

Telomerase is reactivated by genomic TERT rearrangements in ~30% of diagnosed high-risk neuroblastomas. Dismal patient prognosis results if the RAS/MAPK/ALK signaling transduction network also harbors mutations. We present a liquid biopsy-based monitoring strategy for this particularly vulnerable pediatric patient subgroup, for whom real-time molecular diagnostic tools are limited to date.

Achievements, priorities and strategies in pediatric nephrology in Europe: need for unifying approaches or acceptance of differences?

Background: There is a lack of information on the current healthcare systems for children with kidney diseases across Europe. The aim of this study was to explore the different national approaches to the organization and delivery of pediatric nephrology services within Europe.

Methods: In 2020, the European society for Paediatric Nephrology (ESPN) conducted a cross-sectional survey to identify the existing pediatric nephrology healthcare systems in 48 European countries covering a population of more than 200 million children.

Corrigendum to "Identifying treatment non-responders based on pre-treatment gait characteristics - A machine learning approach." [Volume , Issue 11, November 2023, e21242].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.

The structure, role, and procedures of Korean expert committee on immunization practices.

Vaccination is a cornerstone of public health, preventing infectious diseases with significant contribution to human health. In South Korea, the Korea Expert Committee on Immunization Practices (KECIP) plays a pivotal role in guiding national vaccination policies. In this comprehensive review, we investigated the history, legal basis, operation, and achievements of the KECIP, highlighting its critical role in shaping the country's successful vaccination program.

Phosphorylation of a nuclear condensate regulates cohesion and mRNA retention.

Nuclear speckles are membraneless organelles that associate with active transcription sites and participate in post-transcriptional mRNA processing. During the cell cycle, nuclear speckles dissolve following phosphorylation of their protein components. Here, we identify the PP1 family as the phosphatases that counteract kinase-mediated dissolution.

Cerebellar hemorrhage in neonates: pattern analysis by ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Cerebellar hemorrhage in neonates is increasingly being identified but is still underdiagnosed. While magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the optimal imaging modality for cerebellar hemorrhage evaluation, ultrasonography (US) is commonly used for screening. Characterizing the patterns and distribution of cerebellar hemorrhage lesions can help facilitate its detection by aiding to focus on prevailing type of cerebellar hemorrhage.

ZIC1 is a context-dependent medulloblastoma driver in the rhombic lip.

Transcription factors are frequent cancer driver genes, exhibiting noted specificity based on the precise cell of origin. We demonstrate that ZIC1 exhibits loss-of-function (LOF) somatic events in group 4 (G4) medulloblastoma through recurrent point mutations, subchromosomal deletions and mono-allelic epigenetic repression (60% of G4 medulloblastoma). In contrast, highly similar SHH medulloblastoma exhibits distinct and diametrically opposed gain-of-function mutations and copy number gains (20% of SHH medulloblastoma).

Transplant and Nontransplant Salvage Therapy in Pediatric Relapsed or Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma: The EuroNet-PHL-R1 Phase 3 Nonrandomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The current standard-of-care salvage therapy in relapsed/refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) includes consolidation high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT)/autologous stem cell transplant (aSCT).

Objective: To investigate whether presalvage risk factors and fludeoxyglucose-18 (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) response to reinduction chemotherapy can guide escalation or de-escalation between HDCT/aSCT or transplant-free consolidation with radiotherapy to minimize toxic effects while maintaining high cure rates.

Design, Setting, And Participants: EuroNet-PHL-R1 was a nonrandomized clinical trial that enrolled patients younger than 18 years with first relapsed/refractory cHL across 68 sites in 13 countries in Europe between January 2007 and January 2013.

Wilms tumor primary cultures capture phenotypic heterogeneity and facilitate preclinical screening.

Wilms tumors (WT) are characterized by variable contributions of blastemal, epithelial and stromal elements, reflecting their diverse cellular origins and genetic drivers. In vitro models remain rare, despite a growing need to better characterize tumor biology and evaluate new treatments. Using three approaches, we have now established a large collection of long-term cultures that represent this diversity.

Incorporating spatial information in deep learning parameter estimation with application to the intravoxel incoherent motion model in diffusion-weighted MRI.

In medical image analysis, the utilization of biophysical models for signal analysis offers valuable insights into the underlying tissue types and microstructural processes. In diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI), a major challenge lies in accurately estimating model parameters from the acquired data due to the inherently low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the signal measurements and the complexity of solving the ill-posed inverse problem. Conventional model fitting approaches treat individual voxels as independent.

Scalp high-frequency oscillation spatial distribution is consistent over consecutive nights, while rates vary with antiseizure medication changes.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate two key aspects of scalp high-frequency oscillations (HFOs) in pediatric focal lesional epilepsy: (1) the stability of scalp HFO spatial distribution across consecutive nights, and (2) the variation in scalp HFO rates in response to changes in antiseizure medication (ASM).

Methods: We analyzed 81 whole-night scalp electroencephalography (EEG) recordings from 20 children with focal lesional epilepsy. We used a previously validated automated HFO detector to assess scalp HFO rates (80-250 Hz) during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep.

Systematic follow-ups were not associated with reduced acute ventriculoperitoneal shunt dysfunction in infancy.

Aim: Hydrocephalus surgery with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt is a life-saving treatment, but it has been associated with a high risk of dysfunction and complications. We investigated whether infants who received a ventriculoperitoneal shunt below 12 months of age had a reduced risk of acute shunt dysfunction if they were included in a structured follow-up programme.

Methods: A population-based, retrospective chart review was performed at Uppsala University Children's Hospital, Sweden.

Clinical characteristics and serological profiles of Lyme disease in children: a 15-year retrospective cohort study in Switzerland.

Background: Lyme disease (LD) is caused by and is the most common tickborne disease in the northern hemisphere. Although classical characteristics of LD are well-known, the diagnosis and treatment are often delayed. Laboratory diagnosis by serological testing is recommended for most LD manifestations.

VIPAS39 related arthrogryposis-renal dysfunction-cholestasis syndrome-case report and systematic review.

Background: Arthrogryposis-renal dysfunction-cholestasis (ARC) syndrome, a rare autosomal recessive disorder, exhibits genetic heterogeneity with the VIPAS39 gene pathological variants being a distinct contributor.

Results: We present two related patients from Kosovo, describing the clinical, genetic, and therapeutic aspects of the syndrome. The identified novel VIPAS39 pathological variants (c.

Treatment Outcomes in Children With Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia: A Single Institutional Experience.

Background And Objectives: Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is a life-threatening inherited arrhythmogenic disorder. Recently, , the major CPVT-causative gene, was associated with neuropsychiatric manifestations. We aimed to analyze the clinical presentations, neuropsychiatric manifestations, and treatment outcomes of children with CPVT.

- a large-scale dataset of 3D medical shapes for computer vision.

Objectives: The shape is commonly used to describe the objects. State-of-the-art algorithms in medical imaging are predominantly diverging from computer vision, where voxel grids, meshes, point clouds, and implicit surface models are used. This is seen from the growing popularity of ShapeNet (51,300 models) and Princeton ModelNet (127,915 models).

Forgetting is comparable between healthy young and old people.

Aging is typically associated with declines in episodic memory, executive functions, and sleep quality. Therefore, the sleep-dependent stabilization of episodic memory is suspected to decline during aging. This might reflect in accelerated long-term forgetting, which refers to normal learning and retention over hours, yet an abnormal retention over nights and days.

Liver Cirrhosis as a Predictor of Infection Risk in Patients Undergoing Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Surgery: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD).

BACKGROUND Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt surgery is a widely used procedure for managing hydrocephalus; however, postoperative infections remain a serious complication, increasing morbidity and mortality. Known risk factors include prior surgeries, steroid use, and concurrent procedures. However, the role of liver cirrhosis, a condition that compromises immune function and predisposes patients to infections, has not been fully investigated in the context of neurosurgery.

Early detection of bacterial pneumonia by characteristic induced odor signatures.

Introduction: The ability to detect pathogenic bacteria before the onsets of severe respiratory symptoms and to differentiate bacterial infection allows to improve patient-tailored treatment leading to a significant reduction in illness severity, comorbidity as well as antibiotic resistance. As such, this study refines the application of the non-invasive Secondary Electrospray Ionization-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (SESI-HRMS) methodology for real-time and early detection of human respiratory bacterial pathogens in the respiratory tract of a mouse infection model.

Methods: A real-time analysis of changes in volatile metabolites excreted by mice undergoing a lung infection by Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pneumoniae were evaluated using a SESI-HRMS instrument.

Assessment of the safety and gut microbiota modulation ability of an infant formula containing Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis CP-9 or Lactobacillus salivarius AP-32 and the effects of the formula on infant growth outcomes: insights from a four-month clinical study in infants under two months old.

Background: Breast milk is a natural treasure for infants, and its microbiota contains a rich array of bacterial species. When breastfeeding is not possible, infant formula with probiotics can be used as a sole source or as a breast milk supplement. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the growth outcomes and tolerance of infants consuming an infant formula containing Bifidobacterium animalis ssp.

Unifocalization of Major Aortopulmonary Collateral Arteries (MAPCAs) and Native Pulmonary Arteries in Infancy-Application of 3D Printing and Virtual Reality.

Background: Major aortopulmonary collateral arteries (MAPCAs) are rare remnants of pulmonary circulation embryological development usually associated with complex congenital anomalies of the right ventricular outflow tract and pulmonary arteries. Effective management requires surgical unifocalization of MAPCAs and native pulmonary arteries (NPAs). Traditional imaging may lack the spatial clarity needed for precise surgical planning.

The Introduction of a New Mobile Driving Unit for a Ventricular Assist Device in a Pediatric Patient (EXCOR Active).

Pediatric patients supported by extracorporeal ventricular assist devices traditionally require long-term stationary inpatient settings. Limited mobility and permanent hospitalization significantly reduce their quality of life. Berlin Heart address this with their novel mobile driving unit, EXCOR Active.