Understanding Variation in Rotavirus Vaccine Effectiveness Estimates in the United States: The Role of Rotavirus Activity and Diagnostic Misclassification

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Understanding Variation in Rotavirus Vaccine Effectiveness Estimates in the United States: The Role of Rotavirus Activity and Diagnostic Misclassification via Epidemiology - Current Issue Background: Estimates of rotavirus vaccine effectiveness (VE) in the United States appear higher in years with more rotavirus activity. We hypothesized rotavirus VE is constant over time but appears to vary as a function of temporal variation in local rotavirus cases and/or misclassified diagnoses. Methods: We analyzed 6 years of data from eight US surveillance sites on 8- to 59-month olds with acute gastroenteritis symptoms. Children's stool samples were tested via enzyme immunoassay (EIA); rotavirus-positive results were confirmed with molecular testing at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We defined rotavirus gastroenteritis cases by either positive on-site EIA results alone or positive EIA with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmation. For each case definition, we estimated VE against any rotavirus gastroenteritis, moderate-to-severe disease, and hospitalization using two mixed-effect regression models: the first including year plus a year–vaccination interaction, and the second including the annual percent of rotavirus-positive tests plus a percent positive–vaccination interaction. We used multiple overimputation to bias-adjust for misclassification of cases defined by positive EIA alone. Results: Estimates of annual rotavirus VE against all outcomes fluctuated temporally, particularly when we defined cases by on-site EIA alone and used a year–vaccination interaction. Use of confirmatory testing to define cases reduced, but did not eliminate, fluctuations. Temporal fluctuations in VE estimates further attenuated when we used a percent positive–vaccination interaction. Fluctuations persisted until bias-adjustment for diagnostic misclassification. Conclusions: Both controlling for time-varying rotavirus activity and bias-adjusting for diagnostic misclassification are critical for estimating the most valid annual rotavirus VE. View on Web

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Complexity analysis of head movements in autistic toddlers

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Complexity analysis of head movements in autistic toddlers via Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry Background Early differences in sensorimotor functioning have been documented in young autistic children and infants who are later diagnosed with autism. Previous research has demonstrated that autistic toddlers exhibit more frequent head movement when viewing dynamic audiovisual stimuli, compared to neurotypical toddlers. To further explore this behavioral characteristic, in this study, computer vision (CV) analysis was used to measure several aspects of head movement dynamics of autistic and neurotypical toddlers while they watched a set of brief movies with social and nonsocial content presented on a tablet. Methods Data were collected from 457 toddlers, 17–36 months old, during their well-child visit to four pediatric primary care clinics. Forty-one toddlers were subsequently diagnosed with autism. An application (app) displayed several brief movies on a tablet, and the toddlers watched these movies while sitting on their caregiver's lap. The front-facing camera in the tablet recorded the toddlers' behavioral responses. CV was used to measure the participants' head movement rate, movement acceleration, and complexity using multiscale entropy. Results Autistic toddlers exhibited significantly higher rate, acceleration, and complexity in their head movements while watching the movies compared to neurotypical toddlers, regardless of the type of movie content (social vs. nonsocial). The combined features of head movement acceleration and complexity reliably distinguished the autistic and neurotypical toddlers. Conclusions Autistic toddlers exhibit differences in their head movement dynamics when viewing audiovisual stimuli. Higher complexity of their head movements suggests that their movements were less predictable and less stable compared to neurotypical toddlers. CV offers a scalable means of detecting subtle differences in head movement dynamics, which may be helpful in identifying early behaviors associated with autism and providing insight into the nature of sensorimotor differences associated with autism. View on Web

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Accuracy of reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction and loop‐mediated isothermal amplification in diagnosing severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Accuracy of reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction and loop‐mediated isothermal amplification in diagnosing severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome: A systematic review and meta‐analysis via Journal of Medical Virology Abstract Background Nucleic acid molecular diagnostic technology plays an important role in the detection of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS). However, no relevant reports have been published on the accuracy of reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) in the diagnosis of SFTS. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis and systematic review to evaluate the accuracy of the two methods. Methods On June 19, 2022, we comprehensively searched the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scoups, Ovid, Proquest, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Wan Fang Data, Traditional Chinese Medicine Database (Sinomed), VIP Database and Reading Showing Database for articles on nucleic acid diagnostic techniques, such as RT-PCR and RT-LAMP, used to diagnose SFTS. Statistical analysis was performed using STATA 14.0 and Meta-Disc 1.4. Results Sixteen a rticles involving 2942 clinical blood samples were included in the analysis. RT-PCR and RT-LAMP were used as index tests, whereas RT-PCR or other detection methods were used as reference standards. The pooled values for the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios of the RT-PCR test were 0.97 (95% CI: 0.92, 0.99), 1.00 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.00), 483.87 (95% CI: 58.04, 4033.76), and 0.03 (95% CI:0.01, 0.08) respectively. Those for the RT-LAMP test were 0.95 (95% CI: 0.91, 0.97), 0.99 (95% CI: 0.93, 1.00), 111.18 (95% CI: 13.96, 885.27), and 0.05 (95% CI: 0.03, 0.09), respectively. Conclusion Both RT-PCR and RT-LAMP have high diagnostic value in SFTS and can be applied in different scenarios for laboratory confirmation or on-site screening. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. View on Web

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ELANE neutropenia and solid tumors: Four cases from the French severe chronic neutropenia registry

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader ELANE neutropenia and solid tumors: Four cases from the French severe chronic neutropenia registry via Pediatric Blood & Cancer Abstract Neutropenia related to ELANE gene mutations predisposes patients to infection and leukemia/myelodysplasia, but little is known about the predisposition to cancer. Among a cohort of 147 patients, we identified four with malignant solid tumors (papillary thyroid cancer, anal squamous cell cancer, papillary renal cell carcinoma, and adrenocortical carcinoma), all aged 25–50 years. Three occurred with cyclic neutropenia, and one occurred with severe chronic neutropenia. Previous radiotherapy was identified as a risk factor in one patient. No genetic predisposition was identified in the three other patients. View on Web

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Middle Fossa Decompression for Recurrent Facial Palsy: Prevalence and Surgical Outcomes

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Middle Fossa Decompression for Recurrent Facial Palsy: Prevalence and Surgical Outcomes via The Laryngoscope Our study examined the facial nerve and audiometric outcomes of patients undergoing middle fossa decompression for recurrent facial nerve paresis. We found that facial nerve decompression for patients with incomplete functional recovery may be an effective treatment for decreasing the frequency and severity of facial palsy episodes. Objective To investigate the surgical outcomes in patients treated for recurrent facial nerve palsy (RFP) at a quaternary facial nerve referral center. Methods A retrospective chart review was performed on 132 patients with RFP who presented to our institution's facial nerve clinic from 2001 to 2021. Records were analyzed for etiology of palsy, facial nerve function, and recurrence rates. Pre- and post-operative audiometric outcomes were also assessed in surgically managed patients. Results 6.8% of RFP patients underwent surgical decompression. For patients who did not undergo surgery, the House-Brackmann (HB) score was 2.9 ± 1.3 (SD) at the initial clinic visit, and 2.4 ± 1.3 (SD) at the last clinic visit. This difference was significantly different (p = 0.01, t-test). For surgical patients, the pre-operative HB score was 2.9 ± 0.9 (SD) and post-operative HB score was 1.8 ± 0.6 (SD), which were significantly different (p = 0.01, t-test). The number of facial palsy episodes also decreased pre- and post-operatively from 3.5 ± 0.8 (SD) to 0.2 ± 0.4 (SD) episodes, which were significantly different (p < 0,001, t-test). Audiometric outcomes were not significantly different pre- and post-surgery (p = 0.31, t-test for PTA; p = 0.34, t-test for WRS). Conclusion Facial nerve decompression for RFP patients with incomplete functional recovery may be an effective treatment for decreasing the frequency and severity of facial palsy episodes. Level of Evidence 4 Laryngoscope, 2022 View on Web

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Discovery of novel 1,2,4‐triazole phenylalanine derivatives targeting an unexplored region within the interprotomer pocket of the HIV capsid protein

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Discovery of novel 1,2,4‐triazole phenylalanine derivatives targeting an unexplored region within the interprotomer pocket of the HIV capsid protein via Journal of Medical Virology Abstract HIV capsid (CA) protein is a promising target for developing novel anti-HIV drugs. Starting from highly anticipated CA inhibitors PF-74, we used scaffold hopping strategy to design a series of novel 1,2,4-triazole phenylalanine derivatives by targeting an unexplored region composed of residues 106-109 in HIV-1 CA hexamer. Compound d19 displayed excellent antiretroviral potency against HIV-1 and HIV-2 strains with EC50 values of 0.59 µM and 2.69 µM, respectively. Additionally, we show via surface plasmon resonance spectrometry (SPR) that d19 preferentially interacts with the hexameric form of CA, with a significantly improved hexamer/monomer specificity ratio (Ratio = 59) than PF-74 (Ratio = 21). Moreover, we show via SPR that d19 competes with CPSF-6 for binding to CA hexamers with IC50 value of 33.4 nM. Like PF-74, d19 inhibits the replication of HIV-1 NL4.3 pseudo typed virus in both early and late stages. In addition, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations provide binding mode information of d19 to HIV-1 CA and rationale for improved affinity and potency over PF-74. Overall, the lead compound d19 displays a distinct chemotype form PF-74, improved CA affinity, and anti-HIV potency. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. View on Web

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Necrotizing Sialometaplasia in a Medically Compromised Patient

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Necrotizing Sialometaplasia in a Medically Compromised Patient via JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery Current Issue This case report describes a woman in her 50s with type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and hypertensive kidney disease who presented with oral lesions with a duration of 1 month and was subsequently diagnosed with necrotizing sialometaplasia. View on Web

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Stimulation Rate and Voice Pitch Perception in Cochlear Implants

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Stimulation Rate and Voice Pitch Perception in Cochlear Implants via JARO - Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology via MedWorm.com We describe two experiments with 16 Nu cleus® CI users, where we controlled modulation characteristics and carrier rate using Spectral and Temporal Enhanced Processing (STEP), a novel experimental multichannel sound coder. We used a fixed set of threshold and comfortable stimulation levels for each subject, obtained from clinical MAPs. In the first experiment, we determined equivalence for voice pitch ranking and voice gender categorization between the Advanced Combination Encoder (ACE), a widely used clinical strategy in Nucleus® recipients, and STEP for fundamental frequencies (F0) 120–250 Hz. In the second experiment, loudn ess was determined as a function of the input amplitude of speech samples for carrier rates of 1000, 500, and 250 pps per channel. Then, using equally loud soun... View on Web

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Temporal Envelope Coding of the Human Auditory Nerve Inferred from Electrocochleography: Comparison with Envelope Following Responses

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Temporal Envelope Coding of the Human Auditory Nerve Inferred from Electrocochleography: Comparison with Envelope Following Responses via JARO - Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology via MedWorm.com AbstractNeural coding of the slow amplitude fluctuations of sound (i.e., temporal envelope) is thought to be essential for speech understanding; however, such coding by the human auditory nerve is poorly understood. Here, neural coding of the temporal envelope by the human auditory nerve is inferred from measurements of the compound action potential in response to an amplitude modulated carrier (CAPENV) for modulation frequencies ranging from 20 to 1000  Hz. The envelope following response (EFR) was measured simultaneously with CAPENV from active electrodes placed on the high forehead and tympanic membrane, respectively. Results support the hypothesis that phase locking to higher modulation frequencies (>  80 Hz) will be stronger for CAPENV, compared to EFR, consistent with the uppe... View on Web

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Regenerative endodontic therapy for external lateral inflammatory resorption following traumatic dental injuries. Evidence assessment of best practices

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Regenerative endodontic therapy for external lateral inflammatory resorption following traumatic dental injuries. Evidence assessment of best practices via International Endodontic Journal Abstract Introduction External inflammatory resorption (EIR) following dental trauma is often caused by an injury to the lining of the cementoblasts and to the non-mineralized tissues (i.e., precementum) covering the root surface. Although EIR frequently occurs apically, it can also develop on the lateral root surfaces, which is termed external inflammatory lateral resorption (EILR). ELIR is a severe complication that can lead to significant root loss and tooth extraction. Aim The aim of this project was to review the current evidence in the literature on regenerative endodontic therapy (RET) for ELIR following traumatic injuries and assess the best treatment practices. Methodology Publications appearing in PubMed electronic database, from January 1, 2001 to January 9, 2022 were studied. Inclusion criteria were: (a) Publications in the English language; (b) Publications on regenerative endodontic therapy and ELIR; (c) Teeth subjected to dental trauma; and (d) Presence of intracanal bleeding and blood clots. Exclusion criteria were: (a) Conference proceedings; (b) Lectures; (c) Abstracts and (d) Letters to the editor; (e) Publications not in the English language. Additionally, a manual search was conducted. The data collected was analysed, and a descriptive statistical analysis was performed. Results A total of 355 publications were analysed, of which 9 met all inclusion criteria, which comprised of case reports and case series studies. In 10 (58.8%) teeth, Triple Antibiotic Paste (TAP) was used for an average of 26 days. Double Antibiotic Paste (DAP) was used in 3 (17.6 %) teeth for an average of 14 days. In 3 (17.6 %) cases, calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) was used as intracanal medication for 14 days and negative pressure irrigation was applied once on 1 (6 %) tooth. Conclusions RET demonstrated a good treatment modality producing biologic repair and improving prognosis in cases of ELIR in post-traumatic tooth/pulp injuries. Hence, a meticulous follow up should be conducted when RET is performed in order to identify treatment failure and substitute it with long-term Ca(OH)2 root canal dressing. The key limitation in our review is that all publications included were either case reports or case series that usually tend to report successful outcome. View on Web

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