Gut Microbiome Changes Occurring with Norovirus Infection and Recovery in Infants Enrolled in a Longitudinal Birth Cohort in Leon,Nicaragua

Noroviruses are associated with one fifth of diarrheal illnesses globally and are not yet preventable with vaccines. Little is known about the effects of norovirus infection on infant gut microbiome health, which has a demonstrated role in protecting hosts from pathogens and a possible role in oral vaccine performance. In this study, we characterized infant gut microbiome changes occurring with norovirus-associated acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and the extent of recovery. Metagenomic sequencing was performed on the stools of five infants participating in a longitudinal birth cohort study conducted in León, Nicaragua. Taxonomic and functional diversities of gut microbiomes were profiled at time points before, during, and after norovirus infection. Initially, the gut microbiomes resembled those of breastfeeding infants, rich in probiotic species. When disturbed by AGE, Gammaproteobacteria dominated, particularly Pseudomonas species. Alpha diversity increased but the genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism and glycan biosynthesis decreased. After the symptoms subsided, the gut microbiomes rebounded with their taxonomic and functional communities resembling those of the pre-infection microbiomes. In this study, during disruptive norovirus-associated AGE, the gut microbiome was temporarily altered, returning to a pre-infection composition a median of 58 days later. Our study provides new insights for developing probiotic treatments and furthering our understanding of the role that episodes of AGE have in shaping the infant gut microbiome, their long-term outcomes, and implications for oral vaccine effectiveness.     

Secondary biogenic amine deficiencies: genetic etiology,therapeutic interventions,and clinical effects

neurogenetics - Monoamine neurotransmitter disorders present predominantly with neurologic features, including dystonic or dyskinetic cerebral palsy and movement disorders. Genetic conditions that...     

Epidemiologic and Genomic Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant Superspreading Event in Nightclub,the Netherlands,June 2021

We report a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 superspreading event in the Netherlands after distancing rules were lifted in nightclubs, despite requiring a negative test or vaccination. This occurrence illustrates the potential for rapid dissemination of variants in largely unvaccinated populations under such conditions. We detected subsequent community transmission of this strain.     

Abstracts from the XIIth Scientific Meeting of the Argentine Society of Arterial Hypertension

Epidemiologic Survillance of Cardiovascular Disease Mollar G, Cavalieri L, Galarza C, Waisman G, Beratarrechea A, Petrlik E, Langlois E, Soriano F, Marchetti M, and Gonzalez B de Quirós F Programas Médicos de Plan de Salud del Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires

To enhance efficacy of health care, surveillance activities are required, especially with chronic prevalent diseases. Epidemiologic surveillance allows US to quantify and qualify health problems, settle priorities, identify high risk groups, manage and monitor health care systems, detect frequency changes in events, and assess performance of prevention and disease management programs. We have developed a surveillance system that identifies and reports daily on patients having cardiovascular disease (CVD) who are uncontrolled.

Objective: To evaluate the accomplishment of blood pressure (BP) measurement in people with CVD belonging to a health care system included in an epidemiological surveillance list.

Design: Cohort study between 1/1/2004 and 9/1/2004.

Methods: Patients 60 years old or older identified by surveillance system during the first term of 2004, were followed up. Patients were identified as having CVD through electronic medical record using international classification for primary attention (ICPA).

Patients are reported by the software system when presenting any of the following criteria: no blood pressure record during the past 6 months, blood pressure above 140/90 in the last record, and if diabetic A1C above 7.5%.

The connection with the appointment system allowed us to detect previously the patient’s attendance and, 15 min before his or her medical appointment, send the patient to be examined by the executors of a chronic disease program, according to the JNC VII guidelines.

The BP measurement is a common intervention to most chronic diseases because it increases cardiovascular risk, hence it is considered a process indicator of the surveillance system.

Results: Of the 24,411 patients having CVD, 5506 (26%) were listed during the first term, mean age was 74 years and 65% were female. By the end of 2004, 4660 (85%) patients had blood pressure recorded with an average values of 136.76 mmHg for systolic and 77.51 for diastolic blood pressure. Blood pressure was assessed three times in average.

Conclusion: Surveillance system allowed identifying of and intervening in a high proportion of patients.     

Multiphoton microscopy for pre-clinical evaluation of flow-diverter stents for treating aneurysms

BackgroundConventional histological analyses are the gold standard for the study of aneurysms and vascular pathologies in pre-clinical research. Over the past decade, in vivo and ex vivo imaging using multiphoton microscopy have emerged as powerful pre-clinical tools for detailed tissue analyses that can assess morphology, the extracellular matrix (ECM), cell density and vascularisation. Multiphoton microscopy allows for deeper tissue penetration with minor phototoxicity.ObjectiveThe present study aimed to demonstrate the current status of multimodality imaging, including multiphoton microscopy, for detailed analyses of neo-endothelialisation and ECM evolution after flow-diverter stent (FDS) treatment in an experimental rabbit model of aneurysms.MethodsMultiphoton microscopy tools for assessing autofluorescence and second harmonic generation (SHG) signals from biological tissues were used to evaluate the endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms in an animal model of aneurysms (pig, rabbit). Results from multiphoton microscopy were compared to those from standard histology, electronic and bright field microscopy.ConclusionsThe present study describes novel evaluation modes based on multiphoton microscopy for visualising tissue morphology (e.g., collagen, elastin, and cells) to qualify and quantify the extent of neo-intimal formation of covered arteries and device integration into the arterial wall using a rabbit model of intracranial aneurysms treated with FDS.     

Development of the PedsQL? sickle cell disease module items: qualitative methods

Purpose  

The objective of this qualitative study was to develop the items and support the content validity of the PedsQL™ Sickle Cell Disease Module for pediatric patients with sickle cell disease (SCD).     

Recent Developments in Health Care Law: Culture and Controversy

This article reviews recent developments in health care law, focusing on controversy at the intersection of health care law and culture. The article addresses: emerging issues in federal regulatory oversight of the rapidly developing market in direct-to-consumer genetic testing, including questions about the role of government oversight and professional mediation of consumer choice; continuing controversies surrounding stem cell research and therapies and the implications of these controversies for healthcare institutions; a controversy in India arising at the intersection of abortion law and the rights of the disabled but implicating a broader set of cross-cultural issues; and the education of U.S. health care providers and lawyers in the theory and practice of cultural competency.