Effects of neutrophil extracellular traps during human respiratory syncytial virus infection in vitro

The human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) is the most common cause of severe lower respiratory tract diseases in young children worldwide, leading to a high number of hospitalizations and significant expenditures for health systems. Neutrophils are massively recruited to the lung tissue of patients with acute respiratory diseases. At the infection site, they release neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) that can capture and/or inactivate different types of microorganisms, including viruses. Evidence has shown that the accumulation of NETs results in direct cytotoxic effects on endothelial and epithelial cells. Neutrophils stimulated by the hRSV-F protein generate NETs that are able to capture hRSV particles, thus reducing their transmission. However, the massive production of NETs obstructs the airways and increases disease severity. Therefore, further knowledge about the effects of NETs during hRSV infections is essential for the development of new specific and effective treatments. This study evaluated the effects of NETs on the previous or posterior contact with hRSV-infected Hep-2 cells. Hep-2 cells were infected with different hRSV multiplicity of infection (MOI 0.5 or 1.0), either before or after incubation with NETs (0.5–16 μg/mL). Infected and untreated cells showed decreased cellular viability and intense staining with trypan blue, which was accompanied by the formation of many large syncytia. Previous contact between NETs and cells did not result in a protective effect. Cells in monolayers showed a reduced number and area of syncytia, but cell death was similar in infected and non-treated cells. The addition of NETs to infected tissues maintained a similar virus-induced cell death rate and an increased syncytial area, indicating cytotoxic and deleterious damages. Our results corroborate previously reported findings that NETs contribute to the immunopathology developed by patients infected with hRSV.

The clinical back pain courses described by information available in Danish central registries

Background Patients with back pain are often in contact with 2–4 hospital departments when receiving a back pain diagnosis and treatment. This complicates the entire clinical course description. There is, currently, no model that describes the course across departments for patients with back pain. This study aims to construct an interdisciplinary clinical course using the central register’s information. Methods All patients with back pain referred for diagnosis and treatment at the Spine Center of Southern Denmark from 1 January 2011 until 31 December 2017 were included. By means of information available in central registers, we described the interdisciplinary clinical course for the individual patient, including information on all contacts at different departments, and proposed three different models to define the index and final date. The index date was defined as the first visit without a previous contact to the Spine Center for 6 months for model I, 1 year for model II, and 2 years for model III. The final date was defined as the last visit without following contacts for 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years, respectively, for models I, II, and III. Results A total of 69,564 patients (male: n = 30,976) with back pain diagnosis were identified. The three models all leave the information on the entire course at the hospital. In model I (64,757 clinical back pain courses), the time span to a possible previous clinical course is too short to secure the start of a new course (14% had two or more). With at least 1 year between a possible previous contact, model II (60,914 courses) fits the everyday clinical practice (9% had two or more clinical back pain courses). In model III (60,173 courses) it seems that two independent courses might be connected in the same course as only 5% had two or more clinical back pain courses. Conclusions Despite contact with different departments, the clinical course for back pain patients can be described by information from the central registers. A one-year time interval fits best the clinicians’ everyday observations.

ESTUDO DE CASO DE UMA PACIENTE COM TRANSTORNO DO ESPECTRO AUTISTA, COM BASE NO PRONTUÁRIO ODONTOLÓGICO DA FAESA

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are complex disorders that involve a patient's neurological development. They are characterized by changes in social interaction, language and motricity, as well as stereotypical and repetitive behaviors. Patients may also present hypersensitivity to loud noises and bright lights. To answer specific anamnesis for patients with ASD, also taking into account patients' information that don't fit in Kanner's classic description. The chosen method was the Descriptive Case Study model, established through filling a specific anamnesis directed at a patient with ASD. The Odontological Medical Record of the clinic at FAESA was the basis for the data collection. It was not possible to answer many of the questions in the anamnesis from the data available on the medical records. Most of the questions were answered through previous contact with the patient. Other questions could not be answered by any means. A specific anamnesis for ASD patients should be included during treatment at FAESA's clinics for Patients with Special Needs. Treatment of patients with autism is still a great challenge for dental surgeons, since it requires knowledge of the problem and specific, objective techniques to cause the least possible trauma.

Microarray-Based Detection of Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Proteins, Common Respiratory Viruses and Type I Interferons

A microarray-based assay to detect IgG and IgM antibodies against betacoronaviruses (SARS-CoV-2, SARS, MERS, OC43, and HKU1), other respiratory viruses and type I interferons (IFN-Is) was developed. This multiplex assay was applied to track antibody cross-reactivity due to previous contact with similar viruses and to identify antibodies against IFN-Is as the markers for severe COVID-19. In total, 278 serum samples from convalescent plasma donors, COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) and patients who recovered from mild/moderate COVID-19, vaccine recipients, prepandemic and pandemic patients with autoimmune endocrine disorders, and a heterogeneous prepandemic cohort including healthy individuals and chronically ill patients were analyzed. The anti-SARS-CoV-2 microarray results agreed well with the ELISA results. Regarding ICU patients, autoantibodies against IFN-Is were detected in 10.5% of samples, and 10.5% of samples were found to simultaneously contain IgM antibodies against more than two different viruses. Cross-reactivity between IgG against the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid and IgG against the OC43 and HKU1 spike proteins was observed, resulting in positive signals for the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid in prepandemic samples from patients with autoimmune endocrine disorders. The presence of IgG against the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid in the absence of IgG against the SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD should be interpreted with caution.

Microarray-based detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 proteins, common respiratory viruses and type I interferons

A microarray-based assay to detect IgG and IgM antibodies against betacoronaviruses (SARS-CoV-2, SARS, MERS, OC43, and HKU1), other respiratory viruses and type I interferons (IFN-Is) was developed. This multiplex assay was applied to track antibody cross-reactivity due to previous contact with similar viruses and to identify antibodies against IFN-Is as the markers for severe COVID-19. In total, 278 serum samples from convalescent plasma donors, COVID-19 pa-tients in the intensive care unit (ICU) and patients who recovered from mild/moderate COVID-19, vaccine recipients, prepandemic and pandemic patients with autoimmune endocrine disorders, and a heterogeneous prepandemic cohort including healthy individuals and chronically ill patients were analyzed. The anti-SARS-CoV-2 microarray results agreed well with the ELISA results. Regarding ICU patients, autoantibodies against IFN-Is were detected in 10.5% of samples, and 10.5% of samples were found to simultaneously contain IgM antibodies against more than two different viruses. Cross-reactivity between IgG against the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid and IgG against the OC43 and HKU1 spike proteins was observed, resulting in positive signals for the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid in prepandemic samples from patients with autoimmune endocrine disorders. The presence of IgG against the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid in the absence of IgG against the SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD should be interpreted with caution.

Variation of Small and Large Wild Bee Communities Under Honeybee Pressure in Highly Diverse Natural Habitats

During the study, the honeybee effects on wild bees were tested and hypothesized that smaller distances from beehives will increase competitions between honeybees and wild bees, while greater distances will have a deleterious effect on competition. The impact on species richness and diversity was tested with distances from beehives, considering that this may differ when large and small wild bee species are considered separately. Altogether 158 species and 13,164 individuals were collected, from which 72% (9,542 individuals) were Apis mellifera. High variation in abundances was detected from one year to another, and the species turnover by sites was 67% in site A, 66% in site V, and 63% in site F. This last one was the site with the previous contact with honeybees. Considering distances from beehives, significant decreases in small bee species diversity were detected from one year to another at each distance except site F, 250 m from hives. The changes in species diversity and community structure of small bee species are detected from one year to another.

Clinical and Epidemiological Features of Tuberculous Pleural Effusion in Alicante, Spain

We aimed to (1) evaluate the incidence of tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) over 25 years in our centre; (2) measure the yield of different diagnostic techniques; (3) compare TPE features between immigrant and native patients. Retrospective study of patients who underwent diagnostic thoracentesis and pleural biopsy in our hospital between 1995 and 2020. TPE was diagnosed in 71 patients (65% natives, 35% immigrants). Onset was acute in 35%, subacute in 26% and prolonged in 39%. Radiological features were atypical in 42%. Thoracentesis specimens were lymphocyte-predominant in 84.5% of patients, with elevated adenosine deaminase in 75% of patients. Diagnostic yield of pleural biopsy was 78%. Compared with native patients, more immigrants had previous contact with TB (54% vs. 17%, p = 0.001), prior TB (21% vs. 4%, p < 0.02) and atypical radiological features (58% vs. 34%, p < 0.03). TPE incidence was six times higher in the immigrant population (6.7 vs. 1.1 per 100,000 person-years, p < 0.001). TPE has an acute onset and sometimes atypical radiological features. Pleural biopsy has the highest diagnostic yield. Reactivation, prior contact with TB, atypical radiological features, complications, and positive microbiology results are more common in immigrant patients.

Developing and validating a prediction model for frequent attenders at a Swedish emergency department using an electronic medical record system, a retrospective observational study

Background: Frequent attenders (FA) account for a significant number of emergency department (ED) visits but to date there is no prediction model to identify patients at risk of becoming a FA. The aim of this research was to identify and describe FA using readily available data provided by electronic medical records and create a prediction model to identify future FA Method: Adults ≥18 years that visited the ED during 2015 were included. Patients with ≥4 visits were defined as FA, and patients with ≤3 visits were placed in the control group. Numerous variables were analyzed and differences between the groups compared. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the predictor variables and the model validated using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) on an independent sample. Results: 6635 patients were included in developing the model: 15.3 (n=1012) were classified as FA and 15.4 (n=1011) as the control group. Variables associated with at risk of becoming a FA were the following: age above 60 years OR 1.52 [CI 1.27 – 1.82], ED arrival by ambulance or helicopter OR 1.31 [CI 1.08 – 1.58], sheltered living OR 3.82 [CI 2.37 – 6.17], previous contact with psychiatric department OR 1.52 [CI 1.23 – 1.89], 10 outpatient care visits or more OR 4.81 [CI 3.81 – 6.08] and 10 outpatient care physician visits or more OR 3.94 [CI 3.25 – 4.78]. The ROC in the validation set had an area under the curve of 0.85 [CI 0.84 – 0.86]. Conclusion: Data from electronic medical record software can be used to create and validate the risk of becoming a FA in the ED. We found that age over 60 years, ED arrival by ambulance or helicopter, sheltered living, previous contact with psychiatric departments, and frequent visits at outpatient care together predict the risk of becoming a FA.

The Positive Impact of Joint Activities on Students Attitudes Toward Peers With Disabilities

Background: Attitudes toward peers with disabilities play a crucial role in implementing inclusive education. This study examines how students' attitudes are associated with gender; having relatives with disabilities and the frequency of contact with them; attending a class that includes students with special educational needs (SEN); and having previous contact with SEN students through joint activities.Methods and Procedures: The participants included 652 elementary school students (grades 4–6) who completed a short version of the Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes Toward Children with Handicaps (CATCH) questionnaire in Arabic.Outcomes and Results: Students in inclusive classes express more positive attitudes in comparison with students in regular classes. However, previous contact through joint activities was associated with more positive attitudes. Females were more likely to hold positive views than males. Having relatives with disabilities had no effect; however, a high frequency of contact with them was associated with more positive perspectives.Conclusions and Implications: The findings on students' attitudes indicate that joint activities between students with and without disabilities are important to promote positive attitudes. Planned opportunities to increase frequent contact, and to promote joint activities between students with and without SEN are recommended.

Brain–computer interface for electric wheelchair based on alpha waves of EEG signal

Objectives Helping patients suffering from serious neurological diseases that lead to hindering the independent movement is of high social importance and an interdisciplinary challenge for engineers. Brain–computer interface (BCI) interfaces based on the electroencephalography (EEG) signal are not easy to use as they require time consuming multiple electrodes montage. We aimed to contribute in bringing BCI systems outside the laboratories so that it could be more accessible to patients, by designing a wheelchair fully controlled by an algorithm using alpha waves and only a few electrodes. Methods The set of eight binary words are designed, that allow to move forward, backward, turn right and left, rotate 45° as well as to increase and decrease the speed of the wheelchair. Our project includes: development of a mobile application which is used as a graphical user interface, real-time signal processing of the EEG signal, development of electric wheelchair engines control system and mechanical construction. Results The average sensitivity, without training, was 79.58% and specificity 97.08%, on persons who had no previous contact with BCI. Conclusions The proposed system can be helpful for people suffering from incurable diseases that make them closed in their bodies and for whom communication with the surrounding world is almost impossible.