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Τρίτη 1 Νοεμβρίου 2022

An Endoscopic Cap Electrode for Posterior Cricoarythenoid Muscle Stimulation in a Porcine Model

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An Endoscopic Cap Electrode for Posterior Cricoarythenoid Muscle Stimulation in a Porcine Model

The article describes the development of a diagnostic procedure with a novel endoscopic cap to identify patients with vocal fold immobility who are eligible for implantation of future laryngeal pacing systems. The concept aims at transferring the examination to a gastroscopy setting.


Objective

Laryngeal pacing (LP) is a highly anticipated therapeutic option for patients suffering from bilateral vocal fold paralysis with synkinesis. Identification of candidate patients requires confirmation of a stimulable posterior cricoidarythenoid muscle (PCA) by neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES). A silicone endoscopic cap electrode (ECE50) was designed to be operated as an endoscopic extension tip for selective PCA stimulation and confirmation of a glottic opening movement in a setting comparable to a gastroscopy procedure.

Methods

A porcine animal model (n = 6) was applied to develop and test endoscopic cap prototypes in general anesthesia and sedation at a biomedical research center. Two ENT endoscopy experts evaluated and refined the cap design and performance in regard to procedure safety, endoscope handling, accessibility of the PCA by the transoral approach and selective muscle stimulation.

Results

Vocal fold opening movements could be evoked by the investigators in 9 of 12 PCA muscles to stimulate with similar electric parameters. The endoscopic approach using the ECE50 proved to be atraumatic and sufficiently controlled under sedation to locate the required hotspot for NMES of the PCA.

Conclusion

The functionality of the novel endoscopic cap concept has been proven in a porcine model. It can be expected to be transferable to human application and to be of diagnostic importance in the screening and identification of LP candidate patients in future.

Level of Evidence

NA Laryngoscope, 2022

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Tracking down the recent surge of polio virus in endemic and outbreak countries.

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Abstract

Continuous and progressive efforts are being made globally to eradicate the incidence of polio virus. The detrimental nature of polio calls for action of global vaccination. Owing to large scale vaccination efforts, many countries have been declared polio-free and the people are fully vaccinated against polio virus. However, concern still remains as new cases are being identified in countries declared polio free. This scenario is particularly noticed due to the comprised healthcare system in the past three years of the Corona pandemic. Conditions for lower middle income countries are more problematic, where there are meager healthcare resources and the burden on the healthcare system is higher. Studies indicate some cases of non-paralytic species of polio including cVDPV1, cVDPV2, and cVDPV3 in the group of outbreak countries. However, the major problem is associated with wild type polio virus i.e. WPV1 that leads to paralytic disease and is still present in endemic countries, such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. The incidence rate of wild polio cases has significantly decreased in comparison to the past years but the problem needs to be dealt with at the grass-roots level. In this article, the most recent data has been collected pertaining to the incidence of multi-variant species of polio virus, with a special focus on endemic and outbreak countries. A short overview of challenges to vaccination and a recommendatory overview has also been included for dealing with polio surges.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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A congenital CSF3R mutation in chronic neutropenia reveals a vital role for a cytokine receptor extracellular hinge motif in the response to granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor

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Abstract

We describe a patient with congenital neutropenia (CN) with a homozygous germline mutation in the colony-stimulating factor 3 receptor gene (CSF3R). The patient's bone marrow shows lagging neutrophil development with subtle left shift and unresponsiveness to CSF3 in in vitro colony assays. This patient illustrates that the di-proline hinge motif in the extracellular cytokine receptor homology domain of CSF3R is critical for adequate neutrophil production, but dispensable for in vivo terminal neutrophil maturation. This report underscores that CN patients with inherited CSF3R mutations should be marked as a separate clinical entity, characterized by a failure to respond to CSF3.

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In vitro inflammatory modulation of bioceramic endodontic sealer in macrophages stimulated by bacterial lipopolysaccharide

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Abstract

Aim

To evaluate the effects of AH Plus (Dentsply, Germany), Sealer 26 (Dentsply), and Sealer Plus BC (Produtos Médicos e Odontológicos, Brazil) on cytotoxicity and inflammation in macrophage cultures exposed to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Methodology

After initial setting, the sealers were conditioned with serum-free culture medium for 24 h (1mL/cm 2 ). Macrophages from the RAW 264.7 strain were exposed to sealer extracts in a 1:16 ratio in a culture medium with or without LPS. Cell morphology, viability, mitochondrial activity, oxidative stress, and gene expression of interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were evaluated. Data on mitochondrial activity, oxidative stress, and TNF-α were analysed using a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test, followed by the Student -Newman -Keuls post-test. IL-1β data were analysed using one-way ANOVA, followed by SNK, and the t-test was used for intragroup comparison. The significance level was set at 5%.

Results

In the absence of LPS, only AH Plus and Sealer 26 showed a reduction in cell density, while in the presence of LPS, Sealer 26 had the lowest density compared to the other groups. In terms of mitochondrial activity, at 24 and 48 h, Sealer Plus BC had significantly higher mean values than Sealer 26 and AH Plus (p< 0.05). Sealer 26 exhibited the lowest levels of oxidative stress and IL-1β and TNF-α expression, regardless of the presence of LPS (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Although all sealers interfere with the response of macrophages to LPS, contact with epoxy resin-based sealers can impair cell activity in vitro, while bioceramic sealer seems to favour the inflammatory functions of these cells.

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Association of preoperative low skeletal muscle mass with postoperative complications after selective neck dissection

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Skeletal muscle mass (SMM) is an emerging predictive and prognostic factor in head and neck cancer patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of low SMM for postoperative complications in clinically T1 –2 oral cavity cancer patients undergoing selective neck dissection. A retrospective study in clinically T1–2 oral cavity cancer patients who underwent selective neck dissection between 2011 and 2017 was performed. The predictive value of low SMM for the occurrence of postoperative complications and prolonged hospital stay was evaluated. (Source: International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery)
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Deep-learning-based automatic facial bone segmentation using a two-dimensional U-Net

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In this study, a U-Net was used to investigate the automatic segmentation of facial bones into eight areas, with the aim of facilitating virtual surgical planning (VSP) and computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) in maxillofacial surgery. (Source: International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery)
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COVID-19 Vaccination and the Timing of Surgery Following COVID-19 Infection

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imageObjective: To evaluate whether COVID-19 vaccination status or mode of anesthesia modified the temporal harms associated with surgery following coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) infection. Background: Surgery shortly after COVID-19 infection is associated with higher rates of complications, leading to recommendations to delay surgery following COVID-19 infection when possible. However, prior studies were based on populations with low or no prevalence of vaccination. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent scheduled surgery in a health system from January 1, 2018 to February 28, 2022 (N=228,913) was performed. Patients were grouped by time of surgery relative to COVID-19 test positivity: 0 to 4 weeks after COVID-19 ("early post-COVID-19"), 4 to 8 weeks after COVID-19 ("mid post-COVID-19"), >8 weeks after COVID-19 ("late post-COVID-19"), surgery at least 30 days before subsequent COVID-19 ("pre-COVID-19"), and surgery with no prior or subsequent test positivity for COVID-19. Results: Among patients who were not fully vaccinated at the time of COVID-19 infection, the adjusted rate of perioperative complications for the early post-COVID-19 group was significantly higher than for the pre-COVID-19 group (relative risk: 1.55; P=0.05). No significantly higher risk was identified between these groups for patients who were fully vaccinated (0.66; P=1.00), or for patients who were not fully vaccinated and underwent surgery without general anesthesia (0.52; P=0.83). Conclusions: Surgery shortly following COVID-19 infection was not associated with higher risks among fully vaccinated patients or among patients who underwent surgery without general anesthesia. Further research will be valuable to understand additional factors that modify perioperative risks associated with prior COVID-19 infection.
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A Gene Expression Signature to Select Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients for Liver Transplantation

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imageObjective: To propose a new decision algorithm combining biomarkers measured in a tumor biopsy with clinical variables, to predict recurrence after liver transplantation (LT). Background: Liver cancer is one of the most frequent causes of cancer-related mortality. LT is the best treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients but the scarcity of organs makes patient selection a critical step. In addition, clinical criteria widely applied in patient eligibility decisions miss potentially curable patients while selecting patients that relapse after transplantation. Methods: A literature systematic review singled out candidate biomarkers whose RNA levels were assessed by quantitative PCR in tumor tissue from 138 HCC patients submitted to LT (>5 years follow up, 32% beyond Milan criteria). The resulting 4 gene signature was combined with clinical variables to develop a decision algorithm using machine learning approaches. The method was named HepatoPredict. Results: HepatoPredict identifies 99% disease-free patients (>5 year) from a retrospective cohort, including many outside clinical criteria (16%–24%), thus reducing the false negative rate. This increased sensitivity is accompanied by an increased positive predictive value (88.5%–94.4%) without any loss of long-term overall survival or recurrence rates for patients deemed eligible by HepatoPredict; those deemed ineligible display marked reduction of survival and increased recurrence in the short and long term. Conclusions: HepatoPredict outperforms conventional clinical-pathologic selection criteria (Milan, UCSF), providing superior prognostic information. Accurately identifying which patients most likely benefit from LT enables an objective stratification of waiting lists and information-based allocation of optimal versus suboptimal organs.
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Sirtuin 1 deletion increases inflammation and mortality in sepsis

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imageBACKGROUND Sepsis is a hyperinflammatory response to infection that can lead to multiorgan failure and eventually death. Often, the onset of multiorgan failure is heralded by renal dysfunction. Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) promotes cellular stress resilience by inhibiting inflammation and promoting mitochondrial function. We hypothesize that SIRT1 plays an important role in limiting the inflammatory responses that drive organ failure in sepsis, predominantly via expression in myeloid cells. METHODS We performed cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) on whole body SIRT1 knockout (S1KO) and myeloid cell–specific S1KO (S1KO-LysMCre) mice on a C57BL/6J background. Serum interleukin (IL)-6 was quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Renal mitochondrial complex activity was measured using Oxygraph-2k (Oroboros Instruments, Innsbruck, Austria). Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) was measured from serum. Survival was monitored for up to 5 days. RESULTS Following CLP, S1KO mice had decreased renal mitochondrial complex I–dependent respiratory capacity (241.7 vs. 418.3 mmolO2/mg/min, p = 0.018) and renal mitochondrial complex II–dependent respiratory capacity (932.3 vs. 1,178.4, p = 0.027), as well as reduced rates of fatty acid oxidation (187.3 vs. 250.3, p = 0.022). Sirtuin 1 knockout mice also had increased BUN (48.0 mg/dL vs. 16.0 mg/dL, p = 0.049). Interleukin-6 levels were elevated in S1KO mice (96.5 ng/mL vs. 45.6 ng/mL, p = 0.028) and S1KO-LysMCre mice (35.8 ng/mL vs. 24.5 ng/mL, p = 0.033) compared with controls 12 hours after surgery. Five-day survival in S1KO (33.3% vs. 83.3%, p = 0.025) and S1KO-LysMCre (60% vs. 100%, p = 0.049) mice was decreased compared with controls. CONCLUSION Sirtuin 1 deletion increases systemic inflammation in sepsis. Renal mitochondrial dysfunction, kidney injury, and mortality following CLP were all exacerbated by SIRT1 deletion. Similar effects on inflammation and survival were seen following myeloid cell–specific SIRT1 deletion, indicating that SIRT1 activity in myeloid cells may be a significant contributor for the protective effects of SIRT1 in sepsis.
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Integrating traffic safety data with area deprivation index: A method to better understand the causes of pediatric pedestrian versus automobile collisions

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imageBACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to identify clinical and traffic factors that influence pediatric pedestrian versus automobile collisions (P-ACs) with an emphasis on health care disparities. METHODS A retrospective review was performed of pediatric (18 years or younger) P-ACs treated at a Level I pediatric trauma center from 2008 to 2018. Demographic, clinical, and traffic scene data were analyzed. Area deprivation index (ADI) was used to measure neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage (NSD) based on home addresses. Traffic scene data from the California Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System were matched to clinical records. Traffic safety was assessed by the streetlight coverage, the proximity of the collision to home addresses, and sidewalk coverage. Descriptive statistics and univariate analysis for key variables and outcomes were calculated using Kruskal-Wallis, Wilcoxon, χ2, or Fisher's exact tests. Statistical significance was attributed to p values of
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