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Aim To explore the relations between asthma, allergies and mental health problems in preschool children, aged 3‐5 years. Methods In this cross‐sectional Swedish study, we used data on 4649 children in Uppsala municipality whose parents and preschool teachers had responded to questions measuring asthma and allergies, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for assessment of mental health problems. Logistic regression models were used to explore the relations between asthma and allergies and mental health problems. Results Children with asthma (8.5%) had elevated odds of having emotional symptoms as rated by parents (OR: 1.34; 1.02‐1.76) and teachers (OR: 1.44; 1.09‐1.91). According to parents’ ratings, these children also had elevated odds of showing mental health problems in general according to the SDQ total score (OR: 1.42; 1.05‐1.94). Children with food allergies or intolerance (4.4%) only had elevated odds of having emotional symptoms (OR: 1.64; 1.16‐2.33), as reported by parents. These results remained significant after adjustment for parental background factors. Conclusion Preschool children with asthma and food allergies or intolerance are at risk of having concurrent mental health problems. Mental health problems should be assessed in children with these disorders. Adequate support and/or referral to specialised services should be offered when needed.

To develop a vaccine candidate against COVID-19, we generated a Lentiviral Vector (LV), eliciting neutralizing antibodies against the Spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2. Systemic vaccination by this vector in mice, in which the expression of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor hACE2 has been induced by transduction of respiratory tract cells by an adenoviral vector, confers only partial protection, despite high levels of serum neutralizing activity. However, eliciting an immune response in the respiratory tract through an intranasal boost results in > 3 log10 decrease in the lung viral loads and reduces local inflammation. Moreover, both integrative and non-integrative LV platforms display strong vaccine efficacy and inhibit lung deleterious injury in golden hamsters, which are naturally permissive to SARS-CoV-2 replication and closely mirror human COVID-19 physiopathology. Our results provide evidence of marked prophylactic effects of the LV-based vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 and designate intranasal immunization as a powerful approach against COVID-19., Graphical Abstract, Highlights A lentiviral vector encoding for Spike shows preclinical efficacy as a COVID-19 vaccine. Targeting the immune response to the upper respiratory tract provides critical protection. Intranasal vaccination induces protective mucosal immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in rodents. Lung anti-Spike IgA responses correlate with protection and reduced inflammation., Ku and colleagues present a lentiviral vaccination vector that encodes a full-length, membrane anchored form of SARS-CoV-2 Spike glycoprotein that induces neutralizing antibodies and T-cell responses. An intranasal boost strategy triggers a localized immune response in the upper respiratory tract that provides disease protection in mouse and hamster COVID-19 models.

Aim To study the long‐term outcome after surgery for pulmonary atresia and ventricular septal defect (PA‐VSD), and to determine association between the contribution of major aorto‐pulmonary collateral arteries (MAPCAs) to the pulmonary blood flow, comorbidity and cause of death. Methods Patients who had undergone surgery for PA‐VSD from January 1st 1994 to December 31st 2017 were studied retrospectively. Survival was cross‐checked against the Swedish National Population Register. Results Seventy patients were identified, giving an incidence of 5.3 newborns per 100 000 live births. In 41 patients (59%) the pulmonary blood flow originated from a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), while 29 patients (41%) had contribution of the pulmonary blood flow from MAPCAs. Extracardiac disease was found in 34 patients (49%), 16 of whom had 22q11‐microdeletion syndrome (23%). Survival at follow‐up was similar in patients with and without MAPCAs (72.4% vs. 75.6%, n.s.), with a median follow‐up time of 14.3 years (3.2–41.8 years). No difference was found in mortality in patients with or without any syndrome or extracardiac disease. Conclusion Long‐term survival did not differ between those with and without MAPCAs and no difference in mortality was seen in patients with and without concomitant extracardiac disease or any kind of syndrome.

Aim Pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of death among children under five globally. Many pneumonia deaths result from inappropriate treatment due to misdiagnosis of signs and symptoms. This study aims to identify whether health extension workers (HEWs) in Ethiopia, using an automated multimodal device (Masimo Rad‐G), adhere to required guidelines while assessing and classifying under five children with cough or difficulty breathing and to understand device acceptability. Methods A cross‐sectional study was conducted in three districts of Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, Ethiopia. Between September and December 2018, 133 HEWs were directly observed using Rad‐G while conducting 599 sick child consultations. Usability was measured as adherence to the World Health Organization requirements to assess fast breathing and device manufacturer instructions for use. Acceptability was assessed using semi‐structured interviews with HEWs, first‐level health facility workers and caregivers. Results Adherence using the Rad‐G routinely for 2 months was 85.3% (95% CI 80.2, 89.3). Health workers and caregivers stated a preference for Rad‐G. Users highlighted a number of device design issues. Conclusion While demonstrating high levels of acceptability and usability, the device modifications to consider include better probe fit, improved user interface with exclusive age categories and simplified classification outcomes.

Picobirnaviruses (PBVs) are mostly found in animal alimentary samples. In this study, among 576 respiratory specimens from 476 mammals and 100 chickens, genogroup I PBVs were detected in three cattle and three monkeys, and a genogroup II PBV-positive sample was collected from one cattle specimen. More than one PBV sequence type was observed in two and one genogroup I PBV-positive samples from cattle and monkeys, respectively. Twenty-four complete/near-complete segments 2 (nine from respiratory and 15 from alimentary samples) from the cattle and monkey genogroup I PBVs and one complete segment 2 from the cattle genogroup II PBV were sequenced. Similar to other studies, the cattle PBVs also showed a high diversity. In contrast, the monkey PBVs observed in this study were clustered into three distinct clades. Within each clade, all the sequences showed &gt, 99% amino acid identities. This unique phenomenon is probably due to the fact that monkeys in our locality reside in separated troops with minimal inter-troop contact.

Medical ethics as one of the professional ethics encompasses general ethical principles in medicine. It provides guidelines for the correctness of the medical operation. Ethics in radiological diagnostic is the combination of medical ethics and Code of Ethics of International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA). Ethical principles are special important in pediatric radiology because children are more radiosensitive than other population. Therefore in our long-term research many efforts were done to improve the radiation protection of the children patients. In that purpose doses were measured on the children patients and phantom with thermoluminescent (TL) and radiophotoluminsecent (RPL) dosimetric systems during the X-ray diagnostic of lung and of sinuses.. The results of dosimetry and our experience show that in addition to technical parameters human factors has significant influence on the radiation protection in X-ray diagnostic. Therefore compliance of ethical principles is very important. According to Code of Ethics of IRPA medical staff shall not allow to compromise their professional judgement and advice i.e. medical indication for X-ray examination has to be decide according to best knowledge. Further, the Code of Ethics recommends that medical staff should strive to improve their own professional knowledge and skills. The dosimetric results in our study indicated quantitatively the positive role of continuous education and good teamwork for dose reduction. In accordance with the ethics in radiation protection it is necessary to use correct algorithm of diagnostic images as well as all devices for radiation protection.

This study assessed the presence of sialic acid α-2,3 and α-2,6 linked glycan receptors in seven avian species. The respiratory and intestinal tracts of the chicken, common quail, red-legged partridge, turkey, golden pheasant, ostrich, and mallard were tested by means of lectin histochemistry, using the lectins Maackia amurensis agglutinin II and Sambucus nigra agglutinin, which show affinity for α-2,3 and α-2,6 receptors, respectively. Additionally, the pattern of virus attachment (PVA) was evaluated with virus histochemistry, using an avian-origin H4N5 virus and a human-origin seasonal H1N1 virus. There was a great variation of receptor distribution among the tissues and avian species studied. Both α-2,3 and α-2,6 receptors were present in the respiratory and intestinal tracts of the chicken, common quail, red-legged partridge, turkey, and golden pheasant. In ostriches, the expression of the receptor was basically restricted to α-2,3 in both the respiratory and intestinal tracts and in mallards the α-2,6 receptors were absent from the intestinal tract. The results obtained with the lectin histochemistry were, in general, in agreement with the PVA. The differential expression and distribution of α-2,3 and α-2,6 receptors among various avian species might reflect a potentially decisive factor in the emergence of new viral strains.

The primary determinant of influenza virus infectivity is the type of linkage between sialic acid and oligosaccharides on the host cells. Hemagglutinin of avian influenza viruses preferentially binds to sialic acids linked to galactose by an α-2,3 linkage whereas hemagglutinin of human influenza viruses binds to sialic acids with an α-2,6 linkage. The distribution patterns of influenza receptors in the avian respiratory tracts are of particular interest because these are important for initial viral attachment, replication, and transmission to other species. In this study, we examined the distribution patterns of influenza receptors in the respiratory tract of chickens, ducks, pheasants, and quails because these species have been known to act as intermediate hosts in interspecies transmission. Lectin histochemistry was performed to detect receptor-bearing cells. Cell-specific distribution of the receptors was determined and expression densities were compared. We observed species-, site-, and cell-specific variations in receptor expression. In general, receptor expression was the highest in quails and lowest in ducks. Pheasants and quails had abundant expression of both types of receptors throughout the respiratory tract. These results indicate that pheasants and quails may play important roles as intermediate hosts for the generation of influenza viruses with pandemic potential.