The COVID-19 pandemic is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Rapid identification and isolation of patients with COVID-19 are critical strategies to contain COVID-19. The saliva antigen test has the advantages of noninvasiveness and decreased transmission risk to health-care professionals. This meta-analysis investigated the diagnostic accuracy of the saliva antigen test for SARS-CoV-2.

We searched for relevant studies in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Biomed Central. Studies evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of saliva antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 were included. The data of the included studies were used to construct a 2×2 table on a per patient basis. The overall sensitivity and specificity of saliva antigen tests were determined using a bivariate random-effects model.

Nine studies enrolling 9842 patients were included. The meta-analysis generated a pooled sensitivity of 65.3% and a pooled specificity of 99.7%. A subgroup analysis of the studies performing the chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA) for participants from airports and public health centers revealed a pooled sensitivity of 93.6%.

Our findings demonstrated that the saliva antigen test performed using CLEIA exhibited higher sensitivity for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, the saliva antigen test performed using CLEIA might be an effective and noninvasive screening tool for SARS-CoV-2.

Our findings demonstrated that the saliva antigen test performed using CLEIA exhibited higher sensitivity for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, the saliva antigen test performed using CLEIA might be an effective and noninvasive screening tool for SARS-CoV-2.Ultrasound sound-speed tomography (USST) is a promising technology for breast imaging and breast cancer detection. Its reconstruction is a complex non-linear mapping from the projection data to the sound-speed image (SSI). The traditional reconstruction methods include mainly the ray-based methods and the waveform-based methods. The ray-based methods with linear approximation have low computational cost but low reconstruction quality; the full wave-based methods with the complex non-linear model have high quality but high cost. To achieve both high quality and low cost, we introduced traditional linear approximation as prior knowledge into a deep neural network and treated the complex non-linear mapping of USST reconstruction as a combination of linear mapping and non-linear mapping. In the proposed method, the linear mapping was seamlessly implemented with a fully connected layer and initialized using the Tikhonov pseudo-inverse matrix. The non-linear mapping was implemented using a U-shape Net (U-Net). Furthermore, we proposed the Tikhonov U-shape net (TU-Net), in which the linear mapping was done before the non-linear mapping, and the U-shape Tikhonov net (UT-Net), in which the non-linear mapping was done before the linear mapping. Moreover, we conducted simulations and experiments for evaluation. In the numerical simulation, the root-mean-squared error was 6.49 and 4.29 m/s for the UT-Net and TU-Net, the peak signal-to-noise ratio was 49.01 and 52.90 dB, the structural similarity was 0.9436 and 0.9761 and the reconstruction time was 10.8 and 11.3 ms, respectively. In this study, the SSIs obtained with the proposed methods exhibited high sound-speed accuracy. Both the UT-Net and the TU-Net achieved high quality and low computational cost.

Seizures are the most common sign of neurologic dysfunction, reflecting a wide variety of central nervous system disorders.

A retrospective cross-sectional study of neonates with a clinical diagnosis of seizures was conducted in order to verify relationships between clinical aspects and EEG findings. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to the EEG recording available as 1) with confirmatory ictal EEG; 2) with altered but non-ictal EEG; and 3) without any EEG recording. Variables related to pregnancy and birth history, neonatal complications, and seizure semiology (by video or clinical description) were compared to EEG findings.

97 neonates were included (39.1% preterm, 54.6% male), 71 with available EEG data (56.3% with ictal EEG). The group without EEG presented clinical characteristics significantly different from the others such as extreme prematurity, low birth weight, and higher neonatal mortality (P = 0.002, 0.001, and 0.003, respectively). The most common etiology was hypoxic-ischemic enuous EEG monitoring in neonates at increased risk of seizures.The aim of this study was to compare modified partial superficial parotidectomy (MPSP) with conventional partial superficial parotidectomy (CPSP) in a retrograde approach, and to determine whether MPSP can reduce the risk of injury to the MMB of the facial nerve and the rate of postoperative facial palsy. Patients with benign parotid gland tumors of the superficial lobe were included retrospectively in two groups one group was treated with CPSP; the other group was treated with MPSP, in which the MMB was dissected in an anterograde direction or not dissected. The patients‘ sex and age, location of tumor, size of tumor (maximum tumor diameter), histopathological distribution, operative time, and incidence of postoperative facial nerve weakness were compared. HexadimethrineBromide There was no significant difference in operative time between the two groups (p = 0.913). There was a significant difference (p = 0.008) in postoperative facial nerve weakness, with temporary facial nerve weakness observed in 19 and five patients in the CPSP and MPSP groups, respectively. Furthermore, there was a significant difference (p = 0.009) in MMB weakness, with temporary MMB weakness observed in 15 and three patients in the CPSP and MPSP groups, respectively. There was no significant difference (p = 0.564) in the weakness of other branches between the two groups. All cases of paresis scored ≤3 on the House-Brackmann scale, and all cases of temporary facial nerve weakness resolved within 6 months of surgery. No patient developed permanent paralysis. Within the limitations of the study, it seems that modified partial superficial parotidectomy (MPSP) should be preferred over conventional partial superficial parotidectomy (CPSP) whenever appropriate.This study aimed to investigate the effects of arthrocentesis with intra-articular hyaluronic acid (HA) injection on mandibular condyles using fractal dimension (FD) analysis. Patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) internal derangement (ID) were divided into three groups according to how many times the arthrocentesis with HA injection was performed. FD analysis is a quantitative concept that provides information about trabecular bone microstructures. Regions of interest were selected from bone areas close to the articular surfaces of the right and left condyles on panoramic radiographs, which were taken before the procedure (T0) and at the sixth month (T1) after the procedure. Then, the FD values were calculated. All images were reviewed by the same researcher. A two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to determine whether there was a significant interaction between groups, treatment sides, and time on the FD values. A total of 140 patients, including 118 patients who received bilateral actable degenerative changes and abnormalities in the condyles. The FD analysis method, which provides quantitative data, is recommended as an adjunct and guide for oral and maxillofacial surgeons in radiological examinations that should be performed together with clinical examination for the follow-up of microstructural changes in the condyle after arthrocentesis with HA injection.

This study was designed to compare the antitumor effects of anti-human MUC1 monoclonal antibody with those of anti-human CA199 monoclonal antibody coupled with drug-loaded polybutylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles on human pancreatic cancer cell lines and pancreatic cancer-bearing model animals and to screen more efficient targeting molecules.

Gemcitabine-loaded nanospheres were prepared by emulsion polymerization (GEM-PBCA-NP), and then, anti-MUC1 monoclonal antibody was coupled with GEM-PBCA-NP (MUC1-GEM-PBCA-NP), and anti-human CA199 monoclonal antibody was coupled with GEM-PBCA-NP (CA199-GEM-PBCA-NP), using the chemical crosslinking method. The cell-killing rates were detected using MTT assay. The changes in the tumor cell cycle and apoptosis after treatment were detected using flow cytometry. Then, the subcutaneous planting method was adopted to establish an animal model of pancreatic cancer two nanometer microspheres were injected into the body of nude mice via the tail vein; the tumor suppression effectC1 could be a target molecule in treating pancreatic cancer.

Compared with CA199-GEM-PBCA-NP, MUC1-GEM-PBCA-NP is more effective in vitro and in vivo. MUC1 could be a target molecule in treating pancreatic cancer.

Low phospholipid-associated cholelithiasis (LPAC) syndrome is a form of cholelithiasis associated with the ABCB4 gene mutation. The defects of the protein ABCB4 encoded by this gene promote the formation of biliary cholesterol microcalculations. ABCB4 screening is negative in a significant proportion of patients.

An analytical study of the epidemiological, clinical, biological, and radiological characteristics of 19 patients was conducted, followed by Sanger-type sequencing of the 27 exons encoding the ABCB4 gene.

Our results showed a female predominance, symptomatic vesicular lithiasis predominance, and a high frequency of biliary complications in patients carrying an ABCB4 mutation. Normal ​​ liver enzyme values were found in 84.2% of the cases. Intrahepatic hyperechoic foci were present in 68.4%. Molecular analysis detected a pathogenic mutation of the ABCB4 gene in 31.57% of patients. The mutations found were a nonsense mutation and three missense mutations, including two new mutations.

Our epidemiological, clinical, and genetic results concord with previous studies of LPAC syndrome. Two of the mutations we found have never been detected in patients with LPAC. The low percentage of ABCB4 gene mutations can be explained by the absence of studies of other genes involved in bile acid homeostasis besides the ABCB4 gene and by the inclusion criteria used in this study.

Our epidemiological, clinical, and genetic results concord with previous studies of LPAC syndrome. Two of the mutations we found have never been detected in patients with LPAC. The low percentage of ABCB4 gene mutations can be explained by the absence of studies of other genes involved in bile acid homeostasis besides the ABCB4 gene and by the inclusion criteria used in this study.

Large bowel obstruction is an urgent condition which can progress to ischemia and perforation. The importance of prompt intervention has not been rigorously demonstrated.

Patients with bowel obstruction who underwent stoma, stent, and/or colectomy in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample were used to study prompt intervention (defined as occurring within 2 days of admission). Outcomes were inpatient mortality, discharge to home, and length of stay in an adjusted analysis.

Among the 31,277 patients, prompt intervention occurred in 42.6%. In an adjusted analysis, prompt intervention was more likely in higher income patients and less likely in patients with comorbidities; among those with malignant obstruction, less likely in women, and among those with benign obstruction, less likely in Blacks. Inpatient mortality (6%) was not different between groups. Discharge home (71% vs 68%; p<0.0001) and shorter LOS (-3 days) occurred in those managed promptly.

Prompt intervention in large bowel obstruction results in decreased LOS and greater likelihood of discharge to home, but not a mortality benefit.