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Background: Accessing information that defines personally familiar context in real-world situations is essential for the social interactions and the independent functioning of an individual. Personal familiarity is associated with the availability of semantic and episodic information as well as the emotional meaningfulness surrounding a stimulus. These features are known to be associated with neural activity in distinct brain regions across different stimulus conditions (e.g., when perceiving faces, voices, places, objects), which may reflect a shared neural basis. Although perceiving context-rich personal familiarity may appear unchanged in aging on the behavioral level, it has not yet been studied whether this can be supported by neuroimaging data. Methodology/Principal Findings: We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the neural network associated with personal familiarity during the perception of personally familiar faces and places. Twelve young and twelve elderly cognitively healthy subjects participated in the study. Both age groups showed a similar activation pattern underlying personal familiarity, predominantly in anterior cingulate and posterior cingulate cortices, irrespective of the stimulus type. The young subjects, but not the elderly subjects demonstrated an additional anterior cingulate deactivation when perceiving unfamiliar stimuli. Conclusions/Significance: Although we found evidence for an age-dependent reduction in frontal cortical deactivation, our data show that there is a stimulus-independent neural network associated with personal familiarity of faces and places, which is less susceptible to aging-related changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Staphylococcal scarlet fever (SSF), a rare disease, was first described in 1900. The clinical features and outcomes in children with SSF caused by Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL)-positive and PVL-negative Staphylococcus aureus strains have not been compared prospectively. Methods. The demographic data, selected clinical features, laboratory values, and outcomes for 49 consecutive children with community-acquired S. aureus SSF prospectively identified during an 11-year period were collected for analysis. Results. The male-to-female ratio was 1.88, and the median age of the patients was 37 months. Cutaneous abscesses predominated among children with SSF. Methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) andmethicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) caused SSF in 26 and 23 children, respectively. Twenty-four isolates had results that were positive for PVL (5 MSSA and 19 MRSA isolates), and 25 had results that were negative for PVL (21 MSSA and 4 MRSA isolates). Polymerase chain reaction revealed that most (92%) contained only staphylococcal enterotoxin B (23 MSSA and 22 MRSA isolates). By multivariate analysis, children with PVL-positive isolates had significantly larger abscess sizes, higher white blood cell counts, higher C-reactive protein levels, and longer durations of fever, generalized scarlatiniform rashes, and hospital stays. Most (17 isolates; 89%) of the 19 PVL-positive MRSA isolates carried the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec VT and all were multilocus sequence type 59. Conclusion. SSF caused by PVL-positive S. aureus strains were associated with more-exacerbated skin manifestations and a greater systemic inflammatory response, compared with those cases caused by PVL-negative S. aureus. Clinical improvement after incision and drainage was achieved for most children with SSF caused by PVLpositive MRSA strains, despite treatment with an ineffective antibiotic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is growing concern regarding antimicrobial resistance worldwide, particularly of Escherichia coli, and the first choice of an antimicrobial agent for empiric treatment of pediatric urinary tract infection (UTI) is not well established. Methods: The medical records from January 1991 to December 2005 for all children under 18 years of age admitted to Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei for their first UTI were reviewed. Two study periods, early (1991–2000) and late (2001–2005), were chosen during the 15 year period for evaluating the trend of antimicrobial resistance. Results: Of the 368 isolates, E. coli was the most common pathogen (81.0%), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (6.5%), Enterococcus spp. (6.0%), and Proteus mirabilis (3.5%). Of the 368 isolates, 77.4% were resistant to ampicillin, 44.6% to co-trimoxazole, 27.2% to cephalothin, 15.0% to gentamicin, and 8.4% to nitrofurantoin. In the early (1991–2000) and late (2001–2005) study periods, 199 isolates (54.1%) and 169 isolates (45.9%), respectively, were compared. The resistance to antimicrobial agents for overall pathogens in the early and late study periods, respectively, was as follows: 68.8% and 88.0% to ampicillin, 48.9% and 46.6% to co-trimoxazole, 26.8% and 28.9% to cephalothin, 16.2% and 19.8% to gentamicin, and 8.7% and 9.0% to nitrofurantoin. Conclusion: Among commonly used antimicrobial agents for the treatment of pediatric UTI, there is a trend towards increasing resistance to ampicillin and a persistently low resistance rate to gentamicin, cephalosporin, and nitrofurantoin. Parenteral first-generation cephalosporins, gentamicin, and oral nitrofurantoin should be considered for first-line agents, given the resistance patterns of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To evaluate the prevalence and microbiological characterization of community-acquired (CA) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nasal carriage in a kindergarten. Methods: Point prevalence study. Nasal swabs were collected from healthy children younger than 7 years of age who were attending a kindergarten in Taipei, Taiwan. A parent questionnaire regarding MRSA risk factors was administered simultaneously. All CA-MRSA colonization isolates were archived for subsequent antimicrobial susceptibility and molecular typing. Results: Of the 68 children who participated in the study, 17 (25%) had S. aureus isolated from nasal swabs. Nine (13.2%) of the 68 children had CA-MRSA carriage, and none of them had any identified risk factors. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed all of the 9 CA-MRSA colonization isolates had uniformly high resistance (100%) to both clindamycin and erythromycin, the macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin-constitutive phenotype and the ermB gene. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis revealed 8 (88.9%) of 9 CA-MRSA colonization isolates were genetically related and multilocus sequence typing revealed all isolates had sequence type 59. All of the colonization isolates carried the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type IV, but none were positive for the Panton-Valentine leukocidin genes. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that a single predominant CA-MRSA colonization strain featuring high clindamycin resistance circulated in this kindergarten. Additionally, due to the established transmissibility of colonization isolates, the high prevalence of nasal carriage of CAMRSA among healthy attendees in kindergartens may indicate the celerated spread of CA-MRSA in the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly virulent community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) with Panton- Valentine leukocidin (PVL) is common worldwide. Using antimicrobial drug susceptibility testing, staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec typing, exotoxin profiling, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis typing, we provide evidence that supports the relationship between nasal strains of PVL-positive MRSA and community-acquired disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. A 1400-bed tertiary medical center in northern Taiwan was used to conduct an epidemiological study of children hospitalized with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infection during a 5-year period. Methods. Nineteen previously healthy children with predominantly skin and soft-tissue CA-MRSA infections were enrolled into the study. Seventeen CA-MRSA isolates were examined for antimicrobial susceptibility and molecular typing. Results. A comparison of our results with the reported resistance rates among CA-MRSA isolates from other countries showed uniformly high macrolide resistance (100%). Of the 17 MRSA isolates in our study, all had the macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin-constitutive phenotype and the ermB gene. Moreover, on the basis of molecular typing results, 11(65%) of 17 CA-MRSA isolates were genetically related (as determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis), and multilocus sequence typing revealed a sequence type of 59 in all isolates. Staphylococcal toxin genes lukS -P V and lukF -P V were detected in all isolates. However, staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type IV was only detected in 3 (17.6%) of 17 isolates; the remaining 14 isolates were untypeable. Conclusions. Analysis of our data suggests the predominance of a single endemic CA-MRSA strain with high macrolide resistance in our community. Clinical improvement with incision and drainage was noted for most patients, despite treatment with an ineffective antibiotic, so the need for a change in treatment guidelines should be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study retrospectively reviewed all pediatric cases of staphylococcal scarlet fever (SSF) that occurred during a 10-year period in a 1400-bed tertiary medical center in northern Taiwan. All 20 cases of SSF occurred in previously healthy individuals. Skin and soft-tissue infections predominated among children from whom Staphylococcus aureus was isolated. Polymerase chain reaction testing was used to detect known staphylococcal toxin genes, and of the isolates studied, most (18 [90%I of 20) contained only the staphylococcal enterotoxin B. One of the other strains was positive for staphylococcal enterotoxin A only, and the last strain was positive for both staphylococcal enterotoxin G and staphylococcal enterotoxin I. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis identified a small cluster of isolates (6 [30%] of 20) that were genetically related, but these strains came from epidemiologically unrelated patients during a 3-year period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Neisseria meningitidis is one of the major causes of meningitis in children and adolescents, meningococcal disease should also be considered as part of the differential diagnoses in the newborn period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the case of a pediatric patient with acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis associated with acute rheumatic pancarditis. Presence of skin rashes; Cardiomegaly; Positive throat culture for group A Streptococcus; Treatment.

Presents a case study of necrotising fasciitis (NF) caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a child with acute myeloid leukemia. Probable source of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection; Problems related to the treatment of NF patients, including bleeding diathesis; Effect of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor administration on clinical infections.

Both erythropoietin (EPO) and haem oxygenase-1 (HO-1), an anti-oxidative stress protein, have proven protective roles in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a reliable animal model of multiple sclerosis. In this study, EPO delivered intraperitoneally could reduce disease severity in myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-EAE mice. To assess the effect of EPO on endogenous HO-1 in EAE, we investigated expression of HO-1 mRNA by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), protein expression centrally and peripherally by Western blot and immunohistochemistry and mean fluorescence intensity of splenic HO-1 by flow cytometry. A significantly higher expression of HO-1 in both the central nervous system (CNS) and spleen was shown in EPO-treated MOG-EAE mice than in controls. We further examined the immunomodulatory effect of EPO in EAE, and via RT-PCR demonstrated significantly lower expression of interferon-γ, interleukin (IL)-23, IL-6 and IL-17 mRNA, and significantly higher expression of IL-4 and IL-10 mRNA in CNS of EPO-treated MOG-EAE mice than in controls. Using flow cytometry, we also observed a significantly decreased ratio of both T helper type 1 (Th1) and Th17 lymphocyte subsets isolated from CNS and a significantly increased ratio of splenic regulatory CD4 T cells in EPO-treated MOG-EAE mice. In addition, we demonstrated that MOG-specific T cell proliferation was lower in the EPO-treated group than in controls and showed amelioration of EAE by adoptive transfer of splenocytes from EPO-treated MOG-EAE mice. Together, our data show that in EAE, EPO induction of endogenous HO-1 and modulation of adaptive immunity both centrally and peripherally may involve the repression of inflammatory responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system, and CD4+ T cells formthe core immunopathogenic cascade leading to chronic inflammation. Traditionally, Th1 cells (interferon-γ-producing CD4+ T cells) driven by interleukin 12 (IL12) were considered to be the encephalitogenic T cells in MS and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS. Currently, Th17 cells (Il17-producing CD4+ T cells) are considered to play a fundamental role in the immunopathogenesis of EAE. This paper highlights the growing evidence that Th17 cells play the core role in the complex adaptive immunity of EAE/MS and discusses the roles of the associated immune cells and cytokines. These constitute the modern immunological basis for the development of novel clinical and preclinical immunomodulatory therapies for MS discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Huang C-F, Wu T-C, Wu C-C, Lee C-C, Lo W-T, Hwang K-S, Hsu M-L, Peng H-J. Sublingual vaccination with sonicated Salmonella proteins and mucosal adjuvant induces mucosal and systemic immunity and protects mice from lethal enteritis. APMIS 2011; 119: 468-78. Salmonella enteritidis is one of the most common pathogens of enteritis. Most experimental vaccines against Salmonella infection have been applied through injections. This is a new trial to explore the effect of sublingual administration of Salmonella vaccines on systemic and mucosal immunity. Adult BALB/c mice were sublingually vaccinated with sonicated Salmonella proteins (SSP) alone, or plus adjuvant CpG DNA (CpG) or cholera toxin (CT). They were boosted 2 weeks later. Saliva specific secretory IgA (SIgA) antibody responses were significantly stimulated in the mice vaccinated with SSP only or together with CpG or CT. Whereas the mice sublingually vaccinated with SSP and CpG had higher spleen cell IFN-γ production and serum specific IgG2a antibody responses, those receiving SSP and CT showed enhanced spleen cell IL-4, IL-5 and IL-6 production, and serum specific IgG1 antibody responses. After oral challenge with live S. enteritidis, the same strain of the source of SSP, immune protection in those sublingually vaccinated with SSP and CpG or CT was found to prevent intestinal necrosis and to render a higher survival rate. In conclusion, sublingual vaccination together with mucosal adjuvant CpG or CT is a simple but effective way against enteric bacterial pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Skin infection and/or nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in children with atopic dermatitis (AD) is a risk factor for exacerbating disease or subsequent recurrent S. aureus infection. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the antibiotic susceptibilities of S. aureus strains from AD children and determine the most appropriate choice of antibiotics. Methods: Nasal swabs from 168 healthy children with AD and 20 AD children with concurrent skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTI) were collected in 2005-2008. S. aureus strains were further analyzed for and compared with antibiotic susceptibilities. Results: There were 78 (46.4%) healthy children with AD colonized with S. aureus, and 24 (30.8%) were methicillinresistant S. aureus (MRSA). Among the 20 SSTI-infecting strains, 12 (60%) were MRSA. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that, after penicillin, colonizing and SSTI-infecting strains had the highest rates of resistance to erythromycin (50% and 70%, respectively). All isolated strains were susceptible to vancomycin, rifampin, and mupirocin. Multi-drug resistance was found in 70% of the colonizing and 50% of the SSTI-infecting strains. D-test assay revealed inducible clindamycin resistance in 75% of the colonizing strains. The most prevalent resistance gene was ermB which was present in 94.9% and 92.9% of colonizing and SSTI-infecting strains, respectively. Conclusions: This study found that colonizing and SSTI-infecting strains of S. aureus from AD children had a high prevalence of MRSA and multi-drug resistance. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, rifampin, fusidic acid and mupirocin appear to be more suitable for treatment and decolonization of S. aureus in AD children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]