Thyroid dysfunction during gestation and gestational diabetes mellitus: a complex relationship.

PURPOSE: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and thyroid dysfunction during gestation (GTD) are the two most prevalent endocrinopathies during pregnancy. The aim of the present review is to provide an overview of the peculiar aspects of GDM and GTD, to highlight the potential interactions and clinical consequences of these two frequent clinical conditions. METHODS: A literature review regarding GDM and GTD was carried out with particular interest on meta-analyses and human studies dealing with the (i) shared risk factors between GDM and GTD, (ii) the epidemiological link between GTD and GDM, (iii) physiopathologic link between GTD and GDM, (iv) clinical consequences of GDM and GTD, and (v) post-partum implications of GDM and GTD. RESULTS: The association between GDM and GTD is common and may be explained by the insulin-resistance state due to maternal GTD, to alterations in the placentation process or to the many shared risk factors. Discrepant results of epidemiologic studies can be explained, at least in part, by the changes in diagnostic criteria and screening strategies throughout the years for both conditions. GDM and GTD impact pregnancy outcome and have post-partum long-term consequences, but more studies are needed to prove an additional adverse effect. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the epidemiological and physio-pathological link between GDM and GTD, it could be suggested that a diagnosis of GTD could lead to screen GDM and the other way round.

Wasted leg syndrome: An atypical slowly-progressive form of lower motor neuron disease.

We describe four male patients with wasted-leg syndrome, with predominant asymmetric thigh atrophy and weakness that stabilized after a period of slow progression (follow-up 7-18 years). Two patients had an Indian ethnic background and two were Portuguese, without known Indian ancestry. Other mimicking disorders were excluded, but one Indian patient was later diagnosed with CADASIL. Electromyography (EMG) revealed severe chronic neurogenic changes in proximal leg muscles, and mild changes in distal leg muscles, but EMG of the upper limbs was normal. Upper motor neuron signs were absent clinically and on transcranial magnetic stimulation. This seems to represent a variant of the common wasted-leg syndrome presentation.

SEVERE REFRACTORY HYPOTHYROIDISM IN A 48-YEAR-OLD FEMALE: ROLE OF LOW-DOSE THYROXINE ABSORPTION TEST IN ESTABLISHING DIAGNOSIS OF NONCOMPLIANCE.

A 48-year-old female presented with severe chronic hypothyroidism despite progressively increasing doses of levothyroxine. Poor adherence was suspected based on previous laboratory investigations. A low dose thyroxine absorption test using 400 µg of levothyroxine taken orally was performed. FT4 increased by 4.7 pmol/L at 3 hours and 6.6 pmol/L at 5 hours, following ingestion, effectively ruling out malabsorption. Her cardiac hemodynamic profile, measured noninvasively, also improved following levothyroxine intake, further supporting our diagnosis. Poor adherence was successfully managed by implementing twice weekly visits by a registered nurse and an improvement in both thyroid function tests and cardiac parameters was seen at the one-month follow-up visit. We suggest using a lower dose thyroxine absorption test, owing to its efficacy in establishing diagnosis and a safer alternative compared to higher doses in particular in high-risk cardiac patients.

Restoring Immunization Services Provided by the Vaccines for Children Program in Puerto Rico After Hurricanes Irma and Maria, 2017-2019.

CONTEXT: In September 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria impacted Puerto Rico, causing significant disruption of immunization services and vaccine losses due to widespread infrastructure and electrical grid damage and resulting cold chain failures. OBJECTIVE: To describe posthurricane efforts undertaken to restore and strengthen immunization services provided by Puerto Rico's federally funded Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program, a network of clinics that provide vaccines to eligible children. DESIGN: Historical records were reviewed to characterize Puerto Rico's prehurricane immunization system. Site visits to assess VFC clinic posthurricane operational status were conducted by the Puerto Rico Department of Health, working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other partners. Infrastructure repair and acquisition of backup generators, temperature data loggers, and replacement vaccines were carried out to restore operations. RESULTS: Prior to the hurricanes, 224 VFC clinics throughout the island provided immunizations. An initial assessment 10 days after Hurricane Maria showed that only 11 (5%) of the clinics were operational. Reasons included ongoing power outages; difficulties in obtaining generator fuel; equipment or facility damage; and damaged vaccines. The VFC clinics were restored incrementally; 123 (55%) were operational by December 2017, 193 (86%) by May 2018, and 204 (91%) by May 2019. Long-term recovery activities are underway and focus on strengthening Puerto Rico's immunization system to withstand future disasters, including improving backup power systems. CONCLUSION: Through coordinated efforts of the Puerto Rico Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other partners, the operational status of VFC clinics posthurricanes was assessed and operations restored. Emergency plans for vaccine storage and handling, which called for alternative vaccine storage locations and backup generators, were inadequate to address disasters of the magnitude of Hurricanes Irma and Maria; such plans need to consider the possibility of large-scale disasters that result in long-term power outages.

The clinical phenotype of Graves' disease occurring as an isolated condition or in association with other autoimmune diseases.

PURPOSE: Graves' disease (GD) can present as an isolated disease (iGD) or in association with other autoimmune diseases (aGD). The aim of this study, performed in two Endocrine referral centers settled in different geographical areas of Italy, was to compare the anthropometric, clinical, and biochemical phenotype of iGD patients with that of the aGD ones. METHODS: Clinical history, physical examination data, serum levels of TSH, FT4, FT3, thyroglobulin (TgAb), thyroid-peroxidase (TPOAb) and TSH-receptor (TRAb) antibody, presence of Graves' orbitopathy (GO), and thyroid ultrasound examination at disease diagnosis were recorded. RESULTS: 68 aGD and 136 iGD patients were consecutively recruited. At diagnosis, aGD and iGD patients did not differ for F/M ratio, age at presentation, thyroid function parameters, serum levels of TRAb, TgAb, TPOAb, presence of GO, and thyroid volume. The serum levels of TRAb were strongly correlated with the circulating concentrations of both FT3 (ρ = 0.667; p < 0.0001) and FT4 (ρ = 0.628; p < 0.001) in iGD patient, but not in the aGD ones (FT3: ρ = 0.231; p = 0.058; FT4: ρ = 0.096; p = 0.435). Compared with iGD patients, the aGD ones displayed a higher rate of transition from the previous hypothyroidism to hyperthyroidism (χ2 = 6.375; p = 0.012). CONCLUSION: Despite similar anthropometric, clinical, and biochemical features at diagnosis, aGD patients display a higher rate of transition from a thyroid functional status to the other as compared with iGD patients.

Compared with classic Hashimoto's thyroiditis, chronic autoimmune serum-negative thyroiditis requires a lower substitution dose of L-thyroxine to correct hypothyroidism.

PURPOSE: Serum-negative-chronic-autoimmune-thyroiditis (SN-CAT) is considered a milder variant of classic Hashimoto's thyroiditis (CHT). However, its prevalence remains unknown and it is still unclear whether SN-CAT behaves differently in terms of L-thyroxine (LT4) substitution treatment of hypothyroidism. Aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of SN-CAT in a large series of hypothyroid patients and to compare LT4 requirements in hypothyroid patients with SN-CAT and CHT. METHODS: Five-hundred-eighty-one consecutive patients with primary-autoimmune-hypothyroidism were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. LT4 requirements and thyroid-volume changes were longitudinally evaluated in 49 hypothyroid patients with SN-CAT and in 98 sex and age-matched hypothyroid patients with CHT. RESULTS: In our series the prevalence of SN-CAT was 20.8%. At diagnosis, patients in the CHT and SN-CAT groups had similar male/female ratio, age and BMI, while serum TSH and thyroid-volume were significantly greater in the CHT group. In the longitudinal study, during a follow-up of 8.9 ± 4.6 years, 8 out of 49 (16.3%) SN-CAT patients developed positive tests for of circulating TPO-Ab and/or Tg-Ab. Thyroid-volume significantly decreased in CHT patients, but not in those with SN-CAT. The maximum daily substitution dose of LT4 was smaller in SN-CAT patients as compared with the CHT ones. Multivariate analysis showed that age, BMI, basal TSH and thyroid antibody status independently and significantly predicted the maximum daily substitution dose of LT4. CONCLUSIONS: SN-CAT accounts for a significant proportion of patients with autoimmune hypothyroidism. Compared with hypothyroid patients diagnosed with CHT, the SN-CAT ones require smaller doses of LT4 to correct their hypothyroidism.

How is small bowel permeability in endometriosis patients? a case control pilot study.

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of women of reproductive age. Small bowel (SB) permeability and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) could play a role in the perduration of low grade inflammation status and the pathogenesis of endometriosis. To clarify this hypothesis, we measured SB permeability through plasma values of LPS and urinary secretion of lactulose (La), mannitol (Ma) and their ratio (L/M) in patients with endometriosis compared with healthy controls (HC). Eight patients and 14 HC entered the study. SB permeability was evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography of urine concentrations of La and Ma. Plasma levels of LPS were measured in the blood. Moreover, a nutritional, gastroenterological, quality of life evaluation was performed through validates questionnaires and complete gynaecological evaluations. The statistical analysis of the obtained data did not show differences in anthropometric and nutritional characteristics and gastrointestinal functional disease in the two groups. Patients reported higher levels of pelvic chronic pain (3.87 ± 2.99 vs 0.15 ± 0.55; pe = 0.001) and significantly higher LPS plasma levels (0.529 ± 0.11 vs 0.427 ± 0.08; p value = .027) than HC. Our results indicate that intestinal permeability is abnormal in endometriosis patients, and it might play a role in the pathogenesis of this chronic disease.

Characterization of CCDC103 expression profiles: further insights in primary ciliary dyskinesia and in human reproduction.

PROPOSE: To study CCDC103 expression profiles and understand how pathogenic variants in CCDC103 affect its expression profile at mRNA and protein level. METHODS: To increase the knowledge about the CCDC103, we attempted genotype-phenotype correlations in two patients carrying novel homozygous (missense and frameshift) CCDC103 variants. Whole-exome sequencing, quantitative PCR, Western blot, electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, immunocytochemistry, and immunogold labelling were performed to characterize CCDC103 expression profiles in reproductive and somatic cells. RESULTS: Our data demonstrate that pathogenic variants in CCDC103 gene negatively affect gene and protein expression in both patients who presented absence of DA on their axonemes. Further, we firstly report that CCDC103 is expressed at different levels in reproductive tissues and somatic cells and described that CCDC103 protein forms oligomers with tissue-specific sizes, which suggests that CCDC103 possibly undergoes post-translational modifications. Moreover, we reported that CCDC103 was restricted to the midpiece of sperm and is present at the cytoplasm of the other cells. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our data support the CCDC103 involvement in PCD and suggest that CCDC103 may have different assemblies and roles in cilia and sperm flagella biology that are still unexplored.

Plasma level of club-cell (CC-16) predicts outcome in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

OBJECTIVES: The club cell protein (CC-16) is a biomarker associated with respiratory distress and pulmonary inflammation. We evaluated CC-16 as a candidate biomarker for respiratory failure in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 81 ALS patients and 30 matched controls. We used an ALS-related measure of functional capacity, and tested forced vital capacity (FVC) and the amplitude of the diaphragmatic response by phrenic nerve stimulation (PhrenAmpl). Plasma CC-16 levels were measured in venous blood. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were plotted to evaluate risk to non-invasive ventilation and death in patients with abnormal CC-16 levels. RESULTS: CC-16 levels were significantly raised in ALS patients (10.56 ng/mL ± 6.84 vs 8.34 ng/mL ± 3.10, P = .02), and in 17% of them, CC-16 level was above the upper cutoff value (mean + 2.5SD). CC-16 levels did not correlate with age, onset region, disease duration, functional status, FVC, and PhrenAmpl. In patients with increased CC-16 level, the risk of non-invasive was greater in the following 6 months (P = .01) and tended to have higher mortality in the following 30 months (P = .07). CONCLUSIONS: We propose that increased CC-16 levels is a marker of lung inflammatory response that associated with ventilatory insufficiency are related to impending respiratory failure, not fully predicted by conventional respiratory tests. The latter are limited by the moment of testing.

Identification of genetic variants in pharmacokinetic genes associated with Ewing Sarcoma treatment outcome.

BACKGROUND: Despite the effectiveness of current treatment protocols for Ewing sarcoma (ES), many patients still experience relapse, and survival following recurrence is <15%. We aimed to identify genetic variants that predict treatment outcome in children diagnosed with ES. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We carried out a pharmacogenetic study of 384 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 24 key transport or metabolism genes relevant to drugs used to treat in pediatric patients (<30 years) with histologically confirmed ES. We studied the association of genotypes with tumor response and overall survival (OS) in a discovery cohort of 106 Spanish children, with replication in a second cohort of 389 pediatric patients from across Europe. RESULTS: We identified associations with OS (P < 0.05) for three SNPs in the Spanish cohort that were replicated in the European cohort. The strongest association observed was with rs7190447, located in the ATP-binding cassette subfamily C member 6 (ABCC6) gene [discovery: hazard ratio (HR) = 14.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.53-134, P = 0.020; replication: HR = 9.28, 95% CI = 2.20-39.2, P = 0.0024] and its correlated SNP rs7192303, which was predicted to have a plausible regulatory function. We also replicated associations with rs4148737 in the ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1) gene (discovery: HR = 2.96, 95% CI = 1.08-8.10, P = 0.034; replication: HR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.05-2.44, P = 0.029), which we have previously found to be associated with poorer OS in pediatric osteosarcoma patients, and rs11188147 in cytochrome P450 family 2 subfamily C member 8 gene (CYP2C8) (discovery : HR = 2.49, 95% CI = 1.06-5.87, P = 0.037; replication: HR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.06-2.96, P = 0.030), an enzyme involved in the oxidative metabolism of the ES chemotherapeutic agents cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide. None of the associations with tumor response were replicated. CONCLUSION: Using an integrated pathway-based approach, we identified polymorphisms in ABCC6, ABCB1 and CYP2C8 associated with OS. These associations were replicated in a large independent cohort, highlighting the importance of pharmacokinetic genes as prognostic markers in ES.

Link between deviations from Murray's Law and occurrence of low wall shear stress regions in the left coronary artery.

Murray developed two laws for the geometry of bifurcations in the circulatory system. Based on the principle of energy minimization, Murray found restrictions for the relation between the diameters and also between the angles of the branches. It is known that bifurcations are prone to the development of atherosclerosis, in regions associated to low wall shear stresses (WSS) and high oscillatory shear index (OSI). These indicators (size of low WSS regions, size of high OSI regions and size of high helicity regions) were evaluated in this work. All of them were normalized by the size of the outflow branches. The relation between Murray's laws and the size of low WSS regions was analysed in detail. It was found that the main factor leading to large regions of low WSS is the so called expansion ratio, a relation between the cross section areas of the outflow branches and the cross section area of the main branch. Large regions of low WSS appear for high expansion ratios. Furthermore, the size of low WSS regions is independent of the ratio between the diameters of the outflow branches. Since the expansion ratio in bifurcations following Murray's law is kept in a small range (1 and 1.25), all of them have regions of low WSS with similar size. However, the expansion ratio is not small enough to completely prevent regions with low WSS values and, therefore, Murray's law does not lead to atherosclerosis minimization. A study on the effect of the angulation of the bifurcation suggests that the Murray's law for the angles does not minimize the size of low WSS regions.

Gestural praxis in young adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Praxis functioning in the population with intellectual disabilities (ID) has been poorly studied. The goal of this research was to look for a starting point to study the praxic functioning in young adults with mild to moderate ID. METHOD: Thirty young adults with ID and 30 young adults without ID, between the ages of 18 and 35 years, participated in this study. All participants completed tests that assessed gestural praxis. RESULTS: It was possible to observe similar praxis behaviour in the group with ID in almost all domains studied, albeit showing statistical values lower than those of the group without ID. DISCUSSIONS: Despite the high number of errors committed, the sample of participants with ID was able to reach the goal of praxic tasks performed; such errors may be associated with a deficit in the development of various brain functions and not only with praxis functioning, mainly related to a lower yield in terms of planning, monitoring and correcting intentional movement.

Development of technology for manufacture of ragi ice cream.

Ragi (Finger millet) improves the nutritional value of ice cream by enhancing the iron and fibre content. Caramel flavoured medium fat ice cream (6 % fat) was prepared by addition of gelatinized malted ragi flour roasted in butter (MRB) @ 8 %, 9 % and 10 % by weight of mix and compared with control (C) i.e. vanilla ice cream containing 10 % fat. The overall acceptability score of product prepared using 9 % MRB was statistically (P > 0.05) at par with the C, hence, it was selected. In the next part of the study, ragi ice cream was prepared using 4 different flavours viz. vanilla, mango, chocolate and caramel. Chocolate flavoured ragi ice cream was adjudged as best, followed by mango, caramel and vanilla ice cream. The iron and fibre content of chocolate flavoured ragi ice cream was found to be 12.8 ppm and 1.36 % respectively. vs. 1.5 ppm and 0.18 % respectively in control (C). Heat shock treatment as well as storage up to 30 days had no adverse effect on the sensory quality of the chocolate flavored ragi ice cream. Incorporation of finger millet in ice cream resulted in reduction in the amount of stabilizer used and effectively functioned as fat replacer in ice cream.

Leishmania braziliensis amastigotes stimulate production of IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-10 and TGF-ß by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from nonendemic area healthy residents.

Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis causes cutaneous and mucosal leishmaniasis in several countries in Latin America. In mammals, the parasites live as amastigotes, interacting with host immune cells and stimulating cytokine production that will drive the type of the specific immune responses. Generation of Th17 lymphocytes is associated with tissue destruction and depends on IL-1ß, IL-6, TGF-ß and IL-23 production, whereas IL-10 and TGF-ß are associated with tissue protection. Here, we evaluate whether amastigotes stimulate peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors to produce the major cytokines responsible for the generation of Th17. Seven L. (V.) braziliensis isolates from patients with different clinical forms of leishmaniasis were expanded in interferon-γ knockout mice to obtain amastigotes and in culture to get promastigotes. The parasites were used to stimulate PBMCs from healthy donors, and cytokine production was evaluated by ELISA or qPCR. Amastigotes and promastigotes induced IL-10 production in PBMCs; however, only amastigotes induced IL-1ß, IL-6 and TGF-ß. These data demonstrate for the first time that L. (V.) braziliensis amastigotes directly stimulate production of a unique pattern of cytokines that could contribute to the generation of Th17.

Improving cell adhesion: development of a biosensor for cell behaviour monitoring by surface grafting of sulfonic groups onto a thermoplastic polyurethane.

The surface properties of a material in combination with the mechanical properties are responsible for the material performance in a biological environment as well as the behaviour of the cells which contact with the material. Surface properties such as chemical, physical, biological play an important role in the biomaterials filed. In this work, the surface of a thermoplastic polyurethane film (Elastollan(®)1180A50) was tailored with sulfonic groups by grafting [2-(methacryloxyl)ethyl]-dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)-ammonium hydroxide (SB) after a previous surface activation either by Argon plasma or by ultra-violet irradiation. This surface modification had the purpose of improving cell adhesion in order to develop a biosensor able to monitor cell behaviour. The surfaces were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, by atomic force microscopy and by contact angle measurements in order to evaluate the efficiency of the modification. Additionally, blood compatibility studies and cell adhesion tests with human bone marrow cells were performed. These methods allowed the grafting of SB and the results indicate that a higher density of grafting was achieved with previous surface plasma treatment than with UV irradiation. However, for both techniques, the presence of SB functional groups led to a decrease of hydrophobicity and roughness of the surface, together with an improvement of the materials biological performance.

Oxygen uptake, muscle activity and ground reaction force during water aerobic exercises.

This study aimed to compare the oxygen uptake (VO2), the muscle activity of lower limbs, and the vertical ground reaction force (V-GRF) of women performing water aerobic exercises at different intensities. 12 young women performed the experimental protocol, which consisted of 3 water exercises (stationary running [SR], frontal kick [FK] and cross country skiing [CCS]) at 3 intensities (first and second ventilatory thresholds and maximum effort). A two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used. Regarding VO2, different responses between intensities (p<0.001) were found, and values between exercises were similar. For electromyographic activity (EMG), differences between intensities for all muscles (p<0.001) were found. Greater EMG signals were observed in the FK compared to SR for rectus femoris, semitendinosus, vastus lateralis and biceps femoris muscles (p<0.05). Regarding V-GRF, there was an increase in the V-GRF at greater intensities compared to the first ventilatory threshold (p=0.001). In addition, lower values were found during CCS compared to the SR and FK exercises (p<0.001). Thus, greater cardiorespiratory and neuromuscular responses were observed with increasing intensity. Exercises such as CCS could be used to attenuate the V-GRF; if the purpose is to reduce the muscular activity of lower limbs at a specific intensity, SR could be recommended.

Effects of intra-session exercise sequence during water-based concurrent training.

The aim was to investigate the effects of the intra-session exercise order during water-based concurrent training on the neuromuscular adaptations in young women. 26 women (25.1±2.9 years) were placed into 2 groups: resistance prior to (RA) or after (AR) aerobic training. Subjects performed resistance (sets at maximal effort) and aerobic training (exercises at heart rate corresponding to the second ventilatory threshold) twice a week over 12 weeks, performing both exercise types in the same training session. Upper (elbow flexion) and lower-body (knee extension) one-repetition maximum test (1RM) and peak torque (PT) were evaluated. The muscle thickness (MT) of upper (sum of MT of biceps brachii and brachialis) and lower-body (sum of MT of vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, and rectus femoris) was determined by ultrasonography. Moreover, the maximal electromyographic activity (EMG) of upper (biceps brachii) and lower-body (sum of EMG of vastus lateralis and rectus femoris) was measured. Both RA and AR groups increased the upper and lower-body 1RM and PT, while the lower-body 1RM increases observed in the RA was greater than AR (43.58±14.00 vs. 27.01±18.05%). RA and AR showed MT increases in all muscles evaluated, while the lower-body MT increases observed in the RA were also greater than AR (10.24±3.11 vs. 5.76±1.88%). There were increases in the maximal EMG of upper and lower-body in both RA and AR, with no differences between groups. Performing resistance prior to aerobic exercise during water-based concurrent training seems to optimize the lower-body strength and hypertrophy.

A review of computational methodologies to predict the fractional flow reserve in coronary arteries with stenosis.

Computational methodologies for predicting the fractional flow reserve (FFR) in coronary arteries with stenosis have gained significant attention due to their potential impact on healthcare outcomes. Coronary artery disease is a leading cause of mortality worldwide, prompting the need for accurate diagnostic and treatment approaches. The use of medical image-based anatomical vascular geometries in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to evaluate the hemodynamics has emerged as a promising tool in the medical field. This comprehensive review aims to explore the state-of-the-art computational methodologies focusing on the possible considerations. Key aspects include the rheology of blood, boundary conditions, fluid-structure interaction (FSI) between blood and the arterial wall, and multiscale modelling (MM) of stenosis. Through an in-depth analysis of the literature, the goal is to obtain an overview of the major achievements regarding non-invasive methods to compute FFR and to identify existing gaps and challenges that inform further advances in the field. This research has the major objective of improving the current diagnostic capabilities and enhancing patient care in the context of cardiovascular diseases.

Minimally invasive sagittal osteotomy-technical note.

This article describes a novel minimally invasive technique for bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO) that aims to reduce surgical trauma while maintaining bone overlap and rigid internal fixation for proper consolidation of the bone segments. The technique involves a small vestibular mucoperiosteal incision made on the lateral aspect of the mandible between the first and second molars, enabling a standard ramus split, surgical segment movement, and miniplate fixation. A retrospective evaluation of 67 consecutive patients who underwent BSSO using this protocol showed favorable split of the mandible with no unfavorable splits or non-union. Patients were discharged from hospital within an average of 17 h with minimal postoperative complications. This technique provides good surgical visualization with a very small incision and allows standard BSSO surgery without difficulty.

Factors that support public health infrastructure recovery in Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands after Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

This paper describes the factors that support recovery of public health infrastructure (PHI), including conditions that facilitated or hindered recovery in United States (US) territories impacted by hurricanes Irma and Maria. A deductive approach was used to categorize data from five organizations that received crisis hurricane recovery (CHR) funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.* Spending was grouped into five infrastructure gaps: (1) human resources, (2) informatic upgrades, (3) equipment, (4) minor repairs, and (5) preventive maintenance. Unanticipated PHI costs, facilitators, and hinderances to PHI recovery were identified. Most (72 percent) of the $53,529,823 CHR funding was used to address infrastructure gaps in (1) human resources (56 percent), (2) informatics (16 percent), (3) equipment (13 percent), (4) minor repairs (10 percent), and (5) preventive maintenance (5 percent). Most of the requests (56 percent) to redirect funds were associated with unanticipated costs in initial work plans and budgets. The use of administrative partners, planning tools, dedicated staff, streamlined procedures, eg, contracts, and cost sharing facilitated PHI recovery. The most common hindrance to PHI recovery were delays in procurement and shipping. In summary, investments in dedicated funding to upgrade, repair, or replace critical structures and systems for infectious disease surveillance, laboratory capacity, vector control, environmental health inspections, and vaccine storage and administration in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands after Hurricanes Irma and Maria contributed to their recovery capacity. These findings may inform funding and resource allocation considerations for PHI recovery in the US territories.