Using a novel mathematical model, we show that NTBC could reduce the transmission of African trypanosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa, thus accelerating current disease elimination programmes.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. China reported the first case of COVID-19 in December 2019, and a few months later, the World Health Organization declared it as a pandemic. Oral ulcers in adult patients have been associated with COVID-19. However, no cases have yet been documented in children. The angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptor has been identified in tissues of the oral cavity. Studies have identified the tongue as the site with the highest expression of ACE2, and the oral epithelium, gingival epithelium, and salivary glands as sites of lesser extent expression. ACE2 expression is lower in children and varies with age. SARS-CoV-2 in saliva has been identified in various studies, which suggests that this could be a useful sample for diagnosis. However, its presence in saliva would indicate the high risk of contagion of this fluid.BACKGROUND Massive retinal gliosis (MRG) is a rare benign intraocular tumor that results from the proliferation of well-differentiated glial cells in response to long-standing pathological processes, including glaucoma, trauma, chronic inflammation, vascular disorders, and congenital anomalies. This lesion is considered to be nonneoplastic and occurs ≥10 years after the predisposing insult.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/salubrinal.html  It usually affects children and can mimic other conditions, including uveal melanomas, vasoproliferative tumors of the retina, astrocytic hamartomas, and retinal hemangioblastomas. CASE REPORT We present a case of infant MRG with severe left eye microphthalmia. An 11-month-old boy was presented by his parents in the Oculoplastic Unit of a teaching university hospital with bilateral incomplete cryptophthalmos and small globes. An enucleation of the left globe was carried out to stimulate orbital bone growth and to improve the cosmetic outcome. The histopathological examination revealed a microphthalmic globe with sclerocornea and disorganized intraocular anterior segment structures. The retina was dysplastic with proliferating spindle-shaped glial cells showing fibrillar eosinophilic cytoplasm and filled most of the vitreous cavity. The glial origin of the cells was confirmed by the immunohistochemical markers (glial fibrillary acidic protein and synaptophysin), supporting the diagnosis of MRG. The optic nerve was markedly hypoplastic. CONCLUSIONS MRG is a rare intraocular tumor that is clinically difficult to diagnose. A definite diagnosis can be made only on the basis of a histopathological examination and immunohistochemical markers.BACKGROUND Although radioiodine therapy (RIT) efficacy is thoroughly validated for Graves disease (GD), there is a lack of research on the predictive factors of RIT, especially the optimal thyroid-absorbed dose (TD) with a shorter effective half-life (Teff ≤5 days). The goal of this study was to explore the predictive value of TD in GD patients receiving RIT with a shorter Teff. MATERIAL AND METHODS We studied 208 GD patients receiving RIT with a shorter Teff. Plotting the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve verified the accuracy of TD for predicting RIT efficacy in GD patients. In addition, we conducted univariate and multivariate analyses to investigate the influence of 14 factors, including thyroid weight, TD, 24-h radioiodine uptake rate (RAIU), the highest RAIU, thyrotrophin receptor antibody level, thyroglobulin antibody level, thyroid peroxidase antibody level, and others, on curative effects of RIT. RESULTS Of the 208 study participants, complete remission and the total effectiveness rates were 68.3% and 92.3%, respectively. The threshold value of TD to predict RIT efficacy was 70.2 Gy, based on ROC analysis. Univariate analysis showed that 24-h RAIU, Teff, total iodine dose, iodine dose per gram of thyroid tissue, TD, and thyrotropin receptor antibody level were significantly associated with RIT efficacy. Multivariate analysis indicated that 24-h RAIU, total iodine dose, iodine dose per gram of thyroid tissue, and TD were significant independent predictors of RIT efficacy. CONCLUSIONS Predicting RIT efficacy from TD with a shorter Teff was feasible in GD patients, and TD above 70.2 Gy had an especially high predictive accuracy.The effect of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on the pathophysiology of the placenta and its impact on pregnancy outcome has not yet been fully elucidated. Here, we present a comprehensive clinical, morphological, and molecular analysis of placental tissues from pregnant women with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection. SARS-CoV-2 could be detected in half of placental tissues from SARS-CoV-2-positive women. The presence of the virus was not associated with any distinctive pathological, maternal, or neonatal outcome features. SARS-CoV-2 tissue load was low in all but one patient who exhibited severe placental damage leading to neonatal neurological manifestations. The placental transcriptional response induced by high viral load of SARS-CoV-2 showed an immunopathology phenotype similar to autopsy lung tissues from patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019. This finding contrasted with the lack of inflammatory response in placental tissues from SARS-CoV-2-positive women with low viral tissue load and from SARS-CoV-2-negative women. Importantly, no evidence of vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 was found in any newborns, suggesting that the placenta may be an effective maternal-neonatal barrier against the virus even in the presence of severe infection. Our observations suggest that severe placental damage induced by the virus may be detrimental for the neonate independently of vertical transmission.Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR) is a severe retinal vascular disease that causes blindness. FEVR has been linked to mutations in several genes associated with inactivation of the Norrin/β-catenin signaling pathway, but these account for only approximately 50% of cases. We report that mutations in α-catenin (CTNNA1) cause FEVR by overactivating the β-catenin pathway and disrupting cell adherens junctions. We identified 3 heterozygous mutations in CTNNA1 (p.F72S, p.R376Cfs*27, and p.P893L) by exome sequencing and further demonstrated that FEVR-associated mutations led to overactivation of Norrin/β-catenin signaling as a result of impaired protein interactions within the cadherin-catenin complex. The clinical features of FEVR were reproduced in mice lacking Ctnna1 in vascular endothelial cells (ECs) or with overactivated β-catenin signaling by an EC-specific gain-of-function allele of Ctnnb1. In isolated mouse lung ECs, both CTNNA1-P893L and F72S mutants failed to rescue either the disrupted F-actin arrangement or the VE-cadherin and CTNNB1 distribution.