There was no significant difference in nosocomial infection rate between the two groups. Translating and adapting principles of family-centered care was feasible, and improved the pre-discharge exclusive breastfeeding rates.

Background Limited evidence exists on perinatal transmission and outcomes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in neonates. Objective To describe clinical outcomes and risk factors for transmission in neonates born to mothers with perinatal SARS-CoV-2 infection. Design Prospective cohort of suspected and confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infected neonates entered in National Neonatology Forum (NNF) of India registry. Subjects Neonates born to women with SARS-CoV-2 infection within two weeks before or two days after birth and neonates with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Outcomes Incidence and risk factors of perinatal transmission. Results Among 1713 neonates, SARS-CoV-2 infection status was available for 1330 intramural and 104 extramural neonates. SARS-CoV-2 positivity was reported in 144 intramural and 39 extramural neonates. Perinatal transmission occurred in 106 (8%) and horizontal transmission in 21 (1.5%) intramural neonates. Neonates roomed-in with mother had higher transmission risk (RR1.16, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.4; P =0.01). No association was noted with the mode of delivery or type of feeding. The majority of neonates positive for SARS-CoV2 were asymptomatic. Intramural SARS-CoV-2 positive neonates were more likely to be symptomatic (RR 5, 95%CI 3.3 to 7.7; P <0.0001) and need resuscitation (RR 2, 95%CI 1.0 to 3.9; P =0.05) compared to SARS-CoV-2 negative neonates. Amongst symptomatic neonates, most morbidities were related to prematurity and perinatal events. Conclusion Data from a large cohort suggests perinatal transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection and increased morbidity in infected infants.

BackgroundRecently, we reported an association of a novel cancer testis (CT) antigen, sperm-associated antigen 9 (SPAG9) expression in breast cancer clinical samples, indicating its potential role in carcinogenesis. Around 15% breast cancers are designated as triple-negative for which treatment modalities are limited. Therefore, in the present study, we assessed the role of SPAG9 in triple-negative breast cancer cells.MethodsSPAG9 mRNA and protein expression was investigated in various breast cancer cells of different hormone receptor status and different subtypes by employing reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), real time PCR, Western blotting, indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). Employing plasmid-based small interfering RNA (siRNA) approach, knockdown of SPAG9 was carried out in triple-negative breast cancer cells, MDA-MB-231, to assess its role on various malignant properties in vitro and in vivo.ResultsSPAG9 mRNA and protein expression was detected in all breast cancer cells. Further, IIF results showed that SPAG9 was predominantly localized in the cytoplasm of breast cancer cells. FACS analysis revealed distinct SPAG9 surface localization in breast cancer cells. Gene silencing of SPAG9 resulted in significant reduction in cellular proliferation, colony forming ability, migration, invasion and cellular motility of MDA-MB-231 cells. Further, ablation of SPAG9 expression resulted in reduction in the tumor growth of human breast cancer xenograft in nude mice in vivo.ConclusionsIn summary, our data indicated that down regulation of SPAG9 reduces growth and invasive potential of triple-negative breast cancer cells, suggesting that SPAG9 may be a potential target for therapeutic use.

Ovarian cancer is one of the neoplasms affecting the reproductive tract associated with high mortality rate because of limited therapeutic options and an elevated incidence of chemoresistance and recurrence. In this context, immunotherapy may constitute a promising approach to improve survival rates and clinical outcome, raising the need for specific target antigens. Cancer-testis antigens (CTAs) are considered promising candidates in this sense because they are aberrant expressed by various malignancies but not by non-transformed tissue, with the exception of testes. Here, we examined the expression and potential to promote humoral immune responses of a novel CTA, A-kinase anchor protein 4 (AKAP4), among 38 ovarian carcinoma patients. Our results reveal that AKAP4 was expressed at both the mRNA and protein levels in 89% (34/38) of ovarian carcinoma tissue specimens but not in 21 matched adjacent non-cancerous tissues. In addition, a humoral response against AKAP4 was detected in 58% (22/38) of ovarian carcinoma patients by ELISA. In particular, 65% (22/34) patients bearing an AKAP4-expressing tumor exhibited circulating anti-AKAP4 antibodies. Interestingly, the majority of specimens were categorized as ovarian serous adenocarcinoma and serous papillary carcinoma, of which 93% (28/30) and 100% (6/6), respectively, expressed AKAP4. A humoral response against AKAP4 was detected in 79% (19/24) and 67% (4/6) of ovarian serous adenocarcinoma and serous papillary carcinoma patients, respectively. The presence of circulating anti-AKAP4 antibodies suggests the AKAP4 is highly immunogenic in ovarian serous carcinoma patients. Our study lays the foundations for exploring AKAP4 as a potential target for the immunotherapy of ovarian cancer.

Pseudocysts of the spleen are very rare, found in <1% of the splenectomies done and usually develop secondary to trauma. Pseudocysts of spleen rarely grow to large size and most of these remain asymptomatic, they require exploration only in symptomatic cases and chances for spleen preservation in these cases are usually less. Here, we present two cases of this rare entity developing secondary to abdominal trauma in the past, both presented with complaints of pain and lump in the abdomen. After thorough investigations, laparotomy was done preserving spleen in one case and doing splenectomy in the other. On histopathological examination, diagnosis of splenic pseudocysts was confirmed by the absence of lining epithelium. We would like to report these two cases because of their rarity and as diagnostic dilemmas.