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Abstract
Objective The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of microvascular decompression (MVD) for primary hemifacial spasm (HFS) in patients aged ≥70 years and to compare the outcome with a control cohort of younger patients(<70 years).
Methods In this retrospective study, subjects were divided into two groups: an elderly group (patients who were ≥70 years) and a younger group. We compared demographic and clinical data, surgical outcome, MVD-related complications, and duration of operation and hospitalization after MVD between the two groups.
Results At a mean follow-up of 32 ± 4.2 months, 188 elderly patients (90.4%) reported an effective outcome without need for any medication versus 379 (91.1%) of the younger cohort. There was no mortality in both cohorts. The prevalence of delayed facial palsy was 4.8% in the elderly group and 4.1% in the younger group. One (0.5%) patient in the elderly group and 3 (0.7%) patients in the younger group suffered cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of MVD-related complications, such as delayed facial palsy, hearing impairment, CSF leakage, and hematoma.
Conclusions MVD is an effective treatment option in elderly patients with HFS as well as in younger patients. Age itself seems to be no relevant contraindication or, alternatively, risk factor regarding MVD.

Abstract. In this study, idealized cloud-resolving simulations are performed for horizontally uniform and steady southwesterly flow at fixed direction–speed
combinations to investigate rainfall characteristics and the role of the complex topography in Taiwan during the Mei-yu season without the
influence of a front or other disturbances. Eight directions (180 to 285∘, every 15∘) and eight speeds (5 to 22.5 m s−1,
every 2.5 m s−1) are considered, and near-surface relative humidity is also altered (from 55 %–100 %) in a subset of these
tests to further examine the effects of moisture content, yielding a total 109 experiments each having a integration length of 50 h. Three
rainfall regimes that correspond to different ranges of the wet Froude number (Frw) are identified from the idealized
simulations (with a grid size of 2 km). The low-Frw regime (Frw ≤ ∼ 0.3) is where the island circulation
from thermodynamic effects is the main driver of rainfall in local afternoon. The lower the wind speed and Frw are, the more widespread the rainfall is, as well as its
amount. On the other hand, the high-Frw regime (Frw ≥ ∼ 0.4) occurs when the flow of at least
12.5 m s−1 impinges on Taiwan terrain at a large angle (not parallel). This favors the flow-over scenario, and topographic rainfall
production becomes dominant through mechanical uplift of unstable air. In this scenario, the faster and wetter the flow is, the heavier the rainfall on
the windward slopes is, and maximum amounts typically occur at wind directions from 240–255∘. Between the two regimes above, a third, mixed
regime also exists. The idealized results are discussed for their applicability to the real atmosphere.

Abstract
Background Microvascular decompression (MVD) has become accepted as an effective therapeutic option for hemifacial spasm (HFS); however, the curative rate of MVD for HFS varies widely (50–98%) in different medical centers. This study could contribute to the improvement of the MVD procedure.
Methods We retrospectively analyzed 32 patients in whom initial MVD failed in other hospitals and who underwent a second MVD at our center. The clinical characteristics, operative findings, outcome of the second MVD, and complications were recorded.
Results There were 18 women and 14 men (56.3 and 43.7%, respectively). The left-to-right ratio was 19:13. The mean age of the patients was 59.8 years. We found an undiscovered conflict site located in zone 4 in 10 patients and in the root entry zone in 8 patients. The initial MVD failed in nine patients because of ignorance of the arterioles that originate from the anterior inferior cerebellar artery. There were no special findings in four patients. No Teflon felts were found in the whole surgical field in one patient.
Conclusion Omission of the offending vessel is the most common cause of an unsuccessful MVD. Intraoperative abnormal muscle response associated with the Z-L response is a good measure to correctly identify the involved arterioles.

We thank the EAVE II Patient Advisory Group for their support. EAVE II is funded by the Medical Research Council (MR/R008345/1) with the support of BREATHE—The Health Data Research Hub for Respiratory Health [MC_PC_19004], which is funded through the UK Research and Innovation Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and delivered through Health Data Research UK. This research is part of the Data and Connectivity National Core Study, led by Health Data Research UK in partnership with the Office for National Statistics and funded by UK Research and Innovation (grant reference MC_PC_20058). Additional support has been provided through Public Health Scotland and Scottish Government DG Health and Social Care and the Data and Connectivity National Core Study, led by Health Data Research UK in partnership with the Office for National Statistics and funded by UK Research and Innovation. ; Peer reviewed ; Publisher PDF

Background: Global child mortality reduced substantially during the Millennium Development Goal period (2000–15). We aimed to estimate morbidity, mortality, and prevalence of risk factors for child pneumonia at the global, regional, and national level for developing countries for the Millennium Development Goal period. Methods: We estimated the incidence, number of hospital admissions, and in-hospital mortality due to all-cause clinical pneumonia in children younger than 5 years in developing countries at 5-year intervals during the Millennium Development Goal period (2000–15) using data from a systematic review and Poisson regression. We estimated the incidence and number of cases of clinical pneumonia, and the pneumonia burden attributable to HIV for 132 developing countries using a risk-factor-based model that used Demographic and Health Survey data on prevalence of the various risk factors for child pneumonia. We also estimated pneumonia mortality in young children using data from multicause models based on vital registration and verbal autopsy. Findings: Globally, the number of episodes of clinical pneumonia in young children decreased by 22% from 178 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 110–289) in 2000 to 138 million (86–226) in 2015. In 2015, India, Nigeria, Indonesia, Pakistan, and China contributed to more than 54% of all global pneumonia cases, with 32% of the global burden from India alone. Between 2000 and 2015, the burden of clinical pneumonia attributable to HIV decreased by 45%. Between 2000 and 2015, global hospital admissions for child pneumonia increased by 2·9 times with a more rapid increase observed in the WHO South-East Asia Region than the African Region. Pneumonia deaths in this age group decreased from 1·7 million (95% UI 1·7–2·0) in 2000 to 0·9 million (0·8–1·1) in 2015. In 2015, 49% of global pneumonia deaths occurred in India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ethiopia collectively. All key risk factors for child pneumonia (non-exclusive breastfeeding, crowding, malnutrition, indoor air pollution, incomplete immunisation, and paediatric HIV), with the exception of low birthweight, decreased across all regions between 2000 and 2015. Interpretation: Globally, the incidence of child pneumonia decreased by 30% and mortality decreased by 51% during the Millennium Development Goal period. These reductions are consistent with the decrease in the prevalence of some of the key risk factors for pneumonia, increasing socioeconomic development and preventive interventions, improved access to care, and quality of care in hospitals. However, intersectoral action is required to improve socioeconomic conditions and increase coverage of interventions targeting risk factors for child pneumonia to accelerate decline in pneumonia mortality and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals for health by 2030. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

There is an urgent need to inform policy deliberations about whether children with asthma should be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 and, if so, which subset of children with asthma should be prioritised. We were asked by the UK's Joint Commission on Vaccination and Immunisation to undertake an urgent analysis to identify which children with asthma were at increased risk of serious COVID-19 outcomes. This national incident cohort study was done in all children in Scotland aged 5-17 years who were included in the linked dataset of Early Pandemic Evaluation and Enhanced Surveillance of COVID-19 (EAVE II). We used data from EAVE II to investigate the risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation among children with markers of uncontrolled asthma defined by either previous asthma hospital admission or oral corticosteroid prescription in the previous 2 years. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to derive hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for the association between asthma and COVID-19 hospital admission, stratified by markers of asthma control (previous asthma hospital admission and number of previous prescriptions for oral corticosteroids within 2 years of the study start date). Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, comorbidity, and previous hospital admission. Between March 1, 2020, and July 27, 2021, 752 867 children were included in the EAVE II dataset, 63 463 (8·4%) of whom had clinician-diagnosed-and-recorded asthma. Of these, 4339 (6·8%) had RT-PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. In those with confirmed infection, 67 (1·5%) were admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Among the 689 404 children without asthma, 40 231 (5·8%) had confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections, of whom 382 (0·9%) were admitted to hospital with COVID-19. The rate of COVID-19 hospital admission was higher in children with poorly controlled asthma than in those with well controlled asthma or without asthma. When using previous hospital admission for asthma as the marker of uncontrolled asthma, the adjusted HR was 6·40 (95% CI 3·27-12·53) for those with poorly controlled asthma and 1·36 (1·02-1·80) for those with well controlled asthma, compared with those with no asthma. When using oral corticosteroid prescriptions as the marker of uncontrolled asthma, the adjusted HR was 3·38 (1·84-6·21) for those with three or more prescribed courses of corticosteroids, 3·53 (1·87-6·67) for those with two prescribed courses of corticosteroids, 1·52 (0·90-2·57) for those with one prescribed course of corticosteroids, and 1·34 (0·98-1·82) for those with no prescribed course, compared with those with no asthma. School-aged children with asthma with previous recent hospital admission or two or more courses of oral corticosteroids are at markedly increased risk of COVID-19 hospital admission and should be considered a priority for vaccinations. This would translate into 9124 children across Scotland and an estimated 109 448 children across the UK. UK Research and Innovation (Medical Research Council), Research and Innovation Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, Health Data Research UK, and Scottish Government. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.]

Our thanks to the EAVE II Patient Advisory Group for their support. EAVE II is funded by the Medical Research Council (MR/R008345/1) with the support of BREATHE—The Health Data Research Hub for Respiratory Health (MC_PC_19004)—which is funded through the UK Research and Innovation Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and delivered through Health Data Research UK. Additional support has been provided through Public Health Scotland and Scottish Government Director-General Health and Social Care and the Data and Connectivity National Core Study, led by Health Data Research UK in partnership with the Office for National Statistics and funded by UK Research and Innovation. SVK acknowledges funding from an NHS Research Scotland Senior Clinical Fellowship (SCAF/15/02), the Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00022/2) and the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office (SPHSU17). ; Peer reviewed ; Publisher PDF

Authors thank the EAVE II Patient Advisory Group for their support. EAVE II is funded by the Medical Research Council (MR/R008345/1) with the support of BREATHE—The Health Data Research Hub for Respiratory Health (MC_PC_19004)—which is funded through the UK Research and Innovation Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and delivered through Health Data Research UK. Additional support has been provided through Public Health Scotland and Scottish Government Director-General Health and Social Care and the Data and Connectivity National Core Study, led by Health Data Research UK in partnership with the Office for National Statistics and funded by UK Research and Innovation. SVK acknowledges funding from an NHS Research Scotland Senior Clinical Fellowship (SCAF/15/02), the Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00022/2) and the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office (SPHSU17). ; Background There is an urgent need to inform policy deliberations about whether children with asthma should be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 and, if so, which subset of children with asthma should be prioritised. We were asked by the UK's Joint Commission on Vaccination and Immunisation to undertake an urgent analysis to identify which children with asthma were at increased risk of serious COVID-19 outcomes. Methods This national incident cohort study was done in all children in Scotland aged 5–17 years who were included in the linked dataset of Early Pandemic Evaluation and Enhanced Surveillance of COVID-19 (EAVE II). We used data from EAVE II to investigate the risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation among children with markers of uncontrolled asthma defined by either previous asthma hospital admission or oral corticosteroid prescription in the previous 2 years. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to derive hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for the association between asthma and COVID-19 hospital admission, stratified by markers of asthma control (previous asthma hospital admission and number of previous prescriptions for oral corticosteroids within 2 ...