These were two retrospective cohort and 13 cross-sectional studies. Thirteen of 15 articles support an association between recurrent croup and GERD. Although heterogeneity is high among studies that reported prevalence of GERD, there is less uncertainty in results for improvement to recurrent croup after GERD treatment. Most studies lacked a control group and all carry a moderate-to-high risk of bias. CONCLUSION There is limited evidence linking GERD to recurrent croup; Further research is needed to assess for causality as most studies are retrospective, lack a control group, and have a study design exposing them to bias. Patients treated with reflux medication appear to demonstrate a reduced incidence of croup symptoms. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 1 Laryngoscope, 2020. © 2020 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.The development of a novel snack bar based on sesame paste (SP) and date syrup (DS) was investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluation the effects of SP/DS ratio and encapsulated thymol (thymol-loaded nanostructured lipid carrier [TNLC]) on physicochemical, textural, rheological, and sensorial properties of snack bars. The effect of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), thymol, and TNLC showed that the addition of 100 ppm TNLC could improve the oxidative stability of SP/DS mixtures even better than BHT, while a higher concentration of TNLC had a negative effect. The unpleasant taste and odor of thymol could be overcome by its encapsulation in nanostructured lipid carriers. The textural properties of the formulations with different SP/DS ratios (12, 11, 21) and an overall concentration of 7 g of gelatin/kg of mixtures were evaluated. The texture profile analysis showed that the sample with an SP/DS ratio of 11 had higher hardness, adhesiveness, springiness, cohesiveness, and gumminess in comparison with the other ratios. From the sensory evaluation data, the bar prepared with an SP/DS ratio of 11 had the most acceptable texture. According to the results, the SP/DS ratio of 11 with gelatin and 100 ppm TNLC can be used in developing SP/DS blends as a highly acceptable functional food. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.In this study, size-selected platinum (Pt) nanoclusters were imaged with aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy in high-angle annular dark field (HAADF) mode. For image analysis, a relatively simple macro program was developed by making the use of existing ImageJ plug-ins.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/epacadostat-incb024360.html  The macro allows effectively for assessing criterions chosen for intensity threshold and filter blurring factors. It can extract the integrated HAADF intensity, peak intensity and projected area of the clusters. Here, the effects of magnification and objective lens defocus on nanocluster measurement were investigated. It was found that the integrated HAADF intensity of Pt clusters is a more robust sample descriptor than the peak intensity and the projected area. The macro program developed is freely available. LAY DESCRIPTION Measuring precisely the size of nanoclusters plays an important role in the investigation of nanocluster-based material systems. Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) is one of the most powerful tools to extract the size of clusters directly from their images. In this study, we developed a macro program based on existing ImageJ plug-ins, allowing easy-assessment of criterions chosen for image intensity threshold and filter blurring factors. It can be used to extract the integrated intensity, peak intensity, and projected area of the clusters for size determination. Using the program, we investigated the effects of magnification and objective lens defocus on measurements performed on size-selected platinum (Pt) nanoclusters, and found that the integrated intensity of Pt clusters is a more robust sample descriptor than the peak intensity and the projected area. The macro developed allows a rapid assessment of factors affecting the accuracy with which size information can be obtained from clusters. © 2020 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2020 Royal Microscopical Society.OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship among smoking, alcohol consumption, and peritonsillar abscess in a Korean population. STUDY DESIGN Individuals ≥40 years old from the Korean National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening Cohort were assessed from 2002 to 2013. METHODS In total, 1,285 peritonsillar abscess participants were matched with 5,140 controls at a ratio of 14 with respect to age group, sex, income group, region of residence, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. We analyzed the participants' previous histories of smoking (current smokers vs. nonsmokers or past smokers) and alcohol consumption (drinkers vs. nondrinkers) in the peritonsillar abscess and control groups. Peritonsillar abscess was defined using the International Classification of Disease-10 code J36 combined with claim codes for incision and drainage or aspiration. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were analyzed using unconditional logistic regression analyses, and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. RESULTS The rates of smoking and consuming alcohol were higher in the peritonsillar abscess group than in the control group. The adjusted OR of smoking for peritonsillar abscess was 1.23 (95% CI = 1.06-1.44, P = .009), and that of alcohol consumption was 1.18 (95% CI = 1.02-1.36, P = .024). CONCLUSION The odds of smoking and alcohol consumption were increased in peritonsillar abscess patients compared to those in the control group. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE NA Laryngoscope, 2020. © 2020 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.The fungus Verticillium dahliae causes vascular wilt disease on hundreds of plant species. Homologs of the bZIP transcription factor Atf1 are required for virulence in most pathogenic fungi, but the molecular basis for their involvement is largely unknown. We performed targeted gene deletion, expression analysis, biochemistry and pathogenicity assays to demonstrate that VdAtf1 governs pathogenesis via the regulation of nitrosative resistance and nitrogen metabolism in V. dahliae. VdAtf1 controls pathogenesis via the regulation of nitric oxide (NO) resistance and inorganic nitrogen metabolism rather than oxidative resistance and is important for penetration peg formation in V. dahliae. VdAtf1 affects ammonium and nitrate assimilation in response to various nitrogen sources. VdAtf1 may be involved in regulating the expression of VdNut1. VdAtf1 responds to NO stress by strengthening the fungal cell wall, and by causing over-accumulation of methylglyoxal and glycerol, which in turn impacts NO detoxification. We also verified that the VdAtf1 ortholog in Fusarium graminearum mediates nitrogen metabolism, suggesting conservation of this function in related plant pathogenic fungi.