A review of proton pump inhibitor use in cystic fibrosis and considerations for deprescribing.

Use of proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) is common among people with cystic fibrosis (pwCF) both for the management of suspected GERD, as well as pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy augmentation. Despite their use, limited data exist to demonstrate a clinically significant impact of PPIs on key endpoints in pwCF. Furthermore, the advent of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulator therapy may modify the need for use.

Pediatric Pulmonology 2023 year in review: Rare and diffuse lung disease.

The field of pediatric rare and diffuse lung disease continues its maturation as research advances the understanding of diagnosis and treatment of children's interstitial lung disease, noncystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, and primary ciliary dyskinesia. The rarity and breadth of these conditions make them challenging to study, yet we continue to make progress in our understanding of pathophysiology, genotype/phenotype relationships, and treatment. Papers published on these topics in Pediatric Pulmonology and other journals in 2023 describe the power of multicenter cooperation and patient registries, enhance our understanding of pathophysiology and genotype/phenotype relationships, and report progress in treatments.

Emissions from plastic incineration induce inflammation, oxidative stress, and impaired bioenergetics in primary human respiratory epithelial cells.

Inhalation exposure to plastic incineration emissions (PIEs) is a problem of increasing human relevance, as plastic production and waste creation have drastically increased since mainstream integration during the 20th century. We investigated the effects of PIEs on human nasal epithelial cells (HNECs) to understand if such exposures cause damage and dysfunction to respiratory epithelia. Primary HNECs from male and female donors were cultured at air-liquid interface (ALI), and 16HBE cells were cultured on coverslips.

Organic matter preservation through complexation with iron minerals in two basins of a dimictic boreal lake with contrasting deep water redox regimes.

The biogeochemical cycles of iron and organic carbon (OC) are closely interconnected in terrestrial and aquatic systems. In ocean waters, the concentration of reactive Fe is tightly controlled by soluble organic ligands. In soils, Fe stabilizes OC by forming aggregates that shield OC from degradation.

Situs Ambiguus Is Associated With Adverse Clinical Outcomes in Children With Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia.

Background: Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare disorder of motile cilia associated with situs abnormalities. At least 12% of patients with PCD have situs ambiguus (SA), including organ laterality defects falling outside normal arrangement (situs solitus [SS]) or mirror image inversion (situs inversus totalis [SIT]).

Research Question: Do patients with PCD and SA achieve worse clinical outcomes compared with those with SS or SIT?

Study Design And Methods: This cross-sectional, multicenter study evaluated participants aged 21 years or younger with PCD.

Pediatric Pulmonology 2022 year in review: Rare and diffuse lung disease.

The field of rare and diffuse pediatric lung disease continues to evolve and expand rapidly as clinicians and researchers make advancements in the diagnosis and treatment of children's interstitial and diffuse lung disease, non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, and primary ciliary dyskinesia. Papers published on these topics in Pediatric Pulmonology and other journals in 2022 describe newly recognized disorders, elucidate disease mechanisms and courses, explore potential biomarkers, and assess novel treatments. In this review, we will discuss these important advancements and place them in the context of existing literature.

Acute and Chronic Ethanol Effects during Adolescence on Neuroimmune Responses: Consequences and Potential Pharmacologic Interventions.

Heavy ethanol consumption during adolescence has been linked to neuroimmune response dysregulation and cognitive deficits in the developing adolescent brain. During adolescence, the brain is particularly susceptible to the pharmacological effects of ethanol that are induced by acute and chronic bouts of exposure. Numerous preclinical rodent model studies have used different ethanol administration techniques, such as intragastric gavage, self-administration, vapor, intraperitoneal, and free access, and while most models indicated proinflammatory neuroimmune responses in the adolescent brain, there are various factors that appear to influence this observation.

Parainfluenza and corona viruses in a fallow deer () with fatal respiratory disease.

Parainfluenza virus type 3 (PIV-3) and coronaviruses (CoV) are commonly found in respiratory tracts of ruminants and capable of causing clinical disease. Here, we investigated the cause of ill-thrift and sudden death in a five-month-old male fallow deer which occurred in December 2019. The calf was one of the five calves in a herd of 170 deer that, along with three adult hinds, died during a 2-week period.

Laterality Defects in Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia: Relationship to Ultrastructural Defect or Genotype.

The association between organ laterality abnormalities and ciliary ultrastructural defect or genotype in primary ciliary dyskinesia is poorly understood. To determine if there is an association between presence and/or type of laterality abnormality and ciliary ultrastructural defect or genotype. Participants with primary ciliary dyskinesia in a multicenter, prospective study were grouped based on ciliary ultrastructural defect or genotype.

A multi-disciplinary, comprehensive approach to management of children with heterotaxy.

Heterotaxy (HTX) is a rare condition of abnormal thoraco-abdominal organ arrangement across the left-right axis of the body. The pathogenesis of HTX includes a derangement of the complex signaling at the left-right organizer early in embryogenesis involving motile and non-motile cilia. It can be inherited as a single-gene disorder, a phenotypic feature of a known genetic syndrome or without any clear genetic etiology.

Conditional cash lotteries increase COVID-19 vaccination rates.

Conditional cash lotteries (CCLs) provide people with opportunities to win monetary prizes only if they make specific behavioral changes. We conduct a case study of Ohio's Vax-A-Million initiative, the first CCL targeting COVID-19 vaccinations. Forming a synthetic control from other states, we find that Ohios incentive scheme increases the vaccinated share of state population by 1.

Pediatric Pulmonology 2020 year in review: Asthma.

Pediatric asthma is a heterogeneous and common chronic condition with significant morbidity and burden on the healthcare system. Despite advances in the field, the disease has proven to be increasingly complex to diagnose and management strategies are constantly evolving. Studies from 2020 have advanced the field even further, particularly with regard to new methods of diagnosis and monitoring, treatment of severe asthma, modifiable risk factors like exercise and obesity, aerosol delivery, and viral respiratory infections contributing to the development of asthma.

Increasing Cardiac Rehabilitation Participation Through a "Nearer to Home" Patient Referral Program.

Purpose: Time to travel to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) centers is a barrier to participation, and tertiary referral centers often care for patients living at a substantial distance. We sought to determine the impact of referring eligible patients to CR centers closer to home or workplace on overall participation rate.

Methods: An observational review was conducted in patients from a large cardiovascular program who were referred to CR (January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2016).

Two-dimensional high performance liquid chromatography purification of underivatized urinary testosterone and metabolites for compound-specific stable carbon isotope analysis.

Testosterone doping in sports is detected through the measurement of the carbon isotopic signature (δ C) of testosterone and its metabolites in urine. A critical step in achieving accurate and precise δ C values during compound-specific stable carbon isotope analysis (CSIA) is the removal of interfering matrix components. To this end, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recommends the use of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as a method of sample pretreatment.

Clinical implications of pulmonary nodules detected in children.

Introduction: The management of children found to have pulmonary nodules is not well established. We determined how often diagnostic testing was pursued, the outcome of diagnostic testing, and how often pulmonary nodules were given a definitive diagnosis.

Method: A retrospective review of patients found to have pulmonary nodules.

Lobster processing by-products as valuable bioresource of marine functional ingredients, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals.

The worldwide annual production of lobster was 165,367 tons valued over $3.32 billion in 2004, but this figure rose up to 304,000 tons in 2012. Over half the volume of the worldwide lobster production has been processed to meet the rising global demand in diversified lobster products.

Preservation of organic matter in marine sediments by inner-sphere interactions with reactive iron.

Interactions between organic matter and mineral matrices are critical to the preservation of soil and sediment organic matter. In addition to clay minerals, Fe(III) oxides particles have recently been shown to be responsible for the protection and burial of a large fraction of sedimentary organic carbon (OC). Through a combination of synchrotron X-ray techniques and high-resolution images of intact sediment particles, we assessed the mechanism of interaction between OC and iron, as well as the composition of organic matter co-localized with ferric iron.

Notch regulates BMP responsiveness and lateral branching in vessel networks via SMAD6.

Functional blood vessel growth depends on generation of distinct but coordinated responses from endothelial cells. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP), part of the TGFβ superfamily, bind receptors to induce phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of SMAD transcription factors (R-SMAD1/5/8) and regulate vessel growth. However, SMAD1/5/8 signalling results in both pro- and anti-angiogenic outputs, highlighting a poor understanding of the complexities of BMP signalling in the vasculature.

Screening for Spinal Dysraphisms in Newborns With Sacral Dimples.

Sacral dimples are common physical examination findings among newborns and are rarely associated with spinal dysraphism. Screening ultrasonography for simple sacral dimples in the absence of other physical findings leads to unnecessary health care costs and undue stress on families. This study was a retrospective chart review of infants with a sacral dimple on examination who underwent spinal ultrasonography in the first week of life.

Attitudes towards Prosthodontic Clinical Decision-Making for Edentulous Patients among South West Deanery Dental Foundation Year One Dentists.

The aim of this study was to describe Dental Foundation year one dentists' attitudes towards prosthodontic decision making for edentulous patients, and identify whether there are gender differences in these attitudes. All South West Deanery trainees were invited to take part in the study between May and June 2011 and a previously piloted questionnaire was administered to the trainees by their training programme directors. The questionnaire posed questions based upon a clinical scenario of discussing treatment options with patients.

Cast Titanium for Obturator Framework Construction in Maxillofacial Prosthodontics.

A 37 year old male presented with the complaint of a loose and bulky acrylic obturator prosthesis. He had previously tried to using a different acrylic obturator prostheses as well as both cobalt chromium and titanium framework obturators. The most successful previous prosthesis was a titanium based obturator which had performed well prior to a fractured clasp.

Automated Mobile System for Accurate Outdoor Tree Crop Enumeration Using an Uncalibrated Camera.

This paper demonstrates an automated computer vision system for outdoor tree crop enumeration in a seedling nursery. The complete system incorporates both hardware components (including an embedded microcontroller, an odometry encoder, and an uncalibrated digital color camera) and software algorithms (including microcontroller algorithms and the proposed algorithm for tree crop enumeration) required to obtain robust performance in a natural outdoor environment. The enumeration system uses a three-step image analysis process based upon: (1) an orthographic plant projection method integrating a perspective transform with automatic parameter estimation; (2) a plant counting method based on projection histograms; and (3) a double-counting avoidance method based on a homography transform.