Are body surface area based estimates of liver volume applicable to children with overweight or obesity? An in vivo validation study.

The liver is the primary organ responsible for clearing most drugs from the body and thus determines systemic drug concentrations over time. Drug clearance by the liver appears to be directly related to organ size. In children, organ size changes as children age and grow.

Abdominal pain and health related quality of life in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease.

Objective: To summarize rates of abdominal pain in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease, and to examine associations of abdominal pain, disease activity, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Methods: 44 youths aged 11-18 years completed ratings of abdominal pain, whereas youths and mothers provided ratings of HRQoL at Time 1 (T1) and Time 2 (T2; 6 months later). Disease activity was rated by physicians at T1.

Adoptive cell therapy for lymphoma with CD4 T cells depleted of CD137-expressing regulatory T cells.

Adoptive immunotherapy with antitumor T cells is a promising novel approach for the treatment of cancer. However, T-cell therapy may be limited by the cotransfer of regulatory T cells (T(reg)). Here, we explored this hypothesis by using 2 cell surface markers, CD44 and CD137, to isolate antitumor CD4 T cells while excluding T(regs).

Amelogenins regulate expression of genes associated with cementoblasts in vitro.

Amelogenins are major proteins expressed by ameloblasts during development of the crown (enamel and dentin). These matrix proteins guide crystal habits of the mineral phase of developing enamel and are possible regulators of other genes/proteins during development and maturation of crown and root (dentin and cementum). This study focused on defining the effect that a specific proteolytic cleavage product of amelogenin, tyrosine-rich amelogenin peptide (TRAP), has on cementoblast behavior.

FGF2 alters expression of the pyrophosphate/phosphate regulating proteins, PC-1, ANK and TNAP, in the calvarial osteoblastic cell line, MC3T3E1(C4).

Fibroblast growth factor/fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGF/FGFR) signaling has been linked to the aberrant mineralization phenotype of craniosynostosis syndromes. One critical aspect of mineralization involves the elaboration and transport of pyrophosphate into the extracellular matrix with subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis into phosphate. Altered expression of the pyrophosphate elaborating factors, TNAP (tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase), PC-1, and ANK, downstream of FGF/FGFR signaling may provide a potential mechanism for the craniosynostosis phenotype.

JunB as a downstream mediator of PTHrP actions in cementoblasts.

Unlabelled: The role of AP-1 family members in the action of PTHrP was examined in cementoblasts. PTHrP increased mRNA and protein levels of all Fos members, but only one Jun member (JunB) was increased. Overexpression of JunB in cementoblasts mimicked actions of PTHrP to support osteoclastogenesis and inhibit cementoblast differentiation, suggesting that the actions of PTHrP on mesenchymal cells operate through JunB.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus and V. harveyi cause detachment of the epithelium from the midgut trunk of the penaeid shrimp Sicyonia ingentis.

Shrimp Sicyonia ingentis were either injected with Vibrio parahaemolyticus (10(4) CFU) or V. harveyi (10(6) CFU) or immersed in ASW containing either species at 10(5) CFU ml(-1). These densities were shown in preliminary experiments to kill approximately half the population by 7 d.