Implementation of a pediatric trauma registry at a national referral center in Kenya: Utility and concern for sustainability.

Background: Pediatric trauma disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries, particularly the pediatric trauma systems, are frequently limited. This study assessed the patterns of pediatric traumatic injuries and treatment at the only free-standing public children's hospital in East Africa as well as the implementation and sustainability of the trauma registry.

Methods: A prospective pediatric trauma registry was established at Shoe4Africa Children's Hospital (S4A) in Eldoret, Kenya.

Chloral hydrate enteral infusion for sedation in ventilated children: the CHOSEN pilot study.

Background: We aimed to test a novel method of delivery of chloral hydrate (CH) sedation in ventilated critically ill young children.

Methods: Children < 12 years old, within 72 hours of admission, who were ventilated, receiving enteral tube-feeds, with intermittent CH ordered were enrolled after signed consent. Patients received a CH loading-dose of 10 mg/kg enterally, then a syringe-pump enteral infusion at 5 mg/kg/hour, increasing to a maximum of 9 mg/kg/hour.

Late-onset renal vein thrombosis: A case report and review of the literature.

Introduction: Renal vein thrombosis, a rare complication of renal transplantation, often causes graft loss. Diagnosis includes ultrasound with Doppler, and it is often treated with anticoagulation or mechanical thrombectomy. Success is improved with early diagnosis and institution of treatment.

Genetic variability affects the development of brown adipocytes in white fat but not in interscapular brown fat.

Cold exposure induces brown adipocytes in retroperitoneal fat (RP) of adult A/J mice but not in C57BL/6J (B6) mice. In contrast, induction of the mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 gene (Ucp1) in interscapular brown adipose tissue (iBAT) shows no strain dependence. We now show that unlike iBAT, in which Ucp1 was expressed in the fetus and continued throughout life, in RP, Ucp1 was transiently expressed between 10 and 30 days of age and then disappeared.

Changes in gene expression foreshadow diet-induced obesity in genetically identical mice.

High phenotypic variation in diet-induced obesity in male C57BL/6J inbred mice suggests a molecular model to investigate non-genetic mechanisms of obesity. Feeding mice a high-fat diet beginning at 8 wk of age resulted in a 4-fold difference in adiposity. The phenotypes of mice characteristic of high or low gainers were evident by 6 wk of age, when mice were still on a low-fat diet; they were amplified after being switched to the high-fat diet and persisted even after the obesogenic protocol was interrupted with a calorically restricted, low-fat chow diet.

The regulation of fatty acid synthase by STAT5A.

Growth hormone (GH) diminishes adipose tissue mass in vivo and decreases expression and activity of fatty acid synthase (FAS) in adipocytes. GH and prolactin (PRL) are potent activators of STAT5 and exert adipogenic and antiadipogenic effects in adipocytes. In this study, we demonstrate that GH and PRL decrease the mRNA and protein levels of FAS in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

Effects of leukemia inhibitory factor on 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a member of the gp130 cytokine family and signals through the receptor complex of gp130 and the LIF receptor (LIFR) to activate the JAK/STAT signaling cascade. Since LIF activates STATs 1 and 3 in adipocytes, we examined the effects of LIF on 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Our studies clearly demonstrate that LIF treatment had minimal effects on adipocyte differentiation as judged by marker gene expression, but did inhibit triacylglyceride (TAG) accumulation during adipogenesis.

Stabilization, not polymerization, of microtubules inhibits the nuclear translocation of STATs in adipocytes.

Signal transducers and activators of transcriptions (STATs) are a family of latent transcription factors which are activated by a variety of growth factors and cytokines in many cell types. However, the mechanism by which these transcription factors translocate to the nucleus is poorly understood. The goal of this study was to determine the requirement of microfilaments and microtubules for cytokine induced STAT activation in cultured adipocytes.

Effects of cardiotrophin on adipocytes.

Cardiotrophin (CT-1) is a naturally occurring protein member of the interleukin (IL)-6 cytokine family and signals through the gp130/leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR) heterodimer. The formation of gp130/LIFR complex triggers the auto/trans-phosphorylation of associated Janus kinases, leading to the activation of Janus kinase/STAT and MAPK (ERK1 and -2) signaling pathways. Since adipocytes express both gp130 and LIFR proteins and are responsive to other IL-6 family cytokines, we examined the effects of CT-1 on 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

STAT 1 binds to the LPL promoter in vitro.

Interferon-gamma (IFNgamma) has been shown to decrease the expression and activity of lipoprotein lipase (LPL). Hence, we searched for IFNgamma sensitive binding sites within the murine LPL promoter. A region of the LPL promoter was identified that specifically binds nuclear, but not cytosolic, extracts isolated from IFNgamma-treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes.