Subtle ecosystem effects of microplastic exposure in marine mesocosms including fish.

For two months, communities in 5.8 m outdoor marine mesocosms were exposed to 700 μm sphere-shaped polystyrene (PS) beads in dosages between 0.08 and 80 g/m.

Malabsorption and nutritional balance in the ICU: fecal weight as a biomarker: a prospective observational pilot study.

Introduction: Malabsorption, which is frequently underdiagnosed in critically ill patients, is clinically relevant with regard to nutritional balance and nutritional management. We aimed to validate the diagnostic accuracy of fecal weight as a biomarker for fecal loss and additionally to assess fecal macronutrient contents and intestinal absorption capacity in ICU patients.

Methods: This was an observational pilot study in a tertiary mixed medical-surgical ICU in hemodynamically stable adult ICU patients, without clinically evident gastrointestinal malfunction.

Assessment of small bowel function in critical illness: potential role of citrulline metabolism.

Small intestinal function in critically ill patients should ideally be assessed in order to determine the preferred feeding route, timing, and composition of enteral nutrition. Additionally, evaluation of small bowel function may lead to new insights aimed to maintain enterocyte integrity. Critically ill patients are likely to have impaired enterocyte function mainly as a consequence of diminished splanchnic blood flow associated with mucosal hyperpermeability and bacterial translocation, a pathological state believed to be pivotal in the development of sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS).

Diagnosing malabsorption in the intensive care unit.

Malabsorption as a result of decreased intestinal function is a frequently occurring problem in intensive care units. Small bowel dysfunction may lead to malnutrition and may predispose patients to infectious complications (sepsis) and may be linked to increased hospitalization duration, morbidity and mortality. There are several small bowel function tests, such as faecal fat excretion and sugar absorption tests, but data specifically applicable to the intensive care setting are limited.

A Plasmodium berghei reference line that constitutively expresses GFP at a high level throughout the complete life cycle.

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a well-established reporter protein for the examination of biological processes. This report describes a recombinant Plasmodium berghei, PbGFPCON, that constitutively expresses GFP in a growth responsive manner in its cytoplasm from a transgene that is integrated into the genome and controlled by the strong promoter from a P. berghei elongation factor-1alpha gene.