Evaluation of Accidental and Intentional Pediatric Poisonings: Retrospective Analysis of Emergency Medical Service Interventions in Wroclaw, Poland.

Poisonings among children are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and present a significant challenge for emergency medical services (EMS). The aim of this study was to analyze the types of substances causing poisonings and the intention of poisonings in children, providing detailed information on the most common causes of poisonings in different age groups. : A retrospective study was conducted analyzing medical records of pediatric patients under the care of emergency medical services (EMS) in Wroclaw, Poland, between 2015 and 2017.

Silk Sericin and Its Effect on Skin Wound Healing: A State of the Art.

Despite the significant progress in wound healing, chronic skin wounds remain a challenge for today's medicine. Due to the growing popularity of natural materials, silk protein-based dressings are gaining more attention in this field. Most studies refer to silk fibroin because sericin has been considered a waste product for years.

Spontaneously hypertensive rats exhibit increased liver flavin monooxygenase expression and elevated plasma TMAO levels compared to normotensive and Ang II-dependent hypertensive rats.

Flavin monooxygenases (FMOs) are enzymes responsible for the oxidation of a broad spectrum of exogenous and endogenous amines. There is increasing evidence that trimethylamine (TMA), a compound produced by gut bacteria and also recognized as an industrial pollutant, contributes to cardiovascular diseases. FMOs convert TMA into trimethylamine oxide (TMAO), which is an emerging marker of cardiovascular risk.

Mice, rats, and guinea pigs differ in FMOs expression and tissue concentration of TMAO, a gut bacteria-derived biomarker of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

Introduction: Increased plasma trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) is observed in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, originating from the gut microbiota product, trimethylamine (TMA), via flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs)-dependent oxidation. Numerous studies have investigated the association between plasma TMAO and various pathologies, yet limited knowledge exists regarding tissue concentrations of TMAO, TMAO precursors, and interspecies variability.

Methods: Chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was employed to evaluate tissue concentrations of TMAO and its precursors in adult male mice, rats, and guinea pigs.

Determination of Pathogens by Electrophoretic and Spectrometric Techniques.

In modern medical diagnostics, where analytical chemistry plays a key role, fast and accurate identification of pathogens is becoming increasingly important. Infectious diseases pose a growing threat to public health due to population growth, international air travel, bacterial resistance to antibiotics, and other factors. For instance, the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in patient samples is a key tool to monitor the spread of the disease.

Beneficial Effect of Wound Dressings Containing Silver and Silver Nanoparticles in Wound Healing-From Experimental Studies to Clinical Practice.

Impaired wound healing affects hundreds of million people around the world; therefore, chronic wounds are a major problem not only for the patient, but also for already overloaded healthcare systems. Chronic wounds are always very susceptible to infections. Billions of dollars are spent to discover new antibiotics as quickly as possible; however, bacterial resistance against antibiotics is rising even faster.

Silk Fibroin Biomaterials and Their Beneficial Role in Skin Wound Healing.

The skin, acting as the outer protection of the human body, is most vulnerable to injury. Wound healing can often be impaired, leading to chronic, hard-to-heal wounds. For this reason, searching for the most effective dressings that can significantly enhance the wound healing process is necessary.

Biomaterials in Skin Wound Healing and Tissue Regenerations-An Overview.

Wound healing is a complex biological process [...

Enalapril Diminishes the Diabetes-Induced Changes in Intestinal Morphology, Intestinal RAS and Blood SCFA Concentration in Rats.

Evidence suggests that microbiota-derived metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and trimethylamine-oxide (TMAO), affect the course of diabetic multiorgan pathology. We hypothesized that diabetes activates the intestinal renin-angiotensin system (RAS), contributing to gut pathology. Twelve-week-old male rats were divided into three groups: controls, diabetic (streptozotocin-induced) and diabetic treated with enalapril.

Keratin Biomaterials in Skin Wound Healing, an Old Player in Modern Medicine: A Mini Review.

Impaired wound healing is a major medical problem. To solve it, researchers around the world have turned their attention to the use of tissue-engineered products to aid in skin regeneration in case of acute and chronic wounds. One of the primary goals of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine is to develop a matrix or scaffold system that mimics the structure and function of native tissue.

Electrophoretic Determination of Trimethylamine (TMA) in Biological Samples as a Novel Potential Biomarker of Cardiovascular Diseases Methodological Approach.

In competitive athletes, the differential diagnosis between nonpathological changes in cardiac morphology associated with training (commonly referred to as "athlete's heart") and certain cardiac diseases with the potential for sudden death is an important and not uncommon clinical problem. The use of noninvasive, fast, and cheap analytical techniques can help in making diagnostic differentiation and planning subsequent clinical strategies. Recent studies have demonstrated the role of gut microbiota and their metabolites in the onset and the development of cardiovascular diseases.

Genetically determined hypertensive phenotype affects gut microbiota composition, but not vice versa.

Objectives: Research suggests reciprocal crosstalk between the host and gut bacteria. This study evaluated the interaction between gut microbiota and arterial blood pressure (BP) in rats.

Methods: Continuous telemetry recordings of BP were started in 7-week-old normotensive Wistar--Kyoto rats (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).

Keratin Scaffolds Containing Casomorphin Stimulate Macrophage Infiltration and Accelerate Full-Thickness Cutaneous Wound Healing in Diabetic Mice.

Impaired wound healing is a major medical challenge, especially in diabetics. Over the centuries, the main goal of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine has been to invent biomaterials that accelerate the wound healing process. In this context, keratin-derived biomaterial is a promising candidate due to its biocompatibility and biodegradability.

The Positive and Negative Outcome of Morphine and Disulfiram Subacute Co-Administration in Rats in the Absence of Ethanol Challenge.

Recently, a well-known anti-alcohol agent, disulfiram (DSF), has gain much interest, as it was found to be effective in the treatment of cocaine abusers, thus also giving hope for patients addicted to opioids and other illicit drugs. Therefore, this study was aimed to investigate the possible outcome that might occur within the subacute co-administration of both morphine (MRF) and DSF in rats, but in the absence of ethanol challenge. As observed, intraperitoneal DSF dose-dependently enhanced MRF-mediated analgesia with the maximal efficacy at a dose of 100 mg/kg.

TMAO, a seafood-derived molecule, produces diuresis and reduces mortality in heart failure rats.

Trimethylamine-oxide (TMAO) is present in seafood which is considered to be beneficial for health. Deep-water animals accumulate TMAO to protect proteins, such as lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), against hydrostatic pressure stress (HPS). We hypothesized that TMAO exerts beneficial effects on the circulatory system and protects cardiac LDH exposed to HPS produced by the contracting heart.

Can Keratin Scaffolds be used for Creating Three-dimensional Cell Cultures?

Three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures were created with the use of fur keratin associated proteins (F-KAPs) as scaffolds. The procedure of preparation F-KAP involves combinations of chemical activation and enzymatic digestion. The best result in porosity and heterogeneity of F-KAP surface was received during pepsin digestion.

Evaluation of keratin biomaterial containing silver nanoparticles as a potential wound dressing in full-thickness skin wound model in diabetic mice.

Keratin is a cytoskeletal scaffolding protein essential for wound healing and tissue recovery. The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential role of insoluble fur keratin-derived powder containing silver nanoparticles (FKDP-AgNP) in the allogenic full-thickness surgical skin wound model in diabetic mice. The scanning electron microscopy image evidenced that the keratin surface is covered by a single layer of silver nanoparticles.

Trimethylamine But Not Trimethylamine Oxide Increases With Age in Rat Plasma and Affects Smooth Muscle Cells Viability.

It has been suggested that trimethylamine oxide (TMAO), a liver oxygenation product of gut bacteria-produced trimethylamine (TMA), is a marker of cardiovascular risk. However, mechanisms of the increase and biological effects of TMAO are obscure. Furthermore, the potential role of TMAO precursor, that is TMA, has not been investigated.

Inflammatory bowel disease is associated with increased gut-to-blood penetration of short-chain fatty acids: A new, non-invasive marker of a functional intestinal lesion.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? 'Leaky gut' has been found in intestinal and extra-intestinal diseases. However, functional evaluation of intestinal permeability is not widely used as a diagnostic marker, possibly owing to significant limitations of currently used permeability assays. There is an unmet need for development of a new, non-invasive test to assess intestinal function.

Indole-3-Propionic Acid, a Tryptophan-Derived Bacterial Metabolite, Reduces Weight Gain in Rats.

Recent evidence suggests that tryptophan, an essential amino acid, may exert biological effects by means of tryptophan-derived gut bacteria products. We evaluated the potential contribution of tryptophan-derived bacterial metabolites to body weight gain. The study comprised three experimental series performed on separate groups of male, Sprague-Dawley rats: (i) rats on standard laboratory diet treated with water solution of neomycin, an antibiotic, or tap water (controls-1); (ii) rats on standard diet (controls-2) or tryptophan-high (TH) or tryptophan-free (TF) diet; and (iii) rats treated with indole-3-propionic acid (I3P), a bacterial metabolite of tryptophan, or a vehicle (controls-3).

Application of micellar electrokinetic chromatography for detection of silver nanoparticles released from wound dressing.

The recent emergence of nanotechnology has provided a new therapeutic modality in case of silver nanoparticles. Dressings containing silver form the basis for the treatment of burns and wounds, either acute or chronic ones. The aim of the study was to examine silver release from the different wound dressings: commercially available (Atrauman Ag, Aquacel Ag) and experimental (FKDP-AgNPs) using MEKC.

Comparison of GC-MS and MEKC methods for caffeine determination in preworkout supplements.

In this study, GC-MS- and MEKC-based methods for determination of caffeine (CAF) in preworkout supplements were developed and validated. The proposed protocols utilized minimal sample preparation (simple dilution and syringe filtration). The developed methods achieved satisfactory validation parameters, i.

Chronic, low-dose TMAO treatment reduces diastolic dysfunction and heart fibrosis in hypertensive rats.

Several studies have suggested negative effects of trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) on the circulatory system. However, a number of studies have shown protective functions of TMAO, a piezolyte and osmolyte, in animals exposed to high hydrostatic and/or osmotic stress. We evaluated the effects of TMAO treatment on the development of hypertension and its complications in male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) maintained on water (SHR-Water) and SHRs drinking TMAO water solution from weaning (SHR-TMAO).

Development of a novel keratin dressing which accelerates full-thickness skin wound healing in diabetic mice: In vitro and in vivo studies.

Impaired wound healing is a major medical problem in diabetes. The objective of this study was to determine the possible application of an insoluble fraction of fur-derived keratin biomaterial as a wound dressing in a full thickness surgical skin wound model in mice ( n = 20) with iatrogenically induced diabetes. The obtained keratin dressing was examined in vitro and in vivo.