Consistent circadian variations in creamatocrit over the first 7 weeks of lactation: a longitudinal study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that fat content of expressed human milk from mothers of preterm infants is higher in samples expressed in the evening than in the morning during the first 7 weeks of lactation.

Methods: The authors collected samples of expressed human milk obtained from 22 mothers of growing preterm infants, born at 26 to 31 weeks gestation, who routinely expressed all their milk every 3 hours using breast pump from the beginning of the second week to the seventh week after delivery. One aliquot was obtained from the first morning expression and the second from the evening expression.

Nucleated red blood cells in preterm infants with retinopathy of prematurity.

Objective: The aim of this retrospective study was to examine hematologic indices of potential intrauterine hypoxia, including circulating nucleated red blood cells, lymphocytes, and platelets in preterm infants who developed retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) compared with suitable controls. We hypothesized that higher neonatal absolute nucleated red blood cell (ANRBC) and lymphocyte counts and lower platelets would be found in infants who developed ROP, compared with control infants.

Methods: Each of 23 infants with ROP was pair matched for gestational age and Apgar scores with a control without ROP.

Caspase-like activity in the seedlings of Pisum sativum eliminates weaker shoots during early vegetative development by induction of cell death.

Activation of aspartate-specific cysteine proteases (caspases) plays a crucial role in programmed cell death (PCD) in animals. Although to date caspases have not been identified in plants, caspase-like activity was described in tobacco during a hypersensitive response to pathogens and in Arabidopsis and tomato cell cultures during chemical-induced PCD. Caspase-like activity was also detected in the course of plant development during petal senescence and endosperm PCD.