The relationship of red blood cell transfusion to intestinal mucosal injury in premature infants.

Objective: To determine the incidence of intestinal mucosal injury before and after transfusions in premature infants.

Study Design: Urine was collected throughout the hospital stay of 62 premature infants and specimens obtained within 24h before and after transfusion were assayed for intestinal fatty acid binding protein (iFABP). A urinary iFABP:creatinine ratio (iFABP:Cr) of 2.

Antibacterial Activity of Partially Oxidized Ag/Au Nanoparticles against the Oral Pathogen W83.

Advances in nanotechnology provide opportunities for the prevention and treatment of periodontal disease. While physicochemical properties of Ag containing nanoparticles (NPs) are known to influence the magnitude of their toxicity, it is thought that nanosilver can be made less toxic to eukaryotes by passivation of the NPs with a benign metal. Moreover, the addition of other noble metals to silver nanoparticles, in the alloy formulation, is known to alter the silver dissolution behavior.

Urinary Hypoxanthine as a Measure of Increased ATP Utilization in Late Preterm Infants.

Objective: To examine the effect of neonatal morbidity on ATP breakdown in late preterm infants.

Study Design: Urinary hypoxanthine concentration, a marker of ATP breakdown, was measured from 82 late preterm infants on days of life (DOL) 3 to 6 using high-performance liquid chromatography. Infants were grouped according to the following diagnoses: poor nippling alone (n = 8), poor nippling plus hyperbilirubinemia (n = 21), poor nippling plus early respiratory disease (n = 26), and respiratory disease alone (n = 27).

Urinary Allantoin Is Elevated in Severe Intraventricular Hemorrhage in the Preterm Newborn.

Germinal matrix intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is the most common type of intracranial hemorrhage observed in preterm neonates. It is a precursor of poor neurocognitive development, cerebral palsy, and death. The pathophysiology is not well defined, but damage to the fragile germinal matrix vasculature may be due to free radicals generated during inflammation and as a consequence of ischemia followed by reperfusion.

Synthesis and Catalytic Activity of Pluronic Stabilized Silver-Gold Bimetallic Nanoparticles.

In this report, we demonstrate a rapid, simple, and green method for synthesizing silver-gold (Ag-Au) bimetallic nanoparticles (BNPs). We used a novel modification to the galvanic replacement reaction by suspending maltose coated silver nanoparticles (NPs) in ≈ 2% aqueous solution of EOPOEO (Pluronic F127) prior to HAuCl addition. The Pluronic F127 stabilizes the BNPs, imparts biocompatibility, and mitigates the toxicity issues associated with other surfactant stabilizers.

Oral sucrose for heel lance increases adenosine triphosphate use and oxidative stress in preterm neonates.

Objective: To examine the effects of sucrose on pain and biochemical markers of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) degradation and oxidative stress in preterm neonates experiencing a clinically required heel lance.

Study Design: Preterm neonates that met study criteria (n = 131) were randomized into 3 groups: (1) control; (2) heel lance treated with placebo and non-nutritive sucking; and (3) heel lance treated with sucrose and non-nutritive sucking. Plasma markers of ATP degradation (hypoxanthine, xanthine, and uric acid) and oxidative stress (allantoin) were measured before and after the heel lance.