Feasibility of Achieving Nutritional Adequacy in Critically Ill Children with Critical Neurological Illnesses (CNIs)?-A Quaternary Hospital Experience.

The literature on the nutritional needs and outcomes of critically ill children is scarce, especially on those with critical neurological illnesses (CNIs). Current evidence shows a lower mortality in patients who achieve two-thirds of their nutritional needs during the first week of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission. We hypothesized that achieving 60% of the recommended dietary intake during the first week of a PICU stay is not feasible in patients with CNI.

New Solutions for Old Problems: How Reproductive Tissue Engineering Has Been Revolutionizing Reproductive Medicine.

Acquired disorders and congenital defects of the male and female reproductive systems can have profound impacts on patients, causing sexual and endocrine dysfunction and infertility, as well as psychosocial consequences that affect their self-esteem, identity, sexuality, and relationships. Reproductive tissue engineering (REPROTEN) is a promising approach to restore fertility and improve the quality of life of patients with reproductive disorders by developing, replacing, or regenerating cells, tissues, and organs from the reproductive and urinary systems. In this review, we explore the latest advancements in REPROTEN techniques and their applications for addressing degenerative conditions in male and female reproductive organs.

Pediatric Swine Model of Methicillin-Resistant Sepsis-Induced Coagulopathy, Disseminated Microvascular Thrombosis, and Organ Injuries.

Unlabelled: Sepsis-induced coagulopathy leading to disseminated microvascular thrombosis is associated with high mortality and has no existing therapy. Despite the high prevalence of Gram-positive bacterial sepsis, especially methicillin-resistant (MRSA), there is a paucity of published Gram-positive pediatric sepsis models. Large animal models replicating sepsis-induced coagulopathy are needed to test new therapeutics before human clinical trials.

Estetrol Increases Progesterone Genetic Response without Triggering Common Estrogenic Effects in Endometriotic Cell Lines and Primary Cultures.

Estetrol (E4), a natural estrogen produced by the human fetal liver, is actively studied for menopause and breast cancer treatment. It has low side effects and preferential estrogen receptor alpha (ER) affinity. There are no data about its effects on endometriosis, a common gynecological disease affecting 6-10% of cycling women, generating painful pelvic lesions and infertility.

Molecular Characterization of Embryos with Different Buoyancy Levels in the Yellowtail Kingfish ().

The buoyancy of eggs and embryos is associated with successful development in pelagic fish. Buoyancy is the result of oocyte hydration, which depends on the osmotic force exerted by free amino acids (FAA) generated by yolk proteolysis, and cathepsins are the main enzymes involved in this process. is a pelagic fish whose farming has been hampered by development failure that have been partially attributed to decreased buoyancy of embryos.

Embryo Buoyancy and Cell Death Gene Expression During Embryogenesis of Yellow-Tail Kingfish .

In pelagic fish, embryo buoyancy is a noteworthy aspect of the reproductive strategy, and is associated with overall quality, survival, and further developmental success. In captivity, the loss of buoyancy of early embryos correlates with high mortality that might be related to massive cell death. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate under captivity conditions the expression of genes related to the apoptosis process during the early embryonic development of the pelagic fish , and its relationship to the buoyancy of embryos.

A decrease of docosahexaenoic acid in testes of mice fed a high-fat diet is associated with impaired sperm acrosome reaction and fertility.

Obesity is a major worldwide health problem that is related to most chronic diseases, including male infertility. Owing to its wide impact on health, mechanisms underlying obesity-related infertility remain unknown. In this study, we report that mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for over 2 months showed reduced fertility rates and increased germ cell apoptosis, seminiferous tubule degeneration, and decreased intratesticular estradiol (E2) and E2-to-testosterone ratio.

Pediatric Critical Care Transport: Survey of Current State in Latin America. Latin American Society of Pediatric Intensive Care Transport Committee.

Methods: An electronic, anonymous, multicenter survey housed by Monkey Survey was sent to physicians in LA and included questions about hospital and pediatric critical transport, resources available and level of car. Nineteen Latin-American countries were asked to complete the survey.

Results: A total of 212 surveys were analyzed, achieving a representativity of 19 LA countries, being most participants (59.

Daily exposure to phthalates and alkylphenols alters miR biogenesis and expression in mice ovaries.

Reproductive hormone imbalance in infertile women is correlated to high levels of phthalates and alkylphenols, which are among endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Previous studies have shown that they interfere with gene expression by deregulating levels of microRNAs (miRs), small non-coding RNAs targeting mRNAs encoding enzymes in the hormone biosynthesis pathway. However, this effect depends on the target organ, dose and whether or not they are alone or in mixtures.

Derangement of Arginine and Related Amino Acids in Children Undergoing Surgery for Congenital Heart Disease With Cardiopulmonary Bypass.

Unlabelled: Arginine is a conditionally essential amino acid, the precursor for nitric oxide and a key factor in cell proliferation, protein synthesis, and energy metabolism. When there is increased demand in the setting of inflammation, ischemia-reperfusion injury, and organ dysfunction, endogenous arginine production falls short, and external supplementation may be necessary. The goal of this study was to assess changes in concentrations of plasma arginine, citrulline, ornithine, glutamine, and plasma arginase in infants and children undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Antigen retrieval by citrate solution improves western blot signal.

In the present work, we describe and evaluate an additional step to the standard western blot protocol to increase signal strength after revealing. Weak or absence of signal is a common issue in western blot protocol leading to unexpected results. In our Antigen Retrieval for Western Blot Method (ARWB method), after transfer, the membrane was incubated in a citrate buffer following normal antigen retrieval procedure used for immunohistochemistry.

Intermittent bolus feeding promotes greater lean growth than continuous feeding in a neonatal piglet model.

Background: Orogastric tube feeding is indicated in neonates with an impaired ability to ingest food normally and can be administered with an intermittent bolus or continuous feeding schedule.

Objectives: The objectives were to 1) compare the long-term effect of continuous with intermittent feeding on growth using the newborn pig as a model, 2) determine whether feeding frequency alters lean tissue and fat mass gain, and 3) identify the signaling mechanisms by which protein deposition is controlled in skeletal muscle in response to feeding frequency.

Design: Neonatal pigs were fed the same amount of a balanced formula by orogastric tube either as an intermittent bolus meal every 4 h (INT) or as a continuous infusion (CON).

Important role of collective cell migration and nerve fiber density in the development of deep nodular endometriosis.

Objective: To evaluate deep nodular endometriotic lesions induced in baboons over 12 months and analyze collective cell migration and nerve fiber density.

Design: Morphologic and immunohistochemical analysis of endometriotic lesions induced in baboons over the course of 1 year.

Setting: Academic research unit.

Diabetic concentrations of metformin inhibit platelet-mediated ovarian cancer cell progression.

Clinical studies have suggested a survival benefit in ovarian cancer patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus taking metformin, however the mechanism by which diabetic concentrations of metformin could deliver this effect is still poorly understood. Platelets not only represent an important reservoir of growth factors and angiogenic regulators, they are also known to participate in the tumor microenvironment implicated in tumor growth and dissemination. Herein, we investigated if diabetic concentrations of metformin could impinge upon the previously reported observation that platelet induces an increase in the tube forming capacity of endothelial cells (angiogenesis) and upon ovarian cancer cell aggressiveness.

Gynecological and obstetrical outcomes after laparoscopic repair of a cesarean scar defect in a series of 38 women.

Objective: To evaluate gynecological and obstetrical outcomes, as well as remaining myometrial thickness, after laparoscopic repair of a cesarean scar.

Design: Observational study and prospective evaluation of the remaining myometrium before and after repair.

Setting: Academic department in a university hospital.

Insulin modulates energy and substrate sensing and protein catabolism induced by chronic peritonitis in skeletal muscle of neonatal pigs.

Background: Acute infection promotes skeletal muscle wasting and insulin resistance, but the effect of insulin on energy and substrate sensing in skeletal muscle of chronically infected neonates has not been studied.

Methods: Eighteen 2-d-old pigs underwent cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) or sham surgery (CON) to induce a chronic infection for 5 d. On d 5, pancreatic-substrate clamps were performed to attain fasting or fed insulin levels but to maintain glucose and amino acids in the fasting range.

Leucine supplementation stimulates protein synthesis and reduces degradation signal activation in muscle of newborn pigs during acute endotoxemia.

Sepsis disrupts skeletal muscle proteostasis and mitigates the anabolic response to leucine (Leu) in muscle of mature animals. We have shown that Leu stimulates muscle protein synthesis (PS) in healthy neonatal piglets. To determine if supplemental Leu can stimulate PS and reduce protein degradation (PD) signaling in neonatal muscle during endotoxemia, overnight-fasted neonatal pigs were infused for 8 h with LPS or saline while plasma amino acids, glucose, and insulin were maintained at fasting levels during pancreatic-substrate clamps.

Implementation of Nutrition Support Guidelines May Affect Energy and Protein Intake in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Background: Critically ill children are at risk of developing malnutrition, and undernutrition is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality.

Objective: The study evaluated changes in the energy and protein intake before and after implementation of nutrition support (NS) guidelines for a pediatric critical care unit (PICU).

Design: This retrospective study documented energy and protein intake for the first 8 days of PICU stay.

Amino acids, independent of insulin, attenuate skeletal muscle autophagy in neonatal pigs during endotoxemia.

Background: Sepsis induces loss of skeletal muscle mass by activating the ubiquitin proteasome (UPS) and autophagy systems. Although muscle protein synthesis in healthy neonatal piglets is responsive to amino acids (AA) stimulation, it is not known if AA can prevent the activation of muscle protein degradation induced by sepsis. We hypothesize that AA attenuate the sepsis-induced activation of UPS and autophagy in neonates.

Pulsatile delivery of a leucine supplement during long-term continuous enteral feeding enhances lean growth in term neonatal pigs.

Neonatal pigs are used as a model to study and optimize the clinical treatment of infants who are unable to maintain oral feeding. Using this model, we have shown previously that pulsatile administration of leucine during continuous feeding over 24 h via orogastric tube enhanced protein synthesis in skeletal muscle compared with continuous feeding alone. To determine the long-term effects of leucine pulses, neonatal piglets (n = 11-12/group) were continuously fed formula via orogastric tube for 21 days, with an additional parenteral infusion of either leucine (CON + LEU; 800 μmol·kg·h) or alanine (CON + ALA) for 1 h every 4 h.

Endometriosis and infertility.

Endometriosis remains a very enigmatic and perplexing disease. The exact mechanism by which endometriosis causes infertility is still unclear. In the present paper, we will review possible mechanisms leading to subfertility or infertility in women with endometriosis and examine them according to location.

Invasion process of induced deep nodular endometriosis in an experimental baboon model: similarities with collective cell migration?

Objective: To determine the implications of collective cell migration in the invasion phenomenon observed in deep endometriotic lesions induced in a baboon model.

Design: Study of morphology and collective cell migration markers in invasive and noninvasive deep endometriotic lesions induced in a baboon model. Invasive lesions were defined as the presence of endometrial glands and stroma in surrounding organs, and a distinction was made between the center of the lesion (glands present in the main lesion) and the invasion front (glands present in surrounding organs).