Substantial trace metal input from the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption into the South Pacific.

The January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai (HTHH) volcano discharged 2,900 teragrams of ejecta, most of which was deposited in the South Pacific Ocean. Here we investigate its impact on the biogeochemistry of the South Pacific Gyre (SPG) using samples collected during the GEOTRACES cruise GP21 in February-April 2022. Surface water neodymium isotopes and rare earth element compositions showed a marked volcanic impact in the western SPG, potentially extending to the eastern region.

Blunt High-Grade Pancreatic Injury in Children: A 20-Year Experience in Two Pediatric Surgical Centers.

Background: Pancreatic trauma is uncommon in pediatric patients and presents diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. While non-operative management (NOM) of minor pancreatic injuries is well accepted, the management of major pancreatic injuries remains controversial.

Objectives: To evaluate management strategies for major blunt pancreatic injury in children.

Does Maternal Omega 3 Supplementation Protect Against Infantile Hypertrophic Pyloric Stenosis?

Objectives: Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS) is potentially life threatening. The etiology of IHPS remains unknown and many risk factors have been reported. We aimed to assess the prevalence of known risk factors and investigate maternal nutrition and habits as possible additional risk factors for IHPS.

Water chemistry reveals a significant decline in coral calcification rates in the southern Red Sea.

Experimental and field evidence support the assumption that global warming and ocean acidification is decreasing rates of calcification in the oceans. Local measurements of coral growth rates in reefs from various locations have suggested a decline of ~6-10% per decade since the late 1990's. Here, by measuring open water strontium-to-alkalinity ratios along the Red Sea, we show that the net contribution of hermatypic corals to the CaCO budget of the southern and central Red Sea declined by ~100% between 1998 and 2015 and remained low between 2015 and 2018.

A role for conservative antibiotic treatment in early appendicitis in children.

Purpose: To evaluate whether antibiotics without surgery is sufficient treatment for children with clinically and ultrasonographically suspected acute appendicitis (AA).

Method: Children with clinical, laboratory and radiological findings suspicious for AA were evaluated prospectively. Patients with mild clinical signs, without peritonitis were considered for IV followed by oral antibiotics without surgery.

Anorectal injuries in children: a 20-year experience in two centers.

Introduction: Anorectal injuries in children are not frequently reported and their management is challenging. This report reviews the experience in managing this type of injuries in two medical centers over 20 years.

Methods: An institutional database search for patients who were treated for anorectal injuries between 1994 and 2015 was undertaken.

Neonatal Chest Wall Rhabdomyosarcoma.

An infant was born at term with a huge chest mass diagnosed as rhabdomyosarcoma. Treatment consisted of surgical resection and chemotherapy. We describe this very rare congenital mass and the problematic therapeutic management of such a tumor in a newborn.

Basin-scale estimates of pelagic and coral reef calcification in the Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean.

Basin-scale calcification rates are highly important in assessments of the global oceanic carbon cycle. Traditionally, such estimates were based on rates of sedimentation measured with sediment traps or in deep sea cores. Here we estimated CaCO3 precipitation rates in the surface water of the Red Sea from total alkalinity depletion along their axial flow using the water flux in the straits of Bab el Mandeb.

Does Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage require eradication prior to elective ambulatory surgery in children?

Purpose: Rates of community-associated Staphylococcus aureus, and particularly of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in children, have increased in recent years. We investigated rates of nasal colonization of S. aureus, and a possible correlation between nasal carriage and wound infection.

Studying the role of common membrane surface functionalities on adsorption and cleaning of organic foulants using QCM-D.

Adsorption of organic foulants on nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membrane surfaces strongly affects subsequent fouling behavior by modifying the membrane surface. In this study, impact on organic foulant adsorption of specific chemistries including those in commercial thin-film composite membranes was investigated using self-assembled monolayers with seven different ending chemical functionalities (-CH(3), -O-phenyl, -NH(2), ethylene-glycol, -COOH, -CONH(2), and -OH). Adsorption and cleaning of protein (bovine serum albumin) and polysaccharide (sodium alginate) model foulants in two solution conditions were measured using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring, and were found to strongly depend on surface functionality.

Development of an oligoamide coating as a surface mimetic for aromatic polyamide films used in reverse osmosis membranes.

We developed a method for the in situ synthesis of an oligoamide coating on gold. The resultant surface chemical composition, wettability, and chemical nature were comparable to aromatic polyamide films used as reverse osmosis membranes. Hence, the oligoamide wafer may be used in adsorption/fouling studies as a surface mimetic of reverse osmosis membranes.

Effect of surface-exposed chemical groups on calcium-phosphate mineralization in water-treatment systems.

Calcium-phosphate-scale formation on reverse osmosis (RO) membranes is a major limiting factor for cost-effective desalination of wastewater. We determined the effects of various organic chemical groups found on membrane surfaces on calcium-phosphate scaling. Langmuir films exposing different functional groups were equilibrated with a solution simulating the ionic profile of secondary effluent (SSE).

Do children tolerate thoracoscopic sympathectomy better than adults?

Palmar hyperhidrosis (PHH) is fairly a common condition, which is treatable by thoracoscopic sympathectomy (TS). Compensatory sweating (CS) is a major side effect of TS. We compared the TS procedure's long-term success, patient's satisfaction and complications between children (< or =14 years of age) and adolescents and adults (> or =15 years of age).

Compensatory sweating after thoracoscopic sympathectomy: an acceptable trade-off.

Background/purpose: Palmar hyperhidrosis is a fairly common condition that is treatable by thoracoscopic sympathectomy (TS). Compensatory sweating (CS) is a major side effect of TS. We surveyed post-TS patients to determine the procedure's long-term success, satisfaction, complications, the natural history of CS, and whether those with CS would still have undergone the procedure.

Allele dosage-dependent penetrance of RET proto-oncogene in an Israeli-Arab inbred family segregating Hirschsprung disease.

Hirschsprung disease (HSCR) is characterised by intestinal obstruction resulting from an absence of ganglion cells in the intestinal tract. The mutations in the major gene, RET, associated with isolated HSCR, are dominant loss-of-function mutations with incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity. We have ascertained a large inbred Israeli-Arab family segregating HSCR.

Mesh wrap in severe pediatric liver trauma.

Purpose: This study reviews the authors' experience in treating severe pediatric liver injuries with absorbable mesh wrapping. The authors found this relatively new therapeutic method very useful in selected cases, although its use is not very common in children. The authors analyze the indication describe some technical aspects, and discuss the advantages and the pitfalls of the method.

Clinical presentation of pyloric stenosis: the change is in our hands.

Background: Hypertrophic pyloric stenosis classically presents as projectile vomiting during the third to fourth week of life, associated with good appetite. Additional classical presenting findings include palpation of the pyloric tumor, described as olive-shaped; a visible gastric peristaltic wave after feeding; and hypochloremic, hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis. It was recently claimed that this presentation has changed due to the easier access to gastrointestinal imaging.