Nutritional aspects of commercially prepared infant foods in developed countries: a narrative review.

Nutritional intake during infancy is a critical aspect of child development and health that is of significant public health concern. Although there is extensive research on breast-feeding and timing of solid food introduction, there is less evidence on types of solid foods fed to infants, specifically commercially prepared infant foods. The consumption of commercially prepared infant foods is very prevalent in many developed countries, exceeding the consumption of homemade foods in some situations.

Time in therapeutic range as a marker for thrombotic and bleeding outcomes in Fontan patients.

Fontan patients managed with warfarin are at risk not only for thrombotic events, but also for bleeding episodes as a consequence of anticoagulation treatment. The aim of this study was to determine whether time spent in patient specified therapeutic range (TTR), when managed in a cardiology-based pharmacist managed anticoagulation clinic (PMAC), is a useful target metric for monitoring, as well as improving outcomes. A single center retrospective review was conducted evaluating TTR of all Fontan patients (n = 45) on warfarin managed in our outpatient cardiology pharmacist managed anticoagulation clinic (PMAC) during a 19 month time frame.

Variability of antithrombotics use in patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and its variants following first- and second-stage palliation surgery: a national report using the National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative registry.

Unlabelled: Purpose Patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and its variants following palliation surgery are at risk for thrombosis. This study examines variability of antithrombotic practice, the incidence of interstage shunt thrombosis, and other adverse events following Stage I and Stage II palliation within the National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative registry.

Methods: We carried out a multicentre, retrospective review using the National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative registry including patients from 2008 to 2013 across 52 surgical sites.

Aortic root dilatation in the children and young adults: prevalence, determinants, and association with target organ damage.

Aortic root dilatation is associated with increased cardiovascular risk in hypertensive adults. In the young, few data have been published evaluating the cardiovascular organ damage that may be present in patients with aortic dilatation. The objective was to evaluate the prevalence of proximal aorta dilatation, its possible determinants, and its relation with target organ damage in young subjects.

GAPTrap: A Simple Expression System for Pluripotent Stem Cells and Their Derivatives.

The ability to reliably express fluorescent reporters or other genes of interest is important for using human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) as a platform for investigating cell fates and gene function. We describe a simple expression system, designated GAPTrap (GT), in which reporter genes, including GFP, mCherry, mTagBFP2, luc2, Gluc, and lacZ are inserted into the GAPDH locus in hPSCs. Independent clones harboring variations of the GT vectors expressed remarkably consistent levels of the reporter gene.

Maternofetal pharmacokinetics and fetal lung responses in chronically catheterized sheep receiving constant, low-dose infusions of betamethasone phosphate.

Background: Antenatal steroids are standard of care for cases of anticipated preterm labor to improve neonatal outcomes. However, steroids are potent drugs, and their use in pregnancy remains largely unoptimized.

Objective: The objective of the study was to measure the maternofetal pharmacokinetics of constant, low-dose intravenous betamethasone phosphate infusions and correlate these data with the transcriptional effect exerted by subclinical betamethasone exposures on the ovine fetal lung.

HR23b expression is a potential predictive biomarker for HDAC inhibitor treatment in mesenchymal tumours and is associated with response to vorinostat.

Histone deacetylases (HDAC) are key players in epigenetic regulation of gene expression and HDAC inhibitor (HDACi) treatment seems to be a promising anticancer therapy in many human tumours, including soft tissue sarcomas. HR23b has been shown to be a potential biomarker for sensitivity to HDACi therapy in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and hepatocellular carcinoma. We aimed to evaluate HR23b as a candidate biomarker for HDACi response in sarcomas and gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST).

Intra-amniotic Candida albicans infection induces mucosal injury and inflammation in the ovine fetal intestine.

Chorioamnionitis is caused by intrauterine infection with microorganisms including Candida albicans (C.albicans). Chorioamnionitis is associated with postnatal intestinal pathologies including necrotizing enterocolitis.

Genetic structure of phenotypic robustness in the collaborative cross mouse diallel panel.

Developmental stability and canalization describe the ability of developmental systems to minimize phenotypic variation in the face of stochastic micro-environmental effects, genetic variation and environmental influences. Canalization is the ability to minimize the effects of genetic or environmental effects, whereas developmental stability is the ability to minimize the effects of micro-environmental effects within individuals. Despite much attention, the mechanisms that underlie these two components of phenotypic robustness remain unknown.

Multivariate Analysis of Genotype-Phenotype Association.

With the advent of modern imaging and measurement technology, complex phenotypes are increasingly represented by large numbers of measurements, which may not bear biological meaning one by one. For such multivariate phenotypes, studying the pairwise associations between all measurements and all alleles is highly inefficient and prevents insight into the genetic pattern underlying the observed phenotypes. We present a new method for identifying patterns of allelic variation (genetic latent variables) that are maximally associated-in terms of effect size-with patterns of phenotypic variation (phenotypic latent variables).

Placental Infection With Ureaplasma species Is Associated With Histologic Chorioamnionitis and Adverse Outcomes in Moderately Preterm and Late-Preterm Infants.

Objective: The human Ureaplasma species are the microbes most frequently isolated from placentae of women who deliver preterm. The role of Ureaplasma species has been investigated in pregnancies at <32 weeks of gestation, but currently no studies have determined the prevalence of ureaplasmas in moderately preterm and late-preterm (hereafter, "moderate/late preterm") infants, the largest cohort of preterm infants.

Methods: Women delivering moderate/late preterm infants (n = 477) and their infants/placentae (n = 535) were recruited, and swab specimens of chorioamnion tissue, chorioamnion tissue specimens, and cord blood specimens were obtained at delivery.

The clinical use of corticosteroids in pregnancy.

Background: The use of antenatal steroid therapy is common in pregnancy. In early pregnancy, steroids may be used in women for the treatment of recurrent miscarriage or fetal abnormalities such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia. In mid-late pregnancy, the antenatal administration of corticosteroids to expectant mothers in anticipation of preterm birth is one of the most important advances in perinatal medicine; antenatal corticosteroids are now standard care for pregnancies at risk of premature delivery in high- and middle-income countries.

Similar virus spectra and seasonality in paediatric patients with acute respiratory disease, Ghana and Germany.

Epidemiological differences between tropical and temperate regions regarding viruses causing acute respiratory infection are poorly understood. This is in part because methodological differences limit the comparability of data from these two regions. Using identical molecular detection methods, we tested 1174 Ghanaian and 539 German children with acute respiratory infections sampled over 12 months for the 15 most common respiratory viruses by PCR.

Selective IL-1α exposure to the fetal gut, lung, and chorioamnion/skin causes intestinal inflammatory and developmental changes in fetal sheep.

Chorioamnionitis, caused by intra-amniotic exposure to bacteria and their toxic components, is associated with fetal gut inflammation and mucosal injury. In a translational ovine model, we have shown that these adverse intestinal outcomes to chorioamnionitis were the combined result of local gut and pulmonary-driven systemic immune responses. Chorioamnionitis-induced gut inflammation and injury was largely prevented by inhibiting interleukin-1 (IL-1) signaling.

A Novel C-Terminal CIB2 (Calcium and Integrin Binding Protein 2) Mutation Associated with Non-Syndromic Hearing Loss in a Hispanic Family.

Hearing loss is a complex disorder caused by both genetic and environmental factors. Previously, mutations in CIB2 have been identified as a common cause of genetic hearing loss in Pakistani and Turkish populations. Here we report a novel (c.

Outside-in? Acute fetal systemic inflammation in very preterm chronically catheterized sheep fetuses is not driven by cells in the fetal blood.

Background: The preterm birth syndrome (delivery before 37 weeks gestation) is a major contributor to the global burden of perinatal morbidity and death. The cause of preterm birth is complex, multifactorial, and likely dependent, at least in part, on the gestational age of the fetus. Intrauterine infection is frequent in preterm deliveries that occur at <32 weeks gestation; understanding how the fetus responds to proinflammatory insult will be an important step towards early preterm birth prevention.

National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale Item Profiles as Predictor of Patient Outcome: External Validation on Safe Implementation of Thrombolysis in Stroke-Monitoring Study Data.

Background And Purpose: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) item profiles that were recently proposed and validated may prove useful for clinical prognostication and research studies. We aimed to validate the NIHSS item profiles in hyper-acute stroke patients who received thrombolysis treatment (tissue-type plasminogen activator).

Methods: We applied the latent class analysis probabilities of the profile membership generated from the derivation study onto NIHSS data from the Safe Implementation of Thrombolysis in Stroke-Monitoring Study (SITS-MOST).

Citius, Altius, Fortius: beneficial effects of resistance training for young athletes: Narrative review.

The motto of the Olympic Games is Citius, Altius, Fortius which is Latin for 'Faster, Higher, Stronger'. It is a clarion call to all competitors, including the youngest, to engage in training strategies that prepare athletes to be the best in the world. Existing research indicates that various forms of resistance training can elicit performance improvements in young athletes.

Contraception and cardiovascular disease.

Contraceptive counselling should begin early in females with heart disease, preferably directly after the start of menstruation. In coming to a decision about the method of contraception, the following issues should be considered: (i) the risk of pregnancy for the mother and the consequences of an unplanned pregnancy; (ii) the risks of the contraceptive method; (iii) failure rates; (iv) the non-contraceptive benefits; (v) the availability; (vi) the individual's preferences; (vii) protection against infection; and (viii) costs. In some women with heart disease, the issues may be complex and require the input of both a cardiologist and an obstetrician (or other feto-maternal expert) to identify the optimal approach.

Pressure-limited sustained inflation vs. gradual tidal inflations for resuscitation in preterm lambs.

Support of the mechanically complex preterm lung needs to facilitate aeration while avoiding ventilation heterogeneities: whether to achieve this gradually or quickly remains unclear. We compared the effect of gradual vs. constant tidal inflations and a pressure-limited sustained inflation (SI) at birth on gas exchange, lung mechanics, gravity-dependent lung volume distribution, and lung injury in 131-day gestation preterm lambs.

National institutes of health stroke scale item profiles as predictor of patient outcome: external validation on independent trial data.

Background And Purpose: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) item profiles that were recently proposed may prove useful both clinically and for research studies. We aimed to validate the NIHSS item profiles in an acute cohort.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis on pooled data from randomized clinical trials.