The Impact of Pollution on Children's Health: A Call for Global Accountability and Enforcement

Environmental pollution in large industrial centers has had a negative impact on the population's health, specifically among children. Our objective is to provide a systematic review of the literature, focusing on the impact of environmental pollutants from urban and metropolitan areas on pediatric health. Disregard for the Earth's atmosphere can negatively impact our fragile ecosystem and create a global toxicity. The impact of industrial growth and economic development has become paramount to modern society. Unfortunately, futuregenerations will pay the consequences of the world's failure to implement regulations to secure a safe environment for our children's health and development. Pollutants penetrate an organism through different routes and change physiological processes, which leads to a decrease in microbial resistance by weakening the child's immune system. The major contaminants are: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, lead, manganese, sulfur dioxide, airborne fine particles, and nitrogen dioxide. Xenobiotics negatively affect the morphological, functional, biochemical parameters, genetics, and epigenetics of the body. It is well documented that the physical development and psychological well-being of children is adversely affected by pollution. The accumulation of heavy metals and other contaminants adversely affected a child's health has been found in the pediatric population. An effort has been made to develop detoxicant remedies, in particular, some enterosorbents and natural adaptogens. Research is ongoing to improve medical rehabilitation of children, who already are affected. Public education and regulations regarding emerging non-pollutant industrial technologies is called for. A global system of accountability and enforcement regarding environmental protection needs to be implemented

Draft Genome Sequences of Three Amino Acid-Secreting Lactococcus lactis Strains

Three Lactococcus lactis strains with the ability to secrete various amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, methionine, valine, glutamic acid, and histidine) were sequenced in order to identify the mechanisms involved in the secretion. Amino acids contribute to flavor formation; therefore, bacterial strains with this ability are relevant for the food industry

complexity of early diagnosis of congenital ataxia: a case report

Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) is a rare form of phakomatoses with multisystem lesions that are characterized by a specific neuro-cutaneous syndrome. AT is a multisystem disease that includes progressive clinical manifestations of cerebral ataxia, oculocutaneous telangiectasia, and increased susceptibility to cancer due to ionizing radiation sensitivity. Lack of awareness of this disease by medical providers could ultimately lead to a delay in diagnosis and increase morbidity in patients. This case study presents the history of a female adolescent patient, who was eventually placed in protective custody with congenital AT. She was clinically observed for fifteen years. This paper demonstrates the complexity of early diagnosis of AT in children. The importance of a comprehensive evaluation of neural and immunological systems, timely genetic testing, and aggressive treatment of infectious diseases is paramount in the formulation of an appropriate treatment plan. Early diagnosis and management significantly improve the prognosis and quality of life for these patients

Intermediary Role of Lung Alveolar Type 1 Cells in Epithelial Repair upon Sendai Virus Infection

The lung epithelium forms the first barrier against respiratory pathogens and noxious chemicals; however, little is known about how more than 90% of this barrier, made of AT1 (alveolar type 1) cells, responds to injury. Using the Sendai virus to model natural infection in mice, we find evidence that AT1 cells have an intermediary role by persisting in areas depleted of AT2 cells, upregulating IFN responsive genes, and receding from invading airway cells. Sendai virus infection mobilizes airway cells to form alveolar SOX2+ (Sry-box 2+) clusters without differentiating into AT1 or AT2 cells. Large AT2 cell-depleted areas remain covered by AT1 cells, which we name AT2-less regions , and are replaced by SOX2+ clusters spreading both basally and luminally. AT2 cell proliferation and differentiation are largely confined to topologically distal regions and form de novo alveolar surface, with limited contribution to in situ repairs of AT2-less regions. Time-course single-cell RNA sequencing profiling and RNAscope validation suggest enhanced immune responses and altered growth signals in AT1 cells. Our comprehensive spatiotemporal and genomewide study highlights the hitherto unappreciated role of AT1 cells in lung injury-repair

Studying Past Deep-ocean Circulation and the Paleoclimate Record in the Gulf of Cadiz

Deep marine currents are strongly influenced by climatic changes. They also deposit, rework, and sort sediment, and can generate kilometer-scale sedimentary bodies (drifts). These drifts are made of thoroughly bioturbated, stacked sedimentary sequences called contourites [Gonthier et al., 1984]. As a consequence, change in the direction or intensity of currents can be recorded in the sediment

DNM1 encephalopathy: A new disease of vesicle fission.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the phenotypic spectrum caused by mutations in dynamin 1 (DNM1), encoding the presynaptic protein DNM1, and to investigate possible genotype-phenotype correlations and predicted functional consequences based on structural modeling.MethodsWe reviewed phenotypic data of 21 patients (7 previously published) with DNM1 mutations. We compared mutation data to known functional data and undertook biomolecular modeling to assess the effect of the mutations on protein function.ResultsWe identified 19 patients with de novo mutations in DNM1 and a sibling pair who had an inherited mutation from a mosaic parent. Seven patients (33.3%) carried the recurrent p.Arg237Trp mutation. A common phenotype emerged that included severe to profound intellectual disability and muscular hypotonia in all patients and an epilepsy characterized by infantile spasms in 16 of 21 patients, frequently evolving into Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Two patients had profound global developmental delay without seizures. In addition, we describe a single patient with normal development before the onset of a catastrophic epilepsy, consistent with febrile infection-related epilepsy syndrome at 4 years. All mutations cluster within the GTPase or middle domains, and structural modeling and existing functional data suggest a dominant-negative effect on DMN1 function.ConclusionsThe phenotypic spectrum of DNM1-related encephalopathy is relatively homogeneous, in contrast to many other genetic epilepsies. Up to one-third of patients carry the recurrent p.Arg237Trp variant, which is now one of the most common recurrent variants in epileptic encephalopathies identified to date. Given the predicted dominant-negative mechanism of this mutation, this variant presents a prime target for therapeutic intervention

The gut microbiota of people with asthma influences lung inflammation in gnotobiotic mice

The gut microbiota in early childhood is linked to asthma risk, but may continue to affect older patients with asthma. Here, we profile the gut microbiota of 38 children (19 asthma, median age 8) and 57 adults (17 asthma, median age 28) by 16S rRNA sequencing and find individuals with asthma harbored compositional differences from healthy controls in both adults and children. We develop a model to aid the design of mechanistic experiments in gnotobiotic mice and show enterotoxigeni

Primary Prevention Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators and Survival in Older Women

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to assess the benefit of primary prevention implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) in women.BackgroundClinical trials of primary prevention ICDs enrolled a limited number of women.MethodsUsing a propensity score method, we matched 490 women ≥65 years of age who received an ICD during a hospitalization for heart failure in the National Cardiovascular Data Registry ICD Registry from January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2007, to 490 ICD-eligible women without an ICD hospitalized for heart failure in the Get With The Guidelines for Heart Failure database from January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2009. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality obtained from the Medicare Claims Database. An identical analysis was conducted in men.ResultsMedian follow-up for patients with an ICD was 4.6 years versus 3.2 years for patients with no ICD. Compared with women with no ICD, those with an ICD were younger and less frequently white. In the matched cohorts, the survival of women with an ICD was significantly longer than that of women without an ICD (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.79, 95% confidence interval: 0.66 to 0.95; p = 0.013). Similarly, men with an ICD had longer survival than men without an ICD (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.73, 95% confidence interval: 0.65 to 0.83; p < 0.0001). There was no interaction between sex and the presence of an ICD with respect to survival (p = 0.44).ConclusionsAmong older women with left ventricular dysfunction, a primary prevention ICD was associated with a significant survival benefit that was nearly identical to that seen in men. These findings support the use of primary prevention ICDs in eligible patients regardless of sex