Red cell distribution width elevation and sepsis in pediatric critically ill patients

Background: Recently, a relationship has been demonstrated between red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and mortality risk in critically ill patients although the exact mechanism of this association is still vague. However, the impact of changes in RDW on sepsis and its outcome in critically ill patients has not been widely studied. Therefore, we studied the prognostic impact of changes in RDW in critically ill pediatric patients with sepsis. Methods: A total of 304 patients who were admitted to pediatric intensive care unit were selected to participate in this study. The changes in RDW on the day of admission and 4 and 8 days after admission in PICU were documented and their relationship with SIRS positivity, sepsis, and mortality were analyzed. Results: The mortality rate in our patients was 10.5. In total, 39.8 of patients were SIRS positive and 50.4 fulfilled the criteria of sepsis. The mean of RDW at the time of admission, on Day 4 and on Day 8 of admission was 14.8, 16.1, and 16.6, respectively. At the time of admission, RDW had a significant correlation with mortality and SIRS positivity, but RDW measured on Days 4 and 8 of admission did not correlate with neither of them. Neither of RDW0, RDW4, nor RDW8 did correlate with sepsis criteria fulfillment. �RDW day 4-adm > 0.2, �RDW day 8-adm > 0.2, �RDW day 8-day 4 > 0.2 exhibited no correlation with SIRS positivity, sepsis, and mortality. Conclusions:We found that an increase in RDW from baseline during the first 4 and 8 days after admission of critically ill pediatric patients did not correlate with their mortality, SIRS positivity, and sepsis. However, elevated baseline RDW is a valuable prognostic marker in patients with sepsis. © 2018, Archives of Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Red cell distribution width elevation and sepsis in pediatric critically ill patients

Background: Recently, a relationship has been demonstrated between red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and mortality risk in critically ill patients although the exact mechanism of this association is still vague. However, the impact of changes in RDW on sepsis and its outcome in critically ill patients has not been widely studied. Therefore, we studied the prognostic impact of changes in RDW in critically ill pediatric patients with sepsis. Methods: A total of 304 patients who were admitted to pediatric intensive care unit were selected to participate in this study. The changes in RDW on the day of admission and 4 and 8 days after admission in PICU were documented and their relationship with SIRS positivity, sepsis, and mortality were analyzed. Results: The mortality rate in our patients was 10.5. In total, 39.8 of patients were SIRS positive and 50.4 fulfilled the criteria of sepsis. The mean of RDW at the time of admission, on Day 4 and on Day 8 of admission was 14.8, 16.1, and 16.6, respectively. At the time of admission, RDW had a significant correlation with mortality and SIRS positivity, but RDW measured on Days 4 and 8 of admission did not correlate with neither of them. Neither of RDW0, RDW4, nor RDW8 did correlate with sepsis criteria fulfillment. �RDW day 4-adm > 0.2, �RDW day 8-adm > 0.2, �RDW day 8-day 4 > 0.2 exhibited no correlation with SIRS positivity, sepsis, and mortality. Conclusions:We found that an increase in RDW from baseline during the first 4 and 8 days after admission of critically ill pediatric patients did not correlate with their mortality, SIRS positivity, and sepsis. However, elevated baseline RDW is a valuable prognostic marker in patients with sepsis. © 2018, Archives of Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Sars coronavirus 2, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and middle east respiratory syndrome in children: A review on epidemiology, clinical presentation, and diagnosis

Context: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused irreparable damage to society. The pediatric population may be asymptomatic but has positive viral nucleic acid test results and plays an important role in spreading the infection in populations. However, there is a substantial information gap on the epidemiology, pathology, and clinical presentations of COVID-19 in pediatric patients. Evidence Acquisition: English research articles published before April 18, 2020, were reviewed to understand the clinical characteristics of SARS coronavirus 2, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in children. The WHO (https://www.who. int/) and CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/) websites were also reviewed to find eligible studies, besides articles extracted from PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Results: In comparison with SARS and MERS, COVID-19 seems to have wider clinical symptoms and routes of transmission. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome is a unique clinical feature of this novel virus. The low prevalence of COVID-19 in children may be due to lower contacts or incomplete identification rather than resistance to the virus. Conclusions: As this virus is novel, we believe that lessons learned from SARS and MERS outbreaks are very valuable in handling the current pandemic. The aim of this paper was to provide the updated summary of clinical manifestation, diagnostic, molecular, and genetic aspects of the novel coronavirus in comparison with SARS and MERS coronaviruses in children. © 2020, Author(s)

Mechanism of gallic acid biosynthesis in bacteria (Escherichia coli) and walnut (Juglans regia)

Gallic acid (GA), a key intermediate in the synthesis of plant hydrolysable tannins, is also a primary anti-inflammatory, cardio-protective agent found in wine, tea, and cocoa. In this publication, we reveal the identity of a gene and encoded protein essential for GA synthesis. Although it has long been recognized that plants, bacteria, and fungi synthesize and accumulate GA, the pathway leading to its synthesis was largely unknown. Here we provide evidence that shikimate dehydrogenase (SDH), a shikimate pathway enzyme essential for aromatic amino acid synthesis, is also required for GA production. Escherichia coli (E. coli) aroE mutants lacking a functional SDH can be complemented with the plant enzyme such that they grew on media lacking aromatic amino acids and produced GA in vitro. Transgenic Nicotianatabacum lines expressing a Juglans regia SDH exhibited a 500% increase in GA accumulation. The J. regia and E. coli SDH was purified via overexpression in E. coli and used to measure substrate and cofactor kinetics, following reduction of NADP+ to NADPH. Reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray mass spectrometry (RP-LC/ESI–MS) was used to quantify and validate GA production through dehydrogenation of 3-dehydroshikimate (3-DHS) by purified E. coli and J. regia SDH when shikimic acid (SA) or 3-DHS were used as substrates and NADP+ as cofactor. Finally, we show that purified E. coli and J. regia SDH produced GA in vitro

EMN for radiation protection - an evolving European metrology network

The European Council DIRECTIVE 2013/59/EURATOM laying down the basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionizing radiation is currently the main European regulation on ionizing radiation. The practical implementation of the European basic safety standards has become more complex due to the lack of consideration of the metrological implications and the adaptation to new technological developments, which lead to new standards, technological innovations, and improved capabilities. It was considered by EURAMET to be of a vital importance to have a metrology network that acts as a focal point between the metrology communities and the relevant radiation protection stakeholders, including regulators, standardization bodies, manufacturers, users of radiation sources and international organizations and radiation protection platforms. One of the most important tasks of this European Metrology Network (EMN) for Radiation Protection is to give a strong voice to the field of radiation protection metrology in Europe, so that it can provide responsible guidance and support to future technological developments. Additionally, metrological competence and capacity are essential to determine ambient or occupational exposures and urgent metrological needs exist in case of emergency situations. The EMN for Radiation Protection is in operation since 2021. The first Chair, Annette Röttger (PTB, Germany), Vice-Chair, Teemu Siiskonen (STUK, Finland) and Secretary Behnam Khanbabaee (PTB, Germany) have been elected. At the second meeting in 2022, first actions have been identified. In this contribution, the planned actions and next steps will be presented.ERPW 2022 - European Radiation Protection Week, 9-14th October 2022, Estoril, Portuga

Impact of Rhinitis on Asthma Control in Children: Association With FeNO

International audienceBackground. The prevalence of rhinitis is high and frequently observed in association with asthma. Although the persistence of predisposing factors such as rhinitis is frequently observed in adults, this has not yet been confirmed in children. Aims. The aim of this present work is to show the relationship between rhinitis and asthma control in asthmatic children. Methods. The authors carried out a cross-sectional study by collecting clinical, spirometric, and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) data in children aged from 4 to 17 years. Results. One hundred seventeen children were included. Asthma control was optimal in 37.6%, suboptimal in 55.5% and poor in 7.3% of cases. A 74.3% of children were atopic and 62.5% had symptoms 34 of rhinitis. Rhinitis was more frequent when control of asthma was worse (p = .0001). Age (p = .002), asthma control (p < .001), atopy (p = .001), and presence of rhinitis (p = .012) were significantly associated with FeNO. Conclusions. Our study confirms the strong relationship between upper airways and poor asthma control in the asthmatic child. Symptoms of rhinitis may be partly responsible for the increased fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) level, independently of the control of asthma. Evaluation of rhinitis should be included to improve assessment of asthma control in childre

Metrology supporting the European regulation for radiation protection

The European Association of National Metrology Institutes (EURAMET) within its research programme European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR) funded project EMPIR 19NET03 supportBSS that contributes to the establishment of a European Metrology Network (EMN) for Radiation Protection (RP). The EMN-RP was established in September 2021 with the intent to work as a meeting point for the metrology community and all stakeholders in the field of ionising radiation regulation, thus providing quality assurance for measurements in each of the exposure situations contemplated in the European Legislation. Within project EMPIR 19NET03, work package 3 aims at the preparation of a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) by identifying the metrology needs to support the European legislation and regulation in Radiation Protection and of two Roadmaps for metrology services, one under the European Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM and the other under the EURATOM Treaty. Following a Gaps Workshop held in September 2020 and a second internal workshop that took place in April 2022, a questionnaire was prepared for distribution to the stakeholders, e.g. RP platforms and authorities, academia, industry, among other, together with an accompanying paper. In this paper, the authors present the state of the art of European legislation in RP, address the importance of metrology, the practices and activities that need metrology to meet the requirements set in the regulations, emphasise the need for quality assured measurements in all fields, highlight the stakeholders contributions in their specific area and show their vision of the EMN-RP

Metrology supporting the European regulation for radiation protection

International audienceThe European Association of National Metrology Institutes (EURAMET) within its research programme European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR) funded project EMPIR 19NET03 supportBSS that contributes to the establishment of a European Metrology Network (EMN) for Radiation Protection (RP). The EMN-RP was established in September 2021 with the intent to work as a meeting point for the metrology community and all stakeholders in the field of ionising radiation regulation, thus providing quality assurance for measurements in each of the exposure situations contemplated in the European Legislation. Within project EMPIR 19NET03, work package 3 aims at the preparation of a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) by identifying the metrology needs to support the European legislation and regulation in Radiation Protection and of two Roadmaps for metrology services, one under the European Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM and the other under the EURATOM Treaty. Following a Gaps Workshop held in September 2020 and a second internal workshop that took place in April 2022, a questionnaire was prepared for distribution to the stakeholders, e.g. RP platforms and authorities, academia, industry, among other, together with an accompanying paper. In this paper, the authors present the state of the art of European legislation in RP, address the importance of metrology, the practices and activities that need metrology to meet the requirements set in the regulations, emphasise the need for quality assured measurements in all fields, highlight the stakeholders contributions in their specific area and show their vision of the EMN-RP

Band bending at the heterointerface of GaAs/InAs core/shell nanowires monitored by synchrotron X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Unique electronic properties of semiconductor heterostructured nanowires make them useful for future nano-electronic devices. Here, we present a study of the band bending effect at the heterointerface of GaAs/InAs core/shell nanowires by means of synchrotron based X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Different Ga, In, and As core-levels of the nanowire constituents have been monitored prior to and after cleaning from native oxides. The cleaning process mainly affected the As-oxides and was accompanied by an energy shift of the core-level spectra towards lower binding energy, suggesting that the As-oxides turn the nanowire surfaces to n-type. After cleaning, both As and Ga core-levels revealed an energy shift of about -0.3 eV for core/shell compared to core reference nanowires. With respect to depth dependence and in agreement with calculated strain distribution and electron quantum confinement, the observed energy shift is interpreted by band bending of core-levels at the heterointerface between the GaAs nanowire core and the InAs shell