Is premature birth an environmental sensitivity factor? A scoping review protocol

Introduction Globally, around 10% of children are born preterm and are more at risk of negative developmental outcomes. However, empirical evidences and theoretical reasoning also suggest that premature birth can be a susceptibility factor, increasing sensitivity to the environment for better and for worse. Because available findings are controversial, with the current scoping review we will explore if, based on the available literature, preterm birth can be seen as an environmental sensitivity (ES) factor. In doing so, we will consider a series of moderating variables, including the level of prematurity, the type of environment and the outcome investigated. Methodological aspects, as the type of measures used and study design, will be considered. Methods and analysis The scoping review will be conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute Methodology guidelines. The report will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews checklist. We will perform the search between 15 January 2022 and 1 February 2022. Data will be chartered by independent reviewers. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is not required, as primary data will not be collected. This scoping review will be the first to explore whether prematurity is associated with an increased ES. This review can have important implications for tailoring prevention and intervention programmes. Results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal

Efficacy of adalimumab as second-line therapy in a pediatric cohort of crohn’s disease patients who failed infliximab therapy: The Italian society of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition experience

Background: Adalimumab (Ada) treatment is an available option for pediatric Crohn’s disease (CD) and the published experience as rescue therapy is limited. Objectives: We investigated Ada efficacy in a retrospective, pediatric CD cohort who had failed previous infliximab treatment, with a minimum follow-up of 6 months. Methods: In this multicenter study, data on demographics, clinical activity, growth, laboratory values (CRP) and adverse events were collected from CD patients during follow-up. Clinical remission (CR) and response were defined with Pediatric CD Activity Index (PCDAI) score ≤10 and a decrease in PCDAI score of ≥12.5 from baseline, respectively. Results: A total of 44 patients were consecutively recruited (mean age 14.8 years): 34 of 44 (77%) had active disease (mean PCDAI score 24.5) at the time of Ada administration, with a mean disease duration of 3.4 (range 0.3–11.2) years. At 6, 12, and 18 months, out of the total of the enrolled population, CR rates were 55%, 78%, and 52%, respectively, with a significant decrease in PCDAI scores (P<0.01) and mean CRP values (mean CRP 5.7 and 2.4 mL/dL, respectively; P<0.01) at the end of follow-up. Steroid-free remission rates, considered as the total number of patients in CR who were not using steroids at the end of this study, were 93%, 95%, and 96% in 44 patients at 6, 12, and 18 months, respectively. No significant differences in growth parameters were detected. In univariate analysis of variables related to Ada efficacy, we found that only a disease duration >2 years was negatively correlated with final PCDAI score (P<0.01). Two serious adverse events were recorded: 1 meningitis and 1 medulloblastoma. Conclusion: Our data confirm Ada efficacy in pediatric patients as second-line biological therapy after infliximab failure. Longer-term prospective data are warranted to define general effectiveness and safety in pediatric CD patients

Seasonal rather than spatial variability drives planktonic and benthic bacterial diversity in a microtidal lagoon and the adjacent open sea

Coastal lagoons are highly productive ecosystems, which are experiencing a variety of human disturbances at increasing frequency. Bacteria are key ecological players within lagoons, yet little is known about the magnitude, patterns and drivers of diversity in these transitional environments. We carried out a seasonal study in the Venice Lagoon (Italy) and the adjacent sea, to simultaneously explore diversity patterns in different domains (pelagic, benthic) and their spatio-temporal variability, and test the role of environmental gradients in structuring assemblages. Community composition differed between lagoon and open sea, and between domains. The dominant phyla varied temporally, with varying trends for the two domains, suggesting different environmental constraints on the assemblages. The percentage of freshwater taxa within the lagoon increased during higher river run-off, pointing at the lagoon as a dynamic mosaic of microbial taxa that generate the metacommunity across the whole hydrological continuum. Seasonality was more important than spatial variability in shaping assemblages. Network analyses indicated more interactions between several genera and environmental variables in the open sea than the lagoon. Our study provides evidences for a temporally dynamic nature of bacterial assemblages in lagoons and suggests that an interplay of seasonally influenced environmental drivers shape assemblages in these vulnerable ecosystems

Longitudinal Changes of Cornea Volume Measured by Means of Anterior Segment-Optical Coherence Tomography in Patients with Stable and Progressive Keratoconus

Keratoconus is a corneal disease which results in progressive thinning and protrusion of the cornea leading to irregular astigmatism. The purpose of this study was to evaluate longitudinal changes in corneal volume (CV) occurring over time in keratoconus eyes. Consecutive patients affected by keratoconus were evaluated by means of anterior segment-optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) at two different time points: baseline (T0) and after 1 year (T1). Anterior and posterior refractive value; corneal thickness at the thinnest point (TP) and corneal volume (CV) calculated within discs of 3, 5 and 8 mm of diameter; anterior chamber depth (ACD); and anterior chamber volume (ACV) were obtained. Enrolled patients were divided into 3 groups (groups 1, 2, 3) according to the increasing disease severity and into 2 groups (groups A, B) according to the progression or stability of the disease. Overall, 116 eyes of 116 patients (76 males and 40 females, mean age 34.76 ± 13.99 years) were included. For the entire group of keratoconus patients, in comparison with T0, mean TP decreased at T1 from 458.7 ± 52.2 μm to 454.6 ± 51.6 μm (p = 0.0004); in parallel, mean value of CV calculated at 5 mm and 8 mm decreased significantly (from 10.78 ± 0.8 at T0 to 10.75 ± 0.79 at T1 (p = 0.02), and from 32.03 ± 2.01 mm3 at T0 to 31.95 ± 1.98 at T1 (p = 0.02), respectively). Conversely, there were no statistically significant differences in CV at 3 mm from T0 to T1 (p = 0.08), as well as for ACD and ACV. Regarding the course of the disease, patients belonging to group A showed statistically significant differences from T0 to T1 for TP, and for CV at 3 mm, 5 mm and 8 mm (p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p < 0.001 and p = 0.0058 respectively). There were no statistically significant differences for ACD (p = 0.6916) and ACV calculated at 3, 5 and 8 mm (p = 0.7709, p = 0.3765, p = 0.2475, respectively) in group A. At the same time, no statistically significant differences for ACD (p = 0.2897) and ACV calculated at 3, 5 and 8 mm (p = 0.9849, p = 0.6420, p = 0.8338, respectively) were found in group B. There were statistically significant positive correlations between changes of TP and CV at 3 mm (r = 0.6324, p < 0.0001), 5 mm (r = 0.7622, p < 0.0001) and 8 mm (r = 0.5987 p < 0.0001). In conclusion, given the strong correlation with TP, CV might be considered an additional AS-OCT parameter to be used in association with conventional parameters when detecting longitudinal changes in keratoconic eyes

Single-Electron Redox Chemistry on the [Cp*Rh] Platform Enabled by a Nitrated Bipyridyl Ligand

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.[Cp*Rh] complexes (Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) are attracting renewed interest in coordination chemistry and catalysis, but these useful compounds often undergo net two-electron redox cycling that precludes observation of individual one-electron reduction events. Here, we show that a [Cp*Rh] complex bearing the 4,4′-dinitro-2,2′-bipyridyl ligand (dnbpy) (3) can access a distinctive manifold of five oxidation states in organic electrolytes, contrasting with prior work that found no accessible reductions in aqueous electrolyte. These states are readily generated from a newly isolated and fully characterized rhodium(III) precursor complex 3, formulated as [Cp*Rh(dnbpy)Cl]PF6. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) data, previously unavailable for the dnbpy ligand bound to the [Cp*Rh] platform, confirm the presence of both [η5-Cp*] and [κ2-dnbpy]. Four individual one-electron reductions of 3 are observed, contrasting sharply with the single two-electron reductions of other [Cp*Rh] complexes. Chemical preparation and the study of the singly reduced species with electronic absorption and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies indicate that the first reduction is predominantly centered on the dnbpy ligand. Comparative cyclic voltammetry studies with [NBu4][PF6] and [NBu4][Cl] as supporting electrolytes indicate that the chloride ligand can be lost from 3 by ligand exchange upon reduction. Spectroelectrochemical studies with ultraviolet (UV)-visible detection reveal isosbestic behavior, confirming the clean interconversion of the reduced forms of 3 inferred from the voltammetry with [NBu4][PF6] as supporting electrolyte. Electrochemical reduction in the presence of triethylammonium results in an irreversible response, but does not give rise to catalytic H2 evolution, contrasting with the reactivity patterns observed in [Cp*Rh] complexes bearing bipyridyl ligands with less electron-withdrawing substituents.US National Science Foundation award OIA-1833087KU Hall Chemical Research FundCenter for Undergraduate Research at the University of KansasNIH S10OD016360NIH S10RR024664NSF MRI funding (CHE-1625923