Fetal and early neonatal interleukin-6 response

In 1998, a systemic fetal cytokine response, defined as a plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) value above 11 pg/mL, was reported to be a major independent risk factor for the subsequent development of neonatal morbid events even after adjustments for gestational age and other confounders. Since then, the body of literature investigating the use of blood concentrations of IL-6 as a hallmark of the fetal inflammatory response syndrome (FIRS), a diagnostic marker of early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) and a risk predictor of white matter injury (WMI), has grown rapidly. In this article, we critically review: IL-6 biological functions; current evidence on the association between IL-6, preterm birth, FIRS and EONS; IL-6 reference intervals and dynamics in the early neonatal period; IL-6 response during the immediate postnatal period and perinatal confounders; accuracy and completeness of IL-6 diagnostic studies for EONS (according to the Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy statement); and recent breakthroughs in the association between fetal blood IL-6, EONS, and WMI

Physico-chemical properties of PEG-based inorganic hybrids

Organic-inorganic composites can be conveniently obtained by sol-gel recipes as class-I or class-II hybrids. They can find interesting applications in several fields, including drug delivery, scaffolding, bio-sensing, energetics, etc. In this paper we reconsider and reinvestigate our previous work in the field, by considering the sol-gel synthesis and physico-chemical characterization of class-I hybrids, and by trying to highlight some unifying elements that can be of help for the development of more efficient and precise synthesis methods. In particular, we will discuss systems based on poly(ethylene glycol) with SiO2 (1) and ZrO2 (2) as the ceramic phase. Emphasis will be put on the role played by solid-state NMR spectroscopy in unveiling the interactions at the base of hybrid formation. (1) Catauro, M., Bollino, F., Papale, F., Ferrara, C., Mustarelli, P., Silica-polyethylene glycol hybrids synthesized by sol-gel: Biocompatibility improvement of titanium implants by coating, Materials Science and Engineering C, 2015, 55, 5451. (2) Catauro, M., Bollino, F., Papale, F., Pacifico, S., Galasso, S., Ferrara, C., Mustarelli, P. Synthesis of zirconia/polyethylene glycol hybrid materials by sol-gel processing and connections between structure and release kinetic of indomethacin, Drug Delivery, 2014, 21, 595-604

Influência da velocidade específica de crescimento de Monascus purpureus ATCC36928 na produção de pigmentos vermelhos

Os pigmentos vermelhos produzidos por Monascus sp são substitutos de sais de nitrito (conservantes), os quais são precursores de nitrosamina (cancerígeno). O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver o processo de cultivo contínuo para averbar a produção de pigmentos vermelhos estabelecendo valor adequado da velocidade específica de crescimento (μ), apresentado dados de viabilidade celular e morfologia microbiana. Não há na literatura relatos da aplicação de tal processo para Monascus purpureus ATCC36928. Os valores de D aplicados foram de 0,05 h-1, 0,025 h-1 e 0,1 h-1 (μmáx é de 0,15h-1). O maior valor da produção específica de pigmentos vermelhos (0,51UL.g) deu-se sob o menor valor de μ aplicado (0,025h-1) comparando-se à situação, de μ=0,1h-1, para a qual obteve-se 0,22UL.g-1. Menor viabilidade na condição de menor μ aplicado (0,025h-1), com perdas de 32%. A redução do valor de μ resultou no aumento do comprimento das hifas (20%) e do grau de ramificação (240%)

Comparative efficacy and safety of 3-day azithromycin and 10-day penicillin V treatment of group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis in children

The efficacy and safety of a 3-day course of azithromycin oral suspension (10 mg/kg of body weight once daily) were compared with those of penicillin V (50,000 U/kg/day in two divided doses) in children aged 3 to 12 years for the treatment of symptomatic pharyngitis caused by the group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus (GABHS), For the 154 evaluable patients, the original infecting strain of GABHS was eliminated at the end of follow-up (34 to 36 days after treatment started) from 67 (85.8%) of 78 penicillin-treated patients and 41 (53.9%) of 76 azithromycin-treated patients (P < 0.0001), Overall clinical success was achieved in 71 (91.0%) of 78 penicillin V-treated patients and 57 (75.0%) of 76 azithromycin-treated patients (P < 0.05). Potential drug-related adverse events were reported for 5.5 and 8.6% of the penicillin V- and azithromycin-treated patients, respectively (P = 0.6), In the present study, a once-daily (10 mg/kg), 3-day oral regimen of azithromycin was as safe as a 10-day course of penicillin but did not represent an effective alternative to penicillin for the treatment of GABHS pharyngitis, even for those children with azithromycin-susceptible strains

Hepatic Steatosis and Thyroid Function Tests in Overweight and Obese Children

Objectives. Associations between thyroid function and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are unknown in childhood. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate in 402 consecutive overweight/obese children the association between thyroid function tests and hepatic steatosis as well as metabolic variables. Methods. Hepatic steatosis was diagnosed by ultrasound after exclusion of infectious and metabolic disorders. Fasting serum samples were taken for determination of thyroid function (TSH, FT4, and FT3), along with alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lipid profile, glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance (IR). Results. Eighty-eight children (21.9%) had TSH above the normal range (>4.0 mIU/L). FT3 and FT4 were within the reference intervals in all subjects. Elevated TSH was associated with increased odds of having hepatic steatosis (OR 2.10 (95% CI, 1.22–3.60)), hepatic steatosis with elevated ALT (2.42 (95% CI, 1.29–4.51)), hypertriglyceridemia, elevated total cholesterol, and IR as well as metabolic syndrome (considered as a single clinical entity), after adjustment for age, gender, pubertal status, and body mass index-SD score (or waist circumference). Conclusions. In overweight/obese children, elevated TSH concentration is a significant predictor of hepatic steatosis and lipid and glucose dysmetabolism, independently of the degree of total and visceral obesity

Improving TCP performance during the intra LTE handover

Abstract-Ensuring a seamless connection when users are moving across radio cells is essential to guarantee a high communication quality. In this paper, performance of TCP during the handover in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network is investigated. Specifically, mobile users with high bit rates TCP services are considered, and the impacts of the intra LTE handover over their perceived throughput are studied. Due to the mobility of the users across radio cells, the high bandwidth required, and possible network congestions, it is shown that the handover may cause sudden degradation of the quality of the communication if the process is not correctly controlled. To alleviate these problems, three solutions are proposed: fast path switch, handover prediction, and active queue management. The first two solutions avoids excessive delay in the packet delivery during the handover, whereas the second solution acts at the transport network with an active queue management. Simulation results, obtained by an extension of the ns-2 simulator, show that the proposed solutions present advantages, and that the handover prediction used with the active queue management increases TCP performance significantly