2,000 research outputs found
The air that we breathe: repsiratory morbidity in children with congenital pulmonary malformations
Intensive care for children is one of the areas of medicine that have significantly matured in
the past decades. New treatment modalities have been introduced, such as high frequency
oscillation (HFO), inhaled nitric oxide (NO), and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
(ECMO), and minimally invasive surgery is an example of improvement in surgical
techniques. These new modalities have reduced mortality rates, but sometimes at the cost
of more morbidity. Not only the underlying disease itself, but also side effects of the
treatment can cause morbidity. Aspects of short-term and long-term morbidity have
therefore become a focus of attention. Congenital anomalies that include abnormal lung
development requiring neonatal intensive care treatment can result in pulmonary function
impairment. These long-term pulmonary sequelae can be assessed by lung function
measurement. Longitudinal evaluation of lung function can help identify infants and
children at risk for respiratory impairment and elucidate the long-term consequences of
congenital lung anomalies
Disciplinary and bodily decorum in eighteenth-century British elocution, a rhetorical study of works by Thomas Sheridan, John Walker, and Gilbert Austin
Diverse Molecular Genotypes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Isolates Circulating in the Free State, South Africa
Published ArticleTuberculosis is a serious public health concern especially in Africa and Asia. Studies describing strain diversity are lacking in
the Free State region of South Africa. The aim of the study was to describe the diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.
tuberculosis) strain families in the Free State province of South Africa. A total of 86 M. tuberculosis isolates were genotyped using
spoligotyping. A 12-locusmycobacterial interspersed repetitive units-variable-number tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTRs) typing was
used to further characterize the resulting spoligotyping clusters. SITVITWEB identified 49 different patterns with allocation to
six lineages including Latin-American-Mediterranean (LAM) (18 isolates), T (14 isolates), Beijing (five isolates), S (six isolates),
Haarlem (one isolate), and X (five isolates), while 37 (43.0%) orphans were identified. Eight clusters included 37 isolates with
identical spoligotypes (2 to 13/cluster). MIRU-VNTR typing further differentiated three spoligotyping clusters: SIT1/Beijing/MIT17,
SIT33/LAM3/MIT213, and confirmed one SIT34/S/MIT311. In addition, SpolDB3/RIM assignment of the orphan strains resulted
in a further 10 LAM and 13 T families. In total, LAM (28 isolates) and T (27 isolates) cause 63% of the individual cases of MTB
in our study. The Free State has a highly diverse TB population with LAM being predominant. Further studies with inclusion of
multidrug-resistant strains with larger sample size are warranted
Environmental controls on pteropod biogeography along the Western Antarctic Peninsula
Pteropods are abundant zooplankton in the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) and important grazers of phytoplankton and prey for higher trophic levels. We analyzed long-term (1993-2017) trends in summer (January-February) abundance of WAP pteropods in relation to environmental controls (sea ice, sea surface temperature, climate indices, phytoplankton biomass and productivity, and carbonate chemistry) and interspecies dynamics using general linear models. There was no overall directional trend in abundance of thecosomes, Limacina helicina antarctica and Clio pyramidata, throughout the entire WAP, although L. antarctica abundance increased in the slope region and C. pyramidata abundance increased in the South. High L. antarctica abundance was strongly tied to a negative Multivariate El Nino Southern Oscillation Index the previous year. C. pyramidata abundance was best explained by early sea ice retreat 1-yr prior. Abundance of the gymnosome species, Clione antarctica and Spongiobranchaea australis, increased over the time series, particularly in the slope region. Gymnosome abundance was positively influenced by abundance of their prey, L. antarctica, during the same season, and late sea ice advance 2-yr prior. These trends indicate a shorter ice season promotes longer periods of open water in spring/summer favoring all pteropod species. Weak relationships were found between pteropod abundance and carbonate chemistry, and no long-term trend in carbonate parameters was detected. These factors indicate ocean acidification is not presently influencing WAP pteropod abundance. Pteropods are responsive to the considerable environmental variability on both temporal and spatial scales-key for predicting future effects of climate change on regional carbon cycling and plankton trophic interactions
Inflammatory response to cardiopulmonary bypass in neonates and young children: endotoxin release, cytokine production, and gastrointestinal permeability
The sensitivity of murine spermiogenesis to miglustat is a quantitative trait: a pharmacogenetic study
BACKGROUND: A major event in the post-meiotic development of male germ cells is the formation of the acrosome. This process can be perturbed in C57BL/6 mice by administration of the small molecule miglustat (N-butyldeoxynojirimycin, NB-DNJ). The miglustat-treated mice produce morphologically abnormal spermatozoa that lack acrosomes and are poorly motile. In C57BL/6 mice, miglustat can be used to maintain long-term reversible infertility. In contrast, when miglustat was evaluated in normal men, it did not affect spermatogenesis. To gain more insight into this species difference we have now evaluated the reproductive effects of miglustat in rabbits, in multiple mouse strains and in interstrain hybrid mice. METHODS: Male mice of 18 inbred strains were administered miglustat orally or via miniosmotic pumps. Rabbits were given the compound in their food. Fourth-generation interstrain hybrid mice, bred from C57BL/6 and FVB/N mice (which differ in their response to miglustat), also received the drug. Data on fertility (natural mating), sperm motility and morphology, acrosome status, and serum drug levels were collected. RESULTS: In rabbits the drug did not induce aberrations of sperm shape or motility, although the serum level of miglustat in rabbits far exceeded the level in C57BL/6 mice (8.4 μM and 0.5 μM, respectively). In some strains of the Swiss and Castle lineages of inbred mice miglustat did not cause infertility, severe morphological sperm aberrations or reduced sperm motility. In these strains miglustat only had milder effects. However, miglustat strongly disturbed acrosome and sperm nucleus development in AKR/J and BALB/c mice and in a number of C57BL/6-related strains. The consequences of drug administration in the interstrain hybrid mice were highly variable. Judging by the number of grossly abnormal spermatozoa, these genetically heterogeneous mice displayed a continuous range of intermediate responses, distinct from either of their parental strains. CONCLUSION: The effects of miglustat on spermatogenesis in mice are strain-dependent, while in rabbits the drug is ineffective. Evaluation of interstrain hybrid mice indicated that the sensitivity of spermatogenesis to miglustat is a quantitative trait. These studies pave the way for identifying the genetic factors underlying the strain/species differences in the effect of miglustat
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