New perspectives in human milk banks

Mother’s own milk (MOM) is the first choice in preterm infant feeding, and when it is not available or is insufficient, donor human milk (DHM) is recommended. It has been shown that feeding preterm infants with human milk is less related to major morbidities, enhances feeding tolerance and prevents metabolic syndrome in childhood. As The Committee on Nutrition of the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) states, specific guidelines for Human Milk Banks (HMB) are needed to guarantee the best possible compromise between microbiological safety and nutritional/biological quality of human milk (HM). Currently, Holder pasteurization (HoP: pasteurization process at 62.5-63°C for 30 minutes) is recommended by all international guidelines: this method inactivates bacterial and viral pathogens but it also affects some nutritional and biological properties of human milk. New methods to ameliorate the biological quality and safety of DHM are under investigation in the last years. High Pressure Processing (HPP) is a non- thermal process used in food industries: this technology inactivates pathogenic microorganisms by applying hydrostatic high pressure, however further researches are required before applying this technology in milk banking. Ultraviolet-C irradiation (UV-C) is another non-thermal method capable of reducing vegetative bacteria in human milk and it also seems to preserve higher levels of immunological proteins than HoP. High-temperature short-time pasteurization (HTST: flash pasteurization, 72°C for 5-15 seconds) currently is available only at industrial level, but it could represent an alternative to HoP seeming to maintain the protein profile and some of the key active components of DHM. Further researches are needed to define the optimal treatment of DHM.   Proceedings of the 11th International Workshop on Neonatology and Satellite Meetings · Cagliari (Italy) · October 26th-31st, 2015 · From the womb to the adult Guest Editors: Vassilios Fanos (Cagliari, Italy), Michele Mussap (Genoa, Italy), Antonio Del Vecchio (Bari, Italy), Bo Sun (Shanghai, China), Dorret I. Boomsma (Amsterdam, the Netherlands), Gavino Faa (Cagliari, Italy), Antonio Giordano (Philadelphia, USA

Esophageal Bolus Transit in Newborns with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Symptoms: A Multichannel Intraluminal Impedance Study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate bolus transit during esophageal swallow (ES) and gastroesophageal reflux (GER) events and to investigate the relationship between the characteristics of ES and GER events in a population of term and preterm newborns with symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). METHODS: The study population consisted of term and preterm newborns referred to combined multichannel intraluminal impedance (MII) and pH monitoring for GERD symptoms. The frequency and characteristics of ES and GER events were assessed by two independent investigators. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: Fifty-four newborns (23 preterm) were included in the analyses. Median bolus head advancing time corrected for esophageal length (BHATc) was shorter during mealtime than during the postprandial period (median, interquartile range): 0.20 (0.15-0.29) s/cm vs. 0.47 (0.39-0.64) s/cm, p<0.001. Median bolus presence time (BPT) was prolonged during mealtime: 4.71(3.49-6.27) s vs. 2.66 (1.82-3.73) s, p<0.001. Higher BHATc (p=0.03) and prolonged BPT (p<0.001) were observed in preterm newborns during the postprandial period. A significant positive correlation between BHATc and bolus clearance time was also observed (ρ=0.33, p=0.016). CONCLUSION: The analysis of ES and GER events at the same time by MII provides useful information to better understand the physiopathology of GERD. In particular, the analysis of BHATc during the postprandial period could help clinicians identify newborns with prolonged esophageal clearance time due to impaired esophageal motility, which could allow for more accurate recommendations regarding further tests and treatment

Donor Human Milk: Effects of Storage and Heat Treatment on Oxidative Stress Markers

Mother's own milk is the first choice for the feeding and nutrition of preterm and term newborns. When mother's own milk is unavailable or in short supply donor human milk (DM) could represent a solution. Heat treatment and cold storage are common practices in Human Milk Banks (HMBs). Currently, Holder pasteurization process is the recommended heat treatment in all international guidelines. This method is thought to lead to a good compromise between the microbiological safety and nutritional/biological quality of DM. Moreover, storage of refrigerated milk is a common practice in HMBs and in NICUs. Depending on the length and on the type of storage, human milk may lose some important nutritional and functional properties. The available data on oxidative stress markers confirm that pasteurization and refrigeration affected this important elements to variable degrees, even though it is rather difficult to quantify the level of deterioration. Nonetheless, clinical practice demonstrates that many beneficial properties of human milk are preserved, even after cold storage and heat treatment. Future studies should be focused on the evaluation of new pasteurization techniques, in order to achieve a better compromise between biological quality and safety of DM

Experimental antiproton nuclear stopping power in H2 and D2

Data about antiprotons slowing down in gaseous targets at very low energies (E<1 keV) show that the stopping power in D2 is lower than in H2; the right way to explain this behavior seems to be through a nuclear stopping power derived from the classical Rutherford formula

Collins and Sivers asymmetries in muonproduction of pions and kaons off transversely polarised protons

Measurements of the Collins and Sivers asymmetries for charged pions and charged and neutral kaons produced in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering of high energy muons off transversely polarised protons are presented. The results were obtained using all the available COMPASS proton data, which were taken in the years 2007 and 2010. The Collins asymmetries exhibit in the valence region a non-zero signal for pions and there are hints of non-zero signal also for kaons. The Sivers asymmetries are found to be positive for positive pions and kaons and compatible with zero otherwise. © 2015