Donor milk for preterm and sick children: human milk banking in Germany.
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Female↗
Biomedical subjects
S Springer
Publications and source records attributed to S Springer.
[Breastfeeding and human milk for preterm infants].
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Breast Feeding↗
Structure of the Sec23p/24p and Sec13p/31p complexes of COPII.
COPII-coated vesicles carry proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi complex. This vesicular transport can be reconstituted by using three cytosolic components containing five proteins: the small GTPase Sar1p, the Sec23p/24p complex, and the Sec13p/Sec31p complex. We have used a combination of biochemistry and electron microscopy to investigate the molecular organization and structure of Sec23p/24p and Sec13p/31p complexes. The three-dimensional reconstruction of Sec23p/24p reveals that it has a bone-shaped structure, (17 nm in length), composed of two similar globular domains, one corresponding to Sec23p and the other to Sec24p. Sec13p/31p is a heterotetramer composed of two copies of Sec13p and two copies of Sec31p. It has an elongated shape, is 28-30 nm in length, and contains five consecutive globular domains linked by relatively flexible joints. Putting together the architecture of these Sec complexes with the interactions between their subunits and the appearance of the coat in COPII-coated vesicles, we present a model for COPII coat organization.
COP-Coated Vesicles↗
Alexander disease: diagnosis with MR imaging.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To date, the demonstration of Rosenthal fibers on brain biopsy or autopsy specimens is considered a prerequisite for a definitive diagnosis of Alexander disease. We initiated a multiinstitutional survey of MR abnormalities in both presumed and confirmed cases of Alexander disease to assess the possibility of an MR-based diagnosis. METHODS: MR imaging studies in three patients with an autopsy-based diagnosis of Alexander disease were analyzed to define MR criteria for the diagnosis. These criteria were then applied to 217 children with leukoencephalopathy of unknown origin. RESULTS: Five MR imaging criteria were defined: extensive cerebral white matter changes with frontal predominance, a periventricular rim with high signal on T1-weighted images and low signal on T2-weighted images, abnormalities of basal ganglia and thalami, brain stem abnormalities, and contrast enhancement of particular gray and white matter structures. Four of the five criteria had to be met for an MR imaging-based diagnosis. In a retrospective analysis of the MR studies of the 217 patients, 19 were found who fulfilled these criteria. No other essentially new MR abnormalities were found in these patients. In four of the 19 patients, subsequent histologic confirmation was obtained. The clinical symptomatology was the same in the patients with and without histologic confirmation and correlated well with the MR abnormalities. MR abnormalities were in close agreement with the known histopathologic findings of Alexander disease. CONCLUSION: The defined criteria are sufficient for an in vivo MR imaging diagnosis of Alexander disease; only in atypical cases is a brain biopsy still necessary for a definitive diagnosis.
Brain↗
FYI regarding safe medical device act.
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Consumer Product Safety↗
The p24 proteins are not essential for vesicular transport in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
To investigate the factors involved in the sorting of cargo proteins into COPII endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to Golgi apparatus transport vesicles, we have created a strain of S. cerevisiae (p24Delta8) that lacks all eight members of the p24 family of transmembrane proteins (Emp24p, Erv25p, and Erp1p to Erp6p). The p24 proteins have been implicated in COPI and COPII vesicle formation, cargo protein sorting, and regulation of vesicular transport in eukaryotic cells. We find that p24Delta8 cells grow identically to wild type and show delays of invertase and Gas1p ER-to-Golgi transport identical to those seen in a single Deltaemp24 deletion strain. Thus, p24 proteins do not have an essential function in the secretory pathway. Instead, they may serve as quality control factors to restrict the entry of proteins into COPII vesicles.
Base Sequence↗
[Heart rate variability--physiology, methods of registration and application in pediatric sleep laboratory].
Heart rate variability (HRV) has become the focus of interest of a multitude of investigations being a parameter that can easily be recorded. Accepted clinical indications in adults include evaluation of diabetic neuropathy and prediction of prognosis after myocardial infarction in adults. In children, HRV is regularly being registered in the pediatric sleep laboratory in sleep related breathing disorders, after apparent life threatening events, or in infants with assumed increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome. However, uniform interpretation criteria have not been established in these situations, at least partially due to insufficient understanding of physiology and pathophysiology of HRV in this age group. In this overview, current knowledge on HRV in infants and children is summarized and its clinical relevance discussed. In addition, technical requirements and methods of analysis which have a major impact on calculated parameters are being presented.
Austria↗
News about human milk banking in Germany.
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Female↗
Acute appendicitis in children: comparison of clinical diagnosis with ultrasound and CT imaging.
BACKGROUND: There is strong evidence that imaging with ultrasound and CT can be of substantial diagnostic value in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children, but there is limited information of the impact of imaging on the management of these patients and its possible effect on surgical findings. OBJECTIVE: We studied the impact of imaging in the management of acute appendicitis, in particular its effect on the rate of negative appendectomies and perforations. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed retrospectively the clinical records and imaging findings of 633 consecutive children and adolescents seen on an emergency basis with clinical suspicion of acute appendicitis. Two hundred seventy patients were operated upon on clinical evidence alone, while 360 were referred for US or CT, and occasionally both, because of doubtful clinical findings. RESULTS: Acute appendicitis was found in 237 of those on clinical grounds alone, 68 of whom had perforation and related complications. Thus the rate of negative exploration and the rate of perforation were13 % and 29 %, respectively. One hundred eighty-two patients had preoperative US (sensitivity 74 %, specificity 94 %), 119 had CT (sensitivity 84 %, specificity 99 %), and 59 had both US and CT (sensitivity 75 %, specificity 100 %, but often with interpretation at variance with each other). The rate of negative appendectomy and perforation was 8 % and 23 %, respectively, for US, 5 % and 54 % for CT, and 9 % and 71 % when both examinations were performed. There is no statistical significance between the rates of diagnostic performance of US, CT, or their combination, nor between the negative appendectomy rates of each group, but the rate of perforation was significantly higher when CT was performed, alone or after US. CONCLUSION: The retrospective nature of the study prevents precise definition of the clinical characteristics and selection criteria for diagnostic examinations that may contribute to the management of children with suspected acute appendicitis. It was designed, however, to reflect the diagnostic approach and management of these patients, under the care of many decision makers and interpreters of imaging examinations, prevalent today in most hospital-based clinical practices. It is suggested that imaging increases diagnostic accuracy in difficult cases, but it might be one of the factors increasing the rate of perforations.
Acute Disease↗
Alexander disease--classification revisited and isolation of a neonatal form.
Alexander disease is usually classified according to the age of onset, e.g. an infantile form with onset during the first two years of life, a juvenile form with onset in childhood, mainly school age. It has been recognized, however, that the clinical course can be very variable within these groups. Thus, this clinical classification is not a useful predictor of severity and progression of the disease. This is demonstrated here on the basis of the history of seven own patients and a literature review. Only an onset in very early infancy, during the neonatal period, seemed to be associated with a rather uniform pattern of disease course, often leading to early death. This neonatal form showed very stereotyped symptoms, in part different from later onset: Early, often intractable, generalized seizures; hydrocephalus with raised intracranial pressure due to aqueductal stenosis because of pathological astroglia proliferation; lack of developmental progression but without prominent spasticity or ataxia; elevated CSF protein content. This was associated with the well-established neuroradiological findings, e.g. severe white matter affection with fronto-temporal predominance, involvement of basal ganglia and periventricular enhancement as an obligatory symptom. The identification of this early onset form is especially important as seizures and signs of raised intracranial pressure may mislead the diagnosis.
Adolescent↗
[A new live Salmonella enteritidis vaccine for chickens--experimental evidence of its safety and efficacy].
Within the works for the registration of a new live Salmonella Enteritidis vaccine for layers, safety and efficacy of the vaccine strain were tested by experimental studies. After oral administration of the single and the tenfold dose, no incompatibility reactions were seen in day-old chicks. The laying performance and the egg weight were not affected by the vaccination of the chickens during the laying period. There was only a limited period in which the excretion of the vaccine strain and its persistency in organs were seen. Even after the threefold oral vaccination the vaccine strain could not be isolated from eggs and internal organs of slaughtered chickens. Moreover, a high safety for non-target animals (cattle, pigs) could be established. Studies with BALB/c mice proved that a cell-mediated immunity and the development of complement-fixing antibodies is induced by the vaccine. Efficacy studies in target animals were carried out by a proved dependable oral challenge system that reproduces a latent infection with marked S. Enteritidis strains and by means of the seeder-bird method. The test results demonstrate that the vaccination is capable to avert or to reduce an infection significantly.
Animals↗
Crystal structures of two H-2Db/glycopeptide complexes suggest a molecular basis for CTL cross-reactivity.
Two synthetic O-GlcNAc-bearing peptides that elicit H-2Db-restricted glycopeptide-specific cytotoxic T cells (CTL) have been shown to display nonreciprocal patterns of cross-reactivity. Here, we present the crystal structures of the H-2Db glycopeptide complexes to 2.85 A resolution or better. In both cases, the glycan is solvent exposed and available for direct recognition by the T cell receptor (TCR). We have modeled the complex formed between the MHC-glycopeptide complexes and their respective TCRs, showing that a single saccharide residue can be accommodated in the standard TCR-MHC geometry. The models also reveal a possible molecular basis for the observed cross-reactivity patterns of the CTL clones, which appear to be influenced by the length of the CDR3 loop and the nature of the immunizing ligand.
Acetylglucosamine↗
The control of necrotic enteritis in sucking piglets by means of a Clostridium perfringens toxoid vaccine.
Necrotic enteritis in sucking piglets constitutes a serious problem in piglet rearing units because of the high morbidity and mortality associated with the disease. The primary causal agent is Clostridium perfringens type C. The beta-toxin plays a decisive role in the pathogenesis of this disease. A toxoid vaccine for use in sows has been developed and studied in field trials. The European Pharmacopoeia Monograph on vaccines for use in animals lays down a method of the efficacy testing based on the immunization of rabbits, the collection of pooled sera and the subsequent assay of anti-toxin antibodies in mice using an appropriate test toxin. The vaccine is regarded as effective if it induces a minimum of 10 IU of beta-anti-toxin per ml of rabbit serum. We have established a range of 17.14-98.23 IU beta-anti-toxin per ml rabbit serum induced by a sample of C. perfringens toxoid vaccine. The vaccine has been used under field conditions in different rearing units at the same time, mostly in the form of emergency vaccinations following the outbreak of disease. The outcome of vaccination was evaluated by recording the total numbers of piglets born alive and the piglet losses. Use of the vaccine, coupled with other measures, resulted in an approximately 30% reduction in the number of losses.
Animals↗
Nucleation of COPII vesicular coat complex by endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi vesicle SNAREs.
Protein trafficking from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi apparatus involves specific uptake into coat protein complex II (COPII)-coated vesicles of secretory and of vesicle targeting (v-SNARE) proteins. Here, two ER to Golgi v-SNAREs, Bet1p and Bos1p, were shown to interact specifically with Sar1p, Sec23p, and Sec24p, components of the COPII coat, in a guanine nucleotide-dependent fashion. Other v-SNAREs, Sec22p and Ykt6p, might interact more weakly with the COPII coat or interact indirectly by binding to Bet1p or Bos1p. The data suggest that transmembrane proteins can be taken up into COPII vesicles by direct interactions with the coat proteins and may play a structural role in the assembly of the COPII coat complex.
Binding Sites↗
Fast association rates suggest a conformational change in the MHC class I molecule H-2Db upon peptide binding.
Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules bind peptides in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). For this binding reaction, when performed in vitro, widely differing association rates have been reported. We have expressed empty soluble H-2Db class I molecules in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and generated complete sets of association, dissociation, and equilibrium constants of unmodified peptides using tritium-labeled peptides and stopped-flow fluorescence spectroscopy. We find that (i) the transition midpoint of temperature denaturation (Tm) of the protein is shifted from 30.5 to 56 degrees C upon the binding of a high-affinity peptide. (ii) With the peptide SV-324-332 (sequence FAPGNYPAL) at 4 degrees C, the dissociation rate constant of 1.02 x 10(-5) s-1 and an equilibrium constant of 8.5 x 10(7) M-1 predict an association rate constant of 870 M-1 s-1 for a simple one-step model of binding. (iii) In contrast, binding of this peptide proceeds much faster, with 1.4 x 10(6) M-1 s-1. These "mismatch kinetics" suggest that peptide binding occurs in several steps, most likely via a conformational rearrangement of the peptide binding groove. The structure of the peptide-class I complex at the time-point of peptide recognition may therefore be different from the equilibrium crystal structures. (iv) Association of modified peptides, in the presence of detergent, or above the Tm of the empty molecule is considerably slower. This might explain why fast on-rates have not been observed in previous studies.
Animals↗
Motilin in human milk: identification and stability during digestion.
The presence of motilin in human milk and the influence of human milk on the degradation of [125I][Nle13] porcine motilin by gastric and duodenal fluids were investigated. Milk and plasma samples were collected from 14 mothers, and motilin was measured by radioimmunoassay. Plasma levels were 416 +/- 37 pg/mL. In 8 defatted samples the motilin level was 105 +/- 14 pg/mL, in the six others levels were above 1000 pg/mL but dilution curves were non-linear. After solid-phase extraction milk levels were 108 +/- 21 pg/mL in 13 samples, in 1 sample the dilution curve was still non-linear. The stability of motilin after ingestion was studied in vitro by incubating [121I][Nle13] porcine motilin with gastric and intestinal juices obtained from newborns (10 times diluted). Incubations were performed at 37 degrees C at pH 1.8, 3.2 and 5.8 for the gastric fluid and at pH 7.4 for the duodenal fluid. After different times of intervals (5, 10, 20 and 30 minutes) intact motilin was precipitated with trichloroacetic acid and the radioactivity of the supernatant was determined. Motilin was rapidly degraded by gastric juice. The breakdown was greatest at pH 3.2 (74% after 30 minutes) and lowest at pH 5.8 (29%), the pH after milk feeding in neonates. Degradation by intestinal juice at pH 7.4 was also very rapid (77% after 30 minutes). Human milk and BSA inhibited partially the gastric digestion at pH 3.2 (17 and 29%, respectively). Digestion by intestinal juice was not affected by human milk and BSA. These results suggest that digestion of motilin in the stomach may be sufficiently retarded by human milk in the newborn to exert a biological role.
Animals↗