Background and objectives: The goal of this literature review is to compare current studies regarding the accuracy of different serum markers in differentiating viral from bacterial pneumonia in the pediatric population with what is employed in the medical settings at present. Currently there is still a lack of significant research, that would give us evaluation on biomarkers benefits towards getting a definite diagnosis of pneumonia. Finding out the potential of biomarkers to differentiate between viral and bacterial pneumonia is also important because knowing the exact pathogen would prevent irrational use of antibiotics. At present, irrational, broad-spectrum antibiotic use and increasing antibiotic resistance in microorganisms are still one of the greatest challenges in clinical settings. The use of biomarkers in clinical practice would not only facilitate accurate diagnosis, but would also help to reduce the amount of antibiotics overuse. Materials and methods: Literature search conducted on Medline and Google Scholar using a combination of terms. Articles that were in English and within ten years of the search date were manually sorted according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: Initial search returned n = 13,408. After activating filters, n = 140 were identified of which n = 12 included for literature review. Conclusions: Rise or drop in the concentration of a single marker is not accurate enough for predicting viral/ bacterial community acquired pneumonia. This is because there is overlapping to a varying extent depending on the marker cutoff values, detection methods, analyses, the desired specificity, and sensitivity. Furthermore, the presence of mixed infection makes almost all markers suboptimal to be used universally. New markers such as MxA1 and HMGB1 gave promising results. However, to replicate a similar testing condition in a clinical environment may not be practical. Another approach is to make use of more than one marker and combine with clinical signs and symptoms. This may not be cost-effective in many clinical settings; nevertheless, in many studies, marker combination greatly improved the predictive power.

Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a non-cytotoxic, completely biodegradable biomaterial, ideal for cartilage tissue engineering. Despite drawbacks such as low hydrophilicity and lack of functional groups necessary for incorporating growth factors, it provides a proper environment for different cells, including stem cells. In our study, we aimed to improve properties of scaffolds for better cell adherence and cartilage regeneration. Thus, electrospun PCL–scaffolds were functionalized with ozone and loaded with TGF-β3. Together, human-muscle-derived stem cells (hMDSCs) were isolated and assessed for their phenotype and potential to differentiate into specific lineages. Then, hMDSCs were seeded on ozonated (O) and non-ozonated (“naïve” (NO)) scaffolds with or without protein and submitted for in vitro and in vivo experiments. In vitro studies showed that hMDSC and control cells (human chondrocyte) could be tracked for at least 14 days. We observed better proliferation of hMDSCs in O scaffolds compared to NO scaffolds from day 7 to day 28. Protein analysis revealed slightly higher expression of type II collagen (Coll2) on O scaffolds compared to NO on days 21 and 28. We detected more pronounced formation of glycosaminoglycans in the O scaffolds containing TGF-β3 and hMDSC compared to NO and scaffolds without TGF-β3 in in vivo animal experiments. Coll2-positive extracellular matrix was observed within O and NO scaffolds containing TGF-β3 and hMDSC for up to 8 weeks after implantation. These findings suggest that ozone-treated, TGF-β3-loaded scaffold with hMDSC is a promising tool in neocartilage formation.

The pharmacological analysis indicated that activation of AT1R inhibits, whereas activation of AT2R enhances SGLT1-mediated glucose transport in the human jejunal mucosa.

Intestinal preservation injury (IPI) and the resulting mucosa injury raise several serious challenges early after intestinal transplantation. The current clinical approach using only vascular perfusion allows the shortest preservation period among the abdominal organs. The experimental addition of luminal polyethylene glycol (PEG) solutions has been repeatedly suggested to alleviate preservation injury, improve graft quality, and prolong the preservation time. We investigated whether the molecular mass of PEG in solution influences the development of intestinal preservation injury. Small intestines of Sprague-Dawley rats were perfused with University of Wisconsin solution. Group 1 underwent vascular perfusion only (clinical control), group 2 received additional luminal PEG3350 Da, group 3 received luminal PEG10000 Da, and group 4 received luminal PEG20000 Da ( = 8/group). Tissue samples were obtained after 4, 8, and 14 hours. We studied the tissue damage (Chiu/Park score, Goblet cells, apoptosis, tight junctions), activation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and we performed Ussing chamber assessments. Mucosal morphologic and electrophysiologic parameters were significantly improved in the groups receiving luminal PEG. There was significantly less apoptotic activity in groups 2, 3, and 4. Both MAPKs revealed an activation peak after 4 hours with group 3 showing lesser p38-MAPK activation. PEG 20 kDa interfered with protein immunodetection. The results indicate that luminal solutions of PEG of medium and large molecular mass significantly delay the onset and development of IPI, providing further evidence that luminal interventions may allow for longer cold storage intervals of intestinal grafts.

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