This study was aimed at determining the degree of biomass homogeneity in the various parts of an internal loop airlift bioreactor, thus verifying the assumption, often made in bioreactor studies, of a well-mixed liquid-biomass system. Following characterization of the hydrodynamics of the vessel with water, the axial biomass distribution in the riser and downcomer was determined for plant and yeast cell suspensions of 5.8, 8.5, and 12.5 g DW/L Phaseolus vulgaris and of 30 and 46 g DW/L Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The airlift bioreactor with a surface ratio A(D)/A(D) of 1.04 and aspect ratio of 4.95 was investigated under various aeration rates. The yeast cells were found to be distributed practically uniformly throughout the vessel at the aeration rates of 0.1-1.45 vvm. However, in the case of the denser and cluster-forming plant cells, a clear trend of a gradual bio-mass accumulation in the downcomer, a slightly lower but uniform biomass loading in the riser, and a slightly higher biomass concentration in the gas-liquid separator was observed at the lower aeration rates of 0.1-0.61 vvm. In the case of powderized calcium carbonate (55 g/L) often used in fermentations of organic acids, a slight trend of a gradual accumulation of solids towards the bottom parts in both the downcomer and riser was observed. A better representative sampling location, in terms of solids and biomass loading, seems to be in the middle part of the vessel. It is suggested that airlift bioreactors with higher aspect ratios (>5) may be prone to a more significant inhomogeneity of solids (biomass and particles).

In several countries, gut-directed hypnotherapy is becoming an established and evidence-based treatment in pediatric gastroenterology. This article describes what hypnotherapy is, offers an overview of its effect in gut-brain disorders and explains its potential mode of action. Moreover, the use of hypnotherapy in other areas of pediatric gastroenterology, as a supportive tool to reduce pain, stress, depression, and anxiety and improve quality of life, will be also discussed. Guidance toward implementing hypnotherapy in clinical practice is provided, including examples of how you can explain hypnosis to patients with gastroenterological symptoms.

Background We previously reported the effectiveness of vedolizumab (VDZ) to induce remission in children with CD and UC enrolled in the prospective,multicenter VEDOKIDS study.In this extended analysis,we aimed to explore the effectiveness and safety of VDZ to maintain remission through week 30 Methods Children with CD or UC commenced on VDZ at any stage of the disease were followed at baseline and 2, 6, 14 and 30 weeks thereafter.Explicit demographic,clinical and safety data were prospectively recorded.The primary outcome was steroid-and EEN-free clinical remission (SFR) at 30 weeks,analyzed under the ITT principle with non-response imputation.Response was defined as change of ≥ 20 points in PUCAI or >20 points in wPCDAI and clinical remission as PUCAI<10 or wPCDAI<12.5. Adverse events (AE's) were classified as severe or non-severe and related or unrelated to VDZ Results A total of 142 children were enrolled (65 [46%] CD,77 [54%] UC;Table).At the end of the induction period,the rates of response were 75% in UC vs 64% in CD (p=0.2),of remission 52% vs 38% (p=0.1),and of SFR 47% vs 32% (p=0.08),respectively.At week 30,SFR rates were 47% in UC and 34% in CD (p=0.1);outcomes were also numerically higher in UC,but without statistical significance(Figure) Response to induction therapy predicted week 30 remission.Of the responders,19 (59%) children with CD and 31 (60%) with UC achieved SFR at week 30,while the corresponding figures for those not achieving response were 3 (12%; p=0.004) in CD and 5 (29%; p=0.03) in UC.Similarly,in multivariable model,response to induction treatment was highly associated with SFR at week 30,in both CD (OR 11.2 [95%CI 2.3-73]) and UC (OR 4.8 [95%CI 1.4-19]).Of the 22 patients who were responders but not remitters at week 14,four eventually achieved SFR at week 30 (1/10 [10%] in CD and 3/12 [25%] in UC) By week 30,159 AE's were reported by 72 children including one case of Hodgkin's lymphoma (VDZ was resumed after completing the chemotherapy);the patient was never exposed to thiopurines.No cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy or deaths were reported.Thirty-six AEs in 23 (16%) children were classified as possibly related to VDZ,11 of which (31%) were moderate and the others mild.Four children (1.4%) discontinued treatment due to AEs (one due to infusion reaction,one leukocytoclastic vasculitis,one azotemia and one due to fever and malaise Conclusion In this prospective multicenter study,VDZ was effective for maintaining remission in children with CD, and more so in UC.Contraty to common notions,children with CD not achieving complete remission by week 14 had a very low likelihood of entering remission thereafter.Safety profile was generally good except for one lymphoma case with questionable relation to VDZ

Background Studies in adults suggest that fatigue is amongst the most commonly reported symptoms, reaching ~50% of patients, often even while the patients enter clinical remission. However, fatigue has been rarely discussed in children and no study hitherto determined the rate of fatigue in pediatric IBD (PIBD). We aimed to perform a systematic review of the literature in children with either CD or UC and to explore the rate of fatigue in a prospective inception cohort of PIBD. Methods A systematic review of the literature was conducted for pediatric studies of any design reporting fatigue as an outcome. Manuscripts were reviewed by 2 authors, inclusion was based on consensus. Next, children with new onset IBD were asked to complete the IMPACT-III, a health-related quality of life (QOL) questionnaire at 4 months after diagnosis, to capture response to treatment. Children <9 years who are unable to reliably report fatigue by themselves were excluded. Four fatigue-related questions were analyzed (Table 1). Each question has 5 response options each assigning 25 points according to the users’ guide (i.e. 0, 25, 50, 75, 100 points when the latter implies higher QOL and lack of fatigue). Remission was defined as wPCDAI<12.5 for CD and PUCAI<10 for UC. Explicit clinical and demographic data were prospectively recorded. Results In the systematic review only 12 studies reported on fatigue in pediatric IBD were identified,8 of which reported fatigue as primary outcome and 1 was an intervention trial. None provided rate of fatigue,also since unlike in adults,no PIBD-specific fatigue measuring scale was available. A total of 86 children were included in the inception cohort (median age 14.5[IQR 12.8-15.9] years,39[45%] females;59[69%] CD,27[31%] UC;47(55%) in clinical remission). At 4 months, only 4 patients (4.6%) selected the highest score (100) for all 4 questions, i.e. no fatigue). Forty four children (53%) had min 2 questions with a score <100,of whom 27 (61%) were in clinical remission. Twenty-eight children (33%) did not score 100 in neither of the 4 questions and 12(14%) had scored all 4 questions≤50. Of the 47 children who were in clinical remission,33(70%) had at least 2 of the 4 questions scored<100. Conclusion The reporting and assessment of fatigue among pediatric IBD literature is extremely limited. This study is the first to report fatigue rate in children. We show that after induction treatment fatigue rate of any severity may be as high as 53%, moderate fatigue as 33% and severe fatigue as 14%. Fatigue was common also in those in clinical remission. Our results call for a more standardized tool of measuring fatigue in PIBD since its quantification can facilitate a more methodical management of this disabling and underreported symptom.