Nitric oxide is involved in memory and motor learning. We investigated possible influences of exercise on spatial memory and NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d) histochemical activity in the hippocampus, striatum and cerebellum. Fifteen albino Swiss mice between the 22nd and 55th post-natal days were exercised in the following modalities: voluntary (V), acrobatic (A), acrobatic/voluntary (AV) and forced (F) and compared to inactive group (I). After the exercise period, all subjects were tested in the water maze for 3 days. Animal brains were processed for NADPH-d histochemistry. Densitometry of the neuropil of the hippocampus, striatum and cerebellum and morphometric analysis of NADPHd+ type I neurons of the striatum were done. Exercise groups presented higher levels of NADPH-d activity in the molecular and polymorphic layers of dentate gyrus and lacunosum molecular layer of CA1. The A group presented higher NADPH-d activity in the cerebellar granular layer than all other groups. Branching points and dendritic segment densities of NADPH-d type I neurons were higher in V, A and AV than in F and I groups. Exercise groups revealed best performances on water maze tests. Thus, different modalities of exercise increases in different proportions for the nitrergic activity in the hippocampus, striatum and cerebellum, and these changes seem to be beneficial to spatial memory.

In critically ill patients, plasma concentration of ghrelin significantly differs from that of controls, irrespective of the feeding status. No correlation was found between the temporal profile of ghrelin or peptide YY plasma concentration with bedside functional assessment of gastric emptying.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic tested the capacity of intensive care units (ICU) to respond to a crisis and demonstrated their fragility. Unsurprisingly, higher than usual mortality rates, lengths of stay (LOS), and ICU-acquired complications occurred during the pandemic. However, worse outcomes were not universal nor constant across ICUs and significant variation in outcomes was reported, demonstrating that some ICUs could adequately manage the surge of COVID-19. Methods In the present editorial, we discuss the concept of a resilient Intensive Care Unit, including which metrics can be used to address the capacity to respond, sustain results and incorporate new practices that lead to improvement. Results We believe that a resiliency analysis adds a component of preparedness to the usual ICU performance evaluation and outcomes metrics to be used during the crisis and in regular times. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need for a resilient health system. Although this concept has been discussed for health systems, it was not tested in intensive care. Future studies should evaluate this concept to improve ICU organization for standard and pandemic times.

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