Polyamide/silica/sodium alginate in-situ composite: Synthesis and application in electrochemical probing for Pb/Cd.

In this study, polyamide/silica/sodium alginate (SA) composite (PA-Si-SA) was successfully prepared in one-step benzoxazine-isocyanide chemistry (BIC)/sol-gel process at room temperature. The chemical structure and fundamental properties of PA-Si-SA were characterized by FT-IR, solid-state C NMR, XPS, XRD, SEM, BET and TG, etc. The presence of anionic SA and diverse N, O-containing functional segments (amide, tertiary amine, alkyl/phenol -OH, Si-O-Si, and COO) in PA-Si-SA endows it synergistic complexation capability toward Pb and Cd.

Terrestrial locomotion characteristics of climbing perch (Anabas testudineus).

The evolution and utilization of limbs facilitated terrestrial vertebrate movement on land, but little is known about how other lateral structures enhance terrestrial locomotion in amphibian fishes without terrestrialized limb structures. Climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) exhibit sustained terrestrial locomotion using uniaxial rotating gill covers instead of appendages. To investigate the role of such simple lateral structures in terrestrial locomotion and the motion-generating mechanism of the corresponding locomotor structure configuration (gill covers and body undulation), we measured the terrestrial kinematics of climbing perch and quantitatively analysed its motion characteristics.

A 3D spheroid model of quadruple cell co-culture with improved liver functions for hepatotoxicity prediction.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is one of the major concerns during drug development. Wide acceptance of the 3 R principles and the innovation of in-vitro techniques have introduced various novel model options, among which the three-dimensional (3D) cell spheroid cultures have shown a promising prospect in DILI prediction. The present study developed a 3D quadruple cell co-culture liver spheroid model for DILI prediction via self-assembly.

Inflammatory, metabolic, and endothelial biomarkers before and after pregnancy complications.

Women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), and preterm birth (PTB) have excess cardiovascular disease compared with those with uncomplicated births, perhaps related to prepregnancy inflammation, dysmetabolism, or endothelial dysfunction. We included 1238 women in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study (1985-2011) with 2215 births classified according to outcomes (term, uncomplicated births were the referent). Using repeated measures analysis of variance, we estimated prepregnancy and postpregnancy biomarkers, as well as biomarker change according to pregnancy outcomes, adjusted for confounders.

Erratum to 'Low gestational weight gain (+2.0 to 4.9 kg) for singleton-term gestations associated with favorable perinatal outcomes for all prepregnancy obesity classes' [AJOG Global Reports 3 (2023) 100246].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.xagr.

Low gestational weight gain (+2.0 to 4.9 kg) for singleton-term gestations associated with favorable perinatal outcomes for all prepregnancy obesity classes.

Background: Previous studies that evaluated low gestational weight gain or weight loss among prepregnancy obesity classes have not determined the amount of gestational weight gain associated with the lowest risk of adverse perinatal outcomes and neonatal morbidity among singleton term births.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship of specific gestational weight gain categories of weight loss, stable weight, and low gain considered below the 2009 Institute of Medicine guidelines to perinatal outcomes and neonatal morbidity for singleton, term live births among prepregnancy obesity classes.

Study Design: This was a retrospective cohort study of 18,476 women among 3 classes of prepregnancy obesity, based on measured prepregnancy weight, and delivering a live singleton pregnancy at ≥37 weeks of gestation at a Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospital (2009-2012).

Exploring the effects of skeletal architecture and muscle properties on bipedal standing in the common chimpanzee () from the perspective of biomechanics.

It is well known that the common chimpanzee, as both the closest living relative to humans and a facultative bipedal, has the capability of bipedal standing but cannot do so fully upright. Accordingly, they have been of exceeding significance in elucidating the evolution of human bipedalism. There are many reasons why the common chimpanzee can only stand with its hips-knees bent, such as the distally oriented long ischial tubercle and the almost absent lumbar lordosis.

Decomposition and Reconstruction of Human Palm Movements.

Objective: The human hand is known to have excellent manipulation ability compared to other primate hands. Without the palm movements, the human hand would lose more than 40% of its functions. However, uncovering the constitution of palm movements is still a challenging problem involving kinesiology, physiology, and engineering science.

In pursuit of reconstructing missing human hands.

Exploring bio-intelligence of human limbs could provide a new perspective for reconstructing missing limbs.

Prepregnancy weight change associated with high gestational weight gain.

Objective: Gestational weight gain (GWG) above recommendations is a risk factor for adverse maternal, perinatal, and long-term outcomes. This study hypothesized that prepregnancy weight gain may portend excess GWG.

Methods: Among 1,126 women (51% of whom were of Black race) in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study with post-baseline births, the prepregnancy annual rate of BMI change per woman was estimated (slope; 5 years before pregnancy) and was related to the risk of GWG above Institute of Medicine recommendations using mixed-effects models (binary) and GWG z score (continuous), adjusting for confounders, and stratified by prepregnancy overweight/obesity status.

Two-Dimensional TeB Structures with Anisotropic Carrier Mobility and Tunable Bandgap.

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors with desirable bandgaps and high carrier mobility have great potential in electronic and optoelectronic applications. In this work, we proposed -TeB and -TeB monolayers using density functional theory (DFT) combined with the particle swarm-intelligent global structure search method. The high dynamical and thermal stabilities of two TeB structures indicate high feasibility for experimental synthesis.

Anthropomorphic Reaching Movement Generating Method for Human-Like Upper Limb Robot.

How to generate anthropomorphic reaching movement remains a challenging problem in service robots and human motor function repair/reconstruction equipment. However, there is no universally accepted computational model in the literature for reproducing the motion of the human upper limb. In response to the problem, this article presents a computational framework for generating reaching movement endowed with human motion characteristics that imitated the mechanism in the control and realization of human upper limb motions.

Hemorrhagic pericardial effusion following treatment with infliximab: A case report and literature review.

Background: Infliximab (IFX) is an anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) agent that is widely used for the management of a variety of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including Crohn's disease (CD). As a result of its increasing administration, new complications have emerged. Hemorrhagic pericardial effusion, secondary to IFX therapy, is a rare but life-threatening complication.

Common kinematic synergies of various human locomotor behaviours.

Humans show a variety of locomotor behaviours in daily living, varying in locomotor modes and interaction styles with the external environment. However, how this excellent motor ability is formed, whether there are some invariants underlying various locomotor behaviours and simplifying their generation, and what factors contribute to the invariants remain unclear. Here, we find three common kinematic synergies that form the six joint motions of one lower limb during walking, running, hopping and sitting-down-standing-up (movement variance accounted for greater than 90%), through identifying the coordination characteristics of 36 lower limb motor tasks in diverse environments.

Gestational Diabetes History and Glucose Tolerance After Pregnancy Associated With Coronary Artery Calcium in Women During Midlife: The CARDIA Study.

Background: Gestational diabetes (GD) leads to earlier onset and heightened risk of type 2 diabetes, a strong risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, it is unclear whether attaining normoglycemia can ameliorate the excess CVD risk associated with GD history. This study sought to evaluate GD history and glucose tolerance after pregnancy associated with coronary artery calcification (CAC) in women, a manifestation of atherosclerotic CVD and a predictor of CVD clinical events.

A science-driven method for determining morphological parameters of prosthetic hands.

The unique morphological bases of human hands, which are distinct from other primates, endow them with excellent grasping and manipulative abilities. However, the lack of understanding of human hand morphology and its parametric features is a major obstacle in the scientific design of prosthetic hands. Existing designs of prosthetic hand morphologies mostly adopt engineering-based methods, which depend on human experience, direct measurements of human hands, or numerical simulation/optimization.

Life Course Changes in Cardiometabolic Risk Factors Associated With Preterm Delivery: The 30-Year CARDIA Study.

Background Women who deliver preterm infants (<37 weeks) have excess cardiovascular risk; however, it is unclear whether the unfavorable changes in the cardiometabolic profile associated with preterm delivery initiate before, during, or after childbearing. Methods and Results We identified 1306 women (51% Black) with births between baseline (1985-1986) and year 30 in the CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) study. We compared life course changes in blood pressure, body mass index, waist circumference, and lipids in women with preterm deliveries (n=318) with those with all term deliveries (n=988), using piecewise linear mixed-effects models.

Changes in Cardiometabolic Risk Factors Before and After Gestational Diabetes: A Prospective Life-Course Analysis in CARDIA Women.

Objective: This study hypothesized that both preconception and postchildbearing patterns of cardiometabolic risk factors may be different for women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) compared with women without GDM.

Methods: Among 1,302 (51% black) women in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study with births and followed for 30 years, this study evaluated changes in cardiometabolic factors (BMI, waist circumference [WC], lipids, blood pressure) during prechildbearing (prior to the first postbaseline birth) and postchildbearing periods (after the last birth) by GDM status using piecewise linear mixed models adjusted for sociodemographics, parity, and time-varying covariates.

Results: Compared with women who did not develop GDM, weight and WC increases in women who developed GDM (n = 152, 12%) were faster (BMI difference: +0.

Identification and validation of metformin protects against PM-induced macrophages cytotoxicity by targeting toll like receptor pathway.

Fine particle matter (PM) has been extensively reported to contribute to the pathogenesis of pulmonary diseases. Recently, metformin has been reported to attenuate PM associated respiratory and cardiovascular injury, but the underling mechanism has not been discovered. Here, we performed comprehensively bioinformatics analysis and fully validation experiment to investigate the protection role of metformin and underling mechanism with RNAseq profile in GEO database.

Combined exposure of fine particulate matter and high-fat diet aggravate the cardiac fibrosis in C57BL/6J mice.

Cardiac fibrosis is associated with fine particulate matter (PM) exposure. In addition, whether high-fat diet (HFD) could exacerbate the PM-induced cardiac injury was unevaluated. Thus, this study was aimed to investigate the combined effects of PM and HFD on cardiac fibrosis.

Subacute exposure of PM induces airway inflammation through inflammatory cell infiltration and cytokine expression in rats.

Accumulating evidences support that exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) could cause inflammation of the airway, but its underlying mechanisms are less known. Our study aimed to explore the potential effect of non-canonical NF-κB signaling pathway in airway inflammation, which caused by PM, and the possible regulatory relationship between miR-6747-5p and NF-κB2. The histological analysis from in vivo study manifested that PM could induce the exudation and infiltration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs).

Early pregnancy immune profile and preterm birth classified according to uteroplacental lesions.

Introduction: Preterm birth is a heterogeneous phenotype, with placental abnormalities underlying many cases. The etiology of preterm births that occur in the absence of placental abnormalities, however, remain enigmatic and we considered that early pregnancy biomarkers may provide clues.

Methods: Women from a hospital-based cohort (2008-2012, n = 397) were randomly selected within 6 strata of term and preterm birth with and without placental decidual vasculopathy (arteriopathy), intrauterine inflammation/infection (acute chorioamnionitis), or no lesions.