Regulation of bacterial stringent response by an evolutionarily conserved ribosomal protein L11 methylation.

Unlabelled: Lysine and arginine methylation is an important regulator of enzyme activity and transcription in eukaryotes. However, little is known about this covalent modification in bacteria. In this work, we investigated the role of methylation in bacteria.

Challenges in Conducting Clinical Trials for Preeclampsia.

Purpose Of Review: To review recent data describing the challenges and innovations in therapeutic research focused on the prevention and treatment of preeclampsia.

Recent Findings: Pregnant individuals have traditionally been excluded from therapeutic research, resulting in a paucity of innovation in therapeutics for pregnancy-specific medical conditions, especially preeclampsia. With the increased awareness of maternal morbidity and mortality, there is significant interest among researchers to expand therapeutic research in pregnancy.

Association between glycemic control and group B streptococcus colonization among pregnant individuals with pregestational diabetes.

Problem: Pregestational diabetes increases the risk of group B streptococcus (GBS) colonization in pregnancy. Whether glycemic control is associated with differences in this risk is unknown. We examined the association between glycemic control and GBS colonization among pregnant individuals with pregestational diabetes.

Sodium intake and the development of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Background: In nonpregnant populations, sodium intake has been associated with the development of chronic hypertension, and sodium restriction has been identified as a strategy to reduce blood pressure. Data regarding the relationship between sodium intake and the development of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are limited and conflicting.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the association between daily periconceptional sodium intake and the risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Challenges in Conducting Therapeutic Trials in Pregnancy: Emphasizing Recent Lessons Learned.

Pregnant people have traditionally been excluded from therapeutic research by restrictions intended for fetal protection. Despite a movement toward inclusion, concerns for the feasibility and safety of including pregnant people in studies continue to limit this research. This article reviews the history of research guidelines in pregnancy and illustrates ongoing challenges, as seen in the development of vaccines and therapies during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and investigation of statins for preeclampsia prevention.

Maternal Coagulation Disorders and Postpartum Hemorrhage.

Coagulation disorders are rare causes of postpartum hemorrhage. Disturbances in coagulation should be suspected in patients with a family history of coagulopathy, those with a personal history of heavy menstrual bleeding, and those with persistent bleeding despite correction of other causes. The coagulopathic conditions discussed include disseminated intravascular coagulation, platelet disorders, and disturbances of coagulation factors.

The "30-minute rule" for expedited delivery: fact or fiction?

Initially developed from hospital feasibility data from the 1980s, the "30-minute rule" has perpetuated the belief that the decision-to-incision time in an emergency cesarean delivery should be <30 minutes to preserve favorable neonatal outcomes. Through a review of the history, available data on delivery timing and associated outcomes, and consideration of feasibility across several hospital systems, the use and applicability of this "rule" are explored, and its reconsideration is called for. Moreover, we have advocated for balanced consideration of maternal safety with rapidity of delivery, encouraged process-based approaches, and proposed standardization of terminology regarding delivery urgency.

Risk factors for postoperative ileus after cesarean delivery.

Background: Despite extensive data regarding risk factors for postoperative ileus in the general and colorectal surgery literature, few studies have identified risk factors specific to the obstetrical population.

Objective: This study aimed to identify factors associated with postoperative ileus following cesarean delivery.

Study Design: This retrospective case-control study identified women who underwent cesarean delivery at a single hospital between January 2000 and January 2020 and subsequently developed postoperative ileus.

Does Antenatal Progesterone Administration Modify the Risk of Neonatal Intraventricular Hemorrhage?

Objective: Progesterone administration has been associated with improved neurological outcomes following traumatic brain injury in adults. However, studies examining the effect of progesterone on the risk of neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) are inconsistent. We sought to determine if maternal administration of intramuscular 17-α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17-OHPC) is associated with decreased rates of IVH in infants born before 32-weeks gestation.

Outcomes associated with antibiotic administration for isolated maternal fever in labor.

Background: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists currently recommends that antibiotic treatment should be considered for women with isolated maternal fevers during labor. However, there is little known about the maternal and neonatal impact of antibiotic treatment in this scenario.

Objective: We sought to assess the outcomes in women with a nonsustained, isolated maternal fever treated with antibiotics and compare it with expectant management.

Care for Women With Ectopic Pregnancies During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic.

Women with ectopic pregnancies may be delaying care owing to concerns over coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) exposures and presenting for medical care in more critical condition.

Searching for a biochemical correlate of critical illness in obstetrics: a descriptive study of maternal lactate in patients presenting for acute care in pregnancy.

Obstetric physiology may alter lactate metabolism and affect the ability to use lactate as a discriminator of critical illness in pregnancy. This prospective, cross-sectional study describes venous lactate levels in women presenting for acute care during pregnancy as well as characteristics associated with elevated lactate. Obstetric patients >20-week gestation presenting for acute evaluation were included and a venous lactate sample was drawn for each patient.

ABL1, Overexpressed in Hepatocellular Carcinomas, Regulates Expression of NOTCH1 and Promotes Development of Liver Tumors in Mice.

Background & Aims: We investigated whether ABL proto-oncogene 1, non-receptor tyrosine kinase (ABL1) is involved in development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: We analyzed clinical and gene expression data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Albumin-Cre (Hep) mice and mice with hepatocyte-specific disruption of Abl1 (Hep mice) were given hydrodynamic injections of plasmids encoding the Sleeping Beauty transposase and transposons with the MET gene and a catenin β1 gene with an N-terminal truncation, which induces development of liver tumors.

Focal Adhesion Kinase and β-Catenin Cooperate to Induce Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

There is an urgent need to understand the molecular signaling pathways that drive or mediate the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The focal adhesion kinase (FAK) gene protein tyrosine kinase 2 is amplified in 16.4% of The Cancer Genome Atlas HCC specimens, and its amplification leads to increased FAK mRNA expression.

Inhibition of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor enhances the efficacy of sorafenib in inhibiting hepatocellular carcinoma cell growth and survival.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common primary cancer and second largest cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The first-line oral chemotherapeutic agent sorafenib only increases survival in patients with advanced HCC by less than 3 months. Most patients with advanced HCC have shown limited response rates and survival benefits with sorafenib.

Caspase-3 suppresses diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocyte death, compensatory proliferation and hepatocarcinogenesis through inhibiting p38 activation.

It is critical to understand the molecular mechanisms of hepatocarcinogenesis in order to prevent or treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The development of HCC is commonly associated with hepatocyte death and compensatory proliferation. However, the role of Caspase-3, a key apoptotic executor, in hepatocarcinogenesis is unknown.

Recovering Rare Earth Elements from Aqueous Solution with Porous Amine-Epoxy Networks.

Recovering aqueous rare earth elements (REEs) from domestic water sources is one key strategy to diminish the U.S.'s foreign reliance of these precious commodities.

Continuous Flow Processing of ZIF-8 Membranes on Polymeric Porous Hollow Fiber Supports for CO Capture.

We have utilized an environmentally friendly synthesis approach for the accelerated growth of a selective inorganic membrane on a polymeric hollow fiber support for postcombustion carbon capture. Specifically, continuous defect-free ZIF-8 thin films were grown and anchored using continuous flow synthesis on the outer surface of porous supports using water as solvent. These membranes demonstrated CO permeance of 22 GPU and the highest reported CO/N selectivity of 52 for a continuous flow synthesized ZIF-8 membrane.

A comparison of prevaginal and postvaginal manipulation fetal fibronectin.

Background: Fetal fibronectin (fFN) is used as a biomarker for preterm delivery. Currently, its use is discouraged if there has been vaginal manipulation in the previous 24 hours.

Objective: Our objective is to determine if there are differences between fFN results before and after vaginal manipulation in the form of sterile vaginal exam or transvaginal ultrasound.

Atomic force spectroscopy evidence of non-specific adhesion of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans.

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is a gram-negative periodontopathogen found within the subgingival plaque on the tooth surface. It is associated with localized aggressive periodontitis, a severe form of periodontitis in adolescents, and is the cause various extra-oral infections. The ability of this organism to tenaciously adhere to abiotic surfaces has been attributed to bundle-forming type IVb-like fimbriae whose major component is the fimbrial lower molecular weight protein (Flp).

Cell adhesion of to iron oxide minerals: Effect of different single crystal faces.

The results of experiments designed to test the hypothesis that near-surface molecular structure of iron oxide minerals influences adhesion of dissimilatory iron reducing bacteria are presented. These experiments involved the measurement, using atomic force microscopy, of interaction forces generated between MR-1 cells and single crystal growth faces of iron oxide minerals. Significantly different adhesive force was measured between cells and the (001) face of hematite, and the (100) and (111) faces of magnetite.