Potential first trimester metabolomic biomarkers of abnormal birth weight in healthy pregnancies.

Objective: Macrosomia and low birth weight (LBW) can be associated with pregnancy complications and may affect the long-term health of the child. The aim of this study was to evaluate the metabolomic serum profiles of healthy pregnant women to identify early biomarkers of macrosomia and LBW and to understand mechanisms leading to abnormal fetal growth not related to mother's body mass index or presence of gestational diabetes.

Method: Serum samples from 770 women were collected between the 12th and 14th gestational week.

Decreased Expression of Thyroglobulin and Sodium Iodide Symporter Genes in Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.

Aim. The aim of the study was to compare the expression of sodium iodide symporter (NIS), thyroglobulin (Tg), tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF α ), and interleukin-1 β genes in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) and healthy individuals. Subjects and Methods.

Optically active tetra-tert-butyl-P(5)-deltacyclene epimers: preparation, spectroscopy, dynamic equilibriums, H/D exchange, and transition-metal complex chemistry.

On the basis of isolated diastereomeric triorganylstannyl-P5 -deltacyclenes 7' and 7'', almost pure enantiomers of their destannylation products 8' and 8'' are now available. These stereochemically inert cage chiral species contain a configurationally labile P1H1 group that defines two epimers 8 a and 8 b of each of the enantiomers, which are connected by a rapid equilibrium. Mirror-symmetric circular dichroism (CD) spectra of the enantiomeric cages are compatible with the identification of epimers.

Improving mechanical fatigue resistance by optimizing the nanoporous structure of inkjet-printed Ag electrodes for flexible devices.

The development of highly conductive metallic electrodes with long-term reliability is in great demand for real industrialization of flexible electronics, which undergo repeated mechanical deformation during service. In the case of vacuum-deposited metallic electrodes, adequate conductivity is provided, but it degrades gradually during cyclic mechanical deformation. Here, we demonstrate a long-term reliable Ag electrode by inkjet printing.

Human embryonic epidermis contains a diverse Langerhans cell precursor pool.

Despite intense efforts, the exact phenotype of the epidermal Langerhans cell (LC) precursors during human ontogeny has not been determined yet. These elusive precursors are believed to migrate into the embryonic skin and to express primitive surface markers, including CD36, but not typical LC markers such as CD1a, CD1c and CD207. The aim of this study was to further characterize the phenotype of LC precursors in human embryonic epidermis and to compare it with that of LCs in healthy adult skin.

The changing face of internal medicine: patient centred care.

Patient centred care is now considered the gold standard and there should be 'no decision about me, without me'. Internists who treat patients with complex multi-morbidities should consider patients' preferred outcomes, following a 'goal-oriented' principle. Perhaps the most important barrier to goal-oriented care is that medicine is deeply rooted in a disease-outcome-based paradigm.

Sinorhizobium meliloti flavin secretion and bacteria-host interaction: role of the bifunctional RibBA protein.

Sinorhizobium meliloti, the nitrogen-fixing bacterial symbiont of Medicago spp. and other legumes, secretes a considerable amount of riboflavin. This precursor of the cofactors flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide is a bioactive molecule that has a beneficial effect on plant growth.

Boron biodistribution for BNCT in the hamster cheek pouch oral cancer model: combined administration of BSH and BPA.

Sodium mercaptoundecahydro-closo-dodecaborate (BSH) is being investigated clinically for BNCT. We examined the biodistribution of BSH and BPA administered jointly in different proportions in the hamster cheek pouch oral cancer model. The 3 assayed protocols were non-toxic, and showed preferential tumor boron uptake versus precancerous and normal tissue and therapeutic tumor boron concentration values (70-85ppm).

Synthesis and characterization of 1D iron(II) spin crossover coordination polymers with hysteresis.

Purposeful ligand design was used for the synthesis of eight new 1D iron(II) spin crossover coordination polymers aiming for cooperative spin transitions with hysteresis. The results from magnetic measurements and X-ray structure analysis show that the combination of rigid linkers and a hydrogen bond network between the 1D chains is a promising tool to reach this goal. Five of the eight new samples show a cooperative spin transition with hysteresis with up to 43 K wide hysteresis loops.

Diverse T-cell responses characterize the different manifestations of cutaneous graft-versus-host disease.

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a major complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) and can present in an acute (aGVHD), a chronic lichenoid (clGVHD), and a chronic sclerotic form (csGVHD). It is unclear whether similar or different pathomechanisms lead to these distinct clinical presentations. To address this issue, we collected lesional skin biopsies from aGVHD (n = 25), clGVHD (n = 17), and csGVHD (n = 7) patients as well as serial nonlesional biopsies from HCT recipients (prior to or post-HCT) (n = 14) and subjected them to phenotypic and functional analyses.

Local arterial stiffening assessed by MRI precedes atherosclerotic plaque formation.

Background: Atherosclerosis is known to impair vascular function and cause vascular stiffening. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential predictive role of vascular stiffening in the early detection of atherosclerosis. Therefore, we investigated the time course of early functional and morphological alterations of the vessel wall in a murine atherosclerosis model.

Fast retrospectively triggered local pulse-wave velocity measurements in mice with CMR-microscopy using a radial trajectory.

Background: The aortic pulse-wave velocity (PWV) is an important indicator of cardiovascular risk. In recent studies MRI methods have been developed to measure this parameter noninvasively in mice. Present techniques require additional hardware for cardiac and respiratory gating.

Monitoring of monocyte recruitment in reperfused myocardial infarction with intramyocardial hemorrhage and microvascular obstruction by combined fluorine 19 and proton cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Monocytes and macrophages are indispensable in the healing process after myocardial infarction (MI); however, the spatiotemporal distribution of monocyte infiltration and its correlation to prognostic indicators of reperfused MI have not been well described.

Methods And Results: With combined fluorine 19/proton ((1)H) magnetic resonance imaging, we noninvasively visualized the spatiotemporal recruitment of monocytes in vivo in a rat model of reperfused MI. Blood monocytes were labeled by intravenous injection of (19)F-perfluorocarbon emulsion 1 day after MI.

Impact of thoracic surgery on cardiac morphology and function in small animal models of heart disease: a cardiac MRI study in rats.

Background: Surgical procedures in small animal models of heart disease might evoke alterations in cardiac morphology and function. The aim of this study was to reveal and quantify such potential artificial early or long term effects in vivo, which might account for a significant bias in basic cardiovascular research, and, therefore, could potentially question the meaning of respective studies.

Methods: Female Wistar rats (n = 6 per group) were matched for weight and assorted for sham left coronary artery ligation or control.

What holds paper together: nanometre scale exploration of bonding between paper fibres.

Paper, a man-made material that has been used for hundreds of years, is a network of natural cellulosic fibres. To a large extent, it is the strength of bonding between these individual fibres that controls the strength of paper. Using atomic force microscopy, we explore here the mechanical properties of individual fibre-fibre bonds on the nanometre scale.

Specific somatostatin receptor II expression in arterial plaque: (68)Ga-DOTATATE autoradiographic, immunohistochemical and flow cytometric studies in apoE-deficient mice.

Background: The rupture of atherosclerotic plaques is triggered by inflammation. Specific detection of inflammation is therefore the focus of many investigations. Noninvasive imaging methods, such as positron emission tomography (PET), also are suited for this purpose.

Cooperative transport in nanochannels.

Channel transport of different species of particles is viewed usually only in terms of competition and selectivity. In this paper we show that transport of one species may be promoted by the presence of another and that both may even mutually cooperate. We investigate a discretized Markovian model of nanochannel transport via in-channel sites, allowing for the simultaneous transport of several different species of particles; interaction between transported particles is included via the condition of single occupancy on a channel site.

Infliximab induces downregulation of the IL-12/IL-23 axis in 6-sulfo-LacNac (slan)+ dendritic cells and macrophages.

Background: The spectrum of TNF-α-producing cells in patients with psoriasis, as well as their fate during treatment with TNF-α antagonists, is not clearly defined.

Objective: We sought to analyze the effects of anti-TNF-α treatment on TNF-α(+) cells in the skin and blood of patients with psoriasis.

Methods: Lesional psoriatic skin was analyzed by means of immunohistologic staining and quantitative RT-PCR, and peripheral blood cells were phenotypically characterized by means of multicolor immunofluorescence labeling.

Myocardial perfusion quantification using the T1 -based FAIR-ASL method: the influence of heart anatomy, cardiopulmonary blood flow and look-locker readout.

Purpose: The quantification of myocardial perfusion using a Look-Locker flow-sensitive alternating inversion recovery- arterial spin labeling experiment is considered. Due to the anatomy of the heart, a substantial but unintended partial inversion of the inflowing blood occurs during the slice-selective inversion. Both, the partial inversion as well as the Look-Locker pulse train, influence the myocardial perfusion quantification and are addressed in this work.

5-Lipoxygenase facilitates healing after myocardial infarction.

Early healing after myocardial infarction (MI) is characterized by a strong inflammatory reaction. Most leukotrienes are pro-inflammatory and are therefore potential mediators of healing and remodeling after myocardial ischemia. The enzyme 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) has a key role in the transformation of arachidonic acid in leukotrienes.

Sulfur species in graphene oxide.

The structure of graphene oxide (GO) is of crucial importance for its chemical functionalization. However, the sulfur content present in GO prepared by Hummers' method has only been addressed by a few authors so far. It has been reported that hydrolysis of sulfur species takes place and that stable sulfonic groups are present in graphite oxide.

Biodistribution of sodium borocaptate (BSH) for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) in an oral cancer model.

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is based on selective accumulation of ¹⁰B carriers in tumor followed by neutron irradiation. We previously proved the therapeutic success of BNCT mediated by the boron compounds boronophenylalanine and sodium decahydrodecaborate (GB-10) in the hamster cheek pouch oral cancer model. Based on the clinical relevance of the boron carrier sodium borocaptate (BSH) and the knowledge that the most effective way to optimize BNCT is to improve tumor boron targeting, the specific aim of this study was to perform biodistribution studies of BSH in the hamster cheek pouch oral cancer model and evaluate the feasibility of BNCT mediated by BSH at nuclear reactor RA-3.

Differences in clinical and echocardiographic parameters between paroxysmal and persistent atrial flutter in the AURUM 8 study: targets for prevention of persistent arrhythmia?

Purpose: Cavotricuspid isthmus-dependent atrial flutter (AFL) can occur in a paroxysmal or persistent pattern. The aim of this study was to identify clinical, echocardiographic, and electrophysiological risk factors independently associated with persistence of AFL.

Methods: Patients of the recently published AURUM 8 study with paroxysmal versus persistent AFL were compared with respect to clinical and echocardiographic baseline characteristics as well as procedural parameters.

Case series evidence for changed interhemispheric relationships in cortical structure in some amputees.

Limb amputation and related changes in body feelings are associated with cortical functional reorganization that is reflected by increased interhemispheric asymmetry of body maps in the postcentral somatosensory cortex (PCS). As a pilot test to determine if limb amputation affects interhemispheric symmetry in PCS structure, we used MRI and computational morphometry to examine interhemispheric relationships of PCS thicknesses in a case series of eight lower limb amputees compared with 11 control subjects. As a further control, the same relationships were compared in the lateral occipital visual cortex (LOV) which, by nature of its visual connectivity, would be expected to be less related to amputation.

Structure of phosphorylated SF1 bound to U2AF⁶⁵ in an essential splicing factor complex.

The essential splicing factors U2AF⁶⁵ and SF1 cooperatively bind consensus sequences at the 3' end of introns. Phosphorylation of SF1 on a highly conserved "SPSP" motif enhances its interaction with U2AF⁶⁵ and the pre-mRNA. Here, we reveal that phosphorylation induces essential conformational changes in SF1 and in the SF1/U2AF⁶⁵/3' splice site complex.