Pregnancy and Postpartum Effects of Electronic Cigarettes on Maternal Health and Vascular Function in the Fourth Trimester.

Pregnancy is a vulnerable time with significant cardiovascular changes that can lead to adverse outcomes, which can extend into the postpartum window. Exposure to emissions from electronic cigarettes (Ecig), commonly known as "vaping," has an adverse impact on cardiovascular function during pregnancy and post-natal life of offspring, but the postpartum effects on maternal health are poorly understood. We used a Sprague Dawley rat model, where pregnant dams are exposed to Ecigs between gestational day (GD)2-GD21 to examine postpartum consequences.

Rehabilitation of the Worn Dentition With Direct and Indirect Minimally Invasive Concepts-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: To report and compare the survival of minimally invasive direct and indirect restorations of different materials for restoring the worn dentition.

Material And Methods: A systematic search was conducted in six databases: MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, CENTRAL, VHL, and EMBASE. The eligibility criteria of this systematic review used the PICO framework to address the following research question: "In dentate patients with a worn dentition (P), does rehabilitating their lost tooth structure with indirect restorations (I) or direct (C) effect the survival and success of treatment (O)?".

Importance of an Evaluation Phase When Increasing the Occlusal Vertical Dimension: A Systematic Review.

Objective: To assess whether an evaluation period is necessary for patient and clinical success when increasing the occlusal vertical dimension (OVD) for a full mouth rehabilitation.

Materials And Methods: A systematic search was conducted in six databases: MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, CENTRAL, VHL, and EMBASE. The eligibility criteria of this systematic review used the PICO framework to address the following research question: "In dentate adults requiring an increase in occlusal vertical dimension (OVD) (P), is an evaluation period of the new OVD (I) superior to no evaluation period (C) in terms of success (O)?" Study characteristics, survival, and success rates were extracted from each article.

Cardiovascular Responses to Occupational Physical Activity Are Exaggerated by Work-Related Stress and Low Fitness.

Objectives: Paradoxical associations between high occupational physical activity (OPA) and cardiovascular disease may be explained by exaggerated cardiovascular responses from high work-related stress or low worker fitness.

Methods: OPA, blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and rate-pressure product (RPP; HR × BP) were measured objectively for 24 hours in 19 male workers. Work-related stress was measured using the Stress in General Scale.

Maternal Vaccination in Uganda: Exploring Pregnant Women, Community Leaders and Healthcare Workers' Perceptions.

We investigated pregnant women, community leaders, healthcare workers (HCWs) and programme managers' perceptions of maternal vaccination in Kampala, Uganda. We conducted focus group discussions, key informant interviews and in-depth discussions with HCWs (3), community leaders (3), pregnant women (8) and programme managers (10) between November 2019 and October 2020. Data were analysed thematically.

Longitudinal uncoupling of the heart and arteries with aging in a community-dwelling population.

Although mechanical energy transfer between the heart and arterial system, referred to as arterial-ventricular (AV) coupling, is an important determinant of cardiovascular performance, how AV coupling changes over time within and among individuals as they age has not been fully explored. We studied 129 participants (baseline age 21-96) of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, free of clinical CVD. Participants underwent repeated multigated cardiac blood pool scans to estimate left ventricular (LV) volumes (SV, EDV, and ESV).

The Effects of Exercise on Indirect Markers of Gut Damage and Permeability: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Aim: Exercise appears to cause damage to the endothelial lining of the human gastrointestinal tract and elicit a significant increase in gut permeability.

Objective: The aim of this review was to determine the effect of an acute bout of exercise on gut damage and permeability outcomes in healthy populations using a meta-analysis.

Methods: PubMed, The Cochrane Library as well as MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus and CINHAL, via EBSCOhost were searched through February 2019.

Forced Marriage, Coercive Control, and Conducive Contexts: The Experiences of Women in Scotland.

This article is based on the first Scottish study of survivor perspectives of forced marriage. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight survivors. Our thematic analysis identified five key themes: understandings of forced marriage, the "grooming" process, betrayal, legal responses, and women's resistance.

Cerebrovascular dysfunction with stress and depression.

Maintenance of adequate tissue perfusion through a dense network of cerebral microvessels is critical for the perseveration of normal brain function. Regulation of the cerebral blood flow has to ensure adequate delivery of nutrients and oxygen with moment-to-moment adjustments to avoid both hypo- and hyper-perfusion of the brain tissue. Even mild impairments of cerebral blood flow regulation can have significant implications on brain function.

Shifts in Leukocyte Counts Drive the Differential Expression of Transcriptional Stroke Biomarkers in Whole Blood.

Our group recently identified a panel of ten genes whose RNA expression levels in whole blood have utility for detection of stroke. The purpose of this study was to determine the mechanisms by which these genes become differentially expressed during stroke pathology. First, we assessed the transcriptional distribution of the ten genes across the peripheral immune system by measuring their expression levels on isolated neutrophils, monocytes, B-lymphocytes, CD-4+ T-lymphocytes, CD-8+ T-lymphocytes, and NK-cells generated from the blood of healthy donors (n = 3).

Machine-learning approach identifies a pattern of gene expression in peripheral blood that can accurately detect ischaemic stroke.

Early and accurate diagnosis of stroke improves the probability of positive outcome. The objective of this study was to identify a pattern of gene expression in peripheral blood that could potentially be optimised to expedite the diagnosis of acute ischaemic stroke (AIS). A discovery cohort was recruited consisting of 39 AIS patients and 24 neurologically asymptomatic controls.

Chronic exposure to electronic cigarettes results in impaired cardiovascular function in mice.

Proponents for electronic cigarettes (E-cigs) claim that they are a safe alternative to tobacco-based cigarettes; however, little is known about the long-term effects of exposure to E-cig vapor on vascular function. The purpose of this study was to determine the cardiovascular consequences of chronic E-cig exposure. Female mice (C57BL/6 background strain) were randomly assigned to chronic daily exposure to E-cig vapor, standard (3R4F reference) cigarette smoke, or filtered air ( n = 15/group).

Leukocyte Dynamics Influence Reference Gene Stability in Whole Blood: Data-Driven qRT-PCR Normalization Is a Robust Alternative for Measurement of Transcriptional Biomarkers.

Background: The use of reference genes for normalization of whole blood qRT-PCR data may be problematic in conditions such as stroke which induce alterations in white blood cell differential. In this study, we assessed the influence of stroke on the stability of commonly employed reference genes, and we evaluated data-driven normalization as an alternative.

Methods: Peripheral whole blood was sampled from 33 stroke patients and 29 controls, and qRT-PCR was used to measure the expression levels of 10 target genes whose transcripts are known stroke biomarkers.

High Interspecimen Variability in Nucleic Acid Extraction Efficiency Necessitates the Use of Spike-In Control for Accurate qPCR-based Measurement of Plasma Cell-Free DNA Levels.

Objective: To assess the interspecimen variability associated with plasma DNA extraction in order to provide insight regarding the necessity to use an exogenous spike-in control when measuring cell-free DNA (cfDNA) levels using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).

Methods: Plasma specimens were obtained from 8 healthy individuals, 20 patients with cardiovascular disease risk factors, and 54 patients diagnosed with acute stroke. Specimens were spiked with an exogenous oligonucleotide fragment, and total DNA was extracted via automated solid phase anion exchange.

Monocyte-lymphocyte cross-communication via soluble CD163 directly links innate immune system activation and adaptive immune system suppression following ischemic stroke.

CD163 is a scavenger receptor expressed on innate immune cell populations which can be shed from the plasma membrane via the metalloprotease ADAM17 to generate a soluble peptide with lympho-inhibitory properties. The purpose of this study was to investigate CD163 as a possible effector of stroke-induced adaptive immune system suppression. Liquid biopsies were collected from ischemic stroke patients (n = 39), neurologically asymptomatic controls (n = 20), and stroke mimics (n = 20) within 24 hours of symptom onset.

Stroke-associated pattern of gene expression previously identified by machine-learning is diagnostically robust in an independent patient population.

Our group recently employed genome-wide transcriptional profiling in tandem with machine-learning based analysis to identify a ten-gene pattern of differential expression in peripheral blood which may have utility for detection of stroke. The objective of this study was to assess the diagnostic capacity and temporal stability of this stroke-associated transcriptional signature in an independent patient population. Publicly available whole blood microarray data generated from 23 ischemic stroke patients at 3, 5, and 24 h post-symptom onset, as well from 23 cardiovascular disease controls, were obtained via the National Center for Biotechnology Information Gene Expression Omnibus.

Effect of chronic stress on running wheel activity in mice.

Acute and chronic stress have been reported to have differing effects on physical activity in rodents, but no study has examined a chronic stress protocol that incorporates stressors often experienced by rodents throughout a day. To examine this, the effects of the Unpredictable Chronic Mild Stress (UCMS) protocol on voluntary running wheel activity at multiple time points, and/or in response to acute removal of chronic stress was determined. Twenty male Balb/c mice were given access and accustomed to running wheels for 4 weeks, after which they were randomized into 2 groups; exercise (EX, n = 10) and exercise with chronic stress using a modified UCMS protocol for 7 hours/day (8:00 a.

Efficacy of nutritional interventions to lower circulating ceramides in young adults: FRUVEDomic pilot study.

The 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends a diet largely composed of fruit and vegetables. Consuming a diet high in fruit and vegetables and low in refined carbohydrates and saturated fat may reduce an individual's risk for type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, low-grade chronic inflammation, and metabolic syndrome (MetS). Several recent studies have implicated the bioactive sphingolipid ceramide as an associative and causative biomarker for the development of these conditions.

Circulating extracellular DNA levels are acutely elevated in ischaemic stroke and associated with innate immune system activation.

Objective: The objective of this work was to assess the ability of peripheral blood cell-free DNA (cfDNA) levels to identify ischaemic stroke early in the acute phase of care, as well as to examine the relationship between peripheral blood cfDNA levels and stroke-induced innate immune system activation.

Methods: Upon emergency department admission, peripheral blood samples were obtained from 43 patients experiencing acute ischaemic stroke and 20 patients identified as stroke mimics. Plasma cfDNA levels were measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), infarct volume and NIH stroke scale (NIHSS) were used to assess injury severity, and peripheral blood neutrophil count was used as a measure of innate immune system status.

Peripheral blood AKAP7 expression as an early marker for lymphocyte-mediated post-stroke blood brain barrier disruption.

Our group recently identified 16 genes whose peripheral blood expression levels are differentially regulated in acute ischemic stroke. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the early expression levels of any of these 16 genes are predictive for post-stroke blood brain barrier (BBB) disruption. Transcriptional expression levels of candidate genes were measured in peripheral blood sampled from ischemic stroke patients at emergency department admission, and BBB permeability was assessed at 24 hour follow up via perfusion-weighted imaging.

Protocol-based management of older adults with hip fractures in Delhi, India: a feasibility study.

Background: Worldwide hip fractures are projected to increase from 1.7 million in 1990 to 6.3 million in 2050.

Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Light-Intensity Physical Activity Are Independently Associated with Reduced Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Urban Black South African Women: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Low levels of physical activity, poor cardiorespiratory fitness, and a sedentary lifestyle have been associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Few studies have examined their independent associations in an urban black sub-Saharan African population.

Objectives: To examine the independent associations of physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, and sedentary time on body composition and cardiometabolic risk factors for CVD and T2D in black South African women.

C-reactive protein and long-term ischemic stroke prognosis.

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an inflammatory biomarker of inflammation and may reflect progression of vascular disease. Conflicting evidence suggests CRP may be a prognostic biomarker of ischemic stroke outcome. Most studies that have examined the relationship between CRP and ischemic stroke outcome have used mortality or subsequent vascular event as the primary outcome measure.

Myosin VI and Associated Proteins Are Expressed in Human Macrophages but Do Not Play a Role in Foam Cell Formation in THP-1 Cells.

Myosin VI (Myo6) functions in endocytosis in conjunction with binding partners including adaptor protein (AP)-2, disabled 2 (Dab2), and GAIP interacting protein C terminus 1 (GIPC1). This study aimed to investigate the expression and function of Myo6 in macrophages and its possible role in the endocytosis of lipoproteins during the induction of foam cell formation. Expression of Myo6, AP-2 ( α 2 subunit), and Dab2 in THP-1 macrophages and primary human monocyte-derived macrophages was demonstrated at the mRNA and protein level, but GIPC1 was only detected at the mRNA level.