Validity of predictive equations for 24-h urinary sodium excretion in adults aged 18-39 y.

Background: Collecting a 24-h urine sample is recommended for monitoring the mean population sodium intake, but implementation can be difficult.

Objective: The objective was to assess the validity of published equations by using spot urinary sodium concentrations to predict 24-h sodium excretion.

Design: This was a cross-sectional study, conducted from June to August 2011 in metropolitan Washington, DC, of 407 adults aged 18-39 y, 48% black, who collected each urine void in a separate container for 24 h.

Feasibility of closed-loop insulin delivery in type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled study.

Objective: Closed-loop insulin delivery offers a promising treatment option, but to date, it has only been evaluated in type 1 diabetes. Our aim was to evaluate the feasibility of fully closed-loop subcutaneous insulin delivery in insulin-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: Twelve subjects (seven males, age 57.

Prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with altered subcellular distribution of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors in the adolescent mouse hippocampal formation.

Background: Accumulating evidence indicates that several of the long-term consequences of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) are the result of changes in the development and function of cortico-limbic structures, including the hippocampal formation. The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) are key regulators of hippocampal formation development, structure, and functioning and, thus, are potential mediators of PAE's effects on this brain region. In the present studies, we assessed the impact of PAE on components of corticosteroid signaling pathways in the mouse hippocampal formation.

Postnatal exposure to methyl mercury and neuropsychological development in 7-year-old urban inner-city children exposed to lead in the United States.

Background: The most common route for general population exposure to methyl mercury (MeHg) is fish consumption. Recommendations to pregnant women about consuming fish contaminated with MeHg are also applied to children, but there are few studies available about the effects of low-level postnatal MeHg exposure in them.

Objectives: To investigate the association between postnatal methyl mercury exposure and neuropsychological development in a study of children also exposed to lead, both measured at 7 years.

Feasibility of fully automated closed-loop glucose control using continuous subcutaneous glucose measurements in critical illness: a randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Closed-loop (CL) systems modulate insulin delivery according to glucose levels without nurse input. In a prospective randomized controlled trial, we evaluated the feasibility of an automated closed-loop approach based on subcutaneous glucose measurements in comparison with a local sliding-scale insulin-therapy protocol.

Methods: Twenty-four critically ill adults (predominantly trauma and neuroscience patients) with hyperglycemia (glucose, ≥10 mM) or already receiving insulin therapy, were randomized to receive either fully automated closed-loop therapy (model predictive control algorithm directing insulin and 20% dextrose infusion based on FreeStyle Navigator continuous subcutaneous glucose values, n = 12) or a local protocol (n = 12) with intravenous sliding-scale insulin, over a 48-hour period.

Urinary excretion of sodium, potassium, and chloride, but not iodine, varies by timing of collection in a 24-hour calibration study.

Because of the logistic complexity, excessive respondent burden, and high cost of conducting 24-h urine collections in a national survey, alternative strategies to monitor sodium intake at the population level need to be evaluated. We conducted a calibration study to assess the ability to characterize sodium intake from timed-spot urine samples calibrated to a 24-h urine collection. In this report, we described the overall design and basic results of the study.

Changes in the concentrations of biochemical indicators of diet and nutritional status of pregnant women across pregnancy trimesters in Trujillo, Peru, 2004-2005.

Background: In developing countries, deficiencies in essential micronutrients are common, particularly in pregnant women. Although, biochemical indicators of diet and nutrition are useful to assess nutritional status, few studies have examined such indicators throughout pregnancy in women in developing countries.

Methods: The primary objective of this study was to assess the nutritional status of 78 Peruvian women throughout pregnancy for 16 different nutritional indicators including fat-soluble vitamins and carotenoids, iron-status indicators, and selenium.

Intakes of dairy products and dietary supplements are positively associated with iodine status among U.S. children.

Although pregnant women and some groups of reproductive-age women in the US may be at risk of iodine deficiency, data also suggest that iodine intake among many U.S. children may be above requirements.

Impacts of resistance gene genetics, function, and evolution on a durable future.

Studies on resistance gene function and evolution lie at the confluence of structural and molecular biology, genetics, and plant breeding. However, knowledge from these disparate fields has yet to be extensively integrated. This review draws on ideas and information from these different fields to elucidate the influences driving the evolution of different types of resistance genes in plants and the concurrent evolution of virulence in pathogens.

Protective role of DNJ-27/ERdj5 in Caenorhabditis elegans models of human neurodegenerative diseases.

Aims: Cells have developed quality control systems for protection against proteotoxicity. Misfolded and aggregation-prone proteins, which are behind the initiation and progression of many neurodegenerative diseases (ND), are known to challenge the proteostasis network of the cells. We aimed to explore the role of DNJ-27/ERdj5, an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident thioredoxin protein required as a disulfide reductase for the degradation of misfolded proteins, in well-established Caenorhabditis elegans models of Alzheimer, Parkinson and Huntington diseases.

The impact of succimer chelation on blood cadmium in children with background exposures: a randomized trial.

Succimer lowers blood lead concentrations in children, and the structure of succimer chelates of lead and cadmium are similar. Using blood samples from a randomized trial of succimer for lead poisoning, however, we found that succimer did not lower blood cadmium in children with background exposure.

Race-ethnicity is related to biomarkers of iron and iodine status after adjusting for sociodemographic and lifestyle variables in NHANES 2003-2006.

The NHANES 2003-2006 has assessed iron and iodine status, 2 trace element nutrients of continued public health interest, in the U.S. population.

Lysosomal impairment in Parkinson's disease.

Impairment of autophagy-lysosomal pathways (ALPs) is increasingly regarded as a major pathogenic event in neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease (PD). ALP alterations are observed in sporadic PD brains and in toxic and genetic rodent models of PD-related neurodegeneration. In addition, PD-linked mutations and post-translational modifications of α-synuclein impair its own lysosomal-mediated degradation, thereby contributing to its accumulation and aggregation.

Upper body exercise increases lower extremity venous blood flow in deep venous thrombosis.

Objective: Sequential compression devices or ambulation prevent deep venous thrombosis (DVT) by enhancing venous blood flow in the lower extremity. However, compression therapy or ambulation may not be possible in patients with lower extremity surgery or trauma. We therefore determined whether upper body exercise increases venous blood flow in the lower extremities as a potential means for preventing DVT.

Iodine status in pregnant women in the National Children's Study and in U.S. women (15-44 years), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2010.

Background: This report presents iodine data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and from a sample of pregnant women in the National Children's Study (NCS) Vanguard Study.

Methods: Urinary iodine (UI) was measured in a one third subsample of NHANES 2005-2006 and 2009-2010 participants and in all 2007-2008 participants age 6 years and older. These measurements are representative of the general U.

Valproic acid ameliorates C. elegans dopaminergic neurodegeneration with implications for ERK-MAPK signaling.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a currently incurable neurodegenerative disorder that affects the aging population. The loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra is one of the pathological features of PD. The precise causes of PD remain unresolved but evidence supports both environmental and genetic contributions.

Utilizing a cranial window to visualize the middle cerebral artery during endothelin-1 induced middle cerebral artery occlusion.

Creation of a cranial window is a method that allows direct visualization of structures on the cortical surface of the brain(1-3). This technique can be performed in many locations overlying the rat cerebrum, but is most easily carried out by creating a craniectomy over the readily accessible frontal or parietal bones. Most frequently, we have used this technique in combination with the endothelin-1 middle cerebral artery occlusion model of ischemic stroke to quantify the changes in middle cerebral artery vessel diameter that occur with injection of endothelin-1 into the brain parenchyma adjacent to the proximal MCA(4, 5).

Accuracy of continuous glucose monitoring during exercise in type 1 diabetes pregnancy.

Background: Performance of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) may be lower when glucose levels are changing rapidly, such as occurs during physical activity. Our aim was to evaluate accuracy of a current-generation CGM during moderate-intensity exercise in type 1 diabetes (T1D) pregnancy.

Subjects And Methods: As part of a study of 24-h closed-loop insulin delivery in 12 women with T1D (disease duration, 17.

Endothelin-1 induced middle cerebral artery occlusion model for ischemic stroke with laser Doppler flowmetry guidance in rat.

Stroke is the number one cause of disability and third leading cause of death in the world, costing an estimated $70 billion in the United States in 2009. Several models of cerebral ischemia have been developed to mimic the human condition of stroke. It has been suggested that up to 80% of all strokes result from ischemic damage in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) area.

Physical activity energy expenditure and glucose control in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes: is 30 minutes of daily exercise enough?

Objective: To describe activity patterns in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes and evaluate the impact of increased structured physical activity on glucose control.

Research Design And Methods: Physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) and glucose levels (continuous glucose monitoring) were measured in 10 pregnant women with type 1 diabetes (age 33.2 years, gestation 20 weeks, BMI 27.

'They've just got symptoms without science': Medical trainees' acquisition of negative attitudes towards patients with medically unexplained symptoms.

Objective: Doctors find patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) challenging to manage and some hold negative attitudes towards these patients. It is unknown when and how these views form. This study examines medical trainees' beliefs and influences about MUS.

Standardizing and simplifying analysis of peptide library data.

Peptide libraries allow researchers to quickly find hundreds of peptide sequences with a desired property. Currently, the large amount of data generated from peptide libraries is analyzed by hand, where researchers search for repeating patterns in the peptide sequences. Such patterns are called motifs.

Moderate prenatal alcohol exposure reduces plasticity and alters NMDA receptor subunit composition in the dentate gyrus.

Although it is well documented that heavy consumption of alcohol during pregnancy impairs brain development, it remains controversial whether moderate consumption causes significant damage. Using a limited access, voluntary consumption paradigm, we recently demonstrated that moderate prenatal alcohol exposure (MPAE) is associated with dentate gyrus-dependent learning and memory deficits that are manifested in adulthood. Here, we identified a novel mechanism that may underlie this effect of MPAE.