Multidisciplinary approach to redefining thyroid hormone reference intervals with big data analysis.

Objectives: This study aimed to employ big data analysis to harmonize reference intervals (RI) for thyroid function tests, with refinement to the TSH upper reference limit, and to optimize the TSH reflex algorithm to improve clinical management and test utilization.

Design & Methods: TSH, free T4, and free T3 results tested in Alberta, Canada, on Roche Cobas and Siemens Atellica were extracted from the laboratory information system (N = 1,144,155 for TSH, N = 183,354 for free T4 and N = 92,632 for free T3). Results from specialists, inpatients, or repeat testing, as well as from positive thyroid disease, autoimmune disease, and pregnancy biomarkers were excluded.

Assessment of maternal knowledge of infant movement and nutrition guidelines in Canada: The survey study (hysical activity, est, xercise and nutrition alues for ducation of ew moms with ype 2 diabetes/gestational diabetes).

Infants born to mothers with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and gestational diabetes (GDM) are at an increased risk of being overweight/obese. Modifiable lifestyle factors play a role in prevention of overweight and obesity. In 2017, the Canadian 24 h Movement Guidelines for the Early Years (CMG) were released.

A comparative life-cycle assessment and cost analysis of biofilters amended with sludge-based activated carbon and commercial activated carbon for stormwater treatment.

Environmental and economic issues resulting from the unsustainable management of sewage sludge from wastewater have necessitated the development of eco-friendly sewage sludge disposal methods, whereas stormwater effluent contains tremendous amounts of pollutants. This study compares the feasibility and environmental impacts associated with incorporating biofilters with sludge-based activated carbon (SBAC) versus commercial activated carbon (CAC) for stormwater treatment. The results demonstrate that the construction and disposal life-cycle stages are the dominant contributors to several environmental impact categories, including resource scarcity, carcinogenic toxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, and ozone formation indicators.

Malnourishment affects gene expression along the length of the small intestine.

Malnourishment is a risk factor for childhood mortality, jeopardizing the health of children by aggravating pneumonia/acute respiratory infections and diarrheal diseases. Malnourishment causes morphophysiological changes resulting in stunting and wasting that have long-lasting consequences such as cognitive deficit and metabolic dysfunction. Using a pig model of malnutrition, the interplay between the phenotypic data displayed by the malnourished animals, the gene expression pattern along the intestinal tract, microbiota composition of the intestinal contents, and hepatic metabolite concentrations from the same animals were correlated using a multi-omics approach.

Beta-Cell Adaptation to Pregnancy - Role of Calcium Dynamics.

During pregnancy, the mother develops insulin resistance to shunt nutrients to the growing fetus. As a result, the maternal islets of Langerhans undergo several changes to increase insulin secretion in order to maintain glucose homeostasis and prevent the development of gestational diabetes. These changes include an increase in β-cell proliferation and β-cell mass, upregulation of insulin synthesis and insulin content, enhanced cell-to-cell communication, and a lowering of the glucose threshold for insulin secretion, all of which resulting in an increase in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.

Accelerated developmental adipogenesis programs adipose tissue dysfunction and cardiometabolic risk in offspring born to dams with metabolic dysfunction.

This study determined if a perturbation in in utero adipogenesis leading to later life adipose tissue (AT) dysfunction underlies programming of cardiometabolic risk in offspring born to dams with metabolic dysfunction. Female mice heterozygous for the leptin receptor deficiency (Het) had 2.4-fold higher prepregnancy fat mass and in late gestation had higher plasma insulin and triglycerides compared with wild-type (Wt) females ( < 0.

Analyses of publicly available genomes revealed genetic distances indicating they belong to more than one species.

has been observed to be a member of the gut microbiome. Unfortunately, little is known about this organism in spite of being associated with human fatalities; it is important to understand virulence mechanisms and epidemiological prospective to cause disease. In this study, a patient with chronic neurologic symptoms presented to the clinic with subsequent isolation of a strain with phenotypic characteristics suggestive of .

Discovery of Potent Selective Nonzinc Binding Autotaxin Inhibitor BIO-32546.

Autotaxin (ATX) is a lysophospholipase D that is the main enzyme responsible for generating LPA in body fluids. Although ATX was isolated from a conditioned medium of melanoma cells, later it was discovered to play a critical role in vascular and neuronal development. ATX has also been implicated in primary brain tumor, fibrosis, and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and neuropathic pain.

Beta cell adaptation to pregnancy requires prolactin action on both beta and non-beta cells.

Pancreatic islets adapt to insulin resistance of pregnancy by up regulating β-cell mass and increasing insulin secretion. Previously, using a transgenic mouse with global, heterozygous deletion of prolactin receptor (Prlr), we found Prlr signaling is important for this adaptation. However, since Prlr is expressed in tissues outside of islets as well as within islets and prolactin signaling affects β-cell development, to understand β-cell-specific effect of prolactin signaling in pregnancy, we generated a transgenic mouse with an inducible conditional deletion of Prlr from β-cells.

Diabetic ketoacidosis at type 1 diabetes diagnosis in children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant public health measures that have resulted in decreased acute pediatric care utilization. We evaluated whether the rate of severe presentations of new onset type 1 diabetes (DM1), such as, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) has changed since the COVID-19 public health measures were enacted.

Research Design And Methods: A retrospective chart review of children less than 18 years of age presenting with new onset DM1 during the pandemic period of March 17, 2020 to August 31, 2020 was conducted at two tertiary care pediatric hospitals in Alberta, Canada.

Monitoring the microbiome for food safety and quality using deep shotgun sequencing.

In this work, we hypothesized that shifts in the food microbiome can be used as an indicator of unexpected contaminants or environmental changes. To test this hypothesis, we sequenced the total RNA of 31 high protein powder (HPP) samples of poultry meal pet food ingredients. We developed a microbiome analysis pipeline employing a key eukaryotic matrix filtering step that improved microbe detection specificity to >99.

Rapid evolution of blood-brain-barrier-penetrating AAV capsids by RNA-driven biopanning.

Therapeutic payload delivery to the central nervous system (CNS) remains a major challenge in gene therapy. Recent studies using function-driven evolution of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors have successfully identified engineered capsids with improved blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration and CNS tropism in mouse. However, these strategies require transgenic animals and thus are limited to rodents.

Phylogenetic and Biogeographic Patterns of Vibrio parahaemolyticus Strains from North America Inferred from Whole-Genome Sequence Data.

is the most common cause of seafood-borne illness reported in the United States. The draft genomes of 132 North American clinical and oyster isolates were sequenced to investigate their phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships. The majority of oyster isolate sequence types (STs) were from a single harvest location; however, four were identified from multiple locations.

Food authentication from shotgun sequencing reads with an application on high protein powders.

Here we propose that using shotgun sequencing to examine food leads to accurate authentication of ingredients and detection of contaminants. To demonstrate this, we developed a bioinformatic pipeline, FASER (Food Authentication from SEquencing Reads), designed to resolve the relative composition of mixtures of eukaryotic species using RNA or DNA sequencing. Our comprehensive database includes >6000 plants and animals that may be present in food.

Lrrc55 is a novel prosurvival factor in pancreatic islets.

Pancreatic islets adapt to the increase in insulin demand during pregnancy by upregulating β-cell number, insulin synthesis, and secretion. These changes require prolactin receptor (PrlR) signaling, as mice with PrlR deletion are glucose intolerant with a lower β-cell mass. Prolactin also prevents β-cell apoptosis.

Effect of Prebiotic on Microbiota, Intestinal Permeability, and Glycemic Control in Children With Type 1 Diabetes.

Context: Patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) have lower microbiota diversity and distinct gut microbial profiles that have been linked to changes in intestinal permeability. Prebiotics are nondigestible carbohydrates that alter gut microbiota and could potentially improve glycemic control and reduce intestinal permeability and thereby insulin sensitivity.

Objective: To determine the effect of prebiotics on glycemic control, gut microbiota, and intestinal permeability in children with T1D.

Draft Genome Sequence of Bacillus velezensis CE2, Which Genetically Encodes a Novel Multicomponent Lantibiotic.

Bacillus velezensis CE2 produces potent antimicrobial compound(s). The draft genome sequence of the strain reported here is 4.1 Mb with a G+C content of 46.

A Syst-OMICS Approach to Ensuring Food Safety and Reducing the Economic Burden of Salmonellosis.

The Syst-OMICS consortium is sequencing 4,500 genomes and building an analysis pipeline for the study of genome evolution, antibiotic resistance and virulence genes. Metadata, including phenotypic as well as genomic data, for isolates of the collection are provided through the Foodborne Syst-OMICS database (SalFoS), at https://salfos.ibis.

Oligofructose as an adjunct in treatment of diabetes in NOD mice.

In type 1 diabetes, restoration of normoglycemia can be achieved if the autoimmune attack on beta cells ceases and insulin requirement is met by the residual beta cells. We hypothesize that an adjunctive therapy that reduces insulin demand by increasing insulin sensitivity will improve the efficacy of an immunotherapy in reversing diabetes. We tested the gut microbiota-modulating prebiotic, oligofructose (OFS), as the adjunctive therapy.

Family Intervention for Obese/Overweight Children Using Portion Control Strategy (FOCUS) for Weight Control: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Nutritional counseling for children with obesity is an important component of management. This randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare change in body mass index (BMI) score after 6 months. Children 8 to 16 years with a BMI greater than the 85th percentile were randomized to standard of care nutrition counseling versus intervention with standard nutrition counseling including portion control tool training for the family.

The relationship between physical activity level and cardiovascular disease biomarkers in healthy, normal-weight 3- to 6-year-old children and their parents.

To determine if physical activity is linked to cardiovascular biomarkers in preschool children at risk, we need information on these biomarkers in healthy normal-weight children. In this population, multi-level modelling analyses found no correlation between accelerometer recorded physical activity and fasting lipids, adiponectin, or insulin sensitivity. Exploratory analyses found positive correlations between adiponectin and time spent in light physical activity, and between triglyceride and time spent in sedentary behaviour; these findings need to be confirmed in longitudinal prospective studies.