In silico discovery of blood cell macromolecular associations.

Background: Physical molecular interactions are the basis of intracellular signalling and gene regulatory networks, and comprehensive, accessible databases are needed for their discovery. Highly correlated transcripts may reflect important functional associations, but identification of such associations from primary data are cumbersome. We have constructed and adapted a user-friendly web application to discover and identify putative macromolecular associations in human peripheral blood based on significant correlations at the transcriptional level.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy to Identify Metabolite Biomarkers of Nonresponsiveness to Targeted Therapy in Glioblastoma Tumor Stem Cells.

Glioblastoma is the most common and malignant brain tumor, and current therapies confer only modest survival benefits. A major obstacle is our ability to monitor treatment effect on tumors. Current imaging modalities are ambiguous, and repeated biopsies are not encouraged.

The Role of Plasma and Urine Metabolomics in Identifying New Biomarkers in Severe Newborn Asphyxia: A Study of Asphyxiated Newborn Pigs following Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.

Background: Optimizing resuscitation is important to prevent morbidity and mortality from perinatal asphyxia. The metabolism of cells and tissues is severely disturbed during asphyxia and resuscitation, and metabolomic analyses provide a snapshot of many small molecular weight metabolites in body fluids or tissues. In this study metabolomics profiles were studied in newborn pigs that were asphyxiated and resuscitated using different protocols to identify biomarkers for subject characterization, intervention effects and possibly prognosis.

RNA-sequencing analysis of HepG2 cells treated with atorvastatin.

The cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin is among the most prescribed drug in the world. Alternative splicing in a number of genes has been reported to be associated with variable statin response. RNA-seq has proven to be a powerful technique for genome-wide splice variant analysis.

Urinary metabolite profiles in premature infants show early postnatal metabolic adaptation and maturation.

Objectives: Early nutrition influences metabolic programming and long-term health. We explored the urinary metabolite profiles of 48 premature infants (birth weight < 1500 g) randomized to an enhanced or a standard diet during neonatal hospitalization.

Methods: Metabolomics using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) was conducted on urine samples obtained during the first week of life and thereafter fortnightly.

Urine NMR metabolomics analysis of breastfeeding biomarkers during and after pregnancy in a large prospective cohort study.

Background: Modern metabolomic profiling has not yet been applied to human breastfeeding research. A common reason for breastfeeding cessation is perceived insufficient milk production. We investigated broad biochemical profiles in maternal urine collected during and after pregnancy to identify biomarkers related to reduced reported breastfeeding.

Context-dependent competition in a model gut bacterial community.

Understanding the ecological processes that generate complex community structures may provide insight into the establishment and maintenance of a normal microbial community in the human gastrointestinal tract, yet very little is known about how biotic interactions influence community dynamics in this system. Here, we use natural strains of Escherichia coli and a simplified model microbiota to demonstrate that the colonization process on the strain level can be context dependent, in the sense that the outcome of intra-specific competition may be determined by the composition of the background community. These results are consistent with previous models for competition between organisms where one competitor has adapted to low resource environments whereas the other is optimized for rapid reproduction when resources are abundant.

Metabolic changes in urine during and after pregnancy in a large, multiethnic population-based cohort study of gestational diabetes.

This study aims to identify novel markers for gestational diabetes (GDM) in the biochemical profile of maternal urine using NMR metabolomics. It also catalogs the general effects of pregnancy and delivery on the urine profile. Urine samples were collected at three time points (visit V1: gestational week 8-20; V2: week 28±2; V3 10-16 weeks post partum) from participants in the STORK Groruddalen program, a prospective, multiethnic cohort study of 823 healthy, pregnant women in Oslo, Norway, and analyzed using (1)H-NMR spectroscopy.

Identification of transcriptional macromolecular associations in human bone using browser based in silico analysis in a giant correlation matrix.

Intracellular signaling is critically dependent on gene regulatory networks comprising physical molecular interactions. Presently, there is a lack of comprehensive databases for most human tissue types to verify such macromolecular interactions. We present a user friendly browser which helps to identify functional macromolecular interactions in human bone as significant correlations at the transcriptional level.

The Accu-Chek Mobile blood glucose monitoring system used under controlled conditions meets ISO 15197 standards in the hands of diabetes patients.

Background: Self-monitoring of blood glucose is a cornerstone of diabetes management. The aim of this study was to evaluate the analytical quality and the ease of use of the Accu-Chek Mobile, a new glucose monitoring system designed for capillary blood testing by diabetic patients.

Materials And Methods: The performance of the Accu-Chek Mobile was evaluated both in the hands of a scientist and of diabetes patients.