Dietary Fiber Intake Alters Gut Microbiota Composition but Does Not Improve Gut Wall Barrier Function in Women with Future Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy.

Pregnancy alters the inflammatory state, metabolic hormones, and gut microbiota composition. It is unclear if the lower abundance of dietary fiber-fermenting, short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria observed in hypertension also occurs in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP). This study investigated the relationship between dietary fiber intake and the gut microbiota profile at 28 weeks gestation in women who developed HDP in late pregnancy ( = 22) or remained normotensive ( = 152) from the Study of PRobiotics IN Gestational diabetes (SPRING).

Micromechanics of cellularized biopolymer networks.

Collagen gels are widely used in experiments on cell mechanics because they mimic the extracellular matrix in physiological conditions. Collagen gels are often characterized by their bulk rheology; however, variations in the collagen fiber microstructure and cell adhesion forces cause the mechanical properties to be inhomogeneous at the cellular scale. We study the mechanics of type I collagen on the scale of tens to hundreds of microns by using holographic optical tweezers to apply pN forces to microparticles embedded in the collagen fiber network.

General algorithm to optimize the diffraction efficiency of a phase-type spatial light modulator.

We present a general approach for optimizing the diffraction efficiency of a phase-type spatial light modulator (SLM). While the SLM displays a one-dimensional phase grating, the phase shift of one pixel in the grating is varied and the first-order diffraction efficiency is measured. This is repeated pixel-by-pixel to find the optimum phase encoding for the device that maximizes the diffraction efficiency.

Simultaneous line center and linewidth measurement using dual frequency modulation spectroscopy.

We propose a method to simultaneously measure the center frequency of a spectral feature and the frequency linewidth of the feature. The method relies on dual frequency modulation of a carrier frequency, which probes the spectral feature, and phase sensitive detection of the transmitted signal at the two modulation frequencies. The detected signals provide two servo-stabilization signals for frequency control of the carrier frequency to the resonance line center and one of the modulation frequencies to the resonance linewidth.

Use of umbilical artery Doppler velocimetry in the monitoring of pregnancy in women with pre-existing diabetes.

Background: The usefulness of umbilical artery Doppler velocimetry for the monitoring of diabetic pregnancies is controversial. The aim of the present study was to assess whether umbilical artery Doppler velocity waveform analysis can predict adverse perinatal outcomes for pregnancies complicated by pre-existing diabetes mellitus.

Methods: All diabetic pregnancies (type 1 and 2) delivered at Mater Mothers' Hospital, Queensland, between 1 January 1995 and 31 December 1999 were included.

Fetal growth spurt and pregestational diabetic pregnancy.

Objective: To assess the timing of fetal growth spurt among pre-existing diabetic pregnancies (types 1 and 2) and its relationship with diabetic control. To correlate fetal growth acceleration with factors that might influence fetal growth.

Research Design And Methods: This retrospective study involved all pregestational diabetic pregnancies delivered at a tertiary obstetric hospital in Australia between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1999.