First-trimester metabolomic prediction of stillbirth.

Stillbirth remains a major problem in both developing and developed countries. Omics evaluation of stillbirth has been highlighted as a top research priority. To identify new putative first-trimester biomarkers in maternal serum for stillbirth prediction using metabolomics-based approach.

Pasture Feeding Changes the Bovine Rumen and Milk Metabolome.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of two pasture feeding systems-perennial ryegrass (GRS) and perennial ryegrass and white clover (CLV)-and an indoor total mixed ration (TMR) system on the (a) rumen microbiome; (b) rumen fluid and milk metabolome; and (c) to assess the potential to distinguish milk from different feeding systems by their respective metabolomes. Rumen fluid was collected from nine rumen cannulated cows under the different feeding systems in early, mid and late lactation, and raw milk samples were collected from ten non-cannulated cows in mid-lactation from each of the feeding systems. The microbiota present in rumen liquid and solid portions were analysed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, while ¹H-NMR untargeted metabolomic analysis was performed on rumen fluid and raw milk samples.

Genipin normalizes depression-like behavior induced by prenatal stress through inhibiting DNMT1.

Synthetic antidepressants in current use for the complex etiopathogeneses of depression have slow response and remission as well as various unpleasant side effects. As a result, it is imperative to develop new antidepressants with more effectiveness and less severe side effects. Recent studies demonstrated that genipin, the aglycon of geniposide, extracted from Gardenia jasminoides Ellis has antidepressive effects.

Fabrication and Characterization of In Situ Synthesized SiC/Al Composites by Combustion Synthesis and Hot Press Consolidation Method.

The in situ SiC/Al composites were fabricated in Al-Si-C systems with different Si/C mass ratios and holding time by the method of combustion synthesis and hot press consolidation. The influences of Si/C mass ratio and holding time on the phase constitution, microstructure, and hardness of the composites were investigated. The results indicate that the increase of Si/C mass ratio leads to more uniform size distribution of the SiC particles in the Al matrix.

Acute Cor Pulmonale in Veno-Venous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Three Case Reports.

A retrospective review of three patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and normal baseline right ventricular function admitted to the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit whom developed acute cor pulmonale while on veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. These patients were diagnosed with ARDS using Berlin Criteria definitions and cannulated with a dual lumen (Avalon) cannula. Despite variations in history, presentation, and course, findings of acute cor pulmonale were encountered 4 to 6 weeks after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation cannulation.

Application of urine cells in drug intervention for spinal muscular atrophy.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a lethal childhood neurodegenerative disorder that is caused by the homozygous deletion of survival motor neuron 1 (). To date, no effective treatments are available. In the current study, urine cells taken from SMA patients were cultured and the application of patient-derived urine cells was determined in drug intervention.

Freeform fabrication of tissue-simulating phantom for potential use of surgical planning in conjoined twins separation surgery.

Preoperative assessment of tissue anatomy and accurate surgical planning is crucial in conjoined twin separation surgery. We developed a new method that combines three-dimensional (3D) printing, assembling, and casting to produce anatomic models of high fidelity for surgical planning. The related anatomic features of the conjoined twins were captured by computed tomography (CT), classified as five organ groups, and reconstructed as five computer models.

Differential Effects of Linagliptin on the Function of Human Islets Isolated from Non-diabetic and Diabetic Donors.

Linagliptin is a dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor that inhibits the degradation of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), and has been approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in clinic. Previous studies have shown linagliptin improves β cell function using animal models and isolated islets from normal subjects. Since β cell dysfunction occurs during diabetes development, it was not clear how human islets of T2D patients would respond to linagliptin treatment.

Analysis of gene expression and functional characterization of XPR1: a pathogenic gene for primary familial brain calcification.

Primary familial brain calcification (PFBC) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by bilateral cerebral calcification with diverse neurologic or psychiatric symptoms. Recently, XPR1 variation has accounted for PFBC as another new causative gene. However, little is known about the distribution and basic function of XPR1 and its interaction with the other three pathogenic genes for PFBC (SLC20A2, PDGFRB and PDGFB).

Mitochondrial C11orf83 is a potent Antiviral Protein Independent of interferon production.

Mitochondria have a central position in innate immune response via the adaptor protein MAVS in mitochondrial outer membrane to limit viral replication by inducing interferon production. Here, we reported that C11orf83, a component of complex III of electronic transfer chain in mitochondrial inner membrane, was a potent antiviral protein independent of interferon production. C11orf83 expression significantly increased in response to viral infection, and endows cells with stronger capability of inhibiting viral replication.

Progress in Pharmacological Sciences in China.

Pharmacology is the science that investigates the interactions between organisms and drugs and their mechanisms. Pharmacology plays a translational role in modern medicine, bridging basic research and the clinic. With its economy booming, China has invested an enormous amount of financial and human resources in pharmacological research in the recent decade.

Identifying the white matter impairments among ART-naïve HIV patients: a multivariate pattern analysis of DTI data.

Objective: To identify the white matter (WM) impairments of the antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naïve HIV patients by conducting a multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) of Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) data METHODS: We enrolled 33 ART-naïve HIV patients and 32 Normal controls in the current study. Firstly, the DTI metrics in whole brain WM tracts were extracted for each subject and feed into the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operators procedure (LASSO)-Logistic regression model to identify the impaired WM tracts. Then, Support Vector Machines (SVM) model was constructed based on the DTI metrics in the impaired WM tracts to make HIV-control group classification.

Reduced phosphoCREB in Müller glia during retinal degeneration in mice.

Purpose: The mechanisms that trigger retinal degeneration are not well understood, despite the availability of several animal models with different mutations. In the present report, the mouse, a model for retinitis pigmentosa (RP) that contains a mutation in the gene for PDE6β (), is used to evaluate gliosis, as a marker for retinal stress, and cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB) phosphorylation, which may be important early in retinal degeneration.

Methods: Wild-type C57Bl6J and mice raised under cyclic light were examined for changes in gliosis and CREB phosphorylation for approximately 3 weeks beginning at P14 to P17 using immunocytochemistry.

Novel mutations of PDGFRB cause primary familial brain calcification in Chinese families.

Four causative genes, including solute carrier family 20 member 2 (SLC20A2), platelet-derived growth factor receptor b (PDGFRB), platelet-derived growth factor b (PDGFB)and xenotropic and polytropic retrovirus receptor 1 (XPR1), have been identified to cause primary familial brain calcification (PFBC). However, PDGFRB mutations seem to be quite rare and no PDGFRB mutations have been reported in Chinese PFBC patients. A total of 146 PFBC patients including 12 families and 134 sporadic patients were recruited in this study.

Classification of multi-class motor imagery with a novel hierarchical SVM algorithm for brain-computer interfaces.

Pattern classification algorithm is the crucial step in developing brain-computer interface (BCI) applications. In this paper, a hierarchical support vector machine (HSVM) algorithm is proposed to address an EEG-based four-class motor imagery classification task. Wavelet packet transform is employed to decompose raw EEG signals.

Modeling the differential phenotypes of spinal muscular atrophy with high-yield generation of motor neurons from human induced pluripotent stem cells.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a devastating motor neuron disease caused by mutations of the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene. SMN2, a paralogous gene to SMN1, can partially compensate for the loss of SMN1. On the basis of age at onset, highest motor function and SMN2 copy numbers, childhood-onset SMA can be divided into three types (SMA I-III).

Modeling the phenotype of spinal muscular atrophy by the direct conversion of human fibroblasts to motor neurons.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a lethal autosomal recessive neurological disease characterized by selective degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord. In recent years, the development of cellular reprogramming technology has provided an alternative and effective method for obtaining patient-specific neurons in vitro. In the present study, we applied this technology to the field of SMA to acquire patient-specific induced motor neurons that were directly converted from fibroblasts via the forced expression of 8 defined transcription factors.

Racial and Ethnic Minorities at Increased Risk for Gastric Cancer in a Regional US Population Study.

Background And Aims: Limited data are available on risk factors for gastric cancer in the United States. We aimed to characterize risk for gastric cancer based on race/ethnicity and additional established risk factors.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study from 2008 to 2014 from an integrated health care system in Southern California to assess incidence of gastric cancer by race/ethnicity.

A starfish robot based on soft and smart modular structure (SMS) actuated by SMA wires.

This paper describes the design, fabrication and locomotion of a starfish robot whose locomotion principle is derived from a starfish. The starfish robot has a number of tentacles or arms extending from its central body in the form of a disk, like the topology of a real starfish. The arm, which is a soft and composite structure (which we call the smart modular structure (SMS)) generating a planar reciprocal motion with a high speed of response upon the actuation provided by the shape memory alloy (SMA) wires, is fabricated from soft and smart materials.

Silver-Impregnated Dressings for Sternotomy Incisions to Prevent Surgical Site Infections in Children.

Background: The consequences of surgical site infections can be severe and range from short-term delays in discharge from the hospital to life-threatening infections such as mediastinitis.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of silver-impregnated dressings in decreasing surgical site infections in children after cardiac surgery.

Methods: A randomized, controlled trial was used to compare silver-impregnated dressings (59 participants) with standard dressings (58 participants).

Metabolomic determination of pathogenesis of late-onset preeclampsia.

Objective: Our primary objective was to apply metabolomic pathway analysis of first trimester maternal serum to provide an insight into the pathogenesis of late-onset preeclampsia (late-PE) and thereby identify plausible therapeutic targets for PE.

Methods: NMR-based metabolomics analysis was performed on 29 cases of late-PE and 55 unaffected controls. In order to achieve sufficient statistical power to perform the pathway analysis, these cases were combined with a group of previously analyzed specimens, 30 late-PE cases and 60 unaffected controls.