Background: Pregnancy is a complex biological process and serious complications can arise when the delicate balance between the maternal and semi-allogeneic fetal immune systems is disrupted or challenged. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, and low birth weight pose serious threats to maternal and fetal health. Identification of early biomarkers through an in-depth understanding of molecular mechanisms is critical for early intervention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Sports Physiol Perform
November 2024
Purpose: Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are becoming increasingly popular among endurance athletes despite unconfirmed accuracy. We assessed the concurrent validity of the FreeStyle Libre 2 worn on 2 different sites at rest, during steady-state running, and postprandial.
Methods: Thirteen nondiabetic, well-trained recreational runners (age = 40 [8] y, maximal aerobic oxygen consumption = 46.
Brassinosteroids (BR) and gibberellins (GA) regulate plant height and leaf angle in maize (Zea mays). Mutants with defects in BR or GA biosynthesis or signaling identify components of these pathways and enhance our knowledge about plant growth and development. In this study, we characterized three recessive mutant alleles of GRAS transcription factor 42 (gras42) in maize, a GRAS transcription factor gene orthologous to the DWARF AND LOW TILLERING (DLT) gene of rice (Oryza sativa).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: In this register-based study of pregnancies in Denmark, we assessed the associations between maternal age and the risk of fetal aneuploidies (trisomy 21, trisomy 18, trisomy 13, triploidy, monosomy X and other sex chromosome aberrations). Additionally, we aimed to disentangle the maternal age-related effect on fetal aneuploidies by cases with translocation trisomies and mosaicisms.
Material And Methods: We followed a nationwide cohort of 542 375 singleton-pregnant women attending first trimester screening in Denmark between 2008 and 2017 until delivery, miscarriage or termination of pregnancy.
Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) represent the interactions between transcription factors (TF) and their target genes. Plant GRNs control transcriptional programs involved in growth, development, and stress responses, ultimately affecting diverse agricultural traits. While recent developments in accessible chromatin (AC) profiling technologies make it possible to identify context-specific regulatory DNA, learning the underlying GRNs remains a major challenge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Question: What are couples' needs for health care and support in a subsequent pregnancy after prior early pregnancy loss (PL) and how do needs change across the pregnancy?
Summary Answer: Couples described unmet needs for pregnancy care in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy and were more satisfied with the care provided during the remainder of the pregnancy.
What Is Known Already: Despite early PL being common (∼25% of pregnancies), there is a paucity of research to guide practice to optimize treatment and support future pregnancies. There has been low priority for the issue in research and a pervasive acceptance that couples should 'just try again' after experiencing PL.
The Heat Shock Factor (HSF) transcription factor family is a central and required component of plant heat stress responses and acquired thermotolerance. The HSF family has dramatically expanded in plant lineages, often including a repertoire of 20 or more genes. Here we assess and compare the composition, heat responsiveness, and chromatin profiles of the HSF families in maize and (), two model C4 panicoid grasses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Whole-of-school programs have demonstrated success in improving student physical activity levels, but few have progressed beyond efficacy testing to implementation at-scale. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the scale-up of the 'Internet-based Professional Learning to help teachers promote Activity in Youth' (iPLAY) intervention in primary schools using the RE-AIM framework.
Methods: We conducted a type 3 hybrid implementation-effectiveness study and collected data between April 2016 and June 2021, in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.
Purpose Of Review: Pregnancy loss (PL) has been acknowledged by the American Heart Association as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) later in life. This review aims to sum up recent findings (< ~ 5 years), concerning the link between PL and CVD.
Recent Findings: The association between PL and risk of CVD increased with increasing number of PLs and is inversely correlated to maternal age, indicating that the association concerns euploid PLs.
Background: Many plant species exhibit genetic variation for coping with environmental stress. However, there are still limited approaches to effectively uncover the genomic region that regulates distinct responsive patterns of the gene across multiple varieties within the same species under abiotic stress.
Results: By analyzing the transcriptomes of more than 100 maize inbreds, we reveal many cis- and trans-acting eQTLs that influence the expression response to heat stress.
Structural variants (SV) of 23 barley inbreds, detected by the best combination of SV callers based on short-read sequencing, were associated with genome-wide and gene-specific gene expression and, thus, were evaluated to predict agronomic traits. In human genetics, several studies have shown that phenotypic variation is more likely to be caused by structural variants (SV) than by single nucleotide variants. However, accurate while cost-efficient discovery of SV in complex genomes remains challenging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Tissue defects in the annulus fibrosus (AF) due to intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration or after nucleodiscectomy have little self-healing capacity. To prevent progressive degeneration of the IVD, the AF must be repaired. Biological closure has not yet been achieved and is a challenge for the research community.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlutamate has dual roles in metabolism and signaling; thus, signaling functions must be isolatable and distinct from metabolic fluctuations, as seen in low-glutamate domains at synapses. In plants, wounding triggers electrical and calcium (Ca) signaling, which involve homologs of mammalian glutamate receptors. The hydraulic dispersal and squeeze-cell hypotheses implicate pressure as a key component of systemic signaling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElucidating the transcriptional regulatory networks that underlie growth and development requires robust ways to define the complete set of transcription factor (TF) binding sites. Although TF-binding sites are known to be generally located within accessible chromatin regions (ACRs), pinpointing these DNA regulatory elements globally remains challenging. Current approaches primarily identify binding sites for a single TF (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) receptor 2 (TRAIL-R2) can induce apoptosis in cancer cells upon crosslinking by TRAIL. However, TRAIL-R2 is highly expressed by many cancers suggesting pro-tumor functions. Indeed, TRAIL/TRAIL-R2 also activate pro-inflammatory pathways enhancing tumor cell invasion, migration, and proliferation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Abnormal admission blood glucose was reported as a useful predictor of outcome in critically ill patients.
Objectives: To identify patients at higher risk, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between admission blood glucose levels and patient mortality during the management of nontraumatic critically ill patients in the emergency department (ED).
Methods: In this prospective, single-center observational study in a German university ED, all adult patients admitted to the resuscitation room of the ED were included between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015.
Recoil pressure is a critical factor affecting the melt pool dynamics during Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) processes. Recoil pressure depresses the melt pool. When the recoil pressure is low, thermal conduction and capillary forces may be inadequate to provide proper fusion between layers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeaves are asymmetric, with different functions for adaxial and abaxial tissue. The bundle sheath (BS) of C3 barley (Hordeum vulgare) is dorsoventrally differentiated into three types of cells: adaxial structural, lateral S-type, and abaxial L-type BS cells. Based on plasmodesmatal connections between S-type cells and mestome sheath (parenchymatous cell layer below bundle sheath), S-type cells likely transfer assimilates toward the phloem.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe leaf vasculature plays a key role in solute translocation. Veins consist of at least seven distinct cell types, with specific roles in transport, metabolism, and signaling. Little is known about leaf vascular cells, in particular the phloem parenchyma (PP).
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