Gut microbiome profiling of neonates using Nanopore MinION and Illumina MiSeq sequencing.

This study aimed to evaluate the difference in gut microbiomes between preterm and term infants using third-generation long-read sequencing (Oxford Nanopore Technologies, ONT) compared with an established gold standard, Illumina (second-generation short-read sequencing). A total of 69 fecal samples from 51 term (T) and preterm (P) infants were collected at 7 and 28 days of life. Gut colonization profiling was performed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing using ONT.

Dissemination of sulfonamide resistance genes in digester microbiome during anaerobic digestion of food waste leachate.

The preeminence of sulfonamide drug resistance genes in food waste (FW) and the increased utilization of high-strength organic FW in anaerobic digestion (AD) to enhance methane production have raised severe public health concerns in wastewater treatment plants worldwide. In this regard, the dissemination patterns of different sulfonamide resistance genes (sul1 and sul2) and their impact on the digester core microbiota during AD of FW leachate (FWL) were evaluated. The presence of various sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs) in FWL digesters improved the final methane yield by 37 % during AD compared with FWL digesters without SAs.

Forward-Looking Ultrasound Wearable Scanner System for Estimation of Urinary Bladder Volume.

Accurate measurement of bladder volume is an important tool for evaluating bladder function. In this study, we propose a wearable bladder scanner system that can continuously measure bladder volume in daily life for urinary patients who need urodynamic studies. The system consisted of a 2-D array, which included integrated forward-looking piezoelectric transducers with thin substrates.

Increased amounts and stability of telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) following DNA damage induced by etoposide.

Telomeric repeat-containing RNAs (TERRAs) are long noncoding RNAs transcribed from subtelomeres toward telomeric repeat tracts, which have been implicated in telomere protection and heterochromatin formation. Genotoxic stress leads to upregulation of TERRAs. However, the mechanism of DNA damage-mediated TERRA induction remains elusive.

Effect of Stem Cell Treatment on Acute Liver Failure Model Using Scaffold.

Background: Injecting MSCs via blood vessel is most commonly used method, which has a major drawback of safety. The aim of our study was to evaluate efficacy using scaffold-loaded MSCs in acute liver failure model.

Method: Acute liver failure was induced in mice using thioacetamide (TAA) (200 mg/kg, i.

Positive Effect of Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiatives on Improving Mothers' Intention for Successful Breastfeeding in Korea.

Background: In Korea, the breastfeeding (BF) rate of infants aged 6 months or more is drastically decreasing, and this phenomenon is particularly worrisome for the future health of the population. The present study aimed to identify an antenatal strategy for initiation and continuation of human BF, and to identify how Baby-Friendly Hospitals (BFHs) may positively influence the intention to breastfeed.

Methods: A total of 414 pregnant Korean antenatal women were surveyed using questionnaires to determine current knowledge of the benefits of human breast milk, whether they planned to breastfeed after delivery, to continue BF after reinstatement in the workforce, are willing to abide by rooming-in care for infants, and plan to give birth at BFHs.

Maternal outcomes and follow-up of preterm and term neonates born to mothers with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: There is little follow-up data in preterm infants from mothers with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aim of this study was to determine maternal outcomes and compare neonatal outcomes in preterm and term infants born to mothers with SLE.

Methods: This study is a prospective study in a tertiary medical care center and clinical research center for rheumatoid arthritis.

Sex-related differences in the development of fetal heart rate dynamics.

Background: Despite previous efforts to explain the general advantages of female fetuses over males regarding health, sex-related differences in the dynamics or complexity of fetal heart rate (FHR) variability and FHR maturation patterns have not yet been identified.

Aim: To make linear and nonlinear comparisons of antepartum FHR indices, dynamics, complexity, and reactivity to the non-stress test (NST) and vibroacoustic-stimulation test (VAST) in male and female fetuses.

Study Design: A total of 3835 singleton term deliveries without maternal and fetal complications were divided into female (n=1849) and male (n=1986) groups, and subjected to comparison and analyses.

Nonlinear analysis of fetal heart rate dynamics in fetuses compromised by asymptomatic partial placental abruption.

Introduction: We analyzed fetal heart rate (FHR) parameters, dynamics, and outcomes in pregnancies with asymptomatic partial placental abruption (PPA) compared with those in normal pregnancies.

Methods: We examined nonstress test (NST) data acquired from 2003 to 2012 at our institution. Normal pregnancies (N = 170) and PPA cases (N = 17) were matched for gestational age, fetal sex, and mean FHR.

Noggin Over-Expressing Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts and MS5 Stromal Cells Enhance Directed Differentiation of Dopaminergic Neurons from Human Embryonic Stem Cells.

Directed methods for differentiating human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into dopaminergic (DA) precursor cells using stromal cells co-culture systems are already well established. However, not all of the hESCs differentiate into DA precursors using these methods. HSF6, H1, H7, and H9 cells differentiate well into DA precursors, but CHA13 and CHA15 cells hardly differentiate.

Complex and irregular heart rate dynamics in fetuses compromised by maternal anemia as a high-risk pregnancy.

Aim: To examine how complex and irregular fetal heart rate (FHR) dynamics differ between fetuses of normal pregnancies and those of pregnancies complicated by maternal anemia (MA), and to place this in the context of high-risk pregnancies.

Methods: Our study population consisted of 97 pregnant women affected by MA, 118 affected by pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), 88 affected by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), 53 with preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPROM), and 356 normal pregnancies as controls. We calculated approximate entropy (ApEn), sample entropy (SampEn), and correlation dimension (CD) to quantify irregularity and the chaotic dynamics of each FHR time series.

The RNA in reticulocytes is not just debris: it is necessary for the final stages of erythrocyte formation.

Reticulocytes contain both RNA and micro-organelles and represent the last stage of erythropoiesis before full maturation to red blood cells (RBCs). Even though there is continuing synthesis of hemoglobin and membrane-bound proteins in reticulocytes, the small amount of RNA that they contain has been regarded as non-functional residual material. Here we show that this residual RNA is both functional and essential for further reticulocyte maturation.

The significance of amplitude and duration of fetal heart rate acceleration in non-stress test analysis.

Objective: This study was conducted to assess the relative significance of the amplitude versus the duration of accelerations in non-stress test (NST) analysis.

Materials And Methods: A total of 3055 normal fetal heart rate (FHR) tracings at 30-42 weeks' gestation were analyzed by automated FHR analyzing software. Accelerations were classified as one of four combinations of amplitude and duration: 15 bpm-15 seconds (Acc15-15), 15 bpm-10 seconds (Acc15-10), 10 bpm-15 seconds (Acc10-15) and 10 bpm-10 seconds (Acc10-10).

Comparison of fetal heart rate patterns using nonlinear dynamics in breech versus cephalic presentation at term.

Background: It has been reported that breech fetuses have inferior neurological outcomes regardless of mode of delivery, raising the possibility that in utero neurological impairment is more frequent in breech fetuses, possibly contributing to malpresentation.

Aims: To assess differences between the cardiovascular autonomic nervous systems (ANSs) of breech and cephalic fetuses using nonlinear dynamic indices of fetal heart rate (FHR) variability.

Study Design And Subjects: This study included 86 fetuses with breech presentation and 173 fetuses with cephalic presentation, with no other maternal or fetal problems.

Estimating time to full uterine cervical dilation using genetic algorithm.

The objectives of this study were to provide new parameters to better understand labor curves, and to provide a model to predict the time to full cervical dilation (CD). We studied labor curves using the retrospective records of 594 nulliparas, including at term, spontaneous labor onset, and singleton vertex deliveries of normal birth weight infants. We redefined the parameters of Friedman's labor curve, and applied a three-parameter model to the labor curve with a logistic model using the genetic algorithm and the Newton-Raphson method to predict the time necessary to reach full CD.

Fetal heart rate regresses toward the mean in the third trimester.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of different fetal heart rate (FHR) ranges in the nonstress test (NST) and to better understand the meaning of mild bradycardia and/or tachycardia without non-reassuring patterns. We employed the heredity to show that mild bradycardia (100-119 beats per minute, bpm) and mild tachycardia (161-180 bpm) regressed to the normal FHR range (120-160 bpm). We used linear regression to analyze FHR data from FHR tracings recorded 10 min before (NST, as the predictor) and 10 min after vibroacoustic stimulation testing (as the dependent variable).

Fetal heart rate parameters and perinatal outcomes in fetuses with nuchal cords.

Aim: The purpose of the present study was to compare and analyze differences in antepartal fetal heart rate (FHR) parameters during pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes in normal fetuses and fetuses with nuchal cord (NC).

Material And Methods: We surveyed all non-stress test (NST) data acquired using a computerized FHR analysis system at Hanyang University Hospital between 2005 and 2008, and selected 150 cases that had NC. NSTs were performed between 37 and 42 weeks of gestation.

Fetal heart rate parameters of anencephalic fetuses according to gestational age.

Objective: To evaluate various fetal heart rate (FHR) parameters of anencephalic fetuses and to assess the effect of the fetal nervous system on FHR according to gestational age.

Study Design: The antepartum nonstress test was performed in 25 anencephalic fetuses. Each FHR parameter was analyzed using a computerized FHR analysis system for various gestational groups, and the results were compared with results from a normal control group (N = 25).

Immediate laparoscopic nontransvesical repair without omental interposition for vesicovaginal fistula developing after total abdominal hysterectomy.

Background And Objective: We conducted this study to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of immediate laparoscopic nontransvesical repair without omental interposition for vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) developing after total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH), which causes not only social and economic misery for the patient but also considerable stress to the physicians who perform the surgery.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of 5 women who underwent immediate laparoscopic nontransvesical repair without omental interposition for VVFs, developing after TAH from October 2007 to March 2009. In terms of laparoscopic procedure, cystoscopy was performed to confirm the location of fistula and ureteral openings, initially.

Computerized fetal heart rate monitoring after vibroacoustic stimulation in the anencephalic fetus.

Background: To quantify changes in fetal heart rate (FHR) parameters after vibroacoustic stimulation (VAS) and to evaluate the usefulness of VAS testing (VAST) in anencephalic fetuses. Our findings may also help to clarify the route(s) of vibration and sound transmission during VAST.

Study Design And Subjects: We obtained the antepartum FHR tracings of 16 anencephalic fetuses, including both the nonstress test (NST) and VAST.

Conventional linear criteria with sample entropy in the interpretation of reactive antepartum fetal heart rate tracings.

Objective: To compare the test duration times and rate of nonreactive results between the conventional linear reactive criteria (CLRC) and the modified nonlinear reactive criteria (MNRC) in electronic fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring. The MNRC are the CLRC with the addition of approximate entropy or sample entropy.

Methods: One thousand women with singleton pregnancies between 30 and 37 weeks' gestation were selected.

Estradiol-17beta stimulates specific receptor and endogenous nitric oxide-dependent dynamic endothelial protein S-nitrosylation: analysis of endothelial nitrosyl-proteome.

Covalent adduction of a nitrosyl group to cysteines [S-nitrosylation (S-NO)] is emerging as a key route for nitric oxide (NO) to directly modulate protein functions. Here, we studied the effects of estrogens on endothelial protein S-NO and analyzed the nitrosyl-proteomes by biotin/CyDye switch technique combined with two-dimensional fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis and identified nitrosoproteins by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. Estradiol-17beta (E2) rapidly stimulated protein S-NO in human umbilical vein endothelial cells, maximizing within 10- to 30-min post-E2 (10 nm) exposure.