Clinical factors associated with salivary flow rate in adults with acromegaly.

Objective: To investigate the stimulated salivary flow (SSF) and unstimulated salivary flow (USF) in adults with acromegaly and to identify possible clinical factors associated with salivary flow.

Study Design: A case-control study was conducted with a group composed of adults diagnosed with acromegaly (n = 29, mean age = 50.2 years) and a control group (n = 29, mean age = 54.

Metabolic and chromosomal changes in a mutant.

WhiA is a conserved DNA-binding protein that influences cell division in many Gram-positive bacteria and, in also chromosome segregation. How WhiA works in is unknown. Here, we tested three hypothetical mechanisms using metabolomics, fatty acid analysis, and chromosome confirmation capture experiments.

The experience and outcomes of a specialised preterm birth clinic in New Zealand.

Background: A greater understanding of the risk factors for spontaneous preterm birth and the importance of risk stratification to guide interventions has led to the introduction of preterm birth prevention clinics.

Aim: To evaluate the experience and outcomes of the first specialised preterm birth clinic in New Zealand.

Materials And Methods: This observational study reviewed pregnancies cared for in a preterm birth clinic from 2013 to 2018.

Mitotic instability in triploid and tetraploid one-year-old eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, assessed by cytogenetic and flow cytometry techniques.

For commercial oyster aquaculture, triploidy has significant advantages. To produce triploids, the principal technology uses diploid × tetraploid crosses. The development of tetraploid brood stock for this purpose has been successful, but as more is understood about tetraploids, it seems clear that chromosome instability is a principal feature in oysters.

Aggregated transthyretin is specifically packaged into placental nano-vesicles in preeclampsia.

In preeclampsia, the serum levels of transthyretin, a carrier protein for thyroxine, are elevated. Transthyretin isolated from preeclamptic serum is also aggregated and can induce preeclampsia-like symptoms in pregnant IL10 mice. Using western blotting, immunofluorescence, ELISA and qRT-PCR, we investigated the production of transthyretin by preeclamptic placentae and whether transthyretin is carried into the maternal circulation via placental extracellular vesicles.

Genetic engineering of the branched fatty acid metabolic pathway of Bacillus subtilis for the overproduction of surfactin C isoform.

Surfactin, a lipopeptide produced by Bacillus subtilis, is one of the most powerful biosurfactants known. This molecule consists of a cyclic heptapeptide linked to a β-hydroxy fatty acid chain. The isomery and the length of the fatty acid (FA) chain are responsible for the surfactin's activities.

Aneuploid progeny of the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica, produced by tetraploid × diploid crosses: another example of chromosome instability in polyploid oysters.

The commercial production of triploids, and the creation of tetraploid broodstock to support it, has become an important technique in aquaculture of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica. Tetraploids are produced by cytogenetic manipulation of embryos and have been shown to undergo chromosome loss (to become a mosaic) with unknown consequences for breeding. Our objective was to determine the extent of aneuploidy in triploid progeny produced from both mosaic and non-mosaic tetraploids.

Proteomic characterization of macro-, micro- and nano-extracellular vesicles derived from the same first trimester placenta: relevance for feto-maternal communication.

Study Question: What proteins are carried by extracellular vesicles (EVs) released from normal first trimester placentae?

Summary Answer: One thousand five hundred and eighty-five, 1656 and 1476 proteins were characterized in macro-, micro- and nano-vesicles, respectively, from first trimester placentae, with all EV fractions being enriched for proteins involved in vesicle transport and inflammation.

What Is Known Already: Placental EVs are being increasingly recognized as important mediators of both healthy and pathological pregnancies. However, current research has focused on detecting changes in specific proteins in particular fractions of vesicles during disease.

Megacystis Microcolon Intestinal Hypoperistalsis Syndrome: Case Reports and Discussion of the Literature.

Megacystis microcolon intestinal hypoperistalsis syndrome (MMIHS) is a rare intestinal dysmotility condition that also involves a dilated urinary bladder. It was believed to be an autosomal recessive condition, but genetic studies have suggested possibly an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern. Prenatal diagnosis can be challenging, but MRI and amniotic fluid/digestive fluid studies may be complementary investigations to improve diagnostic accuracy.

Insights into molecular features of Venerupis decussata oocytes: a microarray-based study.

The production of Venerupis decussata relies on wild seed collection, which has been recently compromised due to recruitment failure and severe mortalities. To address this issue and provide an alternative source of seed, artificial spawning and larval rearing programs were developed. However, hatchery-based seed production is a relatively new industry and it is still underdeveloped.

A microarray-based analysis of gametogenesis in two Portuguese populations of the European clam Ruditapes decussatus.

The European clam, Ruditapes decussatus is a species with a high commercial importance in Portugal and other Southern European countries. Its production is almost exclusively based on natural recruitment, which is subject to high annual fluctuations. Increased knowledge of the natural reproductive cycle of R.

Evaluation of chronic hypertension in pregnant young women.

Women with chronic hypertension are at higher risk of adverse obstetric outcomes. It is essential that the condition is identified and evaluated appropriately in early pregnancy. Therefore, an audit has been carried out to assess how well young pregnant women with chronic hypertension were investigated for secondary cause in South Auckland, compared with the recommendations of the Australasian Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy.

Diastereoselective synthesis of cularine alkaloids via enium ions and an easy entry to isoquinolines by aza-Wittig electrocyclic ring closure.

In preliminary communications, we reported the diastereoselective synthesis of cularine and sarcocapnine via the intramolecular ring closure of nitrenium and oxenium ions, a new highly diastereoselective reductive methylation with (+)-8-phenylmenthyl chloroacetate followed by reduction with sodium borohydride, and a facile entry to the isoquinoline precursors by aza-Wittig electrocyclic ring closure. We now report the full details of the syntheses of (+)-O-demethylcularine, (+)-cularine, (+)-sarcocapnidine, (+)-sarcocapnine, and (+)-crassifoline and describe different methods of synthesis of their precursors.