Comparison of Self-reported and Measured Pre-pregnancy Weight: Implications for Gestational Weight Gain Counseling.

Objectives To examine clinical and demographic characteristics associated with availability of self-reported and measured pre-pregnancy weight, differences in these parameters, and characteristics associated with self-report accuracy. Methods Retrospective cohort of 7483 women who delivered at a large academic medical center between 2011 and 2014. Measured pre-pregnancy weights recorded within a year of conception and self-reported pre-pregnancy weights reported anytime during pregnancy were abstracted from electronic medical records.

ORM Expression Alters Sphingolipid Homeostasis and Differentially Affects Ceramide Synthase Activity.

Sphingolipid synthesis is tightly regulated in eukaryotes. This regulation in plants ensures sufficient sphingolipids to support growth while limiting the accumulation of sphingolipid metabolites that induce programmed cell death. Serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) catalyzes the first step in sphingolipid biosynthesis and is considered the primary sphingolipid homeostatic regulatory point.

Arabidopsis 56-amino acid serine palmitoyltransferase-interacting proteins stimulate sphingolipid synthesis, are essential, and affect mycotoxin sensitivity.

Maintenance of sphingolipid homeostasis is critical for cell growth and programmed cell death (PCD). Serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT), composed of LCB1 and LCB2 subunits, catalyzes the primary regulatory point for sphingolipid synthesis. Small subunits of SPT (ssSPT) that strongly stimulate SPT activity have been identified in mammals, but the role of ssSPT in eukaryotic cells is unclear.

Activity of the Arabidopsis RD29A and RD29B promoter elements in soybean under water stress.

The constitutive and drought-induced activities of the Arabidopsis thaliana RD29A and RD29B promoters were monitored in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.] via fusions with the visual marker gene β-glucuronidase (GUS).

A plant DJ-1 homolog is essential for Arabidopsis thaliana chloroplast development.

Protein superfamilies can exhibit considerable diversification of function among their members in various organisms. The DJ-1 superfamily is composed of proteins that are principally involved in stress response and are widely distributed in all kingdoms of life. The model flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana contains three close homologs of animal DJ-1, all of which are tandem duplications of the DJ-1 domain.

Characterization of abiotic stress-responsive Arabidopsis thaliana RD29A and RD29B genes and evaluation of transgenes.

Abiotic stresses have adverse effects on plant growth and productivity. The homologous RD29A and RD29B genes are exquisitely sensitive to various abiotic stressors. Therefore, RD29A and RD29B gene sequences have potential to confer abiotic stress resistance in crop species grown in arid and semi-arid regions.

Programmed cell death in plants: new insights into redox regulation and the role of hydrogen peroxide.

Programmed cell death (PCD), the highly regulated dismantling of cells, is essential for plant growth and survival. PCD plays key roles in embryo development, formation and maturation of many cell types and tissues, and plant reaction/adaptation to environmental conditions. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are not only toxic by products of aerobic metabolism with strictly controlled cellular levels, but they also function as signaling agents regulating many biological processes and producing pleiotropic effects.

Identification of a consensus DNA-binding site for the Arabidopsis thaliana SBP domain transcription factor, AtSPL14, and binding kinetics by surface plasmon resonance.

Proteins with a conserved Cys- and His-rich SQUAMOSA promoter binding protein (SBP) domain are transcription factors restricted to photosynthetic organisms that possess a novel two Zn-finger structure DNA-binding domain. Despite the fact that altered expression of some SBP-encoding genes has profound effects on organism growth and development, little is known about SBP domain protein target genes. Misexpression of the Arabidopsis thaliana AtSPL14 SBP domain gene confers resistance to programmed cell death and modifies plant architecture.

Arabidopsis thaliana GH3.9 in Auxin and Jasmonate Cross Talk.

Plant growth and development are governed by an intricate web of signaling networks controlled by phytohormones, such as auxin and jasmonic acid. Auxin influences all aspects of plant growth and development, ranging from embryogenesis to root and shoot morphogenesis and organ patterning. Three major groups of auxin-responsive genes have been classified as IAA/AUX, GH3 and SAUR families.

Arabidopsis thaliana GH3.9 influences primary root growth.

Auxins regulate a complex signal transduction network to direct plant development. Auxin-responsive genes fit into three major classes: the so-called auxin/indole-3-acetic acid (Aux/IAA), the GH3, and the small auxin-up RNA (SAUR) gene families. The 20-member Arabidopsis thaliana GH3 gene family has been subdivided into three groups.

Reactive oxygen species as signals that modulate plant stress responses and programmed cell death.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are known as toxic metabolic products in plants and other aerobic organisms. An elaborate and highly redundant plant ROS network, composed of antioxidant enzymes, antioxidants and ROS-producing enzymes, is responsible for maintaining ROS levels under tight control. This allows ROS to serve as signaling molecules that coordinate an astonishing range of diverse plant processes.

Peroxidase-dependent apoplastic oxidative burst in Arabidopsis required for pathogen resistance.

The oxidative burst is an early response to pathogen attack leading to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) including hydrogen peroxide. Two major mechanisms involving either NADPH oxidases or peroxidases that may exist singly or in combination in different plant species have been proposed for the generation of ROS. We identified an Arabidopsis thaliana azide-sensitive but diphenylene iodonium-insensitive apoplastic oxidative burst that generates H(2)O(2) in response to a Fusarium oxysporum cell-wall preparation.

Regulation of enteric endophytic bacterial colonization by plant defenses.

Bacterial endophytes reside within the interior of plants without causing disease or forming symbiotic structures. Some endophytes, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae 342 (Kp342), enhance plant growth and nutrition. Others, such as Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S.

Arabidopsis AtSPL14, a plant-specific SBP-domain transcription factor, participates in plant development and sensitivity to fumonisin B1.

The recessive Arabidopsis thalianafumonisin B1-resistant (fbr6) mutant was identified by its ability to survive in the presence of a programmed cell death (PCD)-inducing fungal toxin FB1. The fbr6 mutant also displays altered plant architecture in the absence of FB1, most notably elongated petioles and enhanced leaf margin serration. These phenotypes are a result of a T-DNA insertion in the SQUAMOSA promoter binding protein (SBP) domain gene, AtSPL14.

Activation of the Oryza sativa non-symbiotic haemoglobin-2 promoter by the cytokinin-regulated transcription factor, ARR1.

Using in silico methods, several putative phytohormone-responsive cis-elements in the Oryza sativa non-symbiotic haemoglobin (NSHB) 1-4 and Arabidopsis thaliana NSHB1-2 promoters have been identified. An OsNSHB2 promoter::GUS reporter gene fusion shows tissue-specific expression in A. thaliana.

Tissue-specific expression and developmental regulation of cytochrome b561 genes in Arabidopsis thaliana and Raphanus sativus.

Ascorbate (Asc) is an essential molecule in many aspects of development and stress responses in plants and animals. Cytochromes b561 (cyts b561) are tightly coupled to Asc homeostasis. These proteins are found in mammalian tissues, where they are involved in the regeneration of Asc, serving the synthesis of catecholamine neurotransmitters, and in intestinal iron reduction.