Hiding in Plain Sight: Modern Thiamine Deficiency.

Thiamine or vitamin B1 is an essential, water-soluble vitamin required for mitochondrial energetics-the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). It is a critical and rate-limiting cofactor to multiple enzymes involved in this process, including those at the entry points and at critical junctures for the glucose, fatty acid, and amino acid pathways. It has a very short half-life, limited storage capacity, and is susceptible to degradation and depletion by a number of products that epitomize modern life, including environmental and pharmaceutical chemicals.

In vitro model systems for exploring oral biofilms: From single-species populations to complex multi-species communities.

Numerous in vitro biofilm model systems are available to study oral biofilms. Over the past several decades, increased understanding of oral biology and advances in technology have facilitated more accurate simulation of intraoral conditions and have allowed for the increased generalizability of in vitro oral biofilm studies. The integration of contemporary systems with confocal microscopy and 16S rRNA community profiling has enhanced the capabilities of in vitro biofilm model systems to quantify biofilm architecture and analyse microbial community composition.

Maternal Oral Health Influences Infant Salivary Microbiome.

Oral microbiomes vary in cariogenic potential; these differences may be established early in life. A major concern is whether mothers transmit cariogenic bacteria to their children. Here we characterize early salivary microbiome development and the potential associations of that development with route of delivery, breastfeeding, and mother's oral health, and we evaluate transmission of microbes between mother and child.

The association of skin incision placement during cesarean delivery with wound complications in obese women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To determine the risk of wound complications by skin incision type in obese women undergoing cesarean delivery. Electronic databases (MEDLINE, Scopus, and Ovid) were searched from their inception through August 2018. We included all randomized controlled trials and cohort studies reporting the placement of skin incision during cesarean section in obese women, defined as those with BMI ≥30 kg/m.

Co-occurrence of yeast, streptococci, dental decay, and gingivitis in the post-partum period: results of a longitudinal study.

: The interactions between yeast and streptococci species that lead to dental decay and gingivitis are poorly understood. Our study describes these associations among a cohort of 101 post-partum women enrolled in the Center for Oral Health Research in Appalachia, 2012-2013. : All eligible women without dental caries were included (n = 21) and the remainder were randomly sampled to represent the total number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) at enrollment.

Introducing BAIT (Biofilm Architecture Inference Tool): a software program to evaluate the architecture of oral multi-species biofilms.

Biofilm model systems are used to study biofilm growth and predict the effects of anti-biofilm interventions within the human oral cavity. Many in vitro biofilm model systems use a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) in conjunction with image analysis tools to study biofilms. The aim of this study was to evaluate an in-house developed image analysis software program that we call BAIT (Biofilm Architecture Inference Tool) to quantify the architecture of oral multi-species biofilms following anti-biofilm interventions using a microfluidic biofilm system.

Lower Extremity Blood Flow Velocity in Obese versus Nonobese Pregnant Women.

Objective: Obesity and pregnancy are risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE). In nonpregnant individuals, abdominal obesity is associated with venous insufficiency. This study aimed to compare venous Doppler volume flow and velocity in the lower extremities of obese versus nonobese women.

Elective Induction at 39 Weeks of Gestation and the Implications of a Large, Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Trial.

On August 8, 2018, Grobman et al published the findings from the ARRIVE (A Randomized Trial of Induction Versus Expectant Management) trial, a large randomized controlled trial of elective induction of labor in nulliparous women at 39 weeks of gestation compared with expectant management. Conducted by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network, the trial found there was no difference between the two groups in the primary outcome, a composite of neonatal morbidity. Also, there was a reduction in rates of cesarean delivery and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in the elective induction group.

A Sensitive Thresholding Method for Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope Image Stacks of Microbial Biofilms.

Biofilms are surface-attached microbial communities whose architecture can be captured with confocal microscopy. Manual or automatic thresholding of acquired images is often needed to help distinguish biofilm biomass from background noise. However, manual thresholding is subjective and current automatic thresholding methods can lead to loss of meaningful data.

Pfannenstiel versus Vertical Skin Incision for Cesarean Delivery in Women with Class III Obesity: A Randomized Trial.

Objective: To compare Pfannenstiel versus vertical skin incision for the prevention of cesarean wound complications in morbidly obese women.

Study Design: Women with body mass index ≥ 40 kg/m undergoing cesarean delivery (CD) were randomly allocated to Pfannenstiel or vertical skin incision. The primary outcome was a wound complication within 6 weeks.

The association of hyperuricemia and immediate postpartum hypertension in women without a diagnosis of chronic hypertension.

Our objective was to determine if elevated uric acid (UA) is associated with postpartum hypertension (PP HTN) in women without chronic hypertension. This is a secondary analysis of a randomized trial. We compared those with elevated UA to those with normal UA.

Phenotypic Variation in a Four-Generation Family with Aniridia Carrying a Novel Mutation.

Aniridia is a congenital disease that affects almost all eye structures and is primarily caused by loss-of-function mutations in the gene. The degree of vision loss in aniridia varies and is dependent on the extent of foveal, iris, and optic nerve hypoplasia and the presence of glaucoma, cataracts, and corneal opacification. Here, we describe a 4-generation family in which 7 individuals across 2 generations carry a novel disease-causing frameshift mutation (NM_000280.

Maternal human telomerase reverse transcriptase variants are associated with preterm labor and preterm premature rupture of membranes.

Objective: Premature aging and short telomere lengths of fetal tissues are associated with spontaneous preterm labor (PTL) and preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPROM). Maintenance of telomere length is performed by the enzyme telomerase. Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is a subunit of telomerase, and its dysfunction affects telomere shortening.

Modeling the Emergence of Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment: an Analytical Solution for the Minimum Selection Concentration.

Environmental antibiotic risk management requires an understanding of how subinhibitory antibiotic concentrations contribute to the spread of resistance. We develop a simple model of competition between sensitive and resistant bacterial strains to predict the minimum selection concentration (MSC), the lowest level of antibiotic at which resistant bacteria are selected. We present an analytical solution for the MSC based on the routinely measured MIC, the selection coefficient () that expresses fitness differences between strains, the intrinsic net growth rate, and the shape of the bacterial growth dose-response curve with antibiotic or metal exposure (the Hill coefficient [κ]).

Association of Escherichia coli ST131 lineage with risk of urinary tract infection recurrence among young women.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that urinary tract infections (UTIs) caused by Escherichia coli of the sequence type 131 (ST131) lineage are more likely to recur than UTIs caused by other E. coli lineages.

Methods: Isolates from 221 young women with UTI caused by E.

Conservation in gene encoding Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen Rv2660 and a high predicted population coverage of H56 multistage vaccine in South Africa.

H56/AERAS-456+IC31 (H56), composed of two early secretion proteins, Ag85B and ESAT-6, and a latency associated protein, Rv2660, and the IC31 Intercell adjuvant, is a new fusion subunit vaccine candidate designed to induce immunity against both new infection and reactivation of latent tuberculosis infection. Efficacy of subunit vaccines may be affected by the diversity of vaccine antigens among clinical strains and the extent of recognition by the diverse HLA molecules in the recipient population. Although a previous study showed the conservative nature of Ag85B- and ESAT-6-encoding genes, genetic diversity of Rv2660c that encodes RV2660 is largely unknown.

Removal notice to The relationship between primary cesarean delivery skin incision type and wound complications in women with morbid obesity: Am J Obstet Gynecol 2014;210:319.e1-4.

This article has been removed: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal).

Zika in the Americas, year 2: What have we learned? What gaps remain? A report from the Global Virus Network.

In response to the outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in the Western Hemisphere and the recognition of a causal association with fetal malformations, the Global Virus Network (GVN) assembled an international taskforce of virologists to promote basic research, recommend public health measures and encourage the rapid development of vaccines, antiviral therapies and new diagnostic tests. In this article, taskforce members and other experts review what has been learned about ZIKV-induced disease in humans, its modes of transmission and the cause and nature of associated congenital manifestations. After describing the make-up of the taskforce, we summarize the emergence of ZIKV in the Americas, Africa and Asia, its spread by mosquitoes, and current control measures.

Should We Add Pravastatin to Aspirin for Preeclampsia Prevention in High-risk Women?

Preeclampsia is a multisystem disorder that affects 3% to 5% of pregnant women and remains a significant source of short-term and long-term maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. Many professional societies recommend the use of low-dose aspirin to prevent preeclampsia in high-risk women. Owing to the similarities in pathophysiology between preeclampsia and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and the encouraging data from preclinical and pilot clinical studies, pravastatin has been proposed for preventing preeclampsia.