Bacterial Isolation from Natural Grassland on Nitrogen-Free Agar Yields Many Strains Without Nitrogenase.

Nitrogen inputs for sustainable crop production for a growing population require the enhancement of biological nitrogen fixation. Efforts to increase biological nitrogen fixation include bioprospecting for more effective nitrogen-fixing bacteria. As bacterial nitrogenases are extremely sensitive to oxygen, most primary isolation methods rely on the use of semisolid agar or broth to limit oxygen exposure.

Predictors of Vaginal Delivery among Patients Admitted with Severe Preeclampsia.

Objective:  This study aimed to assess the rates of vaginal delivery (VD) and the predictors of VD in a cohort of patients with early (<34 weeks) preeclampsia with severe features (Early Severe PreEClampsia [ESPEC]).

Study Design:  We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with ESPEC admitted to a single center from 2013 to 2019. Exclusion criteria included patients with contraindications to labor, multifetal gestation, or presenting in spontaneous labor.

Disruption of brain-derived neurotrophic factor production from individual promoters generates distinct body composition phenotypes in mice.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a key neuropeptide in the central regulation of energy balance. The Bdnf gene contains nine promoters, each producing specific mRNA transcripts that encode a common protein. We sought to assess the phenotypic outcomes of disrupting BDNF production from individual Bdnf promoters.