Diet during Pregnancy and Infancy and the Infant Intestinal Microbiome.

Objectives: To determine the association between diet during pregnancy and infancy, including breastfeeding vs formula feeding, solid food introduction, and the infant intestinal microbiome.

Study Design: Infants participating in the Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial were included in this study (n = 323). Maternal and infant diets were assessed by questionnaire.

Impact of Preeclampsia on the Relationship between Maternal Asthma and Offspring Asthma. An Observation from the VDAART Clinical Trial.

Rationale: Maternal asthma and preeclampsia have independently been reported to be associated with increased asthma incidence in children of affected mothers. Maternal asthma is also associated with increased risk of preeclampsia development. However, the joint effect of these maternal conditions on child asthma risk is unknown.

Dietary and Plasma Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Are Inversely Associated with Asthma and Atopy in Early Childhood.

Background: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) influence immune function and risk of allergic disease. Prior evidence of the effect of PUFA intake on childhood asthma and allergy is inconclusive.

Objectives: To investigate associations of PUFA plasma levels and dietary intake with asthma and allergy at age 3 years in this ancillary study of the Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial.

Type I IFN signaling blockade by a PASylated antagonist during chronic SIV infection suppresses specific inflammatory pathways but does not alter T cell activation or virus replication.

Chronic activation of the immune system in HIV infection is one of the strongest predictors of morbidity and mortality. As such, approaches that reduce immune activation have received considerable interest. Previously, we demonstrated that administration of a type I interferon receptor antagonist (IFN-1ant) during acute SIV infection of rhesus macaques results in increased virus replication and accelerated disease progression.

Grey-scale silicon diffractive optics for selective laser ablation of thin conductive films.

Laser beam shaping can play a crucial role in improving many laser processes, especially in selective laser patterning of thin films for display devices and solar cells. Typical Gaussian spatial energy distributions can increase damage to the substrate and lead to large crater edge ridges, which are sub-optimal for typical industrial thin film processes. We report on the design, fabrication, and testing of reflective silicon diffractive optics developed for spatial beam shaping at a wavelength of 355 nm.

Longitudinal Phenotypes of Respiratory Health in a High-Risk Urban Birth Cohort.

Rationale: Characterization of patterns of wheezing and allergic sensitization in early life may allow for identification of specific environmental exposures impacting asthma development.

Objectives: To define respiratory phenotypes in inner-city children and their associations with early-life environmental exposures.

Methods: Data were collected prospectively from 442 children in the URECA (Urban Environment and Childhood Asthma) birth cohort through age 7 years, reflecting symptoms (wheezing), aeroallergen sensitization, pulmonary function, and body mass index.

Multiethnic meta-analysis identifies ancestry-specific and cross-ancestry loci for pulmonary function.

Nearly 100 loci have been identified for pulmonary function, almost exclusively in studies of European ancestry populations. We extend previous research by meta-analyzing genome-wide association studies of 1000 Genomes imputed variants in relation to pulmonary function in a multiethnic population of 90,715 individuals of European (N = 60,552), African (N = 8429), Asian (N = 9959), and Hispanic/Latino (N = 11,775) ethnicities. We identify over 50 additional loci at genome-wide significance in ancestry-specific or multiethnic meta-analyses.

Heritability and genome-wide association study of diffusing capacity of the lung.

Although several genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have investigated the genetics of pulmonary ventilatory function, little is known about the genetic factors that influence gas exchange. The aim of the study was to investigate the heritability of, and genetic variants associated with the diffusing capacity of the lung.GWAS was performed on diffusing capacity of the lung measured by carbon monoxide uptake () and per alveolar volume () using the single-breath technique, in 8372 individuals from two population-based cohort studies, the Rotterdam Study and the Framingham Heart Study.

Harmonization of Respiratory Data From 9 US Population-Based Cohorts: The NHLBI Pooled Cohorts Study.

Chronic lower respiratory diseases (CLRDs) are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. To support investigations into CLRD risk determinants and new approaches to primary prevention, we aimed to harmonize and pool respiratory data from US general population-based cohorts. Data were obtained from prospective cohorts that performed prebronchodilator spirometry and were harmonized following 2005 ATS/ERS standards.

Activating KIR Haplotype Influences Clinical Outcome Following HLA-Matched Sibling Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Natural killer cells are thought to influence the outcome of hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), impacting on relapse, overall survival, graft versus host disease and the control of infection, in part through the complex interplay between the large and genetically diverse killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) family and their ligands. This study examined the relationship between KIR gene content and clinical outcomes including the control of opportunistic infections such as cytomegalovirus in the setting of human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-matched sibling HSCT in an Australian cohort. The presence of the KIR B haplotype which contain more activating receptors in the donor, in particular centromeric B haplotype genes (Cen-B), was associated with improved overall survival of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) undergoing sibling HSCT and receiving myeloablative conditioning.

Attenuated Glial Reactivity on Topographically Functionalized Poly(3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene):P-Toluene Sulfonate (PEDOT:PTS) Neuroelectrodes Fabricated by Microimprint Lithography.

Following implantation, neuroelectrode functionality is susceptible to deterioration via reactive host cell response and glial scar-induced encapsulation. Within the neuroengineering community, there is a consensus that the induction of selective adhesion and regulated cellular interaction at the tissue-electrode interface can significantly enhance device interfacing and functionality in vivo. In particular, topographical modification holds promise for the development of functionalized neural interfaces to mediate initial cell adhesion and the subsequent evolution of gliosis, minimizing the onset of a proinflammatory glial phenotype, to provide long-term stability.

Monitoring of pH and temperature of neuropathic diabetic and nondiabetic foot ulcers for 12 weeks: An observational study.

Wound bed assessment is largely reliant on subjective interpretation without recourse to objective tools or biomarkers. The identification of a point of care, reliable biomarker would enhance assessment and ultimately clinical decision making. Two potentially emerging wound biomarkers exist: surface pH and surface temperature.

Investigation of Microbiota Alterations and Intestinal Inflammation Post-Spinal Cord Injury in Rat Model.

Although there has been a significant amount of research focused on the pathophysiology of spinal cord injury (SCI), there is limited information on the consequences of SCI on remote organs. SCI can produce significant effects on a variety of organ systems, including the gastrointestinal tract. Patients with SCI often suffer from severe, debilitating bowel dysfunction in addition to their physical disabilities, which is of major concern for these individuals because of the adverse impact on their quality of life.

Quantitative perfusion imaging of neoplastic liver lesions: A multi-institution study.

We describe multi-institutional experience using free-breathing, 3D Spiral GRAPPA-based quantitative perfusion MRI in characterizing neoplastic liver masses. 45 patients (age: 48-72 years) were prospectively recruited at University Hospitals, Cleveland, USA on a 3 Tesla (T) MRI, and at Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai, China on a 1.5 T MRI.

Allergen-induced activation of natural killer cells represents an early-life immune response in the development of allergic asthma.

Background: Childhood asthma in inner-city populations is a major public health burden, and understanding early-life immune mechanisms that promote asthma onset is key to disease prevention. Children with asthma demonstrate a high prevalence of aeroallergen sensitization and T2-type inflammation; however, the early-life immune events that lead to T2 skewing and disease development are unknown.

Objective: We sought to use RNA sequencing of PBMCs collected at age 2 years to determine networks of immune responses that occur in children with allergy and asthma.

Development of Asthma in Inner-City Children: Possible Roles of MAIT Cells and Variation in the Home Environment.

Humans have populations of innate-like T lymphocytes with an invariant TCR α-chain that recognize nonpeptide Ags, including invariant NKT (iNKT) cells and mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells. iNKT cell involvement in human asthma is controversial, whereas there has been little analysis of MAIT cells. Using peripheral blood cells from 110 participants from the Urban Environment and Childhood Asthma (URECA) birth cohort study, these cells were analyzed for number and function.

Exposure to Traffic Emissions and Fine Particulate Matter and Computed Tomography Measures of the Lung and Airways.

Background: Exposure to ambient air pollution has been associated with lower lung function in adults, but few studies have investigated associations with radiographic lung and airway measures.

Methods: We ascertained lung volume, mass, density, visual emphysema, airway size, and airway wall area by computed tomography (CT) among 2,545 nonsmoking Framingham CT substudy participants. We examined associations of home distance to major road and PM2.

Rationale and design of the Clinic and Community Approaches to Healthy Weight Randomized Trial.

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of family-centered, pediatric weight management programs in reducing childhood obesity. Yet, programs to optimize the care of low-income children with obesity are needed. We sought to examine the comparative effectiveness of two, potentially scalable pediatric weight management programs delivered to low-income children in a clinical or community setting.

Multiancestry association study identifies new asthma risk loci that colocalize with immune-cell enhancer marks.

We examined common variation in asthma risk by conducting a meta-analysis of worldwide asthma genome-wide association studies (23,948 asthma cases, 118,538 controls) of individuals from ethnically diverse populations. We identified five new asthma loci, found two new associations at two known asthma loci, established asthma associations at two loci previously implicated in the comorbidity of asthma plus hay fever, and confirmed nine known loci. Investigation of pleiotropy showed large overlaps in genetic variants with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

Obstruction phenotype as a predictor of asthma severity and instability in children.

Background: Small-airways instability resulting in premature airway closure has been recognized as a risk for asthma severity and poor control. Although spirometry has limited sensitivity for detecting small-airways dysfunction, a focus on the air-trapping component of obstruction might identify a risk factor for asthma instability.

Objective: We sought to use spirometric measurements to identify patterns of airway obstruction in children and define obstruction phenotypes that relate to asthma instability.