Angiogenic factors versus fetomaternal Doppler for fetal growth restriction at term: an open-label, randomized controlled trial.

Small fetuses, with estimated fetal weight (EFW) below the tenth percentile, are classified as fetal growth restriction (FGR) or small for gestational age (SGA) based on prenatal ultrasound. FGR fetuses have a greater risk of stillbirth and perinatal complications and may benefit from serial ultrasound scans to guide early delivery. Abnormal serum angiogenic factors, such as the soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1):placental growth factor (PlGF) ratio, have shown potential to more accurately distinguish FGR from SGA, with fewer false positives.

Identifying Factors that Influence Pediatric Echo Lab Image Quality: Development and Validation of a New Assessment Tool.

No method of evaluating transthoracic echocardiograms (TTE) image quality (IQ) has been validated. Furthermore, structural echo lab elements impacting IQ are unknown. We sought to develop and validate a TTE IQ grading tool and determine patient and echo lab features associated with IQ.

The end of an entire biome? World's largest wetland, the Pantanal, is menaced by the Hidrovia project which is uncertain to sustainably support large-scale navigation.

The resurgent navigation project known as the Hidrovia Paraguay-Paraná threatens the integrity of the Pantanal, the world's largest wetland, which is considered a biome of its own. Intensive barge navigation is intended to transport crops (soybean, sugar, corn) and cement, iron and manganese from areas of production in Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia to the oceanic ports of the Plata River. This short communication assembles the information available on the potential impacts of the planned deepening of the natural channel of the Paraguay River in its ~700 km-long upper section.

Broodstock nutritional programming differentially affects the hepatic transcriptome and genome-wide DNA methylome of farmed gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) depending on genetic background.

Background: Broodstock nutritional programming improves the offspring utilization of plant-based diets in gilthead sea bream through changes in hepatic metabolism. Attention was initially focused on fatty acid desaturases, but it can involve a wide range of processes that remain largely unexplored. How all this can be driven by a different genetic background is hardly underlined, and the present study aimed to assess how broodstock nutrition affects differentially the transcriptome and genome-wide DNA methylome of reference and genetically selected fish within the PROGENSA® selection program.

SAMBA: Structure-Learning of Aquaculture Microbiomes Using a Bayesian Approach.

Gut microbiomes of fish species consist of thousands of bacterial taxa that interact among each other, their environment, and the host. These complex networks of interactions are regulated by a diverse range of factors, yet little is known about the hierarchy of these interactions. Here, we introduce SAMBA (Structure-Learning of Aquaculture Microbiomes using a Bayesian Approach), a computational tool that uses a unified Bayesian network approach to model the network structure of fish gut microbiomes and their interactions with biotic and abiotic variables associated with typical aquaculture systems.

Evaluation of Plasma Biomarkers for A/T/N Classification of Alzheimer Disease Among Adults of Caribbean Hispanic Ethnicity.

Importance: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma biomarkers can detect biological evidence of Alzheimer disease (AD), but their use in low-resource environments and among minority ethnic groups is limited.

Objective: To assess validated plasma biomarkers for AD among adults of Caribbean Hispanic ethnicity.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this decision analytical modeling study, adults were recruited between January 1, 2018, and April 30, 2022, and underwent detailed clinical assessments and venipuncture.

Client Applications and Server-Side Docker for Management of RNASeq and/or VariantSeq Workflows and Pipelines of the GPRO Suite.

The GPRO suite is an in-progress bioinformatic project for -omics data analysis. As part of the continued growth of this project, we introduce a client- and server-side solution for comparative transcriptomics and analysis of variants. The client-side consists of two Java applications called "" and "" to manage pipelines and workflows based on the most common command line interface tools for RNA-seq and Variant-seq analysis, respectively.

Temperature variation in nests of Paleosuchus palpebrosus (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae) near the southern edge of the species´ range, Brazil.

We monitored the temperature of seven Paleosuchus palpebrosus nests found on the banks of streams surrounding the Brazilian Pantanal, near the southern limit of the species´ distribution, between 2008 and 2013. The mean temperature of the nests between 45 and 68 days incubation, the presumed period of sex determination, varied between 26.1 and 31.

The mechanistic landscape of Lytic transglycosylase as targets for antibacterial therapy.

Lytic transglycosylases (Ltgs) are glycan strand cleaving enzymes whose role is poorly understood in the genesis of the bacterial envelope. They play multiple roles in all stages of a bacterial life cycle, by creating holes in the peptidoglycan that is necessary for cell division and separation. Here, we review recent advances in understanding the suitability of Ltgs as antibacterial drug targets.

The Fetal Growth Restriction at Term Managed by Angiogenic Factors Versus Feto-Maternal Doppler (GRAFD) Trial to Avoid Adverse Perinatal Outcomes: Protocol for a Multicenter, Open-Label, Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Fetal smallness affects 10% of pregnancies. Small fetuses are at a higher risk of adverse outcomes. Their management using estimated fetal weight and feto-maternal Doppler has a high sensitivity for adverse outcomes; however, more than 60% of fetuses are electively delivered at 37 to 38 weeks.

[Concomitant Ulcerative Colitis and Neurofibromatosis type 1: possible common origin?].

Unlabelled: In the last 15 years, 3 cases of concurrent Ulcerative Colitis with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 have been described in adults and adolescents, but not in children; although it may be a casual finding, a com mon pathogenic pathway between both diseases is postulated, based on mast cell dysregulation in the gastrointestinal tract.

Objective: To report the clinical case of a toddler with onset of concomitant Ulcerative Colitis with CMV infection, with history of Neurofibromatosis Type 1, and to discuss the common origin between both diseases.

Clinical Case: We describe the case of a 2-and-a-half-year-old toddler with history of Neurofibromatosis Type 1 who presented with bloody diarrhea.

SCMR expert consensus statement for cardiovascular magnetic resonance of acquired and non-structural pediatric heart disease.

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is widely used for diagnostic imaging in the pediatric population. In addition to structural congenital heart disease (CHD), for which published guidelines are available, CMR is also performed for non-structural pediatric heart disease, for which guidelines are not available. This article provides guidelines for the performance and reporting of CMR in the pediatric population for non-structural ("non-congenital") heart disease, including cardiomyopathies, myocarditis, Kawasaki disease and systemic vasculitides, cardiac tumors, pericardial disease, pulmonary hypertension, heart transplant, and aortopathies.

SARS-CoV-2 Mutant Spectra at Different Depth Levels Reveal an Overwhelming Abundance of Low Frequency Mutations.

Populations of RNA viruses are composed of complex and dynamic mixtures of variant genomes that are termed mutant spectra or mutant clouds. This applies also to SARS-CoV-2, and mutations that are detected at low frequency in an infected individual can be dominant (represented in the consensus sequence) in subsequent variants of interest or variants of concern. Here we briefly review the main conclusions of our work on mutant spectrum characterization of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and SARS-CoV-2 at the nucleotide and amino acid levels and address the following two new questions derived from previous results: (i) how is the SARS-CoV-2 mutant and deletion spectrum composition in diagnostic samples, when examined at progressively lower cut-off mutant frequency values in ultra-deep sequencing; (ii) how the frequency distribution of minority amino acid substitutions in SARS-CoV-2 compares with that of HCV sampled also from infected patients.

SARS-CoV-2 Point Mutation and Deletion Spectra and Their Association with Different Disease Outcomes.

Mutant spectra of RNA viruses are important to understand viral pathogenesis and response to selective pressures. There is a need to characterize the complexity of mutant spectra in coronaviruses sampled from infected patients. In particular, the possible relationship between SARS-CoV-2 mutant spectrum complexity and disease associations has not been established.

The Diagnostic Role of Echocardiographic Strain Analysis in Patients Presenting with Chest Pain and Elevated Troponin: A Multicenter Study.

Background: Myocarditis presenting as acute chest pain with elevated troponins without significant cardiac compromise is rare in previously healthy children, often referred to as myopericarditis. Diagnosis is challenging, as conventional echocardiographic measures of systolic function can be normal. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the diagnostic utility of strain imaging in this scenario.

Vaccine breakthrough infections with SARS-CoV-2 Alpha mirror mutations in Delta Plus, Iota, and Omicron.

Replication of SARS-CoV-2 in the human population is defined by distributions of mutants that are present at different frequencies within the infected host and can be detected by ultra-deep sequencing techniques. In this study, we examined the SARS-CoV-2 mutant spectra of amplicons from the spike-coding (S-coding) region of 5 nasopharyngeal isolates derived from patients with vaccine breakthrough. Interestingly, all patients became infected with the Alpha variant, but amino acid substitutions that correspond to the Delta Plus, Iota, and Omicron variants were present in the mutant spectra of the resident virus.

Survey of centers performing cardiovascular magnetic resonance in pediatric and congenital heart disease: a report of the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance.

Background: There are few data on practice patterns and trends for cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in pediatric and congenital heart disease. The Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) sought to address this deficiency by performing an international survey of CMR centers.

Methods: Surveys consisting of 31 (2014) and 33 (2018) items were designed to collect data on the use of CMR for the evaluation of pediatric and congenital heart disease patients.

ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: 2021.

The family comprises metazoan-infecting reverse-transcribing viruses with long terminal repeats, commonly known as Bel/Pao LTR retrotransposons. These viruses share evolutionary history and genes involved in genome replication and virion formation with reverse-transcribing viruses of the families , , and . These five families form the order .

3D models improve understanding of congenital heart disease.

Introduction: Understanding congenital heart disease (CHD) is vital for medical personnel and parents of affected children. While traditional 2D schematics serve as the typical approach used, several studies have shown these models to be limiting in understanding complex structures. Recent world-emphasis has shifted to 3D printed models as a complement to 2D imaging to bridge knowledge and create new opportunities for experiential learning.

Oral microbiome in Proliferative Verrucous Leukoplakia exhibits loss of diversity and enrichment of pathogens.

Objectives: Oral microbiome plays an important role in oral diseases. Among them, proliferative verrucous leucoplakia (PVL) is an uncommon form of progressive multifocal leukoplakia with a worryingly rate of malignant transformation. Here, we aimed to characterize the oral microbiome of PVL patients and compare it with those of healthy controls.

Estimating filling pressures in paediatric heart transplant recipients using echocardiographic parameters and B-type natriuretic peptide.

Background: Longitudinal evaluation of allograft diastolic function in paediatric heart transplant recipients is important for early detection of acute rejection, cardiac allograft vasculopathy, and graft dysfunction. Mean diastolic right atrial and pulmonary capillary wedge pressures obtained at catheterisation are the reference standards for assessment. Echocardiography is non-invasive and more suitable for serial surveillance, but individual parameters have lacked accuracy.

Generalized Structure Functions and Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis Applied to Vegetation Index Time Series: An Arid Rangeland Study.

Estimates suggest that more than 70% of the world's rangelands are degraded. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is commonly used by ecologists and agriculturalists to monitor vegetation and contribute to more sustainable rangeland management. This paper aims to explore the scaling character of NDVI and NDVI anomaly (NDVIa) time series by applying three fractal analyses: generalized structure function (GSF), multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA), and Hurst index (HI).