HLA-G Expression/Secretion and T-Cell Cytotoxicity in Missed Abortion in Comparison to Normal Pregnancy.

The main role of HLA-G is to protect the semi-allogeneic embryo from immune rejection by proper interaction with its cognate receptors on the maternal immune cells. Spontaneous abortion is the most common adverse pregnancy outcome, with an incidence rate between 10% and 15%, with immunologic dysregulation being thought to play a role in some of the cases. In this study, we aimed to detect the membrane and soluble HLA-G molecule at the maternal-fetal interface (MFI) and in the serum of women experiencing missed abortion (asymptomatic early pregnancy loss) in comparison to the women experiencing normal early pregnancy.

Validation of the Sw71-spheroid model with primary trophoblast cells.

Problem: Human implantation is a limiting factor for the success of natural and IVF reproduction since about 60% of pregnancy losses occur in the peri-implantation period. The in vitro modeling of human implantation challenges the researchers in accurate recreation of the complex in vivo differentiation and function of human blastocyst in the peri-implantation period. In previous studies, we constructed Sw71-spheroid models, which like human blastocyst undergo compactization, attaches to the endometrial epithelium, invade, and migrate.

The influence of flood exposure and subsequent stressors on youth social-emotional health.

Most disaster mental health research focuses on the relationship between disaster exposure and distress, often neglecting its influence on social-emotional health, despite implications for resilience and well-being after the disaster. Following multiple floods in Texas, a sample of 486 youth aged 10-19 years old (M = 13.74 years, SD = 2.

Early Pregnancy Human Decidua is Enriched with Activated, Fully Differentiated and Pro-Inflammatory Gamma/Delta T Cells with Diverse TCR Repertoires.

Pregnancy is a state where high and stage-dependent plasticity of the maternal immune system is necessary in order to equilibrate between immunosuppression of harmful responses towards the fetus and ability to fight infections. TCR γδ cells have been implicated in the responses in infectious diseases, in the regulation of immune responses, and in tissue homeostasis and repair. The variety of functions makes γδ T cells a particularly interesting population during pregnancy.

Addressing Disaster Exposure Measurement Issues With Latent Class Analysis.

Disaster exposure can put survivors at greater risk for subsequent mental health (MH) problems. Within the field of disaster MH research, it is important to understand how the choice of analytic approaches and their implicit assumptions may affect results when using a disaster exposure measure. We compared different analytic strategies for quantifying disaster exposure and included a new analytic approach, latent class analysis (LCA), in a sample of parents and youth.

Social and Contextual Influences on Mental Health Following an Episode of Mass Violence.

Few studies explore how the recovery context following an episode of mass violence affects posttragedy mental health (MH), despite clear implications for developing posttrauma supports. Following a mass murder, this prospective, longitudinal study examined how reactions to media coverage, family reactions, and disappointment in social support influenced posttragedy MH (posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety), above and beyond the influence of pretragedy MH, pretragedy victimization, and objective exposure. University students who participated in a study of college adjustment prior to the mass murder ( = 593) were recontacted and provided information on their posttragedy life ( = 142).

Mother-to-newborn transmission of mycobacterial L-forms and Vδ2 T-cell response in placentobiome of BCG-vaccinated pregnant women.

The ability of bacteria to exist as a population of self-replicating forms with defective or entirely missing cell wall (L-forms) is an adaptive mechanism for their survival and reproduction under unfavorable conditions. Bacterial mother-to-fetus transfer is a universal phenomenon in the animal kingdom. However, data about vertical transfer of L bacterial forms are extremely scarce.

Effects of Gamma-Irradiation on the Antioxidant Potential of Traditional Bulgarian Teas.

Food irradiation technologies are used to reduce the risk of food bome diseases by eliminating pathogenic microorganisms, prolonging shelf life and reducing storage losses by delaying ripening, germination or sprouting. However, application of irradiation in food technology can negatively influence the biologically active compounds in foods. In this research, the effect of gamma-irradiation on the antioxidant activity of Bulgarian teas was investigated.