Low birth weight (LBW) is associated to poor health outcomes. Its causes include maternal lifestyle, obstetric factors, and fetal (epi)genetic abnormalities. This study aims to increase the knowledge regarding the genetic background of LBW by analyzing its association with a set of 110 maternal variants related to gestational diabetes mellitus, in the setting of a nutritional intervention with Mediterranean diet.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnurans are famous for having evolved a highly simplified skull through bone loss and fusion events. Nevertheless, their skeleton displays a rich morphological diversity associated with adaptations to diverse lifestyles and ecological niches. Here, we report larval skull ossification in the Andean toad Rhinella spinulosa (Bufonidae), and compare it to the phylogenetically distant genetic model organism Xenopus tropicalis (Pipidae).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Determining the postmortem interval (PMI) accurately remains a significant challenge in forensic sciences, especially for intervals greater than 5 years (late PMI). Traditional methods often fail due to the extensive degradation of soft tissues, necessitating reliance on bone material examinations. The precision in estimating PMIs diminishes with time, particularly for intervals between 1 and 5 years, dropping to about 50% accuracy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this work, the tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrate-water interfacial free energy is determined at 500 bar, at one point of the univariant two-phase coexistence line of the THF hydrate, by molecular dynamics simulation. The mold integration-host methodology, an extension of the original mold integration technique to deal with hydrate-fluid interfaces, is used to calculate the interfacial energy. Water is described using the well-known TIP4P/Ice model, and THF is described using a rigid version of the TraPPE model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this work, we determine the dissociation line of the nitrogen (N2) hydrate by computer simulation using the TIP4P/Ice model for water and the TraPPE force field for N2. This work is the natural extension of Paper I, in which the dissociation temperature of the N2 hydrate has been obtained at 500, 1000, and 1500 bar [Algaba et al., J.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The significant role of embryonic cerebrospinal fluid (eCSF) in the initial stages of brain development has been thoroughly studied. This fluid contains crucial molecules for proper brain development such as members of the Wnt and FGF families, apolipoproteins, and retinol binding protein. Nevertheless, the source of these molecules remains uncertain since they are present before the formation of the choroid plexus, which is conventionally known as the primary producer of cerebrospinal fluid.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObesity is a risk factor for the development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). However, the most optimal type of nutritional intervention to prevent GDM in high-risk women is not clearly defined. This study investigates if nutritional treatment based on the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) before the 12th gestational week (GW) in women at high risk due to a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m reduces the rate of GDM and metabolic syndrome (MetS) at 3 years postpartum.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Chromatin dynamics is deeply involved in processes that require access to DNA, such as transcriptional regulation. Among the factors involved in chromatin dynamics at gene regulatory regions are general regulatory factors (GRFs). These factors contribute to establishment and maintenance of nucleosome-depleted regions (NDRs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this work, the univariant two-phase coexistence line of the tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrate is determined from 100 to 1000 bar by molecular dynamics simulations. This study is carried out by putting in contact a THF hydrate phase with a stoichiometric aqueous solution phase. Following the direct coexistence technique, the pressure is fixed, and the coexistence line is determined by analyzing if the hydrate phase grows or melts at different values of temperature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this work, we determine the dissociation line of the nitrogen (N2) hydrate by computer simulation using the TIP4P/Ice model for water and the TraPPE force field for N2. We use the solubility method proposed recently by some of us to evaluate the dissociation temperature of the hydrate at different pressures, from 500 to 1500 bar. Particularly, we calculate the solubility of N2 in the aqueous solution when it is in contact with a N2-rich liquid phase and when in contact with the hydrate phase via planar interfaces as functions of temperature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Evaluation of the influence of potential risk factors (RFs) on glycemic changes at 3 years postpartum.
Methods: The glycemic status of 1400 women, in absence of a new pregnancy, was evaluated at 3 months (3 m) and 3 years (3 y) postpartum, after participation in the St. Carlos Gestational Study (2228 normoglycemic pregnant women followed from before gestational week 12 to delivery, from 2015-2017).
A Mediterranean diet (MedDiet)-based intervention reduces the rate of immediate postpartum maternal metabolic disorders. Whether these effects persist long-term remains to be determined. A total of 2526 normoglycemic women were randomized before the 12th gestational week (GW).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: While patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are increasingly being integrated into health information technologies, one challenge has been to assist clinicians in understanding how the responses to PROMs relate to patient stories for identifying and addressing the care needs of individual patients. Personas, hypothetical representations of patients, can be used as an innovative strategy to support clinicians' use of PROMs in their practice. These personas embody patients' life stories, making them a valuable tool for understanding the person when using PROMs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetabolic reprogramming is required to fight infections and thyroid hormones are key regulators of metabolism. We have analyzed in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: 40 euthyroid and 39 levothyroxine (LT4)-treated patients in the ward and 29 euthyroid and 9 LT4-treated patients in the intensive care unit (ICU), the baseline characteristics, laboratory data, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (FT4), free triiodothyronine (FT3), the FT3/FT4 ratio, 11 antiviral cytokines and 74 metabolomic parameters. No evidence for significant differences between euthyroid and LT4-treated patients were found in the biochemical, metabolomic and cytokines parameters analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe San Carlos Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) prevention study, a nutritional intervention RCT based on a Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet), has been shown to reduce the incidence of GDM. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship of leptin, adiponectin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), insulin and HOMA-IRand circulating miRNAs (miR-29a-3p, miR-103a-3p, miR-132-3p, miR-222-3p) with the appearance of GDM and with MedDiet-based nutritional intervention, at 24−28 gestational weeks (GW), and in glucose regulation 2−3 years post-delivery (PD). A total of 313 pregnant women, 77 with GDM vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFamily caregivers of patients with cancer provide substantial physical, emotional, and functional care throughout the cancer trajectory. While caregiving can create employment and financial challenges, there is insufficient evidence to inform the development of caregiver-reported outcomes (CROs) that assess these experiences. The study purpose was to describe the occupational and financial consequences that were important to family caregivers of a patient with colorectal cancer (CRC) in the context of public health care, which represent potential considerations for CROs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHypothesis: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) entails a complex underlying pathogenesis, with a specific genetic background and the effect of environmental factors. This study examines the link between a set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with diabetes and the development of GDM in pregnant women with different ethnicities, and evaluates its potential modulation with a clinical intervention based on a Mediterranean diet.
Methods: 2418 women from our hospital-based cohort of pregnant women screened for GDM from January 2015 to November 2017 (the San Carlos Cohort, randomized controlled trial for the prevention of GDM ISRCTN84389045 and real-world study ISRCTN13389832) were assessed for evaluation.
Objectives: 1. To analyze the prevalence and levels of anti-EBNA-1 and anti-VCA IgG antibodies of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in a Spanish cohort of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and their interactions with other environmental and genetic risk factors. 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Cell Dev Biol
August 2022
The heterotrimeric G protein family plays essential roles during a varied array of cellular events; thus, its deregulation can seriously alter signaling events and the overall state of the cell. Heterotrimeric G-proteins have three subunits (α, β, γ) and are subdivided into four families, Gαi, Gα12/13, Gαq, and Gαs. These proteins cycle between an inactive Gα-GDP state and active Gα-GTP state, triggered canonically by the G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) and by other accessory proteins receptors independent also known as AGS (Activators of G-protein Signaling).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Dravet Syndrome (DS) is a severe, developmental epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) that begins in infancy and is characterized by pharmaco-resistant epilepsy and neurodevelopmental delay. Despite available antiseizure medications (ASMs), there is a need for new therapeutic options with greater efficacy in reducing seizure frequency and with adequate safety and tolerability profiles. Fenfluramine is a new ASM for the treatment of seizures associated with DS as add-on therapy to other ASMs for patients aged 2 years and older.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a disorder related to patient comorbidities and aging. Whether mitochondrial dysfunction is present during HFpEF decompensation versus the stable phase is largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to identify mitochondrial and cell metabolism blood biomarkers in older patients with acute and stable HFpEF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The importance of patient-centered measurement in cancer care has led to recognition of the potential for caregiver-reported outcomes to improve caregiver, patient and healthcare system outcomes. Yet, there is limited evidence to inform caregiver-reported outcome implementation. Our purpose was to generate evidence to inform the meaningful and constructive integration of caregiver-reported outcomes into cancer care to benefit caregivers, including exploration of the question of the extent to which these assessments should be shared with patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith particular focus on availability of family care, research on relationships in later life have often emphasized dynamics inside homes and connections with direct family members. However, a growing number of scholars recognize changes in family practices and the prominence of different types of non-kin ties that are as important as family to older people. Connidis has proposed a sociological approach to capture the realities of personal relationship in later life.
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