Prenatal exposure to particulates and anthropometry through 9 years of age in a birth cohort.

Background: Previous research observed links between prenatal air pollution and risk of childhood obesity but the timing of the exposure is understudied.

Aim: We examined prenatal particulate matter (PM, PM) exposure and child anthropometry.

Materials & Methods: Children's body mass index z-scores (zBMI) at 0-3 (N = 4370) and 7-9 (n = 1191) years were derived from reported anthropometry at paediatric visits.

Improving generalizability of developmental research through increased use of homogeneous convenience samples: A Monte Carlo simulation.

Due to its heavy reliance on convenience samples (CSs), developmental science has a generalizability problem that clouds its broader applicability and frustrates replicability. The surest solution to this problem is to make better use, where feasible, of probability samples, which afford clear generalizability. Because CSs that are homogeneous on one or more sociodemographic factor may afford a clearer generalizability than heterogeneous CSs, the use of homogeneous CSs instead of heterogeneous CSs may also help mitigate this generalizability problem.

Maternal touch in object- and nonobject-oriented play interactions: A longitudinal study at 7 and 12 months.

Social touch is a crucial part of how mothers interact with their infants, with different touch types serving distinct purposes in these exchanges. However, there is still a limited understanding of how mothers' touch behavior adapts to specific interactive tasks, particularly throughout infancy. To address this gap, we observed mother-infant dyads at 7 and 12 months during three structured social play tasks: (a) play with objects, (b) play without objects, and (c) play with a difficult object.

Flux through membrane channel: linear transport single-molecule approaches.

One of the most subtle steps in the single-molecule approach to the flux through the membrane channel, which uses the one-dimensional Smoluchowski equation, is to describe the molecule's "behavior" at the contacts between the channel openings and the bulk. Earlier, to handle this issue, we introduced the so-called "radiation boundary conditions" that account for the interplay between the two types of trajectories of the molecules starting at the openings, specifically, the ones that eventually return to the channel and the ones that escape to infinity. The latter trajectories represent the true translocation events on the condition that initially the molecule entered the channel from the opposite side.

PDE11A is a phenotype modulator of Primary Bilateral Macronodular Adrenal Hyperplasia: results of a 334 patients' series.

Purpose: Primary bilateral macronodular adrenal hyperplasia (PBMAH), the most common cause of Cushing's syndrome due to bilateral nodules, is a heterogeneous disease at the clinical, hormonal and morphological levels. ARMC5 inactivating pathogenic variants are causative of PBMAH and rare variants of PDE11A have been associated with PBMAH.

Methods: Leukocyte DNA of 354 PBMAH index cases was sequenced for ARMC5 and PDE11A genes by Next generation sequencing (NGS).

Prenatal cfDNA Sequencing and Incidental Detection of Maternal Cancer.

Background: Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) sequence analysis to screen for fetal aneuploidy can incidentally detect maternal cancer. Additional data are needed to identify DNA-sequencing patterns and other biomarkers that can identify pregnant persons who are most likely to have cancer and to determine the best approach for follow-up.

Methods: In this ongoing study we performed cancer screening in pregnant or postpartum persons who did not perceive signs or symptoms of cancer but received unusual clinical cfDNA-sequencing results or results that were nonreportable (i.

A Study of Short-Chain Fatty Acids During the Canalicular and Early Saccular Phases of Fetal Lung Development and Childhood Asthma.

Background: Emerging literature indicates that the microbiome and its byproducts, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), play an important role in childhood diseases such as allergies and asthma. Specifically, there is evidence suggesting that SCFAs play a critical role in fetal immunoprogramming during the late saccular phase of fetal lung development. An increase in acetate during the late saccular phase is known to play a critical role in inhibiting histone deacetylases (HDACs), resulting in a cascade of events, including Treg immune regulation, involved in fetal immunoprogramming, and reduction in the asthma phenotype.

Building a growing genomic repository for maternal and fetal health through the PING Consortium.

Background: Prenatally transmitted viruses can cause severe damage to the developing brain. There is unexplained variability in prenatal brain injury and postnatal neurodevelopmental outcomes, suggesting disease modifiers. Of note, prenatal Zika infection can cause a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders, including congenital Zika syndrome.

The Pelvic Floor Disorders Network: Evolution Over Two Decades of Female Pelvic Floor Research.

Importance: This review aimed to describe research initiatives, evolution, and processes of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development-supported Pelvic Floor Disorders Network (PFDN). This may be of interest and inform researchers wishing to conduct multisite coordinated research initiatives as well as to provide perspective to all urogynecologists regarding how the PFDN has evolved and functions.

Study Design: Principal investigators of several PFDN clinical sites and Data Coordinating Center describe more than 20 years of development and maturation of the PFDN.

Incidental Detection of Maternal Cancer Following Cell-Free DNA Screening for Fetal Aneuploidies.

Background: Prenatal cell-free DNA (cfDNA) screening is a success story of clinical genomics that has translated to and transformed obstetric care. It is a highly sensitive and specific method of screening for the most common fetal aneuploidies, including trisomies 13, 18, and 21. While primarily designed to detect fetal chromosomal abnormalities, the test also analyzes maternal cfDNA, which can complicate interpretation of results.

Development of Primal World Beliefs.

Primal world beliefs ("primals") capture individuals' basic understanding of what sort of world this is. How do children develop beliefs about the nature of the world? Is the world a good place? Safe or dangerous? Enticing or dull? Primals were initially introduced in social and personality psychology to understand beliefs about the world as a whole that may influence well-being and personality. This article introduces the concept of primals to developmental scientists and reviews preliminary research examining how primals relate to sociodemographic and well-being indicators.

DLK-dependent axonal mitochondrial fission drives degeneration after axotomy.

Currently there are no effective treatments for an array of neurodegenerative disorders to a large part because cell-based models fail to recapitulate disease. Here we develop a reproducible human iPSC-based model where laser axotomy causes retrograde axon degeneration leading to neuronal cell death. Time-lapse confocal imaging revealed that damage triggers an apoptotic wave of mitochondrial fission proceeding from the site of injury to the soma.

Thyroid hormone receptor- and stage-dependent transcriptome changes affect the initial period of Xenopus tropicalis tail regeneration.

Background: Thyroid hormone (T3) has an inhibitory effect on tissue/organ regeneration. It is still elusive how T3 regulates this process. It is well established that the developmental effects of T3 are primarily mediated through transcriptional regulation by thyroid hormone receptors (TRs).

Relugolix reduces leiomyoma extracellular matrix production via the TGF β pathway.

Objective: To determine if the oral GnRH antagonist relugolix affects leiomyoma extracellular matrix production through the TGF β pathway DESIGN: Laboratory Study SUBJECTS: None.

Intervention: Exposure of human leiomyoma cells to TGF β and/or relugolix MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Production of TGF β, pSMAD2/3, SMAD2/3, COL1A1, FN1 and VCAN in treated and untreated leiomyoma cells RESULTS: TGF β3 production was decreased at 24 hours with relugolix at 10nM (0.80 + 0.

Prediction of late-onset preeclampsia using plasma proteomics: a longitudinal multi-cohort study.

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy disorder with substantial perinatal and maternal morbidity and mortality. Pregnant women at risk of preeclampsia would benefit from early detection for follow-up, timely interventions and delivery. Several attempts have been made to identify protein biomarkers of preeclampsia, but findings vary with demographics, clinical characteristics, and time of sampling.

Development and validation of a brief form of the Anticipated Effects of Food Scale.

Identifying malleable influences on eating behaviours will advance our ability to improve physical and mental health. Food-related emotional expectancies are the anticipated positive and negative emotions from eating different foods and are theorised to affect eating behaviour, and to be amenable to change. The Anticipated Effects of Food Scale (AEFS) assesses food-related emotional expectancies using 62 one-word items; however, a shorter questionnaire would be useful in large and clinical studies.

Structure of blood cell-specific tubulin and demonstration of dimer spacing compaction in a single protofilament.

Microtubule (MT) function plasticity originates from its composition of α- and β-tubulin isotypes and the post-translational modifications of both subunits. Aspects such as MT assembly dynamics, structure, and anticancer drug binding can be modulated by αβ-tubulin heterogeneity. However, the exact molecular mechanism regulating these aspects is only partially understood.

Self-reported diagnoses of dietary allergens and fecundability in a North American cohort.

Study Question: To what extent are self-reported diagnoses of food allergies associated with fecundability, the per-cycle probability of conception?

Summary Answer: Fecundability was not appreciably associated with self-reported food allergy diagnoses, number of food allergies, age at first diagnosis, or time since last allergic reaction.

What Is Known Already: Food allergies are atopic diseases that are characterized by an inappropriate immune response to a normally harmless dietary substance. While some studies have observed associations between atopic disorders and infertility, no study has examined the association between food allergies and fecundability, the per-cycle probability of conception.

Molecular basis for plasma membrane recruitment of PI4KA by EFR3.

The lipid kinase phosphatidylinositol 4 kinase III α (PI4KIIIα/PI4KA) is a master regulator of the lipid composition and asymmetry of the plasma membrane. PI4KA exists primarily in a heterotrimeric complex with its regulatory proteins TTC7 and FAM126. Fundamental to PI4KA activity is its targeted recruitment to the plasma membrane by the lipidated proteins EFR3A and EFR3B.

Placental Pathology and Blood Pressure at Age 7: A Longitudinal Discordant Twin Analysis.

Background: Evidence suggests that the intrauterine environment shapes offspring cardiovascular disease risk. Although placental dysfunction may be an important pathophysiologic pathway, numerous parental and pregnancy characteristics that influence offspring blood pressure are strong confounders of the mechanistic role of the placenta in observational analyses of singletons. Therefore, we leverage twin- and sibling-based comparison designs to determine whether placental pathology is associated with offspring blood pressure at age 7 while mitigating major sources of confounding.

Prospective associations of infant food exposures and appetitive traits with early childhood diet quality.

Background: Early-life food exposures may influence food preferences and receptivity, thereby impacting long-term diet quality. Infant exposure to discretionary foods may be more detrimental for infants with high food approach traits; conversely, early exposure to fruits and vegetables may be more important for those with high food avoidance traits. This study investigated associations of infant food exposures with early childhood diet quality and whether these associations are modified by infant appetitive traits.

Cerebrospinal Fluid and Serum Neuron-Specific Enolase in Niemann-Pick Disease Type C1.

Niemann-Pick disease, type C1 (NPC1) is an ultra rare, autosomal recessive disorder characterized by impaired intracellular cholesterol trafficking. This study assessed neuron-specific enolase (NSE) as a biomarker for disease status and treatment response in individuals with NPC1. We also evaluated the concordance between serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) NSE measurements.

Associations between phenotypes of childhood and adolescent obesity and incident hypertension in young adulthood.

Objectives: We investigated whether empirically derived childhood obesity phenotypes were differentially associated with risk of hypertension in young adulthood, and whether these associations differed by sex.

Methods: Data came from 11,404 participants in the Growing Up Today Study, a prospective cohort study in the US established in 1996. We used a childhood obesity phenotype variable that was previously empirically derived using latent class analysis.