Angiogenic Biomarkers for Risk Stratification in Women with Suspected Preeclampsia

This poster presents the results of a single-center prospective cohort study of 315 pregnant women who presented to George Washington University Hospital Labor and Delivery service with a clinical suspicion of preeclampsia between February 2007 and November 2011. Informed consent was obtained. Baseline demographic information and medical history was collected on each patient including maternal age, ethnicity, body mass index, tobacco and other substance use, gestational age, medical problems and obstetric history. Serum samples were obtained from each enrolled subject within 24 hours of admission, and sFlt1, PlGF and sEng ELISA assays were performed in duplicate by a blinded laboratory technician at the University of Massachusetts

Intestinal dysbiosis – a new treatment target in the prevention of colorectal cancer

The gastrointestinal microbiome contains at least 100 trillion microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi), whose distribution varies from the mouth to the rectum spatially and temporally throughout one\u27s lifetime. The microbiome benefits from advancing research due to its major role in human health. Studies indicate that its functions are immunity, metabolic processes and mucosal barrier. The disturbances of these functions, dysbiosis, influence physiology, lead to diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity and colon tumorigenesis. The third most common form of cancer, colorectal cancer, is the result of many factors and genes, and although the link between dysbiosis and this type of cancer is poorly characterized, it has been shown that some bacterial species and their metabolites have a critical role in developing colorectal cancer. Also, gut microbiota plays a role in the inflammatory response and immune process perturbations during the progression of colorectal cancer. Some new technologies, such as metagenome sequencing, facilitated the progress by analyzing the metabolic and genetic profile of microbiota, revealing details about the bacterial composition, host interactions, and taxonomic alterations. This review summarizes the studies regarding the link between gut microbiota and colorectal cancer, targeting new therapeutic strategies

Periostin in ovarian carcinoma: from heterogeneity to prognostic value

Introduction. Periostin (POSTN), an extracellular matrix protein, is involved in tumor-associated extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. However, its potential value as a prognostic and/or predictive factor has not yet been confirmed. The present study aims to assess POSTN expression separately in tumor cells and stroma of different ovarian carcinoma (OC) histological types, and its relationship with clinicopathological features. Material and methods. 102 cases of different histological OC subtypes were immunohistochemically investigated, for POSTN expression assessment in both epithelial tumor cells and tumor stroma. Statistical analysis was performed to correlate POSTN profile with clinicopathological characteristics, therapeutic response, and survival. Results.  POSTN expression in epithelial tumor cells was significantly correlated with POSTN expression in tumor stroma. The expression of POSTN in tumor cells was associated with histological type, tumor type (type I and II), tumor recurrence, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS), whereas stromal POSTN expression was significantly correlated with age, histological type, tumor type, grade, and stage, residual disease, tumor recurrence, response to chemotherapy, and OS. Survival analysis revealed significant differences of PFS and OS in patients with high POSTN expression in tumor cells and negative stromal POSTN expression compared to patients with low POSTN expression in tumor cells and positive stromal POSTN expression (PFS: hazard ratio (HR) = 2.11, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.33–3.37, P = 0.002; OS: HR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.09–2.89, P = 0.019). Conclusions. The comparative assessment of POSTN immunoexpression in two tumor compartments: in tumor cells and stroma, by use of different scoring systems revealed that higher stromal POSTN levels are evidently correlated with unfavorable clinical features and poorer prognosis, while POSTN expression in tumor cells seems to be associated with a better patient outcome

Immunologic and nonimmunologic sclerodermal skin conditions - review

Scleroderma-like cutaneous lesions have been found in many pathological conditions and they have the clinical appearance of sclerotic or scleroatrophic lesions. Affected skin biopsies described histopathological changes similar to those of scleroderma located strictly on the skin or those of systemic sclerosis. These skin lesions can be found in inflammatory diseases with autoimmune substrate (generalized morphea, chronic graft versus host disease, eosinophilic fasciitis), tissue storage diseases (scleredema, scleromyxedema, nephrogenyc systemic fibrosis, systemic amyloidosis), metabolic diseases (porphyrya cutanea tarda, phenylketonuria, hypothyroidism, scleredema diabeticorum), progeroid syndromes. Given the multiple etiologies of sclerodermal lesions, a correct differential diagnosis is necessary to establish the appropriate treatment

Spirulina: proprietà, effetti benefici e controindicazioni dell'alga

La spirulina è un'alga primordiale. Viene utilizzata oggi come integratore alimentare. Ha le seguenti proprietà: antinfiammatorio, antiossidante, aumenta le difese immunitarie

An Investigation of the Factors Controlling the Terrestrial Sulfur Cycle

AbstractAn Investigation of the Factors Controlling the Terrestrial Sulfur Cycleby Simona Andreea Yi-BalanDoctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science, Policy, and ManagementUniversity of California, BerkeleyProfessor Ronald Amundson, ChairSulfur (S), like nitrogen (N), is an essential macronutrient for life on Earth. Its deficit in soils decreases primary productivity, but its excess can impair ecosystem health. Unlike N cycling however, for which both the natural and the human-impacted cycles have been well studied, most research on S has focused on S pollution. My thesis addressed S cycling in pristine terrestrial systems, to understand the potential effects of global change on these essential functions. I used chemical analyses and stable isotopes to investigate the impact of climate, vegetation, topography, parent material and landscape age on the natural terrestrial S cycle in comparison to that of N.I examined the S content and isotopic composition (as δ34S values) in soils and vegetation at 11 sites spanning broad gradients of climate globally. Soil S content generally increased with mean annual precipitation (MAP), but was uncorrelated with mean annual temperature (MAT). Soil and plant δ34S values increased with increasing MAP and MAT. MAP and MAT together accounted for about half of the observed variability in folial δ34S values, and for over a quarter of the observed variability in soil δ34S. These S patterns resembled those of soil N, known from previous studies. The difference between the δ34S values of soils and atmospheric inputs increased significantly, but weakly, with MAP, suggesting greater biological S isotope fractionation in wetter climates.To directly explore the impact of vegetation, topography and parent material on soil S biogeochemistry, I collected soil, plant, pore water and precipitation samples from the wet tropical Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Topography impacted S cycling by influencing soil redox conditions, while vegetation and parent material had a minimal impact. Pore water data suggested the co-occurrence of at least three major S-fractionating processes: plant uptake, mineralization and dissimilatory bacterial sulfate reduction (DBSR). This complex biogeochemical cycling appeared to be driven by the high rainfall. I modeled soil isotopic fractionation assuming advective transport of organic matter through the soil profile. This model worked well for N, but failed to describe S transformations, revealing a decoupling of the N and S biogeochemical cycles in these soils due to biotic processes. I found a similar decoupling of S from N cycling on a chronosequence of marine terraces in Santa Cruz, California, where I investigated the impact of landscape age. I propose that two factors account for this apparent greater redox sensitivity of S compared to N isotopes. First, S is in less biological demand, and thus more readily fractionated by redox reactions, unlike N, which might be fully consumed for plant and microbial cellular metabolism during biological processes. Second, S may experience several reduction-reoxidation cycles due to its retention in soils via adsorption on iron and aluminum oxides, unlike N, which is easily lost from soils once reduced to gaseous form. In the deeper soil layers, processes that deplete the heavy S isotope (such as DBSR) dominated in the youngest soils, while processes that enrich the soil in the heavy isotope (such as mineralization) dominated in the older soils. Furthermore, pore water data revealed a division in soil processes with depth in the older soils, with large fluctuations in sulfate concentration and isotope fractionation near the surface (likely due to DBSR), but little change below the well-developed argillic horizons. My data showed no significant effect of phosphorus limitation on S cycling in the older soils. Rather, age impacted soil S content and δ34S values mostly due to changes in hydrology, including the development of a water restrictive argillic horizon, with increasing soil age.In summary, my results showed that, of the factors examined, rainfall effects modified by landform characteristics are the most important controls on S biogeochemistry that dictate the types and rates of processes. S cycling should, therefore, most directly respond to the changes in rainfall predicted to occur due to global change. Specifically, a significant decrease in rainfall in many regions may reduce soil S content and the extent of its biological cycling

An Investigation of the Factors Controlling the Terrestrial Sulfur Cycle

AbstractAn Investigation of the Factors Controlling the Terrestrial Sulfur Cycleby Simona Andreea Yi-BalanDoctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science, Policy, and ManagementUniversity of California, BerkeleyProfessor Ronald Amundson, ChairSulfur (S), like nitrogen (N), is an essential macronutrient for life on Earth. Its deficit in soils decreases primary productivity, but its excess can impair ecosystem health. Unlike N cycling however, for which both the natural and the human-impacted cycles have been well studied, most research on S has focused on S pollution. My thesis addressed S cycling in pristine terrestrial systems, to understand the potential effects of global change on these essential functions. I used chemical analyses and stable isotopes to investigate the impact of climate, vegetation, topography, parent material and landscape age on the natural terrestrial S cycle in comparison to that of N.I examined the S content and isotopic composition (as δ34S values) in soils and vegetation at 11 sites spanning broad gradients of climate globally. Soil S content generally increased with mean annual precipitation (MAP), but was uncorrelated with mean annual temperature (MAT). Soil and plant δ34S values increased with increasing MAP and MAT. MAP and MAT together accounted for about half of the observed variability in folial δ34S values, and for over a quarter of the observed variability in soil δ34S. These S patterns resembled those of soil N, known from previous studies. The difference between the δ34S values of soils and atmospheric inputs increased significantly, but weakly, with MAP, suggesting greater biological S isotope fractionation in wetter climates.To directly explore the impact of vegetation, topography and parent material on soil S biogeochemistry, I collected soil, plant, pore water and precipitation samples from the wet tropical Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Topography impacted S cycling by influencing soil redox conditions, while vegetation and parent material had a minimal impact. Pore water data suggested the co-occurrence of at least three major S-fractionating processes: plant uptake, mineralization and dissimilatory bacterial sulfate reduction (DBSR). This complex biogeochemical cycling appeared to be driven by the high rainfall. I modeled soil isotopic fractionation assuming advective transport of organic matter through the soil profile. This model worked well for N, but failed to describe S transformations, revealing a decoupling of the N and S biogeochemical cycles in these soils due to biotic processes. I found a similar decoupling of S from N cycling on a chronosequence of marine terraces in Santa Cruz, California, where I investigated the impact of landscape age. I propose that two factors account for this apparent greater redox sensitivity of S compared to N isotopes. First, S is in less biological demand, and thus more readily fractionated by redox reactions, unlike N, which might be fully consumed for plant and microbial cellular metabolism during biological processes. Second, S may experience several reduction-reoxidation cycles due to its retention in soils via adsorption on iron and aluminum oxides, unlike N, which is easily lost from soils once reduced to gaseous form. In the deeper soil layers, processes that deplete the heavy S isotope (such as DBSR) dominated in the youngest soils, while processes that enrich the soil in the heavy isotope (such as mineralization) dominated in the older soils. Furthermore, pore water data revealed a division in soil processes with depth in the older soils, with large fluctuations in sulfate concentration and isotope fractionation near the surface (likely due to DBSR), but little change below the well-developed argillic horizons. My data showed no significant effect of phosphorus limitation on S cycling in the older soils. Rather, age impacted soil S content and δ34S values mostly due to changes in hydrology, including the development of a water restrictive argillic horizon, with increasing soil age.In summary, my results showed that, of the factors examined, rainfall effects modified by landform characteristics are the most important controls on S biogeochemistry that dictate the types and rates of processes. S cycling should, therefore, most directly respond to the changes in rainfall predicted to occur due to global change. Specifically, a significant decrease in rainfall in many regions may reduce soil S content and the extent of its biological cycling

Cyclodextrin-Oligocaprolactone Derivatives—Synthesis and Advanced Structural Characterization by MALDI Mass Spectrometry

Cyclodextrins have previously been proven to be active in the catalysis of cyclic ester ring-opening reactions, hypothetically in a similar way to lipase-catalyzed reactions. However, the way they act remains unclear. Here, we focus on β-cyclodextrin’s involvement in the synthesis and characterization of β-cyclodextrin-oligocaprolactone (CDCL) products obtained via the organo-catalyzed ring-opening of ε-caprolactone. Previously, bulk or supercritical carbon dioxide polymerizations has led to inhomogeneous products. Our approach consists of solution polymerization (dimethyl sulfoxide and dimethylformamide) to obtain homogeneous CDCL derivatives with four monomer units on average. Oligomerization kinetics, performed by a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI MS) optimized method in tandem with 1H NMR, revealed that monomer conversion occurs in two stages: first, the monomer is rapidly attached to the secondary OH groups of β-cyclodextrin and, secondly, the monomer conversion is slower with attachment to the primary OH groups. MALDI MS was further employed for the measurement of the ring-opening kinetics to establish the influence of the solvents as well as the effect of organocatalysts (4-dimethylaminopyridine and (–)-sparteine). Additionally, the mass spectrometry structural evaluation was further enhanced by fragmentation studies which confirmed the attachment of oligoesters to the cyclodextrin and the cleavage of dimethylformamide amide bonds during the ring-opening process