Prediction of preterm birth with and without preeclampsia using mid-pregnancy immune and growth-related molecular factors and maternal characteristics.

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate if mid-pregnancy immune and growth-related molecular factors predict preterm birth (PTB) with and without (±) preeclampsia. STUDY DESIGN:Included were 400 women with singleton deliveries in California in 2009-2010 (200 PTB and 200 term) divided into training and testing samples at a 2:1 ratio. Sixty-three markers were tested in 15-20 serum samples using multiplex technology. Linear discriminate analysis was used to create a discriminate function. Model performance was assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). RESULTS:Twenty-five serum biomarkers along with maternal age <34 years and poverty status identified >80% of women with PTB ± preeclampsia with best performance in women with preterm preeclampsia (AUC = 0.889, 95% confidence interval (0.822-0.959) training; 0.883 (0.804-0.963) testing). CONCLUSION:Together with maternal age and poverty status, mid-pregnancy immune and growth factors reliably identified most women who went on to have a PTB ± preeclampsia

Sorghum Genome Sequencing by Methylation Filtration

Sorghum bicolor is a close relative of maize and is a staple crop in Africa and much of the developing world because of its superior tolerance of arid growth conditions. We have generated sequence from the hypomethylated portion of the sorghum genome by applying methylation filtration (MF) technology. The evidence suggests that 96% of the genes have been sequence tagged, with an average coverage of 65% across their length. Remarkably, this level of gene discovery was accomplished after generating a raw coverage of less than 300 megabases of the 735-megabase genome. MF preferentially captures exons and introns, promoters, microRNAs, and simple sequence repeats, and minimizes interspersed repeats, thus providing a robust view of the functional parts of the genome. The sorghum MF sequence set is beneficial to research on sorghum and is also a powerful resource for comparative genomics among the grasses and across the entire plant kingdom. Thousands of hypothetical gene predictions in rice and Arabidopsis are supported by the sorghum dataset, and genomic similarities highlight evolutionarily conserved regions that will lead to a better understanding of rice and Arabidopsis

Using AMANHI-ACT cohorts for external validation of Iowa new-born metabolic profiles based models for postnatal gestational age estimation.

BACKGROUND: Globally, 15 million infants are born preterm and another 23.2 million infants are born small for gestational age (SGA). Determining burden of preterm and SGA births, is essential for effective planning, modification of health policies and targeting interventions for reducing these outcomes for which accurate estimation of gestational age (GA) is crucial. Early pregnancy ultrasound measurements, last menstrual period and post-natal neonatal examinations have proven to be not feasible or inaccurate. Proposed algorithms for GA estimation in western populations, based on routine new-born screening, though promising, lack validation in developing country settings. We evaluated the hypothesis that models developed in USA, also predicted GA in cohorts of South Asia (575) and Sub-Saharan Africa (736) with same precision. METHODS: Dried heel prick blood spots collected 24-72 hours after birth from 1311 new-borns, were analysed for standard metabolic screen. Regression algorithm based, GA estimates were computed from metabolic data and compared to first trimester ultrasound validated, GA estimates (gold standard). RESULTS: Overall Algorithm (metabolites + birthweight) estimated GA to within an average deviation of 1.5 weeks. The estimated GA was within the gold standard estimate by 1 and 2 weeks for 70.5% and 90.1% new-borns respectively. Inclusion of birthweight in the metabolites model improved discriminatory ability of this method, and showed promise in identifying preterm births. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis estimated an area under curve of 0.86 (conservative bootstrap 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.83 to 0.89); P < 0.001) and Youden Index of 0.58 (95% CI = 0.51 to 0.64) with a corresponding sensitivity of 80.7% and specificity of 77.6%. CONCLUSION: Metabolic gestational age dating offers a novel means for accurate population-level gestational age estimates in LMIC settings and help preterm birth surveillance initiatives. Further research should focus on use of machine learning and newer analytic methods broader than conventional metabolic screen analytes, enabling incorporation of region-specific analytes and cord blood metabolic profiles models predicting gestational age accurately

Variants in the fetal genome near pro-inflammatory cytokine genes on 2q13 associate with gestational duration

The duration of pregnancy is influenced by fetal and maternal genetic and non-genetic factors. Here we report a fetal genome-wide association meta-analysis of gestational duration, and early preterm, preterm, and postterm birth in 84,689 infants. One locus on chromosome 2q13 is associated with gestational duration; the association is replicated in 9,291 additional infants (combined P= 3.96 x 10(-14)). Analysis of 15,588 mother-child pairs shows that the association is driven by fetal rather than maternal genotype. Functional experiments show that the lead SNP, rs7594852, alters the binding of the HIC1 transcriptional repressor. Genes at the locus include several interleukin 1 family members with roles in pro-inflammatory pathways that are central to the process of parturition. Further understanding of the underlying mechanisms will be of great public health importance, since giving birth either before or after the window of term gestation is associated with increased morbidity and mortality.Peer reviewe

Variants in the fetal genome near pro-inflammatory cytokine genes on 2q13 associate with gestational duration

The duration of pregnancy is influenced by fetal and maternal genetic and non-genetic factors. Here we report a fetal genome-wide association meta-analysis of gestational duration, and early preterm, preterm, and postterm birth in 84,689 infants. One locus on chromosome 2q13 is associated with gestational duration; the association is replicated in 9,291 additional infants (combined P= 3.96 x 10(-14)). Analysis of 15,588 mother-child pairs shows that the association is driven by fetal rather than maternal genotype. Functional experiments show that the lead SNP, rs7594852, alters the binding of the HIC1 transcriptional repressor. Genes at the locus include several interleukin 1 family members with roles in pro-inflammatory pathways that are central to the process of parturition. Further understanding of the underlying mechanisms will be of great public health importance, since giving birth either before or after the window of term gestation is associated with increased morbidity and mortality

Magnitude and velocity of proximal vergence

Until recently proximal vergence was considered to play only a minor role in the eye alignment changes that occur when looking between distant and near targets. We measured the magnitude and velocity of proximal vergence using infrared limbal sensing to record vergence responses between two untextured luminous horizontal rods which lacked disparity and accommodative cues. The magnitude of proximal vergence responses averaged 3.9° for convergence and 3.8° for divergence, about 70% of the total vergence &quot;demand.&quot; Peak velocities for proximal convergence and divergence averaged 69 and 53 deg/sec, substantially faster than the velocities of comparably sized disparity or accommodative vergence responses. Its rapid velocity makes proximal vergence well suited to initiate the eye alignment changes between distant and near targets. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 30: [755][756][757][758][759][760]1989 Of the four components of vergence originally identified by Maddox-tonic, accommodative, fusional (disparity), and proximal (the vergence stimulated by &quot;awareness of nearness&quot;)-accommodative and disparity vergence have generally been considered most important for the eye alignment changes when looking from far to near. While proximal vergence has traditionally been considered secondary, and haploscopic 3 methods, proximal vergence was found to comprise up to 70% of the steady state near vergence response. The vergence demand when looking from distance to 40 cm is approximately 15 pd (8.5°). Established values 4 for the peak velocities of disparity and accommodative vergence movements of this magnitude are up to 45 deg/sec, with a duration of about one-half second. Despite partial suppression of visual events during vergence movements, 5 this inordinately long response time should produce perceptions of delay and diplopia which observers with normal binocular vision do not typically report. The large contribution of proximal vergence to the steady state near vergence response raises the possibility that proximal vergence may be important in the expeditious change of vergence between distant and near targets. To our knowledge no study has been directed toward investigating the dynamic properties of proximal vergence, perhaps because of the difficulty in isolating proximal vergence responses from accommodative and disparity influences. In this study we designed a stimulus to isolate proximal vergence and used it to examine the dynamic properties of this vergence component in binocularly normal subjects. For comparison, we also measured the velocities of the vergence responses to accommodative and disparity stimuli in the same subjects. Materials and Methods Experimental Subjects Seven young adult college students (ages 24-28) served as subjects. All had normal binocular vision and at least 20 arc sec stereopsis (Randot at 40 cm). Prior to participation in the study each subject was informed of the general nature of the research and the procedures to be used and voluntarily granted consent. During the experiment, the subjects remained naive as to the specific hypothesis being tested. Apparatus The magnitude and velocity of vergence eye movements were recorded in a dark room by comparing the reflected infrared light from the nasal and temporal limbi of each eye. Infrared sensitive diodes were mounted on a spectacle frame and placed approximately 10 mm from the eyes. Signals of each eye&apos;s horizontal position were recorded on a HewlettPackard (Houston, TX) model 7404A oscillograph along with a difference signal indicating vergence. Paper speed was 100 mm/sec for proximal vergence responses and saccades and was generally slower for disparity and accommodative vergence responses

A limping dinosaur in the Late Jurassic: Pathologies in the pes of the neornithischian Othnielosaurus consors from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic, USA)

The study of palaeopathology provides valuable information about injury and behaviour in extinct organisms. Appendicular pathologies are interesting as they directly affect mobility and therefore the ability of an animal to survive. Here, the injuries recorded in the left pes of the neornithischian Othnielosaurus consors are described. The implications of these injuries in its behaviour are also discussed. Othnielosaurus shows pathological features in all its pes digits, with three types of pathologies have been identified: calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPPD), and pilon and impact fractures. Calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease is visible on the articular surface of phalange II-3 as a small osseous plaque. A pilon fracture is evidenced by the growth of callus tissue on the shaft of the phalange I-1 and demonstrates healing before death. The impact fractures are identified as a focal subsidence on the articular surfaces of phalanges III-1 and IV-4, which are partially healed. Perhaps the suite of palaeopathologies encountered would generate pain and discomfort when walking, which probably resulted in a limp that would have impacted on its lifestyle. Finally, the fact that the fractures are in different stages of healing would suggest that impact fractures could have contributed to the death of the individual.Fil: Cruzado Caballero, Penélope. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Sede Alto Valle. Instituto de Investigaciones en Paleobiología y Geología; Argentina. Universidad de Zaragoza; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Díaz Martínez, Ignacio. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Sede Alto Valle. Instituto de Investigaciones en Paleobiología y Geología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Rothschild, Bruce. Carnegie Museum; Estados UnidosFil: Bedell, Malcolm. Western Interior Paleontological Society; Estados UnidosFil: Pereda Suberbiola, Xabier. Universidad del País Vasco; Españ