Feasibility of a lifestyle intervention in early pregnancy to prevent deterioration of glucose tolerance

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In conjunction with the growing prevalence of obesity and the older age of pregnant women gestational diabetes (GDM) is a major health problem.</p> <p>The aim of the study was to evaluate if a lifestyle intervention since early pregnancy is feasible in improving the glucose tolerance of women at a high-risk for GDM in Finland.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed in early pregnancy (n = 102). Women at high risk for GDM (n = 54) were randomized at weeks 8-12 from Apr 2005 to May 2006 to a lifestyle intervention group (n = 27) or to a close follow-up group (n = 27). An OGTT was performed again at weeks 26-28 for the lifestyle intervention and close follow-up groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The values of the OGTT during the second trimester did not differ between the lifestyle intervention and close follow-up groups. In the lifestyle intervention group three women had GDM in the second trimester and respectively one woman in the close follow up group. Insulin therapy was not required in both groups. The intervention resulted in somewhat lower weight gain 11.4 ± 6.0 kg vs. 13.9 ± 5.1 kg, p = 0.062, adjusted by the prepregnancy weight.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Early intervention with an OGTT and simple lifestyle advice is feasible. A more intensive lifestyle intervention did not offer additional benefits with respect to glucose tolerance, although it tended to ameliorate the weight gain.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01130012">NCT01130012</a></p

Regulation of Anthrax Toxin-Specific Antibody Titers by Natural Killer T Cell-Derived IL-4 and IFNγ

Activation of Natural Killer-like T cells (NKT) with the CD1d ligand α-GC leads to enhanced production of anthrax toxin protective Ag (PA)-neutralizing Abs, yet the underlying mechanism for this adjuvant effect is not known. In the current study we examined the role of Th1 and Th2 type responses in NKT-mediated enhancement of antibody responses to PA. First, the contribution of IL-4 and IFNγ to the production of PA-specific toxin-neutralizing Abs was examined. By immunizing C57Bl/6 controls IL-4−/− mice and IFNγ−/− mice and performing passive serum transfer experiments, it was observed that sera containing PA-specific IgG1, IgG2b and IgG2c neutralized toxin in vitro and conferred protection in vivo. Sera containing IgG2b and IgG2c neutralized toxin in vitro but were not sufficient for protection in vivo. Sera containing IgG1 and IgG2b neutralized toxin in vitro and conferred protection in vivo. IgG1 therefore emerged as a good correlate of protection. Next, C57Bl/6 mice were immunized with PA alone or PA plus a Th2-skewing α-GC derivative known as OCH. Neutralizing PA-specific IgG1 responses were modestly enhanced by OCH in C57Bl/6 mice. Conversely, IgG2b and IgG2c were considerably enhanced in PA/OCH-immunized IL-4−/− mice but did not confer protection. Finally, bone marrow chimeras were generated such that NKT cells were unable to express IL-4 or IFNγ. NKT-derived IL-4 was required for OCH-enhanced primary IgG1 responses but not recall responses. NKT-derived IL-4 and IFNγ also influenced primary and recall IgG2b and IgG2c titers. These data suggest targeted skewing of the Th2 response by α-GC derivatives can be exploited to optimize anthrax vaccination

Refined clothespin relocation test and assessment of motion

Background: Advancements in upper limb prosthesis design have focused on providing increased degrees of freedom for the end effector through multiple articulations of a prosthetic hand, wrist and elbow. Measuring improvement in patient function with these devices requires development of appropriate assessment tools. Objectives: This study presents a refined clothespin relocation test for measuring performance and assessing compensatory motion between able-bodied subjects and subjects with upper limb impairments. Study Design: Comparative analysis Methods: Trunk and head motions of 13 able-bodied subjects who performed the refined clothespin relocation test were compared to the motion of a transradial prosthesis user with a single degree of freedom hand. Results: There were observable differences between the prosthesis user and the able-bodied group. The assessment used provided a clear indication of the differences in motion through analysis of compensatory motion. Conclusion: The refined clothespin relocation test provides additional benefits over the standard clothespin assessment and makes identification of compensatory motions easily identifiable to the researcher. While this paper establishes the method for the new assessment, further validation will need to be performed with more users

Persistent anthrax as a major driver of wildlife mortality in a tropical rainforest

Anthrax is a globally important animal disease and zoonosis. Despite this, our current knowledge of anthrax ecology is largely limited to arid ecosystems, where outbreaks are most commonly reported. Here we show that the dynamics of an anthrax-causing agent, Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis, in a tropical rainforest have severe consequences for local wildlife communities. Using data and samples collected over three decades, we show that rainforest anthrax is a persistent and widespread cause of death for a broad range of mammalian hosts. We predict that this pathogen will accelerate the decline and possibly result in the extirpation of local chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) populations. We present the epidemiology of a cryptic pathogen and show that its presence has important implications for conservation

Feasibility of Using Ultra-High Field (7 T) MRI for Clinical Surgical Targeting

The advantages of ultra-high magnetic field (7 Tesla) MRI for basic science research and neuroscience applications have proven invaluable. Structural and functional MR images of the human brain acquired at 7 T exhibit rich information content with potential utility for clinical applications. However, (1) substantial increases in susceptibility artifacts, and (2) geometrical distortions at 7 T would be detrimental for stereotactic surgeries such as deep brain stimulation (DBS), which typically use 1.5 T images for surgical planning. Here, we explore whether these issues can be addressed, making feasible the use of 7 T MRI to guide surgical planning. Twelve patients with Parkinson's disease, candidates for DBS, were scanned on a standard clinical 1.5 T MRI and a 7 T MRI scanner. Qualitative and quantitative assessments of global and regional distortion were evaluated based on anatomical landmarks and transformation matrix values. Our analyses show that distances between identical landmarks on 1.5 T vs. 7 T, in the mid-brain region, were less than one voxel, indicating a successful co-registration between the 1.5 T and 7 T images under these specific imaging parameter sets. On regional analysis, the central part of the brain showed minimal distortion, while inferior and frontal areas exhibited larger distortion due to proximity to air-filled cavities. We conclude that 7 T MR images of the central brain regions have comparable distortions to that observed on a 1.5 T MRI, and that clinical applications targeting structures such as the STN, are feasible with information-rich 7 T imaging

Magnetic Behavior of Surface Nanostructured 50-nm Nickel Thin Films

Thermally evaporated 50-nm nickel thin films coated on borosilicate glass substrates were nanostructured by excimer laser (0.5 J/cm2, single shot), DC electric field (up to 2 kV/cm) and trench-template assisted technique. Nanoparticle arrays (anisotropic growth features) have been observed to form in the direction of electric field for DC electric field treatment case and ruptured thin film (isotropic growth features) growth for excimer laser treatment case. For trench-template assisted technique; nanowires (70–150 nm diameters) have grown along the length of trench template. Coercive field and saturation magnetization are observed to be strongly dependent on nanostructuring techniques

Direct evidence for shock-powered optical emission in a nova

Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions that occur on the surfaces of white dwarf stars in interacting binary systems1. It has long been thought that the luminosity of classical novae is powered by continued nuclear burning on the surface of the white dwarf after the initial runaway2. However, recent observations of gigaelectronvolt γ-rays from classical novae have hinted that shocks internal to the nova ejecta may dominate the nova emission. Shocks have also been suggested to power the luminosity of events as diverse as stellar mergers3, supernovae4 and tidal disruption events5, but observational confirmation has been lacking. Here we report simultaneous space-based optical and γ-ray observations of the 2018 nova V906 Carinae (ASASSN-18fv), revealing a remarkable series of distinct correlated flares in both bands. The optical and γ-ray flares occur simultaneously, implying a common origin in shocks. During the flares, the nova luminosity doubles, implying that the bulk of the luminosity is shock powered. Furthermore, we detect concurrent but weak X-ray emission from deeply embedded shocks, confirming that the shock power does not appear in the X-ray band and supporting its emergence at longer wavelengths. Our data, spanning the spectrum from radio to γ-ray, provide direct evidence that shocks can power substantial luminosity in classical novae and other optical transients

A Differential Effect of E. coli Toxin-Antitoxin Systems on Cell Death in Liquid Media and Biofilm Formation

Toxin-antitoxin (TA) modules are gene pairs specifying for a toxin and its antitoxin and are found on the chromosomes of many bacteria including pathogens. Here we report how each of five such TA systems in E. coli affect bacterial cell death differently in liquid media and during biofilm formation. Of all these systems, only the TA system mazEF mediated cell death both in liquid media and during biofilm formation. At the other extreme, as our results have revealed here, the TA system dinJ-YafQ is unique in that it is involved only in the death process during biofilm formation. Cell death governed by mazEF and dinJ-YafQ seems to participate in biofilm formation through a novel mechanism