Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Positive Predictor of Type 2 Diabetes?

The aim of this paper is to consider the relative benefits of screening for type two diabetes mellitus in women with a previous pregnancy complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus. Recent studies suggest that women who experience GDM are at a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes within 10–20 years of their index pregnancy. If considered as a stand-alone indicator of the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, GDM is a poor diagnostic test. Most women do not develop GDM during pregnancy and of those that do most do not develop type 2 diabetes. There is, however, a clear need for better early detection of predisposition to disease and/or disease onset to significantly impact on this global pandemic. The putative benefits of multivariate approaches and first trimester and preconception screening to increase the sensitivity of risk assignment modalities for type 2 diabetes are proposed

Properties of PAN Fibers Solution Spun into a Chilled Coagulation Bath at High Solvent Compositions

In this work, multifilament, continuous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber tow was solution spun mimicking industrial processing at the small pilot scale (0.5 k tow), while carefully altering the composition of the coagulation bath, in order to determine the effect on the resulting fiber shape, density, orientation, and tensile properties at varying points in the spinning process. Novel here are the abnormally high coagulation bath solvent compositions investigated, which surpass those often reported in the literature. In addition, the coagulation bath was maintained at a slightly chilled temperature, contrary to reported methods to produce round fibers. Further, by altering the composition of the bath in a step-wise fashion during a single spinning run, variations in all other process parameters were minimized. We found that with increasing solvent composition in the coagulation bath, the fibers not only became round in cross section, but also became smaller in diameter, which persisted down the spin line. With this decrease in diameter, all else equal, came an accompanying increase in apparent fiber density via a reduction in microvoid content. In addition, molecular orientation and tensile properties also increased. Therefore, it was found that inadequate understanding of the coagulation bath effects, and spinning at low coagulation bath solvent compositions, can hinder the ability of the fiber to reach optimum properties

Epigenetic Regulation of Cytokine Production in Human Amnion and Villous Placenta

The mechanisms of human preterm labour appear inextricably linked to cytokine biosynthesis by gestational tissues. In turn, cytokine production by gestational tissues has been shown to be regulated by epigenetic mechanisms. In this paper, we demonstrate that cytokine production in gestational tissues is regulated epigenetically in a tissue-specific manner. Furthermore, we show that treatment with a histone deacetylation inhibitor can partially abrogate LPS-stimulated TNFα production in villous placenta but not amnion. LPS treatment significantly (P < 0.05) increased the production of IL-1β (∼10–34-fold), TNFα (∼23–>100-fold) and IL10 (∼6–10-fold) after 24 h of treatment in villous explants, as expected. There were no significant LPS effects on IL1Ra production. AZA treatment did not have any significant effect on any cytokines' production tested either alone or in combination with LPS. Interestingly, however, the stimulatory effects of LPS on TNFα production were partially mitigated (P < 0.05) by TSA treatment in villous explants. We suggest caution in the consideration of histone deacetylation inhibitors in pregnancy due to the different responses in gestational tissues

Fetal programming and gestational diabetes mellitus

Gestational diabetes mellitus is defined by new-onset glucose intolerance during pregnancy. About 2–5% of all pregnant women develop gestational diabetes during their pregnancies and the prevalence has increased considerably during the last decade. This metabolic condition is manifested when pancreatic β-cells lose their ability to compensate for increased insulin resistance during pregnancy, however, the pathogenesis of the disease remains largely unknown. Gestational diabetes is strongly associated with adverse pregnancy outcome as well as with long-term adverse effects on the offspring which likely occurs due to epigenetic modifications of the fetal genome. In the current review we address gestational diabetes and the short and long term complications for both mothers and offspring focusing on the importance of fetal programming in conferring risk of developing diseases in adulthood

Predicting trophic position in sharks of the north-west Atlantic Ocean using stable isotope analysis

Author Posting. © Cambridge University Press, 2003. This article is posted here by permission of Cambridge University Press for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 83 (2003): 1347-1350, doi:10.1017/S0025315403008798.Trophic positions (TP) were estimated for the blue shark (Prionace glauca), shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus), thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus), and basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) using stable isotope ratios of carbon ([delta]13C) and nitrogen ([delta]15N). The basking shark had the lowest TP (3·1) and [delta]15N value (10·4‰), whereas the thresher shark had the highest values (4·5, 15·2‰). Mako sharks showed considerable variation in TP and isotopic values, possibly due to foraging from both inshore and offshore waters. Thresher sharks were significantly more enriched in [delta]15N than blue sharks and mako sharks, suggesting a different prey base. The [delta]13C values of thresher sharks and mako sharks varied significantly, but neither was significantly different from that of blue sharks. No statistical differences were found between our TP estimations and those derived from published stomach contents analyses, indicating that stable isotope data may be used to estimate the trophic status of sharks.This work was supported by National Marine Fisheries Service Grant NA16MF1323 to M.E.L

Surface Gravities for 228 M, L, and T Dwarfs in the NIRSPEC Brown Dwarf Spectroscopic Survey

We combine 131 new medium-resolution (R~2000) J-band spectra of M, L, and T dwarfs from the Keck NIRSPEC Brown Dwarf Spectroscopic Survey (BDSS) with 97 previously published BDSS spectra to study surface-gravity-sensitive indices for 228 low-mass stars and brown dwarfs spanning spectral types M5-T9. Specifically, we use an established set of spectral indices to determine surface gravity classifications for all M6-L7 objects in our sample by measuring equivalent widths (EW) of the K I lines at 1.1692, 1.1778, 1.2529 um, and the 1.2 um FeHJ absorption index. Our results are consistent with previous surface gravity measurements, showing a distinct double peak - at ~L5 and T5 - in K I EW as a function of spectral type. We analyze K I EWs of 73 objects of known ages and find a linear trend between log(Age) and EW. From this relationship, we assign age ranges to the very low gravity, intermediate gravity, and field gravity designations for spectral types M6-L0. Interestingly, the ages probed by these designations remain broad, change with spectral type, and depend on the gravity sensitive index used. Gravity designations are useful indicators of the possibility of youth, but current datasets cannot be used to provide a precise age estimate.Comment: 33 pages, 13 figures, ApJ in pres

Embryo- and endometrium-derived exosomes and their potential role in assisted reproductive treatments-liquid biopsies for endometrial receptivity

Multiple pregnancies resulting from the transfer of more than one embryo pose a significant threat to offspring born through Assisted Reproductive Treatments (ART). Transferring one embryo at a time would eliminate this risk. However, current approaches of identifying the highest quality embryo to transfer are either unreliable (e.g. morphology assessment) or highly invasive and potentially detrimental to embryos (e.g. PGD). Approaches for non-invasive embryo selection would be a major advancement that would increase efficiency and reduce both the costs and the risks associated with ART. Exosomes are a particular subtype of extracellular vesicles (EVs) that are secreted from a wide range of cells, including placental and endometrium cells. Exosomes are very stable vesicles that contain a broad spectrum of molecules, including proteins, mRNAs and miRNAs. Very little is known about this form of cell-to-cell communication in the context of ovarian follicular biology and implantation, but emerging data suggest that exosomes secreted by the blastocyst could influence gene expression and receptivity of endometrial cells thereby controlling its own implantation. Here we review emerging findings regarding exosomal signalling in reproductive biology and the prospects for mapping blastocyst-derived exosomal profiles as a means for supporting single embryo transfer policies