Adherence to Mediterranean dietary pattern and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus:a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Background and aim: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most prevalent disorders occurring during pregnancy, which confers significant risk of short and long-term adverse outcomes in both mothers and offspring. Recently, more attention has been paid to the association of pre-pregnancy and early pregnancy healthy dietary patterns, such as Mediterranean dietary pattern with GDM. However, there is a lack of systematic review and meta-analysis summarizing findings in this regard. Hence, we sought to assess the association of MedDiet and GDM in observational studies by performing a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: A comprehensive systematic literature search of observational studies was conducted via PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, up to August 2023. Studies were included in our review if they evaluated the association of MedDiet and GDM, following an observational study design. Results: Ten studies were included in this study. Combining effect sizes, we found that adherence to MedDiet was inversely associated with GDM risk (OR = 0.64; CI: 0.52–0.78); implying that higher adherence to the MedDiet could reduce the risk of GDM by about 36%. Stratification by the geographic area, Mediterranean countries, time of dietary assessment and study design, showed a consistent significant association between MedDiet and GDM. Conclusion: We conclude that adhering to diets resembling MedDiet, before or in early pregnancy, could be associated with lower risks or odds of GDM

Abstract 5342: Xanthohumol induces apoptosis and reduces notch in neuroblastoma

Abstract Background: Neuroblastoma (NB) is a common neuroendocrine tumor with a high incidence of malignancy and recurrence. It signifies the most common extracranial solid cancer in childhood and accounts for 15% of childhood cancer-related deaths. More than 40% of patients present at diagnosis with aggressive disease and distant metastases which poses numerous therapeutic challenges. Despite intensive treatment options, the 5-year disease free survival remains less than 50%. Therefore, effective treatment approaches are required. Although recent studies revealed deregulated expression of Notch signaling in NB, therapeutic targeting of Notch represents a significant challenge. Xanthohumol (XN) (3′-[3,3-dimethyl allyl]-2′,4′,4-trihydroxy-6′-methoxychalcone), prenylated flavonoid from the Humulus lupulus L. (hops) exerts anti-proliferative activity against various cancers but the molecular mechanism of action remains unclear. In addition, the effect of XN on NB is not known. Based on our findings, we hypothesize that the XN treatment will reduce NB growth and the growth suppression may be mediated by Notch reduction. Therefore, the present study is designed to elicit, for the first time, anti-proliferative effect of XN on NB cell lines as well as understanding the molecular mechanism of action of XN. Methods: The proliferation effects of XN on a panel of human NB cell lines (SK-NA-S, NGP and SH-5Y-SY) were assessed by MTT assay as well as in real-time cellular proliferation assay using IncuCyte Live-Cell Imaging system. The expression levels of pro-apoptotic (c-PARP and cleaved caspase-3) and anti-apoptotic proteins (Bcl2, and survivin) were analyzed by Western blotting after XN treatment. Effects of XN on Notch pathway proteins (Notch3, Hes1, and ASCL1) were studied by Western blotting in addition to quantitative RT-PCR. Short hairpin RNA (shRNAs) targeting Notch3 was used to determine the XN sensitivity in NB. Results: NB cells treated with increasing concentrations of XN (0-30 μM) had a dose-dependent reduction in growth. A significant reduction in growth was noted at or above 10 μM of XN (40% or above; p&amp;lt;0.01) in all three cell lines tested. This was confirmed by real-time imaging of the cells after treatment with XN. The growth suppression effect is due to apoptosis as evidenced by increased expression of c-PARP and cleaved caspase-3 and decreased levels of Bcl2 and survivin proteins. Furthermore, XN inhibited Notch signaling by reducing Notch3 and associated downstream targets; Hes1 and ASCL1. Concomitant treatment with XN and Notch3 shRNA augmented growth suppression. Conclusions: We report for the first time that XN targets Notch3 signaling in NB cells. In summary, the similarity of XN metabolism between animals and humans, the antiproliferative effects on various cancers, and safety profile, we anticipate that XN could potentially be used in future clinical studies on patients with disease. Citation Format: Mariappan Balamurugan, Selvi Kunnimalaiyaan, T.Clark Gamblin, Muthusamy Kunnimalaiyaan. Xanthohumol induces apoptosis and reduces notch in neuroblastoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 5342. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-5342</jats:p

Addressing Sexual and Gender Diversity in an English Education Teacher Preparation Program

Click on the DOI link to access this book chapter (may not be free)Teacher education programs as a whole do little to prepare graduates to create and maintain classroom and school cultures that recognize and affirm lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer + (LGBTQ+) identities. This chapter describes how an English education program chair at a Midwestern university has integrated the study of sexual and gender diversity alongside English language arts pedagogy in three different courses, including specific texts and learning activities, as well as student responses to the in-class experiences. Recommendations for future study and curriculum design are addressed

Modelling, simulation, and analysis for enterprise architecture

Modern organizations need to address increasingly complex challenges including how to represent and maintain their business goals using technologies and IT platforms that change on a regular basis. This has led to the development of modelling notations for expressing various aspects of an organization with a view to reducing complexity, increasing technology independence, and supporting analysis. Many of these Enterprise Architecture (EA) modelling notations provide a large number of concepts that support the business analysis but lack precise definitions necessary to perform computer-supported organizational analysis. This chapter reviews the current EA modelling landscape and proposes a simple language for the practical support of EA simulation including business alignment in terms of executing a collection of goals against prototype execution

Dynamic reconfiguration of component-based systems: a feature reification approach

Component-based approaches generalize basic object-oriented implementations by allowing large collections of objects to be grouped together and externalized in terms of public interfaces. A typical component-based system will include a large number of interacting components. Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) organizes a system in terms of components that communicate via services. Components publish services that they implement as business processes. Consequently, a change to a single component can have a ripple effect on the service-driven system. Component reconfiguration is motivated by the need to evolve the component architecture and can take a number of forms. The authors define a dynamic architecture as one that supports changing the behavior and topology of existing components without stopping, updating, and redeploying the system. This chapter addresses the problem of dynamic reconfiguration of component-based architectures. It proposes a reification approach that represents key features of a language in data, so that a system can reason and dynamically modify aspects of it. The approach is described in terms of a new language called µLEAP and validated by implementing a simple case study