Dental Development and Anomalies in Cleft Lip and Palate

Cleft lip and/or palate is a birth defect with heterogeneous clinical presentations. Prevalence and cleft-types differ by gender, ethnic groups and geographic locations. Published literature indicates high frequencies of cleft-associated dental anomalies, commonly variations in tooth-number, shape and size. Delayed dental development is also reported with catch-up growth at a later age. In the unilateral cleft phenotype, delayed development can occur on the cleft-side of the maxilla. Dental anomalies present frequently in the spectrum of cleft defects. Heterogeneity of defects is wide-ranging and may represent different aetiological origins of cleft phenotypes and sub-types due to: genetic mutations with altered ectomesenchymal growth; iatrogenesis from disrupted blood supply during early postnatal surgery; and maldevelopment or mistimed development. Orofacial clefting and odontogenesis may share critical pathways

IMPRINTING POLYMERFILM ON PATTERNED SUBSTRATE

A method of applying a pattern on a topography includes first applying a polymer film to an elastormer member, such as PDMS, to form a pad. The pad is then applied to a substrate having a varying topography under pressure. The polymer film is transferred to the substrate due to the plastic deformation of the polymer film under pressure compared to the elastic deformation of the PDMS member pulls away from the polymer layer, thereby depositing the polymer layer, thereby depositing the polymer layer upon the substrate

Girdling improved berry coloration in summer but suppressed return growth in the following spring in 'Kyoho' grapevines cultivated in the subtropical double cropping system

Improving berry skin coloration is one of the major challenges in the tropical and subtropical viticulture. In this paper we aimed to document the effects of girdling at veraison on berry coloration and quality in grapevines on different rootstocks and we assessed the seasonal variations of girdling effects in the subtropical double cropping system. In the first experiment, gird-ling at veraison was tested in 'Kyoho' on 5C rootstocks. In the second experiment, own-rooted 'Kyoho', 5C or 1202C rootstocks were compared. Vines were trained to a horizontal overhead trellis with a single trunk and two short arms. One arm of each vine was girdled at veraison and the other arm served as the control. Girdling at veraison significantly improved skin color of berries from own-rooted vines or 5C rootstocks in the summer cropping cycle but was less effective in the winter cropping cycle. Girdling improved total soluble solids in own-rooted vines in the summer cropping cycle and in vines on 1202C in the winter cropping cycle. Girdling made in the winter cropping cycle did not completely heal until post-bloom in the following spring and reduced length of the fruiting shoot, number of leaves per shoot, and length of inflorescences of the next summer cropping cycle. We concluded that girdling at veraison is a good practice to improve berry color and quality for the summer cropping cycle but is not recommended for the winter cropping cycle

Design and Control of a Ferromagnetic Coded Micro-Carrier Biochip Sensor for Multiplex Detection of Antibodies

This paper describes a method for producing a novel type of ferromagnetic coded micro-carrier. The ferromagnetic coded micro-carriers are about 200 μm in length, 200 μm in width and 50 μm in thickness, and contain eight code elements with two distinguishable codes (hollow and solid), allowing for 28 unique codes. The code shapes include rectangle, circle, etc. Differently shaped coded micro-carriers could carry different antigens for detection of its complementary antibody. These many shapes of coded micro-carriers would be used simultaneously allowing us to make multiple detections for different antibodies at the same time. A molding process is applied for fabrication of the ferromagnetically coded micro-carriers where Fe material (Fe powder mixed with binder) is shaped in many tiny molds to produce the coded shapes used for identification of the bio-molecules. Magnetic force is used to control the movement and location of the ferromagnetic coded micro-carriers to prevent the loss during the hybridization process. The results of image process and analysis system testing are satisfactory. The results of our micro-carrier detection system for two sets of R and B color analysis are proportional to those obtained from ELISA antibody detection

Surveillance of Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic Prescription in Singaporean Hospitals: A 5-Year Longitudinal Study

10.1371/journal.pone.0028751PLoS ONE612

Alkaloids from Oxytropis ochrocephala and antiproliferative activity of sophoridine derivatives against cancer cell lines

Ten alkaloids (1-10), with sophoridine (1) as the most abundant component, were obtained from the whole plants of Oxytropis ochrocephala Bunge. Furthermore, eight new sophoridine derivatives (11-16, 20, 21), with modification on the C-14 position of 1 were synthesized. All compounds (1-16, 20, 21) were evaluated for antiproliferative activity against five human tumor cell lines. Among them, the newly synthesized derivative 20 exhibited the best inhibitory activity against the tested cell lines. Its activity was increased by more than fourfold as compared with parent compound 1

Exploring preconception signatures of metabolites in mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus using a non-targeted approach

BackgroundMetabolomic changes during pregnancy have been suggested to underlie the etiology of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). However, research on metabolites during preconception is lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate distinctive metabolites during the preconception phase between GDM and non-GDM controls in a nested case-control study in Singapore.MethodsWithin a Singapore preconception cohort, we included 33 Chinese pregnant women diagnosed with GDM according to the IADPSG criteria between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation. We then matched them with 33 non-GDM Chinese women by age and pre-pregnancy body mass index (ppBMI) within the same cohort. We performed a non-targeted metabolomics approach using fasting serum samples collected within 12 months prior to conception. We used generalized linear mixed model to identify metabolites associated with GDM at preconception after adjusting for maternal age and ppBMI. After annotation and multiple testing, we explored the additional predictive value of novel signatures of preconception metabolites in terms of GDM diagnosis.ResultsA total of 57 metabolites were significantly associated with GDM, and eight phosphatidylethanolamines were annotated using HMDB. After multiple testing corrections and sensitivity analysis, phosphatidylethanolamines 36:4 (mean difference beta: 0.07; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.11) and 38:6 (beta: 0.06; 0.004, 0.11) remained significantly higher in GDM subjects, compared with non-GDM controls. With all preconception signals of phosphatidylethanolamines in addition to traditional risk factors (e.g., maternal age and ppBMI), the predictive value measured by area under the curve (AUC) increased from 0.620 to 0.843.ConclusionsOur data identified distinctive signatures of GDM-associated preconception phosphatidylethanolamines, which is of potential value to understand the etiology of GDM as early as in the preconception phase. Future studies with larger sample sizes among alternative populations are warranted to validate the associations of these signatures of metabolites and their predictive value in GDM.Peer reviewe

Automated Machine Learning (AutoML)-Derived Preconception Predictive Risk Model to Guide Early Intervention for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

The increasing prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is contributing to the rising global burden of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and intergenerational cycle of chronic metabolic disorders. Primary lifestyle interventions to manage GDM, including second trimester dietary and exercise guidance, have met with limited success due to late implementation, poor adherence and generic guidelines. In this study, we aimed to build a preconception-based GDM predictor to enable early intervention. We also assessed the associations of top predictors with GDM and adverse birth outcomes. Our evolutionary algorithm-based automated machine learning (AutoML) model was implemented with data from 222 Asian multi-ethnic women in a preconception cohort study, Singapore Preconception Study of Long-Term Maternal and Child Outcomes (S-PRESTO). A stacked ensemble model with a gradient boosting classifier and linear support vector machine classifier (stochastic gradient descent training) was derived using genetic programming, achieving an excellent AUC of 0.93 based on four features (glycated hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)), mean arterial blood pressure, fasting insulin, triglycerides/HDL ratio). The results of multivariate logistic regression model showed that each 1 mmol/mol increase in preconception HbA(1c) was positively associated with increased risks of GDM (p = 0.001, odds ratio (95% CI) 1.34 (1.13-1.60)) and preterm birth (p = 0.011, odds ratio 1.63 (1.12-2.38)). Optimal control of preconception HbA(1c) may aid in preventing GDM and reducing the incidence of preterm birth. Our trained predictor has been deployed as a web application that can be easily employed in GDM intervention programs, prior to conception.Peer reviewe