Maternal recognition of pregnancy in the horse : are MicroRNAs the secret messengers?

The signal for maternal recognition of pregnancy (MRP) has still not been identified in the horse. High-throughput molecular biology at the embryo-maternal interface has substantially contributed to the knowledge on pathways affected during MRP, but an integrated study in which proteomics, transcriptomics and miRNA expression can be linked directly is currently lacking. The aim of this study was to provide such analysis. Endometrial biopsies, uterine fluid, embryonic tissues, and yolk sac fluid were collected 13 days after ovulation during pregnant and control cycles from the same mares. Micro-RNA-Sequencing was performed on all collected samples, mRNA-Sequencing on the same tissue samples and mass spectrometry was conducted previously on the same fluid samples. Differential expression of miRNA, mRNA and proteins showed high conformity with literature and confirmed involvement in pregnancy establishment, embryo quality, steroid synthesis and prostaglandin regulation, but the link between differential miRNAs and their targets was limited and did not indicate the identity of an unequivocal signal for MRP in the horse. Differential expression at the embryo-maternal interface was prominent, highlighting a potential role of miRNAs in embryo-maternal communication during early pregnancy in the horse. These data provide a strong basis for future targeted studies

Prospective assessment of inter-rater reliability of a neonatal adverse event severity scale

Introduction: To ensure the quality of clinical trial safety data, universal data standards are required. In 2019 the International Neonatal Consortium (INC) published a neonatal adverse event severity scale (NAESS) to standardize the reporting of adverse event (AE) severity. In this study the reliability of AE severity grading with INC NAESS was prospectively assessed in a real-world setting. Methods: Severity of AEs was assessed by two independent observers at each of four centers across the world. In each center two series of 30 neonatal adverse events were assessed by both observers: in a first phase with a generic (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, CTCAE) severity scale not specific to neonates, and in a second phase with INC NAESS (after a structured training). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated to express inter-rater agreement in both phases, and bootstrap sampling was used to compare them. Results: 120 AEs were included in each of both phases. The ICC with the use of INC NAESS in phase 2 was 0.69. This represents a significant but modest improvement in comparison to the initial ICC of 0.66 in phase 1 (confidence interval of ratio of ICC in phase 2 to phase 1 = 1.005–1.146; excludes 1). The ICC was higher for those AEs for which a diagnosis specific AE severity table was available in INC NAESS (ICC 0.80). Discussion: Good inter-rater reliability of the INC NAESS was demonstrated in four neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) across the globe. The ICC is comparable to what is reported for scales with similar purposes in different populations. There is a modest, but significant, improvement in inter-rater agreement in comparison to the naïve phase without INC NAESS. The better performance when reviewers use AE-specific NAESS tables highlights the need to expand the number of AEs that are covered by specific criteria in the current version of INC NAESS.</p

Brain computer tomography in critically ill patients -- a prospective cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Brain computer tomography (brain CT) is an important imaging tool in patients with intracranial disorders. In ICU patients, a brain CT implies an intrahospital transport which has inherent risks. The proceeds and consequences of a brain CT in a critically ill patient should outweigh these risks. The aim of this study was to critically evaluate the diagnostic and therapeutic yield of brain CT in ICU patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a prospective observational study data were collected during one year on the reasons to request a brain CT, expected abnormalities, abnormalities found by the radiologist and consequences for treatment. An “expected abnormality” was any finding that had been predicted by the physician requesting the brain CT. A brain CT was “diagnostically positive”, if the abnormality found was new or if an already known abnormality was increased. It was “diagnostically negative” if an already known abnormality was unchanged or if an expected abnormality was not found. The treatment consequences of the brain CT, were registered as “treatment as planned”, “treatment changed, not as planned”, “treatment unchanged”.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Data of 225 brain CT in 175 patients were analyzed. In 115 (51%) brain CT the abnormalities found were new or increased known abnormalities. 115 (51%) brain CT were found to be diagnostically positive. In the medical group 29 (39%) of brain CT were positive, in the surgical group 86 (57%), <it>p</it> 0.01. After a positive brain CT, in which the expected abnormalities were found, treatment was changed as planned in 33%, and in 19% treatment was changed otherwise than planned.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of this study show that the diagnostic and therapeutic yield of brain CT in critically ill patients is moderate. The development of guidelines regarding the decision rules for performing a brain CT in ICU patients is needed.</p

Operon structure of Staphylococcus aureus

In bacteria, gene regulation is one of the fundamental characteristics of survival, colonization and pathogenesis. Operons play a key role in regulating expression of diverse genes involved in metabolism and virulence. However, operon structures in pathogenic bacteria have been determined only by in silico approaches that are dependent on factors such as intergenic distances and terminator/promoter sequences. Knowledge of operon structures is crucial to fully understand the pathophysiology of infections. Presently, transcriptome data obtained from growth curves in a defined medium were used to predict operons in Staphylococcus aureus. This unbiased approach and the use of five highly reproducible biological replicates resulted in 93.5% significantly regulated genes. These data, combined with Pearson’s correlation coefficients of the transcriptional profiles, enabled us to accurately compile 93% of the genome in operon structures. A total of 1640 genes of different functional classes were identified in operons. Interestingly, we found several operons containing virulence genes and showed synergistic effects for two complement convertase inhibitors transcribed in one operon. This is the first experimental approach to fully identify operon structures in S. aureus. It forms the basis for further in vitro regulation studies that will profoundly advance the understanding of bacterial pathophysiology in vivo

Performance and Diagnostic Value of Genome-Wide Noninvasive Prenatal Testing in Multiple Gestations.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy and diagnostic value of genome-wide noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for the detection of fetal aneuploidies in multiple gestations, with a focus on dichorionic-diamniotic twin pregnancies. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study including data from pregnant women with a twin or higher-order gestation who underwent genome-wide NIPT at one of the eight Belgian genetic centers between November 1, 2013, and March 1, 2020. Chorionicity and amnionicity were determined by ultrasonography. Follow-up invasive testing was carried out in the event of positive NIPT results. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for the detection of trisomy 21, 18, and 13 in the dichorionic-diamniotic twin cohort. RESULTS: Unique NIPT analyses were performed for 4,150 pregnant women with a multiple gestation and an additional 767 with vanishing gestations. The failure rate in multiple gestations excluding vanishing gestations ranged from 0% to 11.7% among the different genetic centers. Overall, the failure rate was 4.8%, which could be reduced to 1.2% after single resampling. There were no common fetal trisomies detected among the 86 monochorionic-monoamniotic and 25 triplet cases. Two monochorionic-diamniotic twins had an NIPT result indicative of a trisomy 21, which was confirmed in both fetuses. Among 2,716 dichorionic-diamniotic twin gestations, a sensitivity of 100% (95% CI 74.12-100%) and a specificity of 100% (95% CI 99.86-100%) was reached for trisomy 21 (n=12). For trisomy 18 (n=3), the respective values were 75% (95% CI 30.06-95.44%) sensitivity and 100% (95% CI 99.86-100%) specificity, and for trisomy 13 (n=2), 100% (95% CI 20.65-100%) sensitivity and 99.96% (95% CI 99.79-99.99%) specificity. In the vanishing gestation group, 28 NIPT results were positive for trisomy 21, 18, or 13, with only five confirmed trisomies. CONCLUSION: Genome-wide NIPT performed accurately for detection of aneuploidy in dichorionic-diamniotic twin gestations

Identity styles in adolescence. Determinants, correlates, longitudinal trends, and measurement

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Identity styles in adolescence: Measurement and associations with perceived parenting, personal well-being, and interpersonal functioning

Het doel van dit proefschrift is om beter zicht te krijgen op identiteit sstijlen, manieren om identiteitsgerelateerde informatie te verwerken. D e laatste jaren is er heel wat literatuur verschenen over deze stijlen. Dit proefschrift probeert op verschillende manieren de literatuur over i dentiteitsstijlen uit te breiden. We hebben eerst de relaties tussen cruciale opvoedingsdimensies en de st ijlen onderzocht. Een informatie-georiënteerde stijl werd positief voors peld door steun en psychologische controle. Een normatieve stijl werd po sitief voorspeld door steun en gedragsmatige controle. Een verward-vermi jdende stijl werd positief voorspeld door psychologische controle en neg atief door gedragsmatige controle van de moeder. Ten tweede construeerden we de Identity Style Inventory-Version 4. Via e xploratorische en confirmatorische factoranalyses werd een versie met 24 items ontwikkeld. De psychometrische eigenschappen van het instrument w erden onderzocht in een cross-nationale studie in drie landen, namelijk België, Nederland en de Verenigde Staten. De test-hertest betrouwbaarhei d en de stabiliteit waren bevredigend en de correlaties met gerelateerde constructen waren in de verwachte richting. Ten derde onderzochten we de relaties tussen motieven achter het gebruik van een informatie-georiënteerde of een normatieve stijl en aspecten va n psychosociale aanpassing van adolescenten. Er werd gevonden dat de mot ieven achter de stijlen bijkomende variantie verklaarden bovenop de stij len in identiteitsbinding en persoonlijk welbevinden, maar niet in ethni sche vooroordelen. Ten vierde vonden we dat empathie een tussenliggende rol speelde tussen enerzijds de informatie-georiënteerde stijl en interpersoonlijk gedrag e n anderzijds tussen de verward-vermijdende stijl en interpersoonlijk ged rag. Empathie speelde geen tussenliggende rol tussen de normatieve stijl en interpersoonlijk gedrag. Ten vijfde vonden we dat gehechtheid aan vrienden een belangrijke tussen liggende variabele was die relaties tussen stijlen en intimiteit kan ver klaren. (a) De relatie tussen de verward-vermijdende stijl en intimiteit werd volledig gemedieerd door gehechtheid. (b) Het effect van de inform atie-georiënteerde stijl op vriendschapskwaliteit werd partieel gemediee rd door vermijdende gehechtheid. (c) Er waren indirecte effecten via ver mijdende gehechtheid van de informatie-georiënteerde stijl op eenzaamhei d en van de verward-vermijdende stijl op vriendschapskwaliteit. Er waren ook indirecte effecten via angstige gehechtheid van de normatieve stijl op eenzaamheid en vriendschapskwaliteit. In een laatste hoofdstuk worden de implicaties van deze bevindingen voor de identiteitstheorie besproken en suggesties voor verder onderzoek ged aan.status: publishe

Dyscalculia: therapeutic skills

To diagnose dyscalculia or mathematical difficulties several important aspects need to be noticed. Based on the definition of dyscalculia, criteria for diagnosis are listed. Training our skills to classify and understand the problems, will lead us to a more specific subtypes of dyscalculia. Therefore the cognitive subskills of mathematics are explained on the basis of a test and linked to the different phenotypes. In this seminar we will exercise the problem analysis and look for the most complete descriptive diagnosis and label in a case-study.seminarstatus: publishe