The Effect of a Maternal Mediterranean Diet in Pregnancy on Insulin Resistance is Moderated by Maternal Negative Affect.

There is inconsistent evidence that healthy dietary interventions can effectively mitigate the risk of adverse outcomes associated with elevated insulin resistance in pregnancy, suggesting that other moderating factors may be at play. Maternal psychological state is an important factor to consider in this regard, because stress/mood state can directly influence glycemia and a bidirectional relationship may exist between nutrition and psychological state. The objective of this study was to examine the interaction between maternal negative affect and diet quality on third trimester insulin resistance. We conducted a prospective longitudinal study of N = 203 women with assessments in early and mid-pregnancy, which included an ecological momentary assessment of maternal psychological state, from which a negative affect score (NAS) was derived, and 24-h dietary recalls, from which the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) was computed. The homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was computed from third trimester fasting plasma glucose and insulin values. Early pregnancy MDS was inversely associated with the HOMA-IR, but this did not maintain significance after adjusting for covariates. There was a significant effect of the mid-pregnancy MDS*NAS interaction term with the HOMA-IR in the adjusted model, such that a higher negative affect was found to override the beneficial effects of a Mediterranean diet on insulin resistance. These results highlight the need to consider nutrition and affective state concurrently in the context of gestational insulin resistance

Trace Element Abundances in an Unusual Hibonite-Perovskite Refractory Inclusion from Allende

Calcium-aluminum-rich refractory inclusions (CAIs) are thought to be the first-formed solids in the Solar protoplanetary disk and can provide information about the earliest Solar System processes (e.g., [1]). A hibonite-perovskitebearing CAI from the Allende CV3 chondrite (SHAL, [2]) contains a single of 500 micrometers hibonite grain and coarse-grained perovskite. The mineralogy and oxygen isotopic composition of this CAI shows similarities with FUN inclusions, especially HAL [2]. Here we present trace element abundances in SHAL

Sex- and tissue-specific Bkm(GATA)-binding protein in the germ cells of heterogametic sex

The ZZ male/ZW female system of sex determination (female heterogamety) is found in snakes and birds whereas XY male/XX female system of sex determination (male heterogamety) operates in mammals including humans. The W and Y chromosomes are largely heterochromatic and undergo cycles of condensation and decondensation in the germ cells of ovary and testis, respectively, whereas they remain highly condensed and transcriptionally inactive in all somatic cells. Both chromosomes have enriched stretches of GATA repeats along their entire length (which is identified as banded krait minor satellite DNA and called Bkm) that are highly conserved through widely separated orders of eukaryotes. Here we report the existence of a factor, which specifically binds to Bkm, in the germ cells of the heterogametic sex (ovary in female heterogamety and testis in male heterogamety) where decondensation (activation) of the W and Y chromosomes, respectively, occurs; it has been purified as a polypeptide of 57.5 kDa from the rat snake ovary and designated as Bkm-binding protein (BBP) by virtue of its binding to GATA repeats of Bkm. Such a sex- and tissue-specific BBP is also present in the ovary of other species of snakes and in the testis of mouse and human where the Y chromosome is highly decondensed. We suggest that GATA repeats of Bkm brings about a coordinated decondensation of the W and Y sex chromosomes in the germ cells of the heterogametic sex in response to BBP which may serve as a "switch" for the activation of the genes present on the W and Y chromosomes

Structure-Function Relationships of the Temporomandibular Joint in Response to Altered Loading

Aims: To elucidate the effects of decreased occlusal loading (DOL), with or without reloading (RL), on the structure and bite force function of the mandibular condylar fibrocartilage in skeletally mature male mice. Methods: At 13 weeks old, 30 wild type (WT) male mice were subjected to: (1) 6 weeks normal loading (NL); (2) 6 weeks DOL; or (3) 4 weeks DOL + 2 weeks RL. Histomorphometry, cell metabolic activity, gene expression of chondrogenic markers, and bite force tests were performed. Results: DOL resulted in a significant increase in apoptosis (P .10), apoptosis (P > .999), and bite force (P > .90), but not in mandibular condylar fibrocartilage thickness (P > .05). Conclusions: DOL in skeletally mature mice induces mandibular condylar fibrocartilage atrophy at the hypertrophic cell layer with a corresponding decrease in bite force.R56 DE020097F32 DE026366French Federation of Orthodontic

Toric Calabi-Yau supermanifolds and mirror symmetry

We study mirror symmetry of supermanifolds constructed as fermionic extensions of compact toric varieties. We mainly discuss the case where the linear sigma A-model contains as many fermionic fields as there are U(1) factors in the gauge group. In the mirror super-Landau-Ginzburg B-model, focus is on the bosonic structure obtained after integrating out all the fermions. Our key observation is that there is a relation between the super-Calabi-Yau conditions of the A-model and quasi-homogeneity of the B-model, and that the degree of the associated superpotential in the B-model is given in terms of the determinant of the fermion charge matrix of the A-model.Comment: 20 pages, v2: references adde

Estrogen signaling impacts temporomandibular joint and periodontal disease pathology

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Women experience a higher incidence of oral diseases including periodontal diseases and temporomandibular joint disease (TMD) implicating the role of estrogen signaling in disease pathology. Fluctuating levels of estrogen during childbearing age potentiates facial pain, high estrogen levels during pregnancy promote gingivitis, and low levels of estrogen during menopause predisposes the TMJ to degeneration and increases alveolar bone loss. In this review, an overview of estrogen signaling pathways in vitro and in vivo that regulate pregnancy-related gingivitis, TMJ homeostasis, and alveolar bone remodeling is provided. Deciphering the specific estrogen signaling pathways for individual oral diseases is crucial for potential new drug therapies to promote and maintain healthy tissue

Progress in the Early Solar System Chronology: A Sketch of an Ever-Changing Landscape

The years since the Workshop on the Chronology of Meteorites and the Early Solar System, are marked with ongoing progress in cosmochronology. Rapid improvements in techniques, discovery of new meteorites unlike any previously known, and findings that what was deemed well established constants are actually variables, will be reflected in an updated review of the solar system chronology we are currently preparing. Along with updating the database of meteorite ages, it will involve development of a set of criteria for evaluation of accuracy and consistency of isotopic dates across the entire range of meteorite classes and isotope chronometer systems. Here we present some ideas on what we think is important in meteorite chronology, and invite the cosmochemistry community to discuss them