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Men demonstrate higher incidence and mortality rates of colorectal cancer (CRC) than women. This study aims to explain the potential causes of such sexual dimorphism in CRC from the perspective of sex‐biased gut microbiota and metabolites. The results show that sexual dimorphism in colorectal tumorigenesis is observed in both ApcMin/+ mice and azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)‐treated mice with male mice have significantly larger and more tumors, accompanied by more impaired gut barrier function. Moreover, pseudo‐germ mice receiving fecal samples from male mice or patients show more severe intestinal barrier damage and higher level of inflammation. A significant change in gut microbiota composition is found with increased pathogenic bacteria Akkermansia muciniphila and deplets probiotic Parabacteroides goldsteinii in both male mice and pseudo‐germ mice receiving fecal sample from male mice. Sex‐biased gut metabolites in pseudo‐germ mice receiving fecal sample from CRC patients or CRC mice contribute to sex dimorphism in CRC tumorigenesis through glycerophospholipids metabolism pathway. Sexual dimorphism in tumorigenesis of CRC mouse models. In conclusion, the sex‐biased gut microbiome and metabolites contribute to sexual dimorphism in CRC. Modulating sex‐biased gut microbiota and metabolites could be a potential sex‐targeting therapeutic strategy of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Mullerian duct anomalies (MDA) are common female genital tract malformations. Genetic and environmental factors are important causes of MDA in women. Although many genes and mutations have been found to be associated with the pathogenesis of MDA, in most cases, the genetic pathogenic factors of MDA are still unknown. Methods: We first analyzed the three sisters using low coverage whole‐genome sequencing. Then whole‐exome sequencing was carried out in each patient. The identified sequence variant was confirmed by Sanger sequencing. In silico pathogenicity analysis and conservative analysis of the mutation site were also performed. Protein structural modeling was used to analyze the effect of the mutated amino acid. Results: We first analyzed the three sisters with septate uterus using low coverage whole‐genome sequencing, but no possible pathogenic copy number variation was found. Then whole‐exome sequencing was performed on the three sisters, and a rare homozygous variant, CDC42BPB:c.2012G>A:p.R671Q, was identified. All three patients were found with this variant. Sanger sequencing validated that this variant was segregated within the family. In silico pathogenicity analysis and conservative analysis of the mutation site suggested that the variant might be damaging. Protein structural analysis suggested that R671Q might weaken the electrostatic potential of this region, which may be a significant regulation target or protein interaction surface of CDC42BPB. Conclusion: We demonstrated that CDC42BPB genetic variant might be potentially associated with the pathogenesis of MDA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Xiaotongjiapuzi gold deposit is located in the Liaodong gold province, NE China. The deposit is hosted in the metamorphic rocks of the Proterozoic Liaohe Group, consisting of marble, schist, and granulite. Three alteration/mineralisation stages were identified, namely (a) quartz–pyrite, (b) quartz–polymetallic sulfides, and (c) quartz–carbonate. Four fluid inclusion types were distinguished: liquid‐rich two‐phase, gas‐rich two‐phase, CO2‐bearing, and pure CO2. Stage 1 quartz contains liquid‐rich two‐phase inclusions with salinity of 5.9–14.3 wt.% NaCl equiv. and homogenisation temperatures of 311°C–408°C. Stage 2 quartz contains all four inclusion types, of which the liquid‐rich two‐phase, gas‐rich two‐phase, and CO2‐bearing inclusions yielded homogenisation temperatures of 268°C–376°C and salinity of 4.1–13 wt.% NaCl equiv. In stage 3 quartz, only liquid‐rich two‐phase inclusions were found, which contain relatively low salinity (1.6–7.6 wt.% NaCl equiv.) and homogenisation temperatures (201°C–254°C), indicating an H2O–NaCl–CO2 system for ore precipitation. Stage 2 δ18Ow and δD values of quartz minerals are of 0.3‰ to 2.3‰ and −100‰ to −96‰, respectively. Hydrogen and oxygen isotopic compositions indicate that the ore fluids were a mix of magmatic fluid and meteoric water. δ34S values of the metallic sulfides from the Xiaotongjiapuzi deposit range from +4.6‰ to +12.9‰, whilst Pb isotopes show small variations: 206Pb/204Pb = 17.671 to 18.361, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.569 to 15.659, and 208Pb/204Pb = 37.695 to 37.937. Sulfur and lead isotopes suggest that the ore‐forming materials were derived from the Liaohe Group metamorphic rocks and the Triassic granitoids. 3He/4He and 40Ar/36Ar ratios of the fluid inclusions derived of ore‐bearing pyrite ranges from 0.27 to 0.53 Ra and 362.2 to 1113.1, respectively, implying that both mantle‐ and crust‐derived fluids were involved in the gold mineralisation. The Xiaotongjiapuzi deposit could be a mesothermal gold deposit, and the fluid phase separation or immiscibility is the dominant mechanism for the deposition of ore‐forming materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Imbalances in gut microbiota composition are linked to hypertension, host metabolic abnormalities, systemic inflammation, and other conditions. In the present study, we examined the changes of gut microbiota in women with early-onset preeclampsia (PE) and in normotensive, uncomplicated pregnant women during late pregnancy and at 1 and 6 weeks postpartum. Methods: Gut microbiota profiles of women with PE and healthy pregnant women in the third trimester and at 1 and 6 weeks postpartum were assessed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Plasma levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP), zonulin, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were measured in the third trimesters. Results: At the genus level, 8 bacterial genera were significantly enriched in the antepartum samples of PE patients compared to healthy controls, of which Blautia, Ruminococcus2, Bilophila , and Fusobacterium represented the major variances in PE microbiomes. Conversely, 5 genera, including Faecalibacterium, Gemmiger, Akkermansia, Dialister , and Methanobrevibacter , were significantly depleted in antepartum PE samples. Maternal blood pressure and liver enzyme levels were positively correlated to the PE-enriched genera such as Anaerococcus, Ruminococcus2, Oribacterium , and Bilophila , while the fetal features (e.g., Apgar score and newborn birth weight) were positively correlated with PE-depleted genera and negatively correlated with PE-enriched genera. Moreover, maternal blood IL-6 level was positively associated with gut Bilophila and Oribacterium , whereas LPS level was negatively associated with Akkermansia. In terms of postpartum women, both the gut microbial composition and the PE-associated microbial alterations were highly consistent with those of the antepartum women. Conclusion: PE diagnosed in the third trimester of pregnancy is associated with a disrupted gut microbiota composition compared with uncomplicated pregnant women, which are associated with maternal clinical features (blood pressure level and liver dysfunction) and newborn birth weight. Moreover, these antepartum alterations in gut microbiota persisted 6 weeks postpartum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. The study is aimed at studying the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) and exploring the potential predictor for AKI in patients with acute pancreatitis. Methods. A retrospective study adopting a stratified cohort sampling design was performed in a cohort of patients (n=237) diagnosed with acute pancreatitis without any renal injury. The following information including age, gender, serum creatinine, serum urea nitrogen, serum uric acid, serum cystatin C, fasting serum glucose, serum amylase, serum lipase, serum choline esterase, total protein, albumin, globulin, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, total bile acids, glutamic-pyruvic transaminase, glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase, and alkaline phosphatase were collected from each patient when they were diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. Student t-test was conducted to figure out the difference between patients with and without AKI. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used for investigating the predictors for AKI in patients with acute pancreatitis. Results. 18 (7.6%) patients in total had developed AKI among the study group. Compared with patients without AKI (1.01 ± 0.26 mg/L), the level of baseline serum cystatin C (CYS-C) was significantly higher in patients with AKI (3.64 ± 2.17 mg/L, P<0.001). Baseline serum CYS-C (OR=203.594, P<0.001) was the independent and significant predictor for AKI in patients with acute pancreatitis. AKI in patients with acute pancreatitis could be identified with a sensitivity of 88.9% at specificity of 100% (AUC=0.948, 95% CI 0.879–1.000) by baseline serum CYS-C (cut-off value = 1.865 mg/L). Conclusions. Baseline serum CYS-C shall be adopted to predict the potential risk of AKI in patients with acute pancreatitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six palladium(II) complexes, [Pd(bipy)(Bzphe-N,O)] (I-a), [Pd(bipy)(p-Mbzphe-N,O)]·2H2O (I-b), [Pd(bipy)(p-Nbzphe-N,O)]·2H2O (I-c), [Pd(phen)(Bmined by X-ray diffraction. The cytotoxicity test indicates that the complexes exert cytotoxic effects against KB, BGC-823, Bel-7402, and HL-60, but none of them shows higher cytotoxicity than cisplatin. The structure-activity relationship suggests that bomined by X-ray diffraction. The cytotoxicity test indicates that the complexes exert cytotoxic effects against KB, BGC-823, Bel-7402, and HL-60, but none of them shows higher cytotoxicity than cisplatin. The structure-activity relationship suggests that bothN-containing ligands andN-carbonyl reagent have important effect on cytotoxicity, however, the IC50values do not show definite correlation with their variation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Two pyrazolate-bridged dinuclear Pd(II) diimine complexes {[(phen)Pd]2L2}(NO3)2 (1) and {[(bpy)Pd]2L2}(NO3)2 (2) have been synthesized through metal–metal interaction and spontaneous deprotonation from 1H-3,5-diphenylpyrazole (HL) in aqueous solution. These complexes show Pd(II)⋯Pd(II) interactions and anion binding have been characterized by elemental analyses, 1H and 13C NMR, ESI-MS, UV–Vis and luminescent spectroscopy, and single crystal X-ray diffraction methods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Montmorillonite K 10 or montmorillonite K 10-supported metal salt as catalysts to synthesize VE (yield 21.0–64.4%) with 2,3,5-trimethylhydroquinone and isophytol. The catalysts can be reused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symbiotic gut microbiota is essential for human health, and its compositional changes have been associated with various complex disorders. However, systematic investigation of the acquisition and development of gut microbial communities during early infancy are relatively rare, particularly for infants from non-Western countries. In this study, we characterize the colonization and development of infant microbiota in healthy Chinese infants and compare the pattern with those from other countries. The fecal microbiota of 2-month-old infants was considerably more diverse than that of neonates, as indicated by higher relative abundances of Veillonella, Clostridium, Bacteroides, Lactobacillus, Collinsella and Prevotella, and reduction of Escherichia and Enterococcus. The fecal microbiota of vaginally delivered infants (both neonates and 2-month-old) had significant enrichment of Bacteroides, Parabacteroides and Megamonas, whereas cesarean delivered infants had enrichment of Prevotella, Streptococcus and Trabulsiella. By global comparison, we identify three different enterotypes, referred as 'P-type', 'A-type 'and 'F-type' which were highly abundant in Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes, respectively. The three enterotypes' compositons vary geographically. All Chinese infants in our study belong to the P-type. These findings may provide novel insights into our understanding of the establishment of infant fecal bacterial communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: To assess the general and nutritional health of children with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Methods and Study Design: The National Multicenter Sleep Research Database for 23791 school-age children in grades 1-6 from 9 cities in China was accessed. Children with a specialist diagnosis of ADHD or not (non-ADHD) in 2005 were studied. National anthropometric growth standards for children aged 2-18 years classified children as underweight, wasted, stunted (short stature presumed nutritional), or overweight/obesity. Independent variables were preterm birth, sleep quality and prior disease and ADHD was the dependent variable. Binary logistic regression models were developed along with interaction analyses for associated disorder or disease on overweight/obesity, and stunted.Results: Some 18731 records were analyzed for 808 children with ADHD. The comparative prevalences for ADHD with non-ADHD children were stunted 9.8% vs 5.9% (p<0.001) and overweight/ obesity (32.6% vs 29.6%, p=0.002) respectively. ADHD boys were more often underweight (7.5% vs 5.3%, p=0.027), but not in girls. ADHD likelihood Odds Ratios, ORs (with 95%CI) were for premature birth 1.838, (1.393-2.423), allergic diseases 1.915 (1.526-2.399), otitis media 1.54 (1.118- 2.146), tonsillar or adenoid hypertrophy1.662 (1.348-2.050), gastroesophageal reflux 3.008(1.792-1.792-5.049), and sleep disorder 2.201(1.847-2.623) were ADHD risk factors. Only poor sleep quality and ADHD exhibited an interaction for stunted with OR=0.409 (0.233-0.719).Conclusions: Compromised and complex nutritional health in ADHD children challenges clinical nutrition with a range of health problems, albeit coherent with the needed nutritional emphasis in the 'first 1000 days'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preeclampsia (PE), a pregnancy-specific syndrome, has been associated with the gut bacteriome. Here, to investigate the impact of the gut virome on the development of PE, we identified over 8,000 nonredundant viruses from the fecal metagenomes of 40 early-onset PE and 37 healthy pregnant women and profiled their abundances. Comparison and correlation analysis showed that PE-enriched viruses frequently connected to Blautia species enriched in PE. By contrast, bacteria linked to PE-depleted viruses were often the Bacteroidaceae members such as Bacteroides spp., Phocaeicola spp., Parabacteroides spp., and Alistipes shahii . In terms of viral function, PE-depleted viruses had auxiliary metabolic genes that participated in the metabolism of simple and complex polysaccharides, sulfur metabolism, lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, and peptidoglycan biosynthesis, while PE-enriched viruses had a gene encoding cyclic pyranopterin monophosphate synthase, which seemed to be special, that participates in the biosynthesis of the molybdenum cofactor. Furthermore, the classification model based on gut viral signatures was developed to discriminate PE patients from healthy controls and showed an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.922 that was better than that of the bacterium-based model. This study opens up new avenues for further research, providing valuable insights into the PE gut virome and offering potential directions for future mechanistic and therapeutic investigations, with the ultimate goal of improving the diagnosis and management of PE.IMPORTANCEThe importance of this study lies in its exploration of the previously overlooked but potentially critical role of the gut virome in preeclampsia (PE). While the association between PE and the gut bacteriome has been recognized, this research takes a pioneering step into understanding how the gut virome, represented by over 8,000 nonredundant viruses, contributes to this condition. The findings reveal intriguing connections between PE-enriched viruses and specific gut bacteria, such as the prevalence of Blautia species in individuals with PE, contrasting with bacteria linked to PE-depleted viruses, including members of the Bacteroidaceae family. These viral interactions and associations provide a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics at play in PE., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Augmented reality (AR), a technology that superimposes virtual information onto a user's direct view of real-world scenes, is considered one of the next-generation display technologies and has been attracting considerable attention. Here, we propose a flat optic AR system that synergistically integrates a polarization-independent metalens with micro light-emitting diodes (LEDs). A key component is a meticulously designed metalens with a numerical aperture of 0.25, providing a simulated focusing efficiency of approximately 76.5% at a wavelength of 532 nm. Furthermore, the laser measurement system substantiates that the fabricated metalens achieves a focusing efficiency of 70.8%. By exploiting the reversibility of light characteristics, the metalens transforms the divergent light from green micro-LEDs into a collimated beam that passes through the pupil and images on the retina. Monochromatic pixels with a size of 5×5 µm 2 and a pitch of 10 µm can be distinctly resolved with a power efficiency of 50%. This work illustrates the feasibility of integrating the metalens with microdisplays, realizing a high-efficiency AR device without the need for additional optical components and showcasing great potential for the development of near-eye display applications.

Background: The purpose of this Mendelian randomization (MR) study was to assess the causal relationship between circulating cytokines and periodontitis. Materials and methods: Based on the aggregated statistics of the largest publicly available genome-wide association study (GWAS), we applied a bidirectional two-sample MR. MR analyses were conducted using Inverse variance weighted (IVW), Robust Adjusted Profile Score (RAPS), Maximum likelihood (ML), Weighted median and MR-Egger, and results obtained from IVW served as the primary outcome. Cochran Q test was used to test the heterogeneity. MR-Egger intercept test and MR polymorphism residual and outlier test (MR-PRESSO) were used for polymorphism analysis. Leave-one-out sensitivity and funnel plots were used for sensitivity analysis. Results: The IVW method indicated that interleukin 9 (IL9) had a positive causal relationship with periodontitis [odds ratio (OR) = 1.199, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.049-1.372, p = 0.008], and interleukin 17 (IL17) had a negative causal relationship with periodontitis (OR = 0.847, 95% CI = 0.735-0.976, p = 0.022). In bidirectional MR, periodontitis was not causally related to any of the cytokines in our study. Conclusion: Our findings provided evidence in support of potential causal associations between circulating IL9/IL17 and periodontitis., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Huang, Li, Xu, Liu, Li and Duan.)

Most microbiome studies regarding the ruminant digestive tract have focused on the rumen microbiota, whereas only a few studies were performed on investigating the gut microbiota of ruminants, which limits our understanding of this important component. Herein, the gut microbiota of 30 Caprinae animals (sheep and goats) from six provinces in China was characterized using ultradeep (>100 Gbp per sample) metagenome shotgun sequencing. An inventory of Caprinae gut microbial species containing 5,046 metagenomic assembly genomes (MAGs) was constructed. Particularly, 2,530 of the genomes belonged to uncultured candidate species. These genomes largely expanded the genomic repository of the current microbes in the Caprinae gut. Several enzymes and biosynthetic gene clusters encoded by these Caprinae gut species were identified. In summary, our study extends the gut microbiota characteristics of Caprinae and provides a basis for future studies on animal production and animal health. IMPORTANCE We constructed a microbiota catalog containing 5,046 MAGs from Caprinae gut from six regions of China. Most of the MAGs do not overlap known databases and appear to be potentially new species. We also characterized the functional spectrum of these MAGs and analyzed the differences between different regions. Our study enriches the understanding of taxonomic, functional, and metabolic diversity of Caprinae gut microbiota. We are confident that the manuscript will be of utmost interest to a wide range of readers and be widely applied in future research.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy complication characterized by severe hypertension and multiple organ damage. Gut microbiota has been linked to PE by previous amplicon sequencing studies. To resolve the PE gut microbiota in a higher taxonomy resolution, we performed shotgun metagenomic sequencing on the fecal samples from 40 early-onset PE and 37 healthy pregnant women. We recovered 1,750 metagenome-assembled genomes (representing 406 species) from the metagenomic dataset and profiled their abundances. We found that PE gut microbiota had enriched in some species belonging to Blautia , Pauljensenia , Ruminococcus , and Collinsella and microbial functions such as the bacitracin/lantibiotics transport system, maltooligosaccharide transport system, multidrug efflux pump, and rhamnose transport system. Conversely, the gut microbiome of healthy pregnant women was enriched in species of Bacteroides and Phocaeicola and microbial functions including the porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism, pyridoxal-P biosynthesis, riboflavin metabolism, and folate biosynthesis pathway. PE diagnostic potential of gut microbial biomarkers was developed using both species and function profile data. These results will help to explore the relationships between gut bacteria and PE and provide new insights into PE early warning., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Lv, Li, Wen, Wang, Li, He, Lv, Xiao, Duan, Chen, Yi, Yan and Yin.)

Background: Twin pregnancies continue to increase worldwide; however, the current clinical prenatal evaluation for the intrauterine growth of twins still relies on the growth standards of singletons. We attempted to establish a set of fetal biometric references for Chinese twin pregnancies, stratified by chorionicity and conception mode as spontaneously conceived monochorionic diamniotic (SC-MCDA), spontaneously conceived dichorionic diamniotic (SC-DCDA), and assisted reproductive technology dichorionic diamniotic (ART-DCDA) twins., Methods: From 2016 to 2019, the ultrasonographic fetal biometric measurements were longitudinally collected in pregnant women, including fetal weight, biparietal diameter, head circumference, abdominal circumference, femur length, and humerus length. The linear mixed models were used to test the difference of growth patterns between groups, and the growth curve of each biometric parameter was modeled by a generalized additive model for location scale and shape., Results: A total of 929 twin pregnant women and 2019 singleton pregnant women, met the inclusion criteria. Among twin pregnancies, 148 were SC-MCDA, 215 were SC-DCDA, and 566 were ART-DCDA twins. Overall, SC-DCDA twins grew faster than SC-MCDA twins, while slower than ART-DCDA twins (all P < 0.05), and all of the three groups showed significant differences comparing with singletons, especially during the third trimester. Hence, the customized fetal growth charts of each fetal biometric parameter were, respectively, constructed for SC-MCDA, SC-DCDA, and ART-DCDA twins., Conclusions: The fetal biometric trajectories demonstrated characteristic patterns according to chorionicity and conception mode. To fill the gap, we modeled fetal biometric parameters for Chinese SC-MCDA, SC-DCDA, and ART-DCDA twin pregnancies, hoping to provide a reference for the further establishment of fetal growth reference values for Chinese twin fetuses., (Copyright © 2021 The Chinese Medical Association, produced by Wolters Kluwer, Inc. under the CC-BY-NC-ND license.)

Objectives: To identify obstetrical subgroups in which (1) the caesarean delivery (CD) rate may be reduced without compromising safety and (2) CD may be associated with better perinatal outcomes., Design: A multicentre cross-sectional study., Setting: 19 hospitals in the USA that participated in the Consortium on Safe Labor., Participants: 228 562 pregnant women in 2002-2008., Main Outcome Measures: Maternal and neonatal safety was measured using the individual Weighted Adverse Outcome Score., Methods: Women were divided into 10 subgroups according to a modified Robson classification system. Generalised estimated equation model was used to examine the relationships between mode of delivery and Weighted Adverse Outcome Score in each subgroup., Results: The overall caesarean rate was 31.2%. Repeat CD contributed 29.5% of all CD, followed by nulliparas with labour induction (15.3%) and non-cephalic presentation (14.3%). The caesarean rates in induced nulliparas with a term singleton cephalic pregnancy and women with previous CD were 31.6% and 82.0%, respectively. CD had no clinically meaningful association with perinatal outcomes in most subgroups. However, in singleton preterm breech presentation and preterm twin gestation with the first twin in non-cephalic presentation, CD was associated with substantially improved maternal and perinatal outcomes., Conclusions: Women with repeat CD, term non-cephalic presentation, term twins or other multiple gestation and preterm births may be the potential targets for safely reducing prelabour CD rate, while nulliparas or multiparas with spontaneous or induced labour, women with repeat CD, term non-cephalic presentation, term twins or other multiple gestation and preterm births are potential targets for reducing intrapartum CD rate without compromising maternal and neonatal safety in the USA. On the other hand, CD may still be associated with better perinatal outcomes in women with singleton preterm breech presentation or preterm twins with the first twin in non-cephalic presentation., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2018. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

The human gut microbiome can modulate metabolic health and affect insulin resistance, and it may play an important role in the etiology of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Here, we compared the gut microbial composition of 43 GDM patients and 81 healthy pregnant women via whole-metagenome shotgun sequencing of their fecal samples, collected at 21-29 weeks, to explore associations between GDM and the composition of microbial taxonomic units and functional genes. A metagenome-wide association study identified 154 837 genes, which clustered into 129 metagenome linkage groups (MLGs) for species description, with significant relative abundance differences between the 2 cohorts. Parabacteroides distasonis, Klebsiella variicola, etc., were enriched in GDM patients, whereas Methanobrevibacter smithii, Alistipes spp., Bifidobacterium spp., and Eubacterium spp. were enriched in controls. The ratios of the gross abundances of GDM-enriched MLGs to control-enriched MLGs were positively correlated with blood glucose levels. A random forest model shows that fecal MLGs have excellent discriminatory power to predict GDM status. Our study discovered novel relationships between the gut microbiome and GDM status and suggests that changes in microbial composition may potentially be used to identify individuals at risk for GDM., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.)

There was limited evidence revealing the association of Chinese maternal dietary patterns with fetal growth. We aimed to examine the relationship of maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy to neonatal birth weight and birth weight for gestational age in a Chinese population. A total of 6954 mother-child pairs were included from the Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study. Maternal diet during pregnancy was assessed using a self-administered food frequency questionnaire. Cluster analysis was used to identify dietary patterns. The following six dietary patterns were identified: "Cereals, eggs, and Cantonese soups" (n 1026, 14.8%), "Dairy" (n 1020, 14.7%), "Fruits, nuts, and Cantonese desserts" (n 799, 11.5%), "Meats" (n 1066, 15.3%), "Vegetables" (n 1383, 19.9%), and "Varied" (n 1224, 17.6%). The mean neonatal birth weight Z scores of women in the above patterns were 0.02, 0.07, 0.20, 0.01, 0.06, and 0.14, respectively. Women in the "Fruits, nuts, and Cantonese desserts" and "Varied" groups had significantly heavier infants compared with those in the "Cereals, eggs, and Cantonese soups" group. Compared with women in the "Cereals, eggs, and Cantonese soups" group, those in the "Varied" group had marginally significantly lower odds of having a small-for-gestational age (SGA) infant after adjustment for other confounders (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.57, 1.04, p = 0.08). These findings suggest that compared to a traditional Cantonese diet high in cereals, eggs, and Cantonese soups, a diet high in fruits, nuts, and Cantonese desserts might be associated with a higher birth weight, while a varied diet might be associated with a greater birth weight and also a decreased risk of having a SGA baby.

The expression levels of microRNAs (miRNAs) including miR-21, have been reported to change in response to traumatic brain injury (TBI), suggesting that they may influence the pathophysiological process in brain injury. To analyze the potential effect of miR-21 on neurological function after TBI, we employed the fluid percussion injury rat model and manipulated the expression level of miR-21 in brain using intracerebroventricular infusion of miR-21 agomir or antagomir. We found that upregulation of miR-21 level in brain conferred a better neurological outcome after TBI by improving long-term neurological function, alleviating brain edema and decreasing lesion volume. To further investigate the mechanism underlying this protective effect, we evaluated the impact of miR-21 on apoptosis and angiogenesis in brain after TBI. We found that miR-21 inhibited apoptosis and promoted angiogenesis through regulating the expression of apoptosis- and angiogenesis-related molecules. In addition, the expression of PTEN, a miR-21 target gene, was inhibited and Akt signaling was activated in the procedure. Taken together, these data indicate that miR-21 could be a potential therapeutic target for interventions after TBI.

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play a key role in tissue repair and regeneration. Previous studies have shown a positive correlation between the number of circulating EPCs and clinical outcomes of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). A recent study has further shown that intravenous infusion of human umbilical cord blood-derived endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs) improves outcomes of mice subjected to experimental TBI. This follow-up study was designed to determine whether intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) infusion of ECFCs, which may reduce systemic effects of these cells, could repair the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and promote angiogenesis of mice with TBI. Adult nude mice were exposed to fluid percussion injury and transplanted i.c.v. with ECFCs on day 1 post-TBI. These ECFCs were detected at the TBI zone 3 days after transplantation by SP-DiIC18(3) and fluorescence in situ hybridization. Mice with ECFCs transplant had reduced Evans blue extravasation and brain water content, increased expression of ZO-1 and claudin-5, and showed a higher expression of angiopoietin 1. Consistent with the previous report, mice with ECFCs transplant had also increased microvascular density. Modified neurological severity score and Morris water maze test indicated significant improvements in motor ability, spatial acquisition and reference memory in mice receiving ECFCs, compared to those receiving saline. These data demonstrate the beneficial effects of ECFC transplant on BBB integrity and angiogenesis in mice with TBI.

[structure: see text]. The self-assembly in aqueous solution of tripyrazolate trianion linkers (H3L = 1 and 2) with coordinated dimetallic clips leads to the formation of Pd12L4 cages with interior cavities of 1800 Angstroms3 and 1500 Angstroms3, respectively, confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, cold spray ionization mass spectrometry (CSI-MS), and single-crystal X-ray analysis.

A series of nanosized cavity-containing bipyrazolate-bridged metallomacrocycles with dimetal centers, namely, {[(bpy)M]8L4}(NO3)8 [L=3,3',5,5'-tetramethyl-4,4'-bipyrazolyl, Pd, Pt; 1,4-bis-4'-(3',5'-dimethyl)-pyrazolylbenzene), Pd; and 1,4-bis-4'-(3',5'-dimethyl)-pyrazolylbiphenyl, Pd], {[(phen)M]8L4}(NO3)8 [L=3,3',5,5'-tetramethyl-4,4'-bipyrazolyl, Pd, Pt; 1,4-bis-4'-(3',5'-dimethyl)-pyrazolylbenzene, Pd; and 1,4-bis-4'-(3',5'-dimethyl)-pyrazolylbiphenyl, Pd], {[(bpy)Pd]6L3}(NO3)6 [L=1,4-bis-4'-(3',5'-dimethyl)-pyrazolylbenzene,], {[(phen)Pd]6L3}(NO3)6 [L=1,4-bis-4'-(3',5'-dimethyl)-pyrazolylbenzene,], {[(bpy)Pd]4L2}(NO3)4 [L=1,3-bis-4'-(3',5'-dimethyl)-pyrazolylbenzene, and 1,2-bis-4'-(3',5'-dimethyl)-pyrazolylbenzene,], and {[(phen)Pd]4L2}(NO3)4 [L=1,3-bis-4'-(3',5'-dimethyl)-pyrazolylbenzene, and 1,2-bis-4'-(3',5'-dimethyl)-pyrazolylbenzene,] (where bpy=2,2'-bipyridine and phen=1,10-phenanthroline) have been synthesized through a directed self-assembly approach that involves spontaneous deprotonation of the 1H-bipyrazolyl ligands in aqueous solution. These complexes, with weak Pd(II)...Pd(II) or Pt(II)...Pt(II) interactions, have been characterized by elemental analysis, 1H and 13C NMR, cold-spray ionization or electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, UV-visible spectroscopy, and luminescence spectroscopy. Complexes and have also been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.

A [3 + 3] modular self-assembly gives rise to the formation of basket-shaped, crown ether-functionalized, nano-sized trimetallo-macrocycles, which function as structural analogues of cyclotriveratrylenes (CTV).