Search

Objective: We sought to investigate the impact of individualized exercise guidance during pregnancy on the incidence of macrosomia and the mediating effect of gestational weight gain (GWG). Design: A prospective randomized clinical trial. Setting: A Hospital in Xingtai District, Hebei Province. Population: Older than 20 years of age, mid-pregnancy, and singleton pregnant women without contraindications to exercise during pregnancy. Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted from December 2021 to September 2022 to compare the effects of standard prenatal care with individualized exercise guidance on the incidence of macrosomia. Main outcome measure: Incidence of macrosomia. Results: In all, 312 singleton women were randomized into an intervention group (N = 162) or a control group (N = 150). Participants who received individualized exercise guidance had a significantly lower incidence of macrosomia (3.73% vs. 13.61%, P = 0.002) and infants large for gestational age (9.94% vs. 19.73%, P = 0.015). However, no differences were observed in the rate of preterm birth (1.86% vs. 3.40%, P = 0.397) or the average gestational age at birth (39.14 ± 1.51 vs. 38.69 ± 1.85, P = 0.258). Mediation analysis revealed that GWG mediated the effect of exercise on reducing the incidence of macrosomia. Conclusion: Individualized exercise guidance may be a preventive tool for macrosomia, and GWG mediates the effect of exercise on reducing the incidence of macrosomia. However, evidence does not show that exercise increases the rate of preterm birth or affects the average gestational age at birth. Trial registration: The trial is registered at www.clinicaltrails.gov [registration number: NCT05760768; registration date: 08/03/2023 (retrospectively registered)]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Metabolic pathways are interconnected and yet relatively independent. Genes involved in metabolic modules are required for the modules to run. Study of the relationships between genes and metabolic modules improves the understanding of metabolic pathways in plants. The WIN transcription factor activates the cuticle biosynthesis pathway and promotes cuticle biosynthesis. The relationship between the WIN transcription factor and other metabolic pathways is unknown. Our aim was to determine the relationships between the main genes involved in cuticle biosynthesis and those involved in other metabolic pathways. We did this by cloning a cotton WIN gene, GhWIN2, and studying its influence on other pathways. Results: As with other WIN genes, GhWIN2 regulated expression of cuticle biosynthesis-related genes, and promoted cuticle formation. Silencing of GhWIN2 resulted in enhanced resistance to Verticillium dahliae, caused by increased content of salicylic acid (SA). Moreover, silencing of GhWIN2 suppressed expression of jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis-related genes and content. GhWIN2 positively regulated the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway upstream of the JA biosynthesis pathway. Silencing of GhWIN2 reduced the content of stearic acid, a JA biosynthesis precursor. Conclusions: GhWIN2 not only regulated the cuticle biosynthesis pathway, but also positively influenced JA biosynthesis and negatively influenced SA biosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study presents CUPID, an advanced automated measurement software based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), designed to evaluate nine fetal biometric parameters in the mid-trimester. Our primary objective was to assess and compare the CUPID performance of experienced senior and junior radiologists. Materials and methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted at Shenzhen University General Hospital between September 2022 and June 2023, and focused on mid-trimester fetuses. All ultrasound images of the six standard planes, that enabled the evaluation of nine biometric measurements, were included to compare the performance of CUPID through subjective and objective assessments. Results: There were 642 fetuses with a mean (±SD) age of 22 ± 2.82 weeks at enrollment. In the subjective quality assessment, out of 642 images representing nine biometric measurements, 617-635 images (90.65-96.11%) of CUPID caliper placements were determined to be accurately placed and did not require any adjustments. Whereas, for the junior category, 447-691 images (69.63-92.06%) were determined to be accurately placed and did not require any adjustments. In the objective measurement indicators, across all nine biometric parameters and estimated fetal weight (EFW), the intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) (0.843-0.990) and Pearson correlation coefficients (PCC) (0.765-0.978) between the senior radiologist and CUPID reflected good reliability compared with the ICC (0.306-0.937) and PCC (0.566-0.947) between the senior and junior radiologists. Additionally, the mean absolute error (MAE), percentage error (PE), and average error in days of gestation were lower between the senior and CUPID compared to the difference between the senior and junior radiologists. The specific differences are as follows: MAE (0.36-2.53 mm, 14.67 g) compared to (0.64- 8.13 mm, 38.05 g), PE (0.94-9.38%) compared to (1.58-16.04%), and average error in days (3.99-7.92 days) compared to (4.35-11.06 days). In the time-consuming task, CUPID only takes 0.05-0.07 s to measure nine biometric parameters, while senior and junior radiologists require 4.79-11.68 s and 4.95-13.44 s, respectively. Conclusions: CUPID has proven to be highly accurate and efficient software for automatically measuring fetal biometry, gestational age, and fetal weight, providing a precise and fast tool for assessing fetal growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgrounds: The perturbance of chloroplast proteins is a major cause of photosynthesis inhibition under drought stress. The exogenous application of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) mitigates the damage caused by drought stress, protecting plant growth and development, but the regulatory mechanism behind this process remains obscure. Results: Wheat seedlings were drought treated, and the iTRAQ-based proteomic approach was employed to assess the difference in chloroplast protein content caused by exogenous ALA. A total of 9499 peptides, which could be classified into 2442 protein groups, were identified with ≤0.01 FDR. Moreover, the contents of 87 chloroplast proteins was changed by drought stress alone compared to that of the drought-free control, while the contents of 469 was changed by exogenous ALA application under drought stress compared to that of drought stress alone. The Gene Ontology (GO) annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis results suggested that the ALA pretreatment adjusted some biological pathways, such as metabolic pathways and pathways involved in photosynthesis and ribosomes, to enhance the drought resistance of chloroplasts. Furthermore, the drought-promoted H2O2 accumulation and O2− production in chloroplasts were alleviated by the exogenous pretreatment of ALA, while peroxidase (POD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activities were upregulated, which agreed with the chloroplast proteomic data. We suggested that ALA promoted reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging in chloroplasts by regulating enzymatic processes. Conclusions: Our results from chloroplast proteomics extend the understanding of the mechanisms employed by exogenous ALA to defend against drought stress in wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intrathoracic esophagogastric anastomotic leak is one of the deadliest complications after esophagectomy. In recent years, we have implemented new method for the treatment of intrathoracic esophagogastric anastomotic leak with the nasogastric placement of sump drainage tube through fistula into abscess cavity. The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy of the new method and conventional therapies for intrathoracic anastomotic leak after esophagectomy.Method: Esophagectomy and esophagogastric anastomotic procedures were performed in 875 patients at our institution from January 2008 to December 2019. Of these patients, 43(4.9%) patients developed intrathoracic anastomotic leaks postoperatively were enrolled into our study and their clinical data were retrospectively assessed. 20 (47%) patients from January 2008 to December 2012 received conventional treatments (group 1) known as the traditional "three-tube method", and 23 (53%) patients from January 2013 to December 2019 received new treatments (group 2), consisted of conventional therapies and the nasogastric placement of sump drainage tube through fistula into abscess cavity.Results: The presence of intrathoracic anastomotic leak was proven by contrast esophagography in 43 patients (4.9%). Among them, The average duration of chest tube was 47 days in group 1 and 28 days in group 2. The average length of leak treatment was 52 days in group 1 and 35 days in group 2. The average length of postoperative hospital stay was 56 days in group 1 and 39 days in group 2, respectively. 7(35%) patients among 20 patients died from intrathoracic anastomotic leak in group 1; and 3(13%) patients among 23 patients died from intrathoracic anastomotic leak in group 2. Compared with the conventional treatments (group 1), The average duration of chest tube was significantly decreased in the new treatments (group 2) (P < 0.01), as well as the length of leak treatment (P < 0.05) and the length of postoperative hospital stay (P < 0.01). However, there was no significant difference in the mortality rate (P = 0.148 > 0.05).Conclusion: In conclusion, Our results showed this method of the nasogastric placement of sump drainage tube through fistula appears to be an safe, effective, technically feasible treatment option for intrathoracic esophagogastric anastomotic leak. The efficacy and feasibility could be further investigated with a well-designed and large-scale RCT research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]