Risk of Cerebral Palsy and Childhood Epilepsy Related to Infections before or during Pregnancy

Background and Aim

Maternal infections during pregnancy have been associated with several neurological disorders in the offspring. However, given the lack of specificity for both the exposures and the outcomes, other factors related to infection such as impaired maternal immune function may be involved in the causal pathway. If impaired maternal immune function plays a role, we would expect infection before pregnancy to be associated with these neurological outcomes.

Methods/Principal Findings

The study population included all first-born singletons in Denmark between January 1 1982 and December 31 2004. We identified women who had hospital-recorded infections within the 5 year period before pregnancy, and women who had hospital-recorded infections during pregnancy. We grouped infections into either infections of the genitourinary system, or any other infections. Cox models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Maternal infection of the genitourinary system during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of cerebral palsy (aHR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.34–1.98) and epilepsy (aHR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.13–1.42) in the children, compared to children of women without infections during pregnancy. Among women without hospital-recorded infections during pregnancy, maternal infection before pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of epilepsy (aHR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.21–1.50 for infections of the genitourinary system, and HR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.03–1.22 for any other infections) and a slightly higher risk of cerebral palsy (aHR = 1.20, 95% CI: 0.96–1.49 for infections of the genitourinary system, and HR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.06–1.43 for any other infections) in the children, compared to children of women without infections before (and during) pregnancy.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that the maternal immune system, maternal infections, or factors related to maternal immune function play a role in the observed associations between maternal infections before pregnancy and cerebral diseases in the offspring.     

13C脉冲标记法：不同生育期水稻光合碳在植物-土壤系统中的分配

定量生育期内植物光合碳在植物组织-土壤的分配规律,对于理解全球碳循环有着重要意义。采用~(13)C-CO_2脉冲标记结合室内培养,通过元素分析仪-稳定同位素联用(Flash HT-IRMS)分析植物各部分及土壤δ~(13)C值,比较了不同生育期下水稻光合碳在不同组织间的分配规律,并量化了水稻光合碳向土壤碳库的转移。结果表明:(1)水稻地上部和根系干物质量随水稻生育期的增加而呈现递增趋势,不同的生育期表现为:分蘖期拔节期抽穗期扬花期成熟期。而整个生育期的根冠比为0.2—0.4,分蘖期的根冠比最高,随着水稻生育期的增加而递减,到抽穗期以后根冠比稳定在0.2左右。(2)脉冲标记6h后,水稻地上部和地下部(根系)的δ~(13)C值在-25.52‰—-28.33‰,不同器官的δ~(13)C值存在明显分馏效应,且趋势基本一致,即茎杆(籽粒)叶片(根系);这种由于水稻生育期特性导致的各器官碳同位素分馏的现象,可用于指示不同生育期下水稻光合碳的分配和去向。(3)不同生育期~(13)C-光合碳在植物-土壤系统的分配规律不同,生长前期光合碳向根系及土壤中分配的比例高,具有较强的碳汇能力,而随生育期光合碳在根系及土壤中的分配比例呈下降趋势,但积累量不断增加。(4)不同生育期~(13)C光合碳在水稻-土壤系统中的分配比例差异明显。水稻分蘖期有近30%光合碳用于根系建成并部分通过根系分泌物进入土壤有机碳库(10%),而到成熟期则向籽粒中分配较多,而且光合碳在土壤中的分配比例也随生育期呈下降趋势。研究结果对稻田土壤有机碳循环过程和调控机制的揭示具有重要的理论意义。     

Draft Genome Sequence of Escherichia coli W26, an Enteric Strain Isolated from Cow Feces

An enteric bacterium, Escherichia coli W26 (KACC 16630), was isolated from feces from a healthy cow in South Korea. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of the isolate, which is closely affiliated with commensal strains belonging to E. coli phylogroup B1.     

“单基因遗传病”研究性学习探索

在单基因遗传病专题的教学中探索了研究性学习方式,通过提取关键词、列表比较、创新思考、总结提升、运用规律、感受遗传病等方式,达到了知识目标、能力目标、情感目标并重的目的。     

Boundary-Free Metal–Organic Framework Glasses Enable Highly Stable All-Solid-State Lithium–Oxygen Battery

Rechargeable lithium–oxygen batteries (LOBs) are considered to be one of the most promising energy storage systems. However, the use of reactive lithium (Li) metal and the formation of Li dendrites during battery operation would lead to serious safety concerns, especially when flammable liquid electrolytes are utilized. Herein, superior metal–organic framework (MOF) glass-based solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) is developed for stable all-solid-state LOBs (SSLOBs). These non-flammable and boundary-free MOF glass SSEs are capable of suppressing the dendrite growth and exhibiting long-term Li stripping/plating stability, contributing to superior Li⁺ conductivity (5 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ at 20 °C), high Li⁺ transference number (0.86), and good electrochemical stability. It is discovered that discharge product deposition behavior in the solid-solid interface can be well regulated by the ion/electron mixed conducted cathode fabricated with MOF glass SSEs and electronic conductive polymers. As a result, the SSLOBs can be stably recharged for 400 cycles with a low polarization gap and deliver a high capacity of 13552 mAh g⁻¹. The development of this proposed MOF glass displays great application potential in energy storage systems with good safety and high energy density.     

Relationship of stigma behaviors and breeding system in three Mazus (Phrymaceae) species with bilobed stigma

Sensitive stigma has been recognized to facilitate outcrossing. We hypothesized that species with different levels of sensitivity might have corresponding differences in components of their breeding system. In this study, three Mazus species with bilobed stigmas were used to test the hypothesis. We explored stigma behaviors of the species in reaction time, recovery time, permanent closing time, and the minimum pollen load causing permanent closure. We investigated floral traits, pollinator type and behavior, pollination intensity, and natural schedule of pollen deposition on stigma. Moreover, we evaluated the mating system of the species by checking seed set after controlled pollination treatments, namely, natural flowers with open pollination, enclosed flowers without pollination, and enclosed flowers with self and outcross hand pollination. Results indicated that stigma of M. pumilus (N. L. Burman) Steenis was not sensitive, whereas stigmas of M. miquelii Makino and M. stachydifolius (Turcz.) Maxim. closed and reopened quickly in response to pollination. Accordingly, hand pollination treatments revealed that seed set of self-spontaneous pollination in M. pumilus was similar to the other treatments. For M. miquelii, outcross pollen resulted in significantly higher seed set than self-pollen.Mazus stachydifolius was self-incompatible. Additionally, the corresponding characteristics in other components of the breeding system for each species were found. Our study indicated that the sensitivity of bilobed stigma might be linked with floral traits and the mating system in a given species. Sensitive stigma should be regarded as an evolutionary mechanism for enhancement of outcrossing.     

Blastocysts derivation from somatic cell fusion with premature oocytes (prematuration somatic cell fusion)

This study was undertaken to investigate the development of immature oocytes after their fusion with male somatic cells expressing red fluorescence protein (RFP). RFP‐expressing cells were fused with immature oocytes, matured in vitro and then parthenogenetically activated. Somatic nuclei showed spindle formation, 1st polar body extrusion after in vitro maturation and protruded the 2nd polar body after parthenogenetic activation. RFP was expressed in the resultant embryos; two‐cell stage and blastocysts. Chromosomal analysis showed aneuploidy in 81.82% of the resulting blastocysts while 18.18% of the resulting blastocysts were diploid. Among eight RFP‐expressing blastocysts, Xist mRNAs was detected in six while Sry mRNA was detected in only one blastocyst. We propose “prematuration somatic cell fusion” as an approach to generate embryos using somatic cells instead of spermatozoa. The current approach, if improved, would assist production of embryos for couples where the male partner is sterile, however, genetic and chromosomal analysis of the resultant embryos are required before transfer to the mothers.     

江西九连山自然保护区昆虫区系分析

据对有较详细分布资料的1312种昆虫的分析,该区的昆虫区组成以东洋界成员为主体计817种,占总数的62．27％,说明本区昆虫属于东洋界范畴,按中国动物区划分析表明,华中,华南,西南三区的昆虫亲缘关系最为密切,阐述了182种昆虫在我国东部地区分布的南北限。