Maternal Obesity in Early Pregnancy and Risk of Adverse Outcomes

Objectives

To assess the role of the health consequences of maternal overweight and obesity at the start of pregnancy on gestational pathologies, delivery and newborn characteristics.

Methods

A cohort of pregnant women (n = 6.558) having delivered at the Maternal & Child University Hospital of Gran Canaria (HUMIGC) in 2008 has been studied. Outcomes were compared using multivariate analyses controlling for confounding variables.

Results

Compared to normoweight, overweight and obese women have greater risks of gestational diabetes mellitus (RR = 2.13 (95% CI: 1.52–2.98) and (RR = 2.85 (95% CI: 2.01–4.04), gestational hypertension (RR = 2.01 (95% CI: 1.27–3.19) and (RR = 4.79 (95% CI: 3.13–7.32) and preeclampsia (RR = 3.16 (95% CI: 1.12–8.91) and (RR = 8.80 (95% CI: 3.46–22.40). Obese women have also more frequently oligodramnios (RR = 2.02 (95% CI: 1.25–3.27), polyhydramnios. (RR = 1.76 (95% CI: 1.03–2.99), tearing (RR = 1.24 (95% CI: 1.05–1.46) and a lower risk of induced deliveries (RR = 0.83 (95% CI: 0.72–0.95). Both groups have more frequently caesarean section (RR = 1.36 (95% CI: 1.14–1.63) and (RR = 1.84 (95% CI: 1.53–2.22) and manual placenta extraction (RR = 1.65 (95% CI: 1.28–2.11) and (RR = 1.77 (95% CI: 1.35–2.33). Newborns from overweight and obese women have higher weight (p<0.001) and a greater risk of being macrosomic (RR = 2.00 (95% CI: 1.56–2.56) and (RR = 2.74 (95% CI: 2.12–3.54). Finally, neonates from obese mother have a higher risk of being admitted to special care units (RR = 1.34 (95% CI: 1.01–1.77). Apgar 1 min was significantly higher in newborns from normoweight mothers: 8.65 (95% CI: 8.62–8.69) than from overweight: 8.56 (95% CI: 8.50–8.61) or obese mothers: 8.48 (95% CI: 8.41–8.54).

Conclusion

Obesity and overweight status at the beginning of pregnancy increase the adverse outcomes of the pregnancy. It is important to promote the normalization of bodyweight in those women who intend to get pregnant and to provide appropriate advice to the obese women of the risks of obesity at the start of the pregnancy.     

Antigenic Proteins Involved in Occupational Rhinitis and Asthma Caused by Obeche Wood (Triplochiton Scleroxylon)

Background

Obeche wood dust is a known cause of occupational asthma where an IgE-mediated mechanism has been demonstrated.

Objective

To characterize the allergenic profile of obeche wood dust and evaluate the reactivity of the proteins by in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo assays in carpenters with confirmed rhinitis and/or asthma

Materials and methods

An in-house obeche extract was obtained, and two IgE binding bands were purified (24 and 12 kDa) and sequenced by N-terminal identity. Specific IgE and IgG, basophil activation tests and skin prick tests (SPTs) were performed with whole extract and purified proteins. CCD binding was analyzed by ELISA inhibition studies.

Results

Sixty-two subjects participated: 12 with confirmed occupational asthma/rhinitis (ORA+), 40 asymptomatic exposed (ORA−), and 10 controls. Of the confirmed subjects, 83% had a positive SPT to obeche. There was a 100% recognition by ELISA in symptomatic subjects vs. 30% and 10% in asymptomatic exposed subjects and controls respectively (p<0.05). Two new proteins were purified, a 24 kDa protein identified as a putative thaumatin-like protein and a 12 kDa gamma-expansin. Both showed allergenic activity in vitro, with the putative thaumatin being the most active, with 92% recognition by ELISA and 100% by basophil activation test in ORA+ subjects. Cross-reactivity due to CCD was ruled out in 82% of cases.

Conclusions

Two proteins of obeche wood were identified and were recognized by a high percentage of symptomatic subjects and by a small proportion of asymptomatic exposed subjects. Further studies are required to evaluate cross reactivity with other plant allergens.     

Differential spreading of HinfI satellite DNA variants during radiation in Centaureinae

Background and Aims

Subtribe Centaureinae appears to be an excellent model group in which to analyse satellite DNA and assess the influence that the biology and/or the evolution of different lineages have had on the evolution of this class of repetitive DNA. Phylogenetic analyses of Centaureinae support two main phases of radiation, leading to two major groups of genera of different ages. Furthermore, different modes of evolution are observed in different lineages, reflected by morphology and DNA sequences.

Methods

The sequences of 502 repeat units of the HinfI satellite DNA family from 38 species belonging to ten genera of Centaureinae were isolated and compared. A phylogenetic reconstruction was carried out by maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference.

Key Results

Up to eight different HinfI subfamilies were found, based on the presence of a set of diagnostic positions given by a specific mutation shared by all the sequences of one group. Subfamilies V–VIII were mostly found in older genera (first phase of radiation in the subtribe, late Oligocene–Miocene), although some copies of these types of repeats were also found in some species of the derived genera. Subfamilies I–IV spread mostly in species of the derived clade (second phase of radiation, Pliocene to Pleistocene), although repeats of these subfamilies exist in older species. Phylogenetic trees did not group the repeats by taxonomic affinity, but sequences were grouped by subfamily provenance. Concerted evolution was observed in HinfI subfamilies spread in older genera, whereas no genetic differentiation was found between species, and several subfamilies even coexist within the same species, in recently radiated groups or in groups with a history of recurrent hybridization of lineages.

Conclusions

The results suggest that the eight HinfI subfamilies were present in the common ancestor of Centaureinae and that each spread differentially in different genera during the two main phases of radiation following the library model of satellite DNA evolution. Additionally, differential speciation pathways gave rise to differential patterns of sequence evolution in different lineages. Thus, the evolutionary history of each group of Centaureinae is reflected in HinfI satellite DNA evolution. The data reinforce the value of satellite DNA sequences as markers of evolutionary processes.     

Environmental-dependent proline accumulation in plants living on gypsum soils

Biosynthesis of proline—or other compatible solutes—is a conserved response of all organisms to different abiotic stress conditions leading to cellular dehydration. However, the biological relevance of this reaction for plant stress tolerance mechanisms remains largely unknown, since there are very few available data on proline levels in stress-tolerant plants under natural conditions. The aim of this work was to establish the relationship between proline levels and different environmental stress factors in plants living on gypsum soils. During the 2-year study (2009–2010), soil parameters and climatic data were monitored, and proline contents were determined, in six successive samplings, in ten taxa present in selected experimental plots, three in a gypsum area and one in a semiarid zone, both located in the province of Valencia, in south-east Spain. Mean proline values varied significantly between species; however, seasonal variations within species were in many cases even wider, with the most extreme differences registered in Helianthemum syriacum (almost 30 μmol g^?1 of DW in summer 2009, as compared to ca. 0.5 in spring, in one of the plots of the gypsum zone). Higher proline contents in plants were generally observed under lower soil humidity conditions, especially in the 2009 summer sampling preceded by a severe drought period. Our results clearly show a positive correlation between the degree of environmental stress and the proline level in most of the taxa included in this study, supporting a functional role of proline in stress tolerance mechanisms of plants adapted to gypsum. However, the main trigger of proline biosynthesis in this type of habitat, as in arid or semiarid zones, is water deficit, while the component of ‘salt stress’ due to the presence of gypsum in the soil only plays a secondary role.     

Trophodynamics and functional feeding groups of North Sea fauna: a combined stable isotope and fatty acid approach

The trophodynamics of pelagic and benthic animals of the North Sea, North Atlantic shelf, were assessed using stable isotope analysis (SIA) of natural abundance carbon and nitrogen isotopes, lipid fingerprinting and compound-specific SIA (CSIA) of phospholipid-derived fatty acids (PLFAs). Zooplankton (z), epi- and supra-benthic macrofauna were collected in the Southern Bight, at the Oyster Grounds and at North Dogger, 111 km north of the Dogger Bank. The study included 22 taxonomic groups with particular reference to Mollusca (Bivalvia and Gastropoda) and Crustacea. Primary consumers (Bivalvia) were overall most ¹⁵N enriched in the southern North Sea (6.1‰) and more depleted in the Oyster Grounds (5.5‰) and at North Dogger (2.8‰) demonstrating differences in isotopic baselines for bivalve fauna between the study sites. Higher trophic levels also followed this trend. Over an annual cycle, consumers tended to exhibit ¹⁵N depletion during spring followed by ¹⁵N enriched signatures in autumn and winter. The observed seasonal changes of δ ¹⁵N were more pronounced for suspension feeders and deposit feeders (dfs) than for filter feeders (ffs). The position of animals in plots of δ ¹³C and δ ¹⁵N largely concurred with the expected position according to literature-based functional feeding groups. PLFA fingerprints of groups such as z were distinct from benthic groups, e.g. benthic ffs and dfs, and predatory macrobenthos. δ ¹³C_PLFA signatures indicated similarities in ¹³C moiety sources that constituted δ ¹³C_PLFA. Although functional groups of pelagic zooplankton and (supra-) benthic animals represented phylogenetically distinct consumer groups, δ ¹³C_PLFA demonstrated that both groups were supported by pelagic primary production and relied on the same macronutrients such as PLFAs. Errors related to the static categorization of small invertebrates into fixed trophic positions defined by phylogenetic groupings rather than by functional feeding groups, and information on seasonal trophodynamic variability, may have implications for the reliability of numerical marine ecosystem models.     

Risk of Advanced Neoplasia in First-Degree Relatives with Colorectal Cancer: A Large Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study

BackgroundFirst-degree relatives (FDR) of patients with colorectal cancer have a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer than the general population. For this reason, screening guidelines recommend colonoscopy every 5 or 10 y, starting at the age of 40, depending on whether colorectal cancer in the index-case is diagnosed at <60 or ≥60 y, respectively. However, studies on the risk of neoplastic lesions are inconclusive. The aim of this study was to determine the risk of advanced neoplasia (three or more non-advanced adenomas, advanced adenoma, or invasive cancer) in FDR of patients with colorectal cancer compared to average-risk individuals (i.e., asymptomatic adults 50 to 69 y of age with no family history of colorectal cancer).ConclusionsIndividuals having two FDR with colorectal cancer showed an increased risk of advanced neoplasia compared to those with average-risk for colorectal cancer. Men had over 2-fold higher risk of advanced neoplasia than women, independent of family history. These data suggest that screening colonoscopy guidelines should be revised in the familial-risk population.     

Lipidomic Analysis of α-Synuclein Neurotoxicity Identifies Stearoyl CoA Desaturase as a Target for Parkinson Treatment

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Structure of a neutral exopolysaccharide produced by Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus LBB.B26

The neutral exopolysaccharide produced by Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus LBB.B26 in skimmed milk was found to be composed of d-glucose and d-galactose in a molar ratio of 2:3. Linkage analysis and 1D/2D NMR ((1)H and (13)C) studies performed on the native polysaccharide, and on an oligosaccharide obtained from a partial acid hydrolysate of the native polysaccharide, showed the polysaccharide to consist of branched pentasaccharide repeating units with the following structure. [structure: see text]