scholarly journals Placental glycogen stores and fetal growth: insights from genetic mouse models

Reproduction ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 159 (6) ◽  
pp. R213-R235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon J Tunster ◽  
Erica D Watson ◽  
Abigail L Fowden ◽  
Graham J Burton
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Models ◽  
Fetal Growth ◽  
Maternal Diabetes ◽  
Glycogen Storage ◽  
Waste Products ◽  
And Function ◽  
Glycogen Stores ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Genetic Mouse Models

The placenta performs a range of crucial functions that support fetal growth during pregnancy, including facilitating the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the fetus, removal of waste products from the fetus and the endocrine modulation of maternal physiology. The placenta also stores glucose in the form of glycogen, the function of which remains unknown. Aberrant placental glycogen storage in humans is associated with maternal diabetes during pregnancy and pre-eclampsia, thus linking placental glycogen storage and metabolism to pathological pregnancies. To understand the role of placental glycogen in normal and complicated pregnancies, we must turn to animal models. Over 40 targeted mutations in mice demonstrate the defects in placental cells that store glycogen and suggest that placental glycogen represents a source of readily mobilized glucose required during periods of high fetal demand. However, direct functional evidence is currently lacking. Here, we evaluate these genetic mouse models with placental phenotypes that implicate glycogen trophoblast cell differentiation and function to illuminate the common molecular pathways that emerge and to better understand the relationship between placental glycogen and fetal growth. We highlight the current limitations in exploring the key questions regarding placental glycogen storage and metabolism and define how to experimentally overcome these constraints.

scholarly journals Insights into the role of placenta thickness as a predictive marker of perinatal outcome

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 030006052199096
Author(s):  
Xiwen Sun ◽  
Jiayu Shen ◽  
Liquan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Fetal Growth ◽  
Pregnancy Outcomes ◽  
Perinatal Outcome ◽  
Predictive Marker ◽  
Fetal Abnormalities ◽  
The Relationship

The placenta is a transitory organ indispensable for normal fetal maturation and growth. Recognition of abnormal placental variants is important in clinical practice, and a broader understanding of the significance of placental variants would help clinicians better manage affected pregnancies. Increased thickness of the placenta is reported to be a nonspecific finding but it is associated with many maternal and fetal abnormalities, including preeclampsia and abnormal fetal growth. In this review, we address the questions regarding the characteristics of placenta thickness and the relationship between thickened placenta and poor pregnancy outcomes.

An exploration of adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury and religious coping

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. Westers ◽  
Mark Rehfuss ◽  
Lynn Olson ◽  
Constance M. Wiemann
Keyword(s):  
Religious Coping ◽  
Self Injury ◽  
Negative Religious Coping ◽  
Religious Constructs ◽  
And Function ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Pearson Correlations ◽  
Nonsuicidal Self Injury

Abstract Many adolescents who engage in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) self-identify as religious, but the role of religion in their NSSI is not known. This exploratory study examined the relationship between religious coping and religiousness among adolescents who self-injure and the function of their NSSI. Thirty adolescents aged 12–19 years who had engaged in NSSI participated in an interview and completed questionnaires. Multiple regressions were used to examine the relationship between religious coping and NSSI, and Pearson correlations were used to assess the relationship between religiousness and function of NSSI. Greater use of positive religious coping was associated with lower likelihood of engaging in NSSI to rid oneself of unwanted emotions, whereas greater use of negative religious coping was associated with greater likelihood of engaging in NSSI for this reason as well as to avoid punishment or unwanted responsibility. Higher religiousness was associated with greater use of NSSI to communicate with or gain attention from others, whereas lower religiousness was associated with greater use of NSSI to relieve unwanted emotions. Having a greater understanding of how religious constructs are related to the various functions served by NSSI may inform treatment of this population, particularly among religious youth who self-injure.

Functional genetic mouse models: promising tools for investigation of the proteolytic internet

2009 ◽  
Vol 390 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achim Krüger
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Models ◽  
Knockout Mice ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Disease Susceptibility ◽  
Molecular Polymorphism ◽  
Specific Protease ◽  
Molecular Phenotypes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Genetic Mouse Models

Abstract Knockout mice are the gold standard to probe for the role of a specific protease within the interacting network of proteases, substrates, and inhibitors. This proteolytic network, or protease web, determines cell signaling and organ homeostasis. Therefore, protease deficiency or inhibition is intrinsically tied to alterations within this network, always leading to new molecular phenotypes, which define susceptibility of an organ to disease. Furthermore, recent hints, mainly from research on matrix metalloproteinases, about the impact of the protease web on inter-organ signaling molecules suggest the existence of a proteolytic internet of communicating local organ- or molecular polymorphism-specific networks, thereby defining homeostasis and disease susceptibility in the whole organism.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Personal Resources and Depression in a Sample of Victims of Cyberbullying: Comparison of Groups with and without Symptoms of Depression

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (24) ◽  
pp. 9307
Author(s):  
Lourdes Rey ◽  
Cirenia Quintana-Orts ◽  
Sergio Mérida-López ◽  
Natalio Extremera
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Personal Resources ◽  
Symptoms Of Depression ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Adolescent Victims

Previous research has highlighted the relationship between being cybervictimised and the presence of clinical symptoms, such as depression. To date, however, there has been no comparative analysis of the personal resources profiles of adolescent victims of cyberbullying with and without depressive symptoms. The current study analysed the relationship between positive personal resources and clinical symptoms in 251 adolescent victims of cyberbullying at several Spanish high schools. It examined how several positive personal resources varied in adolescent victims of cyberbullying who displayed symptoms of depression (n = 89) or did not (n = 162). Victims of cyberbullying who displayed depressive symptoms reported lower levels of personal resources (emotional intelligence, gratitude, optimism, and forgiveness) than those who did not. Logistic regression provided evidence that gratitude was the strongest predictor of depressive symptoms in victims of cyberbullying, followed by emotional intelligence and optimism. These findings expand the existing literature on the role of personal resources in mental health and highlight the need for their development in youths to help them cope more effectively and function better after being cyberbullied.

scholarly journals Expression of CD markers in JAK2V617F positive myeloproliferative neoplasms: Prognostic significance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeid Shahrabi ◽  
Ali Ehsanpour ◽  
Somayyeh Heidary ◽  
Mohammad Shahjahani ◽  
Masumeh Maleki Behzad
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Outcomes ◽  
Prognostic Biomarker ◽  
Myeloproliferative Neoplasms ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Prognostic Significance ◽  
Leukemic Transformation ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cd Markers

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are clonal stem cell disorders characterized by the presence of JAK2V617F mutation. Thrombohemorrhagic as well as autoimmune or inflammatory phenomena are common clinical outcomes of these disorders. Recent studies have shown that abnormality in frequency and function of blood cells manifested by an alteration in CD markers’ expression patterns play a key role in these complications. So, there may be a relationship between CD markers’ expressions and prognosis of JAK2V617F positive MPNs. Therefore, in this review, we have focused on these abnormalities from the perspective of changing expressions of CD markers and assessment of the relationship between these changes with prognosis of JAK2V617F positive MPNs. It can be stated that the abnormal expression of a large number of CD markers can be used as a prognostic biomarker for clinical outcomes including thrombohememorrhagic events, as well as autoimmune and leukemic transformation in JAK2V617F positive MPNs. Considering the possible role of CD markers’ expressions in JAK2V617F MPNs prognosis, further studies are needed to confirm the relationship between the expression of CD markers with prognosis to be able to find an appropriate therapeutic approach via targeting CD markers.

scholarly journals Microstructural and Functional Gradients are Increasingly Dissociated in Transmodal Cortices

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Casey Paquola ◽  
Reinder Vos De Wael ◽  
Konrad Wagstyl ◽  
Richard A.I. Bethlehem ◽  
Seok-Jun Hong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
System Level ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Neural Function ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
Primate Research ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Relationship

SummaryWhile the role of cortical microstructure in organising neural function is well established, it remains unclear how structural constraints can give rise to more flexible elements of cognition. While non-human primate research has demonstrated a close structure-function correspondence, the relationship between microstructure and function remains poorly understood in humans, in part because of the reliance onpost mortemanalyses which cannot be directly related to functional data. To overcome this barrier, we developed a novel approach to model the similarity of microstructural profiles sampled in the direction of cortical columns. Our approach was initially formulated based on an ultra-high-resolution 3D histological reconstruction of an entire human brain and then translated to myelin-sensitive MRI data in a large cohort of healthy adults. This novel method identified a system-level gradient of microstructural differentiation traversing from primary sensory to limbic regions that followed shifts in laminar differentiation and cytoarchitectural complexity. Importantly, while microstructural and functional gradients described a similar hierarchy, they became increasingly dissociated in transmodal default mode and fronto-parietal networks. Meta analytic decoding of these topographic dissociations highlighted involvement in higher-level aspects of cognition such as cognitive control and social cognition. Our findings demonstrate a relative decoupling of macroscale functional from microstructural gradients in transmodal regions, which likely contributes to the flexible role these regions play in human cognition.

1. Everything has structure

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Blockley
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Structural Engineering ◽  
Fitness For Purpose ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Environmental Criteria ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
And Function ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

‘Everything has structure’ considers the fundamental nature and role of structure and the relationship of structural engineering with other engineering disciplines and with architecture. Decision making is driven by the purpose of a man-made structure and how ‘fitness for purpose’ is realised. There is a need to understand how forces flow through a structure in order to ensure it meets its primary purpose of being strong and safe whilst at the same time meeting many other needs such as affordability, aesthetic, and regulatory and environmental criteria. The best structures are a harmony of architecture and engineering—where form and function are one and the flow of forces is logical.

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