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Lacroix Nguyen posted an update 11 hours, 20 minutes ago
DBP was positively associated with total 25(OH)D and expectedly, negatively associated with free 25(OH)D. There were no associations between vitamin D metabolites and total testosterone, SHBG or FAI, even after adjusting for age, body fat percentage, HOMA-IR and hs-CRP. We found no associations between vitamin D metabolites and androgens in women with PCOS. Studies that have identified a vitamin D-androgen link have largely relied on methodology with numerous pitfalls; future studies should exclusively use gold-standard measures to confirm these findings in this population.During prior investigations of the synthesis of the novel zeolite YNU-5 (YFI), it was found that a very slight amount of an impurity phase contaminated the desired zeolitic phase. This impurity was very often ZSM-5 (MFI). The phase composition was determined to be sensitive to the water in the synthesis mixture, and it was possible to obtain a pure phase and also to intentionally generate a specific impurity phase. In the present work, trials based on the dimethyl ether-to-olefin (DTO) reaction using a fixed-bed downflow reactor were performed to assess the effect of the purity of YNU-5 on its catalytic performance. Dealuminated pure YNU-5 exhibited rapid deactivation due to coking at time on stream (TOS) values exceeding 5 min. Surprisingly, this deactivation was greatly suppressed when the material contained a trace amount of ZSM-5 consisting of nano-sized particles. The formation of ZSM-5 nanoparticles evidently improved the performance of the catalytic system during the DTO reaction. The product distributions obtained from this reaction using highly dealuminated and very pure YNU-5 resembled those generated by 12-ring rather than 8-ring zeolite catalysts. The high selectivity for desirable C3 and C4 olefins during the DTO reaction over YNU-5 is beneficial.Oocyte donations (OD) represent 4.5% of all in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles. While OD pregnancies face increased risks of obstetrical complications, especially pregnancy-induced hypertension and pre-eclampsia (PE), little is known about the physiology and the physiopathology of placentation. Selleck 5′-N-Ethylcarboxamidoadenosine We performed a prospective case-control study to analyze uterine artery Doppler pulsatility index (UtA-PI) and serum maternal 17β-estradiol (17β-E) at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks’ gestation in singleton pregnancies with different modes of conception. Study groups were 55 OD, 48 IVF with autologous oocytes from fresh cycles (Autologous-Fresh IVF), 10 IVF with autologous oocytes from frozen cycles (Autologous-Frozen IVF) and 122 spontaneously conceived pregnancies (SC). The mean UtA-PI and serum maternal 17β-E at 11 to 13 + 6 weeks were significantly lower in OD as compared to SC and autologous IVF, either from fresh or frozen cycles. Oocyte donation presents lower UtA-PI and lower serum 17β-E in the first trimester of pregnancy. The etiology of these particularr differences is likely multifactorial and deserves further investigation.Motility plays an essential role in the host-parasite relationship of pathogenic bacteria, and is often associated with virulence. While many pathogenic bacteria use flagella for locomotion, Acinetobacter baumannii strains do not have flagella, but have other features that aid in their motility. To study the genes involved in motility, transposon mutagenesis was performed to construct A. baumannii mutant strains. Mutant strain MR14 was found to have reduced motility, compared to wild-type ATCC 17978. NCBI BLAST analysis revealed that the Tn10 transposon in the MR14 genome is integrated into the gene that encodes for carboxy-terminal processing protease (Ctp). Additionally, MR14 exhibits a mucoidy, sticky phenotype as the result of increased extracellular DNA (eDNA) caused by bacterial autolysis. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy revealed cytoplasmic content leaving the cell and multiple cell membrane depressions, respectively. MR14 showed higher sensitivity to environmental stressors. Mutation of the ctp gene reduced invasion and adhesion of A. baumannii to airway epithelial cells, potentially due to increased hydrophobicity. In the zebrafish model of infection, MR14 increased the survival rate by 40% compared to the wild-type. Taken together, the ctp gene in A. baumannii has a pivotal role in maintaining membrane integrity, adaptation to environmental stress, and controlling virulence.Orthorexic behaviors correlate not only with health motives when choosing food but may also coexist with psychosocial impairment. The aim of this study was to assess the motives of food choice and psychosocial impairment among adults with orthorexic behaviors through the use of ORTO-15 and ORTO-7. The data for the study were collected from a sample of 1007 Polish adults through a cross-sectional quantitative survey conducted in 2019. The respondents were asked to complete the ORTO-15 questionnaire, the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ), and the Clinical Impairment Assessment (CIA). Orthorexic behaviors were measured using both the 15-item and the shorter 7-item version of the ORTO questionnaire. To determine the factors coexisting with the orthorexic behaviors, linear regression models were developed. The scores of both ORTO-15 and ORTO-7 correlated positively with the global CIA scores and the scores of personal, cognitive, and social impairments, but compared to the ORTO-7 scores, the ORTO-15 scores showed wehe groups with higher scores of the ORTO-15 and the ORTO-7 and strong correlation between results obtained from both tools confirmed the similarity between these two questionnaires, thus revealing the weak psychometric properties also of the shorter seven-item version of the ORTO. Future studies on food motives, psychosocial impairment, and orthorexic behaviors should consider using other tools for measuring orthorexic behaviors.This study aimed to identify the risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome among middle-aged women in their 50s to provide a strategy for managing the metabolic syndrome of those whose prevalence is rapidly increasing. Secondary data from the 2012 Korean National Health Insurance Service Medical check-up cohort database were analyzed. Participants included 36,582 middle-aged women in their 50s from the cohort who received a general medical check-up. The risk factors were estimated using logistic regression analysis. Metabolic syndrome was identified in 14.6% of the surveyed persons among middle-aged women in their 50s. Working women, low household income levels, country residents, high body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol of over 240 mg/dl, non-drinker, non-exerciser, history of diabetes or hypertension, and family history of diabetes were associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome. It is necessary to prepare a strategy to increase access to health care services so that socioeconomic vulnerability does not lead to negative health behavior such as obesity and lack of physical activity.