Delayed puberty in prenatally glucocorticoid administered female rats occurs independently of the hypothalamic Kiss1-Kiss1r-GnRH system.
Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) is an important risk factor for the pathogenesis of diseases after birth. Long-lasting alterations in the structure and function of tissues and the neuroendocrine system, which are known as 'programming effects', increase the risks of these diseases. To investigate the pathophysiology of programming effects, several kinds of IUGR rodent models have been used in experiments. Sexual maturation and the onset of puberty are delayed in these models. We have previously reported that decreased action of hypothalamic kisspeptin, which is a positive regulator of GnRH, contributes to the delayed onset of puberty in undernutrition-induced IUGR rats. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the hypothalamic Kiss1-Kiss1r-GnRH system is also altered in dexamethasone-induced IUGR rats. Compared with offspring from an untreated mother (control), offspring from a dexamethasone administered mother (DEX) showed a significant reduction in body weight throughout the experimental period (from birth to the prepubertal period) and the delayed onset of puberty. There were no significant differences between the control and DEX groups with regard to their hypothalamic Kiss1, Kiss1r, GnRH, CRH, NPY and POMC mRNA levels during the experimental period or their serum LH, FSH, or leptin concentrations at postnatal day 28 or vaginal opening (VO). Compared with the control, DEX showed significantly lower ovarian weight at postnatal day 28, but not at VO. These results suggested that the delayed onset of puberty induced by maternal dexamethasone administration would occur independently of hypothalamic Kiss1-Kiss1r-GnRH system.


Effect of maternal positioning during cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a systematic review and meta-analyses.
Although rare, cardiac arrest during pregnancy is the leading cause of maternal death. Recently, its incidence has been increasing worldwide because more pregnant women have risk factors. The provision of early, high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) plays a major role in the increased likelihood of survival; therefore, it is important for clinicians to know how to manage it. Due to the aortocaval compression caused by the gravid uterus, clinical guidelines often emphasise the importance of maternal positioning during CPR, but there has been little evidence regarding which position is most effective. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, Embase, and OpenGrey (updated on April 3, 2021). We included clinical trials and observational studies with reported outcomes related to successful resuscitations. We included eight studies from the 1,490 screened. The eight studies were simulation-based, crossover trials that examine the quality of chest compressions. No data were available about the survival rates of mothers or foetuses/neonates. The meta-analyses showed that resuscitation of pregnant women in the 27°-30° left-lateral tilt position resulted in lower quality chest compressions. The difference is an 19% and 9% reduction in correct compression depth rate and correct hand position rate, respectively, compared with resuscitations in the supine position. Inexperienced clinicians find it difficult to perform chest compressions in the left-lateral tilt position. Given that manual left uterine displacement allows the patient to remain supine, the resuscitation of women in the supine position using manual left uterine displacement should continue to be supported. Further research is needed to fill knowledge gaps regarding the effects of maternal positioning on clinical outcomes, such as survival rates following maternal cardiac arrest.


Effects of partial replacement of red by green light in the growth spectrum on photomorphogenesis and photosynthesis in tomato plants.
The artificial light used in growth chambers is usually devoid of green (G) light, which is considered to be less photosynthetically efficient than blue (B) or red (R) light. To verify the role of G light supplementation in the spectrum, we modified the RB spectrum by progressively replacing R light with an equal amount of G light. The tomato plants were cultivated under 100 µmol m-2 s-1 of five different combinations of R (35-75%) and G light (0-40%) in the presence of a fixed proportion of B light (25%) provided by light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Substituting G light for R altered the plant's morphology and partitioning of biomass. We observed a decrease in the dry biomass of leaves, which was associated with increased biomass accumulation and the length of the roots. Moreover, plants previously grown under the RGB spectrum more efficiently utilized the B light that was applied to assess the effective quantum yield of photosystem II, as well as the G light when estimated with CO2 fixation using RB + G light-response curves. At the same time, the inclusion of G light in the growth spectrum reduced stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration (E) and altered stomatal traits, thus improving water-use efficiency. Besides this, the increasing contribution of G light in place of R light in the growth spectrum resulted in the progressive accumulation of phytochrome interacting factor 5, along with a lowered level of chalcone synthase and anthocyanins. However, the plants grown at 40% G light exhibited a decreased net photosynthetic rate (Pn), and consequently, a reduced dry biomass accumulation, accompanied by morphological and molecular traits related to shade-avoidance syndrome.


Redefinable planar microwave passive electronics enabled by thermal controlled VO2/Cu hybrid matrix.
A planar microwave array device with complex electromagnetic functional reconfigurability is demonstrated by means of phase transition film VO2 to manipulate the electromagnetic distribution. Based on planar patch architecture, the microwave device can switch between antenna array and cascaded filter functions. Furthermore, hybrid EM functions such as cascaded antenna arrays and filters are enabled, themselves with further reconfigurability. Therefore, a single design realizes many mono and hybrid antenna and filter functions, which are determined by the order of the array. For simplicity of demonstration, a 2 × 2 array device working at three reconfigurable center frequency points of 3.1, 3.7, and 4.4 GHz, fully compatible with standard planar CMOS processing. A comprehensive design method is proposed to meet the design requirements of a patch-based antenna array and cascaded filter. Based on the functionally reconfigurable microwave device, the front-end circuit could be recombined to suitable for multifunctional microwave systems.


The effectiveness of exercise on global cognitive function, balance, depression symptoms, and sleep quality in patients with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
This review aimed to examine the effectiveness of exercise on global cognitive function, balance, depression symptoms, and sleep quality in patients with mild cognitive impairment. And systematically retrieved five electronic databases, including the Cochrane library, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and PsycINFO, from inception to May 2022. Of 1102 studies, twenty-one studies were included in this meta-analysis. The polled results revealed that exercise could significantly improve global cognitive function (SMD = 0.64, 95%CI: 0.36 to 0.91, Z = 4.56, P < 0.00001), balance (SMD = 0.62, 95%CI: 0.30 to 0.95, Z = 4.56, P = 0.0001) and depression symptoms (SMD = -0.37, 95%CI: -0.64 to -0.10, Z = 2.70, P = 0.007). The exercise was a promising intervention with the potential to be applied in people with mild cognitive impairment.


Impact of medication characteristics and adverse drug events on hospital admission after an emergency department visit: Prospective cohort study.
Emergency department (ED) overcrowding is a problem for the delivery of adequate and timely emergency care. To improve patient flow and the admission process, the quick prediction of a patient's need for admission is crucial. We aimed to investigate the variables associated with hospitalisation after an ED visit, with a particular focus on the variables related to medication. This prospective study was conducted from 2011 to 2018 in subacute medical ED of a French University Hospital. Specialised EDs (paediatric, gynaecologic, head and neck and psychiatric) and the outpatient unit of the ED were not included. Participation in this study was proposed to all adult patients who underwent a medication history interview with a pharmacist. Pharmacists conducted structured interviews for the completion of the medication history and the detection of adverse drug events (ADE). Relations between patient characteristics and hospitalisation were analysed using logistic regression. Among the 14 511 included patients, 5972 (41.2%) were hospitalised including 69 deaths. In total, 7458 patients (51.4%) took more than 5 medications and 2846 patients (19.6%) had an ADE detected during the ED visit. In hospitalised patients, bleeding (32.2%) and metabolic disorders (16.8%) were the most observed ADE symptoms. Variables associated with increased hospital admission included 2 demographic variables (age, male gender), 4 clinical variables (renal and hepatic failures, alcohol addiction, ED visit for respiratory reason) and 6 medication-related variables (medications >5, use of blood, systemic anti-infective, metabolism and antineoplastic/immunomodulating medications and ADE). We identified variables associated with hospitalisation including drug-related variables. These results point out the importance and the relevance of collecting medication data in a subacute medical ED (study registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03442010).