Maternal lipids are strong determinants of fetal fat mass. Here we review the overall lipid metabolism in normal and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) pregnancies. During early pregnancy, the increase in maternal fat depots is facilitated by insulin, followed by increased adipose tissue breakdown and subsequent hypertriglyceridemia, mainly as a result of insulin resistance (IR) and estrogen e...

BACKGROUND Analysis of fetal DNA in maternal plasma has recently been introduced as a new method for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis, particularly for the analysis of fetal genetic traits, which are absent from the maternal genome, e.g., RHD or Y-chromosome-specific sequences. To date, the analysis of other fetal genetic traits has been more problematic because of the overwhelming presence of ma...

background: in most cancer cases, the treatment choice for a pregnant patient is radiotherapy. in these patients, the abdomen is usually not exposed therefore fetus exposure is due to peripheral dose (pd). the purpose of this study was to estimate the fetal dose (the maximum pd in each pregnancy stage) for modalities available and to fabricate and evaluate a generally applicable fetal shield. m...

INTRODUCTION Infiltrations are the most commonly identified complication of peripheral intravenous (PIV) therapy with an incidence ranging from 23%-78%. Injury can range from slight redness to functional impairment and residual cosmetic defects. Often, the extent of injury may depend on how quickly a potential infiltration is assessed and treated. The perioperative setting may create unique cha...

It has long been asserted that proteins such as transcription factors may locate their target in DNA sequences at rates that surpass by several orders of magnitude the three-dimensional diffusion limit thanks to facilitated diffusion, that is, the combination of one-dimensional (sliding along the DNA) and three-dimensional diffusion. This claim has been supported throughout the years by several...

We present a theoretical model of facilitated diffusion of proteins in the cell nucleus. This model, which takes into account the successive binding and unbinding events of proteins to DNA, relies on a fractal description of the chromatin which has been recently evidenced experimentally. Facilitated diffusion is shown quantitatively to be favorable for a fast localization of a target locus by a...

R. D. Noble, a research profissor in chemical engineering at the Univ. of Colorado, specializes in the use of reversible chemical reactions in chemical gas and liquid separation processes, most notably the use of ion-exchange membranes as supports for complexing agents and the modeling and analysis of various facilitated transport systems. Refore joining the Univ, of Colorado, he served as an a...