Objective To investigate the current enteral feeding practices in hospitalized late preterm infants in the Beijing area of China.Methods A multi-center, cross-sectional study was conducted. Infants born after 34 weeks and before 37 weeks of gestation were enrolled from 25 hospitals in the Beijing area of China from October 2015 to October 2017. Data on enteral feeding practices were collected and analyzed.Results A total of 1, 463 late preterm infants were enrolled, with a mean gestational age (GA) of 35.6(34.9, 36.1) weeks. The percentage of exclusive breastfeeding was 4.5% at the initiation of enteral feeding but increased to 14.4% at discharge. When human milk was not available, most infants (46.1%) were fed with preterm infant formula. The rate of exclusive human milk feeding in infants born at 34 weeks gestation was higher than at discharge (21.1% of infants born at 34 weeks' GA versus 12.1% of infants born at 35 weeks' GA versus 12.3% of infants born at 36 weeks' GA, P < 0.001). Only 28.4% of late preterm infants achieved full enteral feeding at discharge, and only 19.2% achieved 120 kcal/(kg·d) by enteral feeding at discharge. Importantly, 40.5% of infants did not regain the birth weight at discharge.Conclusion Enteral feeding support of late preterm infants has not been standardized to achieve optimal growth. Moreover, the human milk feeding rate was low, and many late preterm infants did not achieve the goal of enteral feeding and failed to regain birth weight at the time of discharge. More aggressive enteral feedings protocols are needed to promote human milk feeding and optimize growth for late preterm infants.
Objective To investigate the effects of YOD1 overexpression on the proliferation and migration of human oral keratinocytes (HOKs), and to clarify whether the mechanisms involve transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling.Methods HOKs were transfected with the plasmid pEGFP-N3-YOD1 containing YOD1. The mRNA levels of YOD1 and TGF-β were determined by qPCR. The protein expressions of YOD1, TGF-β, Smad2/3, Smad4, and phospho-Smad2/3 were determined by western blotting. Cell proliferation and migration were evaluated by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and wound healing assay, respectively.Results The mRNA and protein levels of YOD1 were higher in HOKs transfected with YOD1. YOD1 overexpression significantly enhanced the migration of HOKs. The mRNA and protein levels of TGF-β3 were increased by YOD1 overexpression. HOKs transfected with YOD1 exhibited increased phospho-Smad2/3 levels.Conclusion YOD1 overexpression enhances cell migration by promoting TGF-β3 signaling which may play an important role in lip and palate formation. YOD1 mutation may contribute to aberrant TGF-β3 signaling associated with decreased cell migration resulting in NSCLP.
Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of Pref-1+ adipocyte progenitor cells to mobilize into mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) and the dynamic expression of related chemokines during the development of rat MLNs.Methods Immunohistochemical analyses were used to detect the expression of Pref-1 and related chemokines. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to observe the changes in ultrastructure of MLNs.Results Cells containing lipid droplets were found in all rat MLNs at embryonic day (E) 18.5, 2 and 6 weeks (w) after birth, and they were similar to fibroblastic reticular cells (FRCs) or follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) under TEM. Pref-1+ adipocyte progenitor cells were found in all MLNs. The expression level of Pref-1 was significantly increased at 2 w after birth and decreased at 6 w after birth. The tendency of Cxcl12 expression was consistent with that of Pref-1 and was positively correlated with the expression of Pref-1(P < 0.01; r=0.897). At E18.5, Cxcl13, and Ccr7 were significantly expressed in the MLN anlage, but the expression level of Ccl21 was low. The expression level of Cxcl13, Ccr7, and Ccl21 in MLN were significantly increased at 2 w after birth (P < 0.05), while the expression of Ccr7 and Ccl21 were significantly decreased at 6 w after birth (P < 0.05).Conclusion Adipocyte progenitor cells are involved in the rat MLNs development through differentiation into FRC and FDC. The expression of the relevant chemokines during the development of MLNs is dynamic and may be related to the maintenance of lymph nodes self-balance state.
Objective To identify potential serum biomarkers for distinguishing between latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and active tuberculosis (TB).Methods A proteome microarray containing 4, 262 antigens was used for screening serum biomarkers of 40 serum samples from patients with LTBI and active TB at the systems level. The interaction network and functional classification of differentially expressed antigens were analyzed using STRING 10.0 and the TB database, respectively. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to validate candidate antigens further using 279 samples. The diagnostic performances of candidate antigens were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis. Both antigen combination and logistic regression analysis were used to improve diagnostic ability.Results Microarray results showed that levels of 152 Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)-antigen-specific IgG were significantly higher in active TB patients than in LTBI patients (P < 0.05), and these differentially expressed antigens showed stronger associations with each other and were involved in various biological processes. Eleven candidate antigens were further validated using ELISA and showed consistent results in microarray analysis. ROC analysis showed that antigens Rv2031c, Rv1408, and Rv2421c had higher areas under the curve (AUCs) of 0.8520, 0.8152, and 0.7970, respectively. In addition, both antigen combination and logistic regression analysis improved the diagnostic ability.Conclusion Several antigens have the potential to serve as serum biomarkers for discrimination between LTBI and active TB.
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