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It has been widely known that oxidative stress disrupts the balance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the antioxidant system in the body. During pregnancy, the physiological generation of ROS is involved in a variety of developmental processes ranging from oocyte maturation to luteolysis and embryo implantation. While abnormal overproduction of ROS disrupts these processes resulting in reproductive failure. In addition, excessive oxidative stress impairs maternal and placental functions and eventually results in fetal loss, IUGR, and gestational diabetes mellitus. Although some oxidative stress is inevitable during pregnancy, a balancing act between oxidant and antioxidant production is necessary at different stages of the pregnancy. The review aims to highlight the importance of maintaining oxidative and antioxidant balance throughout pregnancy. Furthermore, we highlight the role of oxidative stress in pregnancy-related diseases.

This study was designed to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of Eucommia ulmoides flavones (EUF) using diquat-challenged piglet models. A total of 96 weaned piglets were randomly allotted to 1 of 3 treatments with 8 replication pens per treatment and 4 piglets per pen. The treatments were basal diet, basal diet + diquat, and 100 mg/kg EUF diet + diquat. On day 7 after the initiation of treatment, the piglets were injected intraperitoneally with diquat at 8 mg/kg BW or the same amount of sterilized saline. The experiment was conducted for 21 days. EUF supplementation improved the growth performance of diquat-treated piglets from day 14 to 21. Diquat also induced oxidative stress and inflammatory responses and then impaired intestinal morphology. But EUF addition alleviated these negative effects induced by diquat that showed decreasing serum concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines but increasing antioxidant indexes and anti-inflammatory cytokines on day 14. Supplementation of EUF also increased villi height and villous height, crypt depth, but decreased the histopathological score and MPO activity compared with those of diquat-challenged pigs fed with the basal diet on day 14. Results indicated that EUF attenuated the inflammation and oxidative stress of piglets caused by diquat injection.

The primary goal of this study is to develop a deep neural network for action recognition that enhances accuracy and minimizes computational costs. In this regard, we propose a modified EMO-MoviNet-A2* architecture that integrates Evolving Normalization (EvoNorm), Mish activation, and optimal frame selection to improve the accuracy and efficiency of action recognition tasks in videos. The asterisk notation indicates that this model also incorporates the stream buffer concept. The Mobile Video Network (MoviNet) is a member of the memory-efficient architectures discovered through Neural Architecture Search (NAS), which balances accuracy and efficiency by integrating spatial, temporal, and spatio-temporal operations. Our research implements the MoviNet model on the UCF101 and HMDB51 datasets, pre-trained on the kinetics dataset. Upon implementation on the UCF101 dataset, a generalization gap was observed, with the model performing better on the training set than on the testing set. To address this issue, we replaced batch normalization with EvoNorm, which unifies normalization and activation functions. Another area that required improvement was key-frame selection. We also developed a novel technique called Optimal Frame Selection (OFS) to identify key-frames within videos more effectively than random or densely frame selection methods. Combining OFS with Mish nonlinearity resulted in a 0.8–1% improvement in accuracy in our UCF101 20-classes experiment. The EMO-MoviNet-A2* model consumes 86% fewer FLOPs and approximately 90% fewer parameters on the UCF101 dataset, with a trade-off of 1–2% accuracy. Additionally, it achieves 5–7% higher accuracy on the HMDB51 dataset while requiring seven times fewer FLOPs and ten times fewer parameters compared to the reference model, Motion-Augmented RGB Stream (MARS).

The fetal-maternal immune system determines the fate of pregnancy. The trophoblast cells not only give an active response against external stimuli but are also involved in secreting most of the cytokines. These cells have an essential function in fetal acceptance or fetal rejection. Other immune cells also play a pivotal role in carrying out a successful pregnancy. The disruption in this mechanism may lead to harmful effects on pregnancy. The placenta serves as an immune barrier in fetus protection against invading pathogens. Once the infections prevail, they may localize in placental and fetal tissues, and the presence of inflammation due to cytokines may have detrimental effects on pregnancy. Moreover, some pathogens are responsible for congenital fetal anomalies and affect almost all organs of the developing fetus. This review article is designed to address the bacterial and viral infections that threaten pregnancy and their possible outcomes. Moreover, training of the fetal immune system against the exposure of infections and the role of CD49a + NK cells in embryonic development will also be highlighted.

Eucommia ulmoides (EU) (also known as “Du Zhong” in Chinese language) is a plant containing various kinds of chemical constituents such as lignans, iridoids, phenolics, steroids, flavonoids, and other compounds. These constituents of EU possess various medicinal properties and have been used in Chinese Traditional Medicine (TCM) as a folk drink and functional food for several thousand years. EU has several pharmacological properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, antimicrobial, anticancer, antiaging, cardioprotective, and neuroprotective properties. Hence, it has been widely used solely or in combination with other compounds to treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, sexual dysfunction, cancer, metabolic syndrome, and neurological diseases. This review paper summarizes the various active ingredients contained in EU and their health-promoting properties, thus serving as a reference material for the application of EU.

Background:Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is a time-consuming, yet critical imaging method. In contrast, while rapid techniques accelerate image acquisition, these methods can also compromise image quality. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of Adaptive CS-Net, a vendor-supported deep-learning magnetic resonance (MR) reconstruction algorithm, for non-contrast three-dimensional (3D) whole-heart imaging using relaxation-enhanced angiography without contrast and triggering (REACT) remains uncertain.Methods:Thirty participants were prospectively recruited for this study. Each underwent non-contrast imaging that included a modified REACT sequence and a standard 3D balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) sequence. The REACT data were acquired through six-fold undersampling and reconstructed offline using both conventional compressed sensing (CS) and an Adaptive CS-Net algorithm. Subjective and objective image quality assessments, as well as cross-sectional area measurements of selected vessels, were conducted to compare the REACT images reconstructed using Adaptive CS-Net against those reconstructed using conventional CS, as well as the standard bSSFP sequence. For a statistical comparison of image quality across these three image sets, the nonparametric Friedman test was performed, followed by Dunn's post-hoc test.Results:The Adaptive CS-Net and CS-reconstructed REACT images exhibited superior image quality for pulmonary veins, neck, and upper thoracic vessels compared to the standard 3D bSSFP sequence. Adaptive CS-Net and CS reconstructed REACT images displayed significantly higher contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) compared to those reconstructed using the 3D bSSFP sequence (all p-values < 0.05) for the left upper (5.40, 5.53, 0.97), left lower (6.33, 5.84, 2.27), right upper (5.49, 6.74, 1.18), and right lower pulmonary veins (6.71, 6.41, 1.26). Additionally, REACT methods showed a statistically significant improvement in CNR for both the ascending aorta and superior vena cava compared to the 3D bSSFP sequence.Conclusions:The Adaptive CS-Net reconstruction for the REACT images consistently delivered superior or comparable image quality compared to the CS technique. Notably, the Adaptive CS-Net reconstruction provides significantly enhanced image quality for pulmonary veins, neck, and upper thoracic vessels compared to 3D bSSFP.

Clinical indicators of heart function are often limited in their ability to accurately evaluate the current mechanical state of the myocardium. Biomechanical modeling has been shown to be a promising tool in addition to clinical indicators. By providing a patient-specific measure of myocardial active stress (contractility), biomechanical modeling can enhance the precision of the description of patient’s pathophysiology at any given point in time. In this work we aim to explore the ability of biomechanical modeling to predict the response of ventricular mechanics to the progressively decreasing afterload in repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) patients undergoing pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) for significant residual right ventricular outflow tract obstruction (RVOTO). We used 19 patient-specific models of patients with rTOF prior to pulmonary valve replacement (PVR), denoted as PSMpre, and patient-specific models of the same patients created post-PVR (PSMpost)—both created in our previous published work. Using the PSMpre and assuming cessation of the pulmonary regurgitation and a progressive decrease of RVOT resistance, we built relationships between the contractility and RVOT resistance post-PVR. The predictive value of such in silico obtained relationships were tested against the PSMpost, i.e. the models created from the actual post-PVR datasets. Our results show a linear 1-dimensional relationship between the in silico predicted contractility post-PVR and the RVOT resistance. The predicted contractility was close to the contractility in the PSMpost model with a mean (± SD) difference of 6.5 (± 3.0)%. The relationships between the contractility predicted by in silico PVR vs. RVOT resistance have a potential to inform clinicians about hypothetical mechanical response of the ventricle based on the degree of pre-operative RVOTO.

Understanding (patho)physiological phenomena and mechanisms of failure in patients with Fontan circulation-a surgically established circulation for patients born with a functionally single ventricle-remains challenging due to the complex hemodynamics and high inter-patient variations in anatomy and function. In this work, we present a biomechanical model of the heart and circulation to augment the diagnostic evaluation of Fontan patients with early-stage heart failure. The proposed framework employs a reduced-order model of heart coupled with a simplified circulation including venous return, creating a closed-loop system. We deploy this framework to augment the information from data obtained during combined cardiac catheterization and magnetic resonance exams (XMR), performed at rest and during dobutamine stress in 9 children with Fontan circulation and 2 biventricular controls. We demonstrate that our modeling framework enables patient-specific investigation of myocardial stiffness, contractility at rest, contractile reserve during stress and changes in vascular resistance. Hereby, the model allows to identify key factors underlying the pathophysiological response to stress in these patients. In addition, the rapid personalization of the model to patient data and fast simulation of cardiac cycles make our framework directly applicable in a clinical workflow. We conclude that the proposed modeling framework is a valuable addition to the current clinical diagnostic XMR exam that helps to explain patient-specific stress hemodynamics and can identify potential mechanisms of failure in patients with Fontan circulation.

Defective implantation is related to pregnancy-associated disorders such as spontaneous miscarriage, intrauterine fetal growth restriction and others. Several factors proclaimed to be involved such as physiological, nutritional, environmental and managemental that leads to cause oxidative stress. Overloading of free radicals promotes oxidative stress, and the internal body system could not combat its ability to encounter the damaging effects and subsequently leading to pregnancy-related disorders. During pregnancy, essential amino acids display important role for optimum fetal growth and other necessary functions for continuing fruitful pregnancy. In this context, dietary amino acids have received much attention regarding the nutritional concerns during pregnancy. Arginine, glutamine, tryptophan and taurine play a crucial role in fetal growth, development and survival while ornithine and proline are important players for the regulation of gene expression, protein synthesis and angiogenesis. Moreover, amino acids also stimulate the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway which plays a central role in the synthesis of proteins in placenta, uterus and fetus. This review article explores the significances of dietary amino acids in pregnancy development, regulation of nutrient-sensing pathways such as mTOR, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling pathway (IIS) and 5′ adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) which exhibit important role in reproduction and its related problems. In addition, the antioxidant function of dietary amino acids against oxidative stress triggering pregnancy disorders and their possible outcomes will also be enlightened. Dietary supplementation of amino acids during pregnancy could help mitigate reproductive disorders and thereby improving fertility in animals as well as humans.

Background Branch pulmonary artery flow patterns in the Fontan circulation manifest oscillations reflecting venous pressure changes. The clinical importance of variation in branch pulmonary artery flow patterns and the relationship with the single ventricle performance is not understood. We describe insights gained from simultaneous hemodynamic and phase contrast magnetic resonance using interventional CMR (iCMR) in these patients. Method Twenty-seven patients with Fontan circulation referred for iCMR were studied using phase-contrast velocity mapping. The isovolumetric relaxation period (IVRT) was assessed using standard or velocity-encoded cine imaging of the atrioventricular valve (AVV) and aortic valve. We qualitatively assessed branch pulmonary artery flows considering four patterns: IVRT flow reversal, IVRT flow reaching baseline, and normal – phasic flow or continuous flow. We further collected comprehensive left and right heart iCMR hemodynamic and flow data, including pressures, aortopulmonary collateral (APC) burden, and degree of AVV regurgitation. Results Most patients underwent extracardiac Fontan palliation and did not have significant APC burden. Cardiac cycle analysis demonstrated that flow reversal and flow reaching baseline correlated with IVRT (v-wave timing on SVC pressure). Further analysis showed statistically significant difference in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWp) v-wave (P = .008) among the described groups. Notably, patients with IVRT flow reversal pattern had higher PCWp v-wave and most had severe AVV regurgitation. Conclusion Branch pulmonary artery IVRT flow reversal and IVRT baseline patterns in patients with Fontan circulation may represent indirect signs of single ventricle poor performance and severe AVV regurgitation.