A study published in BMC Ecology and Evolution re-evaluates ichthyosaur birth positions and finds that head-first births were more prevalent than previously thought, thus challenging the longstanding hypotheses.
] are attributed to the fact that the head and thorax are both bulky and rigid , and the posterior body and tail mobile and light. Under the influence of gravity the head and neck sink to the lower, cranial end of the uterus, while the tail is oriented posterodorsally towards the cervix.
Placental mammals that are born head-first generally share the characteristics that they have a flexible neck, long appendicular elements and a wide pelvic girdle. The peristaltic movement of the uterus and vagina push on the pelvic girdle of the fetus. This is mechanically convenient as the pelvic girdle is one of the widest parts of the fetal body.
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lifex-fiber: an open tool for myofibers generation in cardiac computational models - BMC BioinformaticsBackground Modeling the whole cardiac function involves the solution of several complex multi-physics and multi-scale models that are highly computationally demanding, which call for simpler yet accurate, high-performance computational tools. Despite the efforts made by several research groups, no software for whole-heart fully-coupled cardiac simulations in the scientific community has reached full maturity yet. Results In this work we present $$\texttt {life}^{\texttt {x}}$$ life x -fiber, an innovative tool for the generation of myocardial fibers based on Laplace-Dirichlet Rule-Based Methods, which are the essential building blocks for modeling the electrophysiological, mechanical and electromechanical cardiac function, from single-chamber to whole-heart simulations. $$\texttt {life}^{\texttt {x}}$$ life x -fiber is the first publicly released module for cardiac simulations based on $$\texttt {life}^{\texttt {x}}$$ life x , an open-source, high-performance Finite Element solver for multi-physics, multi-scale and multi-domain problems developed in the framework of the iHEART project, which aims at making in silico experiments easily reproducible and accessible to a wide community of users, including those with a background in medicine or bio-engineering. Conclusions The tool presented in this document is intended to provide the scientific community with a computational tool that incorporates general state of the art models and solvers for simulating the cardiac function within a high-performance framework that exposes a user- and developer-friendly interface. This report comes with an extensive technical and mathematical documentation to welcome new users to the core structure of $$\texttt {life}^{\texttt {x}}$$ life x -fiber and to provide them with a possible approach to include the generated cardiac fibers into more sophisticated computational pipelines. In the near future, more modules will be successively published either as pre-compiled binaries for x86-64 L
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Scarlett Moffatt reveals pregnancy craving as she heads on date nightSCARLETT Moffatt tucked into a Thai food banquet after revealing her pregnancy cravings. The former Gogglebox star sat opposite her boyfriend Scott Dobinson as they made the most of having time to …
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Adverse birth outcomes and early-life infections after in utero exposure to corticosteroids for inflammatory bowel disease: a Danish nationwide cohort study - BMC MedicineBackground Systemic corticosteroids are often used to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) flares during pregnancy as maintenance of disease remission is crucial to optimize pregnancy outcomes. However, there is little data regarding the effect of in utero exposure to corticosteroids on the risk of adverse birth outcomes and early-life infections in the offspring. Methods We used the Danish national registries to establish a nationwide cohort of all singleton live births in women with IBD from 1995 to 2015. Outcomes in children exposed in utero to corticosteroids were compared to those who were not exposed. In logistic and Cox proportional hazard regression models, we adjusted the outcomes (major congenital malformation, preterm birth, small for gestational age, low 5-min Apgar score, and infections) for confounders such as body mass index, smoking, comorbidity, and additional medical IBD treatment. Results After in utero exposure to corticosteroids at any time between 30 days prior to conception through the first trimester (n = 707), the adjusted hazard ratio of major congenital malformation was 1.28 (95% CI: 0.82–2.00) compared to children born to women with IBD, but not exposed to corticosteroids in utero (n = 9371). After in utero exposure to corticosteroids at any time during pregnancy (n = 1336), the adjusted odds ratios for preterm birth, small for gestational age, and low 5-min Apgar score were 2.45 (95% CI: 1.91–3.13), 1.21 (95% CI: 0.76–1.90), and 0.91 (95% CI: 0.33–2.52), respectively. Finally, the adjusted hazard ratio of overall infections in the first year of life was 1.14 (95% CI: 0.94–1.39). Conclusions This nationwide cohort study suggests that children of women with IBD exposed to corticosteroids in utero had an almost 2.5-fold increased risk of preterm birth. Use of corticosteroids is closely related to disease activity and we cannot adjust for the independent role of disease activity. It is however reassuring that the other examined birth and e
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Differences in gut microbiota and its metabolic function among different fasting plasma glucose groups in Mongolian population of China - BMC MicrobiologyBackground Many studies reported the association between gut microbiota and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), but it is still unclear which bacterial genus plays a key role and how the metabolic function of gut microbiota changes in the occurrence and development of T2D. Besides, there is a high diabetic prevalence in Mongolian population, which may be partly affected by their high calorie diet. This study identified the main bacterial genus influencing T2D in Mongolian population, and analyzed the changes of metabolic function of gut microbiome. The association between dietary factors and the relative abundance of main bacterial genus and its metabolic function was also studied. Methods Dietary surveys and gut microbiota test were performed on 24 Mongolian volunteers that were divided into T2D (6 cases), PRET2D (6 cases) and Control group (12 cases) according to fasting plasma glucose (FPG) values. The relative abundance and metabolic function of gut microbiome from their fecal samples were measured by metagenomic analysis. Statistic method was used to evaluate the association between dietary factors and the relative abundance of the main bacterial genus or its metabolic function. Results This study found that the Clostridium genus may be one of the key bacterial genera affecting the process of T2D. First, the relative abundance of Clostridium genus was significantly different among the three groups. Second, there was a higher relative abundance of metabolic enzymes of gut bacteria in PRET2D and T2D group than that in Control group. Third, a strong correlation between Clostridium genus and many metabolic enzymes was uncovered, many of which may be produced by the Clostridium. Last, carotene intake daily was negatively correlated with the Clostridium but positively correlated with tagaturonate reductase catalyzing interconversions of pentose and glucuronate. Conclusions The gut Clostridium genus may play an important role in the development of T2D and it could be a po
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Clinical characteristics and predictors of pulmonary hypertension in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at different altitudes - BMC Pulmonary MedicineBackground Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a common complication in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is closely associated with poor prognosis. However, studies on the predictors of PH in COPD patients are limited, especially in populations living at high altitude (HA). Objectives To investigate the differences in the clinical characteristics and predictors of patients with COPD/COPD and PH (COPD-PH) from low altitude (LA, 600 m) and HA (2200 m). Methods We performed a cross-sectional survey of 228 COPD patients of Han nationality admitted to the respiratory department of Qinghai People’s Hospital (N = 113) and West China Hospital of Sichuan University (N = 115) between March 2019 and June 2021. PH was defined as a pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (PASP) | 36 mmHg measured using transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). Results The proportion of PH in COPD patients living at HA was higher than that in patients living at LA (60.2% vs. 31.3%). COPD-PH patients from HA showed significantly different in baseline characteristics, laboratory tests and pulmonary function test. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the predictors of PH in COPD patients were different between the HA and LA groups. Conclusions The COPD patients living at HA had a higher proportion of PH than those living at LA. At LA, increased B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and direct bilirubin (DB) were predictors for PH in COPD patients. However, at HA, increased DB was a predictor of PH in COPD patients.
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Molly-Mae and Tommy Fury jet off in first class on first holiday with baby BambiNew parents Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury beamed as they took their first flight with their baby daughter Bambi to soak up the sun in the Middle East together
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