Distinct classes of 21- and 24-nt phasiRNAs suggests diverse mechanisms of biogenesis and function in rice anther development.

PhasiRNAs (phased small interfering RNAs) are a major class of plant small RNAs (sRNA) known to be key regulators in male reproductive development of maize (Zea mays) and rice (Oryza sativa), among other plants. Earlier research focused primarily on premeiotic 21-nucleotide (nt) phasiRNAs and meiotic 24-nt phasiRNAs, while new studies uncovered a premeiotic class of 24-nt phasiRNAs. The biogenesis and function of these phasiRNAs remain unclear.

Perioperative nutritional assessment and support in visceral surgery.

Malnutrition in visceral surgery is frequent; it calls for screening prior to an operation, and its postoperative occurrence should be sought out and prevented, if possible. Organization of an individualized nutritional support strategy is based on systematic nutritional assessment and adapted to the type of surgery, the objectives being to forestall malnutrition and to reduce induced morbidity (immunosuppression, delayed wound healing, anastomotic fistulas…). Nutritional support is part and parcel of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS), and has shown effectiveness in the field of visceral surgery.

Application and potential of artificial intelligence in neonatal medicine.

Neonatal care is becoming increasingly complex with large amounts of rich, routinely recorded physiological, diagnostic and outcome data. Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to harness this vast quantity and range of information and become a powerful tool to support clinical decision making, personalised care, precise prognostics, and enhance patient safety. Current AI approaches in neonatal medicine include tools for disease prediction and risk stratification, neurological diagnostic support and novel image recognition technologies.

The newborn delivery room of tomorrow: emerging and future technologies.

Advances in neonatal care have resulted in improved outcomes for high-risk newborns with technologies playing a significant part although many were developed for the neonatal intensive care unit. The care provided in the delivery room (DR) during the first few minutes of life can impact short- and long-term neonatal outcomes. Increasingly, technologies have a critical role to play in the DR particularly with monitoring and information provision.

Feasibility of a Novel ECG Electrode Placement Method in Newborn Infants.

Background: International newborn resuscitation guidelines recommend electrocardiogram (ECG) heart rate (HR) monitoring at birth. We evaluated the application time of pre-set ECG electrodes fixed to a polyethene patch allowing adhesive-free attachment to the wet skin of the newborn chest.

Objectives: Using a three-electrode pre-set ECG patch configuration, application success was calculated using video analysis and measured at three time points, the time to (1) apply electrodes; (2) detect recognizable QRS complexes after application; and (3) display a HR after application.

Improving newborn heart rate assessment using a simple visual timer.

Objective: Newborn resuscitation relies on accurate heart rate (HR) assessment, which, during auscultation, is prone to error. We investigated if a 6 s visual timer (VT) could improve HR assessment accuracy during newborn simulation.

Design: Prospective observational study of newborn healthcare professionals.

Accurate neonatal heart rate monitoring using a new wireless, cap mounted device.

Aim: A device for newborn heart rate (HR) monitoring at birth that is compatible with delayed cord clamping and minimises hypothermia risk could have advantages over current approaches. We evaluated a wireless, cap mounted device (fhPPG) for monitoring neonatal HR.

Methods: A total of 52 infants on the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and immediately following birth by elective caesarean section (ECS) were recruited.

Postnatal gestational age estimation of newborns using Small Sample Deep Learning.

A baby's gestational age determines whether or not they are premature, which helps clinicians decide on suitable post-natal treatment. The most accurate dating methods use Ultrasound Scan (USS) machines, but these are expensive, require trained personnel and cannot always be deployed to remote areas. In the absence of USS, the Ballard Score, a postnatal clinical examination, can be used.

Development of a Clinical Interface for a Novel Newborn Resuscitation Device: Human Factors Approach to Understanding Cognitive User Requirements.

Background: A novel medical device has been developed to address an unmet need of standardizing and facilitating heart rate recording during neonatal resuscitation. In a time-critical emergency resuscitation, where failure can mean death of an infant, it is vital that clinicians are provided with information in a timely, precise, and clear manner to capacitate appropriate decision making. This new technology provides a hands-free, wireless heart rate monitoring solution that easily fits the clinical pathway and procedure for neonatal resuscitation.

Eukaryotic Life Inhabits Rhodolith-forming Coralline Algae (Hapalidiales, Rhodophyta), Remarkable Marine Benthic Microhabitats.

Rhodoliths are benthic calcium carbonate nodules accreted by crustose coralline red algae which recently have been identified as useful indicators of biomineral changes resulting from global climate change and ocean acidification. This study highlights the discovery that the interior of rhodoliths are marine biodiversity hotspots that function as seedbanks and temporary reservoirs of previously unknown stages in the life history of ecologically important dinoflagellate and haptophyte microalgae. Whereas the studied rhodoliths originated from offshore deep bank pinnacles in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, the present study opens the door to assess the universality of endolithic stages among bloom-forming microalgae spanning different phyla, some of public health concerns (Prorocentrum) in marine ecosystems worldwide.

Neonatal head and torso vibration exposure during inter-hospital transfer.

Inter-hospital transport of premature infants is increasingly common, given the centralisation of neonatal intensive care. However, it is known to be associated with anomalously increased morbidity, most notably brain injury, and with increased mortality from multifactorial causes. Surprisingly, there have been relatively few previous studies investigating the levels of mechanical shock and vibration hazard present during this vehicular transport pathway.

[HIV infection and diabetes: experience and quality of life in patients with two chronic diseases].

Objectives: Diabetes mellitus is frequently associated with HIV infection but there's only limited evidence regarding the control and impact of this co-morbidity. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of diabetes, compliance with treatment, perception and quality of life of HIV patients with diabetes.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among patients treated for diabetes and registered in the DMI2 databasis in a French university hospital in January 2010.

Genetic detection of sex-biased and age-biased dispersal in a population of wild carnivore, the red fox, Vulpes vulpes.

Field studies conducted on rural red fox (Vulpes vulpes) populations suggest that the majority of males tend to disperse while the majority of females tend to be philopatric, that males disperse farther than females, and that most of the foxes disperse during their first year of life. However, the quantification of dispersal parameters is poorly documented in the red fox, because this carnivore is notoriously difficult to follow from birth to maturity. The aim of this study was to test hypotheses from field data with the help of a molecular analysis using six random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers.

Cellular uptake and efflux of trans-piceid and its aglycone trans-resveratrol on the apical membrane of human intestinal Caco-2 cells.

Two stilbenes (trans-piceid and its aglycone trans-resveratrol) were investigated in the uptake across the apical membrane of the human intestinal cell line Caco-2 in order to determine their mechanisms of transport. The uptake was quantified using a reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography method with fluorescence detection. The rate of cellular accumulation in the cells was found to be higher for trans-resveratrol than for trans-piceid.