verables and reduced filter resource utilization at our institution.Alpha-1-microglobulin (A1M) is an antioxidant previously shown to be elevated in maternal blood during pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia and suggested to be important in the endogenous defense against oxidative stress. A knockout mouse model of A1M (A1Mko) was used in the present study to assess the importance of A1M during pregnancy in relation to the kidney, heart and placenta function. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and heart rate (HR) were determined before and throughout gestation. The morphology of the organs was assessed by both light and electron microscopy. Gene expression profiles relating to vascular tone and oxidative stress were analyzed using RT-qPCR with validation of selected gene expression relating to vascular tone and oxidative stress response. Pregnant age-matched wild type mice were used as controls. In the A1Mko mice there was a significantly higher SBP before pregnancy that during pregnancy was significantly reduced compared to the control. In addition, the HR was higher both before and during pregnancy compared to the controls. Renal morphological abnormalities were more frequent in the A1Mko mice, and the gene expression profiles in the kidney and the heart showed downregulation of transcripts associated with vasodilation. Simultaneously, an upregulation of vasoconstrictors, blood pressure regulators, and genes for osmotic stress response, ion transport and reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism occurred. Fetal weight was lower in the A1Mko mice at E17.5. The vessels in the labyrinth zone of the placentas and the endoplasmic reticulum in the spongiotrophoblasts were collapsed. The gene profiles in the placenta showed downregulation of antioxidants, ROS metabolism and oxidative stress response genes. In conclusion, intact A1M expression is necessary for the maintenance of normal kidney, heart as well as placental structure and function for a normal pregnancy adaptation.In mammalian genomes, most retrocopies emerged via the L1 retrotransposition machinery. The hallmarks of an L1-mediated retrocopy, i.e., the intronlessness, the presence of a 3' poly-A tail, and the TSDs at both ends, were frequently used to identify retrotransposition events. However, most previous studies only focused on protein-coding genes as their possible parental sources and thus only a few retrocopies derived from non-coding genes were reported. Remarkably, none of them was from microRNAs. Here in this study, we found several retrocopies generated from the mir-302-367 cluster gene (MIR302CHG), and identified a novel alternatively spliced exon encoding mir-302a. The other recognized microRNA retrotransposition events are primate-specific with mir-373 and mir-498 as their parental genes.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/paeoniflorin.html  The 3' poly-A tracts of these two retrocopy groups were directly attached to the end of the microRNA precursor homologous regions, which suggests that their parental transcripts might alternatively terminate at the end of mir-373 and mir-498. All the three parental microRNAs are highly expressed in specific tissues with elevated retrotransposon activity, such as the embryonic stem cells and the placenta. This might be the reason that our first microRNA retrocopy findings were derived from these three microRNA genes.Antibiotic resistance surveillance through regional and up-to-date testing of clinical isolates is a foundation for implementing effective empirical treatment. Surveillance data also provides an overview of geographical and temporal changes that are invaluable for guiding interventions. Still, due to limited infrastructure and resources, clinical surveillance data is lacking in many parts of the world. Given that sewage is largely made up of human fecal bacteria from many people, sewage epidemiology could provide a cost-efficient strategy to partly fill the current gap in clinical surveillance of antibiotic resistance. Here we explored the potential of sewage metagenomic data to assess clinical antibiotic resistance prevalence using environmental and clinical surveillance data from across the world. The sewage resistome correlated to clinical surveillance data of invasive Escherichia coli isolates, but none of several tested approaches provided a sufficient resolution for clear discrimination between resistance towards different classes of antibiotics. However, in combination with socioeconomic data, the overall clinical resistance situation could be predicted with good precision. We conclude that analyses of bacterial genes in sewage could contribute to informing management of antibiotic resistance.With increasing attention being paid to improving emotional well-being, recent evidence points to gut microbiota as a key player in regulating mental and physical health via bidirectional communication between the brain and gut. Here, we examine the association between emotional well-being and gut microbiome profiles (i.e., gut microbiome composition, diversity, and the moderating role of the enterotypes) among healthy Korean adults (n = 83, mean age = 48.9, SD = 13.2). The research was performed using high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing to obtain gut microbiome profiles, as well as a self-report survey that included the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The cluster-based analysis identified two enterotypes dominated by the genera Bacteroides (n = 49) and Prevotella (n = 34). Generalized linear regression analysis reveals significant associations between positive emotion and gut microbiome diversity (Shannon Index) among participants in the Prevotella dominant group, whereas no such relationship emerged among participants in the Bacteroides group. Moreover, a novel genus from the family Lachnospiraceae is associated with emotional well-being scores, both positive and negative. Together, the current findings highlight the enterotype-specific links between the gut microbiota community and emotion in healthy adults and suggest the possible roles of the gut microbiome in promoting mental health.Pulmonary function testing (PFT) is an important component for evaluating the outcome of experimental rodent models of respiratory diseases. Respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP) provides a noninvasive method of PFT requiring minimal cooperation. RIP measures work of breathing (WOB) indices including phase angle (Ф), percent rib cage (RC %), breaths per minute (BPM), and labored breathing index (LBI) on an iPad. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of a recently developed research instrument, pneuRIP, for evaluation of WOB indices in a developmental rat model. Sprague Dawley rats (2 months old) were commercially acquired and anaesthetised with isoflurane. The pneuRIP system uses two elastic bands one band (RC) placed around the rib cage under the upper armpit and another band (AB) around the abdomen. The typical thoracoabdominal motion (TAM) plot showed the abdomen and rib cage motion in synchrony. The plots of phase angle and LBI as a function of data point number showed that values were within the range.