Effects of Probiotic Supplementation during Pregnancy on the Future Maternal Risk of Metabolic Syndrome

Probiotics are live microorganisms that induce health benefits in the host. Taking probiotics is generally safe and well tolerated by pregnant women and their children. Consumption of probiotics can result in both prophylactic and therapeutic effects. In healthy adult humans, the gut microbiome is stable at the level of the dominant taxa: Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, and has a higher presence of Verrucomicrobia. During pregnancy, an increase in the number of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria phyla and a decrease in the beneficial species Roseburia intestinalis and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii are observed. Pregnancy is a “window” to the mother’s future health. The aim of this paper is to review studies assessing the potentially beneficial effects of probiotics in preventing the development of diseases that appear during pregnancy, which are currently considered as risk factors for the development of metabolic syndrome, and consequently, reducing the risk of developing maternal metabolic syndrome in the future. The use of probiotics in gestational diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia and excessive gestational weight gain is reviewed. Probiotics are a relatively new intervention that can prevent the development of these disorders during pregnancy, and thus, would reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome resulting from these disorders in the mother’s future.     

Understanding the Evolution of CdTe Buffer Layer Surfaces on ZnTe/Si(211) and GaAs(211)B During Cyclic Annealing

We present the results of a detailed study of the changes that occur on CdTe buffer layer surfaces grown on ZnTe/Si(211) and GaAs(211)B during the routine thermal cyclic annealing (TCA) process. Observations indicate that CdTe buffer layer surfaces are Te saturated when the TCA is performed under Te overpressure. In the absence of Te flux during the TCA step, the CdTe surface loses CdTe congruently and the typical CdTe nanowires show the presence of nodules on their surfaces. The observed changes in reflection high-energy electron diffraction patterns during TCA are explained in terms of surface chemistry and topography observations. Overall, the Te overpressure is necessary to maintain a smoother and pristine surface to continue the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth.     

Beyond Photoprotection: The Multifarious Roles of Flavonoids in Plant Terrestrialization

Plants evolved an impressive arsenal of multifunctional specialized metabolites to cope with the novel environmental pressures imposed by the terrestrial habitat when moving from water. Here we examine the multifarious roles of flavonoids in plant terrestrialization. We reason on the environmental drivers, other than the increase in UV-B radiation, that were mostly responsible for the rise of flavonoid metabolism and how flavonoids helped plants in land conquest. We are reasonably based on a nutrient-deficiency hypothesis for the replacement of mycosporine-like amino acids, typical of streptophytic algae, with the flavonoid metabolism during the water-to-land transition. We suggest that flavonoids modulated auxin transport and signaling and promoted the symbiosis between plants and fungi (e.g., arbuscular mycorrhizal, AM), a central event for the conquest of land by plants. AM improved the ability of early plants to take up nutrients and water from highly impoverished soils. We offer evidence that flavonoids equipped early land plants with highly versatile “defense compounds”, essential for the new set of abiotic and biotic stressors imposed by the terrestrial environment. We conclude that flavonoids have been multifunctional since the appearance of plants on land, not only acting as UV filters but especially improving both nutrient acquisition and biotic stress defense.     

The Endolysosomal System: The Acid Test for SARS-CoV-2

This review aims to describe and discuss the different functions of the endolysosomal system, from homeostasis to its vital role during viral infections. We will initially describe endolysosomal system’s main functions, presenting recent data on how its compartments are essential for host defense to explore later how SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) and other coronaviruses subvert these organelles for their benefit. It is clear that to succeed, pathogens’ evolution favored the establishment of ways to avoid, escape, or manipulate lysosomal function. The unavoidable coexistence with such an unfriendly milieu imposed on viruses the establishment of a vast array of strategies to make the most out of the invaded cell’s machinery to produce new viruses and maneuvers to escape the host’s defense system.     

Effects of Low-Intensity and Long-Term Aerobic Exercise on the Psoas Muscle of mdx Mice: An Experimental Model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a muscle disease characterized by the absence of the protein dystrophin, which causes a loss of sarcolemma integrity, determining recurrent muscle injuries, decrease in muscle function, and progressive degeneration. Currently, there is a need for therapeutic treatments to improve the quality of life of DMD patients. Here, we investigated the effects of a low-intensity aerobic training (37 sessions) on satellite cells, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator (PGC)-1α protein (PGC-1α), and different types of fibers of the psoas muscle from mdx mice (DMD experimental model). Wildtype and mdx mice were randomly divided into sedentary and trained groups (n = 24). Trained animals were subjected to 37 sessions of low-intensity running on a motorized treadmill. Subsequently, the psoas muscle was excised and analyzed by immunofluorescence for dystrophin, satellite cells, myosin heavy chain (MHC), and PGC-1α content. The minimal Feret’s diameters of the fibers were measured, and light microscopy was applied to observe general morphological features of the muscles. The training (37 sessions) improved morphological features in muscles from mdx mice and caused an increase in the number of quiescent/activated satellite cells. It also increased the content of PGC-1α in the mdx group. We concluded that low-intensity aerobic exercise (37 sessions) was able to reverse deleterious changes determined by DMD.     

Impact of Tellurium Precipitates in CdZnTe Substrates on MBE HgCdTe Deposition

State-of-the-art (112)B CdZnTe substrates were examined for near-surface tellurium precipitate-related defects. The Te precipitate density was observed to be fairly uniform throughout the bulk of the wafer, including the near-surface region. After a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) preparation etch, exposed Te precipitates, small pits, and bumps on the (112)B surface of the CdZnTe wafer were observed. From near-infrared and dark field microscopy, the bumps and small pits on the CdZnTe surface are associated with strings of Te precipitates. Raised bumps are Te precipitates near the surface of the (112)B CdZnTe where the MBE preparation etch has not yet exposed the Te precipitate(s). An exposed Te precipitate sticking above the etched CdZnTe surface plane occurs when the MBE preparation etch rapidly undercuts a Te precipitate. Shallow surface pits are formed when the Te precipitate is completely undercut from the surrounding (112)B surface plane. The Te precipitate that was previously located at the center of the pit is liberated by the MBE preparation etch process.     

The effect of noble gas bombarding on nitrogen diffusion in steel

The low energy (∼50–350 eV) noble gases ion bombardment of the steel surface shows that the pre-treatments increase nitrogen diffusion by modifying the outermost structure of the material. The surface microstructure and morphology of the studied samples were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The crystalline and chemical structures in the outermost layers of the surface were analyzed by grazing angle X-ray diffraction (GAXRD) and photoemission electron spectroscopy (XPS). Temperature effusion studies of the implanted ions are used to elucidate the noble gases site localization in the network. The local compressive stress induced by the nearby iron atoms on the core level electron wave functions of the trapped noble gases are studied by photoemission electron spectroscopy (XPS) and interpreted considering a simple mechanical model. Nano-hardness measurements show the dependence of the material elastic constant on the energy of the implanted noble gases. Although the ion implantation range is about few nanometers, the atomic attrition effect is larger enough to modify the material structure in the range of micrometers. Two material stress zones were detected where the outermost layers shows compressive stress and the underneath layers shows tensile stress. The implanted noble gases can be easily removed by heating. A diffusion model for polycrystalline-phase systems is used in order to discuss the influence of the atomic attrition on the N diffusion coefficient. The concomitant effect of grain refining, stress, and surface texture on the enhancing nitrogen diffusion effect is discussed.     

Correlating phase and microstructure development versus dielectric properties in La and Er co-doped Bi4Ti3O12 ferroelectric ceramics

Bi_3.25La_0.75−xEr_xTi₃O₁₂ and Bi_3.25La_0.75Ti_3−xEr_xO_12−δ ceramics were prepared and studied in this work in terms of dopant-induced phase and microstructure development as well as dielectric response. The results show that introduction of Er³⁺ tends to reduce the materials’ sintering temperature and average grain size. Moreover, it was noted that in these systems the substitution site of this dopant is controlled by valence state and ionic radii mismatch effects. In particular, even when a nominal substitution of Ti⁴⁺ is conceived, here it is found that Er³⁺ also incorporates at the (Bi,La)³⁺ sites. These and other interesting concluding remarks from this work, including Er³⁺ tolerance, were possible only after comparing, especially, the X-ray diffraction results and the intrinsic ferroelectric characteristics extracted from the dielectric measurements.