Is preeclampsia itself a risk factor for the development of metabolic syndrome after delivery?

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the association between preeclampsia and the postpartum development of metabolic syndrome based on the pre-pregnancy status. METHODS: Korean women who delivered their first child between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2012, were enrolled. All subjects underwent a national health screening examination conducted by the National Health Insurance Corporation 1 or 2 years prior to their first delivery and within 2 years after their first delivery. RESULTS: Among the 49,065 participants, preeclampsia developed in 3,391 participants (6.9%). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was higher postpartum in women with preeclampsia than in those without preeclampsia (4.9% vs. 2.7%, respectively, P<0.001). Through the pre-pregnancy to postpartum period, women with preeclampsia had a greater increase in gestational weight retention, body mass index, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, and triglyceride levels and a greater decrease in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels than women without preeclampsia. Preeclampsia was associated with an increased risk of the postpartum development of metabolic syndrome in women without pre-pregnancy metabolic syndrome (odds ratio, 1.28; 95% confidence interval, 1.05–1.56). However, preeclampsia was not associated with postpartum metabolic syndrome in women with pre-pregnancy metabolic syndrome or 2 components of metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSION: In this study, preeclampsia was associated with the postpartum development of metabolic syndrome in women without pre-pregnancy metabolic syndrome. However, the effects were attenuated by predisposing risk factors in the pre-pregnancy period.

Spatiotemporal saliency detection for video sequences based on random walk with restart.

A novel saliency detection algorithm for video sequences based on the random walk with restart (RWR) is proposed in this paper. We adopt RWR to detect spatially and temporally salient regions. More specifically, we first find a temporal saliency distribution using the features of motion distinctiveness, temporal consistency, and abrupt change. Among them, the motion distinctiveness is derived by comparing the motion profiles of image patches. Then, we employ the temporal saliency distribution as a restarting distribution of the random walker. In addition, we design the transition probability matrix for the walker using the spatial features of intensity, color, and compactness. Finally, we estimate the spatiotemporal saliency distribution by finding the steady-state distribution of the walker. The proposed algorithm detects foreground salient objects faithfully, while suppressing cluttered backgrounds effectively, by incorporating the spatial transition matrix and the temporal restarting distribution systematically. Experimental results on various video sequences demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms conventional saliency detection algorithms qualitatively and quantitatively.

3,4,5-Trihydroxycinnamic Acid Inhibits Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammatory Response through the Activation of Nrf2 Pathway in BV2 Microglial Cells

3,4,5-Trihydroxycinnamic acid (THC) is a derivative of hydroxycinnamic acids, which have been reported to possess a variety of biological properties such as anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and neuroprotective activities. However, biological activity of THC has not been extensively examined. Recently, we reported that THC possesses anti-inflammatory activity in LPS-stimulated BV2 microglial cells. However, its precise mechanism by which THC exerts anti-inflammatory action has not been clearly identified. Therefore, the present study was carried out to understand the anti-inflammatory mechanism of THC in BV2 microglial cells. THC effectively suppressed the LPS-induced induction of pro-inflammatory mediators such as NO, TNF-alpha, and IL-1beta. THC also suppressed expression of MCP-1, which plays a key role in the migration of activated microglia. To understand the underlying mechanism by which THC exerts these anti-inflammatory properties, involvement of Nrf2, which is a cytoprotective transcription factor, was examined. THC resulted in increased phosphorylation of Nrf2 with consequent expression of HO-1 in a concentration-dependent manner. THC-induced phosphorylation of Nrf2 was blocked with SB203580, a p38 MAPK inhibitor, indicating that p38 MAPK is the responsible kinase for the phosphorylation of Nrf2. Taken together, the present study for the first time demonstrates that THC exerts anti-inflammatory properties through the activation of Nrf2 in BV2 microglial cells, suggesting that THC might be a valuable therapeutic adjuvant for the treatment of inflammation-related disorders in the CNS.

Significance of the Expression of Cathepsins B, H, & L in Colonic Epithelial Neoplasms

BACKGROUND: Cathepsin is associated with tumorigenesis, tumor invasion and metastasis through its ability to induce degradation of extracellular matrix components. METHODS: To investigate the correlation between cathepsin expression and tumor progression, invasion depth or nodal metastasis, immunohistochemical staining for cathepsins B, H and L were done on 20 hyperplastic polyps, 48 adenomas, and 67 adenocarcinomas of the colon. Evaluation of the expression of cathepsins B, H and L was based on the percentage of neoplastic cells that stained positive for any given cathepsin. RESULTS: Cathepsin B expression was significantly higher in adenocarcinomas than adenomas (29.33 vs 5.48%), but was not associated with the degree of differentiation, depth of invasion and nodal status of the tumors. Expression of cathepsins H and L was absent or low in both adenomas and adenocarcinomas. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that cathepsin B is involved in progression of a subset of colonic adenomas, while cathepsins H and L are not.