Peripheral cord insertion is associated with adverse pregnancy outcome only when accompanied by clinically significant placental pathology.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between umbilical cord insertion site, placental pathology and adverse pregnancy outcome in a cohort of normal and complicated pregnancies. METHODS: Sonographic measurement of the cord insertion and detailed placental pathology were performed in 309 participants. Associations between cord insertion site, placental pathology and adverse pregnancy outcome (pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, small-for-gestational age) were examined. RESULTS: A total of 93 (30%) participants were identified by pathological examination to have a peripheral cord insertion site. Only 41 of the 93 (44%) peripheral cords were detected by prenatal ultrasound. Peripherally inserted cords were associated significantly (P < 0.0001) with diagnostic placental pathology (most commonly with maternal vascular malperfusion (MVM)); of which 85% had an adverse pregnancy outcome. In cases of isolated peripheral cords, without placental pathology, the incidence of adverse outcome was not statistically different when compared to those with central cord insertion and no placental pathology (31% vs 18%; P = 0.3). A peripheral cord with an abnormal umbilical artery (UA) pulsatility index (PI) corresponded to an adverse outcome in 96% of cases compared to 29% when the UA-PI was normal. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that peripheral cord insertion is often part of the spectrum of findings of MVM disease and is associated with adverse pregnancy outcome. However, adverse outcome was uncommon when there was an isolated peripheral cord insertion and no placental pathology. Therefore, additional sonographic and biochemical features of MVM should be sought when a peripheral cord is observed. © 2023 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Grazing season length and stocking rate affect milk production and supplementary feed requirements of spring-calving dairy cows on marginal soils.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of increasing stocking rate (SR) and extending grazing season (GS) length on pasture and animal productivity on a marginal, poorly draining soil type. The study was a multiyear (2017 to 2020, inclusive) whole farm systems evaluation with a 2 × 2 factorial experimental arrangement of treatments. The systems evaluated comprised 2 GS lengths, average (AGS; 205 d) and extended (EGS; 270 d), and the 2 whole farm stocking rates were medium (2.5 cows/ha) and high (2.9 cows/ha). We used this study design to create 4 grazing system intensities (500, 600, 700, and 800 cow grazing days per hectare per year). In 2017, cows were randomly allocated to 1 of the 4 whole farm systems precalving and remained on the same treatments for the duration of the study. We found no significant differences in total average annual pasture production [14,133 ± 538 kg of dry matter (DM) per hectare] or sward chemical composition between GS and SR treatments over the 4-yr period, with the exception of average crude protein content, which was lower for EGS (211 g/kg DM) compared with AGS (218 g/kg DM). Grazed pasture production was significantly increased in EGS treatments (+758 kg of DM/ha) compared with AGS (9,917 kg of DM/ha), whereas conserved silage DM production was greater for AGS (+716 kg of DM/ha) compared with EGS (3,583 kg of DM/ha). Neither GS nor SR had a significant effect on daily or cumulative lactation milk and fat plus protein production per cow (5,039 and ±440 kg, respectively). Increasing SR resulted in increased milk fat plus protein yield per hectare based on increased grazed pasture utilization. These results add further credence to the important additive contributions of both extended grazing and SR intensification to achieve high levels of grazed pasture utilization and milk production per hectare while reducing supplementary feed requirements within spring-calving grazing systems.

Determination of fetal heart rate short-term variation from umbilical artery Doppler waveforms.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of using umbilical artery (UA) Doppler waveforms to measure fetal heart rate (FHR) short-term variation (STV) across gestation. METHODS: This was a prospective longitudinal study, conducted at two study sites, of 195 pregnancies considered low risk. Pulsed-wave Doppler of the UAs was performed at 4-weekly intervals, between 14 and 40 weeks of gestation, using a standardized imaging protocol. Up to 12 consecutive UA Doppler waveforms were analyzed using offline processing software. FHR STV was calculated using average R-R intervals extracted from the waveforms and baseline corrected for FHR. RESULTS: Baseline-corrected FHR STV increased significantly with gestational age (conditional R2 = 0.37; P < 0.0001) and was correlated inversely with FHR (conditional R2 = 0.54; P < 0.0001). The STV ranged (median (interquartile range)) from 3.5 (2.9-4.1) ms at 14-20 weeks' gestation to 6.3 (4.8-7.7) ms at 34-40 weeks' gestation. The change in heart rate STV did not differ between study sites or individual sonographers. CONCLUSIONS: UA Doppler waveforms offer a robust and feasible method to derive STV of the FHR. It should be emphasized that the UA Doppler-derived STV is not interchangeable with measurements derived with computerized cardiotocography. Accordingly, further investigations are needed to validate associations with outcome, in order to determine the value of concurrent fetal cardiovascular and heart rate evaluations that are possible with the technique described here. © 2020 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Women's views about breast cancer prevention at mammography screening units and well women's clinics.

Background: Women attending mammography screening units (msus) and well women's clinics (wwcs) represent a motivated cohort likely to engage in interventions aimed at primary breast cancer (bca) prevention. Methods: We used a feasibility questionnaire distributed to women (40-49 or 50-74 years of age) attending msus and wwcs in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to examine■ women's views about bca primary prevention and sources of health care information,■ prevalence of lifestyle-related bca risk factors, and■ predictors of prior mammography encounters within provincial screening guidelines.Variables examined included personal profiling, comorbidities, prior mammography uptake, lifestyle behaviours, socioeconomic status, health information sources, and willingness to discuss or implement lifestyle modifications, or endocrine therapy, or both. A logistic regression analysis examined associations with prior mammography encounters. Results: Of the 244 responses obtained during 1.5 months from women aged 40-49 years (n = 75) and 50-74 years (n = 169), 56% and 75% respectively sought or would prefer to receive health information from within, as opposed to outside, health care. Lifestyle-related bca risk factors were prevalent, and most women were willing to discuss or implement lifestyle modifications (93%) or endocrine therapy (67%). Of the two age groups, 49% and 93% respectively had previously undergone mammography within guidelines. Increasing age and marital status (single, separated, or divorced vs. married or partnered) were independent predictors of prior mammography encounters within guidelines for women 40-49 years of age; no independent predictors were observed in the older age group. Conclusions: Women attending msus and wwcs seem to largely adhere to mammography guidelines and appear motivated to engage in bca primary prevention strategies, including lifestyle modifications and endocrine therapy. Women's views as observed in this study provide a rationale for the potential incorporation of bca risk assessment within the "mammogram point of care" to engage motivated women in bca primary prevention strategies.

Characterization of pulmonary immune responses to hyperoxia by high-dimensional mass cytometry analyses.

Prolonged exposure to hyperoxia has deleterious effects on the lung, provoking both inflammation and alveolar injury. The elements of hyperoxic injury, which result in high rates of lethality in experimental models, are thought to include multicellular immune responses. To characterize these alterations in immune cell populations, we performed time-of-flight mass cytometry (CyTOF) analysis of CD45-expressing immune cells in whole lung parenchyma and the bronchoalveolar space of mice, exposed to 48 hours of hyperoxia together with normoxic controls. At the tested time point, hyperoxia exposure resulted in decreased abundance of immunoregulatory populations (regulatory B cells, myeloid regulatory cells) in lung parenchyma and markedly decreased proliferation rates of myeloid regulatory cells, monocytes and alveolar macrophages. Additionally, hyperoxia caused a shift in the phenotype of alveolar macrophages, increasing proportion of cells with elevated CD68, CD44, CD11c, PD-L1, and CD205 expression levels. These changes occurred in the absence of histologically evident alveolar damage and abundance of neutrophils in the parenchyma or alveolar space did not change at these time points. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that pulmonary response to hyperoxia involves marked changes in specific subsets of myeloid and lymphoid populations. These findings have important implications for therapeutic targeting in acute lung injury.

Altered brain development in an early-onset murine model of Alzheimer's disease.

Murine models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been used to draw associations between atrophy of neural tissue and underlying pathology. In this study, the early-onset TgCRND8 mouse model of AD and littermate controls were scanned longitudinally with in vivo manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) before and after the onset of amyloid plaque deposition at 12 weeks of age. Separate cohorts of mice were scanned at 1 week (ex vivo imaging) and 4 weeks (MEMRI) of age to investigate early life alterations in the brain. Contrary to our expectations, differences in neuroanatomy were found in early post-natal life, preceding plaque deposition by as much as 11 weeks. Many of these differences remained at all imaging time points, suggesting that they were programmed early in life and were unaffected by the onset of pathology. Furthermore, rather than showing atrophy, many regions of the TgCRND8 brain grew at a faster rate compared to controls. These regions contained the greatest density of amyloid plaques and reactive astrocytes. Our findings suggest that pathological processes as well as an alteration in brain development influence the TgCRND8 neuroanatomy throughout the lifespan.

Glucocorticoids interact with noradrenergic activation at encoding to enhance long-term memory for emotional material in women.

Evidence from the animal literature suggests that post-training glucocorticoids (GCs) interact with noradrenergic activation at acquisition to enhance memory consolidation for emotional stimuli. While there is evidence that GCs enhance memory for emotional material in humans, the extent to which this depends on noradrenergic activation at encoding has not been explored. In this study, 20-mg hydrocortisone was administered to healthy young women (18-35 yrs old) in a double-blind fashion 10 min prior to viewing a series of emotional and neutral images. Saliva samples were taken at baseline, 10 min after drug or placebo administration, immediately after viewing the images, 10, 20, and 30 min after viewing the images. Participants returned 1 week later for a surprise recall test. Results suggest that, hydrocortisone administration resulted in emotional memory enhancement only in participants who displayed an increase in endogenous noradrenergic activation, measured via salivary alpha-amylase at encoding. These results support findings in the animal literature, and suggest that GC-induced memory enhancement relies on noradrenergic activation at encoding in women.

(7)Li NMR and two-dimensional exchange study of lithium dynamics in monoclinic Li(3)V(2)(PO(4))(3).

High-resolution solid-state (7)Li NMR was used to characterize the structure and dynamics of lithium ion transport in monoclinic Li(3)V(2)(PO(4))(3). Under fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) conditions (25 kHz), three resonances are clearly resolved and assigned to the three unique crystallographic sites. This assignment is based on the Fermi-contact delocalization interaction between the unpaired d-electrons at the vanadium centers and the lithium ions. One-dimensional variable-temperature NMR and two-dimensional exchange spectroscopy (EXSY) are used to probe Li mobility between the three sites. Very fast exchange, on the microsecond time scale, was observed for the Li hopping processes. Activation energies are determined and correlated to structural properties including interatomic Li distances and Li-O bottleneck sizes.

Sex-related differences in amygdala functional connectivity during resting conditions.

Recent neuroimaging studies have established a sex-related hemispheric lateralization of amygdala involvement in memory for emotionally arousing material. Here, we examine the possibility that sex-related differences in amygdala involvement in memory for emotional material develop from differential patterns of amygdala functional connectivity evident in the resting brain. Seed voxel partial least square analyses of regional cerebral blood flow data revealed significant sex-related differences in amygdala functional connectivity during resting conditions. The right amygdala was associated with greater functional connectivity in men than in women. In contrast, the left amygdala was associated with greater functional connectivity in women than in men. Furthermore, the regions displaying stronger functional connectivity with the right amygdala in males (sensorimotor cortex, striatum, pulvinar) differed from those displaying stronger functional connectivity with the left amygdala in females (subgenual cortex, hypothalamus). These differences in functional connectivity at rest may link to sex-related differences in medical and psychiatric disorders.

Retaining and characterising nano-structure within tapered air-silica structured optical fibers.

Air-silica fiber 125m in diameter has been tapered down to ~15m. At this diameter, it is commonly assumed that the nanostructured fiber holes have collapsed. Using an Atomic Force Microscope, we show this assumption to be in error, and demonstrate for the first time that structures several hundred nanometers in diameter are present, and that hole array structures are maintained. The use of Atomic Force Microscopy is shown to be an efficient way of characterising these structures.

Affective modulation of multiple memory systems.

The hippocampus and caudate nucleus are anatomical components of relatively independent memory systems and recent research has focused on the nature of the interaction between these two systems. The amygdala exerts a general modulatory influence on memory storage processes related, in part, to an organism's level of affective or emotional arousal. Moreover, affective state can influence the use of different memory systems, and the amygdala may mediate this effect of emotion on memory. Recent evidence indicates that the amygdala modulates the separate types of memory mediated by the hippocampus and caudate nucleus. Recent human brain imaging studies also point to both sex- and hemisphere-related asymmetries in amygdala participation in emotionally influenced memory.

Genetics, commodification, and social justice in the globalization era.

The commercialization of biotechnology, especially research and development by transnational pharmaceutical companies, is already excessive and is increasingly dangerous to distributive justice, human rights, and access of marginal populations to basic human goods. Focusing on gene patenting, this article employs the work of Margaret Jane Radin and others to argue that gene patenting ought to be more highly regulated and that it ought to be regulated with international participation and in view of concerns about solidarity and the common good. The mode of argument called for on this issue is more pragmatic than logical, emphasizing persuasion based on evidence about the reality and effects of control of genetic research by profit-driven biotech companies.

The neurobiology of learning and memory: some reminders to remember.

We have learned much about the neurobiology of learning and memory in the past 100 years. We have also learned much about how we should, and should not, investigate these complex processes. However, with the rapid recent growth in the field and the influx of investigators not familiar with this past, these crucial lessons too often fail to guide the research of today. Here we highlight some major lessons gleaned from this wealth of experience. These include the need to carefully attend to the learning/performance distinction, to rely equally on synthetic as well as reductionistic thinking, and to avoid the seduction of simplicity. Examples in which the lessons of history are, and are not, educating current research are also given.

Disrupting basolateral amygdala function impairs unconditioned freezing and avoidance in rats.

Lesions of the lateral/basolateral amygdala nuclei (BLC) disrupt freezing behaviour in response to explicit or contextual cues (conditioned stimuli--CS) paired previously with footshock (unconditioned stimulus). This deficit in expression of defensive behaviour in response to conditioned stimuli is often interpreted as inability of lesioned rats to learn CS-US associations. However, findings of several studies indicate that BLC-lesioned rats can rapidly learn CS-US associations. Such findings suggest that lesioned rats can learn CS-US associations but are impaired in the expression of freezing behaviour. In the present study we report that both temporary inactivation (lidocaine) and permanent excitotoxic (NMDA) lesions of the BLC impair the unconditioned freezing and avoidance behaviours of rats in response to a novel fear-eliciting stimulus, a ball of cat hair. These findings suggest that the BLC influences the expression of freezing and avoidance behaviours, and/or that it potentiates rats' experience of fear. Along with prior evidence of spared memory for aversive learning after BLC lesions, these findings suggest that disrupted freezing to conditioned cues in BLC-lesioned rats does not necessarily reflect inability to form CS-US associations.

Lesions of the basolateral amygdala complex block propofol-induced amnesia for inhibitory avoidance learning in rats.

BACKGROUND: As the unitary theory of anesthesia gives way to the "multiple sites, multiple mechanisms" concept, the sites involved in mediating the components of anesthesia must be identified. In the current study, we test the hypothesis that the basolateral amygdala complex (BLAC) is a brain site involved with mediating propofol-induced amnesia. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups, sham-operated control animals and rats given bilateral excitotoxic N-methyl-D-aspartate lesions of the BLAC. For each group, animals were given intraperitoneal saline or propofol (25 mg/kg) 5 min before inhibitory avoidance learning. Rats were given a foot shock (0.4 mA) upon entering the dark side of a two-sided apparatus. Rats could escape additional shock by returning to and staying in the light side. Training ended after shock avoidance for greater than 60 s. Memory was tested at 24 h. Longer latencies to enter the dark side 24 h after training imply better memory. RESULTS: Sham-saline-treated animals had a robust memory latency (median latency [interquartile range] = 300 [163-567] s). Sham-propofo-treated animals exhibited a significant anterograde amnesia (latency = 63 [14-111] s) (P < 0.05 vs. sham-saline-treated animal). Both the saline-injected and propofol-injected animals with BLAC lesions showed robust memory (latency = 300 [264-485] and 323 [143480] s, respectively). These latencies did not differ from performance in the sham-saline-treated group and were significantly higher than the latency of the sham-propofol-treated group (both P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Discrete BLAC lesions blocked the amnestic effect of propofol. BLAC activity appears to be a requirement for propofol-induced amnesia. This finding suggests that the BLAC is a key brain site mediating anesthetic-induced amnesia.

Enhanced frontal cortex activation in rats by convergent amygdaloid and noxious sensory signals.

The modulation of frontal cortical EEG activation to noxious somatosensory (tail pressure) and olfactory (acetone) stimulation by the basal amygdala was examined in urethane-anesthetized rats. Mild tail pressure produced no EEG activation, while acetone (sniffed by freely breathing rats or drawn across the olfactory epithelium in tracheotomized rats) produced a moderate suppression of large-amplitude synchronized EEG patterns. Concurrent, low-intensity 100 Hz stimulation of the basal amygdala permitted EEG activation to tail pressure to occur, and strongly enhanced olfactory-induced cortical activation. These results indicate that excitation of the basal amygdala potentiates frontal cortical responsiveness to aversive sensory events. This may provide a mechanism to facilitate cortical excitability and processing by amygdaloid neuronal activity.

Sex-related difference in amygdala activity during emotionally influenced memory storage.

We tested the possibility suggested by previous imaging studies that amygdala participation in the storage of emotionally influenced memory is differentially lateralized in men and women. Male and female subjects received two PET scans for regional cerebral glucose-one while viewing a series of emotionally provocative (negative) films, and a second while viewing a series of matched, but emotionally more neutral, films. Consistent with suggestions from several previously published studies, enhanced activity of the right, but not the left, amygdala in men was related to enhanced memory for the emotional films. Conversely, enhanced activity of the left, but not the right, amygdala in women was related to enhanced memory for the emotional films. These results demonstrate a clear gender-related lateralization of amygdala involvement in emotionally influenced memory, and indicate that theories of the neurobiology of emotionally influenced memory must begin to account for the influence of gender.

Using Augustine in contemporary sexual ethics. A response to Gilbert Meilaender.

In response to Gilbert Meilaender's innovative interpretation of Augustine and of Roman Catholic teaching, the author suggests (1) that Meilaender attributes to Augustine a more positive view of sexual pleasure than the texts will support, (2) that modern Roman Catholic teaching suggests that love should have priority over procreation as a meaning of sex; and (3) that the moral logic of Meilaender's argument does not require a rejection of all reproductive technologies. Nonetheless, the author agrees that a more critical attitude should be adopted toward the reasons for which technologically assisted reproduction is promoted and undertaken, as well as toward its social impact.