Improving essential obstetric and newborn care in resource-poor countries.

Skilled birth attendance (SBA) and essential obstetric care (EOC) are key strategies for reducing maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity globally. Lack of adequately trained competent staff is a key barrier to achieving this. We assessed the effectiveness of a new package of 'Life Saving Skills - Essential Obstetric and Newborn Care Training' (LSS-EOC and NC) designed specifically around the UN signal functions in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Among 600 healthcare providers (nurse-midwives, doctors, clinical officers and specialists), knowledge about the diagnosis and management of complications of pregnancy and childbirth as well as newborn care significantly increased (p < 0.001). There was measurable improvement in skills (p < 0.001), and participants expressed a high level of satisfaction with the training. The training package was found to meet the needs of healthcare providers, increased awareness of the need for evidence-based care and encouraged teamwork.

Real-time analysis of methanol in air and water by membrane introduction mass spectrometry.

We present results for the near-real-time, on-line detection of methanol in both air and water using membrane introduction mass spectrometry (MIMS). In these experiments, we compare the sensitivity of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) membrane and an allyl alcohol (AA) membrane to the detection of methanol. In MIMS, the membrane serves as the interface between the sample and the vacuum of the mass spectrometer. Membrane-diffused water was used as the reagent ion (H3O+) for chemical ionization of methanol in an ion trap mass spectrometer. Linear calibration curves have been obtained for methanol using both PDMS and AA membranes. For PDMS, detection limits of methanol are 14 ppmv and 5 ppm in air and water, respectively. For AA, detection limits are 3.3 ppmv and 2 ppm in air and water, respectively. We demonstrate that the sensitivity of the analysis can be altered by the chemistry of the membrane. When the AA membrane is used, the sensitivity of MIMS is enhanced over that of PDMS by a factor of 8.5 for methanol in air and by a factor of 23.4 for methanol in water.

Simultaneous 31P MRS of the soleus and gastrocnemius in Sherpas during graded calf muscle exercise.

The observation that the amount of lactate formed during hypobaric hypoxia decreases with the severity of hypoxia has become known as the "lactate paradox." We used noninvasive 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to further probe this problem and explore the nature of muscle metabolism during rest-exercise-recovery transitions in Sherpas indigenous to the high Himalayas of Nepal. MRS data were obtained using a whole body 1-m bore, 1.5-T Phillips Gyroscan spectrometer. Muscle-specific localization of MRS data acquisition was achieved by means of a modified image-selected in vivo spectroscopy sequence (ISIS). The spectra acquired from the medial and lateral gastrocnemius muscle, rich in fast-twitch fibers, were well constrained by selective excitation and by the boundary of the leg. The spectra from a third region contained signals predominantly from the soleus, a muscle formed mainly of slow-twitch fibers. We quantified relative concentration changes in phosphocreatine (PCr), Pi, and ATP during a series of calf muscle work bouts; free ADP concentrations were calculated on the assumption that the creatine phosphokinase reaction was always essentially at equilibrium. Hydrogen ion concentrations were calculated from the chemical shift of Pi, which represents the equilibrium between mono- and diprotonated phosphate. Plantar flexion was quantified using a calf muscle ergometer designed for operation within a 1-m whole body magnet. We found that the concentration of ATP was rigorously regulated and thus did not change despite large changes in ATP turnover rates required through exercise. The relative concentrations of PCr and Pi were linear functions of the percent maximum work rate of the lateral and medial gastrocnemius, but on transition to exercise the fractional concentration changes in these metabolites were much less than the fractional change in muscle ATP turnover rates. The relationship between muscle ATP turnover rate and free ADP concentration was complex; again, a kinetic order of 1 was not observed. In contrast to the gastrocnemius, the soleus muscle sustained much smaller changes in the concentrations of these crucial metabolites during rest-work-recovery transitions. Unlike the situation in most other muscles rich in fast-twitch fibers characterized by lactate-associated acidosis during muscle work, the intracellular pH in gastrocnemius of Sherpas was stable through these protocols, which is consistent with the low lactate production (i.e., with the lactate paradox) observed in indigenous highlanders.

Polymorphisms of the angiotensin-converting-enzyme gene in subjects who die from coronary heart disease.

It has been shown that myocardial infarction survivors are more likely to carry an insertion/deletion polymorphism (I/D) of the angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) gene than age-matched population controls. To test whether the association with coronary risk had been under-estimated, the frequency of the ACE I/D was studied in 213 fatal cases of definite and possible myocardial infarction which came to autopsy in the Belfast MONICA Project area. In comparison to controls from the same population, the autopsy cases had an increased frequency of the ACE D allele (p < 0.02). The overall odds ratios were 2.2 for DD vs. II, and 1.8 for ID vs II (test for trend p = 0.01). The findings bear out the hypothesis that the ACE I/D polymorphism is a risk factor for fatal myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death.