Correlation between increased maternal body mass index and pregnancy complications.

OBJECTIVE: Obesity in pregnancy carries significant maternal and fetal risk. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of maternal body mass index on pregnancy outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study retrospectively reviewed the clinical outcome of 485 pregnant women who delivered at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinical Centre of Vojvodina, Novi Sad, during the period of three years (2018-2020) and compared them against the body mass index (BMI). Correlation coefficient was calculated for BMI and seven pregnancy complications (hypertensive syndrome, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, intrauterine growth restriction, premature rupture of membranes, mode of delivery and postpartum hemorrhage). The collected data were presented in the form of median values and relative numbers (the measure of variability). The implementation of the simulation model and its verification were carried out using a specialized programming language, Python. Statistical models were created where the Chi-square and p-value were as determined for every observed outcome. RESULTS: The average age of the subjects was 35.79 years and average BMI 29.28 kg/m2. A statistically significant correlation was found between the BMI and arterial hypertension, gestational diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia and cesarean section. The correlations between the body mass index and postpartum hemorrhage, intrauterine growth restriction and premature rupture of membranes were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: As high BMI correlates with a number of negative outcomes in pregnancy, weight control before and during pregnancy and proper antenatal and intranatal care are necessary to achieve a favorable pregnancy outcome.

The impact of the chromium supplementation on insulin signalling pathway in different tissues and milk yield in dairy cows.

Thirty days before expected time of parturition, 20 Holstein cows were divided into -Cr and +Cr groups. From day 25 before parturition (BP) up to day 30 after parturition (AP), +Cr cows received 10 mg of Cr (chromium-enriched yeast) daily. Muscle and adipose tissue samples were taken at days -30, -10, +7 and +10 related to parturition, when body condition score (BCS) was also determined. Hepatic tissue samples were taken at days -10 and +7. Tissue samples were used for determination of the insulin signalling pathway protein expressions. Intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) was performed at days -28, -7, +10 and +30. Milk yield was recorded during first 14 weeks AP. Milk composition was obtained at days 7 and 28 AP. At day 10 BP, protein content of ß-subunit of insulin receptor (IRß) was significantly higher (p Ë‚ 0.05) in muscle, and phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate 1 at serine 307 (pIRS-1 Ser307 ) was significantly lower (p Ë‚ 0.05) in hepatic tissue of +Cr group. After parturition, pIRS-1 Ser307 was significantly lower in muscle tissue at days 7 and 28 (p Ë‚ 0.05 and p Ë‚ 0.001, respectively), while phosphorylation of Akt at serine 473 (pAkt Ser473 ) was significantly higher (p Ë‚ 0.01) in hepatic tissue at day 7 AP in +Cr group. Chromium had opposite effect on insulin kinetics during IVGTTs obtained BP and AP. Insulin secretion was significantly reduced at day 7 BP and significantly enhanced at day 10 AP, when NEFA concentration was also significantly increased. Milk yield and ECM value were depressed in +Cr group. DMI and BCS were significantly enhanced in +Cr group at day 7 BP. In conclusion, chromium modulates insulin signalling pathway in dairy cows, but targeted signalling molecules are different in antepartal then post-partal period, probably due to duration of exposure to chromium and different energy status between those periods.

Usefulness of beta hCG as tumor marker in the diagnosis and follow up of patients with ovarian cancer.

PURPOSE: To test the possibility of using beta human chorionic gonadotropin (ß-hCG) as a tumor marker in ovarian cancer by determining its diagnostic and prognostic value, and see for any relationship between disease stage, histological tumor types and serum and ascitic fluid ß-hCG levels, as well as to identify false positive and false negative results. METHODS: This was a prospective study in 60 surgically treated patients with ovarian cancer in the period 2006- 2010. The diagnosis was confirmed postoperatively based on the histopathological findings and the continuous determination of ß-hCG serum levels, during the 2 postoperative years at regular quarterly intervals. The obtained results were statistically processed using multivariate analysis. RESULTS: ß-hCG showed no reliable diagnostic value in ovarian cancer. A statistically significant difference between serum ß-hCG levels and different FIGO stages was noted, but not between ß-hCG levels and different histological groups of tumors. There were 10.2% of false positive and 18.9% of false negative results in all measurements. CONCLUSION: The use of ß-hCG as a tumor marker for ovarian cancer is justified only in patients with preoperatively high levels in advanced FIGO stages (III and IV), regardless of histological type of tumor.

The CGM1a (CEACAM3/CD66d)-mediated phagocytic pathway of Neisseria gonorrhoeae expressing opacity proteins is also the pathway to cell death.

Phagocytosis of Opa+ Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonococcus, GC) by neutrophils is in part dependent on the interaction of Opa proteins with CGM1a (CEACAM3/CD66d) antigens, a neutrophil-specific receptor. However, the signaling pathways leading to phagocytosis have not been characterized. Here we show that interaction of OpaI bacteria with neutrophils or CGM1a-transfected DT40 cells induces calcium flux, which correlates with phagocytosis of bacteria. We identified an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM) in CGM1a, and showed that the ability of CGM1a to transduce signals and mediate phagocytosis was abolished by mutation of the ITAM tyrosines. We also demonstrated that CGM1a-ITAM-mediated bacterial phagocytosis is dependent on Syk and phospholipase C activity in DT40 cells. Unexpectedly, the activation of the CGM1a-ITAM phagocytic pathway by Opa+ GC results in induction of cell death.

Developing an effective program to complete ictal SPECT in the epilepsy monitoring unit.

With the availability of more stable radiopharmaceuticals, the ictal single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) perfusion study has emerged as a useful noninvasive functional neuroimaging tool in the presurgical evaluation of patients with medically intractable partial epilepsy. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the development of a program using trained electroencephalography (EEG) technologists to perform ictal injections in the epilepsy monitoring unit enabled a more efficient delivery of radiopharmaceuticals and therefore a higher specificity and sensitivity of outcome. All patients admitted to the epilepsy monitoring unit for prolonged video/EEG monitoring as part of the presurgical evaluation were eligible for completion of an ictal SPECT study using a three-way needle-free apparatus. Over a 19-month period, 85 (77%)) of 110 eligible patients were successfully injected during typical partial seizures. Various factors were analyzed including latency of ictal injection (27.3+/-20.8 [S.D.] s), radiopharmaceutical wastage (40% dose utilization), radiation safety parameters (1.6% contamination rate), and preliminary data of localizing value. Our results show that ictal SPECT can be a safe, noninvasive procedure completed on a routine basis in the epilepsy monitoring unit when appropriately trained support staff are utilized as part of a structured multidisciplinary program.

Scintigraphic demonstration of a right-to-left intracardiac shunt in a patient with massive pulmonary emboli.

A case of massive pulmonary embolism resulting in marked pulmonary to systemic shunting in a patient with a previously clinically inapparent ventricular or atrial septal defect is presented. The various types of unrecognized intracardiac shunts and their prevalence in the adult population are discussed.

A simple fluorimetric method for the estimation of ligand binding parameters in ligand-enzyme complexes.

The theory and practice of a simple fluorimetric method for the estimation of ligand binding parameters in ligand-enzyme complexes is described. In this method, the concentration of a ligand-binding enzyme and the dissociation constant of a ligand-enzyme complex were estimated solely from the total concentration of a ligand and the total fluorescence of the ligand in the absence and in the presence of enzyme.