Distribution of maternal and infant human papillomavirus: risk factors associated with vertical transmission.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the rate of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in pregnant women and their neonates, and the risk factors associated with vertical transmission of HPV infection from mothers to neonates. STUDY DESIGN: Cervical HPV testing was undertaken in pregnant women over 36 weeks of gestation, and mouth secretions and oral mucosa of neonates were tested for HPV immediately after delivery. HPV-positive neonates were rechecked 2 months postpartum to identify the persistence of HPV infection. In HPV-positive mothers, the placenta, cord blood and maternal peripheral blood were also analysed for HPV to confirm whether transplacental HPV infection occurred. RESULTS: HPV was detected in 72 of 469 pregnant women (15.4%) and in 15 neonates (3.2%). Maternal HPV positivity was associated with primiparity and abnormal cervical cytology. The rate of vertical transmission was 20.8%, and all HPV-positive neonates were born from HPV-positive mothers. Vertical transmission was associated with vaginal delivery and multiple HPV types in the mother. Neonates with HPV showed a tendency for higher maternal total HPV copy number than neonates without HPV, but this difference was not significant (p=0.081). No cases of HPV infection were found in the infants at 2 months postpartum, and no HPV was detected in placenta, cord blood or maternal blood. CONCLUSIONS: Vertical transmission of HPV is associated with vaginal delivery and multiple HPV types in the mother; however, neonatal HPV infection through vertical transmission is thought to be a transient.

The relationship between borderline personality symptoms and body mass index in a consecutive sample of cardiac stress test patients.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by inherent difficulties with self-regulation. While a number of studies have examined the relationship between BPD and body mass index (BMI)/overweight/obesity, findings have been mixed. In this cross-sectional study of a consecutive sample of 238 participants presenting for cardiac stress testing, we investigated the relationship between borderline personality symptoms, according to two self-report measures, and BMI. Compared to participants who were negative on both measures of borderline personality symptoms, participants who were positive on either measure of borderline personality symptoms demonstrated no differences in current BMI or highest BMI in adulthood. These results in a unique study population mirror the findings of other studies in medical and community populations.

Increased myocardial Rab GTPase expression: a consequence and cause of cardiomyopathy.

The Ras-like Rab GTPases regulate vesicle transport in endocytosis and exocytosis. We found that cardiac Rabs1, 4, and 6 are upregulated in a dilated cardiomyopathy model overexpressing beta(2)-adrenergic receptors. To determine if increased Rab GTPase expression can contribute to cardiomyopathy, we transgenically overexpressed in mouse hearts prototypical Rab1a, the small G protein that regulates vesicle transport from endoplasmic reticulum to and through Golgi. In multiple independent mouse lines, Rab1a overexpression caused cardiac hypertrophy that progressed in a time- and transgene dose-dependent manner to heart failure. Isolated cardiac myocytes were hypertrophied and exhibited contractile depression with impaired calcium reuptake. Ultrastructural analysis revealed enlarged Golgi stacks and increased transitional vesicles in ventricular myocytes, with increased secretory atrial natriuretic peptide granules and degenerative myelin figures in atrial myocytes; immunogold studies localized Rab1a to these abnormal vesicular structures. A survey of hypertrophy signaling molecules revealed increased protein kinase C (PKC) alpha and delta, and confocal microscopy showed abnormal subcellular distribution of PKCalpha in Rab1a transgenics. These results indicate that increased expression of Rab1 GTPase in myocardium distorts subcellular localization of proteins and is sufficient to cause cardiac hypertrophy and failure.

Spontaneous rupture of a pineal teratoma.

A case of a spontaneously ruptured pineal teratoma is presented. This was diagnosed by computed tomography (CT) and was confirmed later at operation.

Threshold excitations, relaxation oscillations, and effect of noise in an enzyme reaction.

We study a deprotonation reaction by an enzyme with activity dependent on pH. The rate and transport equations are simplified with a number of assumptions, are analyzed according to the presence of different time scales, and are solved numerically to show relaxation oscillation and threshold excitation, for different choices of parameters. The imposition of fluctuations (noise) on the deterministic equations for threshold excitation conditions leads to random occurrence of an excitation and return to steady state at low noise level and to large, random variations in concentrations at high noise level. At intermediate noise levels (of the order of the threshold excitation), however, we find quasi-periodic concentration oscillations. Thus, critical values of external constraints necessary for oscillations are altered by the presence of noise.