The paradox of pregnancy : an update on the immunology of early pregnancy

Pregnancy is an altered physiological state where an organism essentially foreign to the individual carrying it, grows, develops and at an appropriate time probably initiates a series of signals which lead to its safe expulsion from the woman's body. The immunological changes which allow this process are unique to pregnancy. Recent work in this field has led to a further understanding of the changes which operate to adapt the woman to the pregnant state. The concept that has developed over the years is one where a number of factors exert their effect both at the systemic but mostly at the local uterine level to modulate the immune response which will then refrain from mounting an inflammatory response against the invading trophoblast. The main protagonists of this immunomodulation are embryonic factors, uterine (endometrial) NK cells and, of course, the hormone progesterone. Progress has been made from the original observations of miscarriage rates in HLA sharing couples and with the possibility of research in couples undergoing IVF cycles, factors are being identified which initiate immunomodulation. Once implantation occurs the endometrial NK cells which are abundant from the late luteal phase are activated to control trophoblastic invasion and enhance the changes in blood vessels which allow for adequate feto-maternal perfusion. The immune response is controlled by PIBF under the influence of progesterone to bias towards a humoral response and suppress a cytotoxic response. All these processes are prone to fail at times and the clinical manifestation of such a failure is miscarriage along with other obstetric complications such as intra-uterine growth retardation, pre-eclampsia and placental abruption. Progress in the understanding of the immunological processes which protect pregnancy will help in elucidating the mechanisms whereby these processes fail. A consequence of this should be the explanation of those cases as yet classified as unexplained recurrent miscarriage. The literature indicates that the prognosis for this group of patients is not as encouraging as one would hope and that progress in this area is eagerly awaited by both patients and doctors working in this field.peer-reviewe

Impacts of the combined exposure to seawater acidification and arsenic on the proteome of Crassostrea angulata and Crassostrea gigas

Proteomic analysis was performed to compare the effects of Arsenic (As), seawater acidification (Low pH) and the combination of both stressors (Low pH + As) on Crassostrea angulata and Crassostrea gigas juveniles in the context of global environmental change. This study aimed to elucidate if two closely related Crassostrea species respond similarly to these environmental stressors, considering both single and combined exposures, to infer if the simultaneous exposure to both stressors induced a differentiated response. Identification of the most important differentially expressed proteins between conditions revealed marked differences in the response of each species towards single and combined exposures, evidencing species-related differences towards each experimental condition. Moreover, protein alterations observed in the combined exposure (Low pH + As) were substantially different from those observed in single exposures. Identified proteins and their putative biological functions revealed an array of modes of action in each condition. Among the most important, those involved in cellular structure (Actin, Atlastin, Severin, Gelsolin, Coronin) and extracellular matrix modulation (Ependymin, Tight junction ZO-1, Neprilysin) were strongly regulated, although in different exposure conditions and species. Data also revealed differences regarding metabolic modulation capacity (ATP β, Enolase, Aconitate hydratase) and oxidative stress response (Aldehyde dehydrogenase, Lactoylglutathione, Retinal dehydrogenase) of each species, which also depended on single or combined exposures, illustrating a different response capacity of both oyster species to the presence of multiple stressors. Interestingly, alterations of piRNA abundance in C. angulata suggested genome reconfiguration in response to multiple stressors, likely an important mode of action related to adaptive evolution mechanisms previously unknown to oyster species, which requires further investigation. The present findings provide a deeper insight into the complexity of C. angulata and C. gigas responses to environmental stress at the proteome level, evidencing different capacities to endure abiotic changes, with relevance regarding the ecophysiological fitness of each species and competitive advantages in a changing environment.Centro-01-0145-FEDER-000018info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A property of isometric mappings between dual polar spaces of type DQ(2n,K)

Let f be an isometric embedding of the dual polar space Delta = DQ(2n, K) into Delta' = DQ(2n, K'). Let P denote the point-set of Delta and let e' : Delta' -> Sigma' congruent to PG(2(n) - 1, K') denote the spin-embedding of Delta'. We show that for every locally singular hyperplane H of Delta, there exists a unique locally singular hyperplane H' of Delta' such that f(H) = f(P) boolean AND H'. We use this to show that there exists a subgeometry Sigma congruent to PG(2(n) - 1, K) of Sigma' such that: (i) e' circle f (x) is an element of Sigma for every point x of Delta; (ii) e := e' circle f defines a full embedding of Delta into Sigma, which is isomorphic to the spin-embedding of Delta

Penurunan Progesterone-Induced Blocking Factor (PIBF) Sebagai Penanda Preeklampsia

Tujuan: Membandingkan kadar PIBF serum dan berat plasenta pada model preeklampsia.Bahan dan Metode: Penelitian cross sectional yang dilakukan pada 16 Mus musculus bunting normal dan 16 Mus musculus bunting yang diberikan anti Qa-2 untuk membentuk suatu model preeklampsia. Kemudian dilakukan terminasi pada hari ke 16 kebuntingan dan dilakukan pemeriksaan kadar PIBF serum dengan metode ELISA serta pengukuran berat plasenta.Hasil: Didapatkan penurunan kadar PIBF serum pada Mus musculus model preeklampsia dibandingkan kontrol (33,21±29,36 ng/ml vs 105,76±59,69 ng/ml; p0,05). Tidak didapatkan hubungan antara kadar PIBF serum dengan berat plasenta.Simpulan: Penurunan kadar PIBF serum dapat dijadikan sebagai penanda kejadian preeklampsia. Penurunan kadar PIBF serum diduga berhubungan dengan kelainan plasenta pada preeklampsia

Subsidy Competition and the Role of Firm Ownership

This paper addresses the role that foreign vs. domestic ownership of companies plays for governments in asymmetric countries' competition for a multinational's subsidiary. I argue that equilibrium subsidies as well as a foreign investor's location decision in policy competition between these countries critically depend on the ownership structure of incumbent firms. This shows that small countries with few national incumbents in an industry may be successful in attracting multinationals

Hydrodynamic limit for two-species exclusion processes

We consider two-species exclusion processes on the d-dimensional discrete torus taking the effects of exchange, creation and annihilation into account. The model is, in general, of nongradient type. We prove that the (charged) particle density converges to the solution of a certain nonlinear diffusion equation under the diffusive rescaling in space and time. We also prove a lower bound on the spectral gap for the generator of the process confined in a finite volume.Comment: 28 page

Comparative study of dydrogesterone dosage of the duphaston 40mg daily and duphaston 20mg daily in the outcome of pregnancy with threatened miscarriage in husm.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and the adverse effect of Duphaston 40mg daily and Duphaston 20mg daily in threatened miscarriage. Methodology This is a prospective randomized controlled trial conducted at Hospital USM, Kubang Kerian Kelantan from 1st of March 2009 until 30th March 2010. A total of 130 patients were studied, 65 patients in Group A for those who is taking Duphaston 20mg daily and the other 65 patients in Group B on Duphaston 40mg daily. Besides the effectiveness, the side effect of the two different dosage of Duphaston is also evaluated. The successful of the pregnancy is measured by continuity of the pregnancy beyond 20weeks of gestation. Result was analysed with Chi-square and Fisher’s Exact test to determine the statistical significant. The test considered significant if p value 0.05). There were no significant differences in adverse effect of the two different dosage of Duphaston. Conclusion Duphaston 40mg daily was not associated with higher chances of successful pregnancy in threatened miscarriage (p = 0.50 in multivariate analysis). There were also no significant differences of adverse effect of the drugs in between the two groups