A prospective study of complications from comprehensive abortion care services in Nepal

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In March 2002, Nepal's Parliament approved legislation to permit abortion on request up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. Between 2004 and 2007, 176 comprehensive abortion care (CAC) service sites were established in Nepal, leading to a rise in safe, legal abortions. Though monitoring systems have been developed, reporting of complications has not always been complete or accurate. The purpose of this study was to report the frequency and type of abortion complications arising from CAC procedures in different types of facilities in Nepal.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 7,386 CAC clients from a sample of facilities across Nepal were enrolled over a three-month period in 2008. Data collection included an initial health questionnaire at the time of abortion care and a follow-up questionnaire assessing complications, administered two weeks after the abortion procedure. A total of 7,007 women (95%) were successfully followed up. Complication rates were assessed overall and by facility type. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association between experiencing a complication and client demographic and facility characteristics.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among the 7,007 clients who were successfully followed, only 1.87% (n = 131) experienced signs and symptoms of complications at the two-week follow up, the most common being retained products of conception (1.37%), suspected sepsis (0.39%), offensive discharge (0.51%) and moderate bleeding (0.26%). Women receiving care at non-governmental organization (NGO) facilities were less likely to experience complications than women at government facilities, adjusting for individual and facility characteristics (AOR = 0.18; 95% CI: 0.08-0.40). Compared to women receiving CAC at 4-5 weeks gestation, women at 10-12 weeks gestation were more likely to experience complications, adjusting for individual and facility characteristics (AOR = 4.21; 95% CI: 1.38-12.82).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The abortion complication rate in Nepali CAC facilities is low and similar to other settings; however, significant differences in complication rates were observed by facility type and gestational age. Interventions such as supportive supervision to improve providers' uterine evacuation skills and investment in equipment for infection control may lower complication rates in government facilities. In addition, there should be increased focus on early pregnancy detection and access to CAC services early in pregnancy in order to prevent complications.</p

Effect of apoptosis in neural stem cells treated with sevoflurane

BACKGROUND: At present, sevoflurane inhalation anesthesia used on infants is well-known. But long-time exposure to inhalation anesthetic could cause neurologic disorder, especially nerve degeneration in infant and developing brain. The central nervous system degeneration of infants could affect the memory and cognitive function. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a known inhibitory neurotransmitter in central nervous system. Inhalation anesthetic sevoflurane may activate GABA(A) receptor to inhibit central nervous system, leading to apoptosis of neural degeneration, cognitive dysfunction in the critical period of brain development. METHODS: Neural stem cells were derived from Wistar embryos, cultured in vitro. Third generation of neural stem cells were randomly divided into four groups according to cultured suspension: Sevoflurane group (Group S), GABA(A) receptor antagonists, Bicuculline group (Group B), Sevoflurane + GABA(A) receptor antagonists, Bicuculline group (Group S + B), dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) group (Group D). Group B and Group D did not receive sevoflurane preconditioning. Group S and Group S + B were pretreated with 1 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) sevoflurane for 0 h, 3 h, 6 h, and 12 h. Group S + B and Group B were pretreated with bicuculline (10 uM). Group D was treated with DMSO (10 uL/mL). After treatments above, all groups were cultured for 48 h. Then we measured the cells viability by Cell Counting Kit (CCK-8) assay, cytotoxicity by Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) assay, apoptosis ratio with Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) staining by flow cytometry, and the expression of GABA(A)R, anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, pro-apoptotic protein Bax and Caspase-3 by western blotting. RESULTS: After exposing to sevoflurane for 0 h, 3 h, 6 h, and 12 h with 1MAC, we found that cell viability obviously decreased and cytotoxicity increased in time-dependent way. And Annexin V/PI staining indicated increased apoptosis ratio by flow cytometry. The protein level of GABA(A) receptor, pro-apoptotic protein Bax and apoptosis protein Caspase-3 increased; while anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 decreased. And bicuculline could reverse all detrimental results caused by sevoflurane. CONCLUSION: Sevoflurane can inhibit the central nervous system by activating GABA(A), resulting in apoptosis of neural stem cells, thus leading to the NSCs degeneration

Consistency and flexibility in solving spatial tasks: different horses show different cognitive styles

Individual animals vary in their behaviour and reactions to novel situations. These differences may extend to differences in cognition among individuals. We tested twenty-six horses for their ability to detour around symmetric and asymmetric obstacles. All of the animals were able to get around the barrier to reach a food target, but varied in their approach. Some horses moved slowly but were more accurate in choosing the shortest way. Other horses acted quickly, consistently detoured in the same direction, and did not reliably choose the shortest way. The remaining horses shifted from a faster, directionally consistent response with the symmetric barrier, to a slower but more accurate response with the asymmetric barrier. The asymmetric barrier induced a reduction in heart rate variability, suggesting that this is a more demanding task. The different approaches used to solve the asymmetric task may reflect distinct cognitive styles in horses, which vary among individuals, and could be linked to different personality traits. Understanding equine behaviour and cognition can inform horse welfare and management

Avaliação das medidas de oximetria de pulso em indivíduos sadios com esmalte de unha Evaluación de las medidas de oximetría de pulso en individuos sanos con esmalte de uña Evaluation of pulse oximetry measurements in healthy subjects with nail polish

OBJETIVO: Avaliar as alterações nas medidas da oximetria de pulso em indivíduos sadios com esmaltes de unha. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal com 80 voluntárias sadias. As cores de esmalte utilizadas para avaliar a saturação periférica de oxigênio (SpO2) foram: café com leite, café, chocolate, vermelho e ameixa. Estas cores foram distribuídas entre as unhas dos dedos da mão esquerda. Os dedos da mão direita foram os controles. RESULTADOS: As cores vermelha (p=0,047) e café (p=0,024) mostraram valores menores na SpO2 quando comparados ao controle. As outras cores não alteraram a medida da SpO2. CONCLUSÃO: As cores vermelha e café causaram redução na medida da SpO2, porém a relevância clínica deste achado é questionável, pois os valores estavam dentro do intervalo de normalidade.<br>OBJETIVO: Evaluar las alteraciones en las medidas de la oximetría de pulso en individuos sanos con esmalte de uña. MÉTODOS: Estudio transversal realizado con 80 voluntarias sanas. Los colores de esmalte utilizados para evaluar la saturación periférica de oxígeno (SpO2) fueron: café con leche, café, chocolate, rojo y ciruela. Estos colores fueron distribuidos entre las uñas de los dedos de la mano izquierda. Los dedos de la mano derecha fueron los controles. RESULTADOS: Los colores rojo (p=0,047) y café (p=0,024) mostraron valores menores en la SpO2 cuando fueron comparados al control. Los otros colores no alteraron la medida del SpO2. CONCLUSIÓN: Los colores rojo y café causaron reducción en la medida del SpO2, sin embargo la relevancia clínica de este hallazgo es cuestionable, pues los valores estaban dentro del intervalo de normalidad.<br>OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the changes in measurements of pulse oximetry in healthy individuals with nail polish. METHODS: Cross sectional study with 80 healthy volunteers. The colors of enamel used to assess oxygen saturation (SpO2) were: coffee with milk, coffee, chocolate, red and plum. These colors were distributed among the finger nails of his left hand. The fingers of the right hand were the controls. RESULTS: The colors red (p = 0.047) and coffee (p = 0.024) showed lower values in SpO2 in comparison to the control. The other colors did not change the measurement of SpO2. CONCLUSION: The colors red and coffee caused reduction in the measurement of SpO2, but the clinical relevance of this finding is questionable, because the values were within the normal range

Small-molecule kinase inhibitors provide insight into Mps1 cell cycle function

Mps1, a dual-specificity kinase, is required for the proper functioning of the spindle assembly checkpoint and for the maintenance of chromosomal stability. As Mps1 function has been implicated in numerous phases of the cell cycle, the development of a potent, selective small-molecule inhibitor of Mps1 should facilitate dissection of Mps1-related biology. We describe the cellular effects and Mps1 cocrystal structures of new, selective small-molecule inhibitors of Mps1. Consistent with RNAi studies, chemical inhibition of Mps1 leads to defects in Mad1 and Mad2 establishment at unattached kinetochores, decreased Aurora B kinase activity, premature mitotic exit and gross aneuploidy, without any evidence of centrosome duplication defects. However, in U2OS cells having extra centrosomes (an abnormality found in some cancers), Mps1 inhibition increases the frequency of multipolar mitoses. Lastly, Mps1 inhibitor treatment resulted in a decrease in cancer cell viability