Neurologic Consultations and Headache during Pregnancy and in Puerperium : A Retrospective Chart Review

Headache is a common symptom during pregnancy and in puerperium that requires careful consideration, as it may be caused by a life-threatening condition. Headaches in pregnant women and women in puerperium are classified as primary or secondary; acute, severe and newly diagnosed headaches should prompt further investigation. We aimed to further characterise the demographic features, symptoms, examination findings, and neuroimaging results of cases of headache during pregnancy and in puerperium. All pregnant women or women in postpartum conditions who attended neurological consultations at the emergency department of the clinic for Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine of Saarland University/Germany between 2001/2015 and 2012/2019 were enrolled in this retrospective chart review. Data collected from the charts included demographic/pregnancy characteristics, clinical features and imaging findings. Descriptive statistics as well as binary logistic regression were performed. More than 50% of 97 patients had abnormal findings in their neurological examination. Magnetic resonance imaging findings were pathological for almost 20% of patients—indicating conditions such as cerebral venous thrombosis, reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy, brain tumour and intracranial bleeding. The odds of abnormal neuroimaging results were 2.2-times greater among women with abnormal neurological examination findings than among those with normal examination results. In cases of headache during pregnancy and in puerperium, neuroimaging should be indicated early on. Further research is needed to determine which conditions indicate a need for immediate neuroimaging

A paradigm for understanding whole ecosystem effects of offshore wind farms in shelf seas

Rationale: Microplastics are a pressing global concern and inhalation of microplastic fibers has been associated with interstitial and bronchial inflammation in flock workers. However, how microplastic fibers affect the lungs is unknown. Objectives: Our aim was to assess the effects of 12x31 µm nylon 6,6 (nylon) and 15x52 µm polyethylene terephthalate (polyester) textile microplastic fibers on lung epithelial growth and differentiation. Methods: We used human and murine alveolar and airway-type organoids as well as air-liquid interface cultures derived from primary lung epithelial progenitor cells and incubated these with either nylon or polyester fibers or nylon leachate. In addition, mice received one dose of nylon fibers or nylon leachate and 7 days later organoid-forming capacity of isolated epithelial cells was investigated. Measurements and Main Results: We observed that nylon microfibers, more than polyester, inhibited developing airway organoids and not established ones. This effect was mediated by components leaching from nylon. Epithelial cells isolated from mice exposed to nylon fibers or leachate, also formed fewer airway organoids, suggesting long-lasting effects of nylon components on epithelial cells. Part of these effects were recapitulated in human air-liquid interface cultures. Transcriptome analysis revealed upregulation of Hoxa5 post-exposure to nylon fibers. Inhibiting Hoxa5 during nylon exposure restored airway organoid formation, confirming Hoxa5's pivotal role in the effects of nylon. Conclusions: These results suggest that components leaching from nylon 6,6 may especially harm developing airways and/or airways undergoing repair and we strongly encourage to characterize both hazard of and exposure to microplastic fibers in more detail

‘No, thank you, Mr Stork!’: Voluntary childlessness in Weimar and contemporary Germany

Voluntary childlessness is often perceived as a contemporary phenomenon. This article traces its history by looking at demographic data and visual representations of childlessness from the 1920s and 1930s. At that time, childlessness was on the rise among Germany's young urban couples – a development that inspired concern and controversy. Caricatures, films, plays and other representations testify to the growing fascination with childlessness. Even images used in population propaganda appear as strangely ambivalent. While they were intended to criticise childlessness, they also insinuate the pleasures of a child-free existence. These, however, were time-specific. As comparisons with more recent images show that the "value of childlessness" as invoked by visual representations has shifted significantly

Photodynamic antitumor agents: β-Methoxyethyl groups give access to functionalized porphycenes and enhance cellular uptake and activity.

Porphycene photosensitizers bearing two or four methoxyethyl side chains were synthesized in nine steps from commercially available starting materials. Ether cleavage led to (hydroxyethyl)- and (bromoethyl)porphycenes that were converted to vinyl and benzo derivatives. Five of the side chain-functionalized porphycenes were biologically studied in comparison with two tetra-n-propylporphycenes. Porphycenes were incorporated in small unilamellar liposomes and incubated with cultivated SSK2 murine fibrosarcoma cells. Cellular uptake and phototoxicity 24 h after 5 J/cm2 laser light treatment were determined. The porphycenes tested were between 17 and 220 times more photodynamically active than the currently clinically used sensitizer Photofrin, although extinction coefficients of the porphycenes' irradiated bands are only approximately 10-fold higher. The LD50 concentration for SSK2 cells in the incubation medium was as low as (8.5 ± 2.8) × 10-9 M for tetrakis(methoxyethyl)porphycene. Two methoxy or hydroxy groups enhanced cellular uptake, three or four methoxy groups both enhanced and accelerated cellular uptake of tetraalkylporphycenes. Half-life times of the uptake processes varied between (0.14 ± 0.04) and (14 ± 4) h and cellular saturation levels between (1.2 ± 0.2) and (26 ± 3) pmol/105 cells. When individual uptake rates were accounted for, all porphycenes had a similar "cellular" phototoxicity, pointing toward a common mechanism of action. Evidence is presented for the assumption that cell membranes are the primary targets of the tested porphycenes and that membrane solubility may play a critical role in their photodynamic efficiency. The results show that nonionic polar side chain functionalities can strongly enhance cellular uptake and antitumor activity of lipophilic porphyrinoids and thus that the known lipophilicity/activity relationship can be reversed for very hydrophobic sensitizers

Umsetzung und Evaluation von Verbesserungsvorschlaegen im Pflegebereich Hauptphase: 1.6.1984 bis 30.6.1987

TIB: RO 9825(87-32) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman