Exploring perinatal asphyxia by metabolomics

Brain damage related to perinatal asphyxia is the second cause of neuro-disability worldwide. Its incidence was estimated in 2010 as 8.5 cases per 1000 live births worldwide, with no further recent improvement even in more industrialized countries. If so, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is still an issue of global health concern. It is thought that a consistent number of cases may be avoided, and its sequelae may be preventable by a prompt and efficient physical and therapeutic treatment. The lack of early, reliable, and specific biomarkers has up to now hampered a more effective use of hypothermia, which represents the only validated therapy for this condition. The urge to unravel the biological modifications underlying perinatal asphyxia and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy needs new diagnostic and therapeutic tools. Metabolomics for its own features is a powerful approach that may help for the identification of specific metabolic profiles related to the pathological mechanism and foreseeable outcome. The metabolomic profiles of animal and human infants exposed to perinatal asphyxia or developing hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy have so far been investigated by means of 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry coupled with gas or liquid chromatography, leading to the identification of promising metabolomic signatures. In this work, an extensive review of the relevant literature was performed

A Fatal Case of Metastatic Pulmonary Calcification during the Puerperium

We present an unusual case of a fatal respiratory failure in a young woman developed two weeks after she gave birth at home. Circumstantial and clinical features of the case were strongly suggestive for a 'classical' septic origin of the respiratory symptoms. Autopsy, together with histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses allowed demonstrating a massive calcium redistribution consisting of an important osteolysis, especially from cranial bones and abnormal accumulation in lungs and other organs. Such physiopathology was driven by a primary hyperparathyroidism secondary to a parathyroid carcinoma as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry. This very rare case is furthermore characterised by a regular pregnancy course, ended with the birth of a healthy new-born. A complex interaction between pregnancy physiology and hyperparathyroidism might be hypothesised, determining the discrepancy between the relative long period of wellness and the tumultuous cascade occurred in the puerperium

Exact solutions to the focusing nonlinear Schrodinger equation

A method is given to construct globally analytic (in space and time) exact solutions to the focusing cubic nonlinear Schrodinger equation on the line. An explicit formula and its equivalents are presented to express such exact solutions in a compact form in terms of matrix exponentials. Such exact solutions can alternatively be written explicitly as algebraic combinations of exponential, trigonometric, and polynomial functions of the spatial and temporal coordinates.Comment: 60 pages, 18 figure

Exact Solutions to the Sine-Gordon Equation

A systematic method is presented to provide various equivalent solution formulas for exact solutions to the sine-Gordon equation. Such solutions are analytic in the spatial variable $x$ and the temporal variable $t,$ and they are exponentially asymptotic to integer multiples of $2\pi$ as $x\to\pm\infty.$ The solution formulas are expressed explicitly in terms of a real triplet of constant matrices. The method presented is generalizable to other integrable evolution equations where the inverse scattering transform is applied via the use of a Marchenko integral equation. By expressing the kernel of that Marchenko equation as a matrix exponential in terms of the matrix triplet and by exploiting the separability of that kernel, an exact solution formula to the Marchenko equation is derived, yielding various equivalent exact solution formulas for the sine-Gordon equation.Comment: 43 page

Comparative use of aqueous humour 1H NMR metabolomics and potassium concentration for PMI estimation in an animal model

Estimation of the post-mortem interval (PMI) remains a matter of concern in the forensic scenario. Traditional and novel approaches are not yet able to fully address this issue, which relies on complex biological phenomena triggered by death. For this purpose, eye compartments may be chosen for experimental studies because they are more resistant to post-mortem modifications. Vitreous humour, in particular, has been extensively investigated, with potassium concentration ([K+]) being the marker that is better correlated with PMI estimation. Recently, a 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomic approach based on aqueous humour (AH) from an animal model was proposed for PMI estimation, resulting in a robust and validated regression model. Here we studied the variation in [K+] in the same experimental setup. [K+] was determined through capillary ion analysis (CIA) and a regression analysis was performed. Moreover, it was investigated whether the PMI information related to potassium could improve the metabolome predictive power in estimating the PMI. Interestingly, we found that a part of the metabolomic profile is able to explain most of the information carried by potassium, suggesting that the rise in both potassium and metabolite concentrations relies on a similar biological mechanism. In the first 24-h PMI window, the AH metabolomic profile shows greater predictive power than [K+] behaviour, suggesting its potential use as an additional tool for estimating the time since death

Mapping genetic factors for resistance to Soil-borne cereal mosaic virus (SBCMV) in durum wheat

Article first published online: 8 FEB 2014OBJECTIVE: In an unselected group of women with signs of preterm labour, maintenance tocolysis is not effective in the prevention of preterm birth and does not improve neonatal outcome. Among women with signs of preterm labour, those who are fetal fibronectin positive have an increased risk of preterm birth. We investigated whether maintenance tocolysis with nifedipine would delay delivery and improve neonatal outcome in women with threatened preterm labour and a positive fetal fibronectin status. STUDY DESIGN: Women with a singleton pregnancy in threatened preterm labour (24(+0) to 33(+6)  weeks) with a positive fetal fibronectin test were randomised to nifedipine or placebo. Study medication was continued until 36 completed weeks' gestation. The primary endpoint was prolongation of pregnancy of seven days. Secondary endpoints were gestational age at delivery and length of NICU admission. RESULTS: Of the 60 participants, 29 received nifedipine and 31 placebo. Prolongation of pregnancy by >7 days occurred in 22/29 (76%) in the nifedipine group and 25/31 (81%) in the placebo group (relative risks, RR 0.94 [0.72-1.2]). Gestational age at delivery was 36.1 ± 5.1 weeks for nifedipine and 36.8 ± 3.6 weeks for placebo (P = 0.027). Length of NICU admission [median (interquartile ranges, IQR)] was 27 (24-41) days and 16 (8-37) days in nifedipine and placebo groups, respectively (P = 0.17). CONCLUSION: In women with threatened preterm labour who are fetal fibronectin positive, maintenance tocolysis with nifedipine does not seem to prolong pregnancy, nor reduce length of NICU admission.Emma Parry, Carolien Roos, Peter Stone, Lynsey Hayward, Ben Willem Mol and Lesley McCowa