Blessed Be the Fruit: santa Brígida y las resignificaciones religiosas en el referéndum sobre el aborto en Irlanda

Olivia Harris’s photograph, Blessed Be the Fruit, shows Saint Bridget of Kildare, patron of Ireland, holding a banner for repealing the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution. This performance is part of the climate prior to the referendum that took place in 2018, in the Republic of Ireland, to decide whether to repeal the law that prohibited the voluntary interruption of pregnancy. This photograph and other artistic manifestations constitute the basis for a study on the national identity of Ireland and on the figure of Saint Bridget, a character doubly re-signified: first for the appropriation by Christianity, then by pro-choice feminist activism.La fotografía de Olivia Harris, Blessed Be the Fruit, muestra a santa Brígida de Kildare, patrona de Irlanda, sujetando una pancarta en apoyo a la derogación de la Octava Enmienda de la Constitución de dicho país. Esta performance se inscribe en el clima previo al referéndum que tuvo lugar en 2018 en la República de Irlanda para decidir si se revocaba la ley que prohibía la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo. Esta fotografía y otras manifestaciones artísticas constituyen la base para realizar un estudio sobre la identidad nacional de Irlanda y sobre la figura de santa Brígida, personaje doblemente resignificado: primero por la apropiación del cristianismo, luego por el activismo feminista pro-elección

Maternal Periodontal Status as a Factor Influencing Obstetrical Outcomes

Background and Objectives: Preterm birth as a complex phenomenon is influenced by numerous endogenic and exogenic factors, although its exact cause often remains obscure. According to epidemiological studies, maternal periodontal diseases, in addition to affecting general health, can also cause adverse pregnancy outcomes. Nonetheless, the existing results in the literature regarding this topic remain controversial. Consequently, our study aimed to determine the connection between poor maternal periodontal status and neonatal birth weight. Materials and Methods: A total of 111 primigravida–primiparous pregnant, healthy women underwent a periodontal examination in the second trimester of their pregnancies. Probing depth (PD) and bleeding on probing (BOP) were determined, and based on these diagnostic measurements, the patients were divided into three subgroups according to their dental status: healthy (H, n = 17), gingivitis (G, n = 67), and periodontitis (P, n = 27). Results: Considering that poor maternal oral status is an influencing factor for obstetrical outcomes, the presence of PD and BOP (characterized by the sulcus bleeding index, SBI) was evaluated. In the case of P, defined as PD ≥ 4 mm in at least one site and BOP ≥ 50% of the teeth, a significant correlation between BOP and a low neonatal birth weight at delivery (p = 0.001) was found. An analysis of the relationship between SBI and gestational age (GA) at the time of the periodontal examination in the different dental status groups showed a significant correlation between these parameters in the G group (p = 0.04). Conclusions: Our results suggest that a worse periodontal status during pregnancy may negatively affect obstetrical outcomes, especially the prematurity rate and newborn weight. Therefore, the importance of periodontal screening to prevent these complications is undeniable

Health-related Quality of Life in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome is the most frequent endocrine and metabolic disorder in women of reproductive age. Its characteristic signs and symptoms are menstrual irregularities, amenorrhea, acne, hirsutism, obesity and infertility. Polycystic ovary syndrome has major effects on long-term health, which can lead to psychological morbidity and decreased quality of life. This paper reviews the current literature on polycystic ovary syndrome and health-related quality of life; in addition, it assesses how some clinical manifestations of polycystic ovary syndrome affect the quality of life of women who suffer this disorder

Health-related Quality of Life in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome is the most frequent endocrine and metabolic disorder in women of reproductive age. Its characteristic signs and symptoms are menstrual irregularities, amenorrhea, acne, hirsutism, obesity and infertility. Polycystic ovary syndrome has major effects on long-term health, which can lead to psychological morbidity and decreased quality of life. This paper reviews the current literature on polycystic ovary syndrome and health-related quality of life; in addition, it assesses how some clinical manifestations of polycystic ovary syndrome affect the quality of life of women who suffer this disorder

Global hyperactivation of enhancers stabilizes human and mouse naïve pluripotency through inhibition of CDK8/19 Mediator kinases

Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) transition between cell states in vitro and reflect developmental changes in the early embryo. PSCs can be stabilized in the naïve state by blocking extracellular differentiation stimuli, particularly FGF-MEK signaling. Here, we report that multiple features of the naïve state in human and mouse PSCs can be recapitulated without affecting FGF-MEK-signaling or global DNA methylation. Mechanistically, chemical inhibition of CDK8 and CDK19 kinases removes their ability to repress the Mediator complex at enhancers. Thus CDK8/19 inhibition increases Mediator-driven recruitment of RNA Pol II to promoters and enhancers. This efficiently stabilizes the naïve transcriptional program and confers resistance to enhancer perturbation by BRD4 inhibition. Moreover, naïve pluripotency during embryonic development coincides with a reduction in CDK8/19. We conclude that global hyperactivation of enhancers drives naïve pluripotency, and this can be achieved in vitro by inhibiting CDK8/19 kinase activity. These principles may apply to other contexts of cellular plasticity

Predictive Power of the "Trigger Tool" for the detection of adverse events in general surgery: a multicenter observational validation study

Background In spite of the global implementation of standardized surgical safety checklists and evidence-based practices, general surgery remains associated with a high residual risk of preventable perioperative complications and adverse events. This study was designed to validate the hypothesis that a new “Trigger Tool” represents a sensitive predictor of adverse events in general surgery. Methods An observational multicenter validation study was performed among 31 hospitals in Spain. The previously described “Trigger Tool” based on 40 specific triggers was applied to validate the predictive power of predicting adverse events in the perioperative care of surgical patients. A prediction model was used by means of a binary logistic regression analysis. Results The prevalence of adverse events among a total of 1,132 surgical cases included in this study was 31.53%. The “Trigger Tool” had a sensitivity and specificity of 86.27% and 79.55% respectively for predicting these adverse events. A total of 12 selected triggers of overall 40 triggers were identified for optimizing the predictive power of the “Trigger Tool”. Conclusions The “Trigger Tool” has a high predictive capacity for predicting adverse events in surgical procedures. We recommend a revision of the original 40 triggers to 12 selected triggers to optimize the predictive power of this tool, which will have to be validated in future studies

Mutator Suppression and Escape from Replication Error–Induced Extinction in Yeast

Cells rely on a network of conserved pathways to govern DNA replication fidelity. Loss of polymerase proofreading or mismatch repair elevates spontaneous mutation and facilitates cellular adaptation. However, double mutants are inviable, suggesting that extreme mutation rates exceed an error threshold. Here we combine alleles that affect DNA polymerase δ (Pol δ) proofreading and mismatch repair to define the maximal error rate in haploid yeast and to characterize genetic suppressors of mutator phenotypes. We show that populations tolerate mutation rates 1,000-fold above wild-type levels but collapse when the rate exceeds 10−3 inactivating mutations per gene per cell division. Variants that escape this error-induced extinction (eex) rapidly emerge from mutator clones. One-third of the escape mutants result from second-site changes in Pol δ that suppress the proofreading-deficient phenotype, while two-thirds are extragenic. The structural locations of the Pol δ changes suggest multiple antimutator mechanisms. Our studies reveal the transient nature of eukaryotic mutators and show that mutator phenotypes are readily suppressed by genetic adaptation. This has implications for the role of mutator phenotypes in cancer