Oxidative stress in healthy pregnancy and preeclampsia is linked to chronic inflammation, iron status and vascular function

Background During normal pregnancy, placental oxidative stress (OS) is present during all three trimesters and is necessary to obtain normal cell function. However, if OS reaches a certain level, pregnancy complications might arise. In preeclampsia (PE), a dangerous pregnancy specific hypertensive disorder, OS induced in the ischemic placenta causes a systemic inflammatory response and activates maternal endothelial cells. In this study, we aimed to quantify superoxide concentrations (as a measure of systemic OS) using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and correlate them to markers of systemic inflammation, iron status and vascular function. Methods Fifty-nine women with a healthy pregnancy (HP), 10 non-pregnant controls (NP) and 28 PE patients (32±3.3weeks) were included. During HP, blood samples for superoxide, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), mean platelet volume (MPV) and iron status were taken at 10, 25 and 39 weeks. Vascular measurements for arterial stiffness (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (CF-PWV), augmentation index (AIx), augmentation Pressure (AP)) and microvascular endothelial function (reactive hyperemia index (RHI)) were performed at 35 weeks. In PE, all measurements were performed at diagnosis. CMH (1-hydroxy-3-methoxycarbonyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine) was used as spin probe for EPR, since the formed CM radical corresponds to the amount of superoxide. Results Superoxide concentration remains stable during pregnancy (p = 0.92), but is significantly higher compared to the NP controls (p<0.0001). At 25 weeks, there is a significant positive correlation between superoxide and ferritin concentration. (p = 0.04) In PE, superoxide, systemic inflammation and iron status are much higher compared to HP (all p<0.001). During HP, superoxide concentrations correlate significantly with arterial stiffness (all p<0.04), while in PE superoxide is significantly correlated to microvascular endothelial function (p = 0.03). Conclusions During HP there is an increased but stable oxidative environment, which is correlated to ferritin concentration. If superoxide levels increase, there is an augmentation in arterial stiffness. In PE pregnancies, systemic inflammation and superoxide concentrations are higher and result in a deterioration of endothelial function. Together, these findings support the hypothesis that vascular function is directly linked to the amount of OS and that measurement of OS in combination with vascular function tests might be used in the prediction of PE

Plasma–liquid interactions: a review and roadmap

Plasma–liquid interactions represent a growing interdisciplinary area of research involving plasma science, fluid dynamics, heat and mass transfer, photolysis, multiphase chemistry and aerosol science. This review provides an assessment of the state-of-the-art of this multidisciplinary area and identifies the key research challenges. The developments in diagnostics, modeling and further extensions of cross section and reaction rate databases that are necessary to address these challenges are discussed. The review focusses on non-equilibrium plasmas

ODESSA TELEVISION METEOR PATROL

The historical information on the photographic meteor studies in Odessa is given. A modern observational complex – television meteor patrol for recording the meteor events occurred in the Earth’s atmosphere is presented. The meteor patrol instruments available and the observation methods are specified. The meteor database structure is analyzed; the statistics of meteor observations conducted from June, 2003, to December, 2010, is reported. The total number of meteor events recorded by television method using various instruments is 4276. The software package is developed including 12 programs that enable to carry out the whole cycle of processing the observation data: from preprocessing to obtaining of the orbital elements of the recorded meteor particles. The programs on the basic and non-basic observations made in Odessa and at the observation stations in Kryzhanovka village and on Snake Island are presented. We also discuss the principal tendencies in the meteor studies conducted at Odessa astronomical observatory on the basis of observation results obtained by the meteor patrol using the television method

Acetic Acid Formation by Selective Aerobic Oxidation of Aqueous Ethanol over Heterogeneous Ruthenium Catalysts

Heterogeneous catalyst systems comprising ruthenium hydroxide supported on different carrier materials, titania, alumina, ceria, and spinel (MgAl₂O₄), were applied in selective aerobic oxidation ethanol to form acetic acid, an important bulk chemical and food ingredient. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and nitrogen physisorption and utilized in the oxidation of 2.5–50 wt % aqueous ethanol solutions at elevated temperatures and pressures. The effects of Ru metal loading, pretreatment of catalysts, oxidant pressure, reaction temperature, and substrate concentration were investigated. Quantitative yield of acetic acid was obtained with 1.2 wt % Ru­(OH)_<i>x</i>/CeO₂ under optimized conditions (150 °C, 10 bar O₂, 12 h of reaction time, 0.23 mol % Ru to substrate)