Severe early onset preeclampsia: short and long term clinical, psychosocial and biochemical aspects

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy specific disorder commonly defined as de novo hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks gestational age. It occurs in approximately 3-5% of pregnancies and it is still a major cause of both foetal and maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide1. As extensive research has not yet elucidated the aetiology of preeclampsia, there are no rational preventive or therapeutic interventions available. The only rational treatment is delivery, which benefits the mother but is not in the interest of the foetus, if remote from term. Early onset preeclampsia (<32 weeks’ gestational age) occurs in less than 1% of pregnancies. It is, however often associated with maternal morbidity as the risk of progression to severe maternal disease is inversely related with gestational age at onset2. Resulting prematurity is therefore the main cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in patients with severe preeclampsia3. Although the discussion is ongoing, perinatal survival is suggested to be increased in patients with preterm preeclampsia by expectant, non-interventional management. This temporising treatment option to lengthen pregnancy includes the use of antihypertensive medication to control hypertension, magnesium sulphate to prevent eclampsia and corticosteroids to enhance foetal lung maturity4. With optimal maternal haemodynamic status and reassuring foetal condition this results on average in an extension of 2 weeks. Prolongation of these pregnancies is a great challenge for clinicians to balance between potential maternal risks on one the eve hand and possible foetal benefits on the other. Clinical controversies regarding prolongation of preterm preeclamptic pregnancies still exist – also taking into account that preeclampsia is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the Netherlands5 - a debate which is even more pronounced in very preterm pregnancies with questionable foetal viability6-9. Do maternal risks of prolongation of these very early pregnancies outweigh the chances of neonatal survival? Counselling of women with very early onset preeclampsia not only comprises of knowledge of the outcome of those particular pregnancies, but also knowledge of outcomes of future pregnancies of these women is of major clinical importance. This thesis opens with a review of the literature on identifiable risk factors of preeclampsia

Measurement of associated W plus charm production in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

Peer reviewe

Measurement of the W-boson helicity in top-quark decays from ttˉt\bar{t} production in lepton+jets events in pp collisions at s\sqrt{s}=7 TeV

The W-boson helicity fractions in top-quark decays are measured with $t\bar{t}$ events in the lepton+jets final state, using proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, collected in 2011 with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 inverse femtobarns. The measured fractions of longitudinal, left-, and right-handed helicity are $F_0=0.682 \pm 0.030 (stat.) \pm 0.033 (syst.)$, $F_L=0.310 \pm 0.022 (stat.) \pm 0.022 (syst.)$, and $F_R= 0.008 \pm 0.012 (stat.) \pm 0.014 (syst.)$, consistent with the standard model predictions. The measured fractions are used to probe the existence of anomalous Wtb couplings. Exclusion limits on the real components of the anomalous couplings $g_L, g_R$ are also derived

Search for baryon number violation in top quark decays

A search for baryon number violation (BNV) in top-quark decays is performed using pp collisions produced by the LHC at sqrt(s)=8 TeV. The top-quark decay considered in this search results in one light lepton (muon or electron), two jets, but no neutrino in the final state. Data used for the analysis were collected by the CMS detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns. The event selection is optimized for top quarks produced in pairs, with one having the BNV decay and the other the standard model hadronic decay to three jets. No significant excess of events over the expected yield from standard model processes is observed. The upper limits at 95% confidence level on the branching fraction of the BNV top-quark decay are calculated to be 0.0016 and 0.0017 for the muon and the electron channels, respectively. These limits are the first that have been obtained on a BNV process involving the top quark

Measurement of the W+W- cross section in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and limits on anomalous WW gamma and WWZ couplings

A measurement of W+W- production in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected with the CMS detector at the LHC, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.92 +/- 0.11 inverse femtobarns. The W+W- candidates consist of two oppositely charged leptons, electrons or muons, accompanied by large missing transverse energy. The W+W- production cross section is measured to be 52.4 +/- 2.0 (stat.) +/- 4.5 (syst.) +/- 1.2 (lum.) pb. This measurement is consistent with the standard model prediction of 47.0 +/- 2.0 pb at next-to-leading order. Stringent limits on the WW gamma and WWZ anomalous triple gauge-boson couplings are set

Angular analysis and branching fraction measurement of the decay B0→K∗μ+μ−B^0 \to K^* \mu^+\mu^-

The angular distributions and the differential branching fraction of the decay $B^0 \to K^*(892)^0 \mu^+ \mu^-$ are studied using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.2 inverse femtobarns collected with the CMS detector at the LHC in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV. From more than 400 signal decays, the forward-backward asymmetry of the muons, the $K^*(892)^0$ longitudinal polarization fraction, and the differential branching fraction are determined as a function of the square of the dimuon invariant mass. The measurements are in good agreement with standard model predictions