Infiltration of glioma cells in brain parenchyma stimulated by radiation in the F98/Fischer rat model

Abstract : Purpose: In the months following radiotherapy, a rapid recurrence of glioblastoma multiforme occurs in the periphery of the resection cavity. The aim of this study was to assess the contribution of irradiation of the brain in the infiltration profi le of glioma cells. Material and methods: Using the F98/Fischer rat glioma model, we either irradiated the brain, the F98 cancer cells, or both to separately investigate the effects of radiation. Inflammatory cytokines and pro-infiltration molecules were measured in irradiated brain. Results: A stimulation of interleukin-1β and transforming growth factor β1 expression 4 h after brain irradiation supported induction of inflammation. Early elevated expression of phospholipase A2 was also measured and was followed by a stimulation of cyclooxygenase-2 from day 5 to 20 after irradiation. This resulted in a biphasic increase of prostaglandins E2 and D2 biosynthesis with maximum at 4 h and 15 days post-irradiation. An important enhancement of F98 cells infiltration was observed when brain was irradiated, which took place at the expense of the growth of the primary tumour and resulted in a decreased median survival of the Fischer rats. This stimulation of F98 cells infiltration was associated with the pro-infiltration molecule, matrix metalloproteinase-2. Conclusion : In the animal model proposed, we demonstrated that irradiation of brain increased the infiltration capacity of F98 cells to the brain, resulting in a reduction of media survival of rats bearing this tumour. This animal model has also allowed identifying inflammatory cytokines and pro-infiltration molecules induced by radiation that can be targeted to prevent this adverse effect of radiation

Atonic Postpartum Hemorrhage: Blood Loss, Risk Factors, and Third Stage Management

AbstractObjectiveAtonic postpartum hemorrhage rates have increased in many industrialized countries in recent years. We examined the blood loss, risk factors, and management of the third stage of labour associated with atonic postpartum hemorrhage.MethodsWe carried out a case-control study of patients in eight tertiary care hospitals in Canada between January 2011 and December 2013. Cases were defined as women with a diagnosis of atonic postpartum hemorrhage, and controls (without postpartum hemorrhage) were matched with cases by hospital and date of delivery. Estimated blood loss, risk factors, and management of the third stage labour were compared between cases and controls. Conditional logistic regression was used to adjust for confounding.ResultsThe study included 383 cases and 383 controls. Cases had significantly higher mean estimated blood loss than controls. However, 16.7% of cases who delivered vaginally and 34.1% of cases who delivered by Caesarean section (CS) had a blood loss of < 500 mL and < 1000 mL, respectively; 8.2% of controls who delivered vaginally and 6.7% of controls who delivered by CS had blood loss consistent with a diagnosis of postpartum hemorrhage. Factors associated with atonic postpartum hemorrhage included known protective factors (e.g., delivery by CS) and risk factors (e.g., nulliparity, vaginal birth after CS). Uterotonic use was more common in cases than in controls (97.6% vs. 92.9%, P < 0.001). Delayed cord clamping was only used among those who delivered vaginally (7.7% cases vs. 14.6% controls, P = 0.06).ConclusionThere is substantial misclassification in the diagnosis of atonic postpartum hemorrhage, and this could potentially explain the observed temporal increase in postpartum hemorrhage rates

Uterine Rupture by Intended Mode of Delivery in the UK: A National Case-Control Study

A case-control study using UK data estimates the risk of uterine rupture in subsequent deliveries amongst women who have had a previous caesarean section

Large differences in carbohydrate degradation and transport potential among lichen fungal symbionts.

Lichen symbioses are thought to be stabilized by the transfer of fixed carbon from a photosynthesizing symbiont to a fungus. In other fungal symbioses, carbohydrate subsidies correlate with reductions in plant cell wall-degrading enzymes, but whether this is true of lichen fungal symbionts (LFSs) is unknown. Here, we predict genes encoding carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) and sugar transporters in 46 genomes from the Lecanoromycetes, the largest extant clade of LFSs. All LFSs possess a robust CAZyme arsenal including enzymes acting on cellulose and hemicellulose, confirmed by experimental assays. However, the number of genes and predicted functions of CAZymes vary widely, with some fungal symbionts possessing arsenals on par with well-known saprotrophic fungi. These results suggest that stable fungal association with a phototroph does not in itself result in fungal CAZyme loss, and lends support to long-standing hypotheses that some lichens may augment fixed CO2 with carbon from external sources

Prediction of preterm birth with and without preeclampsia using mid-pregnancy immune and growth-related molecular factors and maternal characteristics.

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate if mid-pregnancy immune and growth-related molecular factors predict preterm birth (PTB) with and without (±) preeclampsia. STUDY DESIGN:Included were 400 women with singleton deliveries in California in 2009-2010 (200 PTB and 200 term) divided into training and testing samples at a 2:1 ratio. Sixty-three markers were tested in 15-20 serum samples using multiplex technology. Linear discriminate analysis was used to create a discriminate function. Model performance was assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). RESULTS:Twenty-five serum biomarkers along with maternal age &lt;34 years and poverty status identified &gt;80% of women with PTB ± preeclampsia with best performance in women with preterm preeclampsia (AUC = 0.889, 95% confidence interval (0.822-0.959) training; 0.883 (0.804-0.963) testing). CONCLUSION:Together with maternal age and poverty status, mid-pregnancy immune and growth factors reliably identified most women who went on to have a PTB ± preeclampsia

The Canadian Perinatal Network: A National Network Focused on Threatened Preterm Birth at 22 to 28 Weeks\u27 Gestation

Objective: The Canadian Perinatal Network (CPN) maintains an ongoing national database focused on threatened very preterm birth. The objective of the network is to facilitate between-hospital comparisons and other research that will lead to reductions in the burden of illness associated with very preterm birth. Methods: Women were included in the database if they were admitted to a participating tertiary perinatal unit at 22+0 to 28+6 weeks\u27 gestation with one or more conditions most commonly responsible for very preterm birth, including spontaneous preterm labour with contractions, incompetent cervix, prolapsing membranes, preterm prelabour rupture of membranes, gestational hypertension, intrauterine growth restriction, or antepartum hemorrhage. Data were collected by review of maternal and infant charts, entered directly into standardized electronic data forms and uploaded to the CPN via a secure network. Results: Between 2005 and 2009, the CPN enrolled 2524 women from 14 hospitals including those with preterm labour and contractions (27.4%), short cervix without contractions (16.3%), prolapsing membranes (9.4%), antepartum hemorrhage (26.0%), and preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (23 0%) The mean gestational age at enrolment was 25.9 ± 1.9 weeks and the mean gestation age at delivery was 29.9 ± 5.1 weeks; 57.0% delivered at \u3c 29 weeks and 75.4% at \u3c 34 weeks. Complication rates were high and included serious maternal complications (26 7%), stillbirth (8.2%), neonatal death (16.3%), neonatal intensive care unit admission (60 7%), and serious neonatal morbidity (35 0%). Conclusion: This national dataset contains detailed information about women at risk of very preterm birth. It is available to clinicians and researchers who are working with one or more CPN collaborators and who are interested in studies relating processes of care to maternal or perinatal outcomes

The spatial scale of density-dependent growth and implications for dispersal from nests in juvenile Atlantic salmon

By dispersing from localized aggregations of recruits, individuals may obtain energetic benefits due to reduced experienced density. However, this will depend on the spatial scale over which individuals compete. Here, we quantify this scale for juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) following emergence and dispersal from nests. A single nest was placed in each of ten replicate streams during winter, and information on the individual positions (±1 m) and the body sizes of the resulting young-of-the-year (YOY) juveniles was obtained by sampling during the summer. In six of the ten streams, model comparisons suggested that individual body size was most closely related to the density within a mean distance of 11 m (range 2–26 m). A link between body size and density on such a restricted spatial scale suggests that dispersal from nests confers energetic benefits that can counterbalance any survival costs. For the four remaining streams, which had a high abundance of trout and older salmon cohorts, no single spatial scale could best describe the relation between YOY density and body size. Energetic benefits of dispersal associated with reduced local density therefore appear to depend on the abundance of competing cohorts or species, which have spatial distributions that are less predictable in terms of distance from nests. Thus, given a trade-off between costs and benefits associated with dispersal, and variation in benefits among environments, we predict an evolving and/or phenotypically plastic growth rate threshold which determines when an individual decides to disperse from areas of high local density

Effect of Antihypertensive Therapy with Alpha Methyldopa on Levels of Angiogenic Factors in Pregnancies with Hypertensive Disorders

Antihypertensive drugs are believed to lower blood pressure in pre-eclampsia by direct or central vasodilatory mechanisms. However, they could also act by decreasing production of anti-angiogenic proteins involved in the pathophysiology of hypertension and proteinuria in pre-eclampsia (PE). The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of antihypertensive therapy with alpha methyldopa on maternal circulating levels and placental production of soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), soluble endoglin (sEng), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and placental growth factor (PlGF) in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy