Successful Treatment of Fetal Intraperitoneal Administration of Immunoglobulin in a Case of Fetal Hemolytic Anemia with 131,072-Fold Anti-E Alloimmunization

Object. We present here the case of severe fetal anemia caused by anti-E antibody positive, which showed a favorable course only with fetal intraperitoneal administration of immunoglobulin. Case. The mother was 31 years old, blood type B Rh : CCDee, gravida 1, with no history of transfusion. Anti-E antibody was detected in the maternal cross-match test at the 18th gestational week. In percutaneous umbilical blood sampling, the umbilical blood hemoglobin level was 9.1 g/dL and the result of the direct Coombs' test was positive at the 26th gestational week. Immunoglobulin injection into fetal abdominal cavity (IFAC) was administered a total 7 times. During the pregnancy, the indirect Coombs' test showed a 131,072-fold increase. Conclusion. In this case, IFAC to block the reticuloendothelial system Fc receptor was successful. This procedure is promising as one of the treatment options for blood group incompatible pregnancy

Descendants of the first stars: the distinct chemical signature of second generation stars

Extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars in the Milky Way (MW) allow us to infer the properties of their progenitors by comparing their chemical composition to the metal yields of the first supernovae. This method is most powerful when applied to mono-enriched stars, i.e. stars that formed from gas that was enriched by only one previous supernova. We present a novel diagnostic to identify this subclass of EMP stars. We model the first generations of star formation semi-analytically, based on dark matter halo merger trees that yield MW-like halos at the present day. Radiative and chemical feedback are included self-consistently and we trace all elements up to zinc. Mono-enriched stars account for only $\sim 1\%$ of second generation stars in our fiducial model and we provide an analytical formula for this probability. We also present a novel analytical diagnostic to identify mono-enriched stars, based on the metal yields of the first supernovae. This new diagnostic allows us to derive our main results independently from the specific assumptions made regarding Pop III star formation, and we apply it to a set of observed EMP stars to demonstrate its strengths and limitations. Our results may provide selection criteria for current and future surveys and therefore contribute to a deeper understanding of EMP stars and their progenitors.Comment: 18 pages, 20 figures, published in MNRA

Fasciation in Strawberry Floral Organs and Possible Implications for Floral Transition

Fasciation in strawberry is characterized by an enlarged and flattened receptacle, clustering of flowers, and altered inflorescence architecture. However, the developmental process of fasciated flowers remains obscure. In this study, the fasciation incidence and developmental process in the primary fruit and inflorescence architecture were evaluated and compared for the non-susceptible cultivars, ‘Nyoho’ and ‘Sagahonoka’ and one of the most susceptible cultivars, ‘Ai-Berry’. The severity and frequency of flower and inflorescence fasciation was clearly greater in the vigorously growing large plants of ‘Ai-Berry’ compared to small plants and large plants of the other two cultivars. In ‘Ai-Berry’, the deformation of the large shoot apical meristem (SAM) into an oval shape was the initial symptom observed before and during floral transition. Such oval-shaped SAMs often differentiated two or more leaf primordia almost at the same time, which then developed into divided multiple vegetative SAMs before floral transition and linearly-fasciated SAMs during floral transition, respectively. The development of fasciation symptoms was observed after downregulation of FaTFL1. Although inflorescence or receptacle fasciation could be controlled when early and rapid floral induction was achieved by intermittent low-temperature treatment, severe fasciation was observed in late-flowered plants which were either not responsive or not subjected to this treatment. These results indicate that fasciation of floral organs may be triggered and develop during floral transition and that temperature fluctuations around boundary values between floral inhibition to induction may cause a half-finished or slowly processed floral transition and finally result in severe fasciation in vigorously growing ‘Ai-Berry’ plants

Special Issue New Insights Into Microaneurysms in the Deep Capillary Plexus Detected by Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography in Diabetic Macular Edema

PURPOSE. To study the association between the distributions of microaneurysms detected by en face optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and diabetic macular edema (DME). METHODS. The study design was a retrospective chart review of 27 patients (33 eyes) with DME. The eyes were scanned using OCTA (6 3 6 mm) and spectral-domain (SD) OCT macular cube. Each of the images of the capillary plexus was overlaid onto the image of the topographic map, and the densities of the microaneurysms were measured by ImageJ software. The association between the distribution of microaneurysms and macular edema was evaluated. RESULTS. For microaneurysms in areas with and without edema, 77.3 6 8.1% of these microaneurysms were located in the deep capillary plexuses (DCP). However, in areas of edema where the retinal thickness was more than 400 lm, 91.3 6 9.1% of the microaneurysms were found in the DCP. This difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001). In the macular edema area, there was a significantly higher density of microaneurysms in the DCP compared to the superficial capillary plexuses (1.71/mm 2 vs. 0.17/mm 2 , P < 0.001). There was also a significant correlation between the macular volume and the density of microaneurysms in the DCP in edema (r ¼ 0.63, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS. Our study demonstrated a high proportion of microaneurysms in the DCP, as well as a novel association between the distributions of microaneurysms detected by OCTA and DME. Results also indicated that microaneurysms located in the DCP contribute to the pathogenesis of DME

Negative correlation between cerebrospinal fluid oxytocin levels and negative symptoms of male patients with schizophrenia

Background: Accumulating evidence indicates that oxytocin plays an important role in social interactions. Previous studies also suggest altered oxytocin function in patients with schizophrenia and depression. However, few studies have examined the central oxytocin levels in these disorders. Methods: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) oxytocin levels were measured by ELISA in male participants consisting of 27 patients with schizophrenia, 17 with major depressive disorder (MDD), and 21 healthy controls. Results: CSF oxytocin levels of patients with schizophrenia or MDD did not differ significantly with healthy controls. The antidepressant dose or the Hamilton depression rating scale score did not significantly correlate with the oxytocin levels in MDD patients. CSF oxytocin levels in schizophrenic patients significantly negatively correlated with second generation antipsychotic dose (r=-0.49, P=0.010) but not with first generation antipsychotic dose (r=-0.13, P=0.50). A significant correlation was observed between oxytocin levels and negative subscale of PANSS (r=-0.38, P=0.050). This correlation remained significant even after controlling for second generation antipsychotic dose (r=-0.47, P=0.016). Conclusions: We obtained no evidence of altered CSF oxytocin levels in patients with schizophrenia or those with MDD. However, lower oxytocin levels may be related to higher second generation antipsychotic dose and more severe negative symptoms in schizophrenia.ArticleSCHIZOPHRENIA RESEARCH. 139(1-3):201-206 (2012)journal articl