Women’s beliefs about the duration of pregnancy and the earliest gestational age to safely give birth.

Background: American evidence suggests women are not well informed about the optimal duration of pregnancy or the earliest time for safe birth. Similar evidence does not exist in Australia. Aims: To explore pregnant women’s beliefs about the duration of pregnancy and the earliest time for safe birth, and to compare the results with US data. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of pregnant women attending antenatal clinics at four public hospitals in Sydney, Australia, included collection of maternal and pregnancy characteristics, and two questions exploring women’s beliefs about the duration of pregnancy, and the earliest time for safe birth. Responses were grouped as: late preterm (34-36 weeks), early term (37-38 weeks), and full term (39-40 weeks). Results: Of 784 surveyed women, 52% chose 39-40 weeks as the duration of a full term pregnancy, while for the earliest time for safe birth, 10% chose 39-40 weeks and 57% chose 37-38 weeks. Some maternal characteristics were associated with women’s beliefs, including having a medical and/or pregnancy complication, country of birth, level of education, employment status, and attending a tertiary hospital. The associations were different for each question. In comparison with US studies, Australian women were more likely to choose later gestations for both the duration of pregnancy and the earliest time for safe birth. Conclusions: A significant proportion of Australian women believe that full term pregnancy and earliest time for safe birth occur before 39 weeks, suggesting opportunities for antenatal education.The authors would like to thank the women who participated in the survey, and acknowledge the contribution of the research midwives, Jill Milligan, Rachel Reid, Jocelyn Sedgley and Katrina White-Mathews, as well as Dr. Antonia Shand for assisting with participant recruitment. This work was supported by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre for Research Excellence Grant (1001066). CLR is supported by an NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship (#APP1021025)

Haemoglobin level at birth is associated with short term outcomes and mortality in preterm infants

Background Blood volume and haemoglobin (Hb) levels are increased by delayed umbilical cord clamping, which has been reported to improve clinical outcomes of preterm infants. The objective was to determine whether Hb level at birth was associated with short term outcomes in preterm infants born at ≤32 weeks gestation. Methods Data were collected retrospectively from electronic records: Standardised Electronic Neonatal Database, Electronic Patient Record, Pathology (WinPath), and Blood Bank Electronic Database. The study was conducted in a tertiary perinatal centre with around 5,500 deliveries and a neonatal unit admission of 750 infants per year. All inborn preterm infants of 23 to 32 weeks gestational age (GA) admitted to the neonatal unit from January 2006 to September 2012 were included. The primary outcomes were intra-ventricular haemorrhage, necrotising entero-colitis, broncho-pulmonary dysplasia, retinopathy of prematurity, and death before discharge. The secondary outcomes were receiving blood transfusion and length of intensive care and neonatal unit days. The association between Hb level (g/dL) at birth and outcomes was analysed by multiple logistic regression adjusting for GA and birth weight (BWt). Results Overall, 920 infants were eligible; 28 were excluded because of missing data and 2 for lethal congenital malformation. The mean (SD) GA was 28.3 (2.7) weeks, BWt was 1,140 (414) g, and Hb level at birth was 15.8 (2.6) g/dL. Hb level at birth was significantly associated with all primary outcomes studied (P <0.001) in univariate analyses. Once GA and BWt were adjusted for, only death before discharge remained statistically significant; the OR of death for infants with Hb level at birth <12 g/dL compared with those with Hb level at birth of ≥18 g/dL was 4.1 (95% CI, 1.4–11.6). Hb level at birth was also significantly associated with blood transfusion received (P <0.01) but not with duration of intensive care or neonatal unit days. Conclusions Low Hb level at birth was significantly associated with mortality and receiving blood transfusion in preterm infants born at ≤32 weeks gestation. Further studies are needed to determine the association between Hb level at birth and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes

Social Class

Discussion of class structure in fifth-century Athens, historical constitution of theater audiences, and the changes in the comic representation of class antagonism from Aristophanes to Menander

This advert makes me cry: Disclosure of emotional response to advertisement on Facebook

As social media is transforming how consumers interact with brands and how brand-related content is consumed, this paper aims to investigate if and how Facebook users express their emotions towards advertisements of brand share on the site. Seven hundred and three comments about the Lloyds 250th Anniversary advertisement on Facebook were analysed as positive, negative or neutral attitude towards the advert. Facebook users found the advertisement emotionally appealing and voluntarily report their emotion of love, pride and in some cases anger. The presence of an iconic image like the black horse and the cover music was found to be emotionally appealing. The background music as well aroused positive emotions and engaging. This study introduces the possibility of analysing Facebook comments on brand content to understand consumers’ emotional responses and attitudes to the brand. Managers can explore these opportunities to identify what consumers find interesting in advertisements and how best to develop their creative strategies. It also offers the opportunity to allocate resources better to engage consumers with creative advertisement. Unlike interviews or surveys, this is a pioneering study on measuring emotional responses to advertisement through users’ self-report on social media

HIV-1 Neutralization Profile and Plant-Based Recombinant Expression of Actinohivin, an Env Glycan-Specific Lectin Devoid of T-Cell Mitogenic Activity

The development of a topical microbicide blocking the sexual transmission of HIV-1 is urgently needed to control the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. The actinomycete-derived lectin actinohivin (AH) is highly specific to a cluster of high-mannose-type glycans uniquely found on the viral envelope (Env). Here, we evaluated AH's candidacy toward a microbicide in terms of in vitro anti-HIV-1 activity, potential side effects, and recombinant producibility. Two validated assay systems based on human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (hPBMC) infection with primary isolates and TZM-bl cell infection with Env-pseudotyped viruses were employed to characterize AH's anti-HIV-1 activity. In hPMBCs, AH exhibited nanomolar neutralizing activity against primary viruses with diverse cellular tropisms, but did not cause mitogenicity or cytotoxicity that are often associated with other anti-HIV lectins. In the TZM-bl-based assay, AH showed broad anti-HIV-1 activity against clinically-relevant, mucosally transmitting strains of clades B and C. By contrast, clade A viruses showed strong resistance to AH. Correlation analysis suggested that HIV-1′s AH susceptibility is significantly linked to the N-glycans at the Env C2 and V4 regions. For recombinant (r)AH expression, we evaluated a tobacco mosaic virus-based system in Nicotiana benthamiana plants as a means to facilitate molecular engineering and cost-effective mass production. Biochemical analysis and an Env-mediated syncytium formation assay demonstrated high-level expression of functional rAH within six days. Taken together, our study revealed AH's cross-clade anti-HIV-1 activity, apparent lack of side effects common to lectins, and robust producibility using plant biotechnology. These findings justify further efforts to develop rAH toward a candidate HIV-1 microbicide

Targeting Huntington’s disease through histone deacetylases

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative condition with significant burdens on both patient and healthcare costs. Despite extensive research, treatment options for patients with this condition remain limited. Aberrant post-translational modification (PTM) of proteins is emerging as an important element in the pathogenesis of HD. These PTMs include acetylation, phosphorylation, methylation, sumoylation and ubiquitination. Several families of proteins are involved with the regulation of these PTMs. In this review, I discuss the current evidence linking aberrant PTMs and/or aberrant regulation of the cellular machinery regulating these PTMs to HD pathogenesis. Finally, I discuss the evidence suggesting that pharmacologically targeting one of these protein families the histone deacetylases may be of potential therapeutic benefit in the treatment of HD

X-ray Diffraction Results from Mars Science Laboratory: Mineralogy of Rocknest at Gale Crater

The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity scooped samples of soil from the Rocknest aeolian bedform in Gale crater. Analysis of the soil with the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) x-ray diffraction (XRD) instrument revealed plagioclase (~An57), forsteritic olivine (~Fo62), augite, and pigeonite, with minor K-feldspar, magnetite, quartz, anhydrite, hematite, and ilmenite. The minor phases are present at, or near, detection limits. The soil also contains 27 ± 14 weight percent x-ray amorphous material, likely containing multiple Fe^(3+)- and volatile-bearing phases, including possibly a substance resembling hisingerite. The crystalline component is similar to the normative mineralogy of certain basaltic rocks from Gusev crater on Mars and of martian basaltic meteorites. The amorphous component is similar to that found on Earth in places such as soils on the Mauna Kea volcano, Hawaii