Extensive Pulmonary Embolism in late pregnancy associated with Anticardiolipin Antibodies

The leading cause of morbidity and mortality during pregnancy and the puerperium is venous thromboembolism. Though uncommon, the risk is five times higher in a pregnant woman than in a non-pregnant woman of similar age.1,2 In pregnancy, all three underlying factors for venous thrombosis are present: hypercoagulability, venous stasis and vascular damage (Virchow's triad). Of these, the most constant predisposing factor is increasing venous stasis due to the pressure of the gravid uterus on the pelvic vasculature. In addition the presence of a thrombophilia, (congenital or acquired) will increase this risk substantially. During pregnancy hypercoagulability is a physiological preparation for the haemostatic challenge of delivery. There are increases in procoagulant factors, such as von Willebrand factor, factor VIII, factor V, and fibrinogen together with an acquired resistance to activated protein C and a reduction in protein S. Increases in plasminogen activator inhibitors impair fibrinolysis. The third factor of this triad, vascular damage, is a possible complication of trophoblastic invasion of the uterine spiral arterioles or of delivery.peer-reviewe

Education and older adults at the University of the Third Age

This article reports a critical analysis of older adult education in Malta. In educational gerontology, a critical perspective demands the exposure of how relations of power and inequality, in their myriad forms, combinations, and complexities, are manifest in late-life learning initiatives. Fieldwork conducted at the University of the Third Age (UTA) in Malta uncovered the political nature of elder-learning, especially with respect to three intersecting lines of inequality - namely, positive aging, elitism, and gender. A cautionary note is, therefore, warranted at the dominant positive interpretations of UTAs since late-life learning, as any other education activity, is not politically neutral.peer-reviewe

Thermographic patterns of the upper and lower limbs : baseline data

This study was supported by an internal University of Malta Research Grant PODRP01-1. The study sponsor had no involvement in the execution and analysis of this study.To collect normative baseline data and identify any significant differences between hand and foot thermographic distribution patterns in a healthy adult population. Design. A single-centre, randomized, prospective study. Methods. Thermographic data was acquired using a FLIR camera for the data acquisition of both plantar and dorsal aspects of the feet, volar aspects of the hands, and anterior aspects of the lower limbs under controlled climate conditions. Results. There is general symmetry in skin temperature between the same regions in contralateral limbs, in terms of both magnitude and pattern. There was also minimal intersubject temperature variation with a consistent temperature pattern in toes and fingers. The thumb is the warmest digit with the temperature falling gradually between the 2nd and the 5th fingers. The big toe and the 5th toe are the warmest digits with the 2nd to the 4th toes being cooler. Conclusion. Measurement of skin temperature of the limbs using a thermal camera is feasible and reproducible. Temperature patterns in fingers and toes are consistent with similar temperatures in contralateral limbs in healthy subjects. This study provides the basis for further research to assess the clinical usefulness of thermography in the diagnosis of vascular insufficiency.peer-reviewe

Thermographic patterns of the upper and lower limbs: baseline data.

Objectives. To collect normative baseline data and identify any significant differences between hand and foot thermographic distribution patterns in a healthy adult population. Design. A single-centre, randomized, prospective study. Methods. Thermographic data was acquired using a FLIR camera for the data acquisition of both plantar and dorsal aspects of the feet, volar aspects of the hands, and anterior aspects of the lower limbs under controlled climate conditions. Results. There is general symmetry in skin temperature between the same regions in contralateral limbs, in terms of both magnitude and pattern. There was also minimal intersubject temperature variation with a consistent temperature pattern in toes and fingers. The thumb is the warmest digit with the temperature falling gradually between the 2nd and the 5th fingers. The big toe and the 5th toe are the warmest digits with the 2nd to the 4th toes being cooler. Conclusion. Measurement of skin temperature of the limbs using a thermal camera is feasible and reproducible. Temperature patterns in fingers and toes are consistent with similar temperatures in contralateral limbs in healthy subjects. This study provides the basis for further research to assess the clinical usefulness of thermography in the diagnosis of vascular insufficiency

Inviability of a DNA2 deletion mutant is due to the DNA damage checkpoint

Dna2 is a dual polarity exo/endonuclease, and 5' to 3' DNA helicase involved in Okazaki Fragment Processing (OFP) and Double-Strand Break (DSB) Repair. In yeast, DNA2 is an essential gene, as expected for a DNA replication protein. Suppression of the lethality of dna2Δ mutants has been found to occur by two mechanisms: overexpression of RAD27^(scFEN1), encoding a 5' to 3' exo/endo nuclease that processes Okazaki fragments (OFs) for ligation, or deletion of PIF1, a 5' to 3' helicase involved in mitochondrial recombination, telomerase inhibition and OFP. Mapping of a novel, spontaneously arising suppressor of dna2Δ now reveals that mutation of rad9 and double mutation of rad9 mrc1 can also suppress the lethality of dna2Δ mutants. Interaction of dna2Δ and DNA damage checkpoint mutations provides insight as to why dna2Δ is lethal but rad27Δ is not, even though evidence shows that Rad27^(ScFEN1) processes most of the Okazaki fragments, while Dna2 processes only a subset

Interplay of Mre11 Nuclease with Dna2 plus Sgs1 in Rad51-Dependent Recombinational Repair

The Mre11/Rad50/Xrs2 complex initiates IR repair by binding to the end of a double-strand break, resulting in 5′ to 3′ exonuclease degradation creating a single-stranded 3′ overhang competent for strand invasion into the unbroken chromosome. The nuclease(s) involved are not well understood. Mre11 encodes a nuclease, but it has 3′ to 5′, rather than 5′ to 3′ activity. Furthermore, mutations that inactivate only the nuclease activity of Mre11 but not its other repair functions, mre11-D56N and mre11-H125N, are resistant to IR. This suggests that another nuclease can catalyze 5′ to 3′ degradation. One candidate nuclease that has not been tested to date because it is encoded by an essential gene is the Dna2 helicase/nuclease. We recently reported the ability to suppress the lethality of a dna2Δ with a pif1Δ. The dna2Δ pif1Δ mutant is IR-resistant. We have determined that dna2Δ pif1Δ mre11-D56N and dna2Δ pif1Δ mre11-H125N strains are equally as sensitive to IR as mre11Δ strains, suggesting that in the absence of Dna2, Mre11 nuclease carries out repair. The dna2Δ pif1Δ mre11-D56N triple mutant is complemented by plasmids expressing Mre11, Dna2 or dna2K1080E, a mutant with defective helicase and functional nuclease, demonstrating that the nuclease of Dna2 compensates for the absence of Mre11 nuclease in IR repair, presumably in 5′ to 3′ degradation at DSB ends. We further show that sgs1Δ mre11-H125N, but not sgs1Δ, is very sensitive to IR, implicating the Sgs1 helicase in the Dna2-mediated pathway

An underwater towed vehicle to monitor the Sicily-Malta channel

The problem of monitoring pollution coming from oil spills assumes wide importance for the highly congested Sicily-Malta channel. Hydrocarbons, as well as other polluting substances, have a huge influence on the health status of the sea. In this paper we present the preliminary design of an underwater towed vehicle (UTV) to monitor the Sicily-Malta channel. The design of this towfish incorporates ideas for a camera, lens system and stroboscope illumination system that can be used to take images of phytoplankton and zooplankton having a size range of 100 microns up to 1 centimeter. The underwater platform includes a high definition (HD) camera for monitoring jellyfish population at different sea depths. Unlike the autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), an UTV is not independent and must be towed by a surface boat. This disadvantage is balanced by having a simpler design and control system and an increased payload for instruments, sensors and cameras due to the absence of heavy battery systems. In order to increase maneuverability, stability and depth control, actuated hydroplanes are used to vary the angle of attack and to change the total downward force exerted on the moving towfish. The depth of dive of the towfish is automatically controlled to a set value. Automatic control is preferred so as to reduce the work and human concentration necessary during a monitoring mission. The hydroplanes are used to control rolling and pitching of the towfish. This kind of corrective action and a means of knowing the inclination of the towfish are deemed to be necessary because of the effect that underwater currents may have on the dynamics of the towfish. In addition to active control against the rolling action, the main hydroplanes (wings) of the towfish are at a small anhedral angle in order to create a passive anti roll action by creating a corrective moment acting about the main longitudinal axis of the towfish. The stern of the towfish also carries a rudder. The rudder would mainly be used when turning and to steer the towfish away from the surface boat wake when taking surface or close to surface measurements. The towfish is towed via an umbilical cord which carries all the power supply and signal lines necessary for towfish control and data acquisition. The umbilical cord is mechanically strong enough in order to tow the underwater towfish which is subjected to hydrodynamic drag. For proper logging and mapping of pollutants and camera images it is required to know the exact position and positional depth of the towfish during a mission. The positional depth of the towfish is recorded by means of a depth sensor. The position of the towfish is found by having a Global Positioning System (GPS) on the surface boat coupled with a commercially available sonar based instrument that can be used to calculate the relative position between the surface boat and the towfish.peer-reviewe