Sonographic assessment of fetal head deflexion using occiput: spine angle measured during first stage of labour and its role in predicting the mode of delivery among nulliparous women

Background: The attitude of the fetal head during labour significantly influences the progress and outcome of delivery and is mainly diagnosed by vaginal examination during labour. The aim of the study was to quantify the extent of deflexion of the fetal head by measuring the fetal occiput spine angle (OSA) through transabdominal ultrasonography in the first stage of labour and to determine whether the fetal OSA can predict the mode of delivery.Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study on 145 nulliparous uncomplicated singleton pregnant women without occiput-posterior position of the fetus during active labour. The OSA was measured as the angle between the two tangential lines to the occipital bone and the vertebral body of the first cervical spine, during active labour and monitored until delivery. Intra- and interobserver reproducibility of the OSA measurement and the correlation between the OSA and mode of delivery were also evaluated.Results: For the study population, the mean value of the OSA measured in the active phase of the first stage was 124.2±11.5⁰. The OSA measurement showed excellent intraobserver agreement (r = 0.82; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.70-0.80) and fair-to-good interobserver agreement (r = 0.62; 95% CI 0.51-0.71).  The mean OSA was significantly less for the group of patients who required conversion to cesarean section due to labour arrest (n=32) as compared to those who had vaginal delivery (n=113) (116.25±9.2⁰ versus 126.53±11.1⁰, P<0.01). An OSA of ≥121° was associated with vaginal delivery in 80.5% (91/113) of women, whereas 87.5% (28/32) of the women who delivered by cesarean section had an OSA <121⁰.Conclusions: Measurement of the OSA, by sonography is feasible, reproducible and an objective tool to assess the degree of fetal head deflexion during labour and to predict the mode of delivery

Endothelin-Receptor Antagonists beyond Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Cancer and Fibrosis.

The endothelin axis and in particular the two endothelin receptors, ETA and ETB, are targets for therapeutic intervention in human diseases. Endothelin-receptor antagonists are in clinical use to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension and have been under clinical investigation for the treatment of several other diseases, such as systemic hypertension, cancer, vasospasm, and fibrogenic diseases. In this Perspective, we review the molecules that have been evaluated in human clinical trials for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, as well as other cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and fibrosis. We will also discuss the therapeutic consequences of receptor selectivity with regard to ETA-selective, ETB-selective, or dual ETA/ETB antagonists. We will also consider which chemical characteristics are relevant to clinical use and the properties of molecules necessary for efficacy in treating diseases against which known molecules displayed suboptimal efficacy

Waste mangement- issues and solutions for a coastal village along Kerala, southwest coast of India

In the present world, plastics play an integral role in human life. Its production crosses 150 million tonnes per year globally and India contributes to more than 8 million tonnes, in terms of consumption. Plastic is cost effective, durable and holds a broad range of application, which turned it to a basic need for the human society. On the other side, 70 % of the consumption is converted as waste and when the infrastructure of the waste management system do not match with the generation rate, it becomes a menace to the society. One of the major concerns of fishermen has been the depleting fishery resources and degrading environment. With an aim to understand the magnitude of marine litter in coastal waters and the way it affects traditional small scale fishers the present study was undertaken. The study area is Mulavukad village Panchayat (latitude 10°02’98.21’’ and longitude 76°25’53.26’’) which is a long narrow stretch of land located in the Ernakulum district of Kerala state, India with an area of 19.27 sq km. The island is surrounded by Periyar river on the North east and Vembanad Lake on the South west. The major lively hood of the people is fishing and fishery related activities

“निर्मल धारा” - तटीय पारिस्थितिक तंत्र के प्रति शुद्ध पानी प्रवाह सुनिश्चित करने की वैज्ञानिक पहल

“निर्मल धारा” - तटीय पारिस्थितिक तंत्र के प्रति शुद्ध पानी प्रवाह सुनिश्चित करने की वैज्ञानिक पह

Revised Selection Criteria for Candidate Restriction Enzymes in Genome Walking

A new method to improve the efficiency of flanking sequence identification by genome walking was developed based on an expanded, sequential list of criteria for selecting candidate enzymes, plus several other optimization steps. These criteria include: step (1) initially choosing the most appropriate restriction enzyme according to the average fragment size produced by each enzyme determined using in silico digestion of genomic DNA, step (2) evaluating the in silico frequency of fragment size distribution between individual chromosomes, step (3) selecting those enzymes that generate fragments with the majority between 100 bp and 3,000 bp, step (4) weighing the advantages and disadvantages of blunt-end sites vs. cohesive-end sites, step (5) elimination of methylation sensitive enzymes with methylation-insensitive isoschizomers, and step (6) elimination of enzymes with recognition sites within the binary vector sequence (T-DNA and plasmid backbone). Step (7) includes the selection of a second restriction enzyme with highest number of recognition sites within regions not covered by the first restriction enzyme. Step (8) considers primer and adapter sequence optimization, selecting the best adapter-primer pairs according to their hairpin/dimers and secondary structure. In step (9), the efficiency of genomic library development was improved by column-filtration of digested DNA to remove restriction enzyme and phosphatase enzyme, and most important, to remove small genomic fragments (<100 bp) lacking the T-DNA insertion, hence improving the chance of ligation between adapters and fragments harbouring a T-DNA. Two enzymes, NsiI and NdeI, fit these criteria for the Arabidopsis thaliana genome. Their efficiency was assessed using 54 T3 lines from an Arabidopsis SK enhancer population. Over 70% success rate was achieved in amplifying the flanking sequences of these lines. This strategy was also tested with Brachypodium distachyon to demonstrate its applicability to other larger genomes

Regulation of mammary gland branching morphogenesis by the extracellular matrix and its remodeling enzymes.

A considerable body of research indicates that mammary gland branching morphogenesis is dependent, in part, on the extracellular matrix (ECM), ECM-receptors, such as integrins and other ECM receptors, and ECM-degrading enzymes, including matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their inhibitors, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). There is some evidence that these ECM cues affect one or more of the following processes: cell survival, polarity, proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, and migration. Both three-dimensional culture models and genetic manipulations of the mouse mammary gland have been used to study the signaling pathways that affect these processes. However, the precise mechanisms of ECM-directed mammary morphogenesis are not well understood. Mammary morphogenesis involves epithelial 'invasion' of adipose tissue, a process akin to invasion by breast cancer cells, although the former is a highly regulated developmental process. How these morphogenic pathways are integrated in the normal gland and how they become dysregulated and subverted in the progression of breast cancer also remain largely unanswered questions

Developmental Stability: A Major Role for Cyclin G in Drosophila melanogaster

Morphological consistency in metazoans is remarkable given the pervasive occurrence of genetic variation, environmental effects, and developmental noise. Developmental stability, the ability to reduce developmental noise, is a fundamental property of multicellular organisms, yet its genetic bases remains elusive. Imperfect bilateral symmetry, or fluctuating asymmetry, is commonly used to estimate developmental stability. We observed that Drosophila melanogaster overexpressing Cyclin G (CycG) exhibit wing asymmetry clearly detectable by sight. Quantification of wing size and shape using geometric morphometrics reveals that this asymmetry is a genuine—but extreme—fluctuating asymmetry. Overexpression of CycG indeed leads to a 40-fold increase of wing fluctuating asymmetry, which is an unprecedented effect, for any organ and in any animal model, either in wild populations or mutants. This asymmetry effect is not restricted to wings, since femur length is affected as well. Inactivating CycG by RNAi also induces fluctuating asymmetry but to a lesser extent. Investigating the cellular bases of the phenotypic effects of CycG deregulation, we found that misregulation of cell size is predominant in asymmetric flies. In particular, the tight negative correlation between cell size and cell number observed in wild-type flies is impaired when CycG is upregulated. Our results highlight the role of CycG in the control of developmental stability in D. melanogaster. Furthermore, they show that wing developmental stability is normally ensured via compensatory processes between cell growth and cell proliferation. We discuss the possible role of CycG as a hub in a genetic network that controls developmental stability

Amphiregulin Mediates Estrogen, Progesterone, and EGFR Signaling in the Normal Rat Mammary Gland and in Hormone-Dependent Rat Mammary Cancers

Both estrogen (E) and progesterone (P) are implicated in the etiology of human breast cancer. Defining their mechanisms of action, particularly in vivo, is relevant to the prevention and therapy of breast cancer. We investigated the molecular and cellular mechanisms of E and/or P-induced in vivo proliferation, in the normal rat mammary gland and in hormone-dependent rat mammary cancers which share many characteristics with the normal human breast and hormone-dependent breast cancers. We show that E+P treatment induced significantly greater proliferation in both the normal gland and mammary cancers compared to E alone. In both the normal gland and tumors, E+P-induced proliferation was mediated through the increased production of amphiregulin (Areg), an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) ligand, and the activation of intracellular signaling pathways (Erk, Akt, JNK) downstream of EGFR that regulate proliferation. In vitro experiments using rat primary mammary organoids or T47D breast cancer cells confirmed that Areg and the synthetic progestin, R5020, synergize to promote cell proliferation through EGFR signaling. Iressa, an EGFR inhibitor, effectively blocked this proliferation. These results indicate that mediators of cross talk between E, P, and EGFR pathways may be considered as relevant molecular targets for the therapy of hormone-dependent breast cancers, especially in premenopausal women