First and second trimester bleeding and pregnancy outcome: a prospective study in a tertiary government hospital

Background: Bleeding in first and second trimester of pregnancy is one of the common complications of pregnancy. there is evidence from various prospective and retrospective studies that first and second trimester vaginal bleeding which continue with pregnancy is associated with adverse pregnancy outcome, including preterm delivery, low birth weight babies, perinatal death and congenital anomalies. Objective of this study was to know the outcome of pregnancies who have bleeding in first and second trimester of pregnancy.Methods: This study was prospective study done in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology, Vanivilas Hospital, Bangalore from September 2018 to August 2019.Results: This study concludes that I trimester vaginal bleeding are at increased risk of abortion than in II trimester vaginal bleeding. Risk of placenta previa was more in II trimester vaginal bleeding than in I trimester vaginal bleeding.Conclusions: This study concludes that I trimester vaginal bleeding are at increased risk of abortion than in II trimester vaginal bleeding. Risk of placenta previa was more in II trimester vaginal bleeding than in I trimester vaginal bleeding. Bleeding in I trimester and II trimester call for special attention in view of increased risk of preterm birth and perinatal death. Recognition of these association will be useful for detection and follow up of pregnancies being at high risk

A study to identify the prevalence of vulvovaginal candidiasis in second trimester

Background: Vaginal candidial infections are due to excessive growth of Candida. These are normally present in the vagina in small numbers. Vaginal infections are typically caused by the yeast species Candida albicans. It is found that candidial infection increases the risk of preterm labour. Aims and objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence of vulvovaginal candidiasis and influence of maternal age, parity and weeks of 2nd trimester on its occurrence among pregnant women in 2nd trimester, attending the antenatal clinic in our hospital.Methods: A prospective study conducted in BMCRI for a period of 3 months (October 2019-December 2019) on patients in second trimester. Consent of patients taken. High vaginal swabs were collected from the pregnant patients in second trimester and sent for culture. Candida positive cases were noted and results were analysed.Results: A total of 100 high vaginal swabs were collected and reported in our study. Among them 54 swabs were positive for Candida growth (54%) and 46 swabs were negative for growth (46%). Culture positive patients’ clinical details were analysed and tabulated.Conclusions: Our study concluded that candidiasis is more prevalent in pregnant women but there was no statistical significance in occurrence of vaginal candidiasis among various age groups, parity or trimester. Hence it is better to screen all the patients in I early II trimester in order to find out and treat positive cases early to prevent preterm births attributed to vaginal candidiasis

A prospective study of role of doppler in pregnancy and the perinatal outcome

Background: The development of doppler ultrasonographic technology has provided an opportunity to obtain a qualitative and quantitative assessment of maternal and foetal circulation using a non-invasive method. It has been proved by many studies that doppler has a very important role in screening of high-risk pregnancies. Objective of this study was to evaluate the role of colour doppler study in normal and high-risk pregnancy in relation to perinatal outcome.Methods: A prospective study was done including 75 women with high risk pregnancy and 75 normal pregnant women during the period October 2018 to September 2019 in hospitals attached to Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute. Doppler examination was done after recording patients’ history, clinical examination and ultrasound. Results were analysed and conclusions were made.Results: Out of the 22 patients with PIH, 20 patients had abnormal umbilical artery S/D ratio and all 22 had abnormal MCA PI. Out of 12 patients with diabetes, 10 had abnormal umbilical artery S/D ratio. All the patients with IUGR had abnormal umbilical artery S/D ratio and abnormal MCA PI.Conclusions: Colour doppler flow velocimetry done repeatedly can predict adverse foetal events with a great degree of accuracy

Hidden Secrets of ‘Punica Granatum’ Use and Its Effects on Oral Health: A Short Review

The interest in evaluating therapeutic effects of plants has increased dramatically with more and more people inclining toward alternative medicine for their health care needs as theyare effective, nontoxic, economical and usually have no sideeffects. Pomegranate is one such fruit/ plant which is beneficial with added effect on oral health. This plant source of polyphenols has antioxidant properties, meaning they help protect cells from damage and may lower the inflammation in the body. Apart from this various other components of the pomegranate plant such as flowers are rich source flavonoids. Peel extracts have been demonstrated to have antibacterial and antifungal activity due to the presence of hydrolysable tannins and polyphenols. The stem part is known to have astringent and antihelminthic properties and the leaves have been used for conjunctivitis. Thus, the purpose of this review is to summarize the therapeutic benefits of various extracts derived from the pomegranate plant and its benefits on oral health

A study to establish the prevalence of urinary tract infection in preterm labour

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the many etiological factors of preterm labour. Preterm labour is the onset of labour after 28 weeks and before 37 weeks of gestation. Preterm labour is a significant cause for perinatal morbidity and mortality. Hence early diagnosis and management of etiological factors is necessary. The most common bacterial infection encountered during pregnancy is UTIs. Early detection and management of UTIs may effectively prevent complications of preterm labour including preterm birth. Aims and objectives of the study was to estimate the prevalence of UTIs in preterm labour.Methods: cross sectional study with a total of 250 patients carried out in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology, Vanivilas hospital, BMCRI for a period of 6 moths-Aug 2019-Feb 2020. Patients in preterm labour i.e., cervical dilatation ≥1 cm, cervical effacement ≥80% with true labour pains were included in the study after taken informed consent form the patient. Detailed clinical history including age of patient, level of education, duration of antenatal care, parity, and obstetrical history was taken. Gestational age was calculated by LMP or early ultrasound. General examination, systemic examination and obstetric examination was done. Routine investigations were done along with clean catch midstream urine sample in a sterile container. Two samples were collected: 1st sample for microscopic examination, 2nd sample for culture and sensitivity.Conclusions: Untreated UTI can be associated with obstetric complications. The most common bacterial infection during pregnancy is UTIs. All women should be screened for UTI at the first antenatal visit. Once diagnosed it should be promptly treated with suitable antibiotic which is sensitive yet safest

Excess TGF-β Induces MMP-9 and SPP-1 Expression in the Skeletal Muscle of Cancer Patients with Bone Metastases: Association with Muscle Dysfunction

https://openworks.mdanderson.org/sumexp23/1052/thumbnail.jp

The matricellular protein CCN3 regulates NOTCH1 signalling in chronic myeloid leukaemia

Deregulated NOTCH1 has been reported in lymphoid leukaemia, although its role in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is not well established. We previously reported BCR-ABL down-regulation of a novel haematopoietic regulator, CCN3, in CML; CCN3 is a non-canonical NOTCH1 ligand. This study characterizes the NOTCH1–CCN3 signalling axis in CML. In K562 cells, BCR-ABL silencing reduced full-length NOTCH1 (NOTCH1-FL) and inhibited the cleavage of NOTCH1 intracellular domain (NOTCH1-ICD), resulting in decreased expression of the NOTCH1 targets c-MYC and HES1. K562 cells stably overexpressing CCN3 (K562/CCN3) or treated with recombinant CCN3 (rCCN3) showed a significant reduction in NOTCH1 signalling (> 50% reduction in NOTCH1-ICD, p < 0.05). Gamma secretase inhibitor (GSI), which blocks NOTCH1 signalling, reduced K562/CCN3 colony formation but increased that of K562/control cells. GSI combined with either rCCN3 or imatinib reduced K562 colony formation with enhanced reduction of NOTCH1 signalling observed with combination treatments. We demonstrate an oncogenic role for NOTCH1 in CML and suggest that BCR-ABL disruption of NOTCH1–CCN3 signalling contributes to the pathogenesis of CML

Nitric oxide and hypoxia stimulate erythropoietin receptor via MAPK kinase in endothelial cells

Erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) expression level determines the extent of erythropoietin (EPO) response. Previously we showed that EPOR expression in endothelial cells is increased at low oxygen tension and that EPO stimulation of endothelial cells during hypoxia can increase endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (eNOS) expression and activation as well as NO production. We now observe that while EPO can stimulate NO production, NO in turn can regulate EPOR expression. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) treated with 10-50 pM of NO donor diethylenetriamine NONOate (DETANO) for 24 h showed significant induction of EPOR gene expression at 5% and 2% of oxygen. Also human bone marrow microvascular endothelial cell line (TrHBMEC) cultured at 21 and 2% oxygen with 50 uM DETANO demonstrated a time and oxygen dependent induction of EPOR mRNA expression after 24 and 48 h, particularly at low oxygen tension. EPOR protein was also induced by DETANO at 2% oxygen in TrHBMEC and HUVEC. The activation of signaling pathways by NO donor stimulation appeared to be distinct from EPO stimulation. In reporter gene assays, DETANO treatment of HeLa cells at 2% oxygen increased EPOR promoter activity indicated by a 48% increase in luciferase activity with a 2 kb EPOR promoter fragment and a 71% increase in activity with a minimal EPOR promoter fragment containing 0.2 kb 5'. We found that DETANO activated MAPK kinase in TrHBMEC both in normoxia and hypoxia, while MAPK kinase inhibition showed significant reduction of EPOR mRNA gene expression at low oxygen tension, suggesting MAPK involvement in NO mediated induction of EPOR Furthermore, DETANO stimulated Ala anti-apoptotic activity after 30 min in normoxia, whereas it inhibited Akt phosphorylation in hypoxia. In contrast, EPO did not significantly increase MAPK activity while EPO stimulated Akt phosphorylation in TrHBMEC in normoxia and hypoxia. These observations provide a new effect of NO on EPOR expression to enhance EPO response in endothelial cells, particularly at low oxygen tensions

The NOTCH signaling pathway in normal and malignant blood cell production

The NOTCH pathway is an evolutionarily conserved signalling network, which is fundamental in regulating developmental processes in invertebrates and vertebrates (Gazave et al. in BMC Evol Biol 9:249, 2009). It regulates self-renewal (Butler et al. in Cell Stem Cell 6:251–264, 2010), differentiation (Auderset et al. in Curr Top Microbiol Immunol 360:115–134, 2012), proliferation (VanDussen et al. in Development 139:488–497, 2012) and apoptosis (Cao et al. in APMIS 120:441–450, 2012) of diverse cell types at various stages of their development. NOTCH signalling governs cell-cell interactions and the outcome of such responses is highly context specific. This makes it impossible to generalize about NOTCH functions as it stimulates survival and differentiation of certain cell types, whereas inhibiting these processes in others (Meier-Stiegen et al. in PLoS One 5:e11481, 2010). NOTCH was first identified in 1914 in Drosophila and was named after the indentations (notches) present in the wings of the mutant flies (Bigas et al. in Int J Dev Biol 54:1175–1188, 2010). Homologs of NOTCH in vertebrates were initially identified in Xenopus (Coffman et al. in Science 249:1438–1441, 1990) and in humans NOTCH was first identified in T-Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (T-ALL) (Ellisen et al. in Cell 66:649–61, 1991). NOTCH signalling is integral in neurogenesis (Mead and Yutzey in Dev Dyn 241:376–389, 2012), myogenesis (Schuster-Gossler et al. in Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 104:537–542, 2007), haematopoiesis (Bigas et al. in Int J Dev Biol 54:1175–1188, 2010), oogenesis (Xu and Gridley in Genet Res Int 2012:648207, 2012), differentiation of intestinal cells (Okamoto et al. in Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 296:G23–35, 2009) and pancreatic cells (Apelqvist et al. in Nature 400:877–881, 1999). The current review will focus on NOTCH signalling in normal and malignant blood cell production or haematopoiesis

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Not AvailableGrowing rural to urban migration assumes special importance for the current socio-economic and agricultural scenario of the country. Understanding the perception of people towards migration is essential in order to understand overall dynamics of migration. A multi-dimensional scale was constructed for measuring perception of respondents towards migration as perception is a multi-dimensional variable. Measuring such variable using uni-dimensional scale might lead to faulty result because of high multi-collinearity effect. For construction of the scale, data were collected from 300 randomly selected respondents of Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar and Maharashtra. After construction of the scale, perception of respondents towards migration was measured. For this purpose, forty farmers and ten extension professionals, each from Jhansi (UP), Bhagalpur (Bihar) and Nashik (Maharashtra) were chosen randomly. The results showed that farmers of Jhansi and Bhagalpur held significantly more favourable perception towards migration than that of Nashik. However, no significant difference was found in case of the professionals of three regions. The findings of the study could be useful for developing an insight about the migration dynamics of the country.Not Availabl