Early antenatal risk factors for births before arrival: An unmatched case-control study.

Introduction: Birth before arrival is associated with maternal morbidity and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Yet, timely risk stratification remains challenging. Our objective was to identify risk factors for birth before arrival which may be determined at the first antenatal appointment.

Hydroxymethylation profile of cell-free DNA is a biomarker for early colorectal cancer.

Early detection of cancer will improve survival rates. The blood biomarker 5-hydroxymethylcytosine has been shown to discriminate cancer. In a large covariate-controlled study of over two thousand individual blood samples, we created, tested and explored the properties of a 5-hydroxymethylcytosine-based classifier to detect colorectal cancer (CRC).

Randomized Interventional Study on Prediction of Preeclampsia/Eclampsia in Women With Suspected Preeclampsia: INSPIRE.

The ratio of maternal serum sFlt-1 (soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1) to PlGF (placental growth factor) has been used retrospectively to rule out the occurrence of preeclampsia, a pregnancy hypertensive disorder, within 7 days in women presenting with clinical suspicion of preeclampsia. A prospective, interventional, parallel-group, randomized clinical trial evaluated the use of sFlt-1/PlGF ratio in women presenting with suspected preeclampsia. Women were assigned to reveal (sFlt-1/PlGF result known to clinicians) or nonreveal (result unknown) arms.

External cephalic version after previous cesarean section: A cohort study of 100 consecutive attempts.

Objective: External cephalic version is commonly not performed in women with a previous cesarean section. Fear of uterine rupture and cesarean section in labor are prominent. The risks, however, of these are unclear.

New Fpg probe chemistry for direct detection of recombinase polymerase amplification on lateral flow strips.

Rapid, cost-effective and sensitive detection of nucleic acids has the ability to improve upon current practices employed for pathogen detection in diagnosis of infectious disease and food testing. Furthermore, if assay complexity can be reduced, nucleic acid amplification tests could be deployed in resource-limited and home use scenarios. In this study, we developed a novel Fpg (Formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase) probe chemistry, which allows lateral flow detection of amplification in undiluted recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) reactions.

Piloting the introduction of personal health plans for people with long term conditions.

This is the third article in a three part series on personalised care planning for people with long term conditions. It describes the work carried out in NHS East of England to develop and pilot personal health plans, with details of the NHS South West Essex Community Services pilot site.

An iron-sulfur cluster domain in Elp3 important for the structural integrity of elongator.

The Elongator complex functions in diverse cellular processes, such as RNA polymerase II transcription and tRNA modification. The Elp3 subunit possesses a C-terminal histone acetyltransferase (HAT) domain and an N-terminal sequence that resembles an iron-sulfur (FeS) cluster motif. The HAT domain is well characterized, but the role of the FeS cluster is unknown, although one report proposed that it might be involved in catalyzing histone demethylation.

The relationship between intrapartum maternal fever and neonatal acidosis as risk factors for neonatal encephalopathy.

Objectives: This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship among maternal intrapartum fever, neonatal acidosis, and the risk of neonatal encephalopathy.

Study Design: Cohort study of pregnancies at term. Logistic regression was used to estimate the effect of maternal fever and acidosis on the risk of neonatal encephalopathy.

The long-term outcome in surviving infants with Apgar zero at 10 minutes: a systematic review of the literature and hospital-based cohort.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the outcomes of infants who had Apgar scores of zero at 10 minutes and were resuscitated successfully.

Study Design: The literature was reviewed systematically to identify the outcomes of cases; in addition, the perinatal database at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, was used to identify similar cases. Eligible infants were identified through hospital records, and outcomes of all infants with an Apgar score of zero at 10 minutes, who were born between January 1991 and December 2004, were reviewed.

Meningioma mimicking puerperal psychosis.

Background: Meningiomas are slow-growing benign brain tumors. They can be sensitive to sex hormones, increasing in size with pregnancy and leading to clinical presentation either before or immediately after delivery. Initial symptoms and signs can present in the antenatal as well as the postnatal period.

Meconium passed in labor: how reassuring is clear amniotic fluid?

Objective: Clear amniotic fluid is frequently considered a reassuring sign during labor. Our aim was to examine the incidence of meconium that can only have been passed intrapartum and to determine its neonatal associations and whether its absence is a useful sign.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of 8394 "low risk" laboring women at term with clear amniotic fluid at early amniotomy.

Cerebral palsy and clinical negligence litigation: a cohort study.

Objective: To compare the prevalence of criteria suggesting acute intrapartum hypoxia in children with cerebral palsy who have and have not been the subjects of clinical negligence legal claims.

Design: Nested cohort study within a geographically defined cohort.

Setting: The former Oxfordshire Health Authority.

The association of nuchal cord with cerebral palsy is influenced by recording bias.

Objectives: To determine if the association of cerebral palsy (CP) with umbilical cord around the fetal neck (nuchal cord) is the result of recording bias.

Study Design: Population-based case control study.

Results: There were 68 cases with cerebral palsy and 157 controls (singleton term infants matched for gestational age and hospital of birth).

Expression and purification of functional JNK2beta2: perspectives on high-level production of recombinant MAP kinases.

The mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases are a group of serine/threonine kinases that mediate intracellular signal transduction in response to environmental stimuli including stress, growth factors, and various cytokines. Of this family, the c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) are members which, depending on cell type, have been shown to activate the transcription of genes involved in the inflammatory response, apoptosis, and hypertrophy. Here we report the use Baculovirus/Sf9 cells to produce milligram quantities of recombinant JNK2beta2 substrate which could be purified to >90% as judged by SDS-PAGE.