The utility of screening for historical risk factors for preterm birth in women with known second trimester cervical length.

Objective: To evaluate for the presence of risk factors (RFs) for preterm birth (PTB) in women without prior PTB having second trimester cervical length (CL) screening, and to estimate the utility of RF screening.

Methods: "Low-risk" singletons were prospectively screened with midtrimester transvaginal ultrasound CL. Prior PTB, intrauterine fetal demise and lethal anomalies were excluded.

Orthogonal arrays of particles in non-pigmented cells of rat ciliary epithelium: relation to distribution of filipin- and digitonin-induced alterations of the basolateral membrane.

It has been suggested that orthogonal arrays of particles may increase the rigidity of plasma membrane, as does cholesterol. Therefore, using freeze-fractured non-pigmented ciliary epithelium, the distribution of such arrays was compared to the distribution of membrane deformations induced by the sterol-probes filipin and digitonin in different domains of the basolateral plasma membrane. The distribution of orthogonal arrays of particles was homogeneous between different regions of the basolateral membrane of the non-pigmented ciliary epithelium, while the number of filipin-induced alterations was nearly 4 times higher in the membrane domains not in contact with the basal lamina than in domains in contact with it.

A new pentraxin (serum amyloid P-component) in the rat: evidence for two quaternary structures and effect of ligands on self-association.

A new rat serum protein has been isolated by affinity chromatography using ethanolamine- or phosphoethanolamine-substituted agarose gels. This protein has the morphological and functional characteristics of serum amyloid P-component and C-reactive protein. It comprises C5 cyclic symmetry structure with non covalently cross-linked subunits which have calcium-dependent binding sites.