Does a large infant head or a short perineal body increase the risk of obstetrical perineal trauma?

Background: Perineal trauma after vaginal delivery can have significant long-term consequences. It is unknown if a larger infant head circumference or smaller maternal perineal anatomy are risk factors for perineal trauma after vaginal delivery.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of low-risk nulliparous women.

Evolution of gnathostome prodynorphin and proenkephalin: characterization of a shark proenkephalin and prodynorphin cDNAs.

Analyses of prodynorphin and proenkephalin cDNAs cloned from the central nervous system of the shark, Heterodontus portusjacksoni, provided additional evidence that these two opioid precursor-coding genes were most likely directly derived from a common ancestral gene. The two cDNAs could be aligned by inserting only seven gaps. The prodynorphin cDNA encodes five opioid sequences which could be aligned to opioid positions B through F in the proenkephalin cDNA.

Analysis of maternal-offspring HLA compatibility, parent-of-origin effects, and noninherited maternal antigen effects for HLA-DRB1 in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: Genetic susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is well established, with the HLA class II DRB1 and DQB1 loci demonstrating the strongest association. However, HLA may also influence SLE through novel biologic mechanisms in addition to genetic transmission of risk alleles. Evidence for increased maternal-offspring HLA class II compatibility in SLE and differences in maternal versus paternal transmission rates (parent-of-origin effects) and nontransmission rates (noninherited maternal antigen [NIMA] effects) in other autoimmune diseases have been reported.