Chromosome behavior at the base of the angiosperm radiation: karyology of Trithuria submersa (Hydatellaceae, Nymphaeales).

Unlabelled: •

Premise Of The Study: Hydatellaceae are minute annual herbs with potential as a model system for studying early angiosperm evolution, but their karyology and ploidy levels are almost unknown. We investigated these aspects of Trithuria submersa, a widespread species that we show to be amenable to extended vegetative propagation.•

Methods: We cultivated plants of T.

Impact of spatial constraints during seed germination on the evolution of angiosperm cotyledons: a case study from tropical Hydatellaceae (Nymphaeales).

Premise Of The Study: A bipolar embryo with cotyledons is a characteristic feature that appeared early in the evolution of seed plants. Cotyledon number is an important character in angiosperm classification. We explore the links between functional aspects of seed germination and the number and location of the cotyledons, using as a model the early-divergent angiosperm family Hydatellaceae, in which seedlings are superficially monocot-like.

Homocysteine and folate plasma concentrations in mother and baby at delivery after pre-eclamptic or normotensive pregnancy: Influence of parity.

Unlabelled: Pre-eclampsia affects between 2% and 7% of all pregnant women, contributing to perinatal and maternal morbidity. There are conflicting data on plasma homocysteine and folate in pre-eclampsia, and little about fetal concentrations.

Objectives: Firstly, to compare the concentrations of homocysteine and folate in maternal and paired fetal (umbilical venous) plasma samples from normotensive or pre-eclamptic pregnancies at delivery; secondly, to identify any effect of parity on these concentrations.

Seed fertilization, development, and germination in Hydatellaceae (Nymphaeales): Implications for endosperm evolution in early angiosperms.

New data on endosperm development in the early-divergent angiosperm Trithuria (Hydatellaceae) indicate that double fertilization results in formation of cellularized micropylar and unicellular chalazal domains with contrasting ontogenetic trajectories, as in waterlilies. The micropylar domain ultimately forms the cellular endosperm in the dispersed seed. The chalazal domain forms a single-celled haustorium with a large nucleus; this haustorium ultimately degenerates to form a space in the dispersed seed, similar to the chalazal endosperm haustorium of waterlilies.

Reduced selenium concentrations and glutathione peroxidase activity in preeclamptic pregnancies.

Preeclampsia is pregnancy-specific, affecting 2% to 7% of women, and is a leading cause of perinatal and maternal morbidity and mortality. Preeclampsia may also predispose the fetus to increased risks of adult cardiovascular disease. Selenium, acting through the selenoprotein glutathione peroxidases, has critical roles in regulating antioxidant status.

Seedling diversity in Hydatellaceae: implications for the evolution of angiosperm cotyledons.

Background And Aims: Cotyledon number has long been a primary morphological feature distinguishing monocots from other angiosperms. Recent placement of Hydatellaceae near the early-divergent angiosperm order Nymphaeales, rather than in the monocot order Poales, has prompted reassessment of seedling morphology in this poorly known family.

Methods: Seedlings of six species representing all eco-geographical groups of Hydatellaceae are described using light and scanning electron microscopy.

Abnormal arterial flows by a distributed model of the fetal circulation.

Modeling the propagation of blood pressure and flow along the fetoplacental arterial tree may improve interpretation of abnormal flow velocity waveforms in fetuses. The current models, however, either do not include a wide range of gestational ages or do not account for variation in anatomical, vascular, or rheological parameters. We developed a mathematical model of the pulsating fetoumbilical arterial circulation using Womersley's oscillatory flow theory and viscoelastic arterial wall properties.

Peri-implantation undernutrition programs blunted angiotensin II evoked baroreflex responses in young adult sheep.

An adverse environment around conception and implantation influences later fetal growth and development to term in humans and sheep. Indeed, preimplantation undernutrition of rats elevated the systolic blood pressure of the resultant adult offspring. In this study, adult cardiovascular function is examined in a slower growing, non-litter-bearing species after peri-implantation undernutrition.

Fetal exposure to magnesium chloride-adenosine triphosphate (MgCl2-ATP) results in alterations in cerebral blood flow and a metabolic acidosis.

OBJECTIVE: Magnesium chloride-adenosine triphosphate (MgCl(2)-ATP), advocated as an adjunct treatment in shock resuscitation, might be useful for pregnant women who develop hypovolemia secondary to conditions such as placental abruption. The effects of this treatment on the fetus, however, have never been investigated. This study determined the direct, acute effects of MgCl(2)-ATP on fetal organ blood flow, hemodynamic measurements, and metabolic parameters before and after maternal hemorrhage.

Warfarin dosage in postpartum women: a case-control study.

Objective: To investigate the clinical suspicion that postpartum women are more difficult to anticoagulate with warfarin than non-pregnant women due to the physiological changes in coagulation proteins that persist into the postpartum period.

Design: A retrospective case-control study.

Setting: University Hospital, Nottingham, UK.