TREATMENT OF EARLY-ONSET FETAL GROWTH RESTRICTION WITH LOW MOLECULAR WEIGHT HEPARIN DOES NOT PROLONG GESTATION: A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL.

Background: Although there is a biological basis for it, there is scarce evidence on the effect of heparin in ameliorating placental insufficiency and maximizing gestational age at delivery among fetal growth restriction (FGR) pregnancies.

Objective: To explore the effectiveness of treatment using low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) at a prophylactic dose started at the time of diagnosis in prolonging gestation in pregnancies with early-onset fetal growth restriction (FGR).

Study Design: This was a phase III, multicenter, triple-blind, parallel-arm randomized clinical trial conducted in two university hospitals in Spain.

Cook's balloon versus dinoprostone for Labour induction of term pregnancies with fetal GROWth restriction: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial in tertiary maternity hospitals in Spain (COLIGROW study).

Introduction: Fetal growth restriction (FGR) affects about 3%-5% of term pregnancies. If prenatally detected and anterograde umbilical artery flow is preserved (stage I), it is recommended to deliver at term (≥ 37+0 weeks). In the absence of contraindications, the vaginal route is preferred, and labour induction is usually required.

Efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine for treatment of mild SARS-CoV-2 infection and prevention of COVID-19 severity in pregnant and postpartum women: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Introduction: Pregnant women have an increased risk of severe COVID-19. Evaluation of drugs with a safety reproductive toxicity profile is a priority. At the beginning of the pandemic, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) was recommended for COVID-19 treatment.

Exploring the Interior of Europa with the Europa Clipper.

The Galileo mission to Jupiter revealed that Europa is an ocean world. The Galileo magnetometer experiment in particular provided strong evidence for a salty subsurface ocean beneath the ice shell, likely in contact with the rocky core. Within the ice shell and ocean, a number of tectonic and geodynamic processes may operate today or have operated at some point in the past, including solid ice convection, diapirism, subsumption, and interstitial lake formation.

Mortality and severe neurological morbidity in extremely preterm growth-restricted fetuses.

Objective: To develop a model for the prediction of adverse perinatal outcome in growth-restricted fetuses requiring delivery before 28 weeks in order to provide individualized patient counseling.

Methods: This was a retrospective multicenter cohort study of singleton pregnancies with antenatal suspicion of fetal growth restriction requiring delivery before 28 weeks' gestation between January 2010 and January 2020 in six tertiary public hospitals in the Barcelona area, Spain. Separate predictive models for mortality only and mortality or severe neurological morbidity were created using logistic regression from variables available antenatally.

Prediction of adverse neonatal outcome at admission for early-onset preeclampsia with severe features.

Background: Preeclampsia remains the leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. Consequently, research has focused on validating tools to predict maternal outcomes regarding clinical and biochemical features from the maternal compartment. However, preeclampsia also leads to neonatal complications due to placental insufficiency and prematurity, being the early-onset type associated with the poorest outcome.

Third-trimester uterine artery Doppler for prediction of adverse outcome in late small-and adequate for-gestational-age fetuses.

Fetal growth restriction includes all those fetuses that do not reach their own growth potential due to placental insufficiency and therefore at higher risk of adverse perinatal outcomes. Identification and follow-up of these fetuses is essential to decrease this additional risk. Although estimated fetal weight under the 3rd centile and pathological cerebroplacental ratio are the most accepted predictive criteria, some evidence suggests that abnormal uterine artery Doppler may be a useful prognostic parameter in late-onset growth restriction fetuses at the moment of diagnosis.

Postnatal genetic and neurodevelopmental assessment in infants born at term with severely low birth weight of non-placental origin.

Objective: To determine the frequency of genetic syndromes and childhood neurodevelopmental impairment in non-malformed infants born at term with severely low birth weight and no evidence of placental insufficiency.

Methods: This case series was constructed from the data of infants delivered at term between 2013 and 2018 with severely low birth weight, defined as birth weight more than 2.5 SD below the mean, with normal maternal and fetal Doppler (umbilical artery, fetal middle cerebral artery, cerebroplacental ratio and uterine artery) and no maternal hypertensive disorder during pregnancy or fetal structural anomaly on prenatal ultrasound examination.

Corpus callosum-fastigium and tectal lengths in late-onset small fetuses.

Objective: To investigate measurements on neurosonography of midbrain morphology, including corpus callosum-fastigium length and tectal length, in late-onset small fetuses subclassified as small-for-gestational-age (SGA) or growth-restricted (FGR).

Methods: This was a case-control study of consecutive singleton pregnancies delivered at term at a single center between January 2019 and July 2021, including those with late-onset smallness (estimated fetal weight (EFW) < 10 centile) and appropriate-for-gestational-age controls matched by age at neurosonography. Small fetuses were further subdivided into SGA (EFW between 3 and 9 centile and normal fetoplacental Doppler) and FGR (EFW < 3 centile or EFW < 10 centile with abnormal cerebroplacental ratio and/or uterine artery Doppler).

Maternal and neonatal immune response to SARS-CoV-2, IgG transplacental transfer and cytokine profile.

SARS-CoV-2 infected pregnant women are at increased risk of severe COVID-19 than non-pregnant women and have a higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes like intrauterine/fetal distress and preterm birth. However, little is known about the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on maternal and neonatal immunological profiles. In this study, we investigated the inflammatory and humoral responses to SARS-CoV-2 in maternal and cord blood paired samples.

Severe smallness as predictor of adverse perinatal outcome in suspected late small-for-gestational-age fetuses: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To investigate the performance of severe smallness in the prediction of adverse perinatal outcome among fetuses with suspected late-onset small-for-gestational age (SGA).

Methods: A systematic search was performed to identify relevant studies in PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus. Late-onset SGA was defined as estimated fetal weight (EFW) or abdominal circumference (AC) < 10 percentile diagnosed at or after 32 weeks' gestation, while severe SGA was defined as EFW or AC < 3 percentile or < 2 SD.

Death and severe morbidity in isolated periviable small-for-gestational-age fetuses.

Objective: This study aims to predict perinatal death or severe sequelae in isolated small-for-gestational-age fetuses, diagnosed at a periviable gestational age, based on ultrasound and Doppler parameters at diagnosis.

Design: Observational study.

Setting: A tertiary perinatal centre.

Advancing tools for human early lifecourse exposome research and translation (ATHLETE): Project overview.

Early life stages are vulnerable to environmental hazards and present important windows of opportunity for lifelong disease prevention. This makes early life a relevant starting point for exposome studies. The Advancing Tools for Human Early Lifecourse Exposome Research and Translation (ATHLETE) project aims to develop a toolbox of exposome tools and a Europe-wide exposome cohort that will be used to systematically quantify the effects of a wide range of community- and individual-level environmental risk factors on mental, cardiometabolic, and respiratory health outcomes and associated biological pathways, longitudinally from early pregnancy through to adolescence.

Deficient neural encoding of speech sounds in term neonates born after fetal growth restriction.

Infants born after fetal growth restriction (FGR)-an obstetric condition defined as the failure to achieve the genetic growth potential-are prone to neurodevelopmental delays, with language being one of the major affected areas. Yet, while verbal comprehension and expressive language impairments have been observed in FGR infants, children and even adults, specific related impairments at birth, such as in the ability to encode the sounds of speech, necessary for language acquisition, remain to be disclosed. Here, we used the frequency-following response (FFR), a brain potential correlate of the neural phase locking to complex auditory stimuli, to explore the encoding of speech sounds in FGR neonates.

Placental chemical elements concentration in small fetuses and its relationship with Doppler markers of placental function.

Introduction: In this study, we aimed at quantifying placental concentrations of 22 chemical elements in small fetuses (SGA) as compared with normally grown fetuses (AGA), and to assess the relationship with Doppler markers of placental function.

Methods: Prospective cohort study, including 71 SGA fetuses (estimated fetal weight < 10th percentile) and 96 AGA fetuses (estimated fetal weight > 10th percentile), recruited in the third trimester of gestation. The placental concentration of 22 chemical elements was determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrophotometer (ICP-OES, ICAP 6500 Duo Thermo): aluminum (Al), beryllium (Be), bismuth (Bi), calcium (Ca), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chrome (Cr), copper (Cu), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), phosphorus (P), lead (Pb), rubidium (Rb), sulfur (S), strontium (Sr), titanium (Ti), thallium (Tl), antimony (Sb), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn).

Small All-Range Lidar for Asteroid and Comet Core Missions.

We report the development of a new type of space lidar specifically designed for missions to small planetary bodies for both topographic mapping and support of sample collection or landing. The instrument is designed to have a wide dynamic range with several operation modes for different mission phases. The laser transmitter consists of a fiber laser that is intensity modulated with a return-to-zero pseudo-noise (RZPN) code.

Doppler studies of placental function.

Placental-associated diseases account for most cases of adverse perinatal outcome in developing countries. Doppler evaluation has been incorporated as a predictive parameter at early pregnancy for high-risk placental disease, in the diagnosis and management of those fetuses with impaired intrauterine growth and for the evaluation of fetal wellbeing in those high-risk pregnancies. Uterine Doppler at second trimester predicts most instances of early-onset preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction.

Placental growth factor testing in the management of late preterm preeclampsia without severe features: a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial.

Background: In women with late preterm preeclampsia, the optimal time for delivery remains a controversial topic, because of the fine balance between the maternal benefits from early delivery and the risks for prematurity. It remains challenging to define prognostic markers to identify women at highest risk for complications, in which case a selective, planned delivery may reduce the adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes.

Objective: This trial aimed to determine whether using an algorithm based on the maternal levels of placental growth factor in women with late preterm preeclampsia to evaluate the best time for delivery reduced the progression to preeclampsia with severe features without increasing the adverse perinatal outcomes.

Early Prophylactic Enoxaparin for the Prevention of Preeclampsia and Intrauterine Growth Restriction: A Randomized Trial.

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) are major causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have shown that intervention with low-dose aspirin resulted in a reduction in the occurrence of preterm PE. However, no data are currently available on the effect of low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) for the prevention of pregnancy complications in women enrolled at first trimester screening.

New Illumination and Temperature Constraints of Mercury's Volatile Polar Deposits.

Images from the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) aboard the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging mission reveal low-reflectance polar deposits that are interpreted to be lag deposits of organic-rich, volatile material. Interpretation of these highest-resolution images of Mercury's polar deposits has been limited by the available topography models, so local high-resolution (125 m pixel) digital elevation models (DEMs) were made using a combination of data from the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) and from shape-from-shading techniques using MDIS images. Local DEMs were made for eight of Mercury's north polar craters; these DEMs were then used to create high-resolution simulated image, illumination, and thermal models.

Ten-year experience of protocol-based management of small-for-gestational-age fetuses: perinatal outcome in late-pregnancy cases diagnosed after 32 weeks.

Objective: To report our 10-year experience of protocol-based management of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) fetuses, based on standardized clinical and Doppler criteria, in late-pregnancy cases.

Methods: A retrospective cohort was constructed of consecutive singleton pregnancies referred for late-onset (> 32 weeks) SGA (defined as estimated fetal weight (EFW) < 10 centile) that were classified as fetal growth restriction (FGR) or low-risk SGA, based on the severity of smallness (EFW < 3 centile) and the presence of Doppler abnormalities (uterine artery pulsatility index (UtA-PI) ≥ 95 centile or cerebroplacental ratio (CPR) < 5 centile). Low-risk SGA pregnancies were followed at 2-week intervals and delivered electively at 40 weeks.

Hemispherical differences in the shape and topography of asteroid (101955) Bennu.

We investigate the shape of near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu by constructing a high-resolution (20 cm) global digital terrain model from laser altimeter data. By modeling the northern and southern hemispheres separately, we find that longitudinal ridges previously identified in the north extend into the south but are obscured there by surface material. In the south, more numerous large boulders effectively retain surface materials and imply a higher average strength at depth to support them.

Heterogeneous mass distribution of the rubble-pile asteroid (101955) Bennu.

The gravity field of a small body provides insight into its internal mass distribution. We used two approaches to measure the gravity field of the rubble-pile asteroid (101955) Bennu: (i) tracking and modeling the spacecraft in orbit about the asteroid and (ii) tracking and modeling pebble-sized particles naturally ejected from Bennu's surface into sustained orbits. These approaches yield statistically consistent results up to degree and order 3, with the particle-based field being statistically significant up to degree and order 9.

Added prognostic value of longitudinal changes of angiogenic factors in early-onset severe pre-eclampsia: a prospective cohort study.

Objective: To assess in women with early-onset severe pre-eclampsia whether longitudinal changes in angiogenic factors improve the prediction of adverse outcome.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Maternity units in two Spanish hospitals.