High-Grade Fetal Vascular Malperfusion Is Associated With Diffuse Chorionic Hemosiderosis

Introduction Diffuse chorionic hemosiderosis (DCH) is an abnormality of the placental membranes characterized by the deposition of iron pigment. It is usually secondary to recurrent venous bleeding in early pregnancy. In many papers, it is associated with pre-term delivery. Fetal vascular malperfusion (FVM) is an abnormality of the feto-placental circulation that may be seen at any stage of gestation, but most often in the third trimester. It may be graded as low grade (LGFVM) or high grade (HGFVM). No link has been identified in the placental literature between DCH and FVM, but we have noted the 2 co-existing in placentas submitted for analysis. This study explored a possible association of these 2 entities. Methods Laboratory records were searched for singleton cases coded as DCH based on diagnosis on H&E stain over a 6-year period. Of 4478 placentas reported, 66 cases were coded as DCH (1.5%). These were classified as showing HGFVM, LGFVM, or no FVM. Controls (n = 132) were gestational age-matched cases without DCH. Cord length, coiling, insertion, or other abnormalities were noted. Membranes were classified as normal or circumvallate. Results were analyzed using Graphpad. Results Gestation ranged between 16 and 41 weeks gestation. 14/66 (21%) cases of DCH showed HGFVM and 2/66 (3%) showed LGFVM. 16/132 (12%) controls showed HGFVM and 21/132 (15.9%) had LGFVM. Where FVM is present, high-grade FVM is significantly associated with DCH versus controls ( P < .0031 Fischer’s Test). Discussion HGFVM occurs significantly more often in placentas with DCH than in controls. Both FVM and DCH are associated with adverse perinatal outcomes, and a possible relationship between the 2 remains to be clarified.

The relationship between umbilical cord measurements and newborn outcomes

Objective This study investigated the relationship between umbilical vein diameter and cord length and fetal outcome in low-risk pregnancies (fetuses appropriate for gestational age [AGA]). Methods A prospective cohort study of 39 singleton pregnant women aged 19–44 years at between 38+0 and 41+6 weeks of gestation was conducted. Case demographics, umbilical vein diameter measured by prenatal ultrasound, postnatal birth weight, gender, 1- and 5-minute Apgar scores, blood gas analysis, and umbilical cord length were recorded. Fetuses with a fetal weight in the 10–90th percentile according to week of gestation were accepted as AGA. Results The mean age of the pregnant women was 27.5±5.3 years. 33% (13/39) of the pregnant women were nulliparous. There was no statistically significant correlation between umbilical vein diameter and other variables in correlation analysis (p>0.050). Umbilical cord length and umbilical vein lactate level were found to have a statistically negative and significant correlation (r=-0.418; p=0.015); however, no other pregnancy outcomes were found to have a significant correlation. There was no statistically significant difference between the median values of umbilical vein diameter and cord length by gender (p=0.076 and 0.181, respectively). Conclusion In conclusion, this study found no relationship between umbilical vein diameter and cord length and fetal weight and pregnancy outcome in low-risk 38.0–41.6-week pregnancies (AGA fetuses). However, the obtained results still need to be confirmed by larger series.

Optimum Solidity on Downwind Thai Sail Windmill

Solidity was a significant parameter affecting the efficiency of wind turbines. It is defined as the ratio between the projected area of all blades and the swept area of the rotor. The solidity could be improved by modifying the shape, cord length, or the number of blades. Research studies mentioned that higher solidity seemed to provide more power due to more blade area. However, it can be argued that if the solidity was too high, it would cause the airflow to be more obstructed and disrupted, causing the gained power to drop down instead. Thus, the optimum solidity, which made the wind turbines maximum effective, must be existent in itself and must be in the range between 0 - 100 %. Thai sail windmill is a kind of horizontal axis wind turbine currently used to pump seawater in salt farms in Thailand, where the general solidity is in the quite wide range of about 15 - 60 %. Mostly, the Thai sail windmill was designed by a rule of thumb. Hence, it has quite a low efficiency, which is only about 10 %. This study aims to investigate the optimum solidity of Thai sail windmill in the downwind type to enhance efficiency. The 4-blade and 6-blade rotors of 1-m radii were used as the prototypes for experiments using the tow testing method. The results showed that the optimum solidity of 4-blade and 6-blade rotors was 28 %, respectively, whereby the maximum efficiency of the 2 rotors was 17 and 25 %.

Maternal first antenatal care visit biometric indices as potential predictors of umbilical cord morphometric parameters

BACKGROUND: One key factor proven to increase quality of pregnancy outcome has been antenatal care (ANC) service. The perinatal triad of mother, placenta and fetus becomes functionally complete with a functional umbilical cord. The objective of the study was to establish mathematical models to predict the outcome of umbilical cord morphometric parameters using maternal first antenatal care visit biometric indices. METHOD: This analytical descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 240 pregnant women who attended antenatal care for the first time in their first trimester at the Victory Maternity Home and Clinic in the Kumasi Metropolis, between April 2016 and October 2019. Umbilical cord length, diameter, area, volume and weight were measured after delivery. Maternal first antenatal care visit blood pressure was taken and their non-fasting blood samples were collected and lipid profile done. RESULTS: Mean values for umbilical cord measurements were; cord length, 38.10±7.86 cm; diameter, 1.04±0.17 cm; area, 66.10±24.49 cm2 and volume was 34.02±11.16 cm3 respectively while mean cord weight was 65.01±21.35 g. The study found that a unit increase in total cholesterol led to an increase of 2.33 units in umbilical cord length, high-density lipoprotein also resulted in 0.06 units increase in cord diameter while low-density lipoprotein decreases cord length by 3.31 units. Also, a unit increase in maternal booking total cholesterol resulted in 2.33 units increase in umbilical cord length. CONCLUSION: Maternal first antenatal care visit total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein could influence the outcome of umbilical cord length, diameter and area.

Anatomical Structure of the Umbilical Cord in Sudanese and Correlation with Neonatal Outcome

Background The neonatal morbidity and mortality is very high in the Sudan, the umbilical cord association and contribution to this is planned to be answered. Therefore the present study was designed to provide some information on the morphological variations of human umbilical cord via gross anatomical assessment and their correlation with foetal factors such as foetal weight and length. Methods A prospective hospital - based study conducted in Wad Madani Maternity Teaching Hospital Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology between July 2014 and March 2018 Results The mean diameter of the 371 umbilical cords was 2.1±0.24cm. Length was 53.8±3.8 cm length ranging from 48 – 62 cm and 10 (2.7%) of 371 umbilical cords were uncoiled. of which, 1 (0.3%) cords were with absent Wharton’s Jelly. The mean neonatal indices were 2.95 kg, 33.19 cm and 44.42 cm for weight, head circumference and length respectively. There was just significant strong positive correlation between umbilical cord length and length of neonates. Also Umbilical cord diameter had a positive correlation with length of neonates and negative correlation with weight of neonates and APGAR Score. Conclusion The present study suggests that ‘normal’ cord length should be between 40 cm and 70 cm in length. Umbilical cord diameter had a positive correlation with fetal length and negative correlation with fetal weight and APGAR score. The diameter range of 1-2 cm suggests that a normal cord must not exceed 2 cm in diameter. However the umbilical cord index had negative correlation with length of neonates.

EFFECT OF SMART STRUCTURES ON AERODYNAMIC PERFORMANCE OF HORIZONTAL AXIS WIND TURBINE

In renewable energy the wind energy is the most significant source. The wind turbine suppresses the kinetic energy of the wind. Current research focuses on improving the aerodynamic performance of wind turbine blades through wind tunnel tests and theoretical studies. These exercises are time taking and require considerable laboratory resources. Similarly, simulation of wind turbines using CFD software (Computational Fluid Dynamics) provides cost-effective solutions for aerodynamic analysis of the blades. Due to the energy crisis in Pakistan, we need a solution to overcome the power shortage. Wind energy is an economical and affordable energy. In this study, two-dimensional airfoil S4310, was selected for the blade cross section. 2.1 m cord length from root and 0.67 m cord length from tip of the blade, aerodynamic analysis of this model was performed using ANSYS-FLUENT software. Using the turbulence model, the lift and drag coefficients were computed for wind-turbine blade at 0?-14? angles of attack (AOA). The CFD results accomplish by all together solving momentum ,continuity and the Navier-Stokes equations using a standard non-linear solver. The smart structures were also applied on the wing in which active twist was applied to the blade using twist angles from 0?-10? and similarly the lift to drag ratio were considered.

The protective effect of CXC chemokine receptor 2 antagonist on experimental bronchopulmonary dysplasia induced by postnatal systemic inflammation

Background: Animal studies have shown that a leukocyte influx precedes the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in premature sheep. The CXC chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2) pathway has been implicated in the pathogenesis of BPD because of the predominance of CXCR2 ligands in tracheal aspirates of preterm infants who later developed BPD.Purpose: To test the effect of CXCR2 antagonist on postnatal systemic and pulmonary inflammation and alveolarization in a newborn Sprague-Dawley rat model of BPD.Methods: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) into the newborn rats on postnatal day 1 (P1), P3, and P5 to induce systemic inflammation and inhibit alveolarization. In the same time with LPS administration, CXCR2 antagonist (SB-265610) or vehicle was injected i.p. to investigate whether CXCR2 antagonist can alleviate the detrimental effect of LPS on alveolarization by attenuating inflammation. On P7 and P14, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and peripheral blood (PB) were collected from the pups. To assess alveolarization, mean cord length and alveolar surface area were measured on 4 random nonoverlapping fields per animal in 2 distal lung sections at ×100 magnification.Results: Early postnatal LPS administration significantly increased neutrophil counts in BALF and PB and inhibited alveolarization, which was indicated by a greater mean cord length and lesser alveolar surface area. CXCR2 antagonist significantly attenuated the increase of neutrophil counts in BALF and PB and restored alveolarization as indicated by a decreased mean cord length and increased alveolar surface area in rat pups exposed to early postnatal systemic LPS.Conclusion: CXCR2 antagonist preserved alveolarization by alleviating pulmonary and systemic inflammation induced by early postnatal systemic LPS administration. These results suggest that CXCR2 antagonist can be considered a potential therapeutic agent for BPD that results from disrupted alveolarization induced by inflammation.

Biphasic Postnatal Umbilical Cord Shortening

Introduction Variations in postnatal length of refrigerated, unfixed umbilical cords were studied over time to elucidate natural changes and times of stability. Methods Length was measured in 132 cords following severance, repeated at varying timed intervals and studied by analysis of variance and regression analysis. Results Data show immediate rapid initial phase shortening (mean 4.2+/-3.9 cm SD); an interval of lengthening; stable length at hours 3-4 following severance, a slower second phase shortening (mean 1.5+/-0.7 cm SD) beginning at 5 hours and peaking at 12 hours; and gradual lengthening to stable length after 23 hours. Overall, there was a significant net mean decrease of 3.49+/-2.29 cm SD. Shortening was greatest for intact long cord segments (p=0.0001), as much as 11 cm. Two highly significant models for predicting umbilical cord length at delivery (OL) were determined using the post-delivery lengths (Length) measured at different times following delivery (Hours), as follows: At ≤ 3 hours following delivery: OL=1.02xLength cm+1.11xHours At >3 hours following delivery: OL=1.07xLength+0.44xHours-0.01x(Hours)2 Conclusion Cord lengths stabilized between hours 3-4 and after 23 hours following severance. Phase one shortening resembles vasoconstriction; phase two resembles rigor mortis. The models allow prediction of the original umbilical cord length at delivery, regardless of the time of measurement.

Effect of voice fold length on voice range in novice vocalists

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of vocal cord length on vocal range in aspiring vocalists. On the basis of the Frederic Chopin Irkutsk Regional College of Music. 141 student vocalists (18 ± 3.6 years, 122 girls) underwent indirect laryngoscopy, the length of the vocal folds was measured using an ultrasound scan of the larynx using an Aloka SSD 500 apparatus with a 5 MHz sensor during breathing and during phonation of the lowest and highest tones, measured weight and height, the voice range in Hz and the number of semitones were assessed. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was calculated, the significance of differences according to the U-Mann – Whitney and Wilcoxon criteria was calculated using the Statistica 10.0 software (reliable data at p <0.05*). Results. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was: between the length of the vocal folds and weight + 0.52*, height + 0.43*, gender + 0.45* (female 1, male 2), the lowest tone –0.34*, between height and the lowest tone is –0.23*. The range of the voice in arbitrary units and Hz correlated weakly with the length of the folds during breathing (-0.18/–0.24*, respectively), with the lowest pitch (+ 0.42/+ 0.59 *), but there was a high correlation with the highest (+ 0.88/+ 0.99*). The latter depended on: the length of the vocal folds at rest (–0.32*), weight (–0.25*), gender (–0.45*), the length of the folds during high-pitched phonation (–0.6*). Differences in the length of the vocal folds during breathing in female vocalists with different vocal ranges were not significant, while in males and females (soprano) they were significant. The length of the fold during phonation in all types of voices was shorter than during breathing. The voice range of novice vocalists was increased mainly by high tones in parallel with the shortening of folds during phonation, which could be measured using ultrasound scanning and which is achieved by training.