The impact of murine cytomegalovirus (mCMV) route and age at infection upon virus spread, immune responses and the establishment of latency

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a ubiquitous human virus, which establishes a characteristic lifetime infection in its host. Murine CMV (mCMV) is a widely-used infection model that has been employed to investigate the nature and extent of CMV's contribution to inflammatory, immunological, and health disturbances in humans. In an effort to assess the role of route and age in modeling hCMV infection in mice, we have performed a comparative analysis of two common experimental modes of infection (intraperitoneal and intranasal) at two different clinically relevant ages (4 weeks, or prepubescent childhood equivalent, and 12 weeks, or young postpubescent adult). We found that while both routes of infection led to similar early viral loads, differential activation of several parameters of innate immune function were observed. In particular, younger, prepubescent mice exhibited the strongest NK activation in the blood in response to i.p. infection, with this trend holding true in NK cells expressing the mCMV-specific receptor Ly49H. Moreover, i.p. infected animals accumulated a larger amount of anti-mCMV IgG and experienced a greater expansion of both acute and latent phase CD8+ T cells. This was especially true for young postpubescent mice, further illustrating a distinction in the bloodborne immune response across not only infection routes, but also ages. These results may be important in the understanding of how a more physiologically applicable model of CMV influences immunity, inflammation, and health over the lifespan.

BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS: THE EUROPEAN SMELT OSMERUS EPERLANUS (L.) AND THE MICROSPORIDIAN GLUGEA HERTWIGI WEISSENBERG, 1911

The paper presents the phenomenology of the smelt Osmerus eperlanus and the microsporidian Glugea hertwigi invasion into a new habitat - Lake Syamozero (Karelia), where neither of the species occurred before. The invasion history falls into 4 phases. The first, latent phase started with a spontaneous invasion of the lake by smelt and lasted until the first fish showed up in catches (1968-1970). The second phase (1971 to 1980) was the invader number outbreak. The smelt became the dominant species in the fish community, while the native plankton-feeder, the vendace Coregonus albula, became an endangered species. The third phase (1980 to 1991) was the population outbreak of the microsporidian Glugea hertwigi, and development of an epizootic. The fourth phase (since 1991 until present) is the decreasing of the number of the invasive species - the smelt and the microsporidian Glugea hertwigi and the recovery of the native vendace population.

Comparison of Pregnancy Outcomes of Women with and Without Hypertension at the Latent Phase of Labor Who Were Under Medical Care for Preeclampsia

OBJECTIVE: We explored the association between hypertension (>140/90) at the latent phase of labor (resistant hypertension) and the subsequent development of major maternal complications or adverse infant outcomes in women with preeclampsia under medical care. STUDY DESIGN: We drew data from 824 women who were under follow-up at the Department of Perinatology of Health Sciences University Zeynep Kamil Women and Children’s Health Training and Research Hospital with a diagnosis of preeclampsia. Women with and without resistant hypertension were compared in terms of major maternal complications and adverse infant outcomes. RESULTS: Mean age and body mass index were similar between the two groups (p>0.05). The rate of preeclamptic complaints was significantly higher in groups with resistant hypertension (90.1% vs. 67.2%, p<0.05). Proteinuria was more frequent in the resistant hypertension group (78.7% vs. 66.8%, p<0.001). The newborn intensive care unit admission rate was significantly higher in the group with resistant hypertension (65.6% vs. 45.9%, p<0.001). Gestational age at delivery was significantly lower in the group with resistant hypertension compared to the normotensive group (34.6 vs. 32.9 weeks, p<0.001). There was a significant difference between the two groups in terms of the rate of preterm delivery (78.5% vs. 66.7%, p=0.04). CONCLUSION: Resistant hypertension is associated with a higher rate of preeclamptic symptoms during labor and newborn intensive care unit admission.

COMPARISON OF ENDORPHINE MASSAGE AND EFFLEURAGE MASSAGE ON PRIMIGRAVIDA 1ST STAGE LATENT PHASE PAIN IN INDONESIA

Latent phase pain was happen caused by several conditions such as cervix dilatation, uterus muscle hypoxia, lower segment uterus stretching, fetus head lower movement, and other condition which increases pain nerve system stimulus. One of the Non-pharmacological therapies to reduce the level of primigravida latent phase pain was Endorphin massage and Effleurage massage. This massage blocks catecholamines and adrenaline hormone thus trigger the birth process by stimulating oxytocin production. This study aims to determine the comparison of the effectiveness of the Endorphin Massage, Effleurage Massage, and control group on primigravida 1st stage latent phase pain. The research is pra experiment research with one group pre-test post-test design and takes place at RS Aura Syifa Kediri for five-month. The population for this research was all mothers of participants was 90 maternal mother at RS Aura Syifa Kediri. The subject for this research was 90 maternal mothers at RS Aura Syifa Kediri which appropriate with inclusion criteria and use total technique sampling. The inclusion criteria for this research were a maternal mother with 1st stage latent phase pain who agree for following this research. Mann Whitney test results for the endorphins group and the effleurage group were 0.002. Likewise for the significance value between the endorphin group and the control group of 0,000 where this value is smaller than 0.05 so the conclusions there is a significant difference between the pain reduction in the endorphin group and the control group. The final conclusion is that the endorphin group is the treatment that has the greatest effectiveness in reducing pain compared to the other groups and there was a significant difference between the effectiveness of pain reduction in the 3 groups.

Simple models to predict vaginal delivery and spontaneous fetal occiput rotation based on intrapartum ultrasound and maternal characteristics

Objective: To develop the prediction models for identifying fetal occiput rotation and vaginal delivery based on intrapartum sonographic findings. Design: Prospective observational study. Setting: Hangzhou, China. Population: Nulliparous women with a singleton cephalic presentation at term. Methods: Serial intrapartum ultrasonography were performed in the latent phase (T1) and every three hours after that (T2, T3 and T4). The managing clinicians performed paired digital vaginal examinations to assess labor progress. Main Outcome Measures: Delivery mode and successful internal fetal head rotation to the occiput anterior (OA) position. Results: 614 women were included, of whom 524 underwent vaginal delivery, and 90 required cesarean section. The percentage of women with fetuses in non-occiput anterior position at the latent phase was 53.9% (331 cases), as 257 women underwent spontaneous rotation to OA position before delivery, 74 were with persistent occiput posterior or transverse position. We developed a model on the basis of the maternal height and middle angel to predict the spontaneous fetal occiput rotation, with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.667 (95%CI 0.583-0.751). Moreover, a prediction model based on the maternal height and angle of progression to evaluate whether women underwent vaginal delivery was also developed, of which the AUC was 0.738(95% CI: 0.763-0.793). Both models showed satisfactory calibration. Conclusion: Simple models based on maternal characteristics and intrapartum ultrasound findings might provide useful information for predicting vaginal delivery and internal fetal occiput rotation.

DZIKIR CAN REDUCE LABOR PAIN LEVEL

Labor pain is a physiological condition that began at the first stage of labor (laten and active phase). Pain comes from uterine contractions and cervical dilation in an attempt to pave the way for birth and encourage babies to be born. Experts find pharmacological and non-pharmacological ways to reduce pain in labor, one of them is Dzikir guided by childbirth helper (midwife). The purpose of this study was to analyze the differences of labor pain level on mother in latent phase before and after applying Dzikir. Subjects were 15 accidentally selected mothers in labor latent phase on March - April in PMB “S” Puger Jember. The design of this study uses a quasi-experimental one group pre-posttest. Results showed significant decreased pain level of mothers after doing Dzikir significantly (Z=-3,578, p≤0.001). In conclusions, there are differences of labor pain level on mother in latent phase before and after applying Dzikir

Development of and Experiences with an Informational Website on Early Labor: A Qualitative User Involvement Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The period of regular contractions prior to 4 cm of cervical dilatation is often referred to as the “latent phase” or “early labor.” Women find it challenging to prepare for and cope with this phase of labor, and easily accessed web-based information from reliable sources may be useful in this preparation. OBJECTIVE The purpose of the present study was to describe the development of a website with information on early labor, and to explore users’ experiences with the website to increase user-friendliness. METHODS We developed a website using an iterative process involving a multidisciplinary research team, health personnel, users, a graphic designer, and an expert in software development. We explored user-friendliness using semi-structured individual interviews and the think aloud method; all interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. We thematically analyzed participants’ feedback on the website. RESULTS Participants were women (n=2) who had recently given birth to their first baby, women who were pregnant with their first baby (n=4), and partners (n=2). Results from participants’ experiences completing tasks include positive feedback related to the content of Latens.no; positive feedback related to the website’s design; and suggestions for improvement. Participants wanted to find information on early labor on the internet; moreover, they found the information on the website relevant, trustworthy, and easy to read, and the design attractive and easy to use. Overall, participants performed the tasks easily, with few clicks and minimal effort. CONCLUSIONS Results indicate that an iterative development process had a positive effect on user satisfaction with the website.

Surface Roughness-Governed Shape Stability of the Coal Fly Ash-Based Phase Change Material: Molten Salt Processing and Thermal Properties

Coal fly ash (FA) valorization is of great significance and sustainable interests to addressing the current environmental challenges faced by coal power industry. Herein, this work attempted a novel molten salt Na2CO3 treatment for processing FA into a robust matrix to support lauric acid (LA) toward construction of latent phase change composite. Their micromorphology, physiochemical, and thermal properties were monitored with scanning and transmission microscopy, X-ray diffraction and FT-IR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, among others. As Na2CO3 dosage increased from 20% to 40%, the FA experienced firstly higher loss of SiO2 and then substantial loss of Al2O3, and yet exhibited merely varied porosity. Then, both the composites revealed a maximum LA content of 20% that doubled that of pristine FA. Nevertheless, the optimal composite was disclosed with thermal conductivity of 0.5668 W/mK, which was 69% higher than its FA-based counterpart. It was proposed that the surface roughness evidenced by the formation of tremendous grooves and gaps during thermal alkaline processing were accountable for the promoted carrying capacity toward organic component. Furthermore, the latent phase change composite revealed excellent durability, including negligibly varied phase transition temperature and enthalpy even after 1500 thermal cycling, which promised great interest in passive building cooling. Meanwhile, the finds here led to a new understanding into the structural origin of adsorption capacity by inorganic FA, and may provide guidance for better exploration of its characteristics for other applications.