Elevated ethnocentrism in the first trimester of pregnancy

Recent research employing a disease-threat model of the psychology of intergroup attitudes has provided preliminary support for a link between subjectively disease-salient emotional states and ethnocentric attitudes. Because the first trimester of pregnancy is a period of particular vulnerability to infection, pregnant women offer an opportunity to further test this association. We explored the expression of intergroup attitudes in a sample of pregnant women from the United States. Consistent with the predictions of the disease-threat model, results from our cross-sectional study indicate that favoritism toward the ingroup peaks during the first trimester of pregnancy and decreases during the second and third trimesters. We discuss this finding in light of the possible contributions of cultural and biological factors affecting ethnocentrism.     

妊娠初期妇女阴道微生态研究分析

目的 研究妊娠早期妇女阴道微生态状况,分析不同类型阴道炎在妊娠早期的发病率,比较Nugent评分和Claeys评级两种标准在诊断阴道炎方面的一致性。方法 选择2017年7月至2017年10月在上海市第一妇婴保健院产科门诊就诊的妊娠早期妇女726例（孕周≤12周）,采集阴道分泌物进行外阴阴道假丝酵母菌性阴道炎（vulvovaginal candidiasis,VVC）、滴虫性阴道炎（trichomonas vaginitis,TV）、需氧性阴道炎（aerobic vaginitis,AV）、细菌性阴道病（bacterial vaginosis,BV）检测,AV和（或）VVC阳性的分泌物进行培养鉴定;对革兰染色涂片进行Nugent评分和Claeys评级,以Nugent标准为金标准,评价Claeys评级在诊断阴道炎方面的性能。结果 726例标本中共检出异常标本153例（21.07%）,AV、BV、TV、VVC的发生率分别为5.23%、11.02%、0.13%、11.71%,混合感染占异常标本28.76%（44/153）,最常见的混合感染类型是BV合并VVC,AV最常见的致病菌是无乳链球菌、大肠杆菌、粪肠球菌。以Nugent方法为金标准,Claeys评级的敏感性、特异性、阳性预测值、阴性预测值、Kappa值分别为96.2%、88.1%、85.4%、97.1%、≥0.880。结论 妊娠早期阴道微生态失衡发生率较高且混合感染存在较高的比例,湿片和革兰染色结合分析可以提高阴道炎诊断的准确性。Claeys评级在阴道菌群分析上更全面、更简便,可作为Nugent标准的替代方法用于临床和科研。     

Fetal chromosome studies in the first trimester of pregnancy

The possibility of transcervical biopsy of chorion by the method of forceps and production of "direct" preparations of chromosomes in the first trimester of pregnancy has been studied. Satisfactory preparations are obtained during short-term incubation of villi for 24 and 48 hours. Portion of complete metaphases constitutes 0.23.     

Outpatient management of first trimester therapeutic abortions with and without tubal ligation

In busy hospitals the increasing numbers of abortions must be performed without disturbing other hospital functions. Local anesthesia, vaginal tubal ligation and the use of outpatient beds are the operative and administrative adaptations described. Of 1545 abortions performed in Victoria Hospital, London, in 1971, 428 (32%) were done under local anesthesia; 14 of these patients also had vaginal tubal ligation under local anesthesia. There were 405 sterilizations (26.2%) among this group of patients, of which 390 (96.3%) were vaginal tubal ligations. Of the total number, 891 (57.7%) were dealt with as outpatients and these comprised 62.0% of patients having therapeutic abortion only, and 46.7% of patients having tubal sterilization as well as abortion.     

Increased apoptotic activity on inflammatory human placentas in spontaneous abortions during the first and second trimester of gestation: a histochemical and immunohistochemical study

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of apoptotic markers on inflammatory human placentas from spontaneous abortions during the first and second trimester of gestation and compare them to those without inflammation. Paraffin-embedded specimens from 76 placentas were investigated by conventional histology and immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibodies against M30, Caspase 3, Caspase 8 and Caspase 9, as well as the terminal deoxynucleotidyl tranferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling method. A higher prevalence of expression of apoptotic markers (94.4%) was observed in placentas associated with chorioamnionitis in comparison with those without inflammation. Our observations confirm that apoptosis is strikingly prevalent in placentas diagnosed with histologic chorioamnionitis, while the inflammation induces cell death.     

The effect of uterine stretch on first trimester abortions induced by extraovular prostaglandin impact

In 20 obstetrically normal 1st trimester pregnant volunteers abortion had been induced successfully in 19, by Prostaglandin-Impact (PGI) technique (1). A total average dose of 12.3±0.9 mg PG F2α, delivered into the extraovular (E.O.) space, reduced the plasma P levels from an initial value of 29.4±2.5 ng/ml to 12.8±1.6 ng/ml (P < 0.001) within 17.4±1.6 hours instillation-abortion time (IAT). Of the 20 women 13 aborted completely, 6 incompletely, and 1 progressed to 2 cm cervical dilatation: yielding an “Abortion Score” (AbS) of 86.0±4.6.Of the 20 gravidas, 10 only received PGI (Control Group), while the remaining 10 were exposed to uterine stretch, in addition to PGI (Experimental Group). Stretch had been accomplished by a “stretch balloon” filled with 200 ml saline. Comparing the Control and Experimental Groups revealed that stretch shortens the IAT and improves the AbS. This effect is very probably achieved through a stretch induced increase in the endogenous PG-synthesis of the uterus (1). This preliminary finding exposes the possibility, that pregnancy termination can be promoted by an increased involvement of endogenous PGs in the activation of the myometrium, provoked through stretch. The validity of this premise is under current examination.     

Double trisomy in spontaneous abortions

Cytogenetic data on products of conception from spontaneous abortions studied over a 10-year period have been reviewed for double trisomies. A total of 3034 spontaneous abortions were karyotyped between 1986 and 1997. Twenty-two cases with double trisomy, one case with triple trisomy, and a case with a trisomy and monosomy were found. The tissues studied were mostly sac, villi, or placenta. The gestational age ranged from 6 to 11 weeks and the mean age was 8.2 ± 1.7 (SD) weeks. The mean maternal age in years was 35.9 ± 5.3. Of the twenty-two cases, four were mosaics. All but two of the cases involved autosomal aneuploidies. The double trisomies included chromosomes 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, and 22. The chromosomes that were trisomic in more than one double trisomy case were numbers 16 (8 cases), 8 (5 cases), 15 (4 cases), 2, 13, and 21 (3 cases each), and 5, 7, 14, 18, 20, 22, and X (2 cases). The triple trisomy involved chromosomes 18, 21, and X. The monosomy and trisomy case was a mosaic, with a monosomy 21 in all cells and some cells also with a trisomy 5. The double trisomies cited for the first time in this study were 4/13, 5/16, 8/14, 8/15, 14/21, 15/20, and 7/12. The pooled mean maternal age for double trisomy cases (34.1 ± 5.7 years) was higher than that for single trisomy cases (31 ± 6.1 years). The difference was statistically significant at P = < 0.001. The pooled mean gestational age of spontaneous abortions was lower for double trisomy (8.7 ± 2.2 weeks) than for reported single trisomy cases (10.1 ± 2.9 weeks). This difference is also statistically significant at P = < 0.001. The sex ratio among double trisomies was 15 females to 13 males. This difference was not statistically significant from the expected 1 : 1. Received: 27 June 1997 / Accepted: 4 September 1997     

Mosaic autosomal trisomy in cultures from spontaneous abortions.

In a consecutive series of 592 karyotyped spontaneous abortions, ten of 103 autosomal trisomies were mosaic, with a normal cell line also present. The frequency of mosaicism (10%) is much higher than that reported in Down syndrome, but similar to that reported in amniotic fluid cultures and in induced abortions. The most likely explanations for this discrepancy are (1) previous underestimation of mosaicism in live births or (2) mosaicism which is often restricted to extraembryonic fetal tissue.     

Jumping translocations in spontaneous abortions

Chromosome translocations involving one donor chromosome and multiple recipient chromosomes have been referred to as jumping translocations (JTs). Acquired JTs are commonly observed in cancer patients, mainly involving chromosome 1. Constitutional forms of JTs mostly involve the acrocentric chromosomes and their satellites and have been reported in patients with clinical abnormalities. Recognizable phenotypes resulting from these events have included Down, Prader-Willi, and DiGeorge syndromes. The presence of JTs in spontaneous abortions has not been previously described. The breakpoints of all JTs occur in areas rich in repetitive DNA (telomeric, centromeric, and nucleolus organizing regions). We report two different unstable chromosome rearrangements in samples derived from spontaneous abortions. The first case involved a chromosome 15 donor. The recipient chromosomes were 1, 9, 15, and 21, and the respective breakpoints were in either the heterochromatic regions or the centromeres. FISH studies confirmed that the breakpoints of the jumping 15 rearrangement did not involve the Prader-Willi region but originated at the centromere or in the proximal short arm. A second case of instability was observed with a rearrangement resulting from a presumed de novo 8;21 translocation. Three JT cell lines were observed. They consisted of a deleted 8p chromosome, a dicentric 8;21 translocation, and an 8q isochromosome. The instability regions appeared to be at the pericentromeric region of chromosome 8 and the satellite region of chromosome 21. Both cases proved to be de novo events. The unstable nature of the JT resulting in chromosomal imbalance most likely contributed to the fetal loss. It appears that JT events may predispose to chromosomal imbalance via nondisjunction and chromosomal rearrangement and, therefore, may be an unrecognized cause of fetal loss.     

Prognosis of subsequent pregnancies after recurrent spontaneous abortion in first trimester.

The outcome of subsequent pregnancies was studied in 24 women with a history of three or more consecutive spontaneous abortions in the first trimester. Twenty one of the women agreed to forgo active treatment during the study period and three received progestogens or surgical intervention. As the outcome of their first pregnancy after recurrent abortion 18 of the 24 women delivered a liveborn infant after 28 weeks or more. Of all 49 pregnancies in the untreated group during the study, 10 ended in abortion. Only one woman in the study failed to achieve a live birth. Except in exceptional cases encouraging women with recurrent abortion to keep trying for a successful outcome is just as effective as currently recommended treatments.     

Efficient direct chromosome analyses and enzyme determinations from chorionic villi samples in the first trimester of pregnancy

Chorionic villi were obtained by an aspiration technique which proved to be the best of four alternative procedures. We report in detail the series of experiments which led to (1) successful, rapidly growing cell cultures practically free of maternal cell contamination (the use of hormone-supplemented Chang medium greatly increased the growth rate); (2) an efficient direct method to obtain high quality metaphases from the Langhans cells of the cytotrophoblast tissue and with which the fetal karyotype is defined within a few hours of chorionic villi sampling; and (3) successful testing for the activity of eight enzymes directly from the villi samples, thus showing that this material is suitable for a rapid, direct diagnosis of the related metabolic diseases.     

Intracellular molecular species of human chorionic gonadotropin from normal but non-cultured first trimester placental tissues

Intracellular forms of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) were analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, protein blotting and immunological techniques in normal but non-cultured first trimester placentae. Placental cells were found to contain the major components of the 23K and 19K forms of the beta-subunit and the 21K form of the alpha-subunit of hCG which remained sensitive to endoglycosidase H and Con A-Sepharose 4B and small amounts of mature (urinary) subunits. An unknown molecular species of the alpha-subunit (Mr = 17K) that was not bound to Con A-Sepharose 4B was also detected. These intracellular molecular species accumulated in the placentae mainly during the first trimester. These results suggest that hCG subunits accumulate in placental cells as predominant intermediates containing high-mannose oligosaccharides.     

Cytogenetic investigation of spontaneous abortions

Summary 88 spontaneous abortions were investigated cytogenetically, 18 of them proved to have anomalies of chromosomes. Cells with aberrations were exposed to continuous cultivation. Successful prolonged cultures were grown from embryos with the following karyotypes: trisomy D, trisomy C and mosaicism (46,XX/47,XX,C+/48,XX,C+E+). It was shown that nonmosaic abnormal karyotypes were stable in the process of prolonged cultivation.

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Zusammenfassung 88 spontane Aborte wurden cytogenetisch untersucht. Bei 18 von ihnen fanden sich Chromosomenanomalien. Bei Zellen und Aberrationen wurden Langzeit-Kulturen durchgeführt. Diese Langzeit-Kulturen waren erfolgreich bei Embryonen und den folgenden Karyotypen: Trisomie D, Trisomie C und einem Mosaik (46,XX/47,XX,C+/48,XX,C+E+). Abnorme Karyotypen ohne Mosaik verhielten sich bei der Langzeit-Kultivierung stabil.

     

Forces required for dilatation of human cervix in first trimester of pregnancy

Cervical resistance to dilatation was measured in 76 patients undergoing first trimester legal abortion; a specially designed force-sensing instrument was used. No correlation between cervical resistance and patient age or gestational age was found. Increasing parity and earlier legal abortions were significantly correlated with a lowering of the cervical resistance. In patients dilated to 11 mm a lowering of resistance was noted suggesting a tear in cervical tissue.