Twin pregnancy with complete hydatidiform mole and coexisting fetus following ovulation induction with a non-prescribed clomiphene citrate regimen: a case report

Introduction

Until now, studies on paracetamol given intravenously have mainly been performed with the pro-drug propacetamol or with paracetamol in preterm babies above 32 weeks of gestation. Studies in these babies indicate that intravenous paracetamol is tolerated well, however studies on the efficacy of intravenous paracetamol are lacking. There are no pharmacokinetic data on the administration of multiple doses of paracetamol in preterm babies with a gestational age below 32 weeks.

Case presentation

We present a case series of nine Caucasian preterm babies, six boys and three girls, with a mean gestational age of 28.6 weeks (range 25.9 to 31.6 weeks). Case one, a girl with a gestational age of 25 weeks and six days, presented with necrotizing enterocolitis. In the second case, a female baby with a gestational age of 26 weeks and two days presented with hematoma. In case three, a female baby with a gestation of 26 weeks and one day developed intraventricular hemorrhage. In case four, a male baby with a gestational age of 31 weeks and four days presented with pain after vacuum delivery. Case five, a female baby born after a gestation of 29 weeks and six days presented with hematoma. In case six, a male baby with a gestation of 30 weeks and six days presented with hematoma. In case seven, a male baby, born with a gestational age of 30 weeks and six days, presented with caput succedaneum and hematoma. In case eight, a male baby, born after a gestation of 28 weeks and four days, developed abdominal distention. Case nine, a female baby, born with a gestational age of 27 weeks and three days presented with hematoma. These babies were treated with intravenous paracetamol 15 mg/kg every six hours. Serum concentrations and aspartate transaminase were determined after prolonged administration. Pain scores were assessed using the Premature Infant Pain Profile.

Conclusion

Paracetamol serum concentrations ranged from 8 to 64 mg/L after eight to 12 doses of intravenous paracetamol. Adequate analgesia was obtained in seven babies. During paracetamol therapy the median serum level of aspartate transaminase was 20 U/L (range 12 to 186 U/L). This case series indicates that prolonged intravenous administration of paracetamol in preterm babies with a gestational age of less than 32 weeks is tolerated well in the first days after birth. However, in the absence of proper pharmacokinetic data in this age group we cannot advocate the use of paracetamol intravenously.     

Risk Assessment of Some PCDDs,PCDFs, Dioxin-Like PCBs,and PCBs in Contaminated Dairy Products: An Egyptian Pilot Case Study

Samples of butter, cream, and white cheese were collected from the city of Ismailia, Egypt, and analyzed for polychloro dibenzo-p-dioxins, pentachloro dibenzo-p-furans, and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyl, PCBs. Butter samples had the highest mean content of PCDD/F and dioxin-like PCBs. Butter samples were the most contaminated samples in all dairy products analyzed in this study, whereas white cheese samples were the least contaminated. The spectrum of congeners detected in butter and cream were similar, with all congeners at detectable levels, whereas the spectrum of congeners detected in white cheese differed, with some congeners, namely 1,2,3,4,7,8-Hexa CDD, 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-Hepta CDD, and 1,2,3,7,8,9-Hexa CDD below WHO TE toxicity levels. 1,2,3,7,7-PeCDD, with its high concentration, was the principal contributor to the TEQ intake in both cream and butter samples. Similarly, the high concentration of 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF in cream, butter, and white cheese samples was the main factor contributing to their TEQ intake. Estimated intakes of PCDDs/Fs were 129.2, 115.8, and 51.25 pg WHO-TEQ/day for butter, cream, and white cheese, respectively. Taking into account the sum of PCDDs/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs, estimated intakes were, 171.7, 155.8, and 68 pg WHO-TEQ/day, for butter, cream, and white cheese, respectively. Assuming an average bodyweight of 60 kg (WHO-TEQ/kg), these levels correspond to bodyweight-normalized intake levels of .15, 2.92 and 0.95 pg WHO-TEQ/kg/day.     

p53 Codon 72 arginine/proline polymorphism and cancer in Sudan

The aim of this report is to determine frequencies and associations of p53 codon 72 arg/pro polymorphism with different types of cancer in Sudan. p53 codon72 arg/pro polymorphism distribution and allele frequencies in 264 samples of different types of cancers were investigated using PCR. The results were compared to 235 normal controls. The results indicated significant differences in frequency and genotype association between different types of cancers. Breast carcinoma patients most prominently showed excess of homozygous arg genotype as compared to controls with an Odd ratio (OR) of 19.44, 95?%CI: 6.6–78.3, P?<?0.0001. Less prominently cervical cancer showed genotype effect of 2.4 OR, 95?%CI: 1.12–5.33, P?=?0.015, while esophageal cancer had an OR of 0.57, 95?%CI: 0.23–1.42, P?=?0.1. In Burkitt’s lymphoma, however, in contrast the homozygous arg accounted for only 6.9?%, (OR 0.18, 95?%CI: 0.02–0.89, P?=?0.018). We concluded that p53 arg/pro polymorphism has different pattern of frequency in different types of cancer among Sudanese patients, indicating perhaps different etiology and biology of these tumours.     

Hsp70-2 gene polymorphism: susceptibility implication in Tunisian patients with coronary artery disease

ABSTRACT: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a multifactorial disease where genetic and environmental factors interact in complex ways to cause the disease. Heat shock protein genes are involved in the progress of CAD. This implies that genetic variants of Hsp70-2 genes might contribute to the development of the disease. Aim of study The aim of this study was to characterize statistical correlation of linkage between lipid profiles, polymorphism PstI site of Hsp70-2 gene and coronary artery diseases. Patients and methods This study was carried out on Tunisian patients with CAD recruited from Hospital of Fattouma Bourguiba of Monastir-Tunisia. Polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzymes were used to determine the genotypic distributions in 252 unrelated patients and 151 healthy control subjects. Further, ApoA-I and ApoB as well as the serum total of cholesterol, HDL, triglyceride, and hs-CRP levels were measured. RESULTS: We showed a decreased level of ApoA-I, whereas the levels of each of ApoB and hs-CRP were increased in patients with CAD compared with control group. In addition our studies of a polymorphic PstI site of Hsp70-2 gene lying in the coding region at position 1267 of the Hsp70-2 gene have revealed that the frequency of P1/P2 heterozygote was 0.484 in patient group compared with control group (0.476, p = 0.046). Whereas, the frequency of the P2/P2 homozygote was 0.190 in patient group and only 0.099 in controls (P = 0.006). These results indicate that the odds ratio of CAD associated with the Hsp70-2 polymorphism is confined the P2/P2 homozygotes (OR 2.498; P = 0.006). CONCLUSION: Taken together, our results indicate that the high frequency of P2/P2 genotype is associated with elevated levels of biochemical parameters (LDL cholesterol, hs-CRP) in Tunisian patient group. The Hsp70-2 polymorphism has susceptibly implication in CAD. Virtual slides The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1118340895703689.     

Jellyfish Stings Trigger Gill Disorders and Increased Mortality in Farmed Sparus aurata (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Mediterranean Sea

Jellyfish are of particular concern for marine finfish aquaculture. In recent years repeated mass mortality episodes of farmed fish were caused by blooms of gelatinous cnidarian stingers, as a consequence of a wide range of hemolytic, cytotoxic, and neurotoxic properties of associated cnidocytes venoms. The mauve stinger jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca (Scyphozoa) has been identified as direct causative agent for several documented fish mortality events both in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea aquaculture farms. We investigated the effects of P. noctiluca envenomations on the gilthead sea bream Sparus aurata by in vivo laboratory assays. Fish were incubated for 8 hours with jellyfish at 3 different densities in 300 l experimental tanks. Gill disorders were assessed by histological analyses and histopathological scoring of samples collected at time intervals from 3 hours to 4 weeks after initial exposure. Fish gills showed different extent and severity of gill lesions according to jellyfish density and incubation time, and long after the removal of jellyfish from tanks. Jellyfish envenomation elicits local and systemic inflammation reactions, histopathology and gill cell toxicity, with severe impacts on fish health. Altogether, these results shows P. noctiluca swarms may represent a high risk for Mediterranean finfish aquaculture farms, generating significant gill damage after only a few hours of contact with farmed S. aurata. Due to the growth of the aquaculture sector and the increased frequency of jellyfish blooms in the coastal waters, negative interactions between stinging jellyfish and farmed fish are likely to increase with the potential for significant economic losses.     

Segmented linear modeling of CHO fed‐batch culture and its application to large scale production

We describe a systematic approach to model CHO metabolism during biopharmaceutical production across a wide range of cell culture conditions. To this end, we applied the metabolic steady state concept. We analyzed and modeled the production rates of metabolites as a function of the specific growth rate. First, the total number of metabolic steady state phases and the location of the breakpoints were determined by recursive partitioning. For this, the smoothed derivative of the metabolic rates with respect to the growth rate were used followed by hierarchical clustering of the obtained partition. We then applied a piecewise regression to the metabolic rates with the previously determined number of phases. This allowed identifying the growth rates at which the cells underwent a metabolic shift. The resulting model with piecewise linear relationships between metabolic rates and the growth rate did well describe cellular metabolism in the fed‐batch cultures. Using the model structure and parameter values from a small‐scale cell culture (2 L) training dataset, it was possible to predict metabolic rates of new fed‐batch cultures just using the experimental specific growth rates. Such prediction was successful both at the laboratory scale with 2 L bioreactors but also at the production scale of 2000 L. This type of modeling provides a flexible framework to set a solid foundation for metabolic flux analysis and mechanistic type of modeling. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 785–797. © 2016 The Authors. Biotechnology and Bioengineering Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Characterization of an extracellular polysaccharide produced by a Saharan bacterium Paenibacillus tarimensis REG 0201M

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the novel molecular characteristics and rheological properties of the polysaccharide produced by a bacterium isolated from extremophilic environment (Algerian Sahara). Phenotypic and molecular characteristics of the REG 0201M bacterial strain retained for this research were studied. Extracellular polysaccharide produced by REG 0201M was purified, characterized and its production was investigated. Analysis of 16S rDNA gene sequence showed that strain REG 0201M belonged to the species Paenibacillus tarimensis. In sucrose agar medium, 1.31 g dry weight of the polysaccharide per liter was produced. Evaluation of water absorption capacity showed that this polysaccharide was able to absorb 1000 times more water than its own weight. The average molecular weight determined by high-performance size exclusion chromatography multiangle laser light scattering was 1.718 × 106 g mol−1. Analysis of the monosaccharide composition by high-performance anion exchange chromatography showed the presence of fructose (77.67%) as the main neutral sugar, followed by galactose (20.37%), arabinose (1.79%), and rhamnose (0.16%). Its global charge determined by the Zeta potential measurement was about −35.27 ± 0.66 mV. The main functional groups were elucidated by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy while the surface morphology was resolved by scanning electron microscopy analysis. Moreover, the rheological data revealed shear thinning properties with the same general behavior of the studied polysaccharide compared to xanthan. These results show the great potential of this polysaccharide, which could help to promote its use in various industries by replacing synthetic polymers.