Improvements in the Child‐Rearing Attitudes of Latina Mothers Exposed to Interpersonal Trauma Predict Greater Maternal Sensitivity Toward Their 6‐Month‐Old Infants

The current study investigated maternal sensitivity in a treatment‐seeking sample of predominately Latina, low‐income pregnant women with histories of interpersonal trauma exposure. Pregnant women (N = 52; M = 27.08 years, SD = 5.66) who enrolled in a study of a perinatal adaptation of child–parent psychotherapy reported on their posttraumatic stress symptoms and child‐rearing attitudes at baseline and again at 6‐months postpartum. Maternal sensitivity was measured via observational coding of a free‐play episode at 6‐months postpartum. Two thirds of mothers exhibited healthy levels of maternal sensitivity, M > 4.0 (range = 2.5–7.0). The results of multiple linear regression predicting maternal sensitivity, R² = .26, indicated that greater improvements in child‐rearing attitudes over the course of treatment predicted higher levels of maternal sensitivity, β = .33, whereas improvements in posttraumatic stress symptoms over the course of treatment did not, β = ?.10. Mothers’ attitudes regarding parenting during the perinatal period may be a mechanism by which intervention fosters healthy mother–infant relationship dynamics. Thus, parenting attitudes are a worthy target of intervention in vulnerable families.     

The blood-to-plasma ratio and predicted GABAA-binding affinity of designer benzodiazepines

Forensic Toxicology - The number of benzodiazepines appearing as new psychoactive substances (NPS) is continually increasing. Information about the pharmacological parameters of these compounds is...     

How do I perform cell salvage in obstetrics?

Maternal mortality in the United States is increasing. The leading cause of death is hemorrhage. Maternal hemorrhage can be profound, with entire blood volumes being lost. In most major blood loss surgery, autotranfusion (also known as cell salvage, cell saving, and intraoperative blood collection and readministration) is a technique that has been used to minimize allogeneic transfusion. Historically, autotransfusion has been considered contraindicated in the face of maternal hemorrhage because of a fear of incorporating amniotic fluid in the salvaged blood. Recent data suggests that this fear is unfounded, with several medical societies now recommending that autotransfusion be used during maternal hemorrhage. In this review, autotransfusion during maternal hemorrhage is discussed, and suggestions are made for how to make it most successful.     

Concordance of a point mutation 5' to the G gamma globin gene with G gamma beta +. Hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin in the black population

Hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (HPFH) is a genetically heterogeneous and clinically benign condition characterized by persistent expression of fetal hemoglobin (Hb F) into adulthood. In the G gamma beta + type, no major deletions in the globin gene cluster occur; adult heterozygotes produce approximately 20% Hb F, which results from overproduction of G gamma chains, with no apparent increase in production from the adjacent A gamma gene. We have recently described a point mutation 202 base pairs 5' to the cap site of the G gamma gene in an individual with G gamma beta + HPFH. This mutation abolishes a normal ApaI restriction endonuclease site, and thus can be detected by blotting of genomic DNA. We present here further data on the ApaI mutation: (1) It occurs in six of seven families with G gamma beta + HPFH. (2) In three families, detailed haplotype analysis using 11 polymorphic restriction sites in the beta globin cluster has been done. The two that carry the missing ApaI site are identical but the third, which has a normal ApaI pattern, differs from the other two in at least two sites, one of which is a new polymorphic Nco I site between the delta and beta globin genes. This suggests the possibility of a different HPFH mutation in the third family. (3) The haplotype of the G gamma beta + HPFH chromosome carrying the ApaI mutation is different from that of 108 beta A chromosomes of black individuals that have been tested. (4) The G gamma ApaI site is normal in 61 beta A and 109 beta S alleles from non-HPFH black individuals, including 22 who share the same haplotype for the intragenic G gamma, A gamma HindIII polymorphisms. These data add support to the possibility that the -202 mutation is actually causative of the G gamma beta + HPFH phenotype.     

High-frequency cell surface expression of a foreign protein in murine hematopoietic stem cells using a new retroviral vector

A retroviral vector (pSFF) derived from murine Friend spleen focus forming virus was used to transduce murine hematopoietic stem cells and express a cell surface marker protein, mutated murine prion protein, in vitro and in vivo after transplantation. To enhance retroviral vector integration in bone marrow cells, mice were treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) to increase stem cell mitotic activity, which peaked on day 8 post-5-FU. The infectivity titer of the vector, pSFF-mPrP-3F4, was determined by a novel assay in which antigen-positive foci of infected cells were detected after replication and spread of the vector in cultures of mixed packaging cell lines. Infection of Sca-1+/Lineageneg- low cells with pSFF-mPrP-3F4 resulted in marker protein expression in 40% of the progeny cells after 7 days of culture. Transplantation of marrow cells or sorted Sca-1+/Lineageneg-low cells transduced with vector resulted in 3F4-positive mPrP expression in 11% to 37% of donor- derived peripheral blood leukocytes at 2 weeks. Though the percentage of 3F4-positive blood cells gradually declined, at 28 weeks 23% of recipient mice still maintained expression of the marker gene. Expression was observed in lymphoid, myeloid, and erythroid lineages and was detected in Sca-1+/Lineageneg-low marrow cells. The multilineage, high-frequency expression observed suggests that pSFF may be useful in gene therapy directed at hematopoietic stem cells and their differentiated progeny.     

Growth hormone- and prolactin-binding proteins in mammalian serum.

The present study was undertaken to characterize the species specificity and diversity of lactogenic and somatogenic binding to serum among mammals and to classify GH-binding protein (GH-BP) in this group of species. Animal sera were characterized on the basis of human (h) GH and bovine (b) PRL binding levels, binding specificity toward GHs and PRLs, binding affinity constant (Ka), and the ability of a monoclonal antirabbit GH receptor antibody (MAb-7) to inhibit the binding to serum. Analyses of the results yielded a classification of the mammalian sera into five types of GH binding, which we elected to call GH-BP. The guinea pig had undetectable levels of GH-BP and was labeled type 0. Type I GH-BP was found in the mouse and the rat. hGH binding to GH-BP of type I serum was of low affinity (1.2-3.9 x 10(8) M-1) with high IC50 (approximately 100 ng/tube) and was purely somatogenic in nature. Type II GH-BP was found in the goat, sheep, and cow. Their IC50 of hGH binding was approximately 4-fold lower than that of type I GH-BP. Their binding of hGH was relatively specific and only marginally displaced by the PRLs. Type III GH-BP was found in the rabbit, horse, cat, dog, and pig. These animals' sera had high affinity binding toward hGH (4.7-9.2 x 10(9) M-1), with low IC50 (approximately 2 ng/tube) and dominant lactogenic binding. The great similarity of type III GH-BPs was further stressed by the ability of MAb-7 to inhibit [125I]hGH binding to all type III sera, but not to the other mammalian sera tested. Type IV GH-BP was found in the human and rhesus monkey sera. These were characterized by binding affinities that were intermediate between those for types II and III GH-BP and by the inability of nonprimate GHs to compete with hGH binding. To directly confirm the potent effect of the lactogenic hormones in type III GH-BP, the specific binding of bPRL to sera of type III animals was studied. [125I]bPRL-specific binding was determined under optimized assay conditions and was the highest in rabbit serum, with the following rank order being observed: rabbit > horse = dog = pig > cat. Scatchard analysis of [125I]bPRL binding revealed linear plots with similar affinity constants (Ka) of 1.7-3.3 x 10(9) M-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)