Dissatisfaction with body size among low-income, postpartum black women

OBJECTIVE: To explore the body size perceptions of low-income, postpartum Black women. DESIGN: Prospective, exploratory survey using a culturally sensitive figure rating scale, to assess body size perceptions. SETTING: Four inner city clinics in Washington, DC. Participants: Low-income, postpartum Black women (N= 105). METHOD: A validated, culturally sensitive figure rating scale was used to assess perception of current, typical, healthy, and preferred body sizes of participants. Derived scores were used to assess other body image measures. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Measures were mean scores of perceived sizes and derived scores representing body size satisfaction, adherence to typical size, and health ideal size. RESULTS: Over 75% of subjects exhibited dissatisfaction with current body size. The perceived size for the typical (reference) woman was larger and not representative of the perceived healthy or preferred sizes of the sample. No difference between preferred and healthy sizes was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Two thirds of the participants were dissatisfied with their current body size and over half desired weight loss. The lack of difference between preferred and healthy body sizes suggests desire for a body size that meets both cultural standards of attractiveness and personal standards of health. Nursing opportunity for engaging in anticipatory interventions is highlighted.     

Attitudes to prenatal testing and termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormality: a comparison of white and Pakistani women in the UK

OBJECTIVES: To compare the attitudes of women from two different ethnic backgrounds to prenatal testing for a range of conditions, and to see if "clusters" of attitudes to different conditions could be identified, for which prenatal testing might be offered as a package. METHODS: Four hundred and twenty white and Pakistani women living in the UK were surveyed about their attitudes to prenatal testing and termination for 30 different fetal conditions. All participants had recently had a baby. RESULTS: Pakistani women held more favourable attitudes to prenatal testing, but less favourable attitudes to termination than their white counterparts. Both groups were most in favour of termination for the same four conditions: anencephaly, trisomy 13 or 18, quadriplegia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The rank ordering of conditions was also similar. Only 4% of Pakistani and 2% of white women wanted no prenatal testing at all. Fewer than a quarter of participants would consider a termination of pregnancy for 85% of the conditions, but only 25% of Pakistani women and 6% of white women would consider termination for none of the conditions. More advanced statistical analyses were used to measure how closely associated the 30 conditions were in respondents' answers. These analyses identified a principal dimension, reflecting the overall perceived seriousness of the conditions, and a cluster of severely disabling conditions-anencephaly, trisomy 13 or 18, quadriplegia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and severe learning difficulties-which stood out from the rest. Even within this cluster there remained a considerable amount of individual variation. CONCLUSION: Women in the study wanted to make up their own minds about the conditions that to them merited testing or termination. These findings have implications for obtaining informed consent.     

Malignant primary intraosseus synovial sarcoma – a rare case report

Primary intraosseous synovial sarcoma is an extremely rare malignancy that occurs primarily in young adults. We present a case of a primary intraosseous synovial sarcoma of the right distal ulna in a 19-year-old female. It has a propensity to mimic other radiologic and pathologic diagnosis. Histopathology after a surgical excisional biopsy with a wide margin plus adjunct radio and chemotherapy are necessary to improve prognosis.     

Singapore Paediatric Resuscitation Guidelines 2021

We present the 2021 Singapore Paediatric Resuscitation Guidelines. The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation’s Pediatric Taskforce Consensus Statements on Science and Treatment Recommendations, which was published in October 2020, and the updated resuscitation guidelines from the American Heart Association and European Resuscitation Council, were reviewed and discussed by the committee. These recommendations were derived after deliberation of peer-reviewed evidence updates on paediatric resuscitation and took into consideration the local setting and clinical practice.     

The tight skin 2 mouse

Objective. To describe the histopathologic and biochemical characteristics of skin from the Tsk2/ + mouse, a mutation with phenotypic features resembling those of systemic sclerosis (SSc), and to report the initial genetic mapping of the Tsk2 locus. Methods. Histologic examination was performed and collagen content and type I collagen messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were determined in skin biopsy specimens from Tsk2/+ mice and normal mice. An intersubspecific backcross was conducted as a first step toward identifying the position of the Tsk2 locus on mouse chromosome 1. Results. Histologic examination of Tsk2/+ mouse skin revealed marked accumulation of collagen and infiltration with mononuclear cells in the dermis and adipose tissue. Biochemical studies of Tsk2/+ mouse skin showed increased collagen content and elevated steady-state levels of α1(I) procollagen mRNA. Tsk2 was mapped to a 15.3-c entimorgan interval on mouse chromosome 1. Conclusion. Tsk2 is a novel mutation which displays histopathologic and biochemical abnormalities similar to those present in the skin of patients with SSc, including increased collagen content and expression of type I collagen genes. This mutation has been mapped to a 15.3-c M region on mouse chromosome 1. Further study of this novel mutation will allow the identification of previously undescribed mechanisms involved in the regulation of normal and pathologic collagen gene expression.     

The impact of low-dose versus high-dose antibiotic prophylaxis regimens on surgical site infection rates after cesarean delivery

Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics - The objective of this study was to determine if high-dose antibiotic prophylaxis with cefazolin decreases the risk of surgical site infection (SSI) after a...     

Microglial responses after phagocytosis: Escherichia coli bioparticles,but not cell debris or amyloid beta,induce matrix metalloproteinase-9 secretion in cultured rat primary microglial cells

Upon infection or brain damage, microglia are activated to play roles in immune responses, including phagocytosis and soluble factor release. However, little is known whether the event of phagocytosis could be a trigger for releasing soluble factors from microglia. In this study, we tested if microglia secrete a neurovascular mediator matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) after phagocytosis in vitro. Primary microglial cultures were prepared from neonatal rat brains. Cultured microglia phagocytosed Escherichia coli bioparticles within 2 hr after incubation and started to secrete MMP-9 at around 12 hr after the phagocytosis. A TLR4 inhibitor TAK242 suppressed the E. coli-bioparticle-induced MMP-9 secretion. However, TAK242 did not change the engulfment of E. coli bioparticles in microglial cultures. Because lipopolysaccharides (LPS), the major component of the outer membrane of E. coli, also induced MMP-9 secretion in a dose–response manner and because the response was inhibited by TAK242 treatment, we assumed that the LPS-TLR4 pathway, which was activated by adhering to the substance, but not through the engulfing process of phagocytosis, would play a role in releasing MMP-9 from microglia after E. coli bioparticle treatment. To support the finding that the engulfing step would not be a critical trigger for MMP-9 secretion after the event of phagocytosis in microglia, we confirmed that cell debris and amyloid beta were both captured into microglia via phagocytosis, but neither of them induced MMP-9 secretion from microglia. Taken together, these data demonstrate that microglial response in MMP-9 secretion after phagocytosis differs depending on the types of particles/substances that microglia encountered.     

Acute necrotizing esophagitis: a case report

Acute necrotizing esophagitis is rare. The exact etiology is unknown in most cases. The esophagus appears black, necrotic and ulcerated on the upper endoscopy, thus the term "black esophagus" is used. Histologically, there is necrosis of the esophageal mucosa and submucosa. Here, we present a patient with cholangiocarcinoma who had upper gastrointestinal bleeding and was found to have acute necrotizing esophagitis on the upper endoscopy.