Physical and Sexual Abuse and their Relation to Psychiatric Disorder and Suicidal Behavior among Adolescents who are Psychiatrically Hospitalized

Adolescents who were psychiatrically hospitalized ( N = 105) were classified as sexually abused, physically abused, both sexually and physically abused, or not abused, and studied to determine the prevalence of suicidal behavior and psychiatric disorders. Self-reports of hopelessness, depression, coping, and self-concept were also examined. No difference in suicidal behavior or psychiatric disorder, based on abuse history, was found, with one exception. Adolescents who were sexually abused, particularly those who experienced the most severe sexual abuse, used negative coping strategies more often than those not sexually abused. Findings suggest that symptomatology of adolescents who are psychiatrically hospitalized does not differ markedly based on history of abuse.     

Is there a correlation between time of delivery and newborn cord pH?

Purpose: Since more senior and attending physicians work in labor wards during morning shifts, we expect a better delivery outcome during that time period.

Materials and methods: A retrospective study was conducted between 1/2005 and 12/2014. Records of 56 428 singleton deliveries from a tertiary hospital in which cord blood pH was routinely measured at birth were analyzed. Time of birth was divided into shifts: 7 AM–3?PM (morning shift), 3?PM–11?PM (afternoon shift), and 11?PM–7 AM (night shift). Additional stratification compared weekdays and weekend deliveries.

Results: 19?601, 18?429, and 18?398 neonates were born during morning, afternoon, and night shifts, respectively. There was no significant difference in maternal age, neonatal weight, or mean 5-min Apgar score among the three shift periods. Furthermore, there was no correlation between shift time of delivery and newborn acidosis with respect to cord pH less than 7 (0.1% in each time periods, p?=?0.67). Despite the above, instrumental deliveries and cesarean sections were more common in the morning shift compared to the afternoon and night shift, respectively (p?=?0.001 each).

Conclusions: Although shift time of delivery was found to be related to mode of delivery it was not related to either 5-min Apgar score or newborn acidosis as reflected by cord pH.     

Ubiquitin degradation with its substrate,or as a monomer in a ubiquitination-independent mode,provides clues to proteasome regulation

The mechanisms that regulate the ubiquitin (Ub)-proteasome system''s own components, although critically important, are largely unknown. Ub, a principal component of the system, must be maintained at adequate levels to support cellular homeostasis under basal and stressed conditions. It was suggested that Ub is degraded as part of the polyubiquitin chain along with its substrate. Here, we demonstrate in a direct manner that Ub is indeed degraded in a “piggyback” mechanism. Also, it has been shown that monomeric Ub can be rapidly degraded when a C-terminal tail of a minimal length is fused to it. The tail, which may represent the substrate or part of it, or a naturally occurring extended form of Ub, probably allows entry of the protein into the 20S catalytic chamber, while Ub serves as an anchor to the 19S complex. Here, we show that shorter-tailed Ubs, such as UBB⁺¹, bind to the proteasome but because they cannot be efficiently degraded, they inhibit the degradation of other Ub system''s substrates such as Myc, p21, Mdm2, and MyoD. The inhibition depends on the ability of the tailed Ubs to be ubiquitinated: their mere binding to the proteasome is not sufficient. Interestingly, the inhibition affects only substrates that must undergo ubiquitination for their degradation: ornithine decarboxylase that is targeted by the proteasome in a Ub-independent manner, is not affected by the short-tailed ubiquitinated Ubs, suggesting it binds to the 19S complex in a site different from that to which ubiquitinated substrates bind.     

Functional magnetic resonance imaging monitoring of pathological changes in rodent livers during hyperoxia and hypercapnia

Liver diseases and regeneration are associated with hemodynamic changes denoting pathological alterations. Determining and monitoring physiological and pathological liver changes is essential for diagnostic and therapeutic objectives. Our aim was to determine the feasibility of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during hypercapnia and hyperoxia for monitoring liver pathology. Liver fMRI images were acquired in rodents following acute bleeding, partial hepatectomy, and fibrosis. Results were quantitated and confirmed by histology. Changes induced by hyperoxia and hypercapnia following hemorrhage significantly correlated with the percentage of blood loss, reflecting lower liver perfusion and diminished vessel responsiveness to gas saturation. Hepatectomy resulted in an early decline in signal intensity changes due to hyperoxia, suggesting a decrease in liver perfusion and blood content. Following hepatectomy, signal intensity changes due to hypercapnia increased, signifying a change in liver perfusion from a mainly portal to a more arterial source. Two weeks after induction of fibrosis, signal intensity changes due to hypercapnia became much lower and those due to hyperoxia were much higher than those in normal livers, reflecting the increased perfusion due to the inflammatory process as confirmed by histologic analysis. With fibrosis progression, signal intensity changes induced by hypercapnia and hyperoxia were gradually attenuated, indicating structural and functional alterations of the liver vasculature during fibrosis. CONCLUSION: In various liver pathologies, fMRI response to hypercapnia and hyperoxia is sensitive to changes in liver hemodynamic status involved in hepatic damage or recovery; thus, this technique may offer an additional noninvasive diagnostic tool for evaluation and follow-up of liver diseases by means of examining perfusion-related alterations.     

Safety of vaginal delivery in very low birthweight vertex singletons: a meta-analysis

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the safety of vaginal delivery in VLBW singletons in the vertex presentation.

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Web of Science databases were searched for studies on mode of delivery and neonatal outcome in VLBW singletons in the vertex presentation. A total of 28 studies met our inclusion criteria.

Results: Vaginal delivery was not associated with an increase in overall neonatal mortality compared with cesarean delivery (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.72–1.04). Vaginal delivery was associated with a significant decrease in mortality for the 1250–1500?g birthweight category (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.36–0.92), while an increase in mortality in the 500–750?g category was not significant (OR 1.5, 95% CI 0.86–2.61). Severe intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) was not associated with mode of delivery (OR 1.05, 95% CI 0.85–1.29), but the only two high quality study that assessed IVH of all grades found an increase in risk for IVH in vaginal delivery (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.16–1.51).

Conclusions: Vaginal delivery does not appear to increase the risk for neonatal mortality. However, current available data on neonatal morbidity are limited. More high-quality studies are needed to assess the association between mode of delivery and neonatal morbidity.     

Bedouin Women’s Gender Preferences When Choosing Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Patients’ preferences in choosing obstetricians/gynecologists are widely investigated, but studies among traditional populations are lacking. Bedouins comprise a traditional Arab Muslim society in the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia), The Levant (Syria, Jordan and Israel) and North Africa (Egypt). Most of the Bedouins in Israel populate several villages, mostly in the southern part of the country. This cross-sectional study compared 200 Bedouin and 200 Jewish women who responded to an anonymous questionnaire. Queried on gender alone, more Bedouin responders preferred female obstetricians/gynecologists (59.5 vs. 33% Jewish responders, p value <0.0001). Bedouin women preferred a female obstetrician/gynecologist for intimate procedures [feeling more comfortable (66.3%) and believing that females were more gentle (50%)]. However, they and the Jewish participants ranked ability, experience and knowledge as the top 3 qualities of an obstetrician/gynecologist, putting reputation in 4th place and gender in 5th place. Bedouin women strongly preferred female obstetricians/gynecologists, although professional skills were an important factor in their choice of caregiver. The ideal obstetrician/gynecologist for Bedouin women would be a skilled, knowledgeable, and experienced female.     

Molecular mechanisms underlying membrane-potential-mediated regulation of neuronal K2P2.1 channels

The activity of background K_2P channels adjusts the resting membrane potential to enable plasticity of excitable cells. Here we have studied the regulation of neuronal K_2P2.1 (KCNK2, TREK-1) channel activity by resting membrane potential. When heterologously expressed, K_2P2.1 currents gradually increased at hyperpolarizing potentials and declined at depolarizing potentials, with a midpoint potential of ? 60 mV. As K_2P channels are not equipped with an integral voltage sensor, we sought extrinsic cellular components that could convert changes in the membrane electrical field to cellular activity that would indirectly modify K_2P2.1 currents. We propose that membrane depolarization activated the Gq protein-coupled receptor pathway, in the apparent absence of ligand, resulting in phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP₂) depletion through the action of phospholipase C. Our results suggest a novel mechanism in which an indirect pathway confers membrane potential regulation onto channels that are not intrinsically voltage sensitive to enhance regulation of neuronal excitability levels.     

Defense mechanisms in a community-based sample of female adolescents with partial eating disorders

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to assess whether female adolescents diagnosed with partial eating disorders (EDs) will show less adaptive defense mechanisms compared to female controls with no-ED. METHODS: The following questionnaires were administered to 423 female high-school students: The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ), and Life Style Index (LSI) (both tapping defense mechanisms), and a structured questionnaire assessing eating-related issues. Weight and height were also recorded. Partial anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) were defined with the combination of a maladaptive EAT score and fulfillment of adapted DSM-IV criteria. RESULTS: Compared to non-ED controls, participants with partial AN and partial BN used more immature defenses, including the DSQ-immature defense style (only those with partial BN) and LSI-regression, as well as more neurotic defenses, namely the DSQ-neurotic defense style, and LSI-compensation and displacement. CONCLUSIONS: The combined use of immature and neurotic defenses may be associated with a greater risk to develop a partial ED in adolescent females.