Primary postpartum haemorrhage in an Australian tertiary hospital: a case-control study.

The present study aimed to determine the incidence of primary postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) after vaginal birth at an Australian tertiary hospital, and to investigate risk factors for primary PPH at this hospital. A case-control study of women delivering vaginally at a tertiary hospital from February to June 2003 was performed. Demographic, antenatal, intrapartum, treatment and outcome data were abstracted from patient records. The study population comprised 125 cases and 125 controls, with a primary PPH rate of 12.1 per 100 vaginal births. Risk factors on multivariate analysis were past history of PPH, second stage labour > 60 min, forceps delivery, and incomplete placenta/ragged membranes.

Carbocyclic fatty acids in plants: biochemical and molecular genetic characterization of cyclopropane fatty acid synthesis of Sterculiafoetida.

Fatty acids containing three-member carbocyclic rings are found in bacteria and plants. Bacteria synthesize cyclopropane fatty acids (CPA-FAs) only by the addition of a methylene group from S-adenosylmethionine to the cis-double bond of monoenoic phospholipid-bound fatty acids. In plants CPA-FAs are usually minor components with cyclopropene fatty acids (CPE-FAs) more abundant. Sterculia foetida seed oil contains 65-78% CPE-FAs, principally sterculic acid. To address carbocyclic fatty acid synthesis in plants, a cDNA library was constructed from developing seeds during the period of maximum oil deposition. About 0.4% of 5,300 expressed sequence tags were derived from one gene, which shared similarities to the bacterial CPA-FA synthase. However, the predicted protein is twice as large as the bacterial homolog and represents a fusion of an FAD-containing oxidase at the N terminus and a methyltransferase at the C terminus. Functional analysis of the isolated full-length cDNA was conducted in tobacco suspension cells where its expression resulted in the accumulation of up to 6.2% dihydrosterculate of total fatty acids. In addition, the dihydrosterculate was specifically labeled by [methyl-(14)C]methionine and by [(14)C]oleic acid in the transgenic tobacco cells. In in vitro assay of S. foetida seed extracts, S-adenosylmethionine served as a methylene donor for the synthesis of dihydrosterculate from oleate. Dihydrosterculate accumulated largely in phosphatidylcholine in both systems. Together, a CPA-FA synthase was identified from S. foetida, and the pathway in higher plants that produce carbocyclic fatty acids was defined as by transfer of C(1) units, most likely from S-adenosylmethionine to oleate.