Maternal Serum Meteorin Levels and the Risk of Preeclampsia.

BACKGROUND: Meteorin (METRN) is a recently described neutrophic factor with angiogenic properties. This is a nested case-control study in a longitudinal cohort study that describes the serum profile of METRN during different periods of gestation in healthy and preeclamptic pregnant women. Moreover, we explore the possible application of METRN as a biomarker. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Serum METRN was measured by ELISA in a longitudinal prospective cohort study in 37 healthy pregnant women, 16 mild preeclamptic women, and 20 healthy non-pregnant women during the menstrual cycle with the aim of assessing serum METRN levels and its correlations with other metabolic parameters. Immunostaining for METRN protein was performed in placenta. A multivariate logistic regression model was proposed and a classifier model was formulated for predicting preeclampsia in early and middle pregnancy. The performance in classification was evaluated using measures such as sensitivity, specificity, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. In healthy pregnant women, serum METRN levels were significantly elevated in early pregnancy compared to middle and late pregnancy. METRN levels are significantly lower only in early pregnancy in preeclamptic women when compared to healthy pregnant women. Decision trees that did not include METRN levels in the first trimester had a reduced sensitivity of 56% in the detection of preeclamptic women, compared to a sensitivity of 69% when METRN was included. CONCLUSIONS: The joint measurements of circulating METRN levels in the first trimester and systolic blood pressure and weight in the second trimester significantly increase the probabilities of predicting preeclampsia.

Multispectral elastic scanning lidar for industrial flare research: characterizing the electronic subsystem and application.

This work deals with the analysis of the electronic subsystem of a multiwavelength elastic scanning lidar. Several calibration tests are applied to the Cubatão scanning lidar placed at the industrial area of Cubatão in the State of São Paulo (Brazil), in order to improve the knowledge of its performing itself and to design protocols for correcting lidar signal for undesirable instrumental effects. In particular, the trigger delay is assessed by means of zero-bin and bin-shift tests for analog (AN) and photo-counting (PC) signals, respectively. Dark current test is also performed to detect potential range-dependency that could affect lidar products. All tests were performed at different spatial resolutions. These instrumental corrections were applied to a case study of data acquired for characterizing the optical and microphysical properties of particles in an industrial flare. To that aim, a graphical method based on the space defined by the extinction-related Angström exponent versus its spectral curvature is used to derive the contribution of fine aerosol to extinction and the size of the fine aerosols in the industrial flare, therefore revealing features of the processes occurring inside the flame. Our study demonstrates the potential of this new technique for the study and measurement of industrial emissions.

Staphylococcus aureus en residentes de un hogar de ancianos de Cartagena / Staphylococcus aureus in residents from a nursing-home in Cartagena

Objetivos Determinar la prevalencia de colonización nasal de Staphylococcus aureus, la susceptibilidad a antibióticos de los aislamientos y su posible asociación con factores de riesgo, en los residentes del Hogar Asilo de Ancianos San Pedro Claver de la ciudad de Cartagena de Indias durante el segundo semestre del año 2007. Métodos Con el debido consentimiento informado, para cada sujeto participante se tomaron hisopados nasales por una única vez durante el estudio. Se identificaron cepas de Staphylococcus aureus usando métodos clásicos y se determinó la susceptibilidad a antibióticos de los aislamientos mediante el método de difusión por disco según los estándares del CLSI. La información recolectada de las historias clínicas y con ayuda de un cuestionario se utilizó para analizar la asociación con factores de riesgo potenciales usando el programa SPSS 13.0 para Windows. Resultados Se obtuvieron 11 aislamientos positivos para Staphylococcus aureus, de un total de 69 individuos participantes, lo que correspondió a una prevalencia de 15,9 por ciento. No se detectaron cepas resistentes a meticilina. La portación nasal de Staphylococcus aureus estuvo asociada significativamente con limitaciones en el nivel de movilidad y con la presencia de lesiones cutáneas. No se encontró asociación significativa con otros de los diferentes factores de riesgo analizados. Conclusiones. La portación nasal de S. aureus encontrada en este estudio es mucho más baja que las reportadas en estudios similares en Colombia y otros países, teniendo en cuenta que la población estudio es vulnerable a la colonización con este patógeno.

Objectives Determining Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage, antibiotic susceptibility and association with potential risk factors in residents from the Hogar Asilo de Ancianos San Pedro Claver nursing-home in Cartagena during the second semester of 2007. Methods Nasal swabs were taken from each person participating in the study after they had signed an informed consent form. Staphylococcus aureus strains were identified by classical methods; antibiotic susceptibility was determined by disk diffusion methods, according to CLSI standards. SPSS for Windows 13.0 statistical package was used for analysing data collected from medical records and from a questionnaire for analysing association with potential risk factors. Results 11 Staphylococcus aureus isolates were obtained from 69 participants, corresponding to 15.9 percent prevalence. No methicillin-resistant strains were detected. Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage was significantly associated with limited mobility and skin lesions. There was no significant association with the other risk factors analysed. Conclusions Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage found in this study was lower than that reported from other similar studies in other countries, taking into account that this is a population at risk for colonisation by this pathogen.

[Staphylococcus aureus in residents from a nursing-home in Cartagena]. / Staphylococcus aureus en residentes de un hogar de ancianos de Cartagena.

OBJECTIVES: Determining Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage, antibiotic susceptibility and association with potential risk factors in residents from the Hogar Asilo de Ancianos San Pedro Claver nursing-home in Cartagena during the second semester of 2007. METHODS: Nasal swabs were taken from each person participating in the study after they had signed an informed consent form. Staphylococcus aureus strains were identified by classical methods; antibiotic susceptibility was determined by disk diffusion methods, according to CLSI standards. SPSS for Windows 13.0 statistical package was used for analysing data collected from medical records and from a questionnaire for analysing association with potential risk factors. RESULTS: 11 Staphylococcus aureus isolates were obtained from 69 participants, corresponding to 15.9% prevalence. No methicillin-resistant strains were detected. Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage was significantly associated with limited mobility and skin lesions. There was no significant association with the other risk factors analysed. CONCLUSIONS: Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage found in this study was lower than that reported from other similar studies in other countries, taking into account that this is a population at risk for colonisation by this pathogen.