Utero-placental apoplexy during induction of therapeutic abortion in a 18-week pregnancy.

Utero-Placental Apoplexy, or Couvelaire Uterus, is a third-trimester major obstetrical complication, occurring especially during labor. It consists of placental abruption followed by an acute intradecidual hemorrhage produced by the rupture of the uterus-placental spiral arterioles leading to a retroplacental hematoma. This hemorrhage infiltrates the uterine wall up to intra- and retro-peritoneal areas. We provide a case report, on which no previous literature is available, of a utero-placental apoplexy during induction of therapeutic abortion.

Calibration of Ph. Eur. BRP batch 4 for oral poliomyelitis vaccine (OPV).

Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious disease that affects mostly young children and which may lead to paralysis and death. Prevalence of polio has considerably decreased. However, the effort of global eradication through immunisation needs to be continued to prevent infection risks in non-vaccinated populations by wild, as well as vaccine-derived, polioviruses. In addition, the stockpile of oral poliomyelitis vaccine (OPV) must be maintaine for emergency cases even after eradication. To this end relevant reference standards must be available for the quality control (QC) of polio vaccines. Stocks of the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) Biological Reference Preparation (BRP) batch 3 for the assay of OPV are dwindling and therefore a collaborative study was initiated by the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and HealthCare (EDQM) with the goal to establish a replacement batch as a working standard. Ten laboratories took part in the collaborative study to calibrate the candidate BRP (cBRP), a commercial trivalent OPV containing live attenuated poliovirus types 1, 2 and 3 (Sabin strain), against the WHO 2(nd) International Reference Reagent (IRR) for OPV and, for the sake of continuity, to compare it to the BRP batch 3. Based on the results of the collaborative study, the cBRP appears suitable as a reference standard and the potencies assigned are 7.28, 6.34, 7.01, and 7.52 log10CCID50/mL (CCID50: 50 % Cell Culture Infective Dose) for poliovirus type 1, 2 and 3 and for the total virus content respectively. The cBRP was adopted by the Ph. Eur. Commission at its 146(th) session in June 2013 as Ph. Eur. BRP batch 4 for OPV.

cDNA cloning and developmental expression of cellular nucleic acid-binding protein (CNBP) gene in Xenopus laevis.

The cloning and sequencing of a cDNA corresponding to one of the two Xenopus cellular nucleic acid binding protein (CNBP) genes are presented. Comparison of this cDNA sequence (xCNBP2) with the other previously reported (xCNBP1) reveals that, while the cDNA sequences are somewhat divergent, the amino acid sequences are mostly unchanged. It has been determined that both gene copies can generate a shorter transcript, likely due to alternative splicing, as previously demonstrated in human cells. The comparison of the cDNA sequences of Xenopus and of other species shows that the missing cDNA tract of Xenopus does not coincide with the others, consistent with the utilization of different splicing donor sites. The two gene copies are expressed at comparable levels, since the two corresponding mRNAs are similarly represented both in oocyte and embryo poly(A)(+) RNA. However, the shorter CNBP transcripts are slightly less represented than the longer CNBP transcripts, in both the oocyte and embryo. CNBP mRNA accumulation during development decreases before the mid-blastula stage and increases again thereafter. The polysome association of CNBP mRNA and the binding activity of CNBP to its target sequence of ribosomal protein mRNA 5'UTR have been analysed during development.

Resistance of ribosomal protein mRNA translation to protein synthesis shutoff induced by poliovirus.

Poliovirus infection induces an overall inhibition of host protein synthesis, although some mRNAs continue to be translated, suggesting different translation requirements for cellular mRNAs. It is known that ribosomal protein mRNAs are translationally regulated and that the phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6 is involved in the regulation. Here, we report that the translation of ribosomal protein mRNAs resists poliovirus infection and correlates with an increase in p70(s6k) activity and phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6.

Ochratoxin A levels in human milk and related food samples: an exposure assessment.

Ochratoxin A (OA) is a mycotoxin detected in a variety of food and feeds mostly from countries with temperate or continental climate, because the fungi that produce it, mainly Aspergillus ochraceus, Penicillium verrucosum, and Penicillium viridicatum, can grow under a great variety of climate conditions. The aim of this article was, firstly, to confirm the occurrence of OA in human milk in Italy. Then, a preliminary calculation of OA intake via human milk was made, from ingested food. For this investigation, food and milk samples were collected, continuously for a week, from 4 lactating mothers. The obtained results revealed a significant exposure of sucklings and mothers to OA levels higher than the tolerable daily intake as estimated from animal models. On the basis of these data, a major effort in planning surveillance and research programs to control OA contamination in food, feed, and biological fluids should be pursued.