foetus

AIM: To explore the recognition of pregnant nurses on how they managed their health conditions to examine safe working strategies. DESIGN: A qualitative study with a grounded theory approach. METHODS: Twenty-one nurses engaged in work during their pregnancy were recruited and interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire from January to June 2021. The data were analysed using a constant comparative method. RESULTS: The core category 'duelling roles' and the four other categories emerged...

INTRODUCTION: Vaccination during pregnancy protects both the mother and the foetus from vaccine-preventable diseases. However, uptake of the recommended vaccines (influenza, pertussis, COVID-19) by pregnant women remains low in Europe and the USA. Understanding the reasons for this is crucial to inform strategies to increase vaccination rates in pregnant women. This qualitative systematic review aimed to identify the barriers and facilitators to vaccination against influenza, pertussis/whooping cough and COVID-19 during pregnancy and identify possible strategies to increase vaccination rates...

Aplastic anaemia (AA) is a rare and life-threatening haematologic disorder characterised by pancytopenia and bone marrow failure. Its occurrence during pregnancy is exceedingly rare, posing significant risks and management challenges for both the mother and the foetus. We present here the case of a 23-year-old female, six months pregnant, diagnosed with severe aplastic anaemia (AA), aiming to highlight the diagnostic challenges and management considerations of AA in pregnancy. Our case underscores the critical nature of considering aplastic anaemia in differential diagnosis for pregnant patients presenting with unexplained pancytopenia...

OBJECTIVES: To compare attitudes toward abortion among youth before and after the Polish Constitutional Tribunal introduced abortion ban in October 2020. STUDY DESIGN: The study uses two nationally representative samples of final-year secondary school students conducted in Poland before (year 2018, N=1,609) and after the abortion ban (year 2021, N=1,513). RESULTS: The support for abortion increased between 2018 and 2021 (OR=2.77 in foetus impairment case; OR=2...

Coat colour largely determines the market demand for several cat breeds. The KIT proto-oncogene (KIT) gene is a key gene controlling melanoblast differentiation and melanogenesis. KIT mutations usually cause varied changes in coat colour in mammalian species. In this study, we used a pair of single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs) to delete exon 17 of KIT in somatic cells isolated from two different Chinese Li Hua feline foetuses. Edited cells were used as donor nuclei for somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) to generate cloned embryos presenting an average cleavage rate exceeding 85%, and an average blastocyst formation rate exceeding 9...

In this Inaugural Article the author briefly revises its scientific career and how he starts to work with parasitic protozoa. Emphasis is given to his contribution to topics such as a) the structural organization of the surface of protozoa using freeze-fracture and deep-etching; b) the cytoskeleton of protozoa, especially structures such as the subpellicular microtubules of trypanosomatids, the conoid of Toxoplasma gondii , microtubules and inner membrane complex of this protozoan, and the costa of Tritrichomonas foetus ; c) the flagellulm of trypanosomatids, that in addition to the axoneme contains a complex network of filaments that constitute the paraflagellar rod; d) special organelles such as the acidocalcisome, hydrogenosome, and glycosome; and e) the highly polarized endocytic pathway found in epimastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi ...

Huntington's disease is a dominantly inherited disorder characterized by the dysfunction and death of cortical and striatal neurons. Striatal degeneration in Huntington's disease is due, at least in part, to defective cortical signalling to the striatum. Although Huntington's disease generally manifests at the adult stage, mouse and neuroimaging studies of presymptomatic mutation carriers suggest that it may affect neurodevelopment. In support of this notion, the development of the cortex is altered in mice with Huntington's disease and the foetuses of human Huntington's disease gene carriers...

During pregnancy and in the post-partum period, several diseases may arise or become exacerbated. Acute pancreatitis is an inflammatory disease with an increasing incidence in Western countries. The incidence of acute pancreatitis during pregnancy is not different with respect to the general population, but this incidence increases in the first 2 years after delivery. Biliary sludge and stones are the most frequent aetiologies, followed by hypertriglyceridemia. Taking care of the mother and foetus through a potentially severe disease requires a team consisting of an obstetrician, a gastroenterologist, an anaesthesiologist, and a surgeon...

Malaria presents a huge threat to pregnant women, their foetus, and children below five years. This study is aimed at assessing malaria prevalence, associated clinical symptoms, and urine abnormalities among pregnant women in Aba metropolis, Abia State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study involving 450 pregnant women purposively selected from nine health care centres was conducted. Data were analysed using SPSS version 26. The overall malaria prevalence rate was 68.4% ( n = 308). Age group of 21-25 years had the highest prevalence rate of 20...

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) occurs both in humans and domestic species. It has a particularly high incidence in pigs, and is a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality as well as impaired postnatal growth. A key feature of IUGR is impaired muscle development, resulting in decreased meat quality. Understanding the developmental origins of IUGR, particularly at the molecular level, is important for developing effective strategies to mitigate its economic impact on the pig industry and animal welfare...

BACKGROUND: Small bowel obstruction can occur during pregnancy, which, if missed, can lead to dire consequences for both the mother and foetus. Management of this condition usually requires surgical intervention. However, only a small number of patients are treated conservatively. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to review the literature to determine the feasibility of conservative management for small bowel obstruction. METHODS: A systematic search of the PubMed and Embase databases was performed using the keywords [small bowel obstruction AND pregnancy]...

BACKGROUND: A substantial proportion of the world population is affected by malaria with 241 million malaria cases reported globally. Intermittent Preventive Treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) with Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) is an effective chemotherapy but its utilisation has not been optimised. Few studies focus on young mothers and their experiences regarding the optimal uptake of IPTp-SP. METHODS: The study design was cross-sectional with data derived from six focus group discussions with mothers aged 15-24 years who had a pregnancy and gave birth to a live baby within the last two years in Kisumu and Migori counties, Kenya...

OBJECTIVE: To share our experience with belimumab in lupus pregnant women and to review the relevant published literature on its use in this scenario. METHODS: A prospective observational study of pregnant patients with lupus was conducted. Additionally, MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched, and a secondary hand search of the literature was performed. Studies were evaluated and visualised descriptively. RESULTS: Sixteen pregnancies of 12 lupus women were included, six (involving eight pregnancies) received belimumab throughout their illness, five of them during some period of gestation...

BACKGROUND: Despite multiple recommendations and strategies implemented at a national and international level, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and cannabis use during pregnancy remains high in most countries. The objective of this study was to examine key stakeholders' perception of the treatment interventions adopted in Spain, to identify political, organizational and personal factors associated with successful implementation, and to propose strategies for improvement. METHODS: A qualitative study with a phenomenological approach was conducted in 2022...

INTRODUCTION: Uganda with 17.8 stillbirths per 1,000 deliveries in 2021, is among the countries with a high burden of stillbirths globally. In 2014, Uganda adopted the World Health Organization Every New-born Action Plan (ENAP), which targets < 10 stillbirths per 1,000 deliveries by 2035. Little is known about the trends of stillbirth burden since ENAP was introduced. We assessed the temporal, and spatial distribution of stillbirths, in Uganda, 2014-2020, to inform programming for safe pregnancies and deliveries...

BACKGROUND: Despite recent advances in prenatal genetic diagnosis, medical geneticists still face considerable difficulty in interpreting the clinical outcome of copy-number-variant duplications and defining the mechanisms underlying the formation of certain chromosomal rearrangements. Optical genome mapping (OGM) is an emerging cytogenomic tool with proved ability to identify the full spectrum of cytogenetic aberrations. METHODS: Here, we report on the use of OGM in a prenatal diagnosis setting...

Malaria in pregnancy has severe consequences for the mother and foetus. Antibody response to specific malaria vaccine candidates (MVC) has been associated with a decreased risk of clinical malaria and its outcomes. We studied Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) and Schistosoma haematobium (Sh) infections and factors that could influence antibody responses to MVC in pregnant women. A total of 337 pregnant women receiving antenatal care (ANC) and 139 for delivery participated in this study. Pf infection was detected by qPCR and Sh infection using urine filtration method...

OBJECTIVE: If a small for gestational age (SGA) foetus needs to be delivered because of severity (< 3rd centile) attempting induction of labor theoretically increases the risk of caesarean section and neonatal acidosis, but these risks are poorly understood. This article aims to assess the risk of caesarean section and neonatal acidosis in attempted vaginal birth of a moderately preterm foetus in the setting of severe SGA. METHOD: A single-centre hospital-based observational study conducted over a period of 17 consecutive years in mothers with a single foetus in cephalic presentation with severe SGA (< 3rd centile) needing foetal extraction...

BACKGROUND: Folic acid, a water-soluble B-complex vitamin, plays a crucial role in DNA synthesis and maintenance, making it particularly significant during reproduction. Its well-known ability to reduce the risk of congenital anomalies during the periconceptional period underscores its importance. The increased requirement for folate during pregnancy and lactation is essential to support the physiological changes of the mother and ensure optimal growth and development of the foetus and offspring...

BACKGROUND: Fetomaternal Rhesus incompatibility is a medical condition that affects the pregnant woman [of blood group (A, B, AB, O) and a negative Rhesus] and the foetus (of positive Rhesus). The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence and to present the clinical characteristics of fetomaternal Rhesus incompatibility in a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: The authors conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study and 37 participants were recorded during the study period of 4 years...