Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Obstet Gynaecol 2019 Apr 25:1-8. Epub 2019 Apr 25.

c Department of Radiology , Federal Teaching Hospital , Abakaliki , Nigeria.

Fetal weight estimation is important in the management of labour and delivery. This study aimed to compare the accuracy of the clinical and ultrasound methods of fetal weight estimation. This was a prospective study involving 110 term cephalic singleton pregnancies delivered within 24 hours of clinical fetal weight estimation using Johnson's and Dare's formulae and ultrasound estimation at a Tertiary hospital in Abakaliki, Nigeria. Read More

Food Res Int 2019 Jun 19;120:295-304. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Environmental Science and Health Institute, Technological University Dublin, Grangegorman, Dublin 7, Ireland. Electronic address:

Selenoamino acids (SeAAs) have been shown to possess antioxidant and anticancer properties. However, their bioaccessibility is low and they may be toxic above the recommended nutritional intake level, thus improved targeted oral delivery methods are desirable. In this work, the SeAAs, Methylselenocysteine (MSC) and selenocystine (SeCys) were encapsulated into nanoparticles (NPs) using the mucoadhesive polymer chitosan (Cs), via ionotropic gelation with tripolyphosphate (TPP) and the NPs produced were then coated with zein (a maize derived prolamine rich protein). Read More

J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2019 Apr 18:1-211. Epub 2019 Apr 18.

d Alexandria Health , Boston , USA.

Objective: To evaluate whether extremely prolonged second stage of labor in nulliparous women affects mode of delivery and perinatal outcomes.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of nulliparous women with singleton gestations and cephalic presentation who reached 10 cm of cervical dilation at gestational age 36 0/7-41 6/7. Women were stratified by epidural status. Read More

Anesthesiology 2019 Apr 12. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

From the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts (L.B.) the Department of Emergency, Anesthesia and Critical Care, Foundation IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, and Department of Surgical Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, Milan, Italy (A.P.).

Respiratory function is fundamental in the practice of anesthesia. Knowledge of basic physiologic principles of respiration assists in the proper implementation of daily actions of induction and maintenance of general anesthesia, delivery of mechanical ventilation, discontinuation of mechanical and pharmacologic support, and return to the preoperative state. The current work provides a review of classic physiology and emphasizes features important to the anesthesiologist. Read More

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2019 Apr 17. Epub 2019 Apr 17.

Cationic nanocarriers have emerged as promising nanoparticles systems for the effective delivery of nucleic acid and anticancer drugs to cancer cells. Positive charge is desirable for promoting cell internalization, while it also causes some adverse effects, such as toxicity and rapid clearance by mononuclear phagocytic systems. Herein, a new strategy of modifying cationic polymer micelles with albumin forming a protein corona to improve the surface physiochemical properties is reported. Read More

Dtsch Med Wochenschr 2019 Apr 15;144(8):544-546. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Abteilung für Tropenmedizin und Infektiologie und Sektion Nephrologie, Zentrum für Innere Medizin II, Universitätsmedizin Rostock.

Clinical Case:  We report of a 25 year old woman who presented with acute dysuria. She had a normal vaginal delivery three months earlier. She developed increasing ascites and laboratory findings were indicative for acute renal failure. Read More

J Anesth 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.

Purpose: While high body mass index (BMI) is a recognized risk factor for pulmonary complications in adults, its importance as a risk factor for complications following pediatric surgery is poorly described. We evaluated the association between BMI and severe pediatric perioperative pulmonary complications (PPCs).

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we evaluated pediatric patients (aged 2-17 years) undergoing elective procedures in the 2015 Pediatric National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP-P). Read More

Open Access Maced J Med Sci 2019 Mar 15;7(6):1016-1020. Epub 2019 Mar 15.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Pediatrics, Anatomical Pathology, Medical Science Faculty of Udayana University, Sanglah Hospital, Bali, Indonesia.

Background: Immature teratoma is malignant ovarian germ cell tumours (MOGCTs). The case in pregnancy is very rare which less than 1% of all ovarian teratoma cases. The aim is to reach optimal and comprehensive management for immature ovarian teratoma in pregnancy to gain the healthiest maternal and fetal outcomes. Read More

Thyroid 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Reims, 26992, Service d'Endocrinologie - Diabète - Nutrition, Reims, Champagne-Ardenne, France.

Background: Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor (TSHR) antibodies (TRAb) can be present in chronic autoimmune thyroiditis. Transplacental TRAb transfer can lead to fetal thyroid dysfunction and serious complications.

Patient Findings: We report the case of a woman with autoimmune hypothyroidism and extremely high TRAb levels, with blocking and stimulating activities (biological activities characterized with Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing TSHR). Read More

Waste Manag Res 2019 Apr 8:734242X19838612. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

4 DNV-GL, Senior Principal Scientist, Norway.

For the first time since 1992, Oslo's household waste in 2017 was collected by The Agency for Waste Management in the City of Oslo (REN). Collections were taken over due to the contractor's poor delivery quality; however, complaints and breaches of the working hours provisions did not disappear after the REN take-over. A new operating model requiring a new route layout was simulated to determine whether new routes exceed normal work hours. Read More

Am J Obstet Gynecol 2019 Apr 4. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Background: Direct comparison meta-analyses have reported benefits with pre-surgical vaginal preparation prior to cesarean delivery for the reduction of endometritis. These reports did not perform a multi-treatment comparison of the various antiseptic solutions assessed in prior studies.

Objective: To systematically review the literature and indirectly quantitate and summarize the comparative efficacy of antiseptic formulations and their concentrations employed for preparation of the vagina prior to cesarean delivery in preventing endometritis and other infectious complications. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2019 Apr 2;132:784-794. Epub 2019 Apr 2.

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirapalli 620015, Tamilnadu, India. Electronic address:

The therapeutic prospective of a novel carrier based delivery of phyto-derived quercetin (QE) extracted from onion peel waste was studied in the present work. Dialdehyde cellulose (DAC) developed from sugarcane bagasse (SCB) cellulose effectively crosslinked chitosan hydrogel. The hydrogel matrices were embedded with green zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), phyto-synthesized using musk melon seeds. Read More

ACS Nano 2019 Apr 4;13(4):3910-3923. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

Key Laboratory of Drug-Targeting and Drug Delivery System of the Education Ministry, Sichuan Engineering Laboratory for Plant-Sourced Drug and Sichuan Research Center for Drug Precision Industrial Technology, West China School of Pharmacy , Sichuan University , Chengdu 610064 , China.

Liver fibrosis is a serious liver disease associated with high morbidity and mortality. The activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and the overproduction of extracellular matrix proteins are key features during disease progression. In this work, chondroitin sulfate nanomicelles (CSmicelles) were developed as a delivery system targeting HSCs for the treatment of liver fibrosis. Read More

Int J Nanomedicine 2019 15;14:1953-1968. Epub 2019 Mar 15.

Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt,

Introduction And Aim: Olmesartan medoxomil (OLM) is an antihypertensive drug with low oral bioavailability due to extensive first-pass metabolism. This study aimed to prepare transetho somes (TEs) for enhancing the transdermal delivery of OLM to avoid its oral problems.

Methods: TE formulae were prepared utilizing 51. Read More

Hu Li Za Zhi 2019 Apr;66(2):36-47

PhD, Professor, Department of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taiwan, ROC.

Background: The process of hospital admission undergone by expectant mothers readily induces feelings of loss of control, anxiousness, and uncertainty. Thus, education to promote the proper response of women to their impending hospital admission may be beneficial in terms of minimizing the number of labor-related hospital trips and the wastage of medical resources.

Purpose: To explore the effects a labor-admission education program on perceived anxiousness, uncertainty, locus of control, and labor outcomes in expectant mothers. Read More

Expert Opin Pharmacother 2019 Mar 29:1-7. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

b Diabetes Centre, Second Department of Internal Medicine , Democritus University of Thrace, University Hospital of Alexandroupolis , Alexandroupolis , Greece.

Introduction: In women with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), pregnancy is associated with a potential risk of maternal, foetal and neonatal outcomes. Stringent metabolic control is required to improve these outcomes. Areas covered: In this review, the authors summarise the current evidence from studies on the pharmacological therapy and on monitoring of T1DM during pregnancy. Read More

Phys Med Biol 2019 Mar 28. Epub 2019 Mar 28.

Medical Physics, Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA.

The use of treatment plan characteristics to predict patient-specific quality assurance (QA) measurement results has recently been reported as a strategy to help facilitate automated pre-treatment verification workflows or to provide a virtual assessment of delivery quality. The goal of this work is to investigate the potential of using treatment plan characteristics and linac performance metrics (i.e. Read More

Health Econ Rev 2019 Mar 27;9(1):11. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

Département Biomédical et Santé Publique, Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS/CNRST), 03 BP 7192, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Background: In April 2016, Burkina Faso introduced a free health care policy for women. Instead of reimbursing health facilities, as many sub-Saharan countries do, the government paid them prospectively for covered services to avoid reimbursement delays, which are cited as a reason for the persistence of out-of-pocket (OOP) payments. This study aimed to (i) estimate the direct expenditures of deliveries and covered obstetric care, (ii) determine the OOP payments, and (iii) identify the patient and health facility characteristics associated with OOP payments. Read More

Oncogene 2019 Mar 27. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.

Angiogenesis is critical to cancer development and metastasis. However, anti-angiogenic agents have only had modest therapeutic success, partly due to an incomplete understanding of tumor endothelial cell (EC) biology. We previously reported that the microRNA (miR)-200 family inhibits metastasis through regulation of tumor angiogenesis, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly characterized. Read More

BMJ Open 2019 Mar 27;9(3):e027160. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Brugmann, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.

Introduction: Macrosomia refers to growth beyond a specific threshold, regardless of gestational age. These fetuses are also frequently referred to as large for gestational age (LGA). Various cut-offs have been used but for research purposes, a cut-off above the 95th centile for birth weight is often preferred because it defines 90% of the population as normal weight. Read More

Harefuah 2019 Mar;158(3):184-186

Hematology Institute and Blood Bank.

Introduction: Acquired hemophilia A is a rare disease. The incidence has been estimated to be 1.3-1. Read More

Taiwan J Obstet Gynecol 2019 Mar;58(2):278-281

Department of Obstetrics and Perinatology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland.

Objective: Ultrasound estimation of foetal weight is a very important aspect of antenatal care. The role of amniotic fluid volume as a potential factor which may impede the relevance of ultrasonographic foetal weight estimation is still questionable. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of isolated oligohydramnios on the accuracy of ultrasound foetal weight estimation in at term pregnancies when examination was performed within 48 h before delivery. Read More

Taiwan J Obstet Gynecol 2019 Mar;58(2):244-250

Department of Physiology, U.P. University of Medical Sciences, House No. 168, Kaveri Kunj, Phase II, Kamla Nagar, Saifai, Etawah, Agra, 282005, Uttar Pradesh, India. Electronic address:

Objectives: Compare serum uric acid and calcium levels among normotensive and hypertensive pregnant women, to compare maternal and perinatal outcomes in two groups.

Materials And Methods: Prospective case control study was conducted after ethical approval in Obstetrics and Gynaecology department of rural tertiary care centre of Northern India, over seven months. Total 220 antenatal women ≥34 weeks of gestation with 110 cases having hypertensive disorder of pregnancy and 110 controls with normal blood pressure were compared for maternal uric acid and calcium levels and maternal, perinatal outcomes. Read More

Ultraschall Med 2019 Mar 25. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University-Hospital Münster, Germany.

Purpose:  To evaluate cervical elastography strain pattern as a predictive marker for spontaneous preterm delivery (SPTD).

Materials And Methods:  In this case-control study cervical length (CL) and elastographic data (strain ratio, elastography index, strain pattern score) were acquired from 335 pregnant women (20th - 34th week of gestation) by transvaginal ultrasound. Data of 50 preterm deliveries were compared with 285 normal controls. Read More

J Neonatal Perinatal Med 2019 Mar 20. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

Department of Pediatrics, Staten Island University Hospital Northwell Health, Staten Island, NY, USA.

Biophysical profile (BPP) with ultrasound performed for a 32-year-old G5P3013 admitted at 31 weeks gestation with preterm, premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) noted an extracalvarial mass concerning for an encephalocele. Fetal MRI demonstrated edema over the occiput with no definable lesion visualized. Preterm labor requiring Cesarean delivery resulted in a live male neonate at 33 weeks gestation. Read More

ChemMedChem 2019 Mar 25. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.

Doxorubicin (Dox) is a widely used fluorescent chemotherapy drug. Its primary delivery systems, based on physical adsorption to silica nanoparticles, can lead to low drug loading. Direct loading of Dox via covalent bonds during the formation of silica nanoparticles has never been reported. Read More

J Gynecol Obstet Hum Reprod 2019 Mar 19. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

Department of Obstetrics, Jeanne de Flandre Hospital, University Hospital of Lille, Lille 59000, France; EA 4489-Perinatal, Environment and health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lille, Lille 59000, France.

Background: Recommendations by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) on gestational weight gain (GWG) for women with histories of bariatric surgery have yet to be studied.

Objectives: To describe GWG in women with histories of bariatric surgery and to investigate the relationship between GWG and maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Study Design: A bicentric retrospective study on the medical charts of pregnant women with histories of bariatric surgery who delivered between 2003 and 2017 in two level III maternity units. Read More

Soc Work Health Care 2019 May-Jun;58(5):494-508. Epub 2019 Mar 22.

a Department of Social Work , Umeå University , Umeå , Sweden.

The oncology social worker is a core profession in the psychosocial care of cancer patients, and has been scrutinised according to its role, function, and delivery of care, primarily from an Anglo-Saxon perspective. There is, however, a lack of studies outside this context, and empirical studies based on individual data. This study is a contribution by exploring the variability in clinical practice from a Swedish perspective. Read More

Nanotheranostics 2019 11;3(1):120-134. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Department of Chemistry, Pittsburg State University, 1701 S. Broadway Street, Pittsburg, Kansas 66762, United States.

K-RAS is the most common mutated oncogene associated with Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). So far, there are no promising chemotherapies for the direct inhibition of K-RAS, and considered to be undruggable. In this work, we have introduced a new platinum-based cyanoximate complex, Pt(MCO) as an anti-cancer drug to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of Hsp90 inhibitor drug, ganetespib for the combination therapy of NSCLC. Read More

Drug Deliv 2019 Dec;26(1):300-308

a School of Chemistry & Materials Science , Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Green Synthetic Chemistry for Functional Materials, Jiangsu Normal University , Xuzhou , China.

We describe a biodegradable amphiphilic polyurethane (PU) with disulfide bonds in the main chain [PEtOz-b-PU(SS)-b-PEtOz]. This multi-block PU was synthesized using poly (ε-caprolactone) diol (PCL-SS-PCL) and poly (2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOz-OH) as soft segments, and bis (2-isocyanatoethyl) disulfide as the hard segment. Acid-sensitive PEtOz-OH was used as a hydrophilic segment for pH sensitivity. Read More

Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl 2019 Jun 6;99:805-815. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Biomaterials Group, The Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (TIPS), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417614411, Iran; Department of Pharmaceutical Biomaterials, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address:

In this work, a multifunctional magnetic Bio-Metal-Organic Framework (FeO@Bio-MOF) coated with folic acid-chitosan conjugate (FC) was successfully prepared for tumor-targeted delivery of curcumin (CUR) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) simultaneously. Bio-MOF nanocomposite based on CUR as organic linker and zinc as metal ion was prepared by hydrothermal method in the presence of amine-functionalized FeO magnetic nanoparticles (FeO@NH MNPs). 5-FU was loaded in the magnetic Bio-MOF and the obtained nanocarrier was then coated with FC network. Read More

Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl 2019 Jun 2;99:505-510. Epub 2019 Feb 2.

School of Physics and Information Technology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China.

In this paper, the adsorption behavior of DNA on 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3- phosphocholine (DPPC) and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) mixed lipid monolayers had been studied at the air-water interface through the surface pressure-area curves (π-A), adsorption curves (π/π-t), excess mean area (∆A), excess Gibbs free energy (∆G) and the atomic force microscopy (AFM). π-A isotherms showed that the curves moved to larger mean molecular area after DNA added into subphase, however, the curves shifted to smaller mean molecular area when the concentration of DNA was higher than 1.2 μg/mL. Read More

Langmuir 2019 Apr 29;35(15):5364-5371. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering , Southeast University , Nanjing 210096 , China.

Pulmonary drug delivery is superior to the systemic administration in treating lung diseases. An optimal respiratory nanocarrier should be able to efficiently and safely cross the pulmonary surfactant film, which serves as the first biological barrier for respiratory delivery and plays paramount roles in maintaining the proper mechanics of breathing. In this work, we focused on the interactions between poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers and a model pulmonary surfactant. Read More

PLoS One 2019 18;14(3):e0213733. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States of America.

Background: About 25% of women in the United States are obese prior to becoming pregnant. Although there is some knowledge about the relationship between the gastrointestinal microbiota and obesity, little is known about the relationship between pre-pregnancy obesity and the gastrointestinal microbiota in pregnancy or its impact on infant gut microbiota. However, the composition of the gut microbiota early in life may influence childhood health. Read More

Int J Nanomedicine 2018 15;13(T-NANO 2014 Abstracts):31-33. Epub 2018 Mar 15.

Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Ramanbhai Patel College of Pharmacy, Charotar University of Science and Technology, Changa, Gujarat, India.

Systemic chemotherapy has been shown to produce side effects. A small fraction of the drug reaches the tumor site; other healthy organs or normal tissues get affected or damaged due to the nonspecific action of these cytotoxic agents. Furthermore, due to their short period of activity, repeat injections are often required, which can lead to the exacerbation of side effects and inconvenience. Read More

Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis 2019;14:585-595. Epub 2019 Mar 1.

Division of Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA,

Purpose: Adequate peak inspiratory flow rate (PIFR) is required for drug dispersion with dry powder inhalers (DPIs). Prevalence of PIFR discordance (suboptimal PIFR with prescribed inhalers) and factors influencing device-specific PIFR are unclear in COPD. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of PIFR discordance and associated clinical factors in a stable COPD population. Read More

Biomaterials 2019 Jun 21;204:46-58. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery (Ministry of Education), State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Shanghai, 201203, PR China. Electronic address:

Real-time monitor of drug-release from drug formulations in a noninvasive way can provide spatio-temporal information for drug activation and guide further clinical rational administration. In this work, a molecular shuttle, as a typical nanosized artificial molecular machine, was managed to act as a conceptually-new nanotheranostics for oxaliplatin. A post-recognition strategy was utilized, where a default supramolecular-dye couple was pre-blocked. Read More

Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2019 Mar 2;236:26-31. Epub 2019 Mar 2.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, "Filippo Del Ponte" Hospital, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy.

Objective(s): To assess incidence, risk factors, management, and short and long-term outcomes of unintentional transvesical caesarean section (UTV-CS) defined as any extraction of the fetus through a double full thickness bladder wall cystotomy.

Study Design: Data about all UTV-CS between January 2013 and December 2017 were retrieved searching the diagnosis of bladder injury and bladder repair during caesarean section (CS) in our comprehensive computerized labor and delivery database and register. CS with bladder wall injury not classified as UTV-CS were excluded. Read More

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2019 Mar 7;178:245-252. Epub 2019 Mar 7.

College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, PR China. Electronic address:

In this work, the incorporation of O/W microemulsion in gellan gum hydrogels was performed to prepare the composite hydrogel as the carrier of apigenin. In vitro release studies resulted that the composite hydrogels could control the drug release under acidic (pH 1.2) and weak alkaline conditions (pH 7. Read More

Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet 2019 Mar 14;41(3):147-154. Epub 2019 Mar 14.

Bedfordshire Centre for Mental Health Research in association with University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Objective:  The objective of the present study was to explore obstetric management in relation to clinical, maternal and child health outcomes by using the Robson classification system.

Methods:  Data was collected from obstetrics registries in tertiary care hospitals in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Results:  The analysis of > 5,400 deliveries (60% of all the deliveries in 2016) in major maternity hospitals in Dubai showed that groups 5, 8 and 9 of Robson's classification were the largest contributors to the overall cesarean section (CS) rate and accounted for 30% of the total CS rate. Read More

Birth 2019 Mar 12. Epub 2019 Mar 12.

Department of Surgery, Medical and Social Sciences, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain.

Introduction: Uterine fundal pressure, or the Kristeller maneuver (KM), is a non-evidence-based procedure used in the second stage of labor to physically force the fetus to delivery. Even though officially banned, the KM is practiced in 25% of vaginal deliveries in Spain.

Methods: Using semi-structured interviews (N = 10 women, N = 15 midwives, N = 3 obstetricians), we sought to understand how providers justify using the KM, and to describe the current circumstances in which the KM is practiced. Read More

Pak J Pharm Sci 2019 Jan;32(1(Special)):421-426

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.

At present, the main methods of clinical treatment of ovarian cancer are cytoreductive surgery and multidrug combination chemotherapy, in which multidrug combination chemotherapy is based on platinum drugs. Mifepristone can be used as an adjuvant drug for the treatment of drug-resistant and refractory ovarian cancer because of its convenient oral administration, long half-life, low cytotoxicity to normal cells, anti-tumor activity and chemosensitizing effect. This article analyzed the clinical effect of mifepristone combined with bevacizumab in the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer. Read More

Reprod Sci 2019 Mar 7:1933719119834351. Epub 2019 Mar 7.

2 Department of Obstetrics, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.

Objective:: The purpose of this study was to analyze the autophagy of the human uterine myometrium during the labor.

Methods:: We collected uterine myometrium strips from term, singleton, nulliparous healthy women undergoing cesarean delivery before labor (nonlabor group, n = 10) or during normal labor (in-labor group, n = 10) without rupturing of membrane. The indications for cesarean delivery were breech presentation or maternal request. Read More

Biomed Pharmacother 2019 Mar 12;111:1147-1155. Epub 2019 Jan 12.

Chair of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry, Warsaw University of Technology, Noakowskiego 3 St., 00-664, Warsaw, Poland.

This article describes the work on synthesis, surface functionalization and characterization of hollow gold nanoshells (HGNs), and their application in a photothermal tumor therapy. The studied gold nanoshells were synthesized using a method based on a reduction of HAuCl onto silver nanoparticle templates. A selected aptamer - AS1411 - selective towards nucleolin, with a terminal thiol group was conjugated to HGNs. Read More

Artif Cells Nanomed Biotechnol 2019 Dec;47(1):801-811

a Department of Pharmacology, Laboratory of Chinese Herbal Pharmacology , Biomedical Research Institute, Hubei University of Medicine , Shiyan , Hubei , China.

Icariin (ICA), a major active ingredient from Chinese medicine, has unique pharmacological effects on ischaemic heart disease. However, its hydrophobic property limits its administration and leads to poor efficacy. This work aimed to change its hydrophobic property and improve the treatment efficacy. Read More

Bioconjug Chem 2019 Apr 12. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Ovarian cancer is commonly diagnosed only after it has metastasized to the abdominal cavity (stage III). While the current standard of care of intraperitoneal (IP) administration of cisplatin and paclitaxel (PTX) combination chemotherapy has benefit, patient 5-year survival rates are low and have not significantly improved in the past decade. The ability to target chemotherapy selectively to ovarian tumors while sparing normal tissue would improve efficacy and decrease toxicities. Read More

J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2019 Mar 19:1-10. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

g Department of Neonatology , University Hospitals Leuven , Leuven , Belgium.

Context: Thyroid hormones are indispensable for normal fetal development. Since the fetus depends to a large extent on maternal thyroid hormone supply through the placenta, this challenges maternal thyroid economy. Several molecular mechanisms are involved in placental thyroid hormone transport and metabolism. Read More

Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl 2019 May 9;98:772-781. Epub 2019 Jan 9.

Department of Applied Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad 826004, Jharkhand, India. Electronic address:

Development of multifunctional nanoscale materials for targeted drug delivery in liver tumor cells has been realized in this work. Recently, nanoscale metal organic frameworks (NMOFs) have been used as a potential drug carrier for its unique characteristic properties. Here we have demonstrated a single step approach for the fabrication of lactobionic acid (LA) modified NH-MIL-53(Al) NMOFs via green synthetic process. Read More

Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl 2019 May 2;98:65-73. Epub 2019 Jan 2.

School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, Fujian Province, China. Electronic address:

Since FeO nanoparticles synthesized by plant extracts possess good bio-compatibility and superparamagnetic properties, the possibility of these could be used as a carrier in drug delivery. In this work, doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), an anti-cancer drug, loaded on glutaric anhydride-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (FeO@SiO-Glu) was investigated at varying pH values for effective drug delivery. Various factors affecting the adsorption of DOX onto the FeO@SiO-Glu were examined, where the adsorption efficiency of DOX reached 92% at a concentration of 20 mg/L employing 10 mg of FeO@SiO-Glu at 303 K in pH 7. Read More

MedEdPORTAL 2018 Feb 27;14:10687. Epub 2018 Feb 27.

Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Introduction: The Johns Hopkins Pediatrics Clerkship developed this growth module as part of the PRECEDE (preclerkship educational exercises) curriculum, with the primary goal of providing students with experiential, explicit, and standardized instruction in essential pediatric clinical skills to better prepare them to utilize these skills during their clerkship.

Methods: This 2-hour growth module begins with a 45-minute didactic overview of growth, including discussion of normal growth, normal variants of growth, and disorders that affect growth, and contains interactive elements to engage the students. Students then divide into groups of four to six, each with a faculty facilitator to work through three cases in a guided discussion to explore specific aspects of growth that may be encountered in a pediatric evaluation. Read More