An update on the management of acute pelvic inflammatory disease

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Fetal Fibronectin Test On Chinese Women With Symptoms Of Preterm Labour: A Pilot Study

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Surgical Management of Adnexal Masses in Pregnancy

Background and Objectives: Our objective was to review the surgical management, surgical outcomes, and obstetric outcomes of adnexal masses in pregnancy. Methods: A retrospective review was performed of pregnant women before 20 weeks of gestation who underwent laparoscopy or laparotomy for management of an adnexal mass during the period of January 2005 to June 2012 at a university-affiliated hospital. Results: Thirty-five pregnant women underwent surgical removal of adnexal masses during the 7.5-year study period: 21 (60.0%) underwent laparoscopic surgery, and 14 (40.0%) underwent laparotomy. The left upper quadrant entry technique was used in 20 women. Conversion to laparotomy was required in 2 women because of extensive pelvic adhesions. The mean gestational age at surgery was 15.2 ± 1.9 weeks. All women had undergone ovarian cystectomy. A malignant mass was found in 3 (8.6%) women. The laparoscopy group had a significantly less blood loss (67.4 ± 55.8 vs 153.6 ± 181.0 mL, P = .048) and shorter mean hospital stay (2.8 ± 1.0 vs 3.8 ± 1.1 days, P = .006) than the laparotomy group. One woman miscarried soon after surgery. There was no significant difference in obstetric outcomes between the laparoscopy and laparotomy groups. Conclusion: Surgical management of adnexal masses during pregnancy appears to have favorable outcomes for the mother and the fetus.published_or_final_versio

Predictors and outcomes of experiences deemed religious: A longitudinal investigation

Experiences deemed religious (EDRs) are events that a person regards as religious and/or supernatural. This study considered four such experiences—miraculous healing, glossolalia, unusual joy and peace during meditation or prayer, and prayer answered. We proposed a process model and conducted a longitudinal study to address three main research questions: (a) Who are more likely to have EDRs? (b) What effects would the experiences have on the person's subsequent spiritual and psychological conditions? (c) Are all EDRs alike? Findings suggest that EDRs can be predicted through certain common individual characteristics, such as vertical faith maturity (i.e., intimacy with the divine). However, there are also individual predictors that are EDR-specific. Regarding outcomes, the experience of unusual joy and peace during prayer and meditation heightens vertical faith maturity, motivates more religious practices, predicts better sleep quality at a later time, and perhaps improves quality of life. However, tongue speaking results in no change in any measured outcome variables. Neither does having prayers answered. Surprisingly, being healed from serious physical illness can have negative consequences. Results demonstrate that the EDRs should not be treated as the same when it comes to their antecedents and consequences.postprin

Purpose-driven life: Life goals as a predictor of quality of life and psychological health

On the basis of self-determination theory, we predicted that the pursuit of material goals might negatively affect quality of life and psychological outcomes including sleep quality and mood states. We further hypothesized that the link between religious affiliation and these outcome variables could be explained, at least partially, by life goals. Longitudinal data collected from 700 Chinese adults demonstrated that for both Christians and non-believers, material goals had a detrimental effect on outcome variables measured 6 months later. More importantly, material goals partially mediated the effects of religious affiliation. That is, Christians were different from non-believers on the outcome variables partly because the former did not go after material goals. For these believers, moreover, the pursuit of religion-based goals brought psychological benefits. Not only can certain life goals explain why people with religious faiths have better psychological health and quality of life, they can also explain why not every religious person feels good and is content about their lives.postprin

In vivo neuroprotection of melatonin against focal cerebral ischaemia in the rat

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Repeated doses of melatonin protects against focal cerebral ischemia in the rat

We studied the time window of neuroprotection against focal ischemia by a single dose or repeated doses of melatonin (MT) at 5 mg/kg. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (280 to 360 g) were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital (60 mg/kg, I.P.) to undergo reversible right-sided endovascular middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 3 hours. Arterial blood pressure, heart rate and cerebral blood flow were monitored, and rectal temperature was kept between 36.5 and 37.5 ºC throughout anesthesia. The control rats received 1 I.P. dose of the vehicle at the onset of ischemia, whereas experimental groups of rats received either 1 I.P. dose of MT at 0 or 60 minutes after onset of ischemia or 3 doses of MT at 1, 24, and 48 hours after onset of ischemia. The rats were decapitated on day 3 of MCAO, and their brains were stained with 2% triphenyltetrazolium chloride for determination of infarction. Results were compared using 2-tailed student’s t test. When compared to the relative infarct volume of 27.0±4.6% (mean±SEM; 7 rats) in the control group, a single (5 mg/kg) I.P. dose of MT did not significantly reduce the relative infarct volume (20.1±4.1% in the 0-minute group [8 rats]; 19.8±3.2% in the 60-minute group [9 rats]). Nevertheless, the relative infarct volume was significantly reduced to 13.9±3.4% (8 rats, P < 0.05) in the group which received 3 doses of MT. There was no significant difference in hemodynamic parameters among the groups. Thus, repeated doses rather than a single dose of exogenous MT protects against focal cerebral ischemia, when given 60 minutes after onset of ischemia. Supported by the CRCG Research Grant 10202138 of the University of Hong Kongpublished_or_final_versio

Psychological predictors of Chinese Christians’ church attendance and religious steadfastness: A three-wave prospective study

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Melatonin pretreatment protects against focal cerebral ischemia in the rat

Melatonin (MT) possesses many properties of an ideal neuroprotectant. In this study, the neuroprotective effects of exogenous MT were tested in a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) stroke model. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (280 to 360 g) were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital (60 mg/kg, I.P.) to undergo reversible right-sided endovascular MCAO for 3 hours. Arterial blood pressure, heart rate and cerebral blood flow (CBF) were monitored, and rectal temperature was kept between 36.5 and 37.5 ºC throughout anesthesia. One I.P. dose of MT (at 1.5, 5, or 15 mg/kg) or the vehicle was given 30 minutes before onset of ischemia. The rats were decapitated on day 3 of MCAO, and their brains were stained with 2% triphenyltetrazolium chloride for determination of infarction. Results were compared using 2-tailed student’s t test. When compared to the relative infarct volume of 31.8±3.3% (mean±SEM; 16 rats) in the control group, treatment with MT reduced the relative infarct volume in a dose-dependent manner (30.5±3.2% in the 1.5 mg/kg group [17 rats]; 15.9±2.2% in the 5 mg/kg group [16 rats], P < 0.05; 21.4±3.0% in the 15 mg/kg group [15 rats], P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in heart rate, arterial blood pressure and CBF among the groups. We concluded that a single dose of MT between 5 and 15 mg/kg protects against focal cerebral ischemia, when given 30 minutes before onset of ischemia. The above doses of MT do not produce significant hemodynamic effects nor alter the CBF during ischemia and reperfusion. Supported by the CRCG Research Grant 10202138 of the University of Hong Kongpublished_or_final_versio

Diffusion tensor imaging of renal ischemia/reperfusion injury

Session 67: Functional MRI of the Abdomen - Oral presentationRenal ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) is a major cause of acute renal failure in native and in transplanted kidneys. IRI in kidney associated with transplantation may also influence early graft function and late changes. Recently, anisotropy measurement with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been found to provide additional information about functional and structural status of kidney. In this study, we aim at characterizing diffusion properties of kidney with mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) in an experimental rat model of renal IRI. The experimental results demonstrated that DTI is useful in identifying renal IRI by characterizing the changes in MD and FA.published_or_final_versionThe 17th Scientific Meeting & Exhibition of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), Honolulu, HI., 18-24 April 2009. In Proceedings of ISMRM 17th Scientific Meeting & Exhibition, 2009, p. 66