Cholestasis gravidarum in women in the second and third trimester of gestation, clinical and specific pharmacological treatment and its benefits

Introduction: cholestasis gravidarum is a syndrome that usually occurs in pregnant women in the second or third trimester of pregnancy and ends in the puerperium. It is clinically characterized by the presence of predominantly nocturnal pruritus that is palmoplantar at first and then generalized. Alterations in liver function with or without jaundice and elevated serum bile acid levels, biochemical cholestasis is classified as mild to moderate in severity.This pathology does not have significant consequences for the mother, but it is associated with a high risk of affecting the newborn, such as premature delivery, fetal distress, fetal arrhythmias and intrauterine death. Objective: diagnostic methods and behaviors in their pharmacological treatments that provide the best results for those patients. Methods: systematic review with qualitative database from the PUBMED platform. The articles were downloaded from the PUBMED platform and Zotero was used to make the proper citations and references. In the investigation, the population will be composed of adult female patients who were admitted to any health care unit during the second and third trimesters. Results: the PUBMED database was used with the following MESH terms (cholestasis of pregnancy) that generated 2 597 results. 28 articles were analyzed in more depth, of which 12 articles were finally selected for the final analysis. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), a beta epimer of chenodeoxycholic acid, is a more polar bile acid than primary bile acids, with substantial choleretic and multiple other chemoprotective effects. The mechanism of action is not fully understood, but studies have shown that after treatment there is a reduction in total serum bile acids in both maternal and umbilical cord serum and a qualitative change in bile acid pool. serum. When compared to all controls, UDCA was also found to be associated with a decreased incidence of preterm birth, neonatal respiratory distress, and the number of neonatal intensive care unit admissions. Conclusion: the treatment of cholestasis gravidarum is the oral administration of ursodeoxycholic acid, it is effective and safe in the treatment of patients with cholestasis gravidarum

Improving corporate governance in state-owned corporations in China: which way forward?

This article discusses corporate governance in China. It outlines the basic agency problem in Chinese listed companies and questions the effectiveness of the current mechanisms employed to improve their standards of governance. Importantly, it considers alternative means through which corporate practice in China can be brought into line with international expectations and stresses the urgency with which this task must be tackled. It concludes that regulators in China must construct a corporate governance model which is compatible with its domestic setting and not rush to adopt governance initiatives modelled on those in cultures which are fundamentally different in the hope of also reproducing their success

Cholestasis gravidarum in women in the second and third trimester of gestation, clinical and specific pharmacological treatment and its benefits. An evidence-based approach

Introduction: cholestasis gravidarum is a syndrome that usually occurs in pregnant women in the second or third trimester of gestation and ends in the puerperium. It is clinically characterized by the presence of predominantly nocturnal pruritus that is initially palmo-plantar and then generalized. With alterations in liver function with or without jaundice and elevated serum bile acid levels, biochemical cholestasis is classified as mild to moderate severity. Objective: diagnostic methods and pharmacological treatment approaches that provide the best results for these patients. Methods: systematic review using the terms MESH (cholestasis of pregnancy) that generated 2597 results. Results: 28 papers were analyzed in more detail, of which 12 papers were finally selected for the final analysis. Treatment: Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), a beta epimer of chenodeoxycholic acid, is a bile acid more polar than primary bile acids, with substantial choleretic and other multiple chemoprotective effects. The mechanism of action is not completely understood, but studies have shown that after treatment there is a reduction in total serum bile acids in both maternal and cord serum and a qualitative change in the serum bile acid pool. When compared with all controls, UDCA was also found to be associated with a decrease in the incidence of preterm birth, neonatal respiratory distress, and the number of neonatal admissions to intensive care units. Conclusions: the treatment of cholestasis gravidarum is oral administration of ursodeoxycholic acid is effective and safe in the treatment of patients with cholestasis gravidaru

Systematic review on the safety of the use of quinolones in the pediatric population

Background: the safety of fluoroquinolones in the pediatric population has been a matter of concern due to the potential for adverse effects such as growth cartilage toxicity. Despite their broad antimicrobial spectrum and efficacy, the prescription of fluoroquinolones in children and adolescents is limited by the risk of arthralgias and other side effects. This study aims to evaluate the safety of fluoroquinolones in pediatric patients and the impact of regulatory actions on their prescription. Method: a systematic review of studies investigating the safety of fluoroquinolones in the pediatric population was conducted. Studies that met specific inclusion criteria were selected, and relevant information on the decrease in fluoroquinolone prescriptions and their adverse effects was extracted. Results: in the study on the safety and tolerability of quinolones in the pediatric population, 22 % (199/904) of patients experienced adverse events following treatment with quinolones. Gastrointestinal disorders, such as nausea and diarrhea, were the most frequent, affecting 12 % (108/904) of patients. This was followed by skin rashes and effects on the central nervous system, at 5 % (45/904) and 3 % (27/904) respectively. Moxifloxacin demonstrated good tolerability across all age cohorts, without significant joint or neuropathic adverse findings. Specific safety studies of moxifloxacin confirmed its safety, showing no significant differences in safety variables compared to other antibiotics. Conclusion: it is crucial to continue monitoring the safety of fluoroquinolones in the pediatric population to ensure an adequate balance between the benefits and risks of their use

High order amplitude equation for steps on creep curve

We consider a model proposed by one of the authors for a type of plastic instability found in creep experiments which reproduces a number of experimentally observed features. The model consists of three coupled non-linear differential equations describing the evolution of three types of dislocations. The transition to the instability has been shown to be via Hopf bifurcation leading to limit cycle solutions with respect to physically relevant drive parameters. Here we use reductive perturbative method to extract an amplitude equation of up to seventh order to obtain an approximate analytic expression for the order parameter. The analysis also enables us to obtain the bifurcation (phase) diagram of the instability. We find that while supercritical bifurcation dominates the major part of the instability region, subcritical bifurcation gradually takes over at one end of the region. These results are compared with the known experimental results. Approximate analytic expressions for the limit cycles for different types of bifurcations are shown to agree with their corresponding numerical solutions of the equations describing the model. The analysis also shows that high order nonlinearities are important in the problem. This approach further allows us to map the theoretical parameters to the experimentally observed macroscopic quantities.Comment: LaTex file and eps figures; Communicated to Phys. Rev.

The evolution and adoption of equity crowdfunding: entrepreneur and investor entry into a new market

Equity crowdfunding (ECF) offers entrepreneurs an online social media marketplace where they can access numerous potential investors who, in exchange for an ownership stake, may supply them with finance. In this paper, we describe the evolution of this market in the UK. Using an inductive qualitative longitudinal research design, we analyse the emerging views of entrepreneurs and investors towards ECF. Our interviewees include large and small-scale investors, as well as market participants who have chosen not to invest or raise funds via ECF. We find that the large financial flows to entrepreneurs in the UK via the ECF platforms, nearly half a billion GBP since 2011, have probably been largely incremental to traditional sources of early stage entrepreneurial finance. Moreover, our research indicates that for the most part, investors appear to understand and appropriately evaluate the risks that they are bearing; ECF investments are perceived as a high risk, high return component within individuals’ portfolios. Investors also use their communication with peers and entrepreneurs via the ECF platform as a learning tool. On the entrepreneurs’ side, ECF allows them to test their products, to develop their brand, to build a loyal customer base and to turn customers into investors. We conclude that policymakers, with the support of a locally appropriate regulatory framework, could support equity crowdfunding as one of the market choices available for entrepreneurs looking to start or grow their ventures

Developing international business relationships in a Russian context

The collapse of the former Soviet Union has opened up a wealth of business opportunities for companies seeking new markets in the Russian Federation. Despite this, firms intending to do business in Russia have found themselves hampered by cultural differences in business practices and expectations. As Russia integrates into the global economy, understanding such practices and the managerial mindset of business people is crucial for managers who hope to navigate Russia's complex markets. This study draws on the trust literature and adopts quantitative tools to deconstruct the Russian 'Sviazi' system of social capital business networking. We develop a model isolating three dimensions of Sviazi: one an affective or emotional component; the second, a conative component; and the third, a cognitive component. The model provides a useful guide for helping foreign firms to succeed in Russia, while also serving as a basis for further research in the field. Keywords

Prosociality in business: a human empowerment framework

This study introduces a human empowerment framework to better understand why some businesses are more socially oriented than others in their policies and activities. Building on Welzel’s theory of emancipation, we argue that human empowerment—comprised of four components: action resources, emancipative values, social movement activity, and civic entitlements—enables, motivates, and entitles individuals to pursue social goals for their businesses. Using a sample of over 15,000 entrepreneurs from 43 countries, we report strong empirical evidence for two ecological effects of the framework components on prosociality. We find that human empowerment (1) lifts entrepreneurs’ willingness to choose a social orientation for their business, and (2) reinforces the gender effect on prosociality in business activity. We discuss the human empowerment framework’s added value in understanding how modernization processes fully leverage the potential of social business activities for societies

Regulation of proteasome assembly and activity in health and disease

The proteasome degrades most cellular proteins in a controlled and tightly regulated manner and thereby controls many processes, including cell cycle, transcription, signalling, trafficking and protein quality control. Proteasomal degradation is vital in all cells and organisms, and dysfunction or failure of proteasomal degradation is associated with diverse human diseases, including cancer and neurodegeneration. Target selection is an important and well-established way to control protein degradation. In addition, mounting evidence indicates that cells adjust proteasome-mediated degradation to their needs by regulating proteasome abundance through the coordinated expression of proteasome subunits and assembly chaperones. Central to the regulation of proteasome assembly is TOR complex 1 (TORC1), which is the master regulator of cell growth and stress. This Review discusses how proteasome assembly and the regulation of proteasomal degradation are integrated with cellular physiology, including the interplay between the proteasome and autophagy pathways. Understanding these mechanisms has potential implications for disease therapy, as the misregulation of proteasome function contributes to human diseases such as cancer and neurodegeneration.</p