(C) 2011 American Institute of Physics.[doi:10.1063/1.3600650]“
“Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent chronic inflammatory condition associated with variable degrees of pelvic pain and infertility. Studies have showed that the growth and progression of endometriosis continue even in ovariectomized animals. This indicates that besides ovarian steroid hormones, the growth of endometriosis can be regulated by the innate immune system in the pelvic environment. As a component of innate immune system, increased infiltration of macrophages has been described in the intact tissue and peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis.

Different immune cells and dendritic Elacridar cells express Toll-like receptors (TLR) and exhibit Lapatinib inhibitor functional activity in response to microbial products. In this review article, we discuss the role of the TLR system in endometrium and endometriosis and outline the involvement of cytokines/endotoxin in causing adverse reproductive

outcome. In the first part of this review article, the fundamentals of innate immune system, functional characteristics of TLR and signaling pathways of TLR4 are discussed for easy understanding by the readers.”
“As advances in microfluidics continue to make contributions to diagnostics and life sciences, broader awareness of this expanding field becomes necessary. By lever-aging low-cost microfabrication techniques that require no capital equipment or infrastructure, simple, accessible, and effective educational modules can be made available for a broad range of educational needs from middle school demonstrations to college laboratory classes. These modules demonstrate key microfluidic concepts such as diffusion and separation as well as “”laboratory on-chip”" applications including chemical reactions and biological

assays. These modules are intended to provide an interdisciplinary hands-on experience, including chip design, fabrication of functional devices, and experiments at the microscale. Consequently, students will be able to conceptualize physics at small scales, gain experience in computer-aided design and microfabrication, and perform experiments-all in the context of addressing real-world challenges by making their own lab-on-chip devices. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. Oligomycin A [doi:10.1063/1.3576930]“
“AimThe aim of this study was to evaluate outcome of pregnancies in women with rescue cerclage for cervical insufficiency.

Material and MethodsA retrospective study of all women who underwent rescue cerclage between 2002 and 2011 at an advanced tertiary care perinatal institute in India was conducted. Data retrieved from medical records was used to explore potential associations with prolongation of pregnancy beyond 28 weeks.

ResultsThe mean (standard deviation) gestational age at cerclage was 21.9 (2.7) weeks for the 74 women in the study. The McDonald technique was the preferred method for rescue cerclage (91.9%). All women received antibiotics; tocolytics were used in 35.