Nifedipine, in a 5mg sublingual acute administration, causes a significant fall in the systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressure in a mixed group of pregnant hypertensives. A concurrent, significant rise in the pulse rate was seen. The utero-placental blood flow index, which is a measure of utero-placental blood flow, was not significantly reduced following the administration of Nifedipine or a placebo. The utero-placental blood flow index was found to be a consistent measure of utero-placental blood flow in resting patients. In the absence of serious side-effects it can be concluded that Nifedipine is a safe therapy in the acute treatment of hypertensive states in pregnancy.

The purpose of this research was to demonstrate one way in which the analytical and creative components of policy can complement one another to provide insight for understanding emergent (developmental) and cooperative systems. As a case study, this research examined a perinatal regionalization project--a new health care delivery system--to determine how it might develop from this point in its history, i.e., what form it might take. The key questions were: how do we design a workable and significant system? How much is science; how much art? Given the emergent social nature of the system, a twofold approach was required. The first approach, analytically organized, used multiple perspectives in gathering information for policy planning and implementation. The second approach, process oriented, used a new form of Delphi as a creative, participatory decision technique to design a policy structure. Application of multiple perspectives to a prospective issue, combining them with the participatory approach of the decision Delphi and distinguishing methods appropriate for emergent policy systems were departures from previous research. Data collection involved content analysis, extensive interviewing, and participant observation. Analysis based on three perspectives, technical-rational (T), organizational (O), and personal (P), yielded distinct pictures of the emerging social technology of regionalized perinatal health care delivery. The T perspective emphasized the well-ordered approach to implementation and indicated some areas to reinforce and develop based on measured outcomes. The O perspective emphasized the network of interrelated roles, procedures, and reinforcements (sources of satisfaction). It noted junctures for making inroads into the existing system. The P perspective provided the most immediate grasp of the essential and unique world of the participants. It found that images serve as both compelling visions and forces for change characterized by this non-trivial uniqueness. Delphi found that systems structures can be generated endogenously. Analysis of the three perspectives found that each of the three requires a type of research appropriate to it. In fact, the elusive P perspective can be formulated experientially--a self-reflective type of research--and communicated creatively. Both enhance its value. Analysis also found that while the three are distinct, each adds a dimension to understanding that would be lost without it. They can be integrated as mutual contexts of each other. Analysis found that the form of communication is as important as the form of research. Non-traditional means are more appropriate. Analysis found that design considers form as system self-image, system boundary, and system control. These distinguish the new system from the old. The concept is quite different from implementation as a sequential process in policy.

Maternal obesity is a key predictor of childhood obesity. It has been shown to cause changes in maternal adaptation to pregnancy that result in an adverse in utero environment, inducing increased risk of obesity and metabolic disease in the offspring. Perturbation of gut microbiota over the course of pregnancy has been implicated in maternal metabolic adaptations. We investigated how high-fat (HF) diet-induced obesity before and during pregnancy affects gut microbiota and maternal intestinal barrier function, and whether altered maternal gut adaptations to pregnancy influence placental development. Microbiota of HF mice was modified by diet, and further modulated by pregnancy. Changes in mucin-degrading and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) producing bacteria were found in microbiota from HF pregnant mice. SCFA receptor, GPR41, expression was reduced in the duodenum and jejunum of HF dams. Intestinal barrier function was impaired in HF pregnancies as indicated by increased paracellular intestinal permeability measured by passage of FITC-Dextran and increased concentration of bacterial lipopolysaccharide in the maternal serum, observations that were consistent with reduced gene expression of tight junction proteins in the small intestine of HF dams. Diet-induced maternal obesity altered gene expression of inflammatory and immune cell marker genes in different gut sections. However, no change in TNF and IL-6 in maternal serum suggested that HF diet-induced obesity was not associated with systemic maternal inflammation. Female placenta from HF pregnancies were smaller in size, as calculated by measuring the cross sectional area of the placenta, which may be regulated by increased apoptosis. Augmented placental inflammation was not observed in HF placentas. Changes in maternal intestinal adaptations appear to be modified by diet-induced obesity before and during pregnancy, in a manner that reduced maternal barrier function and increased intestinal immune cell markers but these changes appeared not be associated with placental pro-inflammatory status. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

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Emotion regulation is an important skill to acquire during childhood, as an inability to do so can lead to negative outcomes such as aggression, anxiety, eating disorders, and personality disorders during adolescence. Much research has demonstrated that maternal factors play a role in childhood emotion regulation; however, little research has looked at how these factors might predict emotion regulation during adolescence. Therefore, my thesis study assessed how maternal personality, parenting behaviors, and emotion regulation during middle childhood and adolescence predicted adolescent emotion regulation. Specifically, I hypothesized that maternal parenting behaviors during middle childhood would positively predict adolescent cognitive reappraisal, that this association would be moderated by maternal intrapersonal and interpersonal personality, and that maternal cognitive reappraisal during middle childhood would positively predict adolescent cognitive reappraisal. Participants included 122 mother-child dyads who provided data on parenting and maternal emotion regulation when the children were 9-years-old, in addition to data on child emotion regulation, maternal emotion regulation, and maternal personality when the children were adolescents. My initial hypotheses were not supported by the data, but post-hoc analyses revealed that maternal emotion suppression during middle childhood and adolescence predicts adolescent emotion suppression and that this association between maternal emotion suppression during middle childhood and adolescent emotion suppression was moderated by maternal intrapersonal personality. These results support the idea that maternal characteristics continue to play a role in shaping emotion regulation in children through adolescence, but not in the manner I had originally predicted. / M.S. / Emotion regulation refers to our ability to adjust to changes in our emotions. Difficulty with emotion regulation early in life can lead to negative outcomes such as aggression, anxiety, eating disorders, and personality disorders later in life. Maternal factors, like parenting, emotion regulation, and personality, affect emotion regulation during early childhood, but the research is lacking when it comes to looking at how these maternal factors might predict emotion regulation abilities during adolescence. This is important to consider, as adolescence is a time when we see some of these negative outcomes associated with difficulties in emotion regulation emerge. Therefore, my thesis study looked at how these maternal factors during middle childhood and adolescence predicted adolescent emotion regulation. Specifically, I hypothesized that optimal maternal parenting behaviors during middle childhood would predict better adolescent emotion regulation, that maternal personality during adolescence would moderate this association, and that better maternal emotion regulation during middle childhood would predict better emotion regulation during adolescence. Participants included 122 mother-child dyads. Mothers provided data on parenting and their own emotion regulation when their children were 9-years-old and data on their own personality and emotion regulation when the children were adolescents. Adolescents self-reported their own emotion regulation. My initial hypotheses were not supported, later analyses showed that maternal emotion regulation during middle childhood predicted adolescent emotion regulation and that this association was moderated by maternal personality. These results support the idea that maternal characteristics continue to play a role in shaping emotion regulation in children through adolescence.