Antenatal corticosteroids and outcomes in gastroschisis: A multicenter retrospective cohort study

Objective

In gastroschisis, there is evidence to suggest that gut dysfunction develops secondary to bowel inflammation; we aimed to evaluate the effect of maternal antenatal corticosteroids administered for obstetric reasons on time to full enteral feeds in a multicenter cohort study of gastroschisis infants.

Methods

A three center, retrospective cohort study (1992-2013) with linked fetal/neonatal gastroschisis data was conducted. The primary outcome measure was time to full enteral feeds (a surrogate measure for bowel function) and secondary outcome measure was length of hospital stay. Analysis included Mann-Whitney and Cox regression.

Results

Of 500 patients included in the study, 69 (GA at birth 34 [25-38] weeks) received antenatal corticosteroids and 431 (GA at birth 37 [31-41] weeks) did not. Antenatal corticosteroids had no effect on the rate of reaching full feeds (Hazard ratio HR 1.0 [95% CI: 0.8-1.4]). However, complex gastroschisis (HR 0.3 [95% CI: 0.2-0.4]) was associated with an increased time to reach full feeds and later GA at birth (HR 1.1 per week increase in GA [95% CI: 1.1-1.2]) was associated with a decreased time to reach full feeds.

Conclusion

Maternal antenatal corticosteroids use, under current antenatal steroid protocols, in gastroschisis is not associated with an improvement in neonatal outcomes such as time to full enteral feeds or length of hospital stay.     

Pesticide resistance externalities and optimal mosquito management

A simultaneous equation model of the behavior of a mosquito abatement district based on biological and economic data is presented. Results indicate high long term costs if heavy reliance on chemical pesticide control methods continue, due to a pesticide resistance buildup in the mosquito populations. Physical source reduction methods were shown to be more efficient both in the short and long run. A linear programming model is presented which optimizes the inix of chemical and physical control methods. Results indicate increasing costs of mosquito abatement as pesticide effectiveness declines.     

Appraisal of methane production and anaerobic fermentation kinetics of livestock manures using artificial neural networks and sinusoidal growth functions

This study aimed to perform a comparative analysis of the performance of five models (Gompertz, logistic, Richards, the first-order, artificial neural networks) in predicting methane production rate from anaerobic digestion of livestock manures. The input variables were fermentation time, digestion temperature, biogas temperature, ambient temperature, pH, and specific biogas production rate. The physicochemical compositions of cow manure and sheep manure showed that volatile solid (VS) contents were close to each other in manure compositions (77.6% and 64.7%, respectively), while the potential of methane production from cow manure (673.44 mL CH₄/g VS) was greater than that from sheep manure (320.32 mL CH₄/g VS). The determination coefficients (R²) for logistic function, Gompertz, Richards, the first-order, and ANN models were obtained as 0.968, 0.967, 0.975, 0.825, and 0.995 for the cow manure, respectively. In case of the sheep manure, the R² values obtained from these models were 0.976, 0.979, 0.981, 0.968 and 0.991, respectively. Although the determination coefficients of all models were in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data, the ANN model showed competitive lower RMSE values of 0.111 and 0.164 for cow and sheep manure data sets, respectively, indicating its superior performance than other models.

     

Two‐Steps of Gelation System Enhanced the Stability of Syzygium cumini Anthocyanins by Encapsulation with Sodium Alginate,Maltodextrin, Chitosan and Gum Arabic

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - An efficient method based on encapsulation efficiency of Syzygium cumini anthocyanin extract (ANC.E) was established by using a stable concentration from...     

Application of enrichment factor,geoaccumulation index,and ecological risk index in assessing the elemental pollution status of surface sediments

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Sediment can accumulate trace elements in the environment. This study profiled the magnitude of As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn pollution in...     

Propetamphos enhances chlorpyrifos-induced organophosphate-induced delayed neurotoxicity (OPIDN) in Hens: a role for plasma butyrylcholinesterase

This study examined dose-response effects of chlorpyrifos (CPF) and propetamphos (PRO) on producing organophosphorus-induced delayed neurotoxicity (OPIDN) in hens. A single oral dose of 1, 3, 30, or 100 mg/kg of each compound was administered individually, or in combination to groups of 10 hens. Plasma butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activity was inhibited by all doses of each individual compound. Chlorpyrifos alone or in combination with PRO resulted in decreased acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. No dose of CPF or PRO alone resulted in the inhibition of neuropathy target esterase (NTE) or produced OPIDN. In contrast, combined exposure to high doses of CPF and PRO produced diminished NTE activity and produced OPIDN. Brain NTE activity was decreased by 67% and 71% by combined treatment of 100 mg/kg CPF with 30 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg PRO, respectively, consistent with the development of ataxia and paralysis, characteristic of OPIDN. Only the highest dose of CPF 100 mg/kg interacted with the two highest doses of PRO to block NTE and induce OPIDN, whereas no marked interaction occurred at lower doses. Data indicate that PRO enhances the ability of high doses of CPF to produce OPIDN by binding to plasma BChE that appears to act as a buffering system to modulate the toxicity of CPF. In effect, the ability of BChE to bind to CPF is diminished by PRO, resulting in more CPF delivery to the brain, and subsequent development of OPIDN at a dose that does not initiate this effect by itself.     

Selenium and nano-selenium in plant nutrition

Selenium (Se) is a naturally occurring metalloid element which occurs nearly in all environments. Se is considered as a finite and non-renewable resource on the Earth. The common sources of Se in earth’s crust occur in association with sulfide minerals such as metal selenide, whereas it is rarely found in elemental form (Se⁰). While there is no evidence of Se need for higher plants, several reports show that when Se added at low concentrations, Se exerts beneficial effects on plant growth. Se may act as quasi-essential micronutrient through altering different physiological and biochemical traits. Thus, plants vary considerably in their physiological and biochemical response to Se. This review focusses on the physiological importance of Se forms as well as different Se fertilizers for higher plants, especially plant growth, uptake, transport, and metabolism.