The prevalence and factors associated with the delay in the initiation of breastfeeding

Advanced research using the latest technology confirms that breast milk is indeed far more superior compared to formula milk in either its ingredients or its psychological effect for both, mother and baby when practising breastfeeding. Aims: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with the delay in the initiation of breastfeeding. Method: This is a cross-sectional study; universal sampling method was used in this study. All postnatal mothers who delivered in Hospital Putrajaya, from 20 December 2010 until 31 January 2011 were approached and recruited in this study. The inclusion criterias were: all mothers who delivered in Hospital Putrajaya and babies who can be breastfed. The participants were asked to complete a set of self-administered questionnaire which was adapted from Radzniwan et al and Reassessment Tools for Breastfeeding Hospital Initiative with permission. Descriptive statistics (mean, range and standard deviation) was used to describe the sample. The Chi square test was used to determine the association between the dependent and independent variables. All the data collected were analyzed using the software Statistical Analysis Package for Social Sciences (SPSS for Window Version 17.0). A p value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Result: From this study, the prevalence of the delay in initiation of breastfeeding is 55.7%. It is higher compared to the study by Dewey et al, It also shows that ethnicity, educational level and the age categories were associated with the delay in initiation of breastfeeding. Those of Malay ethnicity delayed initiation for about 52.8% from the Malay respondents Conclusion: The main factors that were directly associated with the delay in the initiation of breastfeeding were Malay ethnicity, age between 26 -30 years old, and those who have undergone caesarean section delivery. These target groups must be given priority in giving health education, physical and emotional support during antenatal, intranatal and post-delivery

Methane-carbon flow into the benthic food web at cold seeps – a case study from the Costa Rica subduction zone

Cold seep ecosystems can support enormous biomasses of free-living and symbiotic chemoautotrophic organisms that get their energy from the oxidation of methane or sulfide. Most of this biomass derives from animals that are associated with bacterial symbionts, which are able to metabolize the chemical resources provided by the seeping fluids. Often these systems also harbor dense accumulations of non-symbiotic megafauna, which can be relevant in exporting chemosynthetically fixed carbon from seeps to the surrounding deep sea. Here we investigated the carbon sources of lithodid crabs (Paralomis sp.) feeding on thiotrophic bacterial mats at an active mud volcano at the Costa Rica subduction zone. To evaluate the dietary carbon source of the crabs, we compared the microbial community in stomach contents with surface sediments covered by microbial mats. The stomach content analyses revealed a dominance of epsilonproteobacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences related to the free-living and epibiotic sulfur oxidiser Sulfurovum sp. We also found Sulfurovum sp. as well as members of the genera Arcobacter and Sulfurimonas in mat-covered surface sediments where Epsilonproteobacteria were highly abundant constituting 10% of total cells. Furthermore, we detected substantial amounts of bacterial fatty acids such as i-C15:0 and C17:1ω6c with stable carbon isotope compositions as low as −53‰ in the stomach and muscle tissue. These results indicate that the white microbial mats at Mound 12 are comprised of Epsilonproteobacteria and that microbial mat-derived carbon provides an important contribution to the crab's nutrition. In addition, our lipid analyses also suggest that the crabs feed on other 13C-depleted organic matter sources, possibly symbiotic megafauna as well as on photosynthetic carbon sources such as sedimentary detritus

Factors associated with inadequate receipt of components and use of antenatal care services in Nigeria : a population-based study

Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is an essential intervention to improve maternal and child health. In Nigeria, no population-based studies have investigated predictors of poor receipt of components and uptake of ANC at the national level to inform targeted maternal health initiatives. This study aimed to examine factors associated with inadequate receipt of components and use of ANC in Nigeria. Methods: The study used information on 20 405 singleton live-born infants of the mothers from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. Multivariable logistic regression analyses that adjusted for cluster and survey weights were used to determine potential factors associated with inadequate receipt of components and use of ANC. Results: The prevalence of underutilization and inadequate components of ANC were 47.5% (95% CI: 45.2 to 49.9) and 92.6% (95% CI: 91.8 to 93.2), respectively. Common risk factors for underutilization and inadequate components of ANC in Nigeria included residence in rural areas, no maternal education, maternal unemployment, long distance to health facilities and less maternal exposure to the media. Other risk factors for underutilization of ANC were home births and low household wealth. Conclusion: The study suggests that underutilization and inadequate receipt of the components of ANC were associated with amenable factors in Nigeria. Subsidized maternal services and well-guided health educational messages or financial support from the government will help to improve uptake of ANC services

Arsenic bioremediation by biogenic iron oxides and sulfides

Microcosms containing sediment from an aquifer in Cambodia with naturally elevated levels of arsenic in the associated groundwater were used to evaluate the effectiveness of microbially mediated production of iron minerals for in situ As remediation. The microcosms were first incubated without amendments for 28 days, and the release of As and other geogenic chemicals from the sediments into the aqueous phase was monitored. Nitrate or a mixture of sulfate and lactate was then added to stimulate biological Fe(II) oxidation or sulfate reduction, respectively. Without treatment, soluble As concentrations reached 3.9±0.9 μMat the end of the 143-day experiment. However, in the nitrate- and sulfate-plus-lactate-amended microcosms, soluble As levels decreased to 0.01 and 0.41±0.13 μM, respectively, by the end of the experiment. Analyses using a range of biogeochemical and mineralogical tools indicated that sorption onto freshly formed hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) and iron sulfide mineral phases are the likely mechanisms for As removal in the respective treatments. Incorporation of the experimental results into a one-dimensional transport-reaction model suggests that, under conditions representative of the Cambodian aquifer, the in situ precipitation of HFO would be effective in bringing groundwater into compliance with the World Health Organization (WHO) provisional guideline value for As (10 ppb or 0.13 μM), although soluble Mn release accompanying microbial Fe(II) oxidation presents a potential health concern. In contrast, production of biogenic iron sulfide minerals would not remediate the groundwater As concentration below the recommended WHO limit.</p

Neonatal Conjunctivitis Caused by Neisseria meningitidis US Urethritis Clade, New York, USA, August 2017

We characterized a case of neonatal conjunctivitis in New York, USA, caused by Neisseria meningitidis by using whole-genome sequencing. The case was a rare occurrence, and the isolate obtained belonged to an emerging clade (N. meningitidis US nongroupable urethritis) associated with an increase in cases of urethritis since 2015