Maternal calcium supplementation during pregnancy and dental caries of children at 12 years of age: Follow-up of a randomized controlled trial

Objectives. To evaluate if calcium supplementation during pregnancy could have any influence on primary dentition measured as the reduction of dental caries of the child. Design. Individual randomized controlled trial. Setting. One hospital in Rosario, Argentina. Population. Random sample of 195 12-year-old children from a follow-up study of 614 women who were randomized during pregnancy to calcium supplementation or placebo. Methods. An independent researcher blinded to the group where the mothers were assigned performed a dental examination of the children. Main outcome measures. Proportion of children with at least one decayed, missing or filled teeth (DMFT/dmft) and mean number of decayed, missing or filled surfaces (DMFS/dmfs) per children. Results. Ninety-eight children were assessed in the calcium supplementation group and 97 in the placebo group. 63.3% of the children whose mother took calcium supplementation had at least one DMFT/dmft compared to 86.6% in the placebo group (<0.001). The children whose mother received the intervention had a 27% reduction in the risk of developing at least one DMFT/dmft (RR: 0.73, CI 95%: [0.62; 0.87]). Conclusions. This study shows a modeling effect of calcium intake during pregnancy on dental caries of the offspring. At around 12 years of age children whose mothers received calcium supplementation when pregnant showed a significant reduction in dental caries.Fil: Bergel, Eduardo. Organizacion Mundial de la Salud; ArgentinaFil: Gibbons, Luz. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Rasines, María G.. No especifíca;Fil: Luetich, Alejandra. No especifíca;Fil: Belizan, Jose. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Effects of the copper intrauterine device versus injectable progestin contraception on pregnancy rates and method discontinuation among women attending termination of pregnancy services in South Africa: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial

Background: The copper intrauterine device (IUD) is under-utilised in South Africa, where injectable progestin contraception (IPC) dominates contraception usage. There is a lack of robust comparative data on these contraceptive options to inform policy, programs, clinical counseling, and women’s choices. Methods: Within the context of a South African program to increase women’s access to the IUD, we conducted a pragmatic, open-label, parallel-arm, randomised controlled trial of the IUD versus IPC at two South African hospitals. The target sample size was 7,000 women and the randomisation ratio was 1:1. The random sequence was computer-generated and group allocation was concealed in sealed, opaque, consecutively-numbered envelopes. Counselled, consenting women attending termination of pregnancy services were randomly assigned to IUD or IPC immediately post-termination. Condoms were promoted for the prevention of sexually-transmitted infections. The primary outcome was pregnancy; secondary outcomes were discontinuation, side-effects, and HIV acquisition and disease progression. Pregnancy and discontinuation outcomes are reported here. Results: The trial closed early with 2,493 participants randomised (IUD = 1,247, IPC = 1,246), due to international concerns regarding a possible association between IPC and HIV acquisition. Median follow-up was 20 months; 982 and 1000 participants were followed up in the IUD and IPC groups, respectively. Baseline group characteristics were comparable. Pregnancy occurred significantly less frequently among women allocated to the IUD than IPC: 56/971 (5.8 %) versus 83/992 (8.4 %), respectively; risk ratio (RR) 0.69, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.50 to 0.96; P = 0.025. There were more protocol violations in the IUD group; however, discontinuation rates were similar between IUD and IPC groups (141/855 [16.5 %] and 143/974 [14.7 %], respectively). Women in the IUD group were more likely to discontinue contraceptive use due to abdominal pain or backache and non-specific symptoms, and those in the IPC group due to oligo- or amenorhoea and lack of sexual activity. Conclusions: The IUD was significantly more effective in preventing pregnancy than IPC. Efforts to expand contraception options and improve access to the IUD in settings where it is under-utilised are worthwhile. This trial shows that randomising long-acting, reversible contraceptives is feasible. Trial registration: Pan African Clinical Trials Registry number PACTR201409000880157 (04-09-2014)

Effects of injectable progestogen contraception versus the copper intrauterine device on HIV acquisition: sub-study of a pragmatic randomised controlled trial

Background: Evidence from observational studies suggests an increased risk of HIV acquisition among women using depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) contraception. Methods: Within the context of a South African programme to increase women\u27s access to the intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD), we conducted a pragmatic, open-label, parallel-arm, randomised controlled trial (RCT) of the IUD versus injectable progestogen contraception (IPC) at two South African hospitals. The primary outcome was pregnancy; secondary outcomes included HIV acquisition. Consenting women attending termination of pregnancy services were randomised after pregnancy termination between July 2009 and November 2012. Condoms were promoted for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections. Voluntary HIV testing was offered at baseline and at 12 or more months later. Findings on HIV acquisition are reported in this article. Results: HIV acquisition data were available for 1290 initially HIV-negative women who underwent a final study interview at a median of 20 months after randomisation to IPC or an IUD. Baseline group characteristics were comparable. In the IPC group, 545/656 (83%) of participants received DMPA, 96 (15%) received injectable norethisterone enanthate, 14 (2%) received the IUD and one received oral contraception. In the IUD group 609 (96%) received the IUD, 20 (3%) received IPC and 5 (1%) had missing data. According to intention-to-treat analysis, HIV acquisition occurred in 20/656 (3.0%) women in the IPC arm and 22/634 (3.5%) women in the IUD arm (IPC vs IUD, risk ratio 0.88; 95% confidence interval 0.48–1.59; p=0.7). Conclusions: This sub-study was underpowered to rule out moderate differences in HIV risk, but confirms the feasibility of randomised trial methodology to address this question. Larger RCTs are needed to determine the relative risks of various contraceptive methods on HIV acquisition with greater precision

Peristaltic Transport of a Physiological Fluid in an Asymmetric Porous Channel in the Presence of an External Magnetic Field

The paper deals with a theoretical investigation of the peristaltic transport of a physiological fluid in a porous asymmetric channel under the action of a magnetic field. The stream function, pressure gradient and axial velocity are studied by using appropriate analytical and numerical techniques. Effects of different physical parameters such as permeability, phase difference, wave amplitude and magnetic parameter on the velocity, pumping characteristics, streamline pattern and trapping are investigated with particular emphasis. The computational results are presented in graphical form. The results are found to be in perfect agreement with those of a previous study carried out for a non-porous channel in the absence of a magnetic field

Reshaping the future of Portuguese azulejo patterns

This paper introduces a new approach to the inventory and catalogue of azulejo patterns found in Portuguese buildings. It uses computer-vision based software tools for automatic search and matching of azulejo patterns, thereby improving the scalability and speed of existing cataloguing methodologies. The online catalogue of azulejo patterns is called Az Infinitum (Azulejo Referencing and Indexation System), a publicly accessible online portal suitable for both researchers and the general public who are interested in exploring and understanding this cultural heritage of Portugal. The effectiveness of this catalogue as a research support tool is demonstrated using a case study based on the Marvila pattern (i.e. P-17-00999). The online catalogue has inspired the development of an engaging application, called Azulejar, which allows one to create new patterns or understand the mathematical process behind existing azulejos patterns. This application has a potential to become an effective educational tool for inspiring everyone to explore and understand the science behind the beauty of azulejo patterns. Reshaping the future of Portuguese azulejo patterns

Ruin and dividend measures in the renewal dual risk model

In this manuscript we consider the dual risk model with financial application, where the random gains occur under a renewal process. We particularly work the Erlang(n) case for common distribution of the inter-arrival times, from there it is easy to understand that our method or procedures can be generalised to other cases under the matrix-exponential family case. We work several and different problems involving future dividends and ruin. We also show that our results are valid even if the usual income condition is not satisfied. In most known works under the dual model, the main target under study have been the calculation of expected discounted future dividends and optimal strategies, where the dividend calculation have been done on aggregate. We can find works, at first using the classical compound Poisson model, then some examples of other renewal Erlang models. Knowing that ruin is ultimately achieved, we find important that dividends should be evaluated on an individual basis, where the early dividend contribution for the aggregate are of utmost importance. From our calculations we can really see how much important is the contribution of the first dividend. Afonso et al. (Insur Math Econ, 53(3), 906–918, 2013) had worked similar problems for the classical compound Poisson dual model. Besides that we find explicit formulae for both the probability of getting a dividend and the distribution of the amount of a single dividend. We still work the probability distribution of the number of gains to reach a given upper target (like a constant dividend barrier) as well as for the number of gains down to ruin. We complete the study working some illustrative numerical examples that show final numbers for the several problems under study.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Peristaltic Transport of a Couple Stress Fluid: Some Applications to Hemodynamics

The present paper deals with a theoretical investigation of the peristaltic transport of a couple stress fluid in a porous channel. The study is motivated towards the physiological flow of blood in the micro-circulatory system, by taking account of the particle size effect. The velocity, pressure gradient, stream function and frictional force of blood are investigated, when the Reynolds number is small and the wavelength is large, by using appropriate analytical and numerical methods. Effects of different physical parameters reflecting porosity, Darcy number, couple stress parameter as well as amplitude ratio on velocity profiles, pumping action and frictional force, streamlines pattern and trapping of blood are studied with particular emphasis. The computational results are presented in graphical form. The results are found to be in good agreement with those of Shapiro et. al \cite{r25} that was carried out for a non-porous channel in the absence of couple stress effect. The present study puts forward an important observation that for peristaltic transport of a couple stress fluid during free pumping when the couple stress effect of the fluid/Darcy permeability of the medium, flow reversal can be controlled to a considerable extent. Also by reducing the permeability it is possible to avoid the occurrence of trapping phenomenon

Electroactive biofilms: new means for electrochemistry

This work demonstrates that electrochemical reactions can be catalysed by the natural biofilms that form on electrode surfaces dipping into drinking water or compost. In drinking water, oxygen reduction was monitored with stainless steel ultra-microelectrodes under constant potential electrolysis at )0.30 V/SCE for 13 days. 16 independent experiments were conducted in drinking water, either pure or with the addition of acetate or dextrose. In most cases, the current increased and reached 1.5–9.5 times the initial current. The current increase was attributed to biofilm forming on the electrode in a similar way to that has been observed in seawater. Epifluorescence microscopy showed that the bacteria size and the biofilm morphology depended on the nutrients added, but no quantitative correlation between biofilm morphology and current was established. In compost, the oxidation process was investigated using a titanium based electrode under constant polarisation in the range 0.10–0.70 V/SCE. It was demonstrated that the indigenous micro-organisms were responsible for the current increase observed after a few days, up to 60 mA m)2. Adding 10 mM acetate to the compost amplified the current density to 145 mA m)2 at 0.50 V/SCE. The study suggests that many natural environments, other than marine sediments, waste waters and seawaters that have been predominantly investigated until now, may be able to produce electrochemically active biofilm

Sustaining the Digital Humanities in the UK

The Sustaining Digital Humanities in the UK report is timely for the UK Digital Humanities (DH) landscape. The establishment of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has created an opportune moment for the strategic planning of research infrastructure between and across all the research areas. Led by Giles Bergel and Pip Willcox, this report is based on the findings of a workshop held at the University of Oxford’s e-Research Centre (OeRC) on 21 June 2018 and sponsored by the Software Sustainability Institute. The workshop was led by an advisory board of Digital Humanities practitioners, representing a range of career stages, roles, and disciplines. The workshop’s organisers and advisory board are the joint authors of this report, with contributions from workshop participants. The mission of the Software Sustainability Institute (SSI) is to cultivate better, more sustainable, research software to enable world-class research. Currently celebrating its 10th year, the SSI has achieved broadening engagement across academic communities including humanities – for example as a longstanding supporter of the Digital Humanities at Oxford Summer School (DHOxSS), and with SSI Fellows in the arts and humanities areas. This report was commissioned by the SSI with the aim of advancing its mission within the humanities. Digital Humanities, a broad intersection of models, methods, tools, materials, career paths and affiliations, in both established and novel disciplines was identified as the area within the humanities that most closely aligns with the SSI’s role

Roadkill hotspots in a protected area of Cerrado in Brazil: planning actions to conservation

Objective. Here we aimed to identify the main points of animal death by roadkill in the view of helping mitigation plans and reducing the impact over the local fauna of a protected area. Materials and methods. We surveyed the roads around a protected area of Cerrado (São Paulo, Brazil) from May 2012 to August 2013. We recorded the local of roadkills, biometric and morphologic data of the animals, and collected samples of tissue for molecular species confirmation. Results. Thirty-one roadkilled animals were registered, including threatened species: Leopardus pardalis; Cuniculus paca and Chrysocyon brachyurus. Most roadkills were represented by mammals (54.8%) and reptiles (38.7%), and the mortality rate was 1.46 animals/km/year. Three roadkill hotspots were detected, suggesting that they were important points of animal crossing, probably because of the existence of natural remnant vegetation and intersection of roads by riparian vegetation. Conclusions. This work provided strong evidence of the most critical points where mitigation strategies should be immediately implemented and highlighted the importance of detecting roadkill hotspots and the species or taxonomic groups more affected, helping to elaborate effective actions that can improve fauna conservation.