Buprenorphine for Medication-Assisted Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy: Relationship to Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome

Objective To examine the relationship between antepartum buprenorphine dose for medication-assisted treatment (MAT) of opioid use disorder (OUD) and incident neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). Study Design We performed a prospective cohort study of pregnant women with a singleton gestation diagnosed with OUD and receiving buprenorphine for MAT at a tertiary care academic institution from July 2015 to January 2017. We divided the study cohort into two groups—pregnancies with versus without NOWS. Substance abuse patterns in pregnancy, maternal, and neonatal clinical outcomes were compared. Results The incidence of NOWS was 31.11% (n = 28/90) in our study cohort. Pregnancies with NOWS had a significantly higher rate of benzodiazepine positive urine tests and number of positive urine drug screen (UDS) results for illicit opioids. The group without NOWS had significantly higher number of patients with an appropriate UDS result at delivery through postpartum. Rates of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission, length of NICU stay, and maximum Finnegan score were significantly higher in the group with NOWS. Neither the initial (10.6 ± 5.2 versus 10.3 ± 4.8 mg, p = 0.80) nor the final buprenorphine doses (13.3 ± 5.1 versus 13.0 ± 4.6 mg, p = 0.81) were significantly different between study groups. Conclusion The occurrence of NOWS was not related to buprenorphine dose used for MAT

Early phenology and growth trait variation in closely related European pine species

Closely related taxa occupying different environments are valuable systems for studying evolution. In this study, we examined differences in early phenology (bud set, bud burst) and early growth in a common garden trial of closely related pine species: Pinus sylvestris, P. mugo, and P. uncinata. Seeds for the trial were sourced from populations across the ranges of each species in Europe. Over first 4 years of development, clear differences were observed between species, while the most significant intraspecific differentiation was observed among plants from P. sylvestris populations from continental European locations. Trait differences within P. sylvestris were highly correlated with altitude and latitude of the site of origin. Meanwhile, P. mugo populations from the Carpathians had the earliest bud set and bud flush compared to other populations of the species. Overall, populations from the P. mugo complex from heterogeneous mountain environments and P. sylvestris from the Scottish Highlands showed the highest within-population variation for the focal traits. Although the three species have been shown to be genetically highly similar, this study reveals large differences in key adaptive traits both among and within species

Perspectivas sobre el futuro de la investigación en control aversivo

Perspectivas sobre el futuro de la investigación en control aversiv

Es aversivo tener una ciencia incompleta de la conducta

From the earliest days of behavioral psychology (e.g., Thorndike, 1911),aversive control — what we now call punishment and negative reinforcement— was recognized as a partner to what we now call positive reinforcement.Although much is controversial about aversive control (Dinsmoor, 2001; Johnston,1991), one thing is not in doubt: Aversive control is a prominent componentof the natural world (e.g., Skinner, 1953) and therefore deserves seriousscientific scrutiny.The first half of the 20th century saw the emergence of key ideas aboutaversive control, including precursors to what remain the major families oftheories of punishment and of negative reinforcement (e.g., Dinsmoor, 1954;Mowrer, 1949). As the 20th century reached its midpoint, researchers werelearning how to apply to aversive control the free-operant methods that Skinnerand colleagues (e.g., Ferster & Skinner, 1957) pioneered for studyingpositive reinforcement (Azrin & Holz, 1966). This set the occasion for a remarkableperiod — a sort of Golden Age of aversive control research. Acrossroughly 25 years, much of what now are seen as the fundamental principlesof aversive control were fleshed out. Within about 25 years, however, thingsbegan to change: Key investigators left the aversive control laboratory, andby the 1980s, basic behavioral research on aversive control had thinned to atrickle. It remains rare today (e.g., Baron, 1998).The reasons why aversive control research became unpopular in behavioranalysis probably are complex, and certainly are beyond the scope of thepresent discussion, but the consequences of this seismic shift in scholarly focusare easy enough to assess, and unpleasant to consider. Below we brieflydescribe three ways to conceive of the status quo

An Extension of the Fractional Parentage Expansion to Nonrelativistic and Relativistic SU(3)fSU(3)_{f} Dibaryon Calculations

The fractional parentage expansion method is extended from $SU(2)_{f}$ nonrelativistic to $SU(3)_{f}$ and relativistic dibaryon calculations. A transformation table between physical bases and symmetry bases for the $SU(3)_{f}$ dibaryon is provided. A program package has been written for dibaryon calculation based on the fractional parentage expansion method.Comment: 15 pages text plus 18 pages tables, latex, no figure

Comparison of Serum and Cervical Cytokine Levels Throughout Pregnancy Between Preterm and Term Births

Objective: To assess differences in cytokine levels in cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) and serum across trimesters between women with preterm births (PTBs) and full-term births. Study Design: This multicenter study enrolled 302 women with a singleton gestation. CVF and serum cytokines, interleukin 1α (IL-1α), IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8, were measured. Women with at least one cytokine assessment and noted PTB status in their medical record were retained in the study (N ¼ 272). Data were analyzed using mixed modeling (main effects of PTBs and time/trimester). Results: For the CVF values of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α, and CRP, and serum MMP-8, those who delivered preterm had significantly higher values than the full-term group regardless of trimester. For the serum values of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, those delivering preterm had significantly lower values than those delivering full-term regardless of trimester. For IL-1β in CVF, the cytokine was significantly higher in the PTB group for second and third trimesters only, relative to the full-term group. Conclusion: For each CVF cytokine that differed by birth status, values were higher for PTB than term, averaged over trimester. Numerous cytokine profiles varied across trimesters in women delivering term versus preterm in both CVF and serum

Comparison of Serum and Cervical Cytokine Levels Throughout Pregnancy Between Preterm and Term Births

Objective To assess differences in cytokine levels in cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) and serum across trimesters between women with preterm births (PTBs) and full-term births. Study Design This multicenter study enrolled 302 women with a singleton gestation. CVF and serum cytokines, interleukin 1α (IL-1α), IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8, were measured. Women with at least one cytokine assessment and noted PTB status in their medical record were retained in the study (N = 272). Data were analyzed using mixed modeling (main effects of PTBs and time/trimester). Results For the CVF values of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α, and CRP, and serum MMP-8, those who delivered preterm had significantly higher values than the full-term group regardless of trimester. For the serum values of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, those delivering preterm had significantly lower values than those delivering full-term regardless of trimester. For IL-1β in CVF, the cytokine was significantly higher in the PTB group for second and third trimesters only, relative to the full-term group. Conclusion For each CVF cytokine that differed by birth status, values were higher for PTB than term, averaged over trimester. Numerous cytokine profiles varied across trimesters in women delivering term versus preterm in both CVF and serum

Logarithmic perturbation theory for radial Klein-Gordon equation with screened Coulomb potentials via ℏ\hbar expansions

The explicit semiclassical treatment of logarithmic perturbation theory for the bound-state problem within the framework of the radial Klein-Gordon equation with attractive real-analytic screened Coulomb potentials, contained time-component of a Lorentz four-vector and a Lorentz-scalar term, is developed. Based upon $\hbar$-expansions and suitable quantization conditions a new procedure for deriving perturbation expansions is offered. Avoiding disadvantages of the standard approach, new handy recursion formulae with the same simple form both for ground and excited states have been obtained. As an example, the perturbation expansions for the energy eigenvalues for the Hulth\'en potential containing the vector part as well as the scalar component are considered.Comment: 14 pages, to be submitted to Journal of Physics

Laser-sheet imaging of HE-driven interfaces

This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The authors made substantial progress in developing the MILSI (Multiple Imaging of Laser-Sheet Illumination) technique for high explosive (HE)-driven fluid interfaces. They observed the instability, but have not yet measured the instability growth rate. They developed suitable sample containers and optical systems for studying the Rightmyer-Meshkov instability of perturbed water/bromoform interfaces and they successfully fielded the new MILSI diagnostic at two firing-site facilities. The problem continues to be of central importance to the inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and weapons physics communities

The role of ethics and ideology in our contribution to global health The topic of this article has vividly interested the author for many years. It is fascinating to him that the issues at stake have not changed for the last 30 years or so. As proof of this – and on purpose – references quoted are both those published before 1985 and after 1995 (Table 1). Considerable material on this topic was already available from the mid 1970s on. The end result has been the (re)construction of a scenario that has been stubborn to change and that looks into most of the, still highly relevant, burning questions of then and now on the issues pertaining to the title of this contribution for debate. It will be of interest to the reader to see how we often need to be reminded of the things our peers had evidence of and wrote about long before us – as the examples of Dr. Virchov and of the Alma Ata Declaration, for instance, show.

What drives public health professionals in their daily work? Presumably it is the appeal of working, either locally or globally, to alleviate the suffering caused by (preventable) ill-health. This article explores the political awareness of health professionals, the political implications of their daily activities and suggests an enhanced role for them in the battle against preventable ill-health worldwide. The starting point for this article is the motivating principles behind these professionals as individuals. It challenges established paradigms in health, medicine, development and academia with a focus on health professionals' political, ethical and ideological motivations and awareness plus the implications of their actions in the realm of global health in the future. It further has implications for the everyday practice of health care providers, public health practitioners, epidemiologists and social scientists in academia