Unusual cause of congenital hypothyroidism in a term infant

Both insufficient and excessive maternal iodine consumption can result in congenital hypothyroidism. In East Asian cultures, seaweed is traditionally consumed in high quantities by peripartum women as it is thought to improve lactation. We present a case of transient congenital hypothyroidism due to maternal seaweed consumption at a daily basis during pregnancy and lactation in a Dutch family without Asian background. This case highlights that even in families of non-Asian background, high maternal intake of iodine-rich seaweed occurs and can result in transient or permanent hyperthyrotropinemia in the neonate with risk of impaired neurodevelopmental outcome if untreated

Plasma Electronics

Contains reports on eight research projects.National Science Foundation (Grant G-24073)United States Atomic Energy Commission (Contract AF(30-1)-3285)Lincoln Laboratory (Purchase Order DDL BB-107)United States Air Force (Contract AF19(628)-500)United States Atomic Energy Commission (Contract AT(30-1)-3221

Random noise in Diffusion Tensor Imaging, its Destructive Impact and Some Corrections

The empirical origin of random noise is described, its influence on DTI variables is illustrated by a review of numerical and in vivo studies supplemented by new simulations investigating high noise levels. A stochastic model of noise propagation is presented to structure noise impact in DTI. Finally, basics of voxelwise and spatial denoising procedures are presented. Recent denoising procedures are reviewed and consequences of the stochastic model for convenient denoising strategies are discussed

Extremely preterm infants receiving standard care receive very low levels of arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids

Background & aims Adequate supply of arachidonic (ARA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids is essential for brain development, and extremely preterm infants may be at risk of deficiency. Current levels of ARA and DHA given to extremely preterm infants and the amounts available for accretion have not been established, although recent evidence suggests DHA intake is at a level likely to lead to severe deficits. This study quantified the omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intakes from all sources in the first six weeks of life of preterm infants in standard care. In addition, the relationship between blood levels of circulating cytokines and PUFAs was explored. Methods Single centre longitudinal study with omega-6 and omega-3 PUFA intake data analysed from all sources for 17 infants born <28 weeks gestation. At six weeks of age the infants' whole-blood fatty acid levels were measured along with a range of cytokines and chemokines analysed by Luminex® multiplex array. Results ARA intake was significantly below international recommendations in weeks 1–5 (all p < 0.05), and DHA intake was significantly below recommendations in week 1 (p < 0.0001). The amounts of ARA and DHA available for accretion were significantly below estimated accretion rates in all weeks (all p < 0.001). Mean ARA and DHA intakes were correlated with their respective blood levels (r = 0.568, p = 0.017 and r = 0.704, p = 0.002). There were significant relationships between MIP-1β and blood DHA levels (rs = 0.559, p = 0.02) and between RANTES and omega-6:omega-3 PUFA ratio (rs = −0.498, p = 0.042). Conclusions This study establishes that extremely preterm infants receive insufficient intakes of ARA and DHA. Moreover, blood fatty acid levels may provide a useful measure of intake, where establishing sufficient consumption could have clinical importance. There may also be important interactions between long-chain PUFA status and markers of inflammation, which requires further study

Plasma Electronics

Contains research objectives and reports on six research objectives.National Science Foundation (Grant G-24073)Lincoln Laboratory, Purchase Order DDL BB-107U. S. Air Force under Contract AF 19(628)-50

Lipids in the intensive care unit: Recommendations from the ESPEN Expert Group

A.M-T. has received grant funding from B. Braun. L.P. has received speaking honoraria and grants from Fresenius-Kabi, Amgen, CSL Behring, Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen-Cilag, Novartis, Roche, Sorin Group, and Viiv Healthcare

Characterisation of pathogen-specific regions and novel effector candidates in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cepae

A reference-quality assembly of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cepae (Foc), the causative agent of onion basal rot has been generated along with genomes of additional pathogenic and non-pathogenic isolates of onion. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed a single origin of the Foc pathogenic lineage. Genome alignments with other F. oxysporum ff. spp. and non pathogens revealed high levels of syntenic conservation of core chromosomes but little synteny between lineage specific (LS) chromosomes. Four LS contigs in Foc totaling 3.9 Mb were designated as pathogen-specific (PS). A two-fold increase in segmental duplication events was observed between LS regions of the genome compared to within core regions or from LS regions to the core. RNA-seq expression studies identified candidate effectors expressed in planta, consisting of both known effector homologs and novel candidates. FTF1 and a subset of other transcription factors implicated in regulation of effector expression were found to be expressed in planta

Children and Their Parents: A Comparative Study of the Legal Position of Children with Regard to Their Intentional and Biological Parents in English and Dutch Law

This is a book about children and their parents. There are many different kinds of children and at least about as many different kinds of parents. In addition to the many different disciplines that study children and their parents, such as sociology, psychology, child studies and gender studies, to name but a few, this study concerns a legal question with regard to the parent-child relationship, namely how the law assigns parents to children. This subject is approached in a comparative legal perspective and covers England and The Netherlands. The book contains a detailed comparison and analysis of the manner in which the law in the two jurisdictions assigns the status of legal parent and/or attributes parental responsibility to the child’s biological and intentional parents. The concept ‘procreational responsibility’, which is introduced in the concluding chapter of the book, may be used as a tool to assess and reform existing regulations on legal parent-child relationships. The structure of the book, which is based on a categorisation of different family types in a ‘family tree’, enables the reader to have easy access to family-specific information.FdR – Publicaties zonder aanstelling Universiteit Leide