PREDICTING SHORT INTERPREGNANCY INTERVALS IN WOMEN FROM UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS IN LONDON, ONTARIO

Background: Becoming pregnant within 6 months of previous birth is strongly associated with several adverse perinatal and maternal outcomes. Purpose: To develop a model that can predict which women are at greatest risk of experiencing a short interpregnancy interval (IPI). Methods: Retrospective case-control design was employed using potential predictors collected from medical records. Logistic regression was used to develop a multivarible predictive model identifying key risk factors. Results: Patients were at greatest risk of experiencing a short IPI if they held refugee status (OR: 10.56; 95% Cl: 1.36, 81.70), were in a common law relationship (OR: 7.16; 95% Cl 1.43,44.81), had no specified occupation (OR: 1.30; 95% Cl: 1.10, 1.94), or had the Children’s Aid Society involved in the care of index children (OR: 4.93; 95% Cl: 1.28, 18.72). To maximize utility, a predictive nomogram was constructed. Conclusions: Results can be used to prompt preventative care

SciKon, die Konstanzer Forschungsplattform

Ein Dienst zur Darstellung von Forschungsaktivitäte

Impact of Network Infrastructure Parameters to the Effectiveness of Cyber Attacks Against Industrial Control Systems

The fact that modern Networked Industrial Control Systems (NICS) depend on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), is well known. Although many studies have focused on the security of SCADA systems, today we still lack the proper understanding of the effects that cyber attacks have on NICS. In this paper we identify the communication and control logic implementation parameters that influence the outcome of attacks against NICS and that could be used as effective measures for increasing the resilience of industrial installations. The implemented scenario involves a powerful attacker that is able to send legitimate Modbus packets/commands to control hardware in order to bring the physical process into a critical state, i.e. dangerous, or more generally unwanted state of the system. The analysis uses a Boiling Water Power Plant to show that the outcome of cyber attacks is influenced by network delays, packet losses, background traffic and control logic scheduling time. The main goal of this paper is to start an exploration of cyber-physical effects in particular scenarios. This study is the first of its kind to analyze cyber-physical systems and provides insight to the way that the cyber realm affects the physical realm

Effects of Music Listening on Cortisol Levels and Propofol Consumption during Spinal Anesthesia

Background: This study explores effects of instrumental music on the hormonal system (as indicated by serum cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone), the immune system (as indicated by immunoglobulin A) and sedative drug requirements during surgery (elective total hip joint replacement under spinal anesthesia with light sedation). This is the first study investigating this issue with a double-blind design using instrumental music. Methodology/Principal Findings: Patients (n = 40) were randomly assigned either to a music group (listening to instrumental music), or to a control group (listening to a non-musical placebo stimulus). Both groups listened to the auditory stimulus about 2 h before, and during the entire intra-operative period (during the intra-operative light sedation, subjects were able to respond lethargically to verbal commands). Results indicate that, during surgery, patients of the music group had a lower propofol consumption, and lower cortisol levels, compared to the control group. Conclusion/Significance: Our data show that listening to music during surgery under regional anesthesia has effects on cortisol levels (reflecting stress-reducing effects) and reduces sedative requirements to reach light sedation

Use of a High-Density Protein Microarray to Identify Autoantibodies in Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and an HLA Background Associated with Reduced Insulin Secretion

New biomarkers for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) may aid diagnosis, drug development or clinical treatment. Evidence is increasing for the adaptive immune system's role in T2DM and suggests the presence of unidentified autoantibodies. While high-density protein microarrays have emerged as a useful technology to identify possible novel autoantigens in autoimmune diseases, its application in T2DM has lagged. In Pima Indians, the HLA haplotype (HLA-DRB1*02) is protective against T2DM and, when studied when they have normal glucose tolerance, subjects with this HLA haplotype have higher insulin secretion compared to those without the protective haplotype. Possible autoantibody biomarkers were identified using microarrays containing 9480 proteins in plasma from Pima Indians with T2DM without the protective haplotype (n = 7) compared with those with normal glucose regulation (NGR) with the protective haplotype (n = 11). A subsequent validation phase involving 45 cases and 45 controls, matched by age, sex and specimen storage time, evaluated 77 proteins. Eleven autoantigens had higher antibody signals among T2DM subjects with the lower insulin-secretion HLA background compared with NGR subjects with the higher insulin-secretion HLA background (p<0.05, adjusted for multiple comparisons). PPARG2 and UBE2M had lowest p-values (adjusted p = 0.023) while PPARG2 and RGS17 had highest case-to-control antibody signal ratios (1.7). A multi-protein classifier involving the 11 autoantigens had sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.73, 0.80, and 0.83 (95% CI 0.74-0.91, p = 3.4x10-8), respectively. This study identified 11 novel autoantigens which were associated with T2DM and an HLA background associated with reduced insulin secretion. While further studies are needed to distinguish whether these antibodies are associated with insulin secretion via the HLA background, T2DM more broadly, or a combination of the two, this study may aid the search for autoantibody biomarkers by narrowing the list of protein targets

Poly(Bis-Arylimidazoliums) Possessing High Hydroxide Ion Exchange Capacity and High Alkaline Stability

Solid polymer electrolyte electrochemical energy conversion devices that operate under highly alkaline conditions afford faster reaction kinetics and the deployment of inexpensive electrocatalysts compared with their acidic counterparts. The hydroxide anion exchange polymer is a key component of any solid polymer electrolyte device that operates under alkaline conditions. However, durable hydroxide-conducting polymer electrolytes in highly caustic media have proved elusive, because polymers bearing cations are inherently unstable under highly caustic conditions. Here we report a systematic investigation of novel arylimidazolium and bis-arylimidazolium compounds that lead to the rationale design of robust, sterically protected poly(arylimidazolium) hydroxide anion exchange polymers that possess a combination of high ion-exchange capacity and exceptional stability

ARTEFACTS: How do we want to deal with the future of our one and only planet?

The European Commission’s Science and Knowledge Service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), decided to try working hand-in-hand with leading European science centres and museums. Behind this decision was the idea that the JRC could better support EU Institutions in engaging with the European public. The fact that European Union policies are firmly based on scientific evidence is a strong message which the JRC is uniquely able to illustrate. Such a collaboration would not only provide a platform to explain the benefits of EU policies to our daily lives but also provide an opportunity for European citizens to engage by taking a more active part in the EU policy making process for the future. A PILOT PROGRAMME To test the idea, the JRC launched an experimental programme to work with science museums: a perfect partner for three compelling reasons. Firstly, they attract a large and growing number of visitors. Leading science museums in Europe have typically 500 000 visitors per year. Furthermore, they are based in large European cities and attract local visitors as well as tourists from across Europe and beyond. The second reason for working with museums is that they have mastered the art of how to communicate key elements of sophisticated arguments across to the public and making complex topics of public interest readily accessible. That is a high-value added skill and a crucial part of the valorisation of public-funded research, never to be underestimated. Finally museums are, at present, undergoing something of a renaissance. Museums today are vibrant environments offering new techniques and technologies to both inform and entertain, and attract visitors of all demographics.JRC.H.2-Knowledge Management Methodologies, Communities and Disseminatio