Out-of-hospital births and the supply of maternity units in France.

International audienceMaternity unit closures in France have increased distances that women travel to deliver in hospital. We studied how the supply of maternity units influences the rate of out-of-hospital births using birth certificate data. In 2005-6, 4.3 per 1000 births were out-of-hospital. Rates were more than double for women living 30km or more from their nearest unit and were even higher for women of high parity. These associations persisted in multilevel analyses adjusting for other maternal characteristics. Long distances to maternity units should be a concern to health planners because of the maternal and infant health risks

Towards understanding of magnetic interactions within a series of tetrathiafulvalene- conjugated- verdazyl diradical cation system: a density funtional theory study

The intramolecular magnetic exchange coupling constants (J) for a series of tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) and verdazyl diradical cations connected by a range of p conjugated linkers have been investigated by means of methodology based on unrestricted density functional theory. The magnetic interaction between radicals is transmitted via p–electron conjugation for all considered compounds. The calculation of J yields strong or medium ferromagnetic coupling interactions (in the range of 56 and 300 K) for diradical cations connected by linkers with an even number of carbon atoms that are able to provide a spin polarization pathway, while antiferromagnetic coupling is predicted when linkers with an odd number of carbon atoms are employed. The topological analysis of spin density distributions have been used to reveal the effects of the spin polarization on both linkers and spin carriers. The absence of heteroatoms that impede the spin polarization pathway, and the existence of a unique spin polarization path instead of several possible competitive routes are factors which contribute to large positive J values favoring ferromagnetic interactions between the two terminal p-radicals. The magnitude of J depends strongly on the planarity of the molecular structure of the diradical cation since a more effective orbital overlap between the two p-systems can be achieved. Hence, the dependence of J on the torsion angle (y) of each spin carrier has been analyzed. In this respect, our findings show that this geometrical distortion reduces largely the calculated J values for ferromagnetic couplings, leading to weak antiferromagnetic interactions for a torsion angle of 90

Exploring the views of planners and public health practitioners on integrating health evidence into spatial planning in England: A mixed-methods study

Background: This study explored barriers and facilitators to integrating health evidence into spatial planning at local authority levels and examined the awareness and use of the Public Health England Spatial Planning for Health resource. Methods: A sequential exploratory mixed methods design utilised in-depth semi-structured interviews followed by an online survey of public health, planning and other built environment professionals in England. Results: Views from 19 individuals and 162 survey responses revealed high awareness and use of the Spatial Planning for Health resource, although public health professionals reported greater awareness and use than other professionals. Key barriers to evidence implementation included: differences in interpretation and use of ‘evidence’ between public health and planning professionals; lack of practical evidence to apply locally; and lack of resource and staff capacity in local authorities. Key facilitators included: integrating health into the design of Local Plans; articulating wider benefits to multiple stakeholders, and simplifying presenting evidence (regarding language and accessibility). Conclusion: The Spatial Planning for Health resource is a useful resource at local authority level. Further work is needed to maximise its use by built environment professionals. Public health teams need support, capacity and skills to ensure that local health and wellbeing priorities are integrated into local planning documents and decisions

Thermal breakage of window glass in room fires conditions - Analysis of some important parameters

In a compartment fire, the breakage and possible fallout of a window glass has a significant impact on the fire dynamics. The thermal breakage of glass depends on various parameters such as glass type, edge shading, edges conditions and constraints on the glass. The purpose of the present study is to investigate some of the key parameters affecting the thermal breakage of window glass in fire conditions using a recently developed and validated computer tool. Fallout is not within the scope of this study. Different boundary conditions of the glass pane (unconstrained and constrained) subjected to fire radiant heat are investigated. The analysis shows that to prevent glass thermal breakage, it is important to provide enough spacing between the frame and glass pane to accommodate the thermal expansion, and constraints on the glass structure should be avoided. The zones where the glass is likely to crack first are shown. The study also quantifies the effects of glass edge conditions on its thermal breakage in fire conditions; such analysis has not been reported in the literature due to its complexity and the statistical nature of edge flaws. The results show that an ordinary float glass mostly used in windows, with the “as-cut” edge condition would break later and is stronger than a ground edge or polished edge glass for the scenarios investigated. The study demonstrates how a predictive tool could be employed for a better understanding of thermal breakage of window glass in fires and for design guidance

Heritable variation in telomere length predicts mortality in soay sheep

Telomere length (TL) is considered an important biomarker of whole-organism health and aging. Across humans and other vertebrates, short telomeres are associated with increased subsequent mortality risk, but the processes responsible for this correlation remain uncertain. A key unanswered question is whether TL–mortality associations arise due to positive effects of genes or early-life environment on both an individual’s average lifetime TL and their longevity, or due to more immediate effects of environmental stressors on within-individual TL loss and increased mortality risk. Addressing this question requires longitudinal TL and life history data across the entire lifetimes of many individuals, which are difficult to obtain for long-lived species like humans. Using longitudinal data and samples collected over nearly two decades, as part of a long-term study of wild Soay sheep, we dissected an observed positive association between TL and subsequent survival using multivariate quantitative genetic models. We found no evidence that telomere attrition was associated with increased mortality risk, suggesting that TL is not an important marker of biological aging or exposure to environmental stress in our study system. Instead, we find that among-individual differences in average TL are associated with increased lifespan. Our analyses suggest that this correlation between an individual’s average TL and lifespan has a genetic basis. This demonstrates that TL has the potential to evolve under natural conditions, and suggests an important role of genetics underlying the widespread observation that short telomeres predict mortality

Clinically relevant safety issues associated with St. John's wort product labels

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>St. John's wort (SJW), used to treat depression, is popular in the USA, Canada, and parts of Europe. However, there are documented interactions between SJW and prescription medications including warfarin, cyclosporine, indinavir, and oral contraceptives. One source of information about these safety considerations is the product label. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinically relevant safety information included on labeling in a nationally representative sample of SJW products from the USA.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Eight clinically relevant safety issues were identified: drug interactions (SJW-HIV medications, SJW-immunosupressants, SJW-oral contraceptives, and SJW-warfarin), contraindications (bipolar disorder), therapeutic duplication (antidepressants), and general considerations (phototoxicity and advice to consult a healthcare professional (HCP)). A list of SJW products was identified to assess their labels. Percentages and totals were used to present findings.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the seventy-four products evaluated, no product label provided information for all 8 evaluation criteria. Three products (4.1%) provided information on 7 of the 8 criteria. Four products provided no safety information whatsoever. Percentage of products with label information was: SJW-HIV (8.1%), SJW-immunosupressants (5.4%), SJW-OCPs (8.1%), SJW-warfarin (5.4%), bipolar (1.4%), antidepressants (23.0%), phototoxicity (51.4%), and consult HCP (87.8%). Other safety-related information on labels included warnings about pregnancy (74.3%), lactation (64.9%), discontinue if adverse reaction (23.0%), and not for use in patients under 18 years old (13.5%). The average number of <it>a priori </it>safety issues included on a product label was 1.91 (range 0–8) for 23.9% completeness.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The vast majority of SJW products fail to adequately address clinically relevant safety issues on their labeling. A few products do provide an acceptable amount of information on clinically relevant safety issues which could enhance the quality of counseling by HCPs and health store clerks. HCPs and consumers may benefit if the FDA re-examined labeling requirements for dietary supplements.</p

Effects of exercise on sleep spindles in Parkinson's disease

BackgroundIn a randomized, controlled trial, we showed that high-intensity rehabilitation, combining resistance training and body-weight interval training, improves sleep efficiency in Parkinson's disease (PD). Quantitative sleep EEG (sleep qEEG) features, including sleep spindles, are altered in aging and in neurodegenerative disease.ObjectiveThe objective of this post-hoc analysis was to determine the effects of exercise, in comparison to a sleep hygiene, no-exercise control group, on the quantitative characteristics of sleep spindle morphology in PD.MethodsWe conducted an exploratory post-hoc analysis of 24 PD participants who were randomized to exercise (supervised 3 times/week for 16 weeks) versus 26 PD participants who were assigned to a sleep hygiene, no-exercise control group. At baseline and post-intervention, all participants completed memory testing and underwent polysomnography (PSG). PSG-derived sleep EEG central leads (C3 and C4) were manually inspected, with rejection of movement and electrical artifacts. Sleep spindle events were detected based on the following parameters: (1) frequency filter = 11–16 Hz, (2) event duration = 0.5–3 s, and (3) amplitude threshold 75% percentile. We then calculated spindle morphological features, including density and amplitude. These characteristics were computed and averaged over non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep stages N2 and N3 for the full night and separately for the first and second halves of the recording. Intervention effects on these features were analyzed using general linear models with group x time interaction. Significant interaction effects were evaluated for correlations with changes in performance in the memory domain.ResultsA significant group x time interaction effect was observed for changes in sleep spindle density due to exercise compared to sleep hygiene control during N2 and N3 during the first half of the night, with a moderate effect size. This change in spindle density was positively correlated with changes in performance on memory testing in the exercise group.ConclusionsThis study is the first to demonstrate that high-intensity exercise rehabilitation has a potential role in improving sleep spindle density in PD and leading to better cognitive performance in the memory domain. These findings represent a promising advance in the search for non-pharmacological treatments for this common and debilitating non-motor symptom

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements