Neurobehavioral consequences of chronic intrauterine opioid exposure in infants and preschool children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

<b>Background</b><p></p> It is assumed within the accumulated literature that children born of pregnant opioid dependent mothers have impaired neurobehavioral function as a consequence of chronic intrauterine opioid use.<p></p> <b>Methods</b><p></p> Quantitative and systematic review of the literature on the consequences of chronic maternal opioid use during pregnancy on neurobehavioral function of children was conducted using the Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. We searched Cinahl, EMBASE, PsychINFO and MEDLINE between the periods of January 1995 to January 2012.<p></p> <b>Results</b><p></p> There were only 5 studies out of the 200 identified that quantitatively reported on neurobehavioral function of children after maternal opioid use during pregnancy. All 5 were case control studies with the number of exposed subjects within the studies ranging from 33–143 and 45–85 for the controls. This meta-analysis showed no significant impairments, at a non-conservative significance level of p < 0.05, for cognitive, psychomotor or observed behavioural outcomes for chronic intra-uterine exposed infants and pre-school children compared to non-exposed infants and children. However, all domains suggested a trend to poor outcomes in infants/children of opioid using mothers. The magnitude of all possible effects was small according to Cohen’s benchmark criteria.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b><p></p> Chronic intra-uterine opioid exposed infants and pre-school children experienced no significant impairment in neurobehavioral outcomes when compared to non-exposed peers, although in all domains there was a trend to poorer outcomes. The findings of this review are limited by the small number of studies analysed, the heterogenous populations and small numbers within the individual studies. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine if any neuropsychological impairments appear after the age of 5 years and to help investigate further the role of environmental risk factors on the effect of ‘core’ phenotypes

The Evolution of Compact Binary Star Systems

We review the formation and evolution of compact binary stars consisting of white dwarfs (WDs), neutron stars (NSs), and black holes (BHs). Binary NSs and BHs are thought to be the primary astrophysical sources of gravitational waves (GWs) within the frequency band of ground-based detectors, while compact binaries of WDs are important sources of GWs at lower frequencies to be covered by space interferometers (LISA). Major uncertainties in the current understanding of properties of NSs and BHs most relevant to the GW studies are discussed, including the treatment of the natal kicks which compact stellar remnants acquire during the core collapse of massive stars and the common envelope phase of binary evolution. We discuss the coalescence rates of binary NSs and BHs and prospects for their detections, the formation and evolution of binary WDs and their observational manifestations. Special attention is given to AM CVn-stars -- compact binaries in which the Roche lobe is filled by another WD or a low-mass partially degenerate helium-star, as these stars are thought to be the best LISA verification binary GW sources.Comment: 105 pages, 18 figure

Effect of atorvastatin on C-reactive protein and benefits for cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes: analyses from the Collaborative Atorvastatin Diabetes Trial

CARDS was partially funded by Diabetes UK and the National Health Service Research and Development Forum (England)

A psycho-Geoinformatics approach for investigating older adults’ driving behaviours and underlying cognitive mechanisms

Introduction: Safe driving constantly challenges the driver’s ability to respond to the dynamic traffic scene under space and time constraints. It is of particular importance for older drivers to perform sufficient visual and motor actions with effective coordination due to the fact of age-related cognitive decline. However, few studies have been able to integrate drivers’ visual-motor behaviours with environmental information in a spatial-temporal context and link to the cognitive conditions of individual drivers. Little is known about the mechanisms that underpin the deterioration in visual-motor coordination of older drivers. Development: Based on a review of driving-related cognitive decline in older adults and the context of driver-vehicle-environment interactions, this paper established a conceptual framework to identify the parameters of driver’s visual and motor behaviour, and reveal the cognitive process from visual search to vehicle control in driving. The framework led to a psycho-geoinformatics approach to measure older drivers’ driving behaviours and investigate the underlying cognitive mechanisms. The proposed data collection protocol and the analysis and assessments depicted the psycho-geoinformatics approach on obtaining quantified variables and the key means of analysis, as well as outcome measures. Conclusions: Recordings of the driver and their interactions with the vehicle and environment at a detailed scale give a closer assessment of the driver’s behaviours. Using geoinformatics tools in driving behaviours assessment opens a new era of research with many possible analytical options, which do not have to rely on human observations. Instead, it receives clear indicators of the individual drivers’ interactions with the vehicle and the traffic environment. This approach should make it possible to identify lower-performing older drivers and problematic visual and motor behaviours, and the cognitive predictors of risky driving behaviours. A better targeted regulation and tailored intervention programs for older can be developed by further research

Sequence-Dependent Fluorescence of Cyanine Dyes on Microarrays

Cy3 and Cy5 are among the most commonly used oligonucleotide labeling molecules. Studies of nucleic acid structure and dynamics use these dyes, and they are ubiquitous in microarray experiments. They are sensitive to their environment and have higher quantum yield when bound to DNA. The fluorescent intensity of terminal cyanine dyes is also known to be significantly dependent on the base sequence of the oligonucleotide. We have developed a very precise and high-throughput method to evaluate the sequence dependence of oligonucleotide labeling dyes using microarrays and have applied the method to Cy3 and Cy5. We used light-directed in-situ synthesis of terminally-labeled microarrays to determine the fluorescence intensity of each dye on all 1024 possible 5′-labeled 5-mers. Their intensity is sensitive to all five bases. Their fluorescence is higher with 5′ guanines, and adenines in subsequent positions. Cytosine suppresses fluorescence. Intensity falls by half over the range of all 5-mers for Cy3, and two-thirds for Cy5. Labeling with 5′-biotin-streptavidin-Cy3/-Cy5 gives a completely different sequence dependence and greatly reduces fluorescence compared with direct terminal labeling

Electrical Sintering of Silver Nanoparticle Ink Studied by In-Situ TEM Probing

Metallic nanoparticle inks are used for printed electronics, but to reach acceptable conductivity the structures need to be sintered, usually using a furnace. Recently, sintering by direct resistive heating has been demonstrated. For a microscopic understanding of this Joule heating sintering method, we studied the entire process in real time inside a transmission electron microscope equipped with a movable electrical probe. We found an onset of Joule heating induced sintering and coalescence of nanoparticles at power levels of 0.1–10 mW/m3. In addition, a carbonization of the organic shells that stabilize the nanoparticles were found, with a conductivity of 4 105 Sm−1

Polymorphisms in the P2X7 receptor gene are associated with low lumbar spine bone mineral density and accelerated bone loss in post-menopausal women

The P2X7 receptor gene (P2RX7) is highly polymorphic with five previously described loss-of-function (LOF) single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP; c.151+1G>T, c.946G>A, c.1096C>G, c.1513A>C and c.1729T>A) and one gain-of-function SNP (c.489C>T). The purpose of this study was to determine whether the functional P2RX7 SNPs are associated with lumbar spine (LS) bone mineral density (BMD), a key determinant of vertebral fracture risk, in post-menopausal women. We genotyped 506 post-menopausal women from the Aberdeen Prospective Osteoporosis Screening Study (APOSS) for the above SNPs. Lumbar spine BMD was measured at baseline and at 6–7 year follow-up. P2RX7 genotyping was performed by homogeneous mass extension. We found association of c.946A (p.Arg307Gln) with lower LS-BMD at baseline (P=0.004, β=−0.12) and follow-up (P=0.002, β=−0.13). Further analysis showed that a combined group of subjects who had LOF SNPs (n=48) had nearly ninefold greater annualised percent change in LS-BMD than subjects who were wild type at the six SNP positions (n=84; rate of loss=−0.94%/year and −0.11%/year, respectively, P=0.0005, unpaired t-test). This is the first report that describes association of the c.946A (p.Arg307Gln) LOF SNP with low LS-BMD, and that other LOF SNPs, which result in reduced or no function of the P2X7 receptor, may contribute to accelerated bone loss. Certain polymorphic variants of P2RX7 may identify women at greater risk of developing osteoporosis

Serotonin transporter binding of [123I]ADAM in bulimic women, their healthy twin sisters, and healthy women: a SPET study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bulimia Nervosa (BN) is believed to be caused by an interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Previous studies support the existence of a bulimia-related endophenotype as well as disturbances in serotonin (5-HT) transmission. We studied serotonin transporter (SERT) binding in BN, and to investigate the possibility of a SERT-related endophenotype for BN, did this in a sample of female twins. We hypothesized clearly reduced SERT binding in BN women as opposed to healthy women, and intermediate SERT binding in unaffected co-twins.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We studied 13 female twins with BN (9 with purging and 4 with non-purging BN) and 25 healthy women, including 6 healthy twin sisters of BN patients and 19 women from 10 healthy twin pairs. [¹²³I]ADAM, a selective SERT radioligand for single photon emission tomography (SPET) imaging, was used to assess SERT availability in the midbrain and the thalamus.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No differences in SERT binding were evident when comparing the BN women, their unaffected co-twins and the healthy controls (p = 0.14). The healthy sisters of the BN patients and the healthy control women had similar SERT binding in both brain regions. In a <it>post hoc </it>subgroup analysis, the purging bulimics had higher SERT binding than the healthy women in the midbrain (p = 0.03), but not in the thalamus.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our finding of increased SERT binding in the midbrain in the purging BN women raises the possibility that this subgroup of bulimics might differ in serotonergic function from the non-purging ones. The similarity of the unaffected co-twins and the healthy controls doesn't support our initial assumption of a SERT-related endophenotype for BN. Due to the small sample size, our results need to be interpreted with caution and verified in a larger sample.</p