Effects of Smoking vs. Nicotine Replacement Therapy During Pregnancy on Childhood Health Outcomes: An Integrative Literature Review

PICOT: In pregnant women does the use of nicotine replacement therapy compared to smoking during pregnancy reduce the risk of future childhood health concerns? Methods: A search was conducted on healthcare literature databases (Alt HealthWatch, AMED, CINAHL, and Medline).The initial search yielded 940 results related to the topic. Initial review narrowed the search to 25 articles. Articles were excluded if published before 2008. After reviewing the full articles and evaluating effectiveness of the studies, 12 studies met the criteria. These 12 articles focused on the effects of smoking and childhood outcomes, NRT, and success of NRT. Findings: The articles concluded that NRT may aid in positive health outcomes since it excludes the risk factors associated with carbon monoxide and other carcinogens found in cigarettes. The NRT still delivers significant levels of nicotine exposure to the fetus and leads to pregnancy complications ending in low birth weight and preterm birth. Recommendations: Further studies should be conducted on the effects of nicotine and NRT especially on birth outcomes and future childhood health concerns

Which environmental variables should I use in my biodiversity model?

Appropriate selection of environmental variables is critical to the performance of biodiversity models, but has received less attention than the choice of modelling method. Online aggregators of biological and environmental data, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the Atlas of Living Australia, necessitate a rational approach to variable selection. We outline a set of general principles for systematically identifying, compiling, evaluating and selecting environmental variables for a biodiversity model. Our approach aims to maximise the information obtained from the analysis of biological records linked to a potentially large suite of spatial environmental variables. We demonstrate the utility of this structured framework through case studies with Australian vascular plants: regional modelling of a species distribution, continent-wide modelling of species compositional turnover and environmental classification. The approach is informed by three components of a biodiversity model: (1) an ecological framework or conceptual model, (2) a data model concerning availability, resolution and variable selection and (3) a method for analysing data. We expand the data model in structuring the problem of choosing environmental variables. The case studies demonstrate a structured approach for the: (1) cost-effective compilation of variables in the context of an explicit ecological framework for the study, attribute accuracy and resolution; (2) evaluation of non-linear relationships between variables using knowledge of their derivation, scatter plots and dissimilarity matrices; (3) selection and grouping of variables based on hypotheses of relative ecological importance and perceived predictor effectiveness; (4) systematic testing of variables as predictors through the process of model building and refinement and (5) model critique, inference and synthesis using direct gradient analysis to evaluate the shape of response curves in the context of ecological theory by presenting predictions in both geographic and environmental space

A Deep XMM-Newton Survey of M33: Point Source Catalog, Source Detection and Characterization of Overlapping Fields

We have obtained a deep 8-field XMM-Newton mosaic of M33 covering the galaxy out to the D$_{25}$ isophote and beyond to a limiting 0.2--4.5 keV unabsorbed flux of 5$\times$10$^{-16}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ (L${>}$4$\times$10$^{34}$ erg s$^{-1}$ at the distance of M33). These data allow complete coverage of the galaxy with high sensitivity to soft sources such as diffuse hot gas and supernova remnants. Here we describe the methods we used to identify and characterize 1296 point sources in the 8 fields. We compare our resulting source catalog to the literature, note variable sources, construct hardness ratios, classify soft sources, analyze the source density profile, and measure the X-ray luminosity function. As a result of the large effective area of XMM-Newton below 1 keV, the survey contains many new soft X-ray sources. The radial source density profile and X-ray luminosity function for the sources suggests that only $\sim$15% of the 391 bright sources with L${>}$3.6$\times$10$^{35}$ erg s$^{-1}$ are likely to be associated with M33, and more than a third of these are known supernova remnants. The log(N)--log(S) distribution, when corrected for background contamination, is a relatively flat power-law with a differential index of 1.5, which suggests many of the other M33 sources may be high-mass X-ray binaries. Finally, we note the discovery of an interesting new transient X-ray source, which we are unable to classify.Comment: 26 pages, 6 tables, 13 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Rapidly Measured Indicators of Recreational Water Quality Are Predictive of Swimming-Associated Gastrointestinal Illness

Standard methods to measure recreational water quality require at least 24 hr to obtain results, making it impossible to assess the quality of water within a single day. Methods to measure recreational water quality in ≤ 2 hr have been developed. Application of rapid methods could give considerably more accurate and timely assessments of recreational water quality. We conducted a prospective study of beachgoers at two Great Lakes beaches to examine the association between recreational water quality, obtained using rapid methods, and gastrointestinal (GI) illness after swimming. Beachgoers were asked about swimming and other beach activities and 10–12 days later were asked about the occurrence of GI symptoms. We tested water samples for Enterococcus and Bacteroides species using the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. We observed significant trends between increased GI illness and Enterococcus at the Lake Michigan beach and a positive trend for Enterococcus at the Lake Erie beach. The association remained significant for Enterococcus when the two beaches were combined. We observed a positive trend for Bacteroides at the Lake Erie beach, but no trend was observed at the Lake Michigan beach. Enterococcus samples collected at 0800 hr were predictive of GI illness that day. The association between Enterococcus and illness strengthened as time spent swimming in the water increased. This is the first study to show that water quality measured by rapid methods can predict swimming-associated health effects

The value of targeted biological surveys: an assessment of Australia's Bush Blitz programme

Biodiversity assessment and decisions rely on knowledge of the spatial distribution of species, yet most global biodiversity is inadequately represented by occurrence records. Efforts to improve our knowledge of biodiversity distribution include targeted taxon survey programmes aimed at generating records of new, or previously unrecorded, species. Here, we evaluate nearly 8 years of biodiversity record collection by Bush Blitz, Australia's largest species discovery programme, to test how efficiently knowledge was added through the programme

Emergency Preparedness: An Analysis of Policy Leader and Community Perspectives

This report, which was produced for then-Congressman Bob Riley's office, provided findings regarding the state of emergency preparedness in Calhoun County, Alabama, related to chemical weapons (CW) storage and incineration at the Anniston Army Depot. The analysis addressed the following research question. Given that CW incineration is set to start at the Anniston Army Depot in September 2002, what information would provide the basis for practical dialogue about emergency preparedness in Calhoun County and provide a possible foundation for policy leaders to reach consensus over this critical issue in order to ensure citizen acceptance, understanding, and compliance

Enhanced survival and mucosal repair after dextran sodium sulfate–induced colitis in transgenic mice that overexpress growth hormone

AbstractBackground & Aims: Growth hormone (GH) is used as therapy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the specific effects on intestine are unknown. Transgenic mice overexpressing GH (MT1-bGH-TG) were used to test whether increased plasma GH levels alter inflammation or crypt damage during dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis. Methods: MT1-bGH-TG and wild-type (WT) littermates were given 3% DSS for 5 days followed by up to 10 days of recovery. Colitis and epithelial cell proliferation were evaluated histologically. Plasma insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I and colonic IGF-I, interleukin (IL)-1β, and intestinal trefoil factor (ITF) messenger RNAs (mRNAs) were measured. Results: DSS induced similar disease onset in MT1-bGH-TG and WT. More MT1-bGH-TG survived than WT. By recovery day 7, MT1-bGH-TG had less inflammation and crypt damage, elevated plasma IGF-I, and increased colonic ITF expression relative to WT. Colonic IL-1β was elevated in DSS-treated MT1-bGH-TG and WT, but IL-1β mRNA abundance correlated with disease only in WT. MT1-bGH-TG showed earlier increases in epithelial cell proliferation than WT during recovery but only WT showed atypical repair. Conclusions: GH does not alter susceptibility to acute DSS-induced colitis but enhances survival, remission of inflammation, and mucosal repair during recovery. GH therapy may be beneficial during active IBD by improving mucosal repair.GASTROENTEROLOGY 2001;120:925-93