Prevalence of Low Birth Weight, Premature Birth, and Stillbirth Among Pregnant Adolescents in Canada: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Although most studies show that adolescent pregnant women are at a higher risk for adverse birth outcomes, there has been limited research examining this relationship in Canada. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the prevalence of low birthweight (LBW), preterm birth (PTB), and stillbirth in Canadian adolescent women compared to adult women. Studies were included if they were primary research and included a sample of adolescent mothers (≤19 years) and adult mothers (≥20 years) who gave birth to singleton infants in Canada. Birth outcomes must have been measured consistently in at least 3 studies for inclusion. Comprehensive electronic literature searches were conducted from database inception until August 2020 in 5 databases. Random effects meta-analysis models were used to estimate pooled odds ratios (pOR) for LBW, PTB, and stillbirth between adolescent and adult pregnant women. Outcomes reported included PTB (8 studies), LBW (6 studies), and stillbirth (3 studies). Compared to adult mothers, adolescent mothers had a 56% increase in the prevalence of LBW (pOR 1.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.24, 1.97), a 23% increase in PTB (pOR 1.23, 95% CI 1.06, 1.42), a 20% increase in stillbirth (pOR 1.20, 95% CI 1.05, 1.37). Heterogeneity, as assessed by I2, was high for LBW and PTB and was low for stillbirth. A subgroup analysis did not remove the high heterogeneity, and some studies did not adjust for confounding variables and were missing information on sociodemographic and behavioral factors. Future research is needed to investigate the mechanisms surrounding these differences by maternal age

Kinetics of thermal degradation of carotenoids related to potential of mixture of wheat, cassava and sweet potato flours in baking products

BACKGROUND The consumption of foods such as sweet potato and cassava with high levels of carotenoids is a possible solution to reduce vitamin A deficiency. In this study, we evaluated the kinetics of thermal degradation of carotenoids. The content of carotenoids was quantified by HPLC, first in fresh material, then in flour, and finally in bakery products using mixtures of wheat, sweet potato and cassava. The degree of acceptance of the bakery products by children was also assessed through a sensory acceptance test. RESULTS The study found that the degradation of carotenoids compounds in sweet potato followed first-order kinetics and fit the Arrhenius equation with correlations of R2>0.9. The retention rates of all-trans-β-carotene were 77%, 56% and 48% at the cooking temperatures of 75°, 85° and 95°C respectively, during a cooking time of 20 min. The concentrations of all trans-β-carotene, after baking, for bread, cookies, and cake were 15, 19 and 14 μg/g db, respectively. In the sensory acceptance test carried out in a school, 47.6% of the boys and 79.2% of the girls rated the cookies made from a mixture of cassava, sweet potato, and wheat flour with the indicator, I like it a lot. CONCLUSION The content of carotenoids compounds was reduced by exposure to high temperatures and long cooking times. The combinations of cooking time and temperature which minimized degradation of all-trans-β-carotene occurred at 75°C-20 min and 95°C-10 min. All trans-β-carotene retentions for bread, cookies and cake were 25%, 15% and 11% respectively. The mixture of wheat-sweet potato-cassava flour can be considered in the development of cookies with positive contributions of all trans-β-carotenes and with a good acceptance by children between 9 and 13 years. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Adjustable conduits for guided peripheral nerve regeneration prepared from bi-zonal unidirectional and multidirectional laminar scaffold of type I collagen

Shortness of donor nerves has led to the development of nerve conduits that connect sectioned peripheral nerve stumps and help to prevent the formation of neuromas. Often, the standard diameters of these devices cannot be adapted at the time of surgery to the diameter of the nerve injured. In this work, scaffolds were developed to form filled nerve conduits with an inner matrix with unidirectional channels covered by a multidirectional pore zone. Collagen type I dispersions (5 mg/g and 8 mg/g) were sequentially frozen using different methods to obtain six laminar scaffolds (P1 to P5) formed by a unidirectional (U) pore/channel zone adjacent to a multidirectional (M) pore zone. The physicochemical and microstructural properties of the scaffolds were determined and compared, as well as their biodegradability, residual glutaraldehyde and cytocompatibility. Also, the Young's modulus of the conduits made by rolling up the bizonal scaffolds from the unidirectional to the multidirectional zone was determined. Based on these comparisons, the proliferation and differentiation of hASC were assessed only in the P3 scaffolds. The cells adhered, aligned in the same direction as the unidirectional porous fibers, proliferated, and differentiated into Schwann-like cells. Adjustable conduits made with the P3 scaffold were implanted in rats 10 mm sciatic nerve lesions to compare their performance with that of autologous sciatic nerve grafted lesions. The in vivo results demonstrated that the tested conduit can be adapted to the diameter of the nerve stumps to guide their growth and promote their regeneration.publishe

Highly Active and Stable Ni/La-Doped Ceria Material for Catalytic CO2Reduction by Reverse Water-Gas Shift Reaction

[EN] The design of an active, effective, and economically viable catalyst for CO2 conversion into value-added products is crucial in the fight against global warming and energy demand. We have developed very efficient catalysts for reverse water-gas shift (rWGS) reaction. Specific conditions of the synthesis by combustion allow the obtention of macroporous materials based on nanosized Ni particles supported on a mixed oxide of high purity and crystallinity. Here, we show that Ni/La-doped CeO2 catalysts─with the "right"Ni and La proportions─have an unprecedented catalytic performance per unit mass of catalyst for the rWGS reaction as the first step toward CO2 valorization. Correlations between physicochemical properties and catalytic activity, obtained using a combination of different techniques such as X-ray and neutron powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, in situ near ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and catalytic testing, point out to optimum values for the Ni loading and the La proportion. Density functional theory calculations of elementary steps of the reaction on model Ni/ceria catalysts aid toward the microscopic understanding of the nature of the active sites. This finding offers a fundamental basis for developing economical catalysts that can be effectively used for CO2 reduction with hydrogen. A catalyst based on Ni0.07/(Ce0.9La0.1Ox)0.93 shows a CO production of 58 × 10-5 molCO·gcat-1·s-1 (700 °C, H2/CO2 = 2; selectivity to CO > 99.5), being stable for 100 h under continuous reaction.We acknowledge the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2021-123287OB-I00, PID2021-122477-OB-I00, PID2021-128915NB-I00, and RTI2018-101604-B-I00) and of the CSIC through the i-LINK 2021 program (LINKA20408). Financial support has also been received from AEI-MINECO/FEDER (Nympha Project, PID2019-106315RB-I00), “Comunidad de Madrid” regional government, and the European Structural Funds (FotoArt-CM project, S2018/NMT-4367). Authors also acknowledge financial support from the grant PLEC2021-007906 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the “European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR”. We are grateful to ILL (France) for making all facilities available. This project also received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 832121. Computer time provided by the RES (Red Española de Supercomputación) resources at the MareNostrum 4 (BSC, Barcelona) node and the DECI resources at the BEM cluster of the WCSS based in Poland with the support from PRACE aislb is acknowledged

Contribution of common and rare variants to bipolar disorder susceptibility in extended pedigrees from population isolates.

Current evidence from case/control studies indicates that genetic risk for psychiatric disorders derives primarily from numerous common variants, each with a small phenotypic impact. The literature describing apparent segregation of bipolar disorder (BP) in numerous multigenerational pedigrees suggests that, in such families, large-effect inherited variants might play a greater role. To identify roles of rare and common variants on BP, we conducted genetic analyses in 26 Colombia and Costa Rica pedigrees ascertained for bipolar disorder 1 (BP1), the most severe and heritable form of BP. In these pedigrees, we performed microarray SNP genotyping of 838 individuals and high-coverage whole-genome sequencing of 449 individuals. We compared polygenic risk scores (PRS), estimated using the latest BP1 genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics, between BP1 individuals and related controls. We also evaluated whether BP1 individuals had a higher burden of rare deleterious single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) and rare copy number variants (CNVs) in a set of genes related to BP1. We found that compared with unaffected relatives, BP1 individuals had higher PRS estimated from BP1 GWAS statistics (P = 0.001 ~ 0.007) and displayed modest increase in burdens of rare deleterious SNVs (P = 0.047) and rare CNVs (P = 0.002 ~ 0.033) in genes related to BP1. We did not observe rare variants segregating in the pedigrees. These results suggest that small-to-moderate effect rare and common variants are more likely to contribute to BP1 risk in these extended pedigrees than a few large-effect rare variants

Ebola Preparedness and Risk in Latin America

Until today, February 22, 2016, no confirmed Ebola cases have been diagnosed in Americas (except USA, four cases with one death). Confusion, lack of knowledge, and fear have led to quickly misclassify cases as suspected, when in fact most of them are false alarms. Nevertheless, European governments summoned to mobilize resources to attend the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. And also Latin American governments should contribute to halt this humanitarian crisis and to be prepared for the potential arrival of this deadly virus in the Caribbean, Central, and South American mainland. In this chapter, we described the experience of preparedness as well as risk assessment done in Latin America regarding the threat of Ebola for the region

El primer año de la pandemia – ¿Qué hemos aprendido del SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19?

Editorial (no Summary)Editorial (Sin resumen

Coastal Marine Planning: Vision of the Maritime Authority. Case of the Department of Bolivar, Colombia

La Planificación Espacial Marina es una herramienta que ha tomado gran importancia a nivel mundial. Alrededor de 70 países han implementado esta iniciativa debido a la creciente actividad en el sector marítimo y a la presión sobre los recursos marinos. Las metodologías aplicadas se ajustan a las características propias de cada país y se pueden articular con otros procesos de ordenamiento. En Colombia aunque se han adelantado procesos en este tema a través de diferentes entidades, no se ha generado un ordenamiento espacial de los usos relacionados con las actividades marítimas. Es por esta razón que la Dirección General Marítima (DIMAR) con su compromiso de convertir a Colombia en una potencia bioceánica, bajo un enfoque holístico y de seguridad integral marítima, realiza su aporte a la gestión de los espacios marino - costeros a través de una metodología de Ordenamiento Marino Costero con una Visión de Autoridad Marítima (OMC: VAM), en la cual se busca analizar las condiciones actuales y futuras empleando Sistemas de Información Geográfica (SIG), análisis multicriterio y un Modelo de Asignación y Co-localización (MAYC). La metodología se aplicó en la zona marino – costera del departamento de Bolívar identificando 55 usos/actividades, obteniendo la zonificación por índice y número de conflictos y el mapa de zonas libres. Con esta información se pretende mejorar el seguimiento, evaluación y actualización de las actividades marítimas en estas áreas, y al ser aplicable en todo el territorio colombiano, facilita la toma de decisiones de las diferentes entidades gubernamentales del país.Marine Spatial Planning is a tool that has acquired significant importance worldwide. Around 70 countries have implemented this initiative given the increased activity within the maritime sector and pressure on marine resources. The methods used are adapted to each country’s characteristics and articulated with other management processes. Although Colombia has progressed through on the processes regarding this issue, through different agencies, marine spatial planning related to maritime activities is absent. Therefore, the General Maritime Directorate (DIMAR in Spanish) through its commitment to turning Colombia into a bi-oceanic power, under a holistic and comprehensive maritime safety approach, contributes to marine and coastal areas management with a methodology for Marine and Coastal Management with a Maritime Authority Vision (MCM: MAV), focused on analyzed current and future conditions using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), multi-criteria analysis, and an Allocation and Co-location Model (ACM). The method was applied to Bolivar Department marine and coastal area, resulting in the identification of 55 uses/activities, and obtaining zoning by index and by the number of conflicts, as well as a map of free areas. This information is intended to improve monitoring, evaluation, and updating of maritime activities in these areas, and because it is applicable throughout the Colombian territory, it facilitates decision-making by several national governmental agencies

Countries Response for People With Disabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background and ObjectivesDuring the Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, isolation and prevention measures to reduce COVID-19 contagions are essential for the care of all people; these measures should comply with the principles of inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities (PWD), with all kinds of deficiencies and levels of dependency. Thereby, the aim of this article is to present the measures adopted for PWD or people with rehabilitation needs, for containment, mitigation, or suppression of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in different countries of all continents and of all income levels.MethodsA narrative approach was used in this article. First, a broad search was carried out in the 193 member states of the UN, and then 98 countries that issued any document, report, or information related to disability and COVID-19 were selected. Finally, 32 countries were included in this article because they presented official information. We considered official sources, the information available in the government, or on the health ministry page of the country. In this way, the countries that presented information which did not correspond to an official source were excluded. The search was conducted in August 2020 and updated in March 2021.ResultsFirst, the non-pharmacological general interventions for PWD included informative measures and general recommendations during the stay at home, isolation, and biosecurity measures, contagion prevention, detection of positive cases, mobilization measures, and measures implemented in institutions or residences of PWD. Second, we identified the economic and social benefits provided to PWD during the pandemic. Finally, we identified the measures taken by countries according to the type of impairment (visual, hearing, physical, mental, and cardiopulmonary impairment) during the COVID-19 pandemic.ConclusionIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, only 50% of countries from the five world regions created and implemented specific measures for PWD to containment, mitigation, or suppression of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. There is very little specific information available about the measures to continue with the care of people with rehabilitation needs and the long-term follow-up of PWD, and for the prevention and response to violence, especially for women with disabilities