Breastfeeding and risk for ceasing in mothers of preterm infants-long-term follow-up

Breastfeeding is challenging for mothers of preterm infants. The aim of this paper is to describe risk factors for ceasing breastfeeding and methods of feeding until 12 months postnatal age in mothers who breastfed their preterm infants at discharge from neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The data come from a randomised controlled trial, which evaluated the effectiveness on exclusive breastfeeding at 8 weeks of proactive telephone support compared to reactive support offered to mothers of preterm infants following discharge from NICU. Six NICUs across Sweden randomised a total 493 mothers. We used regression and survival analyses to assess the risk factors for ceasing breastfeeding and the long-term outcomes of the intervention. The results showed that 305 (64%) of the infants were breastfed at six months and 49 (21%) at 12 months. Partial breastfeeding at discharge, low maternal educational level and longer length of stay in the NICU increased the risk for ceasing breastfeeding during the first 12 months. Furthermore, the Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the proportion of mothers who ceased breastfeeding did not differ between the intervention (n=231) and controls (n=262) during the first 12 months (Log rank test p=0.68). No difference was found between groups on method of feeding. More than 85% of the infants were fed directly at the breast. These findings provide important insights for health professionals who are supporting mothers of preterm infants to breastfeed long-term. Registered in www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01806480)

Oxidation behavior of a Mo (Si, Al)(2)-based composite at 300-1000 degrees C

The oxidation behavior of a Mo (Si,Al)(2)-based composite of Mo(Si,Al)(2), Al2O3 and Mo-5(Si,Al)(3) (Kanthal Super ER) in synthetic air was investigated. The samples were oxidized isothermally for up to 72 h at 300-1000 degrees C using a thermobalance. The microstructure was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) depth profiling. Broad ion beam milling (BIB) was used to prepare cross-sections. Oxidation behavior depended strongly on the composition of the substrate which consisted of a Mo(Si,Al)(2) matrix and the minority phases Mo-5(Si,Al)(3) and Al2O3. At 300-500 degrees C the mass gains were small with parabolic kinetics, oxidation resulting in a mixture of oxides that reflects the substrate composition. At 600 and 700 degrees C the oxide scale is thin and protective and depleted in molybdenum, a mass loss occurring due to MoO3 vaporization. At 1000 degrees C a protective alpha-alumina scale forms

Black polymers in bulk - heterojunction solar cells

The active materials in polymer solar cells have a decisive role on the performance of the cells. Polymers with extended absorption, i.e., black polymers with absorption covering the whole visible region are desired in order to capture the important parts of the solar irradiation. Different ways of achieving black active materials are discussed and two new alternating polyfluorene (APFO) copolymers with broad absorption, APFO-Black 1 and APFO-Black 2, using two different design strategies are described. The UV-Vis absorption spectra of the polymers extend to approximately 850 nm, and the polymers were used as donors and [6,6]- phenyl-C6 1 -butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)[60] or PCBM[70] as acceptors in solar cell devices in various mixing ratios. The best combinations yielded an overall power conversion efficiency of 1.2% for APFO-Black 1 and 1.5% for APFO-Black 2

Expression of LRIG proteins as possible prognostic factors in primary vaginal carcinoma

Background Primary vaginal carcinoma (PVC) is a rare malignancy. Established prognostic factors include tumour stage and age at diagnosis. The leucine-rich repeats and immunoglobuline-like domains (LRIG)-1 protein functions as a tumour suppressor, but less is known about the functions of LRIG2 and LRIG3. The present study aimed to evaluate the expression of LRIG proteins and analyse their possible associations with clinical characteristics and survival in a cohort of PVC patients. Methods We used immunohistochemistry to investigate LRIG1, LRIG2, and LRIG3 expression in tumour samples from a consecutive cohort of 70 PVC patients. The association between LRIG protein expression and clinical characteristics and cancer-specific survival was investigated using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results The majority of PVC patients (72%) had > 50% LRIG1-and LRIG2-positive cells, and no or low LRIG3-positive cells. HPV status was significantly correlated with LRIG1 expression (p = 0.0047). Having high LRIG1 expression was significantly correlated with superior cancer-specific survival in univariate and multivariate analyses. LRIG2 and LRIG3 expression did not significantly correlate with clinical characteristics or survival. Conclusion LRIG1 expression might be of interest as a prognostic marker in PVC patients, whereas the role of LRIG2 and LRIG3 expression remains to be clarified

Therapy-related MDS dissected based on primary disease and treatment-a nationwide perspective

In this population-based study, we aimed to characterize and compare subgroups of therapy-related Myelodysplastic syndromes (t-MDS) and define the implications of type of previous treatment and primary disease. We combined data from MDS patients, diagnosed between 2009 and 2017 (n = 2705), in the nationwide Swedish MDS register, with several health registers. Furthermore, using matched population controls, we investigated the prevalence of antecedent malignancies in MDS patients in comparison with the general population. This first ever nationwide study on t-MDS confirms a shorter median survival for t-MDS compared to de novo MDS (15.8 months vs 31.1 months, p < 0.001). T-MDS patients previously treated with radiation only had disease characteristics with a striking resemblance to de novo-MDS, in sharp contrast to patients treated with chemotherapy who had a significantly higher risk profile. IPSS-R and the WHO classification differentiated t-MDS into different risk groups. As compared with controls, MDS patients had a six-fold increased prevalence of a previous hematological malignancy but only a 34% increased prevalence of a previous solid tumor. T-MDS patients with a previous hematological malignancy had a dismal prognosis, due both to mortality related to their primary disease and to high-risk MDS

Tyrosine kinase inhibitor usage, treatment outcome, and prognostic scores in CML: report from the population-based Swedish CML registry

Clinical management guidelines on malignant disorders are generally based on data from clinical trials with selected patient cohorts. In Sweden, more than 95% of all patients diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) are reported to the national CML registry, providing unique possibilities to compile population-based information. This report is based on registry data from 2002 to 2010, when a total of 779 patients (425 men, 354 women; median age, 60 years) were diagnosed with CML (93% chronic, 5% accelerated, and 2% blastic phase) corresponding to an annual incidence of 0.9/100 000. In 2002, approximately half of the patients received a tyrosine kinase inhibitor as initial therapy, a proportion that increased to 94% for younger (80 years) patients during 2007-2009. With a median follow-up of 61 months, the relative survival at 5 years was close to 1.0 for patients younger than 60 years and 0.9 for those aged 60 to 80 years, but only 0.6 for those older than 80 years. At 12 months, 3% had progressed to accelerated or blastic phase. Sokal, but not European Treatment and Outcome Study, high-risk scores were significantly linked to inferior overall and relative survival. Patients living in university vs nonuniversity catchment areas more often received tyrosine kinase inhibitors up front but showed comparable survival