HAPPY MAMA Project (Part 2)-Maternal Distress and Self-Efficacy. A Pilot Randomized Controlled Field Trial

Introduction: The aim of the pilot randomized controlled field trial is to assess if a mid- wifery intervention is able to increase the maternal self-efficacy and reduce the stress level during the first six months after birth. Methods: The study was conducted in two different hospitals in Rome, Italy, involving women delivering at or beyond term, aged >18 years old and with normal APGAR scores of the infant. The participants were randomly divided into two groups: “Individual Intervention Group” (they received home midwifery assistance for one month after birth, I) and the “Control Group” (C). A self-administered questionnaire was administered four times: at the baseline about one week after the hospital delivery (T0), after the intervention about one month after the delivery (T1), and at three months (T2) and at six months after birth (T3). The questionnaire included different validated scales needed to assess maternal perceived self-efficacy (KPCS), parental stress scale stress (PSS) and maternal depressive risk symptoms (EPDS). Results: The study population counted 51 mothers: 28 women in the “C” group and 23 women in the “I” group. The PSS score was statistically higher in the “C” than “I” group at T1 (p = 0.024); whereas the KPCS score was statisti- cally higher in the “I” (p = 0.039) group; EPDS score did not show significant difference between the two groups in the follow-up period. An inverse significant correlation between KPCS and PSS was found during the study window time (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: These results potentially give the opportunity to explore this area of focus further, in order to better address maternal individual needs for the successful transition to motherhood. More research in this area is required

AN ANALOG MEAN TIMER FOR LONG SCINTILLATION COUNTERS

An analog mean-timer has been designed and tested with 3 m long scintillation counters. It provides the mean time of two ECL signals with better than 100 ps precision and can operate at up to 16 MHz

A NEW EXPERIMENTAL LIMIT ON NEUTRON-ANTINEUTRON OSCILLATIONS

The experimental search for neutron-antineutron oscillations has been completed at the ILL high flux reactor at Grenoble. A neutron beam of intensity 10(11) n s-1 was propagated for a time t congruent-to 0.1 s in vacuum in a region shielded against the external magnetic field. No antineutron was detected in 2.4.10(7) s running time. The lower limit tau(nnBAR) greater-than-or-equal-to 0.86.10(8) s for nnBAR transitions was established at 90% C.L

A NEW EXPERIMENTAL LIMIT ON NEUTRON ANTINEUTRON TRANSITIONS

An experiment has been set up at the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble to search for free neutron-antineutron oscillations. No candidate events were observed in the first run of the experiment, providing a lower limit in the oscillation time View the MathML source at 90% CL, which improves the previous experimental limit by an order of magnitude