Recombination in the Nighttime F-region from Incoherent Scatter Measurements

Recombination coefficients in F layer measured by ion density profiles derived from reduced ionogram

Recombination Coefficient of the Nighttime F-region from Incoherent Scatter Measurements Scientific Report No. 279

Recombination coefficient of nighttime F-region from incoherent scatter measurement

How does socio-economic position (SEP) get biologically embedded? A comparison of allostatic load and the epigenetic clock(s)

Individuals of lower socio-economic position (SEP) carry a heavier burden of disease and morbidity and live shorter lives on average compared with their more advantaged counterparts. This has sparked research interest in the processes and mechanisms via which social adversity gets biologically embedded. The present study directly compares the empirical worth of two candidate mechanisms: Allostatic Load (AL) and the Epigenetic Clock(s) for advancing our understanding of embodiment using a sub-sample of 490 individuals from the Irish Longitudinal Study (TILDA) who were explicitly selected for this purpose based on their inter-generational life course social class trajectory. A battery of 14 biomarkers representing the activity of 4 different physiological systems: Immunological, Cardiovascular, Metabolic, and Renal was used to construct the AL score. Biomarkers were dichotomised into high and low risk groups according to sex-specific quartiles of clinical risk and summed to create a count ranging from 0-14. Three measures of epigenetic age acceleration were computed according to three sets of age-associated Cytosine-phosphate-Guanine (CpG) sites described by Horvath, Hannum and Levine. AL was strongly socially patterned across a number of measures of SEP, while the epigenetic clocks were not. AL partially mediated the association between measures of SEP and an objective measure of physiological functioning: performance on the Timed Up and Go (TUG test). We conclude that AL may represent the more promising candidate for understanding the pervasive link between SEP and health

The effect of pregnancy intention on maternal prenatal behaviours and parent and child health: results of an Irish cohort study

Background: Unintended pregnancy is associated with increased risk for adverse neonatal and early childhood outcomes spanning an array of indicators, but it remains unclear whether these risks hold independent of other biological, social and environmental risk factors. Methods: This study uses data from the first wave of the ?Growing Up in Ireland Study?, a large nationally representative cohort study of more than 11?000 infants, to examine the risk factors associated with unintended pregnancy. Adopting a staged approach to the analysis, the study investigates whether pregnancy intention influences maternal health behaviours during pregnancy independent of background characteristics, and whether pregnancy intention carries any additional risk for adverse infant and maternal health outcomes when we adjust for background characteristics and prenatal behaviours. Results: The study confirmed that sociodemographic factors are strongly associated with unintended pregnancy and that unintended pregnancy is associated with a range of health compromising behaviours that are known to be harmful to the developing fetus. While there was little evidence to suggest that pregnancy intention was associated with adverse neonatal outcomes or developmental delay independent of other covariates, there was strong evidence that intention status had a bearing on the mother\u27s psychosocial health. Unintended pregnancy was associated with increased risk of depression (risk ratio 1.36 [95% confidence interval 1.19, 1.54]), and higher parenting stress (risk ratio 1.27 [95% confidence interval 1.16, 1.38]). Conclusions: Ascertaining the mother\u27s pregnancy intention during the first antenatal visit may represent a means for monitoring those at greatest risk for adverse mother and child outcomes