Patterns of Maternal Distress from Pregnancy Through Childhood Predict Psychopathology During Early Adolescence

Capitalizing on a longitudinal cohort followed from gestation through adolescence (201 mother–child dyads), we investigate the contributions of severity and stability of both maternal depressive and perceived stress symptoms to adolescent psychopathology. Maternal depressive and perceived stress trajectories from pregnancy through adolescence were identified with latent class growth analyses, and associations with adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms were examined. For both depression and stress, the most common trajectory group comprised mothers displaying stable and low symptom levels over time, and adolescents of these mothers had the fewest internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Maternal membership to one or more aberrant trajectory groups predicted higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms, determined by both maternal and adolescent self-report. This study indicates that profiles of multiple indicators of maternal psychopathology assessed across childhood, beginning prenatally, can provide critical additional insight into child psychopathology risk

The "ComPAS Trial" combined treatment model for acute malnutrition: study protocol for the economic evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Acute malnutrition is currently divided into severe (SAM) and moderate (MAM) based on level of wasting. SAM and MAM currently have separate treatment protocols and products, managed by separate international agencies. For SAM, the dose of treatment is allocated by the child's weight. A combined and simplified protocol for SAM and MAM, with a standardised dose of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), is being trialled for non-inferior recovery rates and may be more cost-effective than the current standard protocols for treating SAM and MAM. METHOD: This is the protocol for the economic evaluation of the ComPAS trial, a cluster-randomised controlled, non-inferiority trial that compares a novel combined protocol for treating uncomplicated acute malnutrition compared to the current standard protocol in South Sudan and Kenya. We will calculate the total economic costs of both protocols from a societal perspective, using accounting data, interviews and survey questionnaires. The incremental cost of implementing the combined protocol will be estimated, and all costs and outcomes will be presented as a cost-consequence analysis. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio will be calculated for primary and secondary outcome, if statistically significant. DISCUSSION: We hypothesise that implementing the combined protocol will be cost-effective due to streamlined logistics at clinic level, reduced length of treatment, especially for MAM, and reduced dosages of RUTF. The findings of this economic evaluation will be important for policymakers, especially given the hypothesised non-inferiority of the main health outcomes. The publication of this protocol aims to improve rigour of conduct and transparency of data collection and analysis. It is also intended to promote inclusion of economic evaluation in other nutrition intervention studies, especially for MAM, and improve comparability with other studies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN 30393230 , date: 16/03/2017

The Forum: Summer 2002

Summer 2002 journal of the Honors Program at the University of North Dakota. The issue includes stories, poems, essays and art by undergraduate students.https://commons.und.edu/und-books/1049/thumbnail.jp

Climate Action In Megacities 3.0

"Climate Action in Megacities 3.0" (CAM 3.0) presents major new insights into the current status, latest trends and future potential for climate action at the city level. Documenting the volume of action being taken by cities, CAM 3.0 marks a new chapter in the C40-Arup research partnership, supported by the City Leadership Initiative at University College London. It provides compelling evidence about cities' commitment to tackling climate change and their critical role in the fight to achieve global emissions reductions

A reality check on research reproducibility in Open Science students’ projects

Open Science as the foundation of transparent and reproducible science is increasingly being incorporated into curricula. We argue that Open Science education is predestined not to be taught in classical lectures, but to be experienced first-hand as reproduction studies in student projects. The case study of a successful Master’s module is presented from three perspectives: the lecturers’, the students’ and the researchers’ whose published study was reproduced. This illustrates that attempting to reproduce a published study is a very vivid and sustainable learning experience that naturally incorporates many Open Science topics, and that the students’ work contributes to increasing the number of reproduced studies and ensuring the quality of the published body of scientific knowledge

A simplified, combined protocol versus standard treatment for acute malnutrition in children 6-59 months (ComPAS trial): A cluster-randomized controlled non-inferiority trial in Kenya and South Sudan.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition underlies 3 million child deaths worldwide. Current treatments differentiate severe acute malnutrition (SAM) from moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) with different products and programs. This differentiation is complex and costly. The Combined Protocol for Acute Malnutrition Study (ComPAS) assessed the effectiveness of a simplified, unified SAM/MAM protocol for children aged 6-59 months. Eliminating the need for separate products and protocols could improve the impact of programs by treating children more easily and cost-effectively, reaching more children globally. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A cluster-randomized non-inferiority trial compared a combined protocol against standard care in Kenya and South Sudan. Randomization was stratified by country. Combined protocol clinics treated children using 2 sachets of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) per day for those with mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) < 11.5 cm and/or edema, and 1 sachet of RUTF per day for those with MUAC 11.5 to <12.5 cm. Standard care clinics treated SAM with weight-based RUTF rations, and MAM with ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF). The primary outcome was nutritional recovery. Secondary outcomes included cost-effectiveness, coverage, defaulting, death, length of stay, and average daily weight and MUAC gains. Main analyses were per-protocol, with intention-to-treat analyses also conducted. The non-inferiority margin was 10%. From 8 May 2017 to 31 March 2018, 2,071 children were enrolled in 12 combined protocol clinics (mean age 17.4 months, 41% male), and 2,039 in 12 standard care clinics (mean age 16.7 months, 41% male). In total, 1,286 (62.1%) and 1,202 (59.0%), respectively, completed treatment; 981 (76.3%) on the combined protocol and 884 (73.5%) on the standard protocol recovered, yielding a risk difference of 0.03 (95% CI -0.05 to 0.10, p = 0.52; per-protocol analysis, adjusted for country, age, and sex). The amount of ready-to-use food (RUTF or RUSF) required for a child with SAM to reach full recovery was less in the combined protocol (122 versus 193 sachets), and the combined protocol cost US$123 less per child recovered (US$918 versus US$1,041). There were 23 (1.8%) deaths in the combined protocol arm and 21 (1.8%) deaths in the standard protocol arm (adjusted risk difference 95% CI -0.01 to 0.01, p = 0.87). There was no evidence of a difference between the protocols for any of the other secondary outcomes. Study limitations included contextual factors leading to defaulting, a combined multi-country power estimate, and operational constraints. CONCLUSIONS: Combined treatment for SAM and MAM is non-inferior to standard care. Further research should focus on operational implications, cost-effectiveness, and context (Asia versus Africa; emergency versus food-secure settings). This trial is complete and registered at ISRCTN (ISRCTN30393230). TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is registered at ISRCTN, trial number ISRCTN30393230

Imaging Cool Giant Planets in Reflected Light: Science Investigations and Synergy with Habitable Planets

Planned astronomical observatories of the 2020s will be capable of obtaining reflected light photometry and spectroscopy of cool extrasolar giant planets. Here we explain that such data are valuable both for understanding the origin and evolution of giant planets as a whole and for preparing for the interpretation of similar datasets from potentially habitable extrasolar terrestrial planets in the decades to follow.Comment: Science white paper submitted to the Astro 2020 Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics. Replace version to fix typo in co-signer name and add figure credit