Differences in the epidemiology of theileriosis on smallholder dairy farms in contrasting agro-ecological and grazing strata of highland Kenya

A prospective cohort study was conducted in five purposively-sampled agro-ecological zone (AEZ)-grazing system strata in Murang’a District, Kenya, between March 1995 and June 1996. The study strata were selected based on a preliminary characterization study to represent the widest range of risks to East Coast fever (ECF) in the District and included zero-grazing and open-grazing farms. In total, 225 calves from 188 smallholder farms were examined from birth to 6 months of age and visited within the first 2 weeks of life and thereafter at bi-weekly intervals for up to 14 visits. The purpose of the study was to characterize the differences in epidemiology (risks of infection, morbidity and mortality) and potential control of ECF between the selected strata. Evidence of Theileria parva infection was assessed by increased antibody levels as measured in an indirect ELISA assay by the percent positivity (PP) of serum samples relative to a strong positive reference serum. Sero-conversion risks of T. parva were highest in the open-grazing strata. Antibody prevalence in adult cattle and ECF morbidity and mortality risks were also highest in open-grazing strata. While different, all five AEZ-grazing strata were considered to be endemically unstable for ECF. East Coast fever challenge was low in all zero-grazing strata and this challenge is likely to remain low due to continuing intensification of smallholder farming in the central highlands. In the open-grazing strata, there was higher challenge and a greater impact of ECF. ILRI publication no.: 99017

Cohort Profile: The Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP)

How did the study come about? At the initiative of three hospital-based obstetricians one of the authors (JMN) and another sociologist attended a 1978 meeting to explore the potential for collaborative research. No specific project was proposed by the obstetricians. Two of the obstetricians had been trained in Scotland; one in Aberdeen where he had had some familiarity with the work of obstetrician Dugald Baird and sociologist Raymond Illsely. The obstetricians argued for an agenda which was clinically oriented. The two sociologists were more focussed on understanding how some social constructs (e.g. social class) might be relevant to explaining health outcomes. The initial year of the study was characterised by frequent (at least weekly) meetings at which the aims and substance of the proposed study were debated vigorously. As an initial decision the team focused on factors associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. The first major project was to be a 3-5 year longitudinal study of pregnant women which would include a 6-month child post-natal follow-up as the main outcome of interest

Early overweight and pubertal maturation—pathways of association with young adults' overweight: A longitudinal study

Objective: Objectives of this study were to examine the prospective association of childhood body mass index (BMI) and overweight and pubertal stages with BMI and overweight in early adulthood independent of each other

Postnatal Depression - Myth and Reality: Maternal Depression Before and After the Birth of a Child

Background Much has been written about postnatal depression as a clinical condition. There is some evidence to suggest that a substantial proportion of women who give birth experience a depression in the postnatal period. This paper reports the results of a longitudinal study of the mental health of a large sample of women who were in the early stages of pregnancy at entry to the study. Methods Each participant was assessed for symptoms of depression at the first clinic visit (entry to the study), and reassessed at various intervals - at 3-5 days, at 6 months, and again at 5 years after the birth of the child - using the DSSI-D (Delusions-Symptoms-States Inventory). Results Retrospective recall questions indicate that shortly after the birth the majority of women experienced some depressed mood. Of those who experienced depressed mood, the data suggest that the symptoms were not severe, nor did these symptoms generally continue beyond a few weeks. The longitudinal data indicate that levels of depression in our sample are highest either at the firrst clinic visit or at the 5-year follow-up. Rates of depression at the 6-month follow-up are relatively low by comparison. Conclusion While most mothers experience periods of depressed mood after the birth of their baby, these periods are generally of short duration and of lesser intensity than a major depression. Mothers appear to experience increasing levels of symptoms of depression as their child grows up. Many of the "cases" of depression experienced at the 5-year follow-up represent a recurrence of a previous experience of depression

Intrauterine Growth and Intelligence Within Sibling Pairs: Findings From the Mater-University Study of Pregnancy and its Outcomes

Objective: To examine the association between intrauterine growth and intelligence. Design: Population based birth cohort study of sibling pairs born within a maximum of three years of each other. Setting: Mater-University women and children's hospital, Brisbane, Australia. Participants: 235 (470 children) sibling pairs. Results: Among one randomly selected sibling from each pair verbal comprehension at age 5, general intelligence at age 14, and reading ability at age 14 increased linearly with increasing gestational age and sex standardised birth weight z scores. With adjustment for maternal age, race, and smoking during pregnancy, birth order, family income, and parental education the associations with verbal comprehension at age 5 and general intelligence at age 14 remained, whereas the association with reading ability at age 14 was attenuated to the null. Within sibling pairs, differences in intrauterine growth were positively associated with differences in verbal comprehension at age 5 (test score difference per one unit difference in birth weight z score = 1.52 (0.11 to 3.26)) and general intelligence at age 14 (1.09 (0.01 to 2.18)), but not with reading ability at age 14. Conclusions: Socioeconomic position or other fixed maternal characteristics do not seem to explain the positive association between intrauterine growth and childhood intelligence

Maternal Anxiety and Depression, Poverty and Marital Relationship Factors During Early Childhood as Predictors of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence

BACKGROUND This paper examines the degree to which symptoms of anxiety and depression at age 14 years are associated with early childhood experience of maternal anxiety and depression, poverty, and mother's marital relationship distress and break-up. METHODS In a longitudinal study, 4434 families were followed-up from infancy to adolescence. RESULTS: Maternal anxiety and depression during early childhood were found to have small, but significant, influences upon the development of high anxiety-depression symptoms at age 14, after controlling for the effects of poverty and marital relationship factors. This effect was greater with repeated exposure to high maternal anxiety and depression. Poverty, distressed marital relationship and marital break-up during the child's first five years also produced small, but significant, increases in risk of high anxiety and depression symptoms in adolescence. Stable, single-parent status was not found to be a risk factor. There was no evidence of marked gender differences in risk factors, other than poverty, which had a stronger impact for girls than boys. CONCLUSIONS Overall, the results suggest that maternal anxiety and depression, poverty, parent relationship conflict and marital break-up during early childhood are associated with small, but significant, increased risk of anxiety-depression symptoms in adolescence

Genetic and clinical contributions to cerebral palsy: A multi-variable analysis

All authors are contributors to the Australian Collaborative Cerebral Palsy Research Group The definitive version is available at www.wileyonlinelibrary.comAimThis study aims to examine single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associations with cerebral palsy in a multi-variable analysis adjusting for potential clinical confounders and to assess SNP-SNP and SNP-maternal infection interactions as contributors to cerebral palsy.MethodsA case control study including 587 children with cerebral palsy and 1154 control children without cerebral palsy. Thirty-nine candidate SNPs were genotyped in both mother and child. Data linkage to perinatal notes and cerebral palsy registers was performed with a supplementary maternal pregnancy questionnaire. History of known maternal infection during pregnancy was extracted from perinatal databases.ResultsBoth maternal and fetal carriage of inducible nitric oxide synthase SNP rs1137933 were significantly negatively associated with cerebral palsy in infants born at less than 32 weeks gestation after adjustment for potential clinical confounders and correction for multiple testing (odds ratio 0.55, 95% confidence interval 0.38-0.79; odds ratio 0.57, 95% confidence interval 0.4-0.82, respectively). Analysis did not show any statistically significant SNP-SNP or SNP-maternal infection interactions after correction for multiple testing.ConclusionsMaternal and child inducible nitric oxide synthase SNPs are associated with reduced risk of cerebral palsy in infants born very preterm. There was no evidence for statistically significant SNP-SNP or SNP-maternal infection interactions as modulators of cerebral palsy risk.Michael E O’Callaghan, Alastair H MacLennan, Catherine S Gibson, Gai L McMichael, Eric A Haan, Jessica L Broadbent, Peter A Baghurst, Paul N Goldwater, Gustaaf A Dekker and for the Australian Collaborative Cerebral Palsy Research Grou

Two-dimensional carrier density distribution inside a high power tapered laser diode

The spontaneous emission of a GaAs-based tapered laser diode emitting at lambda = 1060 nm was measured through a window in the transparent substrate in order to study the carrier density distribution inside the device. It is shown that the tapered geometry is responsible for nonuniform amplification of the spontaneous/stimulated emission which in turn influences the spatial distribution of the carriers starting from below threshold. The carrier density does not clamp at the lasing threshold and above it the device shows lateral spatial hole-burning caused by high stimulated emission along the cavity center. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. (doi: 10.1063/1.3596445