Socioeconomic determinants of nutritional status in children under five attended at the Hospital Infantil Napoleón Franco Pareja

Objetivo: Determinar los factores sociales y económicos que afectan el estado nutricional de los niños menores de cinco años. Metodología: Se llevó a cabo un estudio de corte transversal con una muestra de 600 menores que asistieron al Hospital Infantil Napoleón Franco Pareja (HINFP) a cuyas madres se les aplicó un instrumento estandarizado para capturar la información socioeconómica y el estado nutricional del niño y de la madre. Se estimaron dos modelos econométricos de Umbral Generalizado, tomando como variable dependientes talla para la edad y peso para la talla y como variables independientes: peso al nacer del menor, número de controles prenatales, nivel de ingresos del hogar, uso de servicios de alcantarillado y acueducto, índice de masa corporal (IMC) de la madre, entre otras.  Resultados: De acuerdo al indicador de talla para la edad, el 48.05% de los niños sufren de desnutrición crónica. El indicador de peso para la talla reflejó que el 22.09% de los niños tuvieron un déficit en su masa corporal (desnutrición aguda) y un 13.53% se encontraba en sobrepeso u obesidad. El 76.02% de las madres con hijos con talla para la edad normal tienen educación media o superior. El 56% de los niños pertenecientes a hogares con ingresos inferiores al salario mínimo mensual legal vigente tuvieron problemas de desnutrición aguda. Respecto a los determinantes, mayores ingresos reducen la probabilidad de que un niño sufra desnutrición. El tiempo de lactancia materna, la ocupación y el estado nutricional de la madre resultaron ser factores protectores. El incremento de la edad gestacional al nacimiento, aumenta la probabilidad de tener una talla normal. Conclusiones: La presente investigación genera evidencia para revisar la política sanitaria de nutrición infantil. Elevar el nivel de ingresos y promover la lactancia materna mejorarían el estado nutricional de los niños.Objective: To determine the social and economic factors that affect he nutritional status of children under five years of age. Methods: A cross-sectional study carried out with a sample of 600 children were attended the Children’s Hospital Napoleón Franco Pareja (HINFP) whose mothers were administered a standardized instrument to capture the socioeconomic information and nutritional status of the child. Two econometric models were estimated using Generalized Threshold, taking as dependent variable-height for age and weight for height and as independent variables: birth weight of the child, number of prenatal controls, level of household income, use of sewerage and aqueduct services, mother’s body mass index (BMI), among others. Results: According to the height for age indicator, 48.05% of children suffer from chronic malnutrition. The indicator weight for height showed that 22.09% of children have a deficit in their body mass (acute malnutrition) and 13.53% were overweight or obese. 76.02% of mothers of children with normal height for age have completed secondary or higher education. 56% of children in households with incomes below current legal monthly minimum wage have acute malnutrition problems. Regarding the determinants, higher incomes reduce the likelihood that a child would suffer malnutrition. Breastfeeding time, occupation and maternal nutritional status are protective factors. Increasing gestational age at birth increases the likelihood of a normal size. Conclusions: This research generated evidence for health policy review of child nutrition. The raising of incomes and the promotion breastfeeding would improve the nutritional status of children.&nbsp

Effect of androgen treatment during foetal and/or neonatal life on ovarian function in prepubertal and adult rats

We investigated the effects of different windows of testosterone propionate (TP) treatment during foetal and neonatal life in female rats to determine whether and when excess androgen exposure would cause disruption of adult reproductive function. Animals were killed prepubertally at d25 and as adults at d90. Plasma samples were taken for hormone analysis and ovaries serial sectioned for morphometric analyses. In prepubertal animals, only foetal+postnatal and late postnatal TP resulted in increased body weights, and an increase in transitory, but reduced antral follicle numbers without affecting total follicle populations. Treatment with TP during both foetal+postnatal life resulted in the development of streak ovaries with activated follicles containing oocytes that only progressed to a small antral (smA) stage and inactive uteri. TP exposure during foetal or late postnatal life had no effect upon adult reproductive function or the total follicle population, although there was a reduction in the primordial follicle pool. In contrast, TP treatment during full postnatal life (d1-25) resulted in anovulation in adults (d90). These animals were heavier, had a greater ovarian stromal compartment, no differences in follicle thecal cell area, but reduced numbers of anti-Mullerian hormone-positive smA follicles when compared with controls. Significantly reduced uterine weights lead reduced follicle oestradiol production. These results support the concept that androgen programming of adult female reproductive function occurs only during specific time windows in foetal and neonatal life with implications for the development of polycystic ovary syndrome in women

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Guerres et paix

En cent-quarante ans, de 1660 à 1800, la Grande-Bretagne a été en guerre pendant quatre-vingt six ans. Les deux tomes de cet ouvrage étudient les conséquences de cet état de fait sur la société, la vie et les arts. Le premier tome rassemble, outre une préface par Paul-Gabriel Boucé, quatorze articles. Ils analysent, sur l'horizon des lumières britanniques et européennes, les composantes historiques et sociales du phénomène (première partie : « Hommes, conflits, événements ») et l’émergence de concepts nouveaux (deuxième partie : « Guerres et Paix : Histoire des idées et idées de l’Histoire »). Le second tome de Guerres et paix examine les avatars littéraires de la dynamique dialectique engendrée par l’alternance de la guerre et de la paix. Defoe, Pope, Swift, Gay, Lillo, Haendel, Smollett, Sterne, Johnson, Cowper, Ann Radcliffe, Jane Austen apparaissent sous un jour nouveau. C’est l’occasion de bousculer un certain nombre de clichés, parfois encore solidement ancrés dans la critique contemporaine.Pour Hélène, qui comme toujours a été largement mise à contribution. PG

Extreme drought impacts have been underestimated in grasslands and shrublands globally

Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of short-term (~1 y) drought events—the most common duration of drought—globally. Yet the impact of this intensification of drought on ecosystem functioning remains poorly resolved. This is due in part to the widely disparate approaches ecologists have employed to study drought, variation in the severity and duration of drought studied, and differences among ecosystems in vegetation, edaphic and climatic attributes that can mediate drought impacts. To overcome these problems and better identify the factors that modulate drought responses, we used a coordinated distributed experiment to quantify the impact of short-term drought on grassland and shrubland ecosystems. With a standardized approach, we imposed ~a single year of drought at 100 sites on six continents. Here we show that loss of a foundational ecosystem function—aboveground net primary production (ANPP)—was 60% greater at sites that experienced statistically extreme drought (1-in-100-y event) vs. those sites where drought was nominal (historically more common) in magnitude (35% vs. 21%, respectively). This reduction in a key carbon cycle process with a single year of extreme drought greatly exceeds previously reported losses for grasslands and shrublands. Our global experiment also revealed high variability in drought response but that relative reductions in ANPP were greater in drier ecosystems and those with fewer plant species. Overall, our results demonstrate with unprecedented rigor that the global impacts of projected increases in drought severity have been significantly underestimated and that drier and less diverse sites are likely to be most vulnerable to extreme drought