Early pregnancy cardio metabolic risk factors and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome 10 years after the first pregnancy

Background We aimed to compare risk factors for CVD 10 years postpartum among women who had ≥ 1 compared to no cardio metabolic risk factor in early first pregnancy. Methods Women of the SCOPE (Screening fOr Pregnancy Endpoints) study from Adelaide, South Australia were invited to participate in a cardiovascular risk assessment 10 years after the delivery of the first child. Data from 141 women who completed all the assessments are included in the analyses. Result Compared to women who did not have any cardio metabolic risk factor at 15 ± 1 weeks’ gestation during the first pregnancy, those who had ≥ 1 risk factor were 5.5 times more likely to have metabolic syndrome 10 years postpartum (aOR = 5.5, 95% CI 1.8–17.3, p = 0.004). Women who had ≥ 1cardio metabolic risk factor during the first pregnancy were more likely to be obese (p = 0.001), have high total cholesterol levels (p <0.001) or have increased insulin resistance (p <0.001) 10 years later compared to women who had no risk factor during the first pregnancy. 63.5% of the women with no cardio metabolic risk factor compared to 39% of women who had ≥ 1 risk factor in first pregnancy, had neither a complicated first pregnancy nor was diagnosed with MetS 10 years postpartum (p = 0.023). Conclusion Cardio metabolic risk factors at the booking visit in the first pregnancy may be useful in identifying young women at risk of future CVD.Prabha H. Andraweera, Michelle D. Plummer, Amy Garrett, Shalem Leemaqz, Melanie R. Wittwer, Emily Aldridge, Maleesa M. Pathirana, Gus A. Dekker, Claire T. Roberts, Margaret A. Arstal

El Niño Southern Oscillation signal in a new East Antarctic ice core, Mount Brown South

Abstract. Paleoclimate archives, such as high-resolution ice core records, provide a means to investigate long-term (multi-centennial) climate variability. Until recently, the Law Dome (Dome Summit South) ice core record remained one of few long-term high-resolution records in East Antarctica. A new ice core drilled in 2017/2018 at Mount Brown South, approximately 1000 km west of Law Dome, provides an additional high-resolution record that will likely span the last millennium in the Indian Ocean sector of East Antarctica. Here, we compare snowfall accumulation rates and sea salt concentrations in the upper portion (~21 m) of the Mount Brown South record, and an updated Law Dome record over the period 1975–2016. Annual sea salt concentrations from the Mount Brown South record preserves a stronger signal for the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO; in austral winter and spring, r = 0.521, p r = −0.387, p = 0.018, Niño 3.4). The Mount Brown South and Law Dome ice cores record inverse signals for the ENSO, suggesting the occurrence of distinct moisture and aerosol intrusions. We suggest that ENSO-related sea surface temperature anomalies in the equatorial Pacific drive atmospheric teleconnections in the southern mid-latitudes. These anomalies are associated with a weakening (strengthening) of regional westerly winds to the north of Mount Brown South that corresponds to years of low (high) sea salt deposition at Mount Brown South during La Niña (El Niño) events. The Mount Brown South annual sea salt record when complete will offer a new proxy record for reconstructions of the ENSO over the recent millennium, along with improved understanding of regional atmospheric variability in the southern Indian Ocean in addition to that derived from Law Dome

Surface Micromachined Components for a Safety Subsystem Application

We have designed and fabricated a system using micromachining technologies that represents the first phase of an effort to develop a miniaturized or micro trajectory safety subsystem. Two Surface Micromachined (SMM) devices have been fabricated. The first is a device, denoted the Shuttle Mechanism, that contains a suspended shuttle that has a unique code imbedded in its surface. The second is a mechanical locking mechanism, denoted a Stronglink, that uses the code imbedded in the Shuttle Mechanism for unlocking. The Stronglink is designed to block a beam of optical energy until unlocked. A Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) fabricated in Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) and an ASIC have been designed to read the code contained in the Shuttle Mechanism. The ASIC interprets the data read by the PIC and outputs low-level drive signals for the actuators used by the Stronglink. An off-chip circuit amplifies the drive signals. Once the Stronglink is unlocked, a laser array that is assembled beneath the device is energized and light is transmitted through an aperture

Pregnancy complications and cardiovascular disease risk perception: A qualitative study

Objectives: We aimed to assess women’s perceptions on the long-term risks for cardiovascular disease (CVD) after major pregnancy complications. Methods: Women who experienced major pregnancy complications and those who experienced uncomplicated pregnancies were invited to participate in a qualitative study. Focus group discussions (FGDs) and self-administered questionnaires were used to explore: The knowledge of long-term sequelae after experiencing a major pregnancy complication; Importance of education on heart health; The practicality of referral to a clinic after pregnancy complications; Willingness for regular postpartum clinic visits after pregnancy complications. A thematic qualitative analysis was undertaken. Results: 26 women participated in four FGDs. The majority of women did not know of the association between major pregnancy complications and CVD. The main views expressed were: Women who experience pregnancy complications should receive education on improving heart health; An appointment for the first CVD risk screening visit needs to be made prior to discharge from the delivery suite; Women will benefit by having the option to select between a hospital and a general-practitioner based model of follow up. Conclusions: These views are important in developing postpartum strategies to reduce CVD risk among women who experience pregnancy complications.Prabha H. Andraweera, Zohra S. Lassi, Maleesa M. Pathirana, Michelle D. Plummer, Gus A. Dekker, Claire T. Roberts, Margaret A. Arstal

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and later cardiovascular disease risk in mothers and children

Preeclampsia (PE) and gestational hypertension (GH) are pregnancy-specific diseases that occur in around 10% of pregnancies worldwide. Increasing evidence suggests that women whose pregnancies were complicated by PE or GH, and their offspring, are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) later in life. We hypothesised that PE and GH would associate with CVD risk factors 8-10 years after the first pregnancy in the mother and child and that differences in cardiovascular risk profile would be seen between 8- and 10-year-old male and female children. This is a follow-up study of the Adelaide SCOPE pregnancy cohort where 1164 nulliparous women and their babies were recruited between 2005 and 2008. Haemodynamic function was assessed using non-invasive USCOMBP+ and USCOM1A devices. Microvascular function was assessed by post-occlusive reactive hyperaemia. Of the 273 mother-child pairs followed up, 38 women had PE and 20 had GH during pregnancy. Augmentation index (Aix) and suprasystolic pulse pressure (ssPP) were increased, whereas measures of microvascular function were decreased in children who were born to PE compared to uncomplicated pregnancies. Female children had decreased Aix and ssPP compared to male children after in utero exposure to PE. Women who developed GH during their first pregnancy had increased systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressures compared to women who had uncomplicated pregnancy. Our data suggest that GH is associated with increased cardiovascular risk in women 8-10 years after first pregnancy and PE is associated with increased offspring risk at 8-10 years of age, highlighting differences between these two hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.Michelle D. Plummer, Prabha H. Andraweera, Amy Garrett, Shalem Leemaqz, Melanie Wittwer, Emily Aldridge ... et al

An independently dated 2000-yr volcanic record from Law Dome, East Antarctica, including a new perspective on the dating of the 1450s CE eruption of Kuwae, Vanuatu

Volcanic eruptions are an important cause of natural climate variability. In order to improve the accuracy of climate models, precise dating and magnitude of the climatic effects of past volcanism are necessary. Here we present a 2000-yr record of Southern Hemisphere volcanism recorded in ice cores from the high accumulation Law Dome site, East Antarctica. The ice cores were analysed for a suite of chemistry signals and are independently dated via annual layer counting, with 11 ambiguous years at 23 BCE, which has presently the lowest error of all published long Antarctic ice cores. Independently dated records are important to avoid circular dating where volcanic signatures are assigned a date from some external information rather than using the date it is found in the ice core. Forty-five volcanic events have been identified using the sulphate chemistry of the Law Dome record. The low dating error and comparison with the NGRIP (North Greenland Ice Core Project) volcanic records (on the GICC05 timescale) suggest Law Dome is the most accurately dated Antarctic volcanic dataset, which will improve the dating of individual volcanic events and potentially allow better correlation between ice core records, leading to improvements in global volcanic forcing datasets. One of the most important volcanic events of the last two millennia is the large 1450s CE event, usually assigned to the eruption of Kuwae, Vanuatu. In this study, we review the evidence surrounding the presently accepted date for this event, and make the case that two separate eruptions have caused confusion in the assignment of this event. Volcanic sulphate deposition estimates are important for modelling the climatic response to eruptions. The largest volcanic sulphate events in our record are dated at 1458 CE (Kuwae?, Vanuatu), 1257 and 422 CE (unidentified)