Breast feeding practices and views among diabetic women: a retrospective cohort study

Objective: to explore the pattern and experiences of breast-feeding practices among diabetic women. Design: retrospective cohort study using maternal records and postal questionnaires in a Baby-Friendly hospital. Participants: diabetic mothers including women with gestational diabetes, and type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus. Findings: from the total group of respondents, 81.9% intended to breast feed. The actual breast feeding rates were 81.9% at birth, 68.1% at 2 weeks and 28.7% at 6 months postpartum. Major themes that were identified from women's experiences included information and advice, support vs. pressure, classification and labelling, and expectations. Conclusions: more than two-thirds of the diabetic women intended to breast feed and actually did breast feed in this study. For both the total study population and the type 1 and 2 diabetics alone, more than half were still breast feeding at 2 weeks postpartum, and approximately one-third were still breast feeding at 6 months postpartum. Implications for practice: structured support, provided for women through Baby-Friendly initiatives, was appreciated by the diabetic women in this study. The extent to which this support influenced the highly successful breast feeding practices in this group of women needs focused investigation. The need for a delicate balancing act between pressure and advice in order to prevent coercion was noted.</p

Electronic and optical properties of 5-AVA-functionalized BN nanoclusters: A DFT study

We carried out detailed density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations upon 5-aminolevulinic acid-functionalized B12N12 and B16N16 nanoclusters with the B3LYP, B3PW91, and PBE methods using the 6-311+G∗∗ basis set. The calculated adsorption energies of 5-aminolevulinic acid with the BN nanoclusters were evaluated at T = 298.15 and 311.15 K in the gaseous and aqueous environments with the B3LYP, B3PW91, and PBE methods. Our results showed that the adsorption of the 5-AVA molecule (NH2 group) with B12N12 is more favorable than-with the B16N16 nanocluster in the gas and solvent phases. It is anticipated that a 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-AVA) drug incorporating BN clusters could find application in drug delivery systems and in biomedical devices. © The Royal Society of Chemistry and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 2016

Binding energy of localized biexcitons in quantum wells

A variational calculation of the ground state energy of a biexciton in a GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well is presented. The well width fluctuations leading to trapping of the biexcitons are modeled by a parabolic potential. The results obtained for different well widths are compared with recent experimental data. Good agreement is obtained both for the biexciton binding energy and for the Haynes factor. We find that the structure of a biexciton is similar to the one of the H_2 molecule.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Incidence and predisposing factors of cognitive disorders following off-pump coronary artery bypasses graft surgery

Patients and Methods: A total of 171 patients who had undergone off-pump CABG without any history of psychiatric disorders were enrolled. Samples were selected according to a purposive sampling method. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) questionnaire was given to each patients to assess the incidence of cognitive disorder during the first 24 hours of surgery in ICU. To compare creatinine, erythrocytes sedimentation rate, extubation time, and patients’ age between those with and those without postoperative cognitive disorder, independent-samplest test was employed. To compare two groups in terms of any history of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, and qualitative C-reactive protein (CRP), Chi square test was used. Results: Results showed that 75% of patients had postoperative cognitive disorder. There was a significant association between the history of hypertension, CRP, and preoperative creatinine levels in both cognitive disorder and control groups. Background: Cognitive disorder, which is a common problem for the hospitalized patients, is a fluctuating cognitive destruction that leads to the loss of consciousness. It is usually accompanied by increased mortality, prolonged hospital stay, and decreased rehabilitation. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with cognitive disorder after coronary artery bypasses graft surgery (CABG). Conclusions: Given the significant prevalence of postoperative cognitive disorder and significant association between the history of hypertension, CRP, and preoperative creatinine and cognitive disorder, the detection of patient’s clinical symptoms may improve diagnosis, treatment, and even prevention of cognitive disorder. © 2014, Iranian Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ISRAPM); Published by Kowsar