Factors related to the presence of large for gestational age newborns in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus

PURPOSE: to evaluate factors related to the presence of neonatal macrosomia in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus. METHODS: 157 pregnant women presenting gestational diabetes mellitus in follow-up were retrospectively selected from January 2004 to July 2006. This group has been divided into two subgroups: one with newborns with weight in accordance with the gestational age (n=136) and another with macrosomic newborns (n=21). Maternal characteristics have been compared between the groups. The t-Student test was used for the analysis of equality hypothesis between the averages of the two groups, and chi-square test, to check the groups' homogeneity concerning ratios. RESULTS: the groups did not show any significant difference concerning the gestational age, body mass index, weight gain along the gestation, number of previous pregnancies, fast glycemia in the oral glucose tolerance test after the ingestion of 75 g (TOTG 75 g), gestational age at delivery, glycemic values during the treatment, and the type of treatment used (p>0.05). In the group with neonatal macrosomia, there was a higher two-hour-glycemia in the TOTG 75 g (p=0.02), higher gestational age at the treatment onset (p=0.02), and a lower number of appointments at the health service (p0,05). No grupo com recém-nascidos grandes para a idade gestacional, observou-se valor de glicemia de duas horas no TOTG 75 g maior (p=0,02), a idade gestacional de início de tratamento maior (p=0,02), e um número menor de consultas realizadas no serviço (p<0,01). Ajustando-se a um modelo de regressão logística, foi encontrado, no valor da glicemia de duas horas do TOTG 75 g, o fator de maior importância (p<0,01) na predição de recém-nascidos grandes para a idade gestacional. CONCLUSÕES: os fatores que se relacionam melhor com a ocorrência de recém-nascidos grandes para a idade gestacional foram o início tardio do tratamento e, consequentemente, o menor número de consultas e, principalmente, o maior valor da glicemia de duas horas no TOTG 75 g.Universidade da Região de JoinvilleHospital Dona HelenaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Hospital da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de ObstetríciaHospital Dona Helena Hospital da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)UNIFESP, Hospital da UNIFESP, Depto. de ObstetríciaHospital Dona Helena Hospital da UNIFESPSciEL

Biophotonics computer app: fostering multidisciplinary distance self-paced learning with a user-friendly interface

The biophotonics app enables multidisciplinary and self-paced learning in both in-person or virtual environments. The app can work offline and has a user-friendly interface well accepted by students. App instructions are publicly available

Management in Production of Fish Farming Using Arduino

Monitoring of indicators in fish farming is an essential factor for profitable production, the more intense the production system is, the more important monitoring becomes. In the methodology, a bibliographic research was performed and an exploratory research was used to implement a prototype using arduino and monitoring sensors. The goal was to develop a system that assists the management of fish farms, ensuring the accuracy of monitored data, the quality of production and cost savings for the fish farmer. The project has a low implementation cost, provides more convenience in the management of fish ponds and contributes to the reduction of inputs during production, generating a greater profit for the fish farmer

AÇAFRÃO EM PÓ (Curcuma longa L.) EM DIETAS DE FRANGOS DE CORTE

Objetivou-se avaliar os efeitos da inclusão de diferentes níveis de açafrão em pó (Curcuma longa L.) na ração de frangos de corte em comparação ao antibiótico promotor de crescimento. Foram utilizados 720 pintos de corte de 1 dia, da linhagem Cobb, distribuídos em delineamento inteiramente casualizado, em arranjo fatorial 5x2 (cinco tratamentos e dois sexos), com quatro repetições e 18 aves por unidade experimental. Os tratamentos foram: ração basal (RB) + 150 g/kg de bacitracina de zinco, RB sem aditivos, RB + 3,3 g/kg de açafrão, RB + 6,6 g/kg de açafrão e RB + 10 g/kg de açafrão. Avaliou-se o desempenho (peso vivo, consumo de ração, ganho de peso, conversão alimentar e mortalidade), rendimento de carcaça, peso relativo de vísceras e a rentabilidade econômica. Os dados obtidos foram submetidos à ANOVA e as médias dos tratamentos submetidas à análise de regressão e teste de Dunett a 5%. As aves alimentadas com açafrão não apresentaram diferenças entre as variáveis de desempenho, rendimento de carcaça e peso relativo de vísceras, quando comparadas às aves suplementadas ou não com antibiótico. A inclusão de 3,3 g/kg de açafrão apresentou índice de rentabilidade semelhante ao tratamento RB + 150 g/kg de bacitracina de zinco. Portanto, a suplementação de açafrão em pó na dieta de frangos de corte tem ação no desempenho produtivo, no rendimento de carcaça e de cortes nobres, peso relativo de vísceras e comprimento de intestinos das aves semelhante ao antibiótico promotor de crescimento, sendo o nível 3,3 g/kg o que apresenta a melhor rentabilidade econômica

Long-term thermal sensitivity of Earth’s tropical forests

The sensitivity of tropical forest carbon to climate is a key uncertainty in predicting global climate change. Although short-term drying and warming are known to affect forests, it is unknown if such effects translate into long-term responses. Here, we analyze 590 permanent plots measured across the tropics to derive the equilibrium climate controls on forest carbon. Maximum temperature is the most important predictor of aboveground biomass (−9.1 megagrams of carbon per hectare per degree Celsius), primarily by reducing woody productivity, and has a greater impact per °C in the hottest forests (>32.2°C). Our results nevertheless reveal greater thermal resilience than observations of short-term variation imply. To realize the long-term climate adaptation potential of tropical forests requires both protecting them and stabilizing Earth’s climate

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030