Resolvable Partially Balanced Incomplete Block Designs (PBIBDs)

Not AvailableA collection of several utility functions related to resolvable and affine resolvable Partially Balanced Incomplete Block Designs (PBIBDs), have been developed. In the class of resolvable designs, affine resolvable designs are said to be optimal, Bailey (1995) . Here, the package contains three functions to generate and study the characterization properties of these designs. Developed functions are named as PBIBD1(), PBIBD2() and PBIBD3(), in which first two functions are used to generate two new series of affine resolvable PBIBDs and last one is used to generate a new series of resolvable PBIBDs, respectively. In addition, these functions can also be used to generate design parameters (v, b, r and k), canonical efficiency factors, variance factor between associates and average variance factors of the generated designs. Here v is the number of treatments, b (= b1 + b2, in case of non-proper design) is the number of blocks, r is the number of replications and k (= k1 + k2; k1 is the size of b1 and k2 is the size of b2) is the block size.Not Availabl

Partially Replicated (p-Rep) Designs

Not AvailableEarly generation breeding trials are to be conducted in multiple environments where it may not be possible to replicate all the lines in each environment due to scarcity of resources. For such situations, partially replicated (p-Rep) designs have wide application potential as only a proportion of the test lines are replicated at each environment. A collection of several utility functions related to p-Rep designs have been developed. Here, the package contains four functions for a complete stepwise analytical study of these designs. Three functions pRep1(), pRep2() and pRep3() are used to generate three new series of p-Rep designs and also compute canonical efficiency factors, variance factors between associates and average variance factors of these designs. A fourth function NCEV() is used to generate incidence matrix (N), information matrix (C), canonical efficiency factor (E) and average variance factor (V). This function is general in nature and can be used for studying the characterization properties of any block design. A construction procedure for p-Rep designs was given by Williams et al.(2011) which was tidious and time consuming. Here, in this package, three different methods have been given to generate p-Rep designs easily.Not Availabl

Protocol for a multicentre prospective observational study of families with full-term infants on postnatal wards and in the community to capture feeding practices across the first year of life: the Mother Infant Lactation Questionnaire (MILQ) study

Introduction: Breastmilk is considered the gold standard for infant nutrition. Breast feeding is recommended as the sole source of nutrition between birth until around 6months of age and should be continued beyond this age as complementary foods are introduced. While breast feeding initiation is generally high in developed countries, continuation of breast feeding appears to drop rapidly. This is a prospective observational study of life that aims to characterise a current picture of infant feeding practices across the first year, and motivations for feeding practices, and to identify barriers and enablers for breast feeding. Methods and analysis: Caregivers with newborn singleton infants of normal birth weight are approached on the postnatal units of three hospitals in South Australia, or through targeted online advertising campaigns promoting the study. Caregivers are asked to complete surveys when their infant reaches 3, 5 and 7weeks’, and at 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 12 months of age. Initially, baseline characteristics, intentions and preferences for infant milk feeds, as well as reasons for preferences are captured. Latter surveys query how infants are being fed, difficulties or barriers to breast feeding, as well as any enablers (if breast feeding). Once infants reach 5months of age, surveys capture complementary feeding. A large opportunistic sample from the Adelaide community with a minimum of 1000 mother– infant pairs will be enrolled. The data will be analysed descriptively and using regression models. Ethics and dissemination: Women’s and Children’s Health Network Human Research Ethics Committee reviewed and approved the study (approval no HREC/19/ WCHN/140, approval date: 22 November 2019). Study results will be disseminated through academic meetings, peer-reviewed journals, in-services for postnatal healthcare services, results letters for participants and social media.Jacqueline F Gould, Lisa N Yelland, Robert A Gibson, Andrew J McPhee, Jojy Varghese, Rosalie Grivell, Maria Makride

Growth of late preterm infants fed nutrient-enriched formula to 120 days corrected age-A randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: We aimed to compare the effects of nutrient-enriched formula with standard term formula on rate of body weight gain of late preterm infants appropriately grown for gestational age. Study design: A multi-center, randomized, controlled trial. Late preterm infants(34–37 weeks’ gestation), with weight appropriate for gestational age (AGA), were randomized to nutrient enriched formula (NEF) with increased calories (22 kcal/30 ml) from protein, added bovine milk fat globule membrane, vitamin D and butyrate or standard term formula 20 kcal/30 ml (STF). Breastfed term infants were enrolled as an observational reference group (BFR). Primary outcome was rate of body weight gain from enrollment to 120 days corrected age (d/CA). Planned sample size was 100 infants per group. Secondary outcomes included body composition, weight, head circumference and length gain, and medically confirmed adverse events to 365 d/CA. Results: The trial was terminated early due to recruitment challenges and sample size was substantially reduced. 40 infants were randomized to NEF (n = 22) and STF (n = 18). 39 infants were enrolled in the BFR group. At 120 d/CA there was no evidence of a difference in weight gain between randomized groups (mean difference 1.77 g/day, 95% CI, −1.63 to 5.18, P = 0.31). Secondary outcomes showed a significant reduction in risk of infectious illness in the NEF group at 120 d/CA [relative risk 0.37 (95% CI, 0.16–0.85), P = 0.02]. Conclusion: We saw no difference in rate of bodyweight gain between AGA late preterm infants fed NEF compared to STF. Results should be interpreted with caution due to small sample size.Karen P. Best, Lisa N. Yelland, Carmel T. Collins, Andrew J. McPhee, Geraint B. Rogers, Jocelyn Choo, Robert A. Gibson, Teresa Murguia-Peniche, Jojy Varghese, Timothy R. Cooper, and Maria Makride

Not Available

Not AvailableBackground: Early generation breeding trials (EGBTs) are very important in plant breeding programmes . In most cases, a large number of breeding lines are to be tested, often with very few available resources and it is also required to repeat these trials in a number of environments. For such trials, an alternative is to use partially replicated designs, where a proportion of the test lines are replicated at each environment. Methods: Here, a general method of constructing a series of efficient partially replicated designs for EGBTs in equal block sizes ,through initial blocks is developed. Result: Taking all environments together, the designs obtained are equi -replicate and are partially balanced. They are cost effective in terms of resources as they require lesser replications.Not Availabl

Evaluation of clinically asymptomatic high risk infants with congenital cytomegalovirus infection

To determine the frequency of abnormal findings on evaluation of neonates with congenital CMV infection who have a normal physical examination STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective, 2-center study (1996-2017) that reviewed results of complete blood cell count and platelets, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and bilirubin concentrations, eye examination, cranial ultrasonography or other neuroimaging, and brainstem evoked responses performed on neonates with congenital CMV infection and a normal physical examination RESULTS: Of 34 infants with congenital CMV infection and a normal physical examination, 56% (19/34) had 651 abnormality: 39%, elevated ALT concentration; 45%, abnormal neuroimaging (five, lenticulostriate vasculopathy; six, intraventricular hemorrhage; four, calcifications); 12%, anemia; 16%, thrombocytopenia; and 3%, chorioretinitis. Seven (21%) infants had sensorineural hearing loss, and 18 infants received antiviral therapy