Is induced abortion a risk factor in subsequent pregnancy?

Objective: To determine whether a history of terminations of pregnancy influences subsequent pregnancies in terms of pregnancy risks, prematurity and neonatal biometrics. Patients and methods: Based on the perinatal statistics of eight German federal states, data of 247,593 primiparous women with singleton pregnancies born between 1998 and 2000 were analyzed. The control group consisted of primiparous women without previous induced abortions. Maternal age was adjusted for. Results: There was an overall trend towards an increased rate of preterm delivery at <= 36 weeks' gestation and early preterm delivery at <= 31 weeks' gestation in women who had previous pregnancy terminations. For the cohort of 28-30 years, the observed rates of prematurity in women with one and with >= 2 previous induced abortions were 7.8% and 8.5%, respectively, compared to 6.5% in the control population (P=0.015). Preceding terminations of pregnancy did not alter the rate of small-for-gestational-age newborns. Psychosocial stress and symptoms associated with prematurity such as cervical incompetence and vaginal bleeding before and after 28 weeks of gestation occurred more frequently in women with previous induced abortion compared to the control group (P<0.0001). Conclusion: The rate of preterm births increases with the number of preceding abortions. Similarly, symptoms associated with prematurity are more common. The rate of small-for-gestational-age newborns was not affected by preceding terminations of pregnancy

Risks of pregnancy and birth in obese primiparous women: an analysis of German perinatal statistics

Purpose: To compare risks of pregnancy and birth in obese (body mass index, BMI≥30) and normal weight women (BMI 18.5-24.99) giving birth to their first child. Methods: We analysed data of 243,571 pregnancies in primiparous women from the German perinatal statistics of 1998-2000. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for selected pregnancy and birth risks. ORs were adjusted for the confounding factors age, smoking status, single mother status, and maternal education. Results: Obesity during pregnancy is common in primiparous women (n=19,130; 7.9% of all cases) and it is significantly associated with a number of risks of pregnancy and birth, including diabetes [OR 3.71 (95% CI 2.93; 4.71); p<0.001], hypertension [OR 8.44 (7.91; 9.00); p<0.001], preecalmpsia/eclampsia [OR 6.72 (6.30; 7.17); p<0.001], intraamniotic infection [OR 2.33 (2.05; 2.64); p<0.001], birth weight ≥4,000g [OR 2.16 (2.05; 2.28); p<0.001], and an increased rate of Caesarean section [OR 2.23 (2.15; 2.30); p<0.001]. Some risks were less frequent in the obese such as cervical incompetence [OR 0.55 (0.48; 0.63); p<0.001] and preterm labour [OR 0.47 (0.43; 0.51); p<0.001]. Conclusions: Obesity during pregnancy is an important clinical problem in primiparous women because it is common and it is associated with a number of risks of pregnancy and birth. Because of these increased risks, obese women need special attention clinically during the course of their first pregnancy. Weight reduction before the first pregnancy is generally indicated in obese women to prevent the above-mentioned complications of pregnancy and birt

A Technological Approach for Miniaturization of Three-Dimensional Inductive Levitation Microsuspensions

In this article, we report on a novel technological approach for miniaturization inductive levitating micro-suspension based on the nested 3D micro-coil structures. In the developed approach, each 3D micro-coil is fabricated separately, beginning with the innermost and thus smallest coil diameter of the nested microstructure. This helps to overcome fabrication restrictions due to the wire-bonding process and primarily caused by the size of the bond-head, and provides the opportunity to fabricate nested 3D micro-coil structures of a smaller size. We fabricated a nested two-micro-coil structure, the inner coil having a diameter of \SI{1000}{\micro\m} and 14 windings, the outer coil with a diameter of 1900m and 8 windings, and demonstrate its application as an inductive levitating micro-suspension. In particular, a fabricated 3D inductive levitating micro-suspension was able to levitate a 1100m diameter disc-shaped proof mass to a height up to 45m

Impact of nicotine and maternal BMI on fetal birth weight

Data from 110.047 singleton pregnancies, achieved from the German Perinatal Survey in Schleswig-Holstein and registered between 2010 and 2017 were analyzed in August 2018 concerning maternal BMI and smoking. The BMI was taken from the maternity log. Information concerning the smoking status were self-reported and further subdivided into the following four categories: a) non-smokers; b) 1-7 cigarettes/day; c) 8-14 cigarettes/ day; and d) ≥ 15 cigarettes/ day. Furthermore, we classified women by their BMI into underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese. Comparisons between non-smokers and the respective smoking group, and their relationship with maternal BMI were performed by the t-test (birth weight). A number of 97.092 women (88.2%) were non-smokers and 12.955 (11.8%) were smokers. Furthermore 10.3% of women of normal weight smoked during pregnancy, but both high and low BMI were associated with a high prevalence of smoking. The proportion of smokers was highest (18.1%) among underweight women (BMI ≤ 18.5 kg/m2). A large number of smokers (15.5%) were registered in the obesity group (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). Mean birth weight (≥ 37 + 0 gestational age) increased with increasing maternal BMI, and was reduced by smoking for every BMI category. The differences between smokers and non-smokers were always highly significant (p < 0.001). Mean birth weight varied between 2995 g in underweight frequent smokers and 3607 g in obese non-smokers. Conclusion Both maternal BMI and smoking during pregnancy influences the birth weight and therefore pregnancy outcome. Smoking during pregnancy was significantly associated with low birth weight. Pregnant women should be advised to cease or at least reduce smoking in order to improve the birth weight of the newborn and to minimize child morbidities

Risks of pregnancy and birth in obese primiparous women: an analysis of German perinatal statistics

PURPOSE: To compare risks of pregnancy and birth in obese (body mass index, BMI ≥ 30) and normal weight women (BMI 18.5–24.99) giving birth to their first child. METHODS: We analysed data of 243,571 pregnancies in primiparous women from the German perinatal statistics of 1998–2000. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for selected pregnancy and birth risks. ORs were adjusted for the confounding factors age, smoking status, single mother status, and maternal education. RESULTS: Obesity during pregnancy is common in primiparous women (n = 19,130; 7.9% of all cases) and it is significantly associated with a number of risks of pregnancy and birth, including diabetes [OR 3.71 (95% CI 2.93; 4.71); p &lt; 0.001], hypertension [OR 8.44 (7.91; 9.00); p &lt; 0.001], preecalmpsia/eclampsia [OR 6.72 (6.30; 7.17); p &lt; 0.001], intraamniotic infection [OR 2.33 (2.05; 2.64); p &lt; 0.001], birth weight ≥4,000 g [OR 2.16 (2.05; 2.28); p &lt; 0.001], and an increased rate of Caesarean section [OR 2.23 (2.15; 2.30); p &lt; 0.001]. Some risks were less frequent in the obese such as cervical incompetence [OR 0.55 (0.48; 0.63); p &lt; 0.001] and preterm labour [OR 0.47 (0.43; 0.51); p &lt; 0.001]. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity during pregnancy is an important clinical problem in primiparous women because it is common and it is associated with a number of risks of pregnancy and birth. Because of these increased risks, obese women need special attention clinically during the course of their first pregnancy. Weight reduction before the first pregnancy is generally indicated in obese women to prevent the above-mentioned complications of pregnancy and birth

Duets recorded in the wild reveal that interindividually coordinated motor control enables cooperative behavior

Many organisms coordinate rhythmic motor actions with those of a partner to generate cooperative social behavior such as duet singing. The neural mechanisms that enable rhythmic interindividual coordination of motor actions are unknown. Here we investigate the neural basis of vocal duetting behavior by using an approach that enables simultaneous recordings of individual vocalizations and multiunit vocal premotor activity in songbird pairs ranging freely in their natural habitat. We find that in the duet-initiating bird, the onset of the partner's contribution to the duet triggers a change in rhythm in the periodic neural discharges that are exclusively locked to the initiating bird's own vocalizations. The resulting interindividually synchronized neural activity pattern elicits vocalizations that perfectly alternate between partners in the ongoing song. We suggest that rhythmic cooperative behavior requires exact interindividual coordination of premotor neural activity, which might be achieved by integration of sensory information originating from the interacting partner

Breeding status and social environment differentially affect the expression of sex steroid receptor and aromatase mRNA in the brain of female Damaraland mole-rats

INTRODUCTION: The Damaraland mole-rat (Fukomys damarensis) is a eusocial, subterranean mammal, which exhibits an extreme reproductive skew with a single female (queen) monopolizing reproduction in each colony. Non-reproductive females in the presence of the queen are physiologically suppressed to the extent that they are anovulatory. This blockade is thought to be caused by a disruption in the normal gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion from the hypothalamus. In order to understand the underlying physiological mechanisms of reproductive suppression in subordinate females we studied the expression of steroid hormone receptors and the androgen-converting enzyme aromatase in forebrain regions involved in the control of reproductive behaviour in female breeders and non-breeders from intact colonies. Additionally, we included in our analysis females that experienced the release from social suppression by being removed from the presence of the queen. RESULTS: We found expression of androgen receptor, estrogen receptor α and aromatase in several forebrain regions of female Damaraland mole-rats. Their distribution matches previous findings in other mammals. Quantification of the hybridisation signal revealed that queens had increased expression of androgen receptors compared to non-breeders and removed non-breeders in most brain regions examined, which include the medial preoptic area (MPOA), the principal nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTp), the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH), the arcuate nucleus (ARC) and the medial amygdala (MeA). Furthermore, breeders had increased estrogen receptor α expression in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) and in the MeA, while aromatase expression in the AVPV was significantly reduced compared to non-breeders. Absence of social suppression was associated with increased androgen receptor expression in the ARC, increased estrogen receptor α expression in the MeA and BSTp and reduced aromatase expression in the AVPV. CONCLUSION: This study shows that social suppression and breeding differentially affect the neuroendocrine phenotype of female Damaraland mole-rats. The differential expression pattern of estrogen receptor α and aromatase in the AVPV between breeders and non-breeders supports the view that this region plays an important role in mediating the physiological suppression in subordinate females.Fellowships from the University of Pretoria to CV and HL as well as the DST-NRF for funding to NB.http://www.frontiersinzoology.com/am201

Detrainment Dominates CCN Concentrations Around Non-Precipitating Convective Clouds Over the Amazon

We investigated the relationship between the number concentration of cloud droplets (Nd) in ice-free convective clouds and of particles large enough to act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) measured at the lateral boundaries of cloud elements. The data were collected during the ACRIDICON-CHUVA aircraft campaign over the Amazon Basin. The results indicate that the CCN particles at the lateral cloud boundaries are dominated by detrainment from the cloud. The CCN concentrations detrained from non-precipitating convective clouds are smaller compared to below cloud bases. The detrained CCN particles from precipitating cloud volumes have relatively larger sizes, but lower concentrations. Our findings indicate that CCN particles ingested from below cloud bases are activated into cloud droplets, which evaporate at the lateral boundaries and above cloud base and release the CCN again to ambient cloud-free air, after some cloud processing. These results support the hypothesis that the CCN around the cloud are cloud-processed