Chlamydia trachomatis infection during pregnancy associated with preterm delivery: A population-based prospective cohort study

Chlamydia trachomatis infection is the most prevalent bacterial sexually transmitted infection and may influence pregnancy outcome. This study was conducted to assess the effect of chlamydial infection during pregnancy on premature delivery and birthweight. Pregnant women attending a participating midwifery practice or antenatal clinic between February 2003 and January 2005 were eligible for the study. From 4,055 women self-administered questionnaires and urine samples, tested by PCR, were analysed for C. trachomatis infection. Pregnancy outcomes were obtained from midwives and hospital registries. Gestational ages and birthweights were analysed for 3,913 newborns. The C. trachomatis prevalence was 3.9%, but varied by age and socio-economic background. Chlamydial infection was, after adjustment for potential confounders, associated with preterm delivery before 32 weeks (OR 4.35 [95% CI 1.3, 15.2]) and 35 weeks gestation (OR 2.66 [95% CI 1.1, 6.5]), but not with low birthweight. Of all deliveries before 32 weeks and 35 weeks gestation 14.9% [95% CI 4.5, 39.5] and 7.4% [95% CI 2.5, 20.1] was attributable to C. trachomatis infection. Chlamydia trachomatis infection contributes significantly to early premature delivery and should be considered a public health problem, especially in young women and others at increased risk of C. trachomatis infection

Collagen-phosphate glass fibres for biomedical and tissue engineering applications.

The aim of this project was to develop three-dimensional (3-D) constructs of phosphate-based glass fibres (PGF) incorporated dense collagen matrices for biomedical and tissue engineering applications. For this, a novel method of "plastic compression" (PC) was used which rapidly removes fluid from hyper-hydrated collagen gels through the application of unconfined compressive load. The project objectives were: the understanding of structure-property relationship of PGF the understanding of the mechanisms of PC to produce dense collagenous matrices, and the application of PC to produce cellular 3-D constructs of PGF reinforced collagen matrices. PGF are unique glasses as they are degradable and biocompatible, and their degradation can be controlled through their chemistry. Two different quaternary glass systems incorporating CuO and Fe2O3 into the ternary glass system (in molar percentage) 50 P2O5- 30 CaO-20 Na2O were developed for either antibacterial or tissue engineering applications. These additional oxides were incorporated into the glass structure by partially substituting Na20. The rate of degradation was significantly decreased by the incorporation of both oxides possibly due to increased cross-link density, which correlated with an increase in the density and glass transition temperature. There was a further decrease in degradation with increasing fibre diameter. The amount of Cu2+ release increased with increasing CuO content, and 10 mol % was the most effective in killing Staphylococcus epidermidis. YqjOt, had a much more significant effect on rate of degradation, and the rate of Fe3+ release decreased with increasing Fe203 content. From the compositions and fibre diameters investigated, fibres containing 3-5 mol % Fe203 with a diameter of 30 urn were more durable, and therefore suitable for use as scaffolds. Furthermore, upon long term degradation, the iron containing glass systems showed the potential for tube formation. PC depends mainly on the ability of collagen to undergo creep deformation and no recovery upon load removal. Using this principle, a dense collagen matrix with improved mechanical properties was produced. PC was also successful in producing PGF-PC collagen constructs with different compositions. It was anticipated that PGF would initially further enhance the mechanical properties of the constructs. Moreover, PGF also provided the intriguing possibility of capillary-like channels within the collagen for cell and nutrient transportations. The effect of PGF incorporation was assessed morphologically, mechanically, and biologically using live/dead staining. Increasing the proportion of PGF yielded significantly stiffer, stronger constructs while compromising their compliance. At greatest, only 20 % cell death due to either PC or PGF incorporation occurred, however, a significant increase in cell viability after 24 hours was observed. The findings suggested that PC is effective for engineering composite, biomimetic collagen matrices with controllable properties

First Record Of Passiflora Pedata L. (passifloraceae) From Maranhão State, Northeastern Brazil

This study reports the first record of Passiflora pedata L. (Passifloraceae) from the state of Maranhão and from the Northeast Region of Brazil. The species was collected in the municipality of Buriticupu, which is located in a remnant of Amazon Forest in western Maranhão. This work adds to the knowledge of the flora of Maranhão and the distribution of P. pedata in the Brazilian Amazon. © 2016 Check List and Authors.12

Hair cortisol in service dogs for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder compared to companion dogs (Canis Familiaris)

Service dogs are trained to assist humans. This assistance potentially exposes them to stressors To investigate if service dogs are exposed to more stressors than companion dogs we questioned whether hair cortisol levels differed between both groups. We studied this by cutting a tuft of hair from the neck of 19 companion and 11 service dogs. Cortisol levels were subsequently analyzed via immunoassay and compared via a simple linear regression model. The influence of coat color, season, sex, other dogs, pets, or mental health diagnoses in the household was also checked . Results showed that cortisol values did not differ between service and companion dogs. Furthermore, none of the additional variables had an influence on cortisol levels. This lead to the conclusion that the service dogs in this study did not have higher hair cortisol levels than companion dogs Further study should be conducted as to why no difference did occur between groups and if this difference is persistent over time given that we only studied a period of up to two months' worth of hair cortisol.Stress-related psychiatric disorders across the life spa

EFFECT OF PHOSPHATE ROCK AND TRIPLESUPERPHOS-PHATE ON GROWTH AND LEAF N, P AND K CONTENTS OF GROUNDNUT (ARACHIS HYPOGAEA L.) GROWN ON A CLAY SOIL

A pot experiment was carried out to investigate the agricultural value of a local phosphate rock (PR) as a source of plant phosphorus compared with that of the cur-rently imported triplesuperphosphate (TSP) .The PR was applied at the rate of 0, 55, and 110 kg P2O5 /ha and the TSP was at the rate of 0 , 45 and 90 kg P2O5 /ha. The growth and leaf contents of N, P and K of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) grown on a clay soil were measured. The experiment continued for two seasons. Phosphatic fertilizers are of low recovery; therefore, they can remain for the next crop. Thus, the pots of the first season were set to study the residual effect of phosphorus in the second season. The results indicated that PR and TSP significantly (P>0.05) in-creased dry weights of shoot and root, leaf contents of N , P and available soil phos-phorus. However, plant height was significantly increased by TSP only. The leaf content of K was neither affected by PR nor TSP application. The results showed a positive effect of the residual PR and TSP on the measured parameters. Moreover, the results revealed that the plant measurements obtained from PR treatments were comparable to those obtained from TSP treatments which indicate that PR can be used as a potential source of phosphorus fertilizer

Do service dogs for veterans with PTSD mount a cortisol response in response to training?

Simple SummaryA growing number of people are supported by specialized service dogs. These dogs are highly trained to improve human welfare, yet not much is known about their own welfare. One of the ways in which welfare can be measured is through the expression of stress via the hormone cortisol. In this study, we investigated the level of cortisol in saliva, a measure for physiological stress, in 19 service dogs. We measured cortisol in the dogs' saliva 15 min after arrival at a training ground, before partaking in a training session for service dogs, after participation in the training session, and after a 45-min free play period. We found no elevated levels of cortisol after the training session. Instead, we found that cortisol had lowered when compared to before the training. Additionally, we found that cortisol was highest 15 min after arriving at the training round and after 45 min of free play. This led to the conclusion that dogs in our study did not seem to have a stress response in response to participation in the training.Only a few studies have investigated the welfare of animals participating in animal-assisted interventions (AAIs). Most of these studies focus on dogs in therapeutic settings. There are, however, also dogs-service dogs-that are employed to continuously support a single human. Because the welfare of these service dogs is important for the sustainability of their role, the aim of this study was to investigate their stress response to service dog training sessions. To do this, we took repeated salivary cortisol samples from dogs who participated in a training session (n = 19). Samples were taken just after arrival at the training ground, before training, after training, and after a period of free play. Our results showed that mean cortisol levels in all samples were relatively low (between 1.55 +/- 1.10 and 2.73 +/- 1.47 nmol/L) compared to similar studies. Analysis further showed that samples taken before and after participation in the training's session did not differ from one another. Mean cortisol levels in both situations were additionally lower than those upon arrival at the training site and after a period of free play. This led to the conclusion that the dogs in our study did not seem to experience training as stressful.Stress-related psychiatric disorders across the life spa

Opleggingen en kenmerken van de Gedragsbeïnvloedende en Vrijheidsbeperkende Maatregel in 2020

Sinds 1 januari 2018 kan aan daders van een ernstig gewelds- of zedendelict een zelfstandige toezichtmaatregel worden opgelegd, de Gedragsbeïnvloedende en Vrijheidsbeperkende Maatregel (GVM). Deze maatregel is geïntroduceerd met de Wet langdurig toezicht. In deze factsheet zijn de opleggingen van de GVM in 2020 beschreven. In dat jaar is de GVM 46 keer opgelegd. Dit is een flinke stijging ten opzichte van de 16 GVM’s die in de eerste twee jaren na de introductie van deze maatregel zijn opgelegd (2018-2019). De door de wetgever aangemerkte doelgroepen van de GVM zijn daarmee in 2020 ook vaker bereikt: personen veroordeeld voor een terroristisch misdrijf (6 keer), verdachten die het pro Justitia-onderzoek (deels) weigeren (13 keer) en potentieel uitreizende zedendelinquenten (10 keer). De GVM is het vaakst gecombineerd met de tbs met voorwaarden, hoewel een combinatie met andere tbs-modaliteiten en de combinatie met alleen onvoorwaardelijke gevangenisstraffen en/of een deels voorwaardelijke gevangenisstraf ook voorkomt. Het WODC monitort tevens de opleggingen van de GVM in 2021 en 2022, waarna een eindevaluatie volgt