The Association Between Advanced Maternal Age and Short Interpregnancy Intervals on Preterm Labor

Background: Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal and infant mortality and has become a major health concern due to the increasing rates of infant deaths in the United States (WHO, 2017). Studying maternal risk factors for preterm labor provides insight to this obscure condition and can assist in the identification of high risk women, as well as facilitate appropriate pregnancy planning. Purpose: Although research can be found on interpregnancy intervals and maternal age as independent risk factors for premature labor, gaps exist within the relation of these variables. This study was done to investigate whether there is a significant risk association between advanced maternal age (35 years and older) and short interpregnancy intervals on premature labor, that deems transferring out of a low risk birthing center to a more advanced hospitalized setting. Methodology: De-identified data regarding obstetric history, medical history, and pregnancy morbidity was abstracted from women who delivered at Baby + Co., a birthing center in Nashville, Tennessee, between the years of 2015 and 2018. The population set included 1001 women, 5 of which delivered preterm. Means and standard deviations for the two groups were calculated, and two sided t-tests and corresponding p-values were calculated. Result: There was no statistical significance regarding maternal age and preterm transfers (p-value of 0.762). However, there was a positive correlation between short interpregnancy intervals and preterm birth (p-value .007). Discussion: Due to the low risk population included in this study, there is a need for additional research conducted within a higher risk population set to determine the significance and interaction between advanced maternal age and short interpregnancy intervals on preterm labor

Assessing Toxicity of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in Wastewater for Water Reuse

Reclaiming treated wastewater for potable water use may be necessary to supplement drinking water sources in water scarce regions. However, Snyder et al. (2003) indicates that endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are commonly found in wastewater effluents and natural waters around the world. These compounds with endocrine disrupting potential are typically found in personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides. Furthermore, according to Lemanik et al. (2007), typical wastewater treatment plants are not designed to remove EDCs. For the purpose of water reuse, benchmarking wastewater treatment for endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) is necessary. The cytotoxicities of five EDCs (namely, amoxicillin, acetaminophen, triclosan, estrone, and atrazine) were assessed using the Microtox assay. The in vitro assay was utilized to correlate light emission of a naturally luminescent marine bacterium, Vibrio fischeri, to the relative cytotoxicities of the selected EDCs. The cytotoxicities of the five EDCs were evaluated in a sodium chloride buffer, within wastewater after primary treatment in a municipal wastewater plant, and within wastewater during and after secondary treatment in a laboratory. A comparison between toxicities of well-studied compounds and EDCs was conducted to gain an understanding of the noxious potential of the aforementioned compounds. From the greatest to least toxic compound to V. fischeri, the relative toxicity of the studied EDCs falls in the order of triclosan, estrone, atrazine, amoxicillin, and acetaminophen. An Empirical Toxicity Scale approved by the European Community Commission and affiliated with Persoone et al. (1993) was utilized to assign a toxicity classification to the studied compounds. Based on the scale, triclosan and atrazine classify as toxic, and amoxicillin, acetaminophen, and atrazine categorize as weakly toxic. However, EDCs did not have a significant toxic effect to V. fischeri at concentrations typically found in wastewater effluents

The Association Between Advanced Maternal Age and Short Interpregnancy Intervals on Preterm Labor

Abstract Background: Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal and infant mortality and has become a major health concern due to the increasing rates of infant deaths in the United States (WHO, 2017). Studying maternal risk factors for preterm labor provides insight to this obscure condition and can assist in the identification of high risk women, as well as facilitate appropriate pregnancy planning. Purpose: Although research can be found on interpregnancy intervals and maternal age as independent risk factors for premature labor, gaps exist within the relation of these variables. This study was done to investigate whether there is a significant risk association between advanced maternal age (35 years and older) and short interpregnancy intervals on premature labor, that deems transferring out of a low risk birthing center to a more advanced hospitalized setting. Methodology: De-identified data regarding obstetric history, medical history, and pregnancy morbidity was abstracted from women who delivered at Baby + Co., a birthing center in Nashville, Tennessee, between the years of 2015 and 2018. The population set included 1001 women, 5 of which delivered preterm. Means and standard deviations for the two groups were calculated, and two sided t-tests and corresponding p-values were calculated. Result: There was no statistical significance regarding maternal age and preterm transfers (p-value of 0.762). However, there was a positive correlation between short interpregnancy intervals and preterm birth (p-value .007). Discussion: Due to the low risk population included in this study, there is a need for additional research conducted within a higher risk population set to determine the significance and interaction between advanced maternal age and short interpregnancy intervals on preterm labor

Interaction of Iron II Complexes with B-DNA. Insights from Molecular Modeling, Spectroscopy, and Cellular Biology

We report the characterization of the interaction between B-DNA and three terpyridin iron II complexes. Relatively long time-scale molecular dynamics is used in order to characterize the stable interaction modes. By means of molecular modeling and UV-vis spectroscopy, we prove that they may lead to stable interactions with the DNA duplex. Furthermore, the presence of larger π-conjugated moieties also leads to the appearance of intercalation binding mode. Non-covalent stabilizing interactions between the iron complexes and the DNA are also characterized and evidenced by the analysis of the gradient of the electronic density. Finally, the structural deformations induced on the DNA in the different binding modes are also evidenced. The synthesis and chemical characterization of the three complexes is reported, as well as their absorption spectra in presence of DNA duplexes to prove the interaction with DNA. Finally, their effects on human cell cultures have also been evidenced to further enlighten their biological effects

NHC-Based Iron Sensitizers for DSSCs

Nanostructured dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are promising photovoltaic devices because of their low cost and transparency. Ruthenium polypyridine complexes have long been considered as lead sensitizers for DSSCs, allowing them to reach up to 11% conversion efficiency. However, ruthenium suffers from serious drawbacks potentially limiting its widespread applicability, mainly related to its potential toxicity and scarcity. This has motivated continuous research efforts to develop valuable alternatives from cheap earth-abundant metals, and among them, iron is particularly attractive. Making iron complexes applicable in DSSCs is highly challenging due to an ultrafast deactivation of the metal-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) states into metal-centered (MC) states, leading to inefficient injection into TiO2. In this review, we present our latest developments in the field using Fe(II)-based photosensitizers bearing N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands, and their use in DSSCs. Special attention is paid to synthesis, photophysical, electrochemical, and computational characterization

Charge separation: From the topology of molecular electronic transitions to the dye/semiconductor interfacial energetics and kinetics

Charge separation properties, that is the ability of a chromophore, or a chromophore/semiconductor interface, to separate charges upon light absorption, are crucial characteristics for an efficient photovoltaic device. Starting from this concept, we devote the first part of this book chapter to the topological analysis of molecular electronic transitions induced by photon capture. Such analysis can be either qualitative or quantitative, and is presented here in the framework of the reduced density matrix theory applied to single-reference, multiconfigurational excited states. The qualitative strategies are separated into density-based and wave function-based approaches, while the quantitative methods reported here for analysing the photoinduced charge transfer nature are either fragment-based, global or statistical. In the second part of this chapter we extend the analysis to dye-sensitized metal oxide surface models, discussing interfacial charge separation, energetics and electron injection kinetics from the dye excited state to the semiconductor conduction band states

Chromium(0), Molybdenum(0), and Tungsten(0) Isocyanide Complexes as Luminophores and Photosensitizers with Long-Lived Excited States

Arylisocyanide complexes based on earth-abundant Group 6 d6 metals are interesting alternatives to photoactive complexes made from precious metals such as RuII, ReI, OsII, or IrIII. Some of these complexes have long-lived 3MLCT excited states that exhibit luminescence with good quantum yields as well as nano- to microsecond lifetimes, and they are very strongly reducing. Recent studies have demonstrated that Cr0, Mo0, and W0 arylisocyanide complexes have great potential for applications in luminescent devices, photoredox catalysis, and dye-sensitized solar cells

Correction to: Factors associated with water service continuity for the Rural Populations of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Mozambique (Environmental Science and Technology (2019) 53:8 (4355-4363) DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b07173)

In the Results section of the originally published article,1 there are several instances where we incorrectly reported predicted water service continuity (WSC) values as odds ratios (OR). We have provided a corrected version of the relevant text in the Results section below, with the updated text (i.e., WSC) shown in bold. The error does not affect the figures or conclusions of the article. RESULTS Pakistan. Page 4359. "⋯ the model predicted higher WSC for tube wells/boreholes (WSC = 95%, CI = 75-99%), piped supply (WSC = 80%, CI = 47-95%), and other water sources (WSC = 88%, CI = 51-98%) compared to when financial contributions were not made for tube wells/boreholes (WSC = 85%, CI = 51-97%), piped supply (WSC = 57%, CI = 23- 85%), and other water sources (WSC = 70%, CI = 28-94%)." Ethiopia. Page 4359. "The model predicted WSC for springs (WSC = 91%, CI = 54-99%), surface water (WSC = 82%, CI = 36-97%), and other water sources (WSC = 79%, CI = 42-95%) to be higher than tube wells/boreholes (WSC = 73%, CI = 24-96%) when holding⋯" Mozambique. Page 4360. "⋯ the model predicted sources with good water appearance to have higher WSC for tube wells/boreholes (WSC = 97%, CI = 88-99%), dug wells (WSC = 98%, CI = 90-100%), surface water (WSC = 99%, CI = 93-100%), and other water sources (WSC = 98%, CI = 92- 99%) compared to tube wells/boreholes (WSC = 93%, CI = 77-98%), dug wells (WSC = 94%, CI = 80-99%), surface water (WSC = 96%, CI = 85-99%), and other water sources (WSC = 94%, CI = 85-98%) with poor water appearance."