Plasma unmetabolized folic acid in pregnancy and risk of autistic traits and language impairment in antiseizure medication-exposed children of women with epilepsy

Background: Fetal exposure to unmetabolized folic acid (UMFA) during pregnancy may be associated with adverse neurodevelopment. Antiseizure medication (ASM) may interact with folate metabolism. Women with epilepsy using ASM are often recommended high-dose folic acid supplement use during pregnancy. Objectives: The aim was to determine the association between UMFA concentrations in pregnant women with epilepsy using ASM and risk of autistic traits or language impairment in their children aged 1.5–8 y. Methods: We included children of women with epilepsy using ASM and with plasma UMFA measurement enrolled in the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Data on ASM use, folic acid supplement use, autistic traits, and language impairment were obtained from parent-reported questionnaires during pregnancy and when the child was 1.5, 3, 5, and 8 y old. Plasma UMFA concentrations were measured during gestational weeks 17–19. Results: A total of 227 ASM-exposed children of 203 women with epilepsy were included. Response rates at ages 1.5, 3, 5, and 8 y were 67% (n = 151), 54% (n = 122), 36% (n = 82), and 37% (n = 85), respectively. For 208 (94%) children, the mother reported intake of folic acid supplement. There was no association between UMFA concentrations and autistic traits score in the adjusted multiple regression analyses at age 3 y (unstandardized B: −0.01; 95% CI: −0.03, 0.004) or 8 y (unstandardized B: 0.01; 95% CI: −0.02, 0.03). Children exposed to UMFA had no increased risk of autistic traits at age 3 y [adjusted OR (aOR): 0.98; 95% CI: 0.2, 4.2] or 8 y (aOR: 0.1; 95% CI: 0.01, 1.4) compared with unexposed children. We found no association between UMFA concentrations and language impairment in children aged 1.5–8 y. Conclusions: Our findings do not support any adverse neurodevelopmental effects of UMFA exposure in utero in children of women with epilepsy using ASM.publishedVersio

Does maternal genetic liability to folate deficiency influence the risk of antiseizure medication-associated language impairment and autistic traits in children of women with epilepsy?

Background: Prenatal exposure to antiseizure medication (ASM) may lead to low plasma folate concentrations and is associated with impaired neurodevelopment. Objectives: To examine whether maternal genetic liability to folate deficiency interacts with ASM-associated risk of language impairment and autistic traits in children of women with epilepsy. Methods: We included children of women with and without epilepsy and with available genetic data enrolled in the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study. Information on ASM use, folic acid supplement use and dose, dietary folate intake, child autistic traits, and child language impairment was obtained from parent-reported questionnaires. Using logistic regression, we examined the interaction between prenatal ASM exposure and maternal genetic liability to folate deficiency expressed as polygenic risk score of low folate concentrations or maternal rs1801133 genotype (CC or CT/TT) on risk of language impairment or autistic traits. Results: We included 96 children of women with ASM-treated epilepsy, 131 children of women with ASM-untreated epilepsy, and 37,249 children of women without epilepsy. The polygenic risk score of low folate concentrations did not interact with the ASM-associated risk of language impairment or autistic traits in ASM-exposed children of women with epilepsy compared with ASM-unexposed children aged 1.5–8 y. ASM-exposed children had increased risk of adverse neurodevelopment regardless of maternal rs1801133 genotype {adjusted odds ratio [aOR] for language impairment aged 8 y was 2.88 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00, 8.26] if CC and aOR 2.88 [95% CI: 1.10, 7.53] if CT/TT genotypes}. In children of women without epilepsy aged 3 y, those with maternal rs1801133 CT/TT compared with CC genotype had increased risk of language impairment (aOR: 1.18; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.34). Conclusions: In this cohort of pregnant women reporting widespread use of folic acid supplements, maternal genetic liability to folate deficiency did not significantly influence the ASM-associated risk of impaired neurodevelopment.publishedVersio

Critical properties of the three-dimensional equivalent-neighbor model and crossover scaling in finite systems

Accurate numerical results are presented for the three-dimensional equivalent-neighbor model on a cubic lattice, for twelve different interaction ranges (coordination number between 18 and 250). These results allow the determination of the range dependences of the critical temperature and various critical amplitudes, which are compared to renormalization-group predictions. In addition, the analysis yields an estimate for the interaction range at which the leading corrections to scaling vanish for the spin-1/2 model and confirms earlier conclusions that the leading Wegner correction must be negative for the three-dimensional (nearest-neighbor) Ising model. By complementing these results with Monte Carlo data for systems with coordination numbers as large as 52514, the full finite-size crossover curves between classical and Ising-like behavior are obtained as a function of a generalized Ginzburg parameter. Also the crossover function for the effective magnetic exponent is determined.Comment: Corrected shift of critical temperature and some typos. To appear in Phys. Rev. E. 18 pages RevTeX, including 10 EPS figures. Also available as PDF file at http://www.cond-mat.physik.uni-mainz.de/~luijten/erikpubs.htm

Monte Carlo investigations of phase transitions: status and perspectives

Using the concept of finite-size scaling, Monte Carlo calculations of various models have become a very useful tool for the study of critical phenomena, with the system linear dimension as a variable. As an example, several recent studies of Ising models are discussed, as well as the extension to models of polymer mixtures and solutions. It is shown that using appropriate cluster algorithms, even the scaling functions describing the crossover from the Ising universality class to the mean-field behavior with increasing interaction range can be described. Additionally, the issue of finite-size scaling in Ising models above the marginal dimension (d*=4) is discussed.Comment: 23 pages, including 14 PostScript figures. Presented at StatPhys-Taiwan, August 9-16, 1999. Also available as PDF file at http://www.cond-mat.physik.uni-mainz.de/~luijten/erikpubs.htm

Gas hydrate technology: state of the art and future possibilities for Europe

Interest in natural gas hydrates has been steadily increasing over the last few decades, with the understanding that exploitation of this abundant unconventional source may help meet the ever-increasing energy demand and assist in reduction of CO2 emission (by replacing coal). Unfortunately, conventional technologies for oil and gas exploitation are not fully appropriate for the specific exploitation of gas hydrate. Consequently, the technology chain, from exploration through production to monitoring, needs to be further developed and adapted to the specific properties and conditions associated with gas hydrates, in order to allow for a commercially and environmentally sound extraction of gas from gas hydrate deposits. Various academic groups and companies within the European region have been heavily involved in theoretical and applied research of gas hydrate for more than a decade. To demonstrate this, Fig. 1.1 shows a selection of leading European institutes that are actively involved in gas hydrate research. A significant number of these institutes have been strongly involved in recent worldwide exploitation of gas hydrate, which are shown in Fig. 1.2 and summarized in Table 1.1. Despite the state of knowledge, no field trials have been carried out so far in European waters. MIGRATE (COST action ES1405) aims to pool together expertise of a large number of European research groups and industrial players to advance gas-hydrate related activity with the ultimate goal of preparing the setting for a field production test in European waters. This MIGRATE report presents an overview of current technologies related to gas hydrate exploration (Chapter 2), production (Chapter 3) and monitoring (Chapter 4), with an emphasis on European activity. This requires covering various activities within different disciplines, all of which contribute to the technology development needed for future cost-effective gas production. The report points out future research and work areas (Chapter 5) that would bridge existing knowledge gaps, through multinational collaboration and interdisciplinary approaches

Three small planets transiting the bright young field star K2-233

We report the detection of three small transiting planets around the young K3 dwarf K2-233 (2MASS J15215519-2013539) from observations during Campaign 15 of the K2 mission. The star is relatively nearby ($d$ = 69 pc) and bright ($V$ = 10.7 mag, $K_s$ = 8.4 mag), making the planetary system an attractive target for radial velocity follow-up and atmospheric characterization with the James Webb Space Telescope. The inner two planets are hot super-Earths ($R_b$ = 1.40 $\pm$ 0.06 R$_\oplus$, $R_c$ = 1.34 $\pm$ 0.08 R$_\oplus$), while the outer planet is a warm sub-Neptune ($R_d$ = 2.6 $\pm$ 0.1 R$_\oplus$). We estimate the stellar age to be 360$^{+490}_{-140}$ Myr based on rotation, activity, and kinematic indicators. The K2-233 system is particularly interesting given recent evidence for inflated radii in planets around similarly-aged stars, a trend potentially related to photo-evaporation, core-cooling, or both mechanisms.Comment: Accepted to AJ. 15 pages, 6 figures, 3 table

SmartAQnet 2020: A New Open Urban Air Quality Dataset from Heterogeneous PM Sensors

The increasing attention paid to urban air quality modeling places higher requirements on urban air quality datasets. This article introduces a new urban air quality dataset—the SmartAQnet2020 dataset—which has a large span and high resolution in both time and space dimensions. The dataset contains 248,572,003 observations recorded by over 180 individual measurement devices, including ceilometers, Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS), mid- and low-cost stationary measuring equipment equipped with meteorological sensors and particle counters, and low-weight portable measuring equipment mounted on different platforms such as trolley, bike, and UAV