Comparative study of interpregnancy interval and fetomaternal outcome in a tertiary health facility

Background: Ensuring adequate interpregnancy interval enhances optimal maternal and fetal wellbeing while short interpregnancy interval which is interpregnancy interval less than 24 months is associated with adverse maternal and fetal outcomes.Objectives: To compare pregnancy outcome between short and normal interpregnancy interval at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH).Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study involving 410  parturients (268 with short interpregnancy interval and 142 with normal interpregnancy interval) who consented and delivered at the UPTH. A  structured proforma was used to obtain relevant information from the parturients. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. Pregnancy outcomes which include maternal anaemia, caesarean section rate, uterine rupture, abruption placenta, fetal distress, perinatal mortality between normal interpregnancy interval (NIPI) and short interpregnancy interval (SIPI) were compared using Chi square test and P value less than 0.05 was regarded as significant.Results: The mean age and parity of the study population were 32.59+0.38 and 2.69+0.44 respectively. One hundred and forty-two parturients had NIPI while 268 (65.4%) had SIPI. Parturients with SIPI were 1.4 times more likely to have caesarean delivery (OR=1.36, 95% CI= 0.88-2.11). Maternal anaemia (P = 0.026), abruptio  placentae (P = 0.03) and ruptured uterus (P = 0.005) were significantly associated with SIPI. Low birth weight (P=0.1) and fetal demise (P=0.4) were not significantly associated with SIPI.Conclusion: Short interpregnancy interval was associated with significant adverse pregnancy outcome in this study. Ensuring adequate interpregnancy interval will improve outcomes.Keywords: Normal interpregnancy interval, Short interpregnancy  interval,maternal outcome, fetal outcome

Precis of neuroconstructivism: how the brain constructs cognition

Neuroconstructivism: How the Brain Constructs Cognition proposes a unifying framework for the study of cognitive development that brings together (1) constructivism (which views development as the progressive elaboration of increasingly complex structures), (2) cognitive neuroscience (which aims to understand the neural mechanisms underlying behavior), and (3) computational modeling (which proposes formal and explicit specifications of information processing). The guiding principle of our approach is context dependence, within and (in contrast to Marr [1982]) between levels of organization. We propose that three mechanisms guide the emergence of representations: competition, cooperation, and chronotopy; which themselves allow for two central processes: proactivity and progressive specialization. We suggest that the main outcome of development is partial representations, distributed across distinct functional circuits. This framework is derived by examining development at the level of single neurons, brain systems, and whole organisms. We use the terms encellment, embrainment, and embodiment to describe the higher-level contextual influences that act at each of these levels of organization. To illustrate these mechanisms in operation we provide case studies in early visual perception, infant habituation, phonological development, and object representations in infancy. Three further case studies are concerned with interactions between levels of explanation: social development, atypical development and within that, developmental dyslexia. We conclude that cognitive development arises from a dynamic, contextual change in embodied neural structures leading to partial representations across multiple brain regions and timescales, in response to proactively specified physical and social environment

Combining a high DHA multi-nutrient supplement with aerobic exercise: protocol for a randomised controlled study assessing mobility and cognitive function in older women.

There is a complex interplay between cognition and gait in older people, with declines in gait speed coexisting with, or preceding cognitive decline. Omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, vitamin E, phosphatidylserine, and Ginkgo Biloba show promise in preserving mobility and cognitive function in older adults. Exercise benefits mobility and there is evidence suggesting positive interactions between exercise and omega-3 fatty acids on physical and cognitive function in older adults. Non-frail or pre-frail females aged ≥60 years are included in a randomized placebo controlled study. Intervention groups are: high DHA multi-nutrient supplement and exercise, placebo supplement and exercise, high DHA multi-nutrient supplement, and placebo supplement. Dietary supplementation is 24 weeks. The exercise intervention, two cycle ergometer classes per week, is for the final 12 weeks. The primary outcome is habitual walking speed, secondary outcomes include gait variables under single and dual task, five times sit to stand, verbal and spatial memory, executive function, interference control and health related quality of life. Blood fatty acids, serum homocysteine, dietary intake, physical activity, and verbal intelligence are measured to assess compliance and control for confounding factors. The study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03228550)

Changes in epidemiological patterns of sea lice infestation on farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., in Scotland between 1996 and 2006

Analyses of a unique database containing sea lice records over an 11 year period provide evidence of changing infestation patterns in Scotland. The data, collected from more than 50 commercial Atlantic salmon farms, indicate that both species of sea lice commonly found in Scotland, Lepeophtheirus salmonis and Caligus elongatus, have declined on farms over the past decade. Reductions for both species have been particularly marked since 2001 when more effective veterinary medicines became available. Treatment data were also available in the database and these show a growing trend towards the use of the in feed medication emamectin benzoate (Slice), particularly in the first year of the salmon production cycle. However, this trend to wards single product use has not been sustained in 2006, the latest year for which data are available. There is some evidence of region to region variation within Scotland with the Western Isles experiencing higher levels of infestation. However, compared to the levels observed between 1996 and 2000, all regions have benefited from reduced lice infestation, with the overall pattern showing a particular reduction in the second and third quarters of the second year of production

An NMR-based nanostructure switch for quantum logic

We propose a nanostructure switch based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) which offers reliable quantum gate operation, an essential ingredient for building a quantum computer. The nuclear resonance is controlled by the magic number transitions of a few-electron quantum dot in an external magnetic field.Comment: 4 pages, 2 separate PostScript figures. Minor changes included. One reference adde

Generating socially appropriate tutorial dialog

Analysis of student-tutor coaching dialogs suggest that good human tutors attend to and attempt to influence the motivational state of learners. Moreover, they are sensitive to the social face of the learner, and seek to mitigate the potential face threat of their comments. This paper describes a dialog generator for pedagogical agents that takes motivation and face threat factors into account. This enables the agent to interact with learners in a socially appropriate fashion, and foster intrinsic motivation on the part of the learner, which in turn may lead to more positive learner affective states

Combined effect of coherent Z exchange and the hyperfine interaction in atomic PNC

The nuclear spin-dependent parity nonconserving (PNC) interaction arising from a combination of the hyperfine interaction and the coherent, spin-independent, PNC interaction from Z exchange is evaluated using many-body perturbation theory. For the 6s-7s transition in 133Cs, we obtain a result that is about 40% smaller than that found previously by Bouchiat and Piketty [Phys. Lett. B 269, 195 (1991)]. Applying this result to 133Cs, leads to an increase in the experimental value of nuclear anapole moment and exacerbates differences between constraints on PNC meson coupling constants obtained from the Cs anapole moment and those obtained from other nuclear parity violating experiments. Nuclear spin-dependent PNC dipole matrix elements, including contributions from the combined weak-hyperfine interaction, are also given for the 7s-8s transition in 211Fr and for transitions between ground-state hyperfine levels in K, Rb, Cs, Ba+, Au, Tl, Fr, and Ra+.Comment: Revtex4 preprint 19 pages 4 table

Studying development in the 21(st) century

In this response, we consider four main issues arising from the commentaries to the target article. These include further details of the theory of interactive specialization, the relationship between neuroconstructivism and selectionism, the implications of neuroconstructivism for the notion of representation, and the role of genetics in theories of development. We conclude by stressing the importance of multidisciplinary approaches in the future study of cognitive development and by identifying the directions in which neuroconstructivism can expand in the Twenty-first Century

Quantum games of asymmetric information

We investigate quantum games in which the information is asymmetrically distributed among the players, and find the possibility of the quantum game outperforming its classical counterpart depends strongly on not only the entanglement, but also the informational asymmetry. What is more interesting, when the information distribution is asymmetric, the contradictive impact of the quantum entanglement on the profits is observed, which is not reported in quantum games of symmetric information.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Measurement of the 6s - 7p transition probabilities in atomic cesium and a revised value for the weak charge Q_W

We have measured the 6s - 7p_{1/2,3/2} transition probabilities in atomic cesium using a direct absorption technique. We use our result plus other previously measured transition rates to derive an accurate value of the vector transition polarizability \beta and, consequently, re-evaluate the weak charge Q_W. Our derived value Q_W=-72.65(49) agrees with the prediction of the standard model to within one standard deviation.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure