Behavioral responses to pain are heightened after clustered care in preterm infants born between 30 and 32 weeks gestational age

To compare biobehavioral pain responses of preterm infants born at differing gestational ages (GAs) when pain was preceded by a rest period or by a series of routine nursing interventions.

Does prone or supine position influence pain responses in preterm infants at 32 weeks gestational age?

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of prone and supine position in preterm infants during acute pain of blood collection.

Does parenchymal brain injury affect biobehavioral pain responses in very low birth weight infants at 32 weeks' postconceptional age?

Children with neurologic impairments have shown diminished pain response compared with control subjects; however, it remains unclear what mechanisms underlie this response or when it develops. If this were also true with premature infants who undergo neonatal intensive care, then infants with parenchymal brain injury (PBI) would be at increased risk of underrecognition and undertreatment of procedural pain. The purpose of this study was to determine whether infants with PBI display altered responses to acute procedural pain at 32 weeks' postconceptional age (PCA), compared with control subjects.

Demographic and therapeutic determinants of pain reactivity in very low birth weight neonates at 32 Weeks' postconceptional Age

Management of pain in very low birth weight infants is limited by a lack of empiric knowledge about the multiple determinants of biobehavioral reactivity in infants receiving neonatal intensive care.

Morphometric analysis of corneal endothelial giant cells in normal and traumatized corneas

Corneal endothelial cells from normal and traumatized human, primate, cat and rabbit eyes were studied by specular microscopy. Morphometric analysis was performed on micrographs of corneal endothelium using a semi-automated image analysis system. The results showed that under normal conditions the corneal endothelium of all four species exhibit major morphological similarities (mean cell areas: human 317 +/- 32 microns 2, primate 246 +/- 22 microns2, cat 357 +/- 25 microns 2, rabbit 308 +/- 35 microns 2). The normal corneal endothelium in man was found to be more polymegethous than that of the other species. Trauma to cat, primate and human corneas resulted in a long-term reduction in endothelial cell density and enhanced polymegethism. In contrast, the reparative response of the rabbit ensured the reformation of an essentially normal monolayer following injury. Endothelial giant cells were a normal inclusion in the rabbit corneal endothelium but were only significant in cat, primate and man following trauma. The presence of corneal endothelial giant cells in amitotic corneas may therefore represent a compensatory response in the absence of mitotic potential.

Abstinence from alcohol may indeed be the best policy: 32 month longitudinal outcomes among adolescents in the United Kingdom.

The present study investigated the longitudinal relationship between alcohol consumption at age 13, and at age 16. Alcohol-specific measures were frequency of drinking, amount consumed at last use and alcohol related harms. Self-report data were gathered from 1113 high school students at T1, and 981 students at T2. Socio-demographic data were gathered, as was information on context of use, alcohol-related knowledge and attitudes, four domains of aggression and delay reward discounting. Results indicated that any consumption of alcohol, even supervised consumption, at T1 was associated with significantly poorer outcomes at T2. In other words, compared to those still abstinent at age 13, those engaging in alcohol use in any context reported significantly more frequent drinking, more alcohol-related harms and more units consumed at last use at age 16. Results also support the relationship between higher levels of physical aggression at T1 and a greater likelihood of more problematic alcohol use behaviours at T2. The findings support other evidence suggesting that abstinence in early adolescence has better longitudinal outcomes that supervised consumption of alcohol. These results suggest support for current guidance on adolescent drinking in the United Kingdom (UK).

A question of taste: Recognising the role of latent preferences and attitudes in analysing food choices

There has long been substantial interest in understanding consumer food choices, where a key complexity in this context is the potentially large amount of heterogeneity in tastes across individual consumers, as well as the role of underlying attitudes towards food and cooking. The present paper underlines that both tastes and attitudes are unobserved, and makes the case for a latent variable treatment of these components. Using empirical data collected in Northern Ireland as part of a wider study to elicit intra-household trade-offs between home-cooked meal options, we show how these latent sensitivities and attitudes drive both the choice behaviour as well as the answers to supplementary questions. We find significant heterogeneity across respondents in these underlying factors and show how incorporating them in our models leads to important insights into preferences. 

Adiposity as a cause of cardiovascular disease: a Mendelian randomization study

Background: Adiposity, as indicated by body mass index (BMI), has been associated with risk of cardiovascular diseases in epidemiological studies. We aimed to investigate if these associations are causal, using Mendelian randomization (MR) methods.

Methods: The associations of BMI with cardiovascular outcomes [coronary heart disease (CHD), heart failure and ischaemic stroke], and associations of a genetic score (32 BMI single nucleotide polymorphisms) with BMI and cardiovascular outcomes were examined in up to 22 193 individuals with 3062 incident cardiovascular events from nine prospective follow-up studies within the ENGAGE consortium. We used random-effects meta-analysis in an MR framework to provide causal estimates of the effect of adiposity on cardiovascular outcomes.

Results: There was a strong association between BMI and incident CHD (HR = 1.20 per SD-increase of BMI, 95% CI, 1.12–1.28, P = 1.9·10−7), heart failure (HR = 1.47, 95% CI, 1.35–1.60, P = 9·10−19) and ischaemic stroke (HR = 1.15, 95% CI, 1.06–1.24, P = 0.0008) in observational analyses. The genetic score was robustly associated with BMI (β = 0.030 SD-increase of BMI per additional allele, 95% CI, 0.028–0.033, P = 3·10−107). Analyses indicated a causal effect of adiposity on development of heart failure (HR = 1.93 per SD-increase of BMI, 95% CI, 1.12–3.30, P = 0.017) and ischaemic stroke (HR = 1.83, 95% CI, 1.05–3.20, P = 0.034). Additional cross-sectional analyses using both ENGAGE and CARDIoGRAMplusC4D data showed a causal effect of adiposity on CHD.

Conclusions: Using MR methods, we provide support for the hypothesis that adiposity causes CHD, heart failure and, previously not demonstrated, ischaemic stroke.

Desenvolvimento de uma linha de metropolitano ligeiro entre as linhas ferroviárias de Cascais e Sintra: "Metro de Oeiras"

Nos últimos anos tem-se constatado um agravamento da mobilidade em Agualva- Cacém e nas áreas envolventes ao eixo definido pela EN249-3. No desenvolvimento da linha de metro ligeiro considerou-se como objectivo prioritário a definição dum espaço canal e das respectivas infra-estrururas associadas, de forma a assegurar uma boa interligação das Linhas de Sintra e de Cascais e a conexão aos pólos tecnológicos TagusPark, Lagoas Park e Quinta da Fonte, abrangendo uma zona de influência significativa. A construção de “park & ride” junto às estações de metro ligeiro vai fomentar a transferência do transporte individual para o transporte colectivo contribuindo para a melhoria de qualidade de vida em zonas muito congestionadas e com elevados índices de poluição. Na elaboração do projecto foram superadas as dificuldades de inserção nas zonas com alta densidade e com orografia caracterizada por vales profundos. A linha tem uma extensão de 16,8 km em sítio próprio, com 23 estações e será explorada com 22 composições de 310 lugares, realizando o tempo de percurso de 25 minutos entre Oeiras e o Tagus Park ou entre Cacém e o Tagus Park. Para a concretização deste projecto foi estimado um investimento de 402 milhões de euros, incluindo a aquisição de material circulante em três fases. O custo da manutenção e exploração será de 12 milhões de euros/ano. A linha de metro ligeiro servirá cerca de 201 mil pessoas na sua área envolvente (a uma distância de 450m do eixo) e transportará 32 milhões de passageiros no Ano 0 e 54 milhões no Ano 30. O custo por passageiro transportado será de 0,74€ no Ano 0 e de 0,50€ no Ano 30.