Ultrastructural Basis and Developmental Control of Blue Iridescence in Selaginella Leaves

The iridescentb lue color of several Selaginellasp ecies is caused by a physical effect, thinfilm interference.P redictionsf or a model film have been confirmedb y electronm icroscopyo f S. willdenowaEnid S. uncinataF. or the latters pecies iridescencec ontributest o leaf absorption at wavelengths above 450 nm and develops in environments enriched with far-red (730 nm) light. This evidence supports the involvement of phytochrome in the developmental control of iridescence.

Orexigenic Gene Expression in Late Gestation Ovine Foetal Hypothalamus is Sensitive to Maternal Undernutrition and Realimentation

Acknowledgements Research was funded by the Scottish Government's Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS), including the Strategic Partnership for Animal Science Excellence (SPASE). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Orexigenic Gene Expression in Late Gestation Ovine Foetal Hypothalamus is Sensitive to Maternal Undernutrition and Realimentation

Acknowledgements Research was funded by the Scottish Government's Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS), including the Strategic Partnership for Animal Science Excellence (SPASE). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Epigenetics and developmental programming of welfare and production traits in farm animals

Acknowledgements Financial support for composing this article was obtained from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB, Beef and Lamb), UK. Concept of review was also initiated from discussions originating from EU COST Action FA1201, Epiconcept: Epigenetics and Periconception Environment

Orexigenic Gene Expression in Late Gestation Ovine Foetal Hypothalamus is Sensitive to Maternal Undernutrition and Realimentation

Acknowledgements Research was funded by the Scottish Government's Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS), including the Strategic Partnership for Animal Science Excellence (SPASE). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Post-cesarean Section Peritonitis at a Referral Hospital in Rwanda: Factors Associated with Maternal Morbidity and Mortality

Background: Post-cesarean section peritonitis is the leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality at the main referral hospital in Rwanda. Published data on the management of post-cesarean section peritonitis is limited. This study examined predictors of maternal morbidity and mortality for post-cesarean peritonitis.

Methods: We performed a prospective observational cohort study at the University Teaching Hospital Kigali (CHUK) from January 1 until December 31 2015, followed by a retrospective chart review of all subjects with post-cesarean section peritonitis admitted to CHUK from January 1 until December 31, 2014. All patients admitted with the diagnosis of post-cesarean section peritonitis undergoing exploratory laparotomy at CHUK were enrolled. Patients were followed to either discharge or death. Study variables included baseline demographic/clinical characteristics, admission physical exam, intraoperative findings, and management. Data were analyzed using STATA version 14.

Results: Of the 167 patients enrolled, 81 survived without requiring hysterectomy (49%), 49 survived requiring hysterectomy (29%), and 36 died (22%). In the multivariate analysis, severe sepsis was the most significant predictor of mortality (RR=4.0 [2.2-7.7]) and uterine necrosis was the most significant predictor of hysterectomy (RR=6.3 [1.6-25.2]). There were high rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among the bacterial isolates cultured from intra-abdominal pus, with 52% of bacteria resistant to third-generation cephalosporins.

Conclusions: Post-cesarean section peritonitis carries a high mortality rate in Rwanda. It is also associated with a high rate of hysterectomy. Understanding the disease process and identifying factors associated with outcomes can help guide management during admission.

The impact of maternal inflammation and maternal stress in the regulation of neurodevelopment and physiological function

The mechanisms governing fetal development follow a tightly regulated pattern of progression such that interference at any one particular stage is likely to have consequences for all other stages of development in the physiological system that has been affected thereafter. These disturbances can take the form of many different events but two of the most common and widely implicated in causing detrimental effects to the developing fetus are maternal immune activation (MIA) and maternal stress. MIA has been shown to cause an increase in circulating proinflammatory cytokines in both the maternal and fetal circulation. This increase in proinflammatory mediators in the fetus is thought to occur by fetal production rather than through exchange between the maternal-fetal interface. In the case of maternal stress it is increased levels of stress related hormones such as cortisol/corticosterone which is thought to elicit the detrimental effects on fetal development. In the case of both maternal infection and stress the timing and nature of the insult generally dictates the severity and type of effects seen in affected offspring. We investigated the effect of a proinflammatory environment on neural precursor cells of which exposure resulted in a significant decrease in the normal rate of proliferation of NPCs in culture but did not have any effect on cell survival. These effects were seen to be age dependent. Using a restraint stress model we investigated the effects of prenatal stress on the development of a number of different physiological systems in the same cohort of animals. PNS animals exhibited a number of aberrant changes in cardiovascular function with altered responses to stress and hypertension, modifications in respiratory responses to hypercapnic and hypoxic challenges and discrepancies in gastrointestinal innervation. Taken together these findings suggest that both maternal infection and maternal stress are detrimental to the normal development of the fetus.

The Effects of Paternal and Maternal Nurturance and Involvement on Young Adult Academic Outcomes

The present study examines how mothering and fathering impact child academic outcomes in divorced and intact families, and if there are unique influences of mothering and fathering variables for sons and daughters. An ethnically diverse sample of 1,714 university students from Florida International University (n=1371) and Florida State University (n=343) responded to measures on a questionnaire that included the Nurturant Fathering and Mothering Scales (Finley & Schwartz, 2004; Schwartz & Finley, 2005; Finley & Schwartz, 2006), the Mother and Father Involvement Scales (Finley, Mira, & Schwartz, 2008), demographic measures, and academic outcome measures. In intact families, mothering and fathering variables were significantly correlated with each other, and positively correlated with child academic outcomes including grades, GPA, academic satisfaction, and academic importance. In divorced families, mothering and fathering variables were not correlated with each other. Furthermore, when analyzing divorced families, significant effects were found for both parent and child gender. Mothering variables were found to have the greatest positive impact for sons’ academic outcomes. Maternal nurturance and maternal involvement were correlated positively with academic outcomes for sons from divorced families and accounted for 3-4% of the unique variance explained. Consistently, desired mother involvement, how much involvement the child wished they had received, was negatively correlated with academic outcomes for sons from divorced families and accounted for 10-15% of the unique variance explained. This means that when the amount of maternal involvement that sons in divorced families received matched or exceeded their desired level of involvement, sons had more positive academic outcomes including grades, GPA, satisfaction with academics and academic importance. This suggests that in intact family forms, nurturant and involved mothering and fathering have a positive effect on academic outcomes for sons and daughters. In divorced family forms, the effects of fathering on child academic outcomes were not significant. Therefore, in divorced families, the positive effects fathering on academic outcomes of sons and daughters drop out, and mothers are uniquely important for sons’ academic success.

UPTAKE OF THE PERIODIC HEALTH EXAM AMONG ADULTS WITH INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES FROM 2003 TO 2015

Background: Over the past decade, annual heath exams have been de-emphasized for the general population but emphasized for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The purpose of this project was to determine if there has been an increase in the uptake of the health exam among adults with IDD in Ontario, to what extent, and the effect on the quality of preventive care provided. Methods: Using administrative health data, the proportion of adults (18-64 years old) with IDD who received a health exam (long appointment, general assessment, and “true” health exam), a high value on the primary care quality composite score (PCQS), and a health exam or high PCQS each year was compared to the proportion in a propensity score matched sample of the general population. Negative binomial and segmented negative binomial regression controlling for age and sex were used to determine the relative risk of having a health exam/high PCQS/health exam or PCQS over time. Results: Pre joinpoint, the long appointment and general assessment health exam definitions saw a decrease and the “true” health exam saw an increase in the likelihood of adults having a health exam. Post joinpoint, all health exam definitions saw a decrease in the likelihood of adults having a health exam. Pre joinpoint, all PCQS measures (high PCQS, long appointment or high PCQS, “true” health exam or high PCQS) saw an increase in the likelihood for adults to achieve a high PCQS or high PCQS/have a health exam. Post joinpoint, all PCQS measures saw a decrease in the likelihood for adults to achieve a high PCQS or high PCQS/have a health exam. Achieving a high PCQS was strongly associated with having a health exam regardless of health exam definition or IDD status. Conclusions: Despite the publication of guidelines, only a small proportion of adults with IDD are receiving health exams. This indicates that the publication of guidelines alone was not sufficient to change practice. More targeted measures, such as the implementation of an IDD-specific health exam fee code, should be considered to increase the uptake of the health exam among adults with IDD.

Evaluation of a Quality Improvement (QI) Intervention for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH) in Colombia: The Mil Días Intervention of SINERGIAS in the Department of Bolívar

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

The interplay between social motivation, social experience, and developmental neural specialization for social perception

From birth, infants preferentially attend to human motion, which allows them to learn to interpret other peoples’ facial expressions and mental states. Evidence from adults shows that selectivity of the amygdala and the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) to biological motion correlates with social network size. Social motivation—one’s desire to orient to the social world, to seek and find reward in social interaction, and to maintain social relationships—may also contribute to neural specialization for biological motion and to social network characteristics. The current study aimed to determine whether neural selectivity for biological motion relates to social network characteristics, and to gain preliminary evidence as to whether social motivation plays a role in this relation. Findings suggest that neural selectivity for biological motion in the pSTS is positively related to social network size in middle childhood and that this relation is moderated by social motivation.

Maternal Age and Infant Mortality for White, Black, and Mexican Mothers in the United States

Funding for Open Access provided by the UMD Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund.