British public health and academic policy and guidance promotes service user involvement in health care and research, however collaborative research remains underrepresented in literature relating to ...pregnant women’s mental health. The aim of this participatory research was to explore mothers’ and professionals’ perspectives on the factors that influence pregnant women’s mental health.
This qualitative research was undertaken in England with the involvement of three community members who had firsthand experience of mental health problems during pregnancy. All members of the team were involved in study design, recruitment, data generation and different stages of thematic analysis. Data were transcribed for individual and group discussions with 17 women who self-identified as experiencing mental health problems during pregnancy and 15 professionals who work with this group. Means of establishing trustworthiness included triangulation, researcher reflexivity, peer debriefing and comprehensive data analysis.
Significant areas of commonality were identified between mothers’ and professionals’ perspectives on factors that undermine women’s mental health during pregnancy and what is needed to support women’s mental health. Analysis of data is provided with particular reference to contexts of relational, systemic and ecological conditions in women’s lives.
Women’s mental health is predominantly undermined or supported by relational, experiential and material factors. The local context of socio-economic deprivation is a significant influence on women’s mental health and service requirements.
Inkjet deposition can be a complementary technology to laser ablation to enable new processes. One such process is the One step interconnect for thin film photovoltaics, which is an improved method ...for series interconnection. The standard series interconnection process consists of three laser scribes between the deposition of the three key cell layers; transparent front contact, absorber layer and the metallic back contact. The one step interconnect allows the series interconnection to occur after the deposition of all layers significantly simplifying the manufacturing process. This is achieved by inkjet printing of conductive and insulative materials concurrently with depth selective laser scribes. The one step interconnect process has been shown to make effective interconnects on cadmium telluride photovoltaics with fill factors >60%. The benefits are many and include the reduction of capital equipment costs, reduced panel wastage and potentially improved material performance. The process is fully scalable and production ready.
Objectives This study sought to determine the accuracy of Doppler echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) measurements in detecting elevated left atrial pressure (LAP) in ambulant subjects ...with chronic heart failure using directly measured LAP as the reference. Background Echocardiographic indexes including the ratio of transmitral to annular early diastolic velocities (E/e′) may identify raised invasively measured left ventricular filling pressures when tested in cross-sectional studies in some populations. The accuracy of these indexes when measured sequentially remains untested. We determined the accuracy of Doppler echocardiography and TDI measurements in detecting elevated directly measured LAP in ambulant subjects with stable chronic heart failure. Methods Fifteen patients with New York Heart Association functional class II to III heart failure and a permanently implanted direct LAP monitoring device underwent serial echocardiography. Simultaneous resting mean LAP, Doppler mitral inflow, mitral annular TDI, and pulmonary venous inflow velocities were obtained on each occasion. Receiver-operator characteristic curve analysis was used to compare the accuracy of the Doppler variables to detect an elevated device LAP ≥15 and ≥20 mm Hg. Results The patients (13 men, mean age: 71 years, mean left ventricular ejection fraction: 32 ± 12%) underwent 60 simultaneous echocardiographic studies and LAP measurements with a median of 4 (1 to 7) studies per patient. Mean LAP was 16.9 (range 5 to 39 mm Hg) at echocardiography (n = 60). E/e′ had the greatest accuracy for detection of LAP ≥15 mm Hg with an area beneath the receiver-operator characteristic curve >0.9. In comparison, area under the curve for mitral E velocity and mitral E/A were 0.77 and 0.76, respectively (p < 0.008 vs. E/e′ medial and average). Conclusions Single and serial measurements of mitral inflow and mitral annular TDI velocities (E/e′) can reliably detect raised directly measured LAP in ambulant subjects with compensated chronic heart failure. (Hemodynamically Guided Home Self-Therapy in Severe Heart Failure Patients HOMEOSTASIS; NCT00547729 )
Disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1), a genetic risk factor for multiple serious psychiatric diseases including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism, is a key regulator of multiple neuronal ...functions linked to both normal development and disease processes. As these diseases are thought to share a common deficit in synaptic function and architecture, we have analyzed the role of DISC1 using an approach that focuses on understanding the protein-protein interactions of DISC1 specifically at synapses. We identify the Traf2 and Nck-interacting kinase (TNIK), an emerging risk factor itself for disease, as a key synaptic partner for DISC1, and provide evidence that the DISC1-TNIK interaction regulates synaptic composition and activity by stabilizing the levels of key postsynaptic density proteins. Understanding the novel DISC1-TNIK interaction is likely to provide insights into the etiology and underlying synaptic deficits found in major psychiatric diseases.
New biological models are incorporating the realistic processes underlying biological responses to climate change and other human-caused disturbances. However, these more realistic models require ...detailed information, which is lacking for most species on Earth. Current monitoring efforts mainly document changes in biodiversity, rather than collecting the mechanistic data needed to predict future changes. We describe and prioritize the biological information needed to inform more realistic projections of species' responses to climate change. We also highlight how trait-based approaches and adaptive modeling can leverage sparse data to make broader predictions. We outline a global effort to collect the data necessary to better understand, anticipate, and reduce the damaging effects of climate change on biodiversity.
Monolithic series interconnection is a key advantage of thin-film PV. The standard approach is to alternate layer deposition and laser scribing. Here the M-Solv patented One Step Interconnect (OSI) ...process is introduced as an alternative to the conventional all laser interconnect. OSI interconnects TF-PV modules in a single step after all deposition is complete with considerable advantages: reduced capital expenditure; better process control; less vacuum/air interfaces, reduced line footprint and faster panel transit. OSI employs a combination of laser scribing and inkjet printing of functional materials. OSI mini-modules have been fabricated on CdTe with good electrical performance. Although the focus here has been CdTe, OSI is applicable to all thin-film technologies. The laser and inkjet processes presented are fully scalable for industrial production.
This review article discusses the current and future possibilities for the application of in situ transmission electron microscopy to reveal synthesis pathways and functional mechanisms in complex ...and nanoscale materials. The findings of a group of scientists, representing academia, government labs and private sector entities (predominantly commercial vendors) during a workshop, held at the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology- National Institute of Science and Technology (CNST-NIST), are discussed. We provide a comprehensive review of the scientific needs and future instrument and technique developments required to meet them.
•Evaluation of currently available technology for performing in situ experiments using transmission electron microscope.•Limitations of currently available instrumentation with respect to base TEM, specialty TEM holders, and data acquisition systems.•Guidelines and wish list for the areas of future development.
Objective
To assess the separate and combined associations of maternal pre‐pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain with the risks of pregnancy complications and their population ...impact.
Design
Individual participant data meta‐analysis of 39 cohorts.
Setting
Europe, North America, and Oceania.
Population
265 270 births.
Methods
Information on maternal pre‐pregnancy BMI, gestational weight gain, and pregnancy complications was obtained. Multilevel binary logistic regression models were used.
Main outcome measures
Gestational hypertension, pre‐eclampsia, gestational diabetes, preterm birth, small and large for gestational age at birth.
Results
Higher maternal pre‐pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain were, across their full ranges, associated with higher risks of gestational hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes, and large for gestational age at birth. Preterm birth risk was higher at lower and higher BMI and weight gain. Compared with normal weight mothers with medium gestational weight gain, obese mothers with high gestational weight gain had the highest risk of any pregnancy complication (odds ratio 2.51, 95% CI 2.31– 2.74). We estimated that 23.9% of any pregnancy complication was attributable to maternal overweight/obesity and 31.6% of large for gestational age infants was attributable to excessive gestational weight gain.
Conclusions
Maternal pre‐pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain are, across their full ranges, associated with risks of pregnancy complications. Obese mothers with high gestational weight gain are at the highest risk of pregnancy complications. Promoting a healthy pre‐pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain may reduce the burden of pregnancy complications and ultimately the risk of maternal and neonatal morbidity.
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Promoting a healthy body mass index and gestational weight gain might reduce the population burden of pregnancy complications.
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Promoting a healthy body mass index and gestational weight gain might reduce the population burden of pregnancy complications.
Two theories have been proposed to explain the evolution of introns within eukaryotic genes. The introns early theory, or ``exon theory of genes,'' proposes that introns are ancient and that ...recombination within introns provided new exon structure, and thus new genes. The introns late theory, or ``insertional theory of introns,'' proposes that ancient genes existed as uninterrupted exons and that introns have been introduced during the course of evolution. There is still controversy as to how intron-exon structure evolved and whether the majority of introns are ancient or novel. Although there is extensive evidence in support of the introns early theory, phylogenetic comparisons of several genes indicate recent gain and loss of introns within these genes. However, no example has been shown of a protein coding gene, intronless in its ancestral form, which has acquired an intron in a derived form. The mammalian sex determining gene, SRY, is intronless in all mammals studied to date, as is the gene from which it recently evolved. However, we report here comparisons of genomic and cDNA sequences that now provide evidence of a de novo insertion of an intron into the SRY gene of dasyurid marsupials. This recently (approximately 45 million years ago) inserted sequence is not homologous with known transposable elements. Our data demonstrate that introns may be inserted as spliced units within a developmentally crucial gene without disrupting its function.
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