Electrophoretic deposition of mesoporous bioactive glass on glass-ceramic foam scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.

PubMed

Fiorilli, Sonia; Baino, Francesco; Cauda, Valentina; Crepaldi, Marco; Vitale-Brovarone, Chiara; Demarchi, Danilo; Onida, Barbara

2015-01-01

In this work, the coating of 3-D foam-like glass-ceramic scaffolds with a bioactive mesoporous glass (MBG) was investigated. The starting scaffolds, based on a non-commercial silicate glass, were fabricated by the polymer sponge replica technique followed by sintering; then, electrophoretic deposition (EPD) was applied to deposit a MBG layer on the scaffold struts. EPD was also compared with other techniques (dipping and direct in situ gelation) and it was shown to lead to the most promising results. The scaffold pore structure was maintained after the MBG coating by EPD, as assessed by SEM and micro-CT. In vitro bioactivity of the scaffolds was assessed by immersion in simulated body fluid and subsequent evaluation of hydroxyapatite (HA) formation. The deposition of a MBG coating can be a smart strategy to impart bioactive properties to the scaffold, allowing the formation of nano-structured HA agglomerates within 48 h from immersion, which does not occur on uncoated scaffold surfaces. The mechanical properties of the scaffold do not vary after the EPD (compressive strength ~19 MPa, fracture energy ~1.2 × 10(6) J m(-3)) and suggest the suitability of the prepared highly bioactive constructs as bone tissue engineering implants for load-bearing applications.

Integrated topology for an aircraft electric power distribution system using MATLAB and ILP optimization technique and its implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madhikar, Pratik Ravindra

The most important and crucial design feature while designing an Aircraft Electric Power Distribution System (EPDS) is reliability. In EPDS, the distribution of power is from top level generators to bottom level loads through various sensors, actuators and rectifiers with the help of AC & DC buses and control switches. As the demands of the consumer is never ending and the safety is utmost important, there is an increase in loads and as a result increase in power management. Therefore, the design of an EPDS should be optimized to have maximum efficiency. This thesis discusses an integrated tool that is based on a Need Based Design method and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) to achieve the optimum design of an EPDS to provide maximum reliability in terms of continuous connectivity, power management and minimum cost. If an EPDS is formulated as an optimization problem then it can be solved with the help of connectivity, cost and power constraints by using a linear solver to get the desired output of maximum reliability at minimum cost. Furthermore, the thesis also discusses the viability and implementation of the resulted topology on typical large aircraft specifications.

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD): Mechanisms, kinetics, and application to ceramics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sarkar, P.; Nicholson, P.S.

1996-08-01

The mechanisms of electrophoretic deposition (EPD) are discussed and their shortcomings identified. The kinetics of the processes involved are analyzed for constant-current and constant-voltage conditions. A method of determining the Hamaker constant of suspended particles is developed by modeling the relationship between the particle interaction energy and the suspension stability. A three-probe dc technique is used to map the voltage profile around the depositing electrode, and the results are used to explain discrepancies between the calculated and experimentally observed voltage drops during deposition. A mechanism of deposition is proposed based on DLVO theory and particle double-layer distortion/thinning on application ofmore » a dc field to the suspension. Kinetic equations are developed for constant-current and constant-voltage EPD using mass balance conditions; these are verified by experiments. After the phenomenon is introduced and discussed, a critique of the application of EPD to the synthesis of ceramic shapes and coatings is given.« less

Validation of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) for screening of major depressive episode among adults from the general population.

PubMed

Matijasevich, Alicia; Munhoz, Tiago N; Tavares, Beatriz Franck; Barbosa, Ana Paula Pereira Neto; da Silva, Diego Mello; Abitante, Morgana Sonza; Dall'Agnol, Tatiane Abreu; Santos, Iná S

2014-10-08

Standardized questionnaires designed for the identification of depression are useful for monitoring individual as well as population mental health. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) has originally been developed to assist primary care health professionals to detect postnatal depression, but several authors recommend its use outside of the postpartum period. In Brazil, the use of the EPDS for screening depression outside the postpartum period and among non-selected populations has not been validated. The present study aimed to assess the validity of the EPDS as a screening instrument for major depressive episode (MDE) among adults from the general population. This is a validation study that used a population-based sampling technique to select the participants. The study was conducted in the city of Pelotas, Brazil. Households were randomly selected by two stage conglomerates with probability proportional to size. EPDS was administered to 447 adults (≥20 years). Approximately 17 days later, participants were reinterviewed by psychiatrics and psychologists using a structured diagnostic interview (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, MINI). We calculated the sensitivity and specificity of each cutoff point of EPDS, and values were plotted as a receiver operator characteristic curve. The best cutoff point for screening depression was ≥8, with 80.0% (64.4 - 90.9%) sensitivity and 87.0% (83.3 - 90.1%) specificity. Among women the best cutoff point was ≥8 too with values of sensitivity and specificity of 84.4% (67.2 - 94.7%) and 81.3% (75.5 - 86.1%), respectively. Among men, the best cutoff point was ≥7 (75% sensitivity and 89% specificity). The EPDS was shown to be suitable for screening MDE among adults in the community.

A new surface fractal dimension for displacement mode shape-based damage identification of plate-type structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Binkai; Qiao, Pizhong

2018-03-01

Vibration-based nondestructive testing is an area of growing interest and worthy of exploring new and innovative approaches. The displacement mode shape is often chosen to identify damage due to its local detailed characteristic and less sensitivity to surrounding noise. Requirement for baseline mode shape in most vibration-based damage identification limits application of such a strategy. In this study, a new surface fractal dimension called edge perimeter dimension (EPD) is formulated, from which an EPD-based window dimension locus (EPD-WDL) algorithm for irregularity or damage identification of plate-type structures is established. An analytical notch-type damage model of simply-supported plates is proposed to evaluate notch effect on plate vibration performance; while a sub-domain of notch cases with less effect is selected to investigate robustness of the proposed damage identification algorithm. Then, fundamental aspects of EPD-WDL algorithm in term of notch localization, notch quantification, and noise immunity are assessed. A mathematical solution called isomorphism is implemented to remove false peaks caused by inflexions of mode shapes when applying the EPD-WDL algorithm to higher mode shapes. The effectiveness and practicability of the EPD-WDL algorithm are demonstrated by an experimental procedure on damage identification of an artificially-induced notched aluminum cantilever plate using a measurement system of piezoelectric lead-zirconate (PZT) actuator and scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (SLDV). As demonstrated in both the analytical and experimental evaluations, the new surface fractal dimension technique developed is capable of effectively identifying damage in plate-type structures.

Histopathological lesions associated with equine periodontal disease.

PubMed

Cox, Alistair; Dixon, Padraic; Smith, Sionagh

2012-12-01

Equine periodontal disease (EPD) is a common and painful condition, the aetiology and pathology of which are poorly understood. To characterise the histopathological lesions associated with EPD, the skulls of 22 horses were assessed grossly for the presence of periodontal disease, and a standard set of interdental tissues taken from each for histopathological examination. Histological features of EPD included ulceration and neutrophilic inflammation of the gingival epithelium. Mononuclear and eosinophilic inflammation of the gingival lamina propria and submucosa was commonly present irrespective of the presence or degree of periodontal disease. Gingival hyperplasia was present to some degree in all horses, and was only weakly associated with the degree of periodontal disease. In all horses dental plaque was present at the majority of sites examined and was often associated with histological evidence of peripheral cemental erosion. Bacteria (including spirochaetes in four horses) were identified in gingival samples by Gram and silver impregnation techniques and were significantly associated with the presence of periodontal disease. This is the first study to describe histological features of EPD, and the first to identify associated spirochaetes in some cases. Histological features were variable, and there was considerable overlap of some features between the normal and diseased gingiva. Further investigation into the potential role of bacteria in the pathogenesis and progression of EPD is warranted. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recent patents on electrophoretic displays and materials.

PubMed

Christophersen, Marc; Phlips, Bernard F

2010-11-01

Electrophoretic displays (EPDs) have made their way into consumer products. EPDs enable displays that offer the look and form of a printed page, often called "electronic paper". We will review recent apparatus and method patents for EPD devices and their fabrication. A brief introduction into the basic display operation and history of EPDs is given, while pointing out the technological challenges and difficulties for inventors. Recently, the majority of scientific publications and patenting activity has been directed to micro-segmented EPDs. These devices exhibit high optical reflectance and contrast, wide viewing angle, and high image resolution. Micro-segmented EPDs can also be integrated with flexible transistors technologies into flexible displays. Typical particles size ranges from 200 nm to 2 micrometer. Currently one very active area of patenting is the development of full-color EPDs. We summarize the recent patenting activity for EPDs and provide comments on perceiving factors driving intellectual property protection for EPD technologies.

Radio-Tomographic Images of Post-midnight Equatorial Plasma Depletions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hei, M. A.; Bernhardt, P. A.; Siefring, C. L.; Wilkens, M.; Huba, J. D.; Krall, J.; Valladares, C. E.; Heelis, R. A.; Hairston, M. R.; Coley, W. R.; Chau, J. L.

2013-12-01

For the first time, post-midnight equatorial plasma depletions (EPDs) have been imaged in the longitude-altitude plane using radio-tomography. High-resolution (~10 km × 10 km) electron-density reconstructions were created from total electron content (TEC) data using an array of receivers sited in Peru and the Multiplicative Algebraic Reconstruction Technique (MART) inversion algorithm. TEC data were obtained from the 150 and 400 MHz signals transmitted by the CERTO beacon on the C/NOFS satellite. In-situ electron density data from the C/NOFS CINDI instrument and electron density profiles from the UML Jicamarca ionosonde were used to generate an initial guess for the MART inversion, and also to constrain the inversion process. Observed EPDs had widths of 100-1000 km, spacings of 300-900 km, and often appeared 'pinched off' at the bottom. Well-developed EPDs appeared on an evening with a very small (4 m/s) Pre-Reversal-Enhancement (PRE), suggesting that postmidnight enhancements of the vertical plasma drift and/or seeding-induced uplifts (e.g. gravity waves) were responsible for driving the Rayleigh-Taylor Instability into the nonlinear regime on this night. On another night the Jicamarca ISR recorded postmidnight (~0230 LT) Eastward electric fields nearly twice as strong as the PRE fields seven hours earlier. These electric fields lifted the whole ionosphere, including embedded EPDs, over a longitude range ~14° wide. CINDI detected a dawn depletion in exactly the area where the reconstruction showed an uplifted EPD. Strong Equatorial Spread-F observed by the Jicamarca ionosonde during receiver observation times confirmed the presence of ionospheric irregularities.

Comparing the treatment outcomes of endoscopic papillary dilation and endoscopic sphincterotomy for removal of bile duct stones.

PubMed

Ochi, Y; Mukawa, K; Kiyosawa, K; Akamatsu, T

1999-01-01

To compare the clinical usefulness of endoscopic papillary dilation (EPD) and endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) for removal of bile duct stones, 110 patients with stones up to 15 mm in diameter and less than 10 in number were randomly treated with either EPD (55 patients) or EST (55 patients). The patients were followed up for a median period of 23 months and endoscopic manometry with the administration of morphine was carried out in 17 patients who were observed more than 12 months after the procedures to evaluate the post-procedure papillary function. Duct clearance was achieved in 51 EPD (92.7%) and 54 EST patients (98.1%, not significantly different). Forty EPD (78.4%) and 51 EST patients (94.4%) achieved duct clearance in the initial procedure (P=0.02). Early complications occurred in one EPD (2.0%) and in three EST patients (5.6%, P=0.62). Complications during the follow-up period occurred in two EPD and eight EST patients. Recurrence of bile duct stones was observed in two EPD and three EST patients (P=0.98). Acute cholecystitis was observed in one EPD and five EST patients (P=0.06) and among patients with gall-bladder stones in situ, the rate of acute cholecystitis after EPD was significantly lower than that after EST (P=0.03). Endoscopic manometry showed the existence of a choledochoduodenal pressure gradient only after EPD, while papillary contractile function was observed after both procedures. In conclusion, both EPD and EST are safe therapeutic modalities, although EPD is more clinically effective in decreasing the risk of acute cholecystitis in patients with gall-bladder stones in situ and in preserving post-procedure papillary function.

Synergistic effects of the sesquiterpene lactone, EPD, with cisplatin and paclitaxel in ovarian cancer cells.

PubMed

van Haaften, Caroline; Boot, Arnoud; Corver, Willem E; van Eendenburg, Jaap D H; Trimbos, Baptist J M Z; van Wezel, Tom

2015-04-25

Ovarian cancer remains still the leading cause of death of gynecological malignancy, in spite of first-line chemotherapy with cisplatin and paclitaxel. Although initial response is favorably, relapses are common and prognosis for women with advanced disease stays poor. Therefore efficacious approaches are needed. Previously, an anti-cancer agent, EPD exhibited potent cytotoxic effects towards ovarian cancer and not towards normal cells. Cell viability and cell cycle analysis studies were performed with EPD, in combination with cisplatin and/or paclitaxel, using the ovarian carcinoma cell lines: SK-OV-3, OVCAR-3, JC, JC-pl and normal fibroblasts. Cell viability was measured using Presto Blue and cell cycle analysis using a flow cytometer. Apoptosis was measured in JC and JC-pl , using the caspase 3 assay kit. In JC-pl, SK-OV-3 and JC, synergistic interactions between either EPD and cisplatin or EPD and paclitaxel were observed. For the first time the effects of EPD on the cell cycle of ovarian cancer cells and normal cells was studied. EPD and combinations of EPD with cisplatin and/ or paclitaxel showed cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. The combination of EPD and cisplatin showed a significant synergistic effect in cell line JC-pl, while EPD with paclitaxel showed synergistic interaction in JC. Additionally, synergistic drug combinations showed increased apoptosis. Our results showed a synergistic effect of EPD and cisplatin in an ovarian drug resistant cell line as well as a synergistic effect of EPD and paclitaxel in two other ovarian cell lines. These results might enhance clinical efficacy, compared to the existing regimen of paclitaxel and cisplatin.

Symptoms of maternal depression immediately after delivery predict unsuccessful breast feeding.

PubMed

Gagliardi, Luigi; Petrozzi, Angela; Rusconi, Franca

2012-04-01

Postnatal depression may interfere with breast feeding. This study tested the ability of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) to predict later breast feeding problems, hypothesising that risk of unsuccessful breast feeding increased with increasing EPDS scores, even at low values. The authors administered the EPDS on days 2-3 after delivery to 592 mothers of a healthy baby. Feeding method was recorded at 12-14 weeks. Median EPDS score was 5 (IQR 2 -8); 15.7% of women scored >9. At 12-14 weeks, 50.7% of infants received full breast feeding, 21.0% mixed breast feeding and 28.4% bottle feeding. Mothers with higher EPDS scores were more likely to bottle feed at 3 months; the odds of bottle feeding increased with EPDS result, even at low scores (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.11). Higher EPDS scores immediately after delivery were associated with later breast feeding failure.

Influence of pre-drying treatments on physicochemical and organoleptic properties of explosion puff dried jackfruit chips.

PubMed

Yi, Jianyong; Zhou, Linyan; Bi, Jinfeng; Chen, Qinqin; Liu, Xuan; Wu, Xinye

2016-02-01

The effects of hot air drying (AD), freeze drying (FD), infrared drying (IR), microwave drying (MV), vacuum drying (VD) as pre-drying treatments for explosion puff drying (EPD) on qualities of jackfruit chips were studied. The lowest total color differences (∆E) were found in the FD-, MV- and VD-EPD dried chips. Volume expansion effect (9.2 %) was only observed in the FD-EPD dried chips, which corresponded to its well expanded honeycomb microstructures and high rehydration rate. Compared with AD-, IR-, MV- and VD-EPD, the FD-EPD dried fruit chips exhibited lower hardness and higher crispness, indicative of a crispier texture. FD-EPD dried fruits also obtained high retentions of ascorbic acid, phenolics and carotenoids compared with that of the other puffed products. The results of sensory evaluation suggested that the FD-EPD was a more beneficial combination because it enhanced the overall qualities of jackfruit chips. In conclusion, the FD-EPD could be used as a novel combination drying method for processing valuable and/or high quality fruit chips.

Perception of the influence of environmental factors in the use of electronic planning devices in adults with cognitive disabilities.

PubMed

Adolfsson, Päivi; Lindstedt, Helena; Pettersson, Ingvor; Hermansson, Liselotte Norling; Janeslätt, Gunnel

2016-08-01

Adults with cognitive disabilities often have difficulties in dealing with the complexity of everyday life. With cognitive assistive technology (e.g. electronic planning devices [EPDs] and individual support), they can bring order to their often chaotic life. Assumptions are that environmental factors influence with non-use of EPDs. To explore how adults with cognitive disabilities perceive the influence of environmental factors in the use of EPDs. A reference group with experience of use of EPDs assisted the researchers. Twelve adults with cognitive disabilities and experience of using EPDs participated. An interview guide was implemented covering environmental factors according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Qualitative content analysis was applied in the analyses. Five categories and two themes emerged, which were integrated into a model of facilitating factors influencing the use of EPDs. Measures to prevent or eliminate negative influences of the device use are important to be taken. Professionals need more knowledge about EPDs, while users need individual adaption of the EPDs. EPDs need to be user-friendly, manageable and work in any seasons. Implications for Rehabilitation The users should have access to specially trained prescribers. There is a need for development of user-friendly and manageable products to function in any climate. Knowledge is lacking on how to implement the users in all stages of the prescribing process. Prescribers should increase knowledge in the use of EPDs to influence the attitudes of the social environment.

The Swedish validation of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) during pregnancy.

PubMed

Rubertsson, Christine; Börjesson, Karin; Berglund, Anna; Josefsson, Ann; Sydsjö, Gunilla

2011-12-01

Around 10-15% of women suffer from depressive illness during pregnancy or the first year postpartum. Depression during pregnancy constitutes a risk for prenatal stress and preterm birth. No validated screening instrument for detecting depression during pregnancy was available in Swedish. We aimed to validate the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) against DSM-IV criteria for depression during pregnancy, establish a reliable cut-off and estimate the correlation between the EPDS and HAD-S (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). In a population-based community sample of 1175 pregnant women, 918 women (78%) answered questionnaires with the EPDS and HAD-S. In all, 121 were interviewed using the PRIME-MD (Primary Care Evaluation of Mental disorders) for diagnosing depression. Women were interviewed in mean gestational week 13 (range 8-21). For the EPDS, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was calculated for prediction of depression. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to investigate the association between EPDS and HAD-S scores. The optimal cut-off score on the EPDS scale for detecting depression was ≥13 (standard error coefficient of 1.09 and c-statistics of 0.84) giving a sensitivity of 77% and specificity of 94%. The EPDS scores correlated strongly with the HAD-S, Pearson's correlation was 0.83 (P < 0.0001). This study confirms that the EPDS is a valid screening instrument for detection of depressive symptoms during pregnancy. The EPDS shows persuasive measuring outcomes with an optimal cut-off at ≥13. Healthcare for pregnant women should consider screening procedures and follow-up routines for depressive symptoms.

Validation of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) on the Thai–Myanmar border

PubMed Central

Ing, Harriet; Fellmeth, Gracia; White, Jitrachote; Stein, Alan; Simpson, Julie A; McGready, Rose

2017-01-01

Postnatal depression is common and may have severe consequences for women and their children. Locally validated screening tools are required to identify at-risk women in marginalised populations. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is one of the most frequently used tools globally. This cross-sectional study assessed the validity and acceptability of the EPDS in Karen and Burmese among postpartum migrant and refugee women on the Thai–Myanmar border. The EPDS was administered to participants and results compared with a diagnostic interview. Local staff provided feedback on the acceptability of the EPDS through a focus group discussion. Results from 670 women showed high accuracy and reasonable internal consistency of the EPDS. However, acceptability to local staff was low, limiting the utility of the EPDS in this setting despite its good psychometrics. Further work is required to identify a tool that is acceptable and sensitive to cultural manifestations of depression in this vulnerable population. PMID:28699396

Early identification of women at risk of postpartum depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in a sample of Lebanese women.

PubMed

El-Hachem, Charline; Rohayem, Jihane; Bou Khalil, Rami; Richa, Sami; Kesrouani, Assaad; Gemayel, Rima; Aouad, Norma; Hatab, Najat; Zaccak, Eliane; Yaghi, Nancy; Salameh, Salimé; Attieh, Elie

2014-09-07

During the postpartum period, women are vulnerable to depression affecting about 10 to 20% of mothers during the first year after delivery. However, only 50% of women with prominent symptoms are diagnosed with postpartum depression (PPD). The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is the most widely used screening instrument for PPD . The main objectives of this study are to assess whether an EPDS score of 9 or more on day 2 (D2) postpartum is predictive of a depressive episode between days 30 and 40 postpartum (D30-40), to determine the risk factors as well as the prevalence of PPD in a sample of Lebanese women and to determine a threshold score of EPDS predictive of PPD. A sample of 228 women were administered the EPDS on D2. An assessment for PPD was done on D30-40 during a telephone interview. On D2, the average score on EPDS was 7.1 (SD = 5.2) and 33.3% of women had an EPDS score ≥ 9. On D30-40 postpartum, the average score was 6.5 (SD = 4.7) and 19 women (12.8%) presented with PPD. A positive correlation was shown between scores on EPDS on D2 and D30-40 (r = 0.5091, p < 0.0001). A stepwise regression shows that an EPDS score ≥9 on D2 (p < 0.001) and a personal history of depression (p = 0.008) are significantly associated with the diagnosis of PPD on D30-40. The EPDS may be considered as a reliable screening tool on as early as D2 after delivery. Women with EPDS score ≥ 9 and/or a positive personal history of major depressive disorder should benefit from a closer follow-up during the rest of the post-partum period.

Studying and controlling order within nanoparticle monolayers fabricated through electrophoretic deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krejci, Alexander J.

Just as ensembles of ordered atoms (a crystal) exhibit collective properties which give rise to phenomena that do not exist for a single atom, the same is true of NP ensembles; ordered arrays of NPs (supercrystals) exhibit properties that are not observed in individual NPs. These collective properties open the door for even more applications for nanomaterials. A few examples that demonstrate this fact will be discussed. In the first example, photoluminescent (PL) optical properties of three CdSe NP systems were studied: one ordered array of NPs, one unordered array, and one system of isolated NPs. In these three systems, the ordered array showed a significantly sharper PL peak compared to the unordered array and the individual NPs. In a second example, the electrical properties for three systems of Ag NPs were studied: one hexagonally packed 2D array of Ag NPs, one cubically packed 2D array, and one individual NP. I-V curves of each system were measured and produced dramatically different behaviors simply due to the change in arrangement of NPs. In a final example, arrays of Ag NPs were created and then sintered. By sintering ordered arrays, it was possible to create large monocrystals of silver; monocrystals could not be created using unordered arrays. These are just three examples that elucidate the control over a wide range of properties that can be achieved by tuning the order within NP ensembles. Given the potential of films composed of ordered NP arrays, many researchers have been investigating how to create and control such arrays using a variety of techniques. For example, ligand-mediated assembly is being studied using a variety of ligands. DNA ligands, in particular, offer a powerful way to control NP assemblies. Evaporative self-assembly has been used to create large supercrystals of one, two, and even more types/sizes of NPs. Assisted assembly incorporating electric and/or magnetic fields has shown promise in creating ordered NP arrays. Spin-casting and Langmuir Blodgett films can be used to create very thin NP films. Templated substrates in combination with spin coating have been used to order blockcopolymers; this could be adapted for NP arrays as well. Some of these techniques can be applied for forming ordered arrays of NPs in two-dimensions, creating nanoparticle monolayers (NPMs), the focus of this work. NPMs are attractive for many applications in devices such as magnetic storage, solar cells, and biosensors. One particularly attractive feature of NPMs is the high surface area to volume ratio of the films. For example, through collaboration, we are investigating PL properties of two monolayers, composed of two different types of NPs, stacked on top of one another. Although challenging, there now are a variety of techniques for the fabrication of NPMs. This dissertation introduces a new process by which one can fabricate monolayers, electrophoretic deposition (EPD). Literature exists on using EPD to fabricate NPMs, but this literature is very limited. One such study deposited films of Au NPs on carbon films and another Pt NPs on carbon films. To the best of our knowledge, only NPMs of metallic NPs on carbon have been fabricated. Of the EPD studies in which NPMs have been fabricated, the technique has not been investigated in depth or has not been generalized for deposition of many types of materials. If NPM formation via EPD could be generalized, the NPMs could be industrially attractive as EPD has many industrially advantageous properties. For instance, EPD is highly versatile in multiple ways: many types of particles can be deposited, the size of the electrodes can be varied over many orders of magnitude, and a large variety of solvents can be used to suspend NPs. For example, our group has deposited materials of different shapes including tubes, sheets, and spheres; different materials such as polymers, metals, semiconductors, and magnetic materials; and on a variety of substrates including steel, silicon, silicon dioxide, indium tin oxide, and gold. In addition, EPD is very simple to perform, forms smooth films, and forms films quite rapidly. By fabricating NPMs of many types of NPs, the technique used herein has proven to be generalizable and thus could be industrially attractive. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Monitoring the Effects of Acupoint Antioxidant Intervention by Measuring Electrical Potential Difference along the Meridian.

PubMed

Xu, Ming-Ming; Guo, Jing-Ke; Xu, Jin-Sen; Zhang, Chao-Xin; Liu, Shu-Tao; Liao, Ri-Tao; Lin, Chun-Tong; Guo, Jian-Hui; Rao, Ping-Fan

2015-01-01

Previous studies suggest that superoxide anions are possibly traveling along acupuncture meridians. The electrical potential difference (EPD) between acupoints may be related to the movement. To test the above hypothesis, we conducted a study investigating the effects of acupoint antioxidant interventions on the meridian EPD. Firstly, ST39 (L) and ST44 (L) were screened out for the EPD detection along the stomach meridian, and ST36 (L) was selected for interventions including acumassage with the control cream, as well as the TAT-SOD cream for 30 minutes, or injection with reduced glutathione sodium. The EPD between ST39 and ST44 was recorded for 80 minutes and measured again 48 h later. While the EPD increased during the acumassage, the acumassage with TAT-SOD cream and the glutathione injection generated waves of EPD increased, indicating the migration or removal from the visceral organ of a greater quantity of superoxide. Remarkably lower EPD readings 48 h later with both antioxidant acupoint interventions than the mere acumassage imply a more complete superoxide flushing out due to the restored superoxide pathway at the acupoint after interventions. The results confirm superoxide transportation along the meridians and demonstrate a possibility of acupoint EPD measurement as a tool to monitor changes in the meridians and acupoints.

Enzyme-potentiated desensitization in children with asthma and mite allergy: a double-blind study.

PubMed

Cantani, A; Ragno, V; Monteleone, M A; Lucenti, P; Businco, L

1996-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of enzyme-potentiated desensitization (EPD) in children with asthma. Twenty asthmatic children (14 males and 6 females; median age: 8.5 years) were included in the study. They had positive skin tests to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dpt), no history of other allergy and had suffered from asthma for at least two years. The children were examined before starting the trial, at the first EPD dose, after 8 weeks, at the second EPD dose and 3 months after the second EPD dose. Blood samples for PRIST and RAST were drawn before the first and at the second EPD dose, and at the last follow-up. Conjunctival provocation tests (CPT) and skin test endpoint determinations were performed with dilutions of a freeze-dried Dpt extract (10-100,000 SQ-U/ml) at the start of the trial and at the last follow-up. Parents kept a diary record of the days with asthma and daily drug usage. The children were randomized to receive either two intradermal placebo injections or the active material with an 8-week interval (November 1991 and January 1992). Ten children received EPD and 10 children placebo. The intradermal injection of EPD (0.05 ml) contained 0.01 ml of beta-glucuronidase (40 Fishman units) and 0.04 ml of a mixture of inhalant allergens (1 Noon unit). The placebo injection consisted of buffer solution only. The EPD-treated children had significantly fewer days with asthma (p = 0.00000). In addition, the EPD-treated children used significantly less medication for the management of asthma attacks (p = 0.00000). At the start of the trial, three out of 10 children in the EPD group and two out of 10 in the placebo group reacted only to the highest dose of allergen used in the CPT (100,000 SQ/ml) (NS). At the last follow-up, the threshold dose in the CPT was 100,000 SQ/ml or more in nine out of 10 children in the EPD group and in four out of 10 children of the placebo group (p = 0.0349). At the last follow-up, one child in the EPD group had a negative CPT with all doses tested. Global clinical evaluation by the investigators showed that eight out of 10 EPD-treated children improved, in comparison with three out of 10 children in the placebo group (p = 0.0349). Assessment by the parents was six out of 10 and four out of 10 improved, respectively (NS). Specific IgE to Dpt, total IgE and skin prick test endpoints before and after EPD showed no significant changes. One child in the placebo group experienced mild urticaria several hours following the second injection. No other local or systemic side effects were reported. The results of the present study provide further data on the effectiveness and safety of EPD in patients with asthma.

Renal embolic protection devices improve blood flow after stenting for atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis.

PubMed

Paul, Timir K; Lee, John H; White, Christopher J

2012-11-15

We sought to measure angiographic renal frame counts (RFC), as a quantitative angiographic assessment of renal blood flow, to evaluate microvascular compromise due to atheroembolism associated with RAS. Atheroembolism associated with renal artery stenting (RAS) has been implicated as a cause for worsening renal function following successful intervention. Use of a distal embolic protection device (EPD) during RAS has been shown to be safe with debris capture in a high percentage of cases. However, objective benefit for renal function with EPD has been difficult to demonstrate. A control group of 30 consecutive patients (33 kidneys) who underwent RAS without EPD were compared with 33 consecutive patients (33 kidneys) who underwent RAS with EPD using RFC measurement. The prestent and poststent mean RFC for the control group was 30.4 ± 12.1 vs. 23.7 ± 9.9 (P = 0.002) and for the EPD group it was 42.6 ± 12.6 vs. 28.3 ± 9.2 (P < 0.0001). The EPD group had a greater improvement in renal blood flow, manifested by a greater reduction of the RFC (Δ RFC) 14.2 ± 15.2 vs. 6.7 ± 11.7 (P = 0.03) compared with the control group. The use of an EPD was associated with a much larger improvement in renal blood flow (lower RFC) following RAS. This suggests that EPD's may be effective in preventing renal atheroembolic injury and that a controlled trial measuring the impact of EPD's on renal blood flow following RAS should be performed. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Enhancing Electrophoretic Display Lifetime: Thiol-Polybutadiene Evaporation Barrier Property Response to Network Microstructure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cook, Caitlyn Christian

An evaporation barrier is required to enhance the lifetime of electrophoretic deposition (EPD) displays. As EPD functions on the basis of reversible deposition and resuspension of colloids suspended in a solvent, evaporation of the solvent ultimately leads to device failure. Incorporation of a thiol-polybutadiene elastomer into EPD displays enabled display lifetime surpassing six months in counting and catalyzed rigid display transition into a flexible package. Final flexible display transition to mass production compels an electronic-ink approach to encapsulate display suspension within an elastomer shell. Final thiol-polybutadiene photosensitive resin network microstructure was idealized to be dense, homogeneous, and expose an elasticmore » response to deformation. Research at hand details an approach to understanding microstructural change within display elastomers. Polybutadiene-based resin properties are modified via polymer chain structure, with and without added aromatic urethane methacrylate difunctionality, and in measuring network response to variation in thiol and initiator concentration. Dynamic mechanical analysis results signify that cross-linked segments within a difunctionalized polybutadiene network were on average eight times more elastically active than that of linked segments within a non-functionalized polybutadiene network. Difunctionalized polybutadiene samples also showed a 2.5 times greater maximum elastic modulus than non-functionalized samples. Hybrid polymer composed of both polybutadiene chains encompassed TE-2000 stiffness and B-1000 elasticity for use in encapsulating display suspension. Later experiments measured kinetic and rheological response due to alteration in dithiol cross-linker chain length via real time Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and real-time dynamic rheology. Distinct differences were discovered between dithiol resin systems, as maximum thiol conversion achieved in short and long chain length dithiols was 86% and 11%, respectively. Oscillatory real-time rheological experiments confirmed a more uniform network to better dissipate applied shear in short chain length dithiol systems, as long chain length dithiols relayed a steep internal stress build-up due to less cross-links and chain entanglements. Thorough understanding of network formation aids the production of a stronger and impermeable elastomeric barrier for preservation of EPD displays.« less

How well does the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale identify depression and anxiety in fathers? A validation study in a population based Swedish sample.

PubMed

Massoudi, Pamela; Hwang, C Philip; Wickberg, Birgitta

2013-07-01

Fathers are increasingly involved in infant care, and depression in postnatal fathers as well as mothers may have negative effects on child development and behaviour. The EPDS has been validated to identify depression in new mothers, but few validation studies have involved fathers and there is doubt as to whether the EPDS measures the same constructs in men as in women. A population-based sample of 1014 couples were sent the EPDS and the HAD-A subscale 3 months postnatally. All high-scoring fathers and a random sample of fathers scoring low were invited for a diagnostic interview to assess the presence of any depression or anxiety disorder. A factor analysis of the EPDS data was conducted for mothers and fathers. A factor analysis of the EPDS data revealed a different factor structure for fathers, implying that the scale picks up more worry, anxiety and unhappiness than depression. The EPDS yields high sensitivity and specificity, but low positive predictive value when screening for probable major depression at the optimal cut-off score of 12 or more. The accuracy of the EPDS, however, is modest for minor depression, and low for anxiety disorders. Neither the EPDS-3A score nor the HAD-A subscale reached acceptable validity in this study. The EPDS seems to pick up more distress than pure depression in new fathers. It is a valid instrument for screening for probable major depression, but it is questionable if it should be used to screen for minor depression. Neither the EPDS nor the HAD-A subscale can be recommended for screening for anxiety in postnatal fathers. Confidence intervals around the estimates are wide and the interviewed fathers were selected preferentially. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Factor structure of the Japanese version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in the postpartum period.

PubMed

Kubota, Chika; Okada, Takashi; Aleksic, Branko; Nakamura, Yukako; Kunimoto, Shohko; Morikawa, Mako; Shiino, Tomoko; Tamaji, Ai; Ohoka, Harue; Banno, Naomi; Morita, Tokiko; Murase, Satomi; Goto, Setsuko; Kanai, Atsuko; Masuda, Tomoko; Ando, Masahiko; Ozaki, Norio

2014-01-01

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a widely used screening tool for postpartum depression (PPD). Although the reliability and validity of EPDS in Japanese has been confirmed and the prevalence of PPD is found to be about the same as Western countries, the factor structure of the Japanese version of EPDS has not been elucidated yet. 690 Japanese mothers completed all items of the EPDS at 1 month postpartum. We divided them randomly into two sample sets. The first sample set (n = 345) was used for exploratory factor analysis, and the second sample set was used (n = 345) for confirmatory factor analysis. The result of exploratory factor analysis indicated a three-factor model consisting of anxiety, depression and anhedonia. The results of confirmatory factor analysis suggested that the anxiety and anhedonia factors existed for EPDS in a sample of Japanese women at 1 month postpartum. The depression factor varies by the models of acceptable fit. We examined EPDS scores. As a result, "anxiety" and "anhedonia" exist for EPDS among postpartum women in Japan as already reported in Western countries. Cross-cultural research is needed for future research.

The utility of screening for perinatal depression in the second trimester among Chinese: a three-wave prospective longitudinal study.

PubMed

Lau, Ying; Wong, Daniel Fu Keung; Chan, Kin Sin

2010-04-01

This paper aims to study the pattern of perinatal depressive symptomatology and determine the predictive power of second trimester perinatal depressive symptoms for future perinatal periods. A population-based sample of 2,178 women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in the second and third trimesters and at 6 weeks postpartum. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to determine the EPDS scores across three stages. The predictive power of the second trimester EPDS score in identifying women with an elevated EPDS score in the third trimester and at 6 weeks postpartum were determined. The predictive power of the second trimester EPDS score was further assessed using stepwise logistic regression and receiver operator characteristic curves. EPDS scores differed significantly across three stages. The rates were 9.9%, 7.8%, and 8.7% for an EPDS score of >14 in the second and third trimesters and at 6 weeks postpartum, respectively. Using a cut-off of 14/15, the second trimester EPDS score accurately classified 89.6% of women in the third trimester and 87.2% of those at 6 weeks postpartum with or without perinatal depressive symptomatology. Women with a second trimester EPDS score >14 were 11.78 times more likely in the third trimester and 7.15 times more likely at 6 weeks postpartum to exhibit perinatal depressive symptomatology after adjustment of sociodemographic variables. The area under the curve for perinatal depressive symptomatology was 0.85 in the third trimester and 0.77 at 6 weeks postpartum. To identify women at high risk for postpartum depression, healthcare professionals could consider screening all pregnant women in the second trimester so that secondary preventive intervention may be implemented.

Daily time management and influence of environmental factors on use of electronic planning devices in adults with mental disability.

PubMed

Janeslätt, Gunnel; Lindstedt, Helena; Adolfsson, Päivi

2015-01-01

To describe daily time management in adults with and without mental disability and to examine differences in the level of their daily time management; to describe the possessions and use of electronic planning devices (EPDs) in activities and how environmental factors influence the use of EPDs in adults with mental disability. In a descriptive and cross-sectional design, 32 participants using EPDs and a matched comparison group of 32 healthy adults was recruited. Time-Self rating scale measuring daily time management was adapted for adults. A study specific questionnaire was applied to collect data on five ICF environmental factors. Rasch modelling, descriptive and non-parametric statistics were applied. Time-S has acceptable psychometric properties for use on adults with mental disability. People with mental disability and low level of daily time management who use advanced EPDs are more influenced by environmental factors. The study group perceived that encouragement and support from professionals as well as services influence their use of EPDs. Time-S can safely be used for people with mental disability. EPDs do not fully compensate the needs of the target-group. Prescribers need to give considerations to this and therefore they should be provided with more knowledge about this matter. Implications for Rehabilitation The Time-S can be applied for measuring daily time management in adults. Adults with mental disability provided with EPDs are not fully compensated in daily time management. Professional support and encouragement as well as backing from the services are important factors for the use of EPDs. Because the smart phones are not prescribed as assistive technology, the need for help from professionals to facilitate daily life is stressed. Therefore, the professionals should be provided with more knowledge about the use of EPDs.

Improving discrimination in antepartum depression screening using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

PubMed

Venkatesh, Kartik K; Kaimal, Anjali J; Castro, Victor M; Perlis, Roy H

2017-05-01

Universal screening of pregnant women for postpartum depression has recently been recommended; however, optimal application of depression screening tools in stratifying risk has not been defined. The current study examines new approaches to improve the ability of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) to stratify risk for postpartum depression, including alternate cut points, use of a continuous measure, and incorporation of other putative risk factors. An observational cohort study of 4939 women screened both antepartum and postpartum with a negative EPDS screen antepartum(i.e. EPDS<10). The primary outcome was a probable postpartum major depressive episode(EPDS cut-off ≥10). Area under the receiver operating characteristics curve(AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were calculated. 287 women(5.8%) screened positive for postpartum depression. An antepartum EPDS cut-off<5 optimally identified women with a low risk of postpartum depression with a negative predictive value of 97.6%; however, overall discrimination was modest(AUC 0.66, 95%CI: 0.64-0.69); sensitivity was 78.7%, and specificity was 53.8%, and the positive predictive value was low at 9.5%. The negative predictive values were similar(>95%) at all antepartum EPDS cut-off values from 4 to 8. Discrimination was improved(AUC ranging from 0.70 to 0.73) when the antepartum EPDS was combined with a prior history of major depressive disorder before pregnancy. An inability to assess EPDS subscales and a relatively low prevalence of depression in this cohort. Though an antepartum EPDS cut-off score <5 yielded the greatest discrimination identifying women at low risk for postpartum depression, the negative predictive value was insufficient to substitute for postpartum screening. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Proximal balloon occlusion versus distal filter protection in carotid artery stenting: A meta-analysis and review of the literature.

PubMed

Omran, Jad; Mahmud, Ehtisham; White, Christopher J; Aronow, Herbert D; Drachman, Douglas E; Gray, William; Abdullah, Obai; Abu-Fadel, Mazen; Firwana, Belal; Mishkel, Gergory; Al-Dadah, Ashraf S

2017-04-01

Carotid artery stenting (CAS) is typically performed using embolic protection devices (EPDs) as a means to reduce the risk of procedure-related stroke. In this study, we compared procedural morbidity and mortality associated with distal (D-EPD) vs. proximal (P-EPD) protection. MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were queried from January 1998 through May 2015. Only studies comparing (D-EPD) and (P-EPD) were included. Two independent reviewers selected and appraised studies and extracted data in duplicate. Random-effects meta-analysis was used to pool outcomes across studies. Heterogeneity of treatment effect among studies was assessed using the I 2 statistics. Publication bias was assessed using inspection of funnel plots. The primary endpoints included 30-day mortality and stroke. Secondary endpoints included new cerebral lesions on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) and contralateral lesions on DW-MRI. A total of 12,281 patients were included from 18 studies (13 prospective and 5 retrospective) comparing (D-EPD) and (P-EPD) in the setting of CAS. The mean patient age was 69 years and 64% of patients were male. No evidence of publication bias was detected. There was no significant difference between the two modalities in terms of the risk of stroke (risk difference [RD] 0.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.01 to 0.01) or mortality (RD 0.0, 95% CI -0.01 to 0.01) nor was there any difference in the incidence of new cerebral lesions on DW-MRI or contralateral DW-MRI lesions. In patients undergoing CAS, both D-EPD and P-EPD provide similar levels of protection from peri-procedural stroke and 30 days mortality. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Electrophoretic deposition of graphene oxide reinforced chitosan-hydroxyapatite nanocomposite coatings on Ti substrate.

PubMed

Shi, Y Y; Li, M; Liu, Q; Jia, Z J; Xu, X C; Cheng, Y; Zheng, Y F

2016-03-01

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is a facile and feasible technique to prepare functional nanocomposite coatings for application in orthopedic-related implants. In this work, a ternary graphene oxide-chitosan-hydroxyapatite (GO-CS-HA) composite coating on Ti substrate was successfully fabricated by EPD. Coating microstructure and morphologies were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, contact angle test, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. It was found GO-CS surface were uniformly decorated by HA nanoparticles. The potentiodynamic polarization test in simulated body fluid indicated that the GO-CS-HA coatings could provide effective protection of Ti substrate from corrosion. This ternary composite coating also exhibited good biocompatibility during incubation with MG63 cells. In addition, the nanocomposite coatings could decrease the attachment of Staphylococcus aureus.

Decreased Staphylococcus aureus and increased osteoblast density on nanostructured electrophoretic-deposited hydroxyapatite on titanium without the use of pharmaceuticals.

PubMed

Mathew, Dennis; Bhardwaj, Garima; Wang, Qi; Sun, Linlin; Ercan, Batur; Geetha, Manisavagam; Webster, Thomas J

2014-01-01

Plasma-spray deposition of hydroxyapatite on titanium (Ti) has proven to be a suboptimal solution to improve orthopedic-implant success rates, as demonstrated by the increasing number of orthopedic revision surgeries due to infection, implant loosening, and a myriad of other reasons. This could be in part due to the high heat involved during plasma-spray deposition, which significantly increases hydroxyapatite crystal growth into the nonbiologically inspired micron regime. There has been a push to create nanotopographies on implant surfaces to mimic the physiological nanostructure of native bone and, thus, improve osteoblast (bone-forming cell) functions and inhibit bacteria functions. Among the several techniques that have been adopted to develop nanocoatings, electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is an attractive, versatile, and effective material-processing technique. The in vitro study reported here aimed to determine for the first time bacteria responses to hydroxyapatite coated on Ti via EPD. There were six and three times more osteoblasts on the electrophoretic-deposited hydroxyapatite on Ti compared with Ti (control) and plasma-spray-deposited hydroxyapatite on Ti after 5 days of culture, respectively. Impressively, there were 2.9 and 31.7 times less Staphylococcus aureus on electrophoretic-deposited hydroxyapatite on Ti compared with Ti (control) and plasma-spray-deposited hydroxyapatite on Ti after 18 hours of culture, respectively. Compared with uncoated Ti and plasma-sprayed hydroxyapatite coated on Ti, the results provided significant promise for the use of EPD to improve bone-cell density and be used as an antibacterial coating without resorting to the use of antibiotics.

Evaluation of the Edinburgh Post Natal Depression Scale using Rasch analysis

PubMed Central

Pallant, Julie F; Miller, Renée L; Tennant, Alan

2006-01-01

Background The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a 10 item self-rating post-natal depression scale which has seen widespread use in epidemiological and clinical studies. Concern has been raised over the validity of the EPDS as a single summed scale, with suggestions that it measures two separate aspects, one of depressive feelings, the other of anxiety. Methods As part of a larger cross-sectional study conducted in Melbourne, Australia, a community sample (324 women, ranging in age from 18 to 44 years: mean = 32 yrs, SD = 4.6), was obtained by inviting primiparous women to participate voluntarily in this study. Data from the EPDS were fitted to the Rasch measurement model and tested for appropriate category ordering, for item bias through Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analysis, and for unidimensionality through tests of the assumption of local independence. Results Rasch analysis of the data from the ten item scale initially demonstrated a lack of fit to the model with a significant Item-Trait Interaction total chi-square (chi Square = 82.8, df = 40; p < .001). Removal of two items (items 7 and 8) resulted in a non-significant Item-Trait Interaction total chi-square with a residual mean value for items of -0.467 with a standard deviation of 0.850, showing fit to the model. No DIF existed in the final 8-item scale (EPDS-8) and all items showed fit to model expectations. Principal Components Analysis of the residuals supported the local independence assumption, and unidimensionality of the revised EPDS-8 scale. Revised cut points were identified for EPDS-8 to maintain the case identification of the original scale. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that EPDS, in its original 10 item form, is not a viable scale for the unidimensional measurement of depression. Rasch analysis suggests that a revised eight item version (EPDS-8) would provide a more psychometrically robust scale. The revised cut points of 7/8 and 9/10 for the EPDS-8 show high levels of agreement with the original case identification for the EPDS-10. PMID:16768803

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS): translation and validation study of the Iranian version.

PubMed

Montazeri, Ali; Torkan, Behnaz; Omidvari, Sepideh

2007-04-04

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a widely used instrument to measure postnatal depression. This study aimed to translate and to test the reliability and validity of the EPDS in Iran. The English language version of the EPDS was translated into Persian (Iranian language) and was used in this study. The questionnaire was administered to a consecutive sample of 100 women with normal (n = 50) and caesarean section (n = 50) deliveries at two points in time: 6 to 8 weeks and 12 to 14 weeks after delivery. Statistical analysis was performed to test the reliability and validity of the EPDS. Overall 22% of women at time 1 and 18% at time 2 reported experiencing postpartum depression. In general, the Iranian version of the EPDS was found to be acceptable to almost all women. Cronbach's alpha coefficient (to test reliability) was found to be 0.77 at time 1 and 0.86 at time 2. In addition, test-rest reliability was performed and the intraclass correlation coefficient was found to be 0.80. Validity as performed using known groups comparison showed satisfactory results. The questionnaire discriminated well between sub-groups of women differing in mode of delivery in the expected direction. The factor analysis indicated a three-factor structure that jointly accounted for 58% of the variance. This preliminary validation study of the Iranian version of the EPDS proved that it is an acceptable, reliable and valid measure of postnatal depression. It seems that the EPDS not only measures postpartum depression but also may be measuring something more.

For patients with primary achalasia the clinical success of pneumatic balloon dilatation can be predicted from the residual fraction of radionuclide during esophageal transit scintigraphy.

PubMed

Jeon, Han Ho; Youn, Young Hoon; Rhee, Kwangwon; Kim, Jie-Hyun; Park, Hyojin; Conklin, Jeffrey L

2014-02-01

Esophageal transit scintigraphy (ETS) and esophagography have long been used to evaluate patients with achalasia. The objectives of our study were to evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic pneumatic dilatation (EPD) as treatment for Koreans with achalasia and to determine which findings from ETS and esophagography predict successful treatment of achalasia. Patients with achalasia who were treated by EPD between April 2002 and January 2012 were recruited. We defined the success of EPD as 6 months or more of clinical remission without symptoms or a decrease in the Eckardt scores by at least two points and a total Eckardt score not exceeding 3. We reviewed the percentage of maximum scintigraphic activity retained in the esophagus at 30 s (R 30) and the post-PD rate of reduction of R 30 ((Pre R 30 - Post R 30)/Pre R 30 × 100) by ETS. Possible predictive factors determined by ETS and esophagography were analyzed. Our study included 53 eligible patients. The median symptom score (Eckardt score) was 5 (4-8). R 30 and T 1/2 were, respectively, 61.8 % and 38.5 min before EPD and 20 % and 4.19 min after EPD. Successful EPD was achieved for 40 of 53 (75.47 %) patients. Age (≥40, p = 0.027) and post-PD rate of reduction of R 30 (>20 %, p = 0.003) were best prognostic indicators of clinical success. There were no perforations related to EPD. Older age and a post-PD rate of reduction of R 30 were strongly associated with better outcomes. Examination with ETS before and after EPD can be used to objectively assess a patient's short-term response to EPD.

Screening for postnatal depression in Chinese-speaking women using the Hong Kong translated version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

PubMed

Chen, Helen; Bautista, Dianne; Ch'ng, Ying Chia; Li, Wenyun; Chan, Edwin; Rush, A John

2013-06-01

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) may not be a uniformly valid postnatal depression (PND) screen across populations. We evaluated the performance of a Chinese translation of 10-item (HK-EPDS) and six-item (HK-EPDS-6) versions in post-partum women in Singapore. Chinese-speaking post-partum obstetric clinic patients were recruited for this study. They completed the HK-EPDS, from which we derived the six-item HK-EPDS-6. All women were clinically assessed for PND based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition-Text Revision criteria. Receiver-operator curve (ROC) analyses and likelihood ratio computations informed scale cutoff choices. Clinical fitness was judged by thresholds for internal consistency [α ≥ 0.70] and for diagnostic performance by true-positive rate (>85%), false-positive rate (≤10%), positive likelihood ratio (>1), negative likelihood ratio (<0.2), area under the ROC curve (AUC, ≥90%) and effect size (≥0.80). Based on clinical interview, prevalence of PND was 6.2% in 487 post-partum women. HK-EPDS internal consistency was 0.84. At 13 or more cutoff, the true-positive rate was 86.7%, false-positive rate 3.3%, positive likelihood ratio 26.4, negative likelihood ratio 0.14, AUC 94.4% and effect size 0.81. For the HK-EPDS-6, internal consistency was 0.76. At 8 or more cutoff, we found a true-positive rate of 86.7%, false-positive rate 6.6%, positive likelihood ratio 13.2, negative likelihood ration 0.14, AUC 92.9% and effect size 0.98. The HK-EPDS (cutoff ≥13) and HK-EPDS6 (cutoff ≥8) are fit for PND screening for general population post-partum women. The brief six-item version appears to be clinically suitable for quick screening in Chinese speaking women. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Longitudinal Thin Structure of Equatorial Plasma Depletions Coincidently Observed by Swarm Constellation and all-Sky Imager

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Chao; Xu, Jiyao; Wu, Kun; Yuan, Wei

2018-02-01

The lower pair satellites of Swarm mission, flying side-by-side and separated by 1.4° in longitude (about 150 km), usually observed equatorial plasma depletions (EPDs) showing quite different structures, and sometime even only one satellite observed EPD. In this study, we provided 6-h continuous observations of EPDs on the night of 23-24 September 2014, from an all-sky imager located at Fuke (geographic:19.5°N,109.1°E), south of China. From the airglow images the EPDs were found with longitudinal extensions of about 50 km and all tilted from northwest to southeast direction. We further checked the in situ electron density simultaneously measured by the Swarm lower pair satellites and found the differences of Swarm in situ electron densities explained well by the longitudinally thin structure of EPDs observed from the all-sky imager. During later periods the bifurcation and merging were observed by the airglow images, and it was the first time to report both processes in the evolution of one EPD. The bifurcation was first observed at the higher-latitude part, and then observed at lower latitudes of EPD. The subbranches generated through bifurcation showed even thinner longitudinal extension of about 20-30 km, and later the subbranches started to merge with each other, forming a really complicated mesh of depleted regions.

Thin and Flexible Carbon Nanotube-Based Pressure Sensors with Ultra-wide Sensing Range.

PubMed

Doshi, Sagar M; Thostenson, Erik T

2018-06-26

A scalable electrophoretic deposition (EPD) approach is used to create novel thin, flexible and lightweight carbon nanotube-based textile pressure sensors. The pressure sensors can be produced using an extensive variety of natural and synthetic fibers. These piezoresistive sensors are sensitive to pressures ranging from the tactile range (< 10 kPa), in the body weight range (~ 500 kPa), and very high pressures (~40 MPa). The EPD technique enables the creation of a uniform carbon nanotube-based nanocomposite coating, in the range of 250-750 nm thick, of polyethyleneimine (PEI) functionalized carbon nanotubes on non-conductive fibers. In this work, non-woven aramid fibers are coated by EPD onto a backing electrode followed by film formation onto the fibers creating a conductive network. The electrically conductive nanocomposite coating is firmly bonded to the fiber surface and shows piezoresistive electrical/mechanical coupling. The pressure sensor displays a large in-plane change in electrical conductivity with applied out-of-plane pressure. In-plane conductivity change results from fiber/fiber contact as well as the formation of a sponge-like piezoresistive nanocomposite "interphase" between the fibers. The resilience of the nanocomposite interphase enables sensing of high pressures without permanent changes to the sensor response, showing high repeatability.

Couple comorbidity and correlates of postnatal depressive symptoms in mothers and fathers in the first two weeks following delivery.

PubMed

Anding, Jana Eos; Röhrle, Bernd; Grieshop, Melita; Schücking, Beate; Christiansen, Hanna

2016-01-15

Postnatal depression affects a significant number of parents; however, its co-occurrence in mothers and fathers has not been studied extensively. Identifying predictors and correlates of postnatal depressive symptoms can help develop effective interventions. Questionnaires on several socio-demographic and psychosocial factors were administered to 276 couples within two weeks after birth. Depressive symptoms in mothers and fathers were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). After calculating the correlation coefficient between mothers and fathers' EPDS scores, univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were performed to identify significant correlates of postnatal depressive symptoms in mothers and fathers. Prevalence of maternal and paternal postnatal depressive symptoms was 15.9% (EPDS>12) and 5.4% (EPDS>10), respectively. There was a moderate positive correlation between mothers and fathers' EPDS scores (r=.30, p<.001). Multivariate analyses indicated that parental stress was the strongest predictor for maternal and paternal postnatal depressive symptoms. Pregnancy- and birth-related distress and partners' EPDS scores were also associated with depressive symptoms in both parents. Relationship satisfaction was only inversely related with fathers' EPDS scores, while mothers' EPDS scores were additionally associated with critical life events, history of childhood violence, and birth-related physiological complaints. Since information about participation rates (those who declined) is unavailable, we cannot rule out sampling bias. Further, some psychosocial factors were assessed using single items. Since co-occurrence of depressive symptoms in mothers and fathers is high, developing and evaluating postnatal depression interventions for couples may be beneficial. Interventions to reduce parenting stress may help prevent parental postnatal depression. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of preseasonal enzyme potentiated desensitisation (EPD) on plasma-IL-6 and IL-10 of grass pollen-sensitive asthmatic children.

PubMed

Ippoliti, F; Ragno, V; Del Nero, A; McEwen, L M; McEwen, H; Businco, L

1997-05-01

EPD is a method of preventive immunotherapy which employs b-glucuronidase as a biological response modifier. Plasma IL-6 and IL-10 were measured before a single injection of EPD, 24 hours later and 15 days after in a group of 17 children suffering from grass pollen asthma. 17 normal untreated children were used as controls. Although the study was conducted before the grass pollen season when the allergic children were free of symptoms, their plasma IL-6 and IL-10 were significantly elevated before the injection of EPD. 24 hours after treatment the plasma IL-10 had increased significantly and there was also a slight rise in IL-6. 15 days after treatment IL-6 had fallen to normal but IL-10 was still elevated. These findings suggest antigen-specific and non-specific mechanisms by which EPD may produce clinical improvement.

Environmental Protection Department's well inventory through the second quarter of 1992

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rogers, C.D.

This report is an inventory of the wells recorded in Environmental Protection Department/Environmental Monitoring Section (EPD/EMS) documents since the startup of the Savannah River Site (SRS) and includes wells monitored by special request and SRS research wells. Wells listed in this inventory are monitoring wells unless otherwise indicated. The purpose of this report is as follows: to provide a historical record of the wells that EPD/EMS has monitored, to provide a document containing a list of wells that are currently in the EPD/EMS Groundwater Monitoring Program, and to provide pertinent information about all wells listed in EPD/EMS documents.

Environmental Protection Department`s well inventory through the second quarter of 1992

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rogers, C.D.

This report is an inventory of the wells recorded in Environmental Protection Department/Environmental Monitoring Section (EPD/EMS) documents since the startup of the Savannah River Site (SRS) and includes wells monitored by special request and SRS research wells. Wells listed in this inventory are monitoring wells unless otherwise indicated. The purpose of this report is as follows: to provide a historical record of the wells that EPD/EMS has monitored, to provide a document containing a list of wells that are currently in the EPD/EMS Groundwater Monitoring Program, and to provide pertinent information about all wells listed in EPD/EMS documents.

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale: Screening Tool for Postpartum Anxiety as Well? Findings from a Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Hebrew Version.

PubMed

Bina, Rena; Harrington, Donna

2016-04-01

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was originally created as a uni-dimensional scale to screen for postpartum depression (PPD); however, evidence from various studies suggests that it is a multi-dimensional scale measuring mainly anxiety in addition to depression. The factor structure of the EPDS seems to differ across various language translations, raising questions regarding its stability. This study examined the factor structure of the Hebrew version of the EPDS to assess whether it is uni- or multi-dimensional. Seven hundred and fifteen (n = 715) women were screened at 6 weeks postpartum using the Hebrew version of the EPDS. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test four models derived from the literature. Of the four CFA models tested, a 9-item two factor model fit the data best, with one factor representing an underlying depression construct and the other representing an underlying anxiety construct. for Practice The Hebrew version of the EPDS appears to consist of depression and anxiety sub-scales. Given the widespread PPD screening initiatives, anxiety symptoms should be addressed in addition to depressive symptoms, and a short scale, such as the EPDS, assessing both may be efficient.

Comparison of Neurocognitive Outcomes after Carotid Endarterectomy and Carotid Artery Stenting.

PubMed

Kim, Jerry J; Schwartz, Samuel; Wen, Johnny; deVirgilio, Christian; Lobue, Abeline; Walot, Irwin; Koopmann, Matthew; Donayre, Carlos; White, Rodney A

2015-10-01

Cognitive and emotional outcomes after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and carotid artery stenting with embolic protection device (CAS + EPD) are not clear. Patients were entered prospectively into a United States Food and Drug Administration-approved single-center physician-sponsored investigational device exemption between 2004 and 2010 and received either CEA or CAS + EPD. Patients underwent cognitive testing preprocedure and at 6, 12, and 60 months postprocedure. Cognitive domains assessed included attention, memory, executive, motor function, visual spatial functioning, language, and processing speed. Beck Depression and anxiety scales were also compared. There were a total of 38 patients that met conventional indications for carotid surgery (symptomatic with ≥50% stenosis or asymptomatic with ≥70% stenosis)-12 patients underwent CEA, whereas 26 patients underwent CAS + EPD. Both CEA and CAS + EPD patients showed postprocedure improvement in memory and executive function. No differences were seen at follow-up in regards to emotional dysfunction (depression and anxiety), attention, visual spatial functioning, language, motor function, and processing speed. Only two patients underwent neuropsychiatric testing at 60 months-these CAS + EPD patients showed sustained improvement in memory, visual spatial, and executive functions. In conclusion, cognitive and emotional outcomes were similar between CEA and CAS + EPD patients.

Reliability and validity of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) for detecting perinatal common mental disorders (PCMDs) among women in low-and lower-middle-income countries: a systematic review.

PubMed

Shrestha, Sumitra Devi; Pradhan, Rina; Tran, Thach D; Gualano, Rosa C; Fisher, Jane R W

2016-04-04

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), originally developed in Britain, is one of the most widely used screening instruments for assessing symptoms of the Perinatal Common Mental Disorders (PCMDs) of depression and anxiety. However, its potential to detect PCMDs in culturally diverse low- and lower-middle income countries (LALMICs) is unclear. This systematic review aimed to appraise formally validated local language versions of the EPDS from these resource-constrained settings. Following the PRISMA protocol, we searched MEDLINE-OVID, CINAHL-Plus and PUBMED to identify studies reporting translation, cultural adaptation and formal validation of the EPDS to detect PCMDs among women in LALMICs. The quality of the studies meeting inclusion criteria was assessed using standard criteria and a new process-based criteria; which was developed specifically for this study. We identified 1281 records among which 16 met inclusion criteria; three further papers were identified by hand-searching reference lists. The publications reported findings from 12 LALMICs in 14 native languages. Most of these local language versions of the EPDS (LLV-EPDS) had lower precision for identifying true cases of PCMDs among women in the general perinatal population compared to the original English version. Only one study met all criteria for culturally sensitive translation, the others had not established the comprehensibility of the local version amongst representative groups of women in pre-testing. Many studies tested the LLV-EPDS only amongst convenience samples recruited at single health facilities. Diagnostic interviews for confirmation of mental disorders could have been influenced by the mental health professionals' lack of blinding to the initial screening results. Additionally, even when diagnostic-interviews were carried out in the local language, questions might not have been understood as most studies followed standard diagnostic protocol which had not been culturally adapted. Most of the LLV-EPDS from non-English speaking low- and middle-income-countries did not meet all criteria for formal validation of a screening instrument. Psychometric properties of LLV-EPDS could be enhanced by adopting the new process-based criteria for translation, adaptation and validation.

Experimental verification of arm-locking for LISA using electronic phase delay [rapid communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thorpe, J. I.; Mueller, G.

2005-07-01

We present results of an electronic model of arm-locking, a proposed technique for reducing the laser phase noise in the laser interferometer space antenna (LISA). The model is based on a delay of 500 ms, achieved using the electronic phase delay (EPD) method. The observed behavior is consistent with predictions.

Links Among High EPDS Scores, State of Mind Regarding Attachment, and Symptoms of Personality Disorder.

PubMed

Smith-Nielsen, Johanne; Steele, Howard; Mehlhase, Heike; Cordes, Katharina; Steele, Miriam; Harder, Susanne; Væver, Mette Skovgaard

2015-12-01

Underlying persistent psychological difficulties have been found to moderate potential adverse effects of maternal postpartum depression (PPD) on parenting and infant development. The authors examined whether mothers presenting postpartum depressive symptoms showed higher levels of personality pathology and more insecure state of mind regarding attachment compared to nondepressed mothers. Participants (N = 85) were assessed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Present State Examination, the Adult Attachment Interview, and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II. Mothers with high EPDS scores were more likely to have a preoccupied insecure state of mind and to have personality disorder compared with mothers scoring below clinical cutoff. Furthermore, multiple regression analysis showed that personality disorder and AAI classification were independently related to EPDS score, and that these two factors together accounted for 48% of the variance in EPDS score. Findings are discussed in terms of heterogeneity in PPD populations and underline the importance of examining potential coexisting psychological difficulties when studying PPD.

Electrophoretic-deposited CNT/MnO2 composites for high-power electrochemical energy storage/conversion applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Wei; Xia, Hui; Fuh, Jerry Y. H.; Lu, Li

2010-05-01

CNT/MnO2 (birnessite-type) composite films have been successfully deposited on Ni-foil substrate via electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The unique EPD CNT/MnO2 composite film electrode shows enhanced electrical conductivity, good contact between composite films and the substrate and open porous structure, which makes the EPD composite films a promising electrode for high-power supercapacitors and lithium ion batteries.

Combined use of the postpartum depression screening scale (PDSS) and Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) to identify antenatal depression among Chinese pregnant women with obstetric complications.

PubMed

Zhao, Ying; Kane, Irene; Wang, Jing; Shen, Beibei; Luo, Jianfeng; Shi, Shenxun

2015-03-30

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate antenatal depression screening employing two scales: the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) for the population of Chinese pregnant women with obstetric complications. A convenience sample of 842 Chinese pregnant women with complications participated in this study. The PDSS total score correlated strongly with the EPDS total score (r=0.652, p=0.000). Each tool performed extremely well for detecting major and major/minor depressions with PDSS resulting in a better psychometric performance than EPDS (p<0.01). If combined use, the recommended EPDS cut-off score was 8/9 for major depression, at which the sensitivity (71.6%) and specificity (87.6%) were the best, and the recommended PDSS cut-off score was 79/80 for major depression, along with its best sensitivity (86.4%) and specificity (100%). The study concluded that EPDS and PDSS appear to be reliable assessments for major and minor depression among the Chinese pregnant women with obstetric complications. Combined use of these tools should consider lower cutoff scores to reduce the misdiagnosis and improve the screening validity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Streamlining environmental product declarations: a stage model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lefebvre, Elisabeth; Lefebvre, Louis A.; Talbot, Stephane; Le Hen, Gael

2001-02-01

General public environmental awareness and education is increasing, therefore stimulating the demand for reliable, objective and comparable information about products' environmental performances. The recently published standard series ISO 14040 and ISO 14025 are normalizing the preparation of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) containing comprehensive information relevant to a product's environmental impact during its life cycle. So far, only a few environmentally leading manufacturing organizations have experimented the preparation of EPDs (mostly from Europe), demonstrating its great potential as a marketing weapon. However the preparation of EPDs is a complex process, requiring collection and analysis of massive amounts of information coming from disparate sources (suppliers, sub-contractors, etc.). In a foreseeable future, the streamlining of the EPD preparation process will require product manufacturers to adapt their information systems (ERP, MES, SCADA) in order to make them capable of gathering, and transmitting the appropriate environmental information. It also requires strong functional integration all along the product supply chain in order to ensure that all the information is made available in a standardized and timely manner. The goal of the present paper is two fold: first to propose a transitional model towards green supply chain management and EPD preparation; second to identify key technologies and methodologies allowing to streamline the EPD process and subsequently the transition toward sustainable product development

Methods of electrophoretic deposition for functionally graded porous nanostructures and systems thereof

DOEpatents

Worsley, Marcus A; Baumann, Theodore F; Satcher, Joe H; Olson, Tammy Y; Kuntz, Joshua D; Rose, Klint A

2015-03-03

In one embodiment, an aerogel includes a layer of shaped particles having a particle packing density gradient in a thickness direction of the layer, wherein the shaped particles are characterized by being formed in an electrophoretic deposition (EPD) process using an impurity. In another embodiment, a method for forming a functionally graded porous nanostructure includes adding particles of an impurity and a solution to an EPD chamber, applying a voltage difference across the two electrodes of the EPD chamber to create an electric field in the EPD chamber, and depositing the material onto surfaces of the particles of the impurity to form shaped particles of the material. Other functionally graded materials and methods are described according to more embodiments.

Application Of Empirical Phase Diagrams For Multidimensional Data Visualization Of High Throughput Microbatch Crystallization Experiments.

PubMed

Klijn, Marieke E; Hubbuch, Jürgen

2018-04-27

Protein phase diagrams are a tool to investigate cause and consequence of solution conditions on protein phase behavior. The effects are scored according to aggregation morphologies such as crystals or amorphous precipitates. Solution conditions affect morphological features, such as crystal size, as well as kinetic features, such as crystal growth time. Common used data visualization techniques include individual line graphs or symbols-based phase diagrams. These techniques have limitations in terms of handling large datasets, comprehensiveness or completeness. To eliminate these limitations, morphological and kinetic features obtained from crystallization images generated with high throughput microbatch experiments have been visualized with radar charts in combination with the empirical phase diagram (EPD) method. Morphological features (crystal size, shape, and number, as well as precipitate size) and kinetic features (crystal and precipitate onset and growth time) are extracted for 768 solutions with varying chicken egg white lysozyme concentration, salt type, ionic strength and pH. Image-based aggregation morphology and kinetic features were compiled into a single and easily interpretable figure, thereby showing that the EPD method can support high throughput crystallization experiments in its data amount as well as its data complexity. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Antenatal risk factors for postnatal depression: a large prospective study.

PubMed

Milgrom, Jeannette; Gemmill, Alan W; Bilszta, Justin L; Hayes, Barbara; Barnett, Bryanne; Brooks, Janette; Ericksen, Jennifer; Ellwood, David; Buist, Anne

2008-05-01

This study measured antenatal risk factors for postnatal depression in the Australian population, both singly and in combination. Risk factor data were gathered antenatally and depressive symptoms measured via the beyondblue National Postnatal Depression Program, a large prospective cohort study into perinatal mental health, conducted in all six states of Australia, and in the Australian Capital Territory, between 2002 and 2005. Pregnant women were screened for symptoms of postnatal depression at antenatal clinics in maternity services around Australia using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and a psychosocial risk factor questionnaire that covered key demographic and psychosocial information. From a total of 40,333 participants, we collected antenatal EPDS data from 35,374 women and 3144 of these had a score >12 (8.9%). Subsequently, efforts were made to follow-up 22,968 women with a postnatal EPDS. Of 12,361 women who completed postnatal EPDS forms, 925 (7.5%) had an EPDS score >12. Antenatal depression together with a prior history of depression and a low level of partner support were the strongest independent antenatal predictors of a postnatal EPDS score >12. The two main limitations of the study were the use of the EPDS (a self-report screening tool) as the measure of depressive symptoms rather than a clinical diagnosis, and the rate of attrition between antenatal screening and the collection of postnatal follow-up data. Antenatal depressive symptoms appear to be as common as postnatal depressive symptoms. Previous depression, current depression/anxiety, and low partner support are found to be key antenatal risk factors for postnatal depression in this large prospective cohort, consistent with existing meta-analytic surveys. Current depression/anxiety (and to some extent social support) may be amenable to change and can therefore be targeted for intervention.

Understanding How Postnatal Depression Screening and Early Intervention Work in the Real World - A Singaporean Perspective.

PubMed

Lee, Theresa My; Bautista, Dianne; Chen, Helen Y

2016-10-01

Postnatal depression is a major public health problem with clearly established adverse effects in child outcomes. This study examines the 4-year outcomes of a screening and early intervention programme, in relation to improvement in symptoms, functioning and health quality of life. Women were prospectively recruited up to 6 months postdelivery, using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) as a screening tool. High-scorers (EPDS >13), were offered psychiatric consultation, and those with borderline scores (EPDS 10-12) were provided counselling, and offered follow-up phone counselling by the assigned case manager. Outcome measures were obtained at baseline, and at 6 months or discharge if earlier, for levels of symptoms, functioning, and health quality of life. From 2008 to 2012, 5245 women were screened, with 307 (5.9%) women with EPDS >13 receiving intervention. Of these, 70.0% had depression, 4.6% anxiety and 3.4% psychosis. In the depression subgroup, the net change was improvement of 93.4% EPDS symptom scores, 92.2% Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scores, and 88.3% visual analogue scale (EQ VAS) health quality of life scores. Outcome scores across diagnostic categories demonstrated median changes of 10 points on EPDS, 20 points on GAF, and 25 points on EQ VAS, reflecting 73.9%, 36.4% and 41.7% change from baseline scores. Women with psychosis showed the biggest (80.0%) relative change in GAF functioning scores from baseline to discharge but had the lowest median change in EPDS symptom scores. A screening and intervention programme rightly-sited within an obstetric setting can improve clinical outcomes because of early detection and intervention.

Electrophoretic nanotechnology of composite electrodes for electrochemical supercapacitors.

PubMed

Su, Y; Zhitomirsky, I

2013-02-14

The electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method has been developed for the fabrication of MnO(2)-multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) films for application in electrochemical supercapacitors (ESs). For MWCNT applications, which depend on electrical conductivity, it is challenging to achieve dispersion and EPD of pristine MWCNT and avoid defects due to chemical treatment or functionalization. An important finding was the possibility of efficient dispersion and controlled EPD of MWCNT using calconcarboxylic acid (CCA). Moreover, the use of CCA allowed efficient dispersion of MnO(2) in concentrated suspensions and EPD of MnO(2) films. The comparison of the experimental data for chromotrope FB (CFB) and CCA and chemical structures of the molecules provided insight into the mechanism of CCA adsorption on MnO(2). The fabrication of stable suspensions of MnO(2) nanoparticles containing MWCNT, and controlled codeposition of both materials is a crucial aspect in the EPD of composites. The new approach was based on the use of CCA as a charging and dispersing agent for EPD of MnO(2) nanoparticles and MWCNT. The deposition yield measurements at various experimental conditions and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy data, coupled with results of electron microscopy, thermogravimetric, and differential thermal analysis provided evidence of the formation of MnO(2)-MWCNT composites. The electrochemical testing results and impedance spectroscopy data showed good capacitive behavior of the composite films and the beneficial effect of MWCNTs.

A qualitative study of the acceptability of routine screening of postnatal women using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

PubMed Central

Shakespeare, Judy; Blake, Fiona; Garcia, Jo

2003-01-01

BACKGROUND: Screening for postnatal depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) has been widely recommended and implemented in primary care, although little is known about how acceptable it is to women. AIM: To explore the acceptability to women of postnatal screening by health visitors with the EPDS. DESIGN OF STUDY: Qualitative interview study. SETTING: Postnatal patients from 22 general practices within the area of Oxford City Primary Care Group. METHOD: Thirty-nine postnatal women from a purposive sample were interviewed, chosen on the basis of different general practices, EPDS results at eight weeks and eight months postnatal, and whether 'listening visits' were received. The interviews were analysed using the constant comparative method. RESULTS: Just over half of the women interviewed found screening with the EPDS less than acceptable, whatever their postnatal emotional health. The main themes identified were problems with the process of screening and, in particular, the venue, the personal intrusion of screening and stigma. The women interviewed had a clear preference for talking about how they felt, rather than filling out a questionnaire. CONCLUSION: For this sample, routine screening with the EPDS was less than acceptable for the majority of women. This is of concern, as universal screening with the EPDS for the detection of postnatal depression is already recommended and widespread in primary care. PMID:14601337

Comparative Performance of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale for Screening Antepartum Depression

PubMed Central

Zhong, Qiuyue; Gelaye, Bizu; Rondon, Marta; Sánchez, Sixto E; García, Pedro J; Sánchez, Elena; Barrios, Yasmin V; Simon, Gregory E.; Henderson, David C.; Cripe, Swee May; Williams, Michelle A

2014-01-01

Objective We sought to evaluate the psychometric properties of two widely used screening scales: the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) among pregnant Peruvian women. Methods This cross-sectional study included 1,517 women receiving prenatal care from February 2012 to March 2013. A structured interview was used to collect data using PHQ-9 and EPDS. We examined reliability, construct and concurrent validity between two scales using internal consistency indices, factor structures, correlations, and Cohen’s kappa. Results Both scales had good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.8). Correlation between PHQ-9 and EPDS scores was fair (rho=0.52). Based on exploratory factor analysis (EFA), both scales yielded a two-factor structure. EFA including all items from PHQ-9 and EPDS yielded four factors, namely, “somatization”, “depression and suicidal ideation”, “anxiety and depression”, and “anhedonia”. The agreement between the two scales was generally fair at different cutoff scores with the highest Cohen’s kappa being 0.46. Conclusions Both the PHQ-9 and EPDS are reliable and valid scales for antepartum depression assessment. The PHQ-9 captures somatic symptoms, while EPDS detects depressive symptoms comorbid with anxiety during early pregnancy. Our findings suggest simultaneous administration of both scales may improve identification of antepartum depressive disorders in clinical settings. PMID:24766996

Comparative performance of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale for screening antepartum depression.

PubMed

Zhong, Qiuyue; Gelaye, Bizu; Rondon, Marta; Sánchez, Sixto E; García, Pedro J; Sánchez, Elena; Barrios, Yasmin V; Simon, Gregory E; Henderson, David C; Cripe, Swee May; Williams, Michelle A

2014-06-01

We sought to evaluate the psychometric properties of two widely used screening scales: the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) among pregnant Peruvian women. This cross-sectional study included 1517 women receiving prenatal care from February 2012 to March 2013. A structured interview was used to collect data using PHQ-9 and EPDS. We examined reliability, construct and concurrent validity between two scales using internal consistency indices, factor structures, correlations, and Cohen׳s kappa. Both scales had good internal consistency (Cronbach׳s alpha>0.8). Correlation between PHQ-9 and EPDS scores was fair (rho=0.52). Based on exploratory factor analysis (EFA), both scales yielded a two-factor structure. EFA including all items from PHQ-9 and EPDS yielded four factors, namely, "somatization", "depression and suicidal ideation", "anxiety and depression", and "anhedonia". The agreement between the two scales was generally fair at different cutoff scores with the highest Cohen׳s kappa being 0.46. Both the PHQ-9 and EPDS are reliable and valid scales for antepartum depression assessment. The PHQ-9 captures somatic symptoms, while EPDS detects depressive symptoms comorbid with anxiety during early pregnancy. Our findings suggest simultaneous administration of both scales may improve identification of antepartum depressive disorders in clinical settings. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Establishing a coherent and replicable measurement model of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

PubMed

Martin, Colin R; Redshaw, Maggie

2018-06-01

The 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is an established screening tool for postnatal depression. Inconsistent findings in factor structure and replication difficulties have limited the scope of development of the measure as a multi-dimensional tool. The current investigation sought to robustly determine the underlying factor structure of the EPDS and the replicability and stability of the most plausible model identified. A between-subjects design was used. EPDS data were collected postpartum from two independent cohorts using identical data capture methods. Datasets were examined with confirmatory factor analysis, model invariance testing and systematic evaluation of relational and internal aspects of the measure. Participants were two samples of postpartum women in England assessed at three months (n = 245) and six months (n = 217). The findings showed a three-factor seven-item model of the EPDS offered an excellent fit to the data, and was observed to be replicable in both datasets and invariant as a function of time point of assessment. Some EPDS sub-scale scores were significantly higher at six months. The EPDS is multi-dimensional and a robust measurement model comprises three factors that are replicable. The potential utility of the sub-scale components identified requires further research to identify a role in contemporary screening practice. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Assessment of the reaction control system, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prust, Chet D.; Hartman, Dan W.

1988-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA effort first completed an analysis of the aft and forward Reaction Control System (RCS) hardware, and Electrical Power Distribution and Control (EPD and C), generating draft failure modes and potential critical items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. The IOA results were then compared to the proposed Post 51-L NASA FMEA/CIL baseline. This report documents the results of that comparison for the Orbiter RCS hardware and EPD and C systems. The IOA product for the RCS analysis consisted of 208 hardware and 2064 EPD and C failure mode worksheets that resulted in 141 hardware and 449 EPD and C potential critical items (PCIs) being identified. A comparison was made of the IOA product to the NASA FMEA/CIL baseline. After comparison and discussions with the NASA subsystem manager, 96 hardware issues, 83 of which concern CIL items or PCIs, and 280 EPD and C issues, 158 of which concern CIL items or PCIs, and 280 EPD and C issues, 158 of which concern CIL items or PCIs, remain unresolved. Volume 1 contains the subsystem description, assessment results, and some of the IOA worksheets.

Direct current electrical potential measurement of the growth of small cracks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gangloff, Richard P.; Slavik, Donald C.; Piascik, Robert S.; Van Stone, Robert H.

1992-01-01

The analytical and experimental aspects of the direct-current electrical potential difference (dcEPD) method for continuous monitoring of the growth kinetics of short (50 to 500 microns) fatigue cracks are reviewed, and successful applications of the deEPD method to study fatigue crack propagation in a variety of metallic alloys exposed to various environments are described. Particular attention is given to the principle of the dcEPD method, the analytical electrical potential calibration relationships, and the experimental procedures and equipment.

Detection Technique and Overview of EPT-HET of Solar Orbiter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kulkarni, S. R.; Tammen, J.; Boden, S.; Steinhagen, J.; Elftmann, R.; Martin-Garcia, C.; Boettcher, S. I.; Seimetz, L.; Ravanbakhsh, A.; Mahesh, Y.; Schuster, B.; Kulemzin, A.; Wimmer-Schweingruber, R. F.; Rodriguez-Pacheco, J.; Prieto, M.; Sanchez, S.

2016-12-01

The Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) suite for ESA's Solar Orbiter will provide key measurements to address particle acceleration at and near the Sun. The EPD suite consists of four sensors (STEP, SIS, EPT, and HET). The Electron Proton Telescope (EPT) is designed to cleanly separate and measure electrons in the energy range from 20 - 400 keV and protons from 20 - 7000 keV. The Solar Orbiter EPT electron measurements from 20 - 400 keV will cover the gap with some overlap between suprathermal electrons measured by STEP and high energy electrons measured by HET. The proton measurements from 20 -7000 keV will partially cover the gap between STEP and HET. The Electron and Proton Telescope relies on the magnet/foil-technique. The High-Energy Telescope (HET) will measure electrons from 300 keV up to about 30 MeV, protons from 10 -100 MeV, and heavy ions from 20 to 200 MeV/nuc by dE/dx -Total E technique. Thus, HET covers the energy range which is of specific interest for studies of the space environment and will perform the measurements needed to understand the origin of high-energy events at the Sun which occasionally accelerate particles to such high energies that they can penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and be measured at ground level. Here we present the current development status of EPT-HET and calibration results of units.

The use of the edinburgh postpartum depression scale in a population of teenager pregnant women in Mexico: a validation study.

PubMed

Alvarado-Esquivel, Cosme; Sifuentes-Alvarez, Antonio; Salas-Martinez, Carlos

2014-01-01

:Depression may occur in teenager pregnant women. The use of a validated tool for screening depression is highly recommended. The Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) is a screening tool for depression used in women during the postnatal period and pregnancy. However, the EPDS has not been validated in teenager pregnant women. Therefore, we sought to validate a Spanish translated Mexican version of the EPDS in a population of teenager pregnant women. One hundred and twenty teenager pregnant women attending routine prenatal consultations in a public hospital in Durango City, Mexico participated in the study. All participants submitted a revised Spanish translated Mexican version of the EPDS and were examined by a psychiatrist to evaluate the presence of depression by using DSM-IV criteria. Of the 120 teenager pregnant women studied, 2 had major depression and 25 had minor depression according to the DSM-IV criteria. The optimal EPDS cut-off for screening combined major and minor depression in teenager pregnant women was 8/9. At this threshold, we found a sensitivity of 70.4%, a specificity of 84.9%, a positive predictive value of 47.6%, a negative predictive value of 91.0%, and an area under the curve of 0.81 (95% confidence interval: 0.56-1.07). The EPDS can be used for screening depression in Mexican teenager pregnant women whenever a cut-off score of 8/9 is used.

The Use of the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale in a Population of Teenager Pregnant Women in Mexico: A Validation Study

PubMed Central

Alvarado-Esquivel, Cosme; Sifuentes-Alvarez, Antonio; Salas-Martinez, Carlos

2014-01-01

Background :Depression may occur in teenager pregnant women. The use of a validated tool for screening depression is highly recommended. The Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) is a screening tool for depression used in women during the postnatal period and pregnancy. However, the EPDS has not been validated in teenager pregnant women. Therefore, we sought to validate a Spanish translated Mexican version of the EPDS in a population of teenager pregnant women. Methods: One hundred and twenty teenager pregnant women attending routine prenatal consultations in a public hospital in Durango City, Mexico participated in the study. All participants submitted a revised Spanish translated Mexican version of the EPDS and were examined by a psychiatrist to evaluate the presence of depression by using DSM-IV criteria. Results: Of the 120 teenager pregnant women studied, 2 had major depression and 25 had minor depression according to the DSM-IV criteria. The optimal EPDS cut-off for screening combined major and minor depression in teenager pregnant women was 8/9. At this threshold, we found a sensitivity of 70.4%, a specificity of 84.9%, a positive predictive value of 47.6%, a negative predictive value of 91.0%, and an area under the curve of 0.81 (95% confidence interval: 0.56-1.07). Conclusion: The EPDS can be used for screening depression in Mexican teenager pregnant women whenever a cut-off score of 8/9 is used. PMID:25493092

Revascularization for critical limb ischemia using the SpiderFX embolic protection device in the below-the-knee circulation: initial results.

PubMed

Ward, Thomas J; Piechowiak, Rachel L; Patel, Rahul S; Fischman, Aaron M; Nowakowski, F Scott; Kim, Edward; Ellozy, Sharif H; Faries, Peter L; Lookstein, Robert A

2014-10-01

To examine the safety and efficacy of the SpiderFX embolic protection device (EPD) in the below-the-knee (BTK) circulation in patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI). A single-center retrospective review was performed to identify patients with CLI and single-vessel runoff in whom the SpiderFX EPD was used in the BTK circulation. Technical success and device-related complications were the primary endpoints. Retrieval of macroscopic debris in the EPD, 1-year freedom from major adverse limb events (MALEs), and 30-day perioperative death were also evaluated. A major amputation, surgical bypass, endovascular thrombectomy, or endovascular thrombolysis was considered a MALE. Thirty-six patients (21 men; mean age, 75.8 y) treated between 2008 and 2013 had endovascular revascularization with use of the SpiderFX EPD in the BTK circulation. The SpiderFX EPD was successfully deployed in all cases; the technical success rate of revascularization was 100%. Two minor and zero major complications were observed related to the SpiderFX. Two MALEs, a major amputation and a subsequent surgical bypass, were observed in the cohort. All MALEs occurred within 1 year of treatment (1-y freedom from MALE rate, 90%). Debris was retrieved in the SpiderFX device in 47% of patients. The use of the SpiderFX EPD in the BTK circulation in patients with CLI is safe and frequently retrieves debris. Copyright © 2014 SIR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cohort study of the depression, anxiety, and anhedonia components of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale after delivery.

PubMed

Zanardo, Vincenzo; Giliberti, Lara; Volpe, Francesca; Parotto, Matteo; de Luca, Federico; Straface, Gianluca

2017-06-01

To investigate the applicability of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) for identifying depressive symptoms following vaginal or cesarean delivery. The present observational study included consecutive Italian-speaking women who underwent vaginal or cesarean deliveries of uncomplicated singleton pregnancies at term at Policlinico Abano Terme, Abano Terme, Italy, between February 1, 2014, and May 31, 2015, who completed the EPDS 2 days after delivery. EPDS scores and the depression, anxiety, and anhedonia subscale items were compared between delivery methods to identify factors predictive of high EPDS scores. There were 950 patients included in the analysis; 694 (73.1%) and 256 (26.9%) patients underwent vaginal and cesarean deliveries, respectively. Total EPDS scores were higher among patients who had cesarean deliveries compared with vaginal deliveries (6.95±4.80 vs 6.05±4.20; P=0.007); the depression (0.53±0.72 vs 0.37±0.65; P=0.007), anxiety (1.07±0.88 vs 1.16±0.93; P=0.021), and anhedonia (0.32±0.59 vs 0.19±0.48; P=0.009) subscale scores were all higher among patients who underwent cesarean deliveries. Women who underwent cesarean deliveries demonstrated higher EPDS scores and could be at increased risk of developing early postpartum depressive symptomatology, particularly anhedonia, anxiety, and depression. © 2017 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

Antenatal depression in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka and the factor structure of the Sinhalese version of Edinburgh post partum depression scale among pregnant women.

PubMed

Agampodi, Suneth Buddhika; Agampodi, Thilini Chanchala

2013-01-01

Mental health problems among women of reproductive age group contribute to 7% of Global Burden of Diseases of women of all ages. Purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and correlates of antenatal depression among pregnant women in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, and to explore the factor structure of EPDS. Pregnant women with gestational age of 24-36 weeks and residing in Anuradhapura district, Sri Lanka were recruited to the study using a two stage cluster sampling procedure. Sinhalese version of Edinburgh Post Partum Depression Scale (EPDS) and an interviewer administered questionnaire was use to collect data. A cut off value of 9 was used for the Sinhalese version of EPDS. A total of 376 pregnant women were studied. Median EPDS score among pregnant women was 5 (IQR 2-8). Prevalence of antenatal depression in this study sample was 16.2% (n = 61). Thought of self harming (item number 10) was reported by 26 pregnant women (6.9%). None of the socio-demographic factors were associated with depression in this study sample. Having heart burn was significantly associated with depressive symptoms (p = 0.041). Sri Lankan version of EPDS showed a two factor solution. Anxiety was not emerged as a separate factor in this analysis. Prevalence of antenatal depression in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka was relatively low. Anxiety was not emerged as a separate factor in the Sinhalese version of the EPDS.

The semantic component of the evoked potential of differentiation.

PubMed

Izmailov, Chingis A; Korshunova, Svetlana G; Sokolov, Yevgeniy N

2008-05-01

This work analyzes data from recordings of (occipital and temporal) cortical evoked potentials (called evoked potentials of differentiation (EPD) occurring in humans in response to an abrupt substitution of stimuli. As stimuli we used three groups of words: the names of the ten basic colors taken from Newton's color circle; the names of seven basic emotions forming Shlossberg's circle of emotions; and seven nonsense words comprised of random combinations of letters. Within each group of word stimuli we constructed a matrix of the differences between the amplitudes of mid-latency components of EPD for each pair of words. This matrix was analyzed using the method of multidimensional scaling. As a result of this analysis we were able to distinguish the semantic and configurational components of EPD amplitude. The semantic component of EPD amplitude was evaluated by comparing structure of the data obtained to the circular structures of emotion and color names. The configurational component was evaluated on the basis of the attribute of word length (number of letters). It was demonstrated that the semantic component of the EPD can only be detected in the left occipital lead at an interpeak amplitude of P120-N180. The configurational component is reflected in the occipital and temporal leads to an identical extent, but only in the amplitude of a later (N180-P230) component of the EPD. The results obtained are discussed in terms of the coding of categorized, configurational, and semantic attributes of a visual stimulus.

The performance of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in English speaking and non-English speaking populations in Australia.

PubMed

Small, Rhonda; Lumley, Judith; Yelland, Jane; Brown, Stephanie

2007-01-01

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) has been widely used to assess maternal depression following childbirth in a range of English speaking countries, and increasingly also in translation in non-English speaking ones. It has performed satisfactorily in most validation studies, has proved easy to administer, is acceptable to women, and rates of depression in the range of 10-20% have been consistently found. The performance of the EPDS was compared across different population samples in Australia: (i) Women born in Australia or in another English speaking country who completed the EPDS in English as part of the 1994 postal Survey of Recent Mothers (SRM) 6-7 months after birth (n = 1166); (ii) Women born in non-English speaking countries who also completed the EPDS in English in the same survey (n = 142); and (iii) Women born in Vietnam (n = 103), Turkey (n = 104) and the Philippines (n = 106) who completed the EPDS 6-9 months after birth in translation in the Mothers in a New Country Study (MINC) study (total n = 313). The pattern of item responses on the EPDS was assessed in various ways across the samples and internal reliability coefficients were calculated. Exploratory factor analyses were also conducted to assess the similarity in the factor solutions across the samples. The EPDS had good construct validity and item endorsement by women was similar across the samples. Internal reliability of the scale was also very satisfactory with Cronbach's alpha for each sample being > or = 8. Between 39 and 46% of the variance in each of the three main samples was accounted for by one principal factor 'depression' (6-7 items loading), with two supplementary factors 'loss of enjoyment' (2 items loading) and 'despair/self-harm' (2-3 items loading) accounting for a further 20-25% of the variance. Alternative one and two factor solutions also showed a great deal of consistency between the samples. The good item consistency of the EPDS and the relative stability of the factor patterns across the samples are indicative that the scale is understood and completed in similar ways by women in these different English speaking and non-English speaking population groups. With the proviso that careful translation processes and extensive piloting of translations are always needed, these findings lend further support to the use of the EPDS in cross-cultural research on depression following childbirth.

Effects of enzyme-potentiated desensitization in the treatment of pollinosis: a double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

PubMed

Astarita, C; Scala, G; Sproviero, S; Franzese, A

1996-01-01

Several controlled clinical trials have shown that specific immunotherapy (SIT) using incremental injections of allergens can be effective in the treatment of allergic rhinitis and asthma. Nevertheless, the risk of side effects have led to some recommended limitations of SIT. Enzyme-potentiated desensitization (EPD) is a proposed method for immunotherapy with very low doses of mixed allergens plus beta-glucuronidase enzyme, for which irrelevant or no side effects have been claimed. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical efficacy of EPD in the treatment of pollinosis. A double-blind placebo-controlled trial of EPD among 20 patients sensitive to Parietaria and grass pollen was performed. All patients recorded daily symptom scores for nine months following a single intradermal injection of EPD or buffered saline received in February. Symptoms recorded were nasal itching and obstruction, sneezing, rhinorrhea, itchy eyes and excessive tear production. Moreover, total and specific lgE were measured and CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ peripheral blood lymphocytes were counted at different times. In the same period, ten additional subjects, with an allergic clinical profile similar to the subjects admitted to the double-blind trial, were studied in an open clinical trial in order to evaluate the effects of EPD without enzyme using a mixture of allergens. Symptom scores were higher in the placebo group (p < 0.001), with a similar level of significance for both global symptom score and for each individual symptom. Active-treated patients had a significant post-treatment increase in the mean percentage of T-CD8+ peripheral blood cells and a significant post-seasonal decrease in the mean percentage of Parietaria specific lgE. On the contrary, placebo-treated patients had a borderline significant post-seasonal decrease in the mean percentage of CD8+ circulating cells and a significant seasonal increase in the mean percentage of Parietaria specific lgE with no significant post-seasonal decrease. Finally, clinical results of the mixture of allergens injection were similar to those of the placebo in the double-blind trial. EPD injection caused only an asymptomatic, local wheal and flare lasting about two hours. Two patients (20%) in the active-treated group experienced a delayed, mild, unusual headache lasting about two days. In conclusion, EPD is clinically effective in the treatment of pollinosis. Some immunological modifications observed in the EPD-treated patients suggest an EPD-induced enhancement of tolerogenic mechanisms like "immune deviation."

Development of the Kiel sensors for the EPD instrument on-board Solar Orbiter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Cesar; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F.; Kulkarni, Shrinivasrao R.; Tammen, Jan; Terasa, Christoph; Yu, Jia; Boden, Sebastian; Steinhagen, Jan; Panitzsch, Lauri; Ravanbakhsh, Ali; Boettcher, Stephan; Hamann, Christian; Seimetz, Lars; Rodriguez-Pacheco, Javier

2015-04-01

Solar Orbiter is ESA's next solar and heliospheric mission, planned for launch in January 2017 and approaching the Sun as close as 0.28 AU. One of the Solar Orbiter's scientific questions is "How do the solar eruptions produce energetic particle radiation that fills the heliosphere?". The Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) will provide key measurements for this and the other Solar Orbiter science objectives. The EPD suite consists of four sensors measuring electrons, protons, and ions from helium to iron, and operating at partly overlapping energy ranges from 2 keV/n up to 200 MeV/n. The EPD sensors are: SupraThermal Electrons and Protons(STEP), Suprathermal Ion Spectrograph (SIS), Electron Proton Telescope (EPT) and High Energy Telescope (HET). Besides, the EPD sensors share the Instrument Control Unit (ICU). The University of Kiel in Germany is responsible for developing the EPT-HET, STEP and SIS sensors. Here we present the development status of the EPT-HET and STEP sensors focusing on the activities planned for the current phase C. Those activities include results of the integration and EMC tests on the EPT-HET and STEP Engineering Model (EM) and the assembly of the Proto Qualification Model (PQM).

Development of the Kiel sensors for the EPD instrument on-board Solar Orbiter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Cesar; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F.; Kulkarni, Shrinivasrao R.; Tammen, Jan; Terasa, Christoph; Yu, Jia; Boden, Sebastian; Steinhagen, Jan; Panitzsch, Lauri; Ravanbakhsh, Ali; Boettcher, Stephan; Hamann, Christian; Seimetz, Lars; Rodriguez-Pacheco, Javier

2014-05-01

Solar Orbiter is ESA's next solar and heliospheric mission, planned for launch in January 2017 and approaching the Sun as close as 0.28 AU. One of the Solar Orbiter's scientific questions is "How do the solar eruptions produce energetic particle radiation that fills the heliosphere?". The Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) will provide key measurements for this and the other Solar Orbiter science objectives. The EPD suite consists of four sensors measuring electrons, protons, and ions from helium to iron, and operating at partly overlapping energy ranges from 2 keV/n up to 200 MeV/n. The EPD sensors are: SupraThermal Electrons and Protons(STEP), Suprathermal Ion Spectrograph (SIS), Electron Proton Telescope (EPT) and High Energy Telescope (HET). Besides, the EPD sensors share the Instrument Control Unit (ICU). The University of Kiel in Germany is responsible for developing the EPT-HET, STEP and SIS sensors. Here we present the development status of the EPT-HET and STEP sensors focusing on the activities planned for the current phase C. Those activities include results of the environmental tests on the EPT-HET Structural Thermal Model (STM) and the assembly of the Engineering Model (EM).

Associations between a polymorphism in the hydroxysteroid (11-beta) dehydrogenase 1 gene, neuroticism and postpartum depression.

PubMed

Iliadis, S I; Comasco, E; Hellgren, C; Kollia, N; Sundström Poromaa, I; Skalkidou, A

2017-01-01

This study examined the association between a single nucleotide polymorphism in the hydroxysteroid (11-beta) dehydrogenase 1 gene and neuroticism, as well as the possible mediatory role of neuroticism in the association between the polymorphism and postpartum depressive symptoms. 769 women received questionnaires containing the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at six weeks postpartum and demographic data at pregnancy week 17 and 32 and at six weeks postpartum, as well as the Swedish universities Scales of Personality at pregnancy week 32. Linear regression models showed an association between the GG genotype and depressive symptoms. When neuroticism was introduced in the model, it was associated with EPDS score, whereas the association between the GG genotype and EPDS became borderline significant. A path analysis showed that neuroticism had a mediatory role in the association between the polymorphism and EPDS score. The use of the EPDS, which is a self-reporting instrument. Neuroticism was associated with the polymorphism and had a mediatory role in the association between the polymorphism and postpartum depression. This finding elucidates the genetic background of neuroticism and postpartum depression. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Assessment of the orbital maneuvering system FMEA/CIL, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prust, Chet D.; Haufler, W. A.; Marino, A. J.

1988-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA effort first completed an analysis of the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) hardware and Electrical Power Distribution and Control (EPD and C), generating draft failure modes and potential critical items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. The IOA results were then compared to the proposed Post 51-L NASA FMEA/CIL baseline. This report documents the results of that comparison for the Orbiter OMS hardware. The IOA analysis defined the OMS as being comprised of the following subsystems: helium pressurization, propellant storage and distribution, Orbital Maneuvering Engine, and EPD and C. The IOA product for the OMS analysis consisted of 284 hardware and 667 EPD and C failure mode worksheets that resulted in 160 hardware and 216 EPD and C potential critical items (PCIs) being identified. A comparison was made of the IOA product to the NASA FMEA/CIL baseline which consisted of 101 hardware and 142 EPD and C CIL items.

Multilayer organic based structures with enhanced hole transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mladenova, D.; Sinigersky, V.; Budurova, D.; Dobreva, T.; Karashanova, D.; Dimov, D.; Zhivkov, I.

2010-11-01

Multilayer Organic Based Devices (OBDs) were constructed by subsequent casting of organic films (from polymers, soluble in the same organic solvent). The problem with dissolution of the underlying layer was avoided by using electrophoretic deposition technique. Optimized conditions for electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of thin films with homogeneous and smooth surfaces, as confirmed by SEM, were found. The EPD, carried out at constant current, requires continuous increase of the voltage between the electrodes. In this way the decreased deposition rate caused by the decreased concentration of the material in the suspension and the increased thickness of the film deposited is compensated. The SEM images and the current voltage characteristics recorded, show that the hole transport polyvinylcarbazole (PVK) underlayer survive the treatment with the suspension used for the electrophoretic deposition of the active poly[2-methoxy-5-(3,7-dimethyloctyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] electroluminescent layer. The PVK hole transport layer increases the device current, as confirmed by the current-voltage measurements. The results obtained demonstrate the possibility of OBDs preparation for electroluminescent and photovoltaic applications.

The mental health characteristics of pregnant women with depressive symptoms identified by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

PubMed

Lydsdottir, Linda B; Howard, Louise M; Olafsdottir, Halldora; Thome, Marga; Tyrfingsson, Petur; Sigurdsson, Jon F

2014-04-01

Few studies are available on the effectiveness of screening tools such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in pregnancy or the extent to which such tools may identify women with mental disorders other than depression. We therefore aimed to investigate the mental health characteristics of pregnant women who screen positive on the EPDS. Consecutive women receiving antenatal care in primary care clinics (from November 2006 to July 2011) were invited to complete the EPDS in week 16 of pregnancy. All women who scored above 11 (screen positive) on the EPDS and randomly selected women who scored below 12 (screen negative) were invited to participate in a psychiatric diagnostic interview. 2,411 women completed the EPDS. Two hundred thirty-three women (9.7%) were screened positive in week 16, of whom 153 (66%) agreed to a psychiatric diagnostic interview. Forty-eight women (31.4%) were diagnosed with major depressive disorder according to DSM-IV criteria, 20 (13.1%) with bipolar disorder, 93 (60.8%) with anxiety disorders (including 27 [17.6%] with obsessive-compulsive disorder [OCD]), 8 (5.2%) with dysthymia, 18 (11.8%) with somatoform disorder, 3 (2%) with an eating disorder, and 7 (4.6%) with current substance abuse. Women who screened positive were significantly more likely to have psychosocial risk factors, including being unemployed (χ(2)(1) = 23.37, P ≤.001), lower educational status (χ(2)(1)= 31.68, P ≤ .001), and a history of partner violence (χ(2)(1) = 10.30, P ≤ 001), compared with the women who screened negative. Use of the EPDS early in the second trimester of pregnancy identifies a substantial number of women with potentially serious mental disorders other than depression, including bipolar disorder, OCD, and eating disorders. A comprehensive clinical assessment is therefore necessary following use of the EPDS during pregnancy to ensure that women who screen positive receive appropriate mental health management. © Copyright 2014 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

Electrophoretic Deposition on Porous Non-Conductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Compson, Charles; Besra, Laxmidhar; Liu, Meilin

2007-01-01

A method of electrophoretic deposition (EPD) on substrates that are porous and electrically non-conductive has been invented. Heretofore, in order to perform an EPD, it has been necessary to either (1) use a substrate material that is inherently electrically conductive or (2) subject a non-conductive substrate to a thermal and/or chemical treatment to render it conductive. In the present method, instead of relying on the electrical conductivity of the substrate, one ensures that the substrate is porous enough that when it is immersed in an EPD bath, the solvent penetrates throughout the thickness, thereby forming quasi-conductive paths through the substrate. By making it unnecessary to use a conductive substrate, this method simplifies the overall EPD process and makes new applications possible. The method is expected to be especially beneficial in enabling deposition of layers of ceramic and/or metal for chemical and electrochemical devices, notably including solid oxide fuel cells.

Patient Health Questionnaire-9 versus Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in screening for major depressive episodes: a cross-sectional population-based study.

PubMed

Santos, Iná S; Tavares, Beatriz Franck; Munhoz, Tiago N; Manzolli, Patricia; de Ávila, Gisele Bartz; Jannke, Eduardo; Matijasevich, Alicia

2017-01-21

Major depressive episodes (MDE) are frequent at the population level and are generally associated with severe symptoms that impair performance of activities of daily living of individuals suffering from this condition. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of two tests that separately showed suitable properties in screening for MDE: the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). In a previous study, the sensitivity and specificity of the PHQ-9 and the EPDS in screening for MDE were compared with a structured diagnostic interview conducted by psychiatrics and psychologists using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview as the gold standard. In a sample of adults living in the community in Pelotas, Brazil, the PHQ-9 and EPDS were applied at the same interview and the gold standard on a median of 17 days later. The interviews were carried out at the participant's home. 447 Individuals (191 men and 256 women) were assessed. The PHQ-9 and the EPDS results were concordant in 87.5% of the respondents, with a moderate agreement beyond what was expected by chance alone (kappa = 0.61). The areas below the ROC curves were not statistically different (82.1% for PHQ-9 and 83.5% for EPDS) (p = 0.291), thus indicating that the two tests had similar moderate accuracy. PHQ-9 and EPDS may be applied with equal confidence in screening for MDE in the community.

Determinants of ante-partum depression: a multicenter study.

PubMed

Balestrieri, Matteo; Matteo, Balestrieri; Isola, Miriam; Miriam, Isola; Bisoffi, Giulia; Giulia, Bisoffi; Calò, Salvatore; Salvatore, Calò; Conforti, Anita; Anita, Conforti; Driul, Lorenza; Lorenza, Driul; Marchesoni, Diego; Diego, Marchesoni; Petrosemolo, Paola; Paola, Petrosemolo; Rossi, Michela; Michela, Rossi; Zito, Adriana; Adriana, Zito; Zorzenone, Stefania; Stefania, Zorzenone; Di Sciascio, Guido; Guido, Di Sciascio; Leone, Roberto; Roberto, Leone; Bellantuono, Cesario; Cesario, Bellantuono

2012-12-01

Ante-partum depression (APD) is usually defined as a non-psychotic depressive episode of mild to moderate severity, beginning in or extending into pregnancy. APD has received less attention than postpartum depression. This is a cross-sectional study carried out in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology (OG) departments of four different general hospitals in Italy. Women attending consecutively the OG departments for their first ultrasound examination were asked to fill in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in its Italian validated version. We used the total scores of the EPDS as a continuous variable for univariate and linear regression analyses; in accordance with the literature, the item analysis of EPDS was carried out by classifying the sample as women with "no depression" (scores 0-9), "possible depression" (scores 10-12), "probable depression" (scores 13+) and "probable APD" (scores 15+). The number of women recruited was 1,608. The EPDS assessment classified 10.9 % of the women as possibly depressed, 8.3 % as probably depressed and 4.7 % probably affected from an APD. EPDS score distribution was associated with nationality (higher scores for foreigners), cohabitation (higher scores for women living with friends or in a community), occupation (higher scores for housewives), past episodes of depression and use of herbal drugs. Non-depressed women had significantly lower values on all ten items as compared with depressed women, however, the pattern of item distribution on the EPDS scale remained similar across depression severity groups. In all four groups item 4 (anxious depression) attained the highest scores, while item 10 (suicidality) attained the lowest scores.

Patient health questionnaire-9 versus Edinburgh postnatal depression scale in screening for major depressive episodes: a cross-sectional population-based study.

PubMed

Santos, Iná S; Tavares, Beatriz Franck; Munhoz, Tiago N; Manzolli, Patricia; de Ávila, Gisele Bartz; Jannke, Eduardo; Matijasevich, Alicia

2016-09-27

Major depressive episodes (MDE) are frequent at the population level and are generally associated with severe symptoms that impair performance of activities of daily living of individuals suffering from this condition. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of two tests that separately showed suitable properties in screening for MDE: the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS). In a previous study, the sensitivity and specificity of the PHQ-9 and the EPDS in screening for MDE were compared with a structured diagnostic interview conducted by psychiatrics and psychologists using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview as the gold standard. In a sample of adults living in the community in Pelotas, Brazil, the PHQ-9 and EPDS were applied at the same interview and the gold standard on a median of 17 days later. The interviews were carried out at the participant's home. 447 individuals (191 men and 256 women) were assessed. The PHQ-9 and the EPDS results were concordant in 87.5 % of the respondents, with a moderate agreement beyond what was expected by chance alone (kappa = 0.61). The areas below the ROC curves were not statistically different (82.1 % for PHQ-9 and 83.5 % for EPDS) (p = 0.291), thus indicating that the two tests had similar moderate accuracy. PHQ-9 and EPDS may be applied with equal confidence in screening for MDE in the community.

Jupiter radiation measurements from enhanced Galileo/EPD data for NASA's PDS archive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kollmann, P.; Smith, D.; Vandegriff, J. D.; Paranicas, C.; Lee-Payne, Z. H.

2017-12-01

The Galileo mission included the first orbiter around Jupiter. Its Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) provided an excellent survey of the radiation in this planetary magnetosphere. EPD measured electrons and various ion species in the energy range of tens of keV to tens of MeV. This data set is unique since the orbit was close to the equatorial plane, covered distances from Jupiter to its magnetopause, and included several close flybys at moons. The ongoing Juno mission in comparison only skims the equatorial plane and does not include moon flybys. Even though the Galileo mission ended in 2003, the EPD data archived through NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS) is sparse and not well calibrated. The bulk of the PDS data is from a low time resolution mode (from Galileo's "real time" mode), and is only provided as count rates. Only the 14 directionally resolved channels are provided in the PDS, but there would be also 35 additional omnidirectional channels available. Data in the higher time resolution "record mode" is archived but has not been adequately corrected. We present a preliminary version of fully cleaned, calibrated, and corrected EPD data that can be used without specialized instrument knowledge. Archive products for both the updated data and also the initial raw data (all channels and resolutions) are being prepared for delivery to the PDS. Major issues with the data from the Low Energy Magnetospheric Measurements System (EPD/LEMMS) were that some channels were saturated or contaminated. We correct for this using dead times and background values determined in flight. The raw measurements of electrons in the MeV range are not resolved in energy. We ran a forward model considering the instrument response to calculate electron MeV range spectra, which have many applications. From the Composition Measurement System (EPS/CMS), we have also extracted event data, which will also be included in our PDS delivery and can be used to derive high-resolution energy spectra. The processed EPD radiation data can be applied to a wide range of studies, from mission design to scientific studies on Jupiter's magnetosphere. Prior to publication in the PDS archive, a preliminary set of comma-delimited text files containing the newly processed data can be accessed at http://sd-www.jhuapl.edu/Galileo_EPD/

Cow-calf reproductive, genetic, and nutritional management to improve the sustainability of whole beef production systems.

PubMed

White, R R; Brady, M; Capper, J L; McNamara, J P; Johnson, K A

2015-06-01

Optimizing efficiency in the cow-calf sector is an important step toward improving beef sustainability. The objective of the study was to use a model to identify the relative roles of reproductive, genetic, and nutritional management in minimizing beef production systems' environmental impact in an economically viable, socially acceptable manner. An economic and environmental diet optimizer was used to identify ideal nutritional management of beef production systems varying in genetic and reproductive technology use. Eight management scenarios were compared to a least cost baseline: average U.S. production practices (CON), CON with variable nutritional management (NUT), twinning cattle (TWN), early weaning (EW), sire selection by EPD using either on-farm bulls (EPD-B) or AI (EPD-AI), decreasing the calving window (CW), or selecting bulls by EPD and reducing the calving window (EPD-CW). Diets to minimize land use, water use, and/or greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were optimized under each scenario. Increases in diet cost attributable to reducing environmental impact were constrained to less than stakeholder willingness to pay for improved efficiency and reduced environmental impact. Baseline land use, water use, and GHG emissions were 188 m, 712 L, and 21.9 kg/kg HCW beef. The NUT scenario, which assessed opportunities to improve sustainability by altering nutritional management alone, resulted in a simultaneous 1.5% reduction in land use, water use, and GHG emissions. The CW scenario improved calf uniformity and simultaneously decreased land use, water use, and GHG emissions by 3.2%. Twinning resulted in a 9.2% reduction in the 3 environmental impact metrics. The EW scenario allowed for an 8.5% reduction in the 3 metrics. The EPD-AI scenario resulted in an 11.1% reduction, which was comparable to the 11.3% reduction achieved by EPD-B in the 3 metrics. Improving genetic selection by using AI or by purchasing on-farm bulls based on their superior EPD demonstrated clear opportunity to improve sustainability. When genetic and reproductive technologies were adopted, up to a 12.4% reduction in environmental impact was achievable. Given the modeling assumptions used in this study, optimizing nutritional management while concurrently improving genetic and reproductive efficiency may be promising avenues to improve productivity and sustainability of U.S. beef systems.

Accounting for discovery bias in genomic EPD

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Genomics has contributed substantially to genetic improvement of beef cattle. The implementation is through computation of genomically enhanced expected progeny differences (GE-EPD), which are predictions of genetic merit of individual animals based on genomic information, pedigree, and data on the ...

The Effect of Temperature and Electric Field on a Quantum Pseudodot Qubit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ying-Cong; Xiao, Jing-Lin

2018-02-01

The electron's probability density (EPD) and the oscillating period (OP) of an electron confined by a three-dimensional RbCl quantum pseudodot (QPD) are studied. Calculations are performed by employing variational method of Pekar type (VMPT) and the quantum statistics theory (QST).The influences of the temperature and electric field on the EPD and the OP of the RbCl QPD qubit have been derived in detail. According to the obtained results, it is observed that the EPD and the OP increase (decrease) with raising temperature at lower (higher) temperature region. They are decaying functions of the electric field.

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Analysis of the electrical power distribution and control/remote manipulator system subsystem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robinson, W. W.

1987-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA approach features a top-down analysis of the Electrical Power Distribution and Control (EPD and C)/Remote Manipulator System (RMS) hardware to determine failure modes, criticality, and potential critical items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained in the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. This report documents the results of the independent analysis of the EPD and C/RMS (both port and starboard) hardware. The EPD and C/RMS subsystem hardware provides the electrical power and power control circuitry required to safely deploy, operate, control, and stow or guillotine and jettison two (one port and one starboard) RMSs. The EPD and C/RMS subsystem is subdivided into the four following functional divisions: Remote Manipulator Arm; Manipulator Deploy Control; Manipulator Latch Control; Manipulator Arm Shoulder Jettison; and Retention Arm Jettison. The IOA analysis process utilized available EPD and C/RMS hardware drawings and schematics for defining hardware assemblies, components, and hardware items. Each level of hardware was evaluated and analyzed for possible failure modes and effects. Criticality was assigned based on the severity of the effect for each failure mode.

[Effect of paternity leave on maternal postpartum depression].

PubMed

Séjourné, N; Beaumé, M; Vaslot, V; Chabrol, H

2012-06-01

The aim of this study was to explore the role of the paternity leave in the appearance of the maternal postpartum depression. Fifty-one couples took part in the whole study. Between the second and the fifth day after the childbirth, the mother completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), which measures the symptoms of depression and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) which measures the social support the mother has become. The father completed the EPDS. Two months and then the second time four months after the childbirth, the mother received the EPDS, the MSPSS, and questionnaires measuring the temperament of the baby, the maternal skills, the feeling of being a mother and the quality of life postpartum. In order to evaluate the paternal involvement, the father completed the EPDS and questions about paternal skills and involvement. The paternity leave seemed not to have any consequences on the results at the EPDS or other questionnaires. However, lack of paternal involvement was a significant predictor of the intensity of the depressive symptoms of the mothers. It is not the presence of the father wich seems important to take into account for detection and the traitement of postpatum depression but his participation in the care of the baby. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The Savannah River Site's Groundwater Monitoring Program, third quarter 1991

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The Environmental Protection Department/Environmental Monitoring Section (EPD/EMS) administers the Savannah River Site's (SRS) Groundwater Monitoring Program. During third quarter 1991, EPD/EMS conducted extensive sampling of monitoring wells. Analytical results from third quarter 1991 are listed in this report.

Psychiatric disorder and work life: A longitudinal study of intra-generational social mobility.

PubMed

Tiikkaja, Sanna; Sandin, Sven; Hultman, Christina M; Modin, Bitte; Malki, Ninoa; Sparén, Pär

2016-03-01

Intra-generational social mobility, which describes the mobility within an individual's own working life, is seldom studied among employees with psychiatric disorders (EPD). There is need of knowledge of the intra-generational mobility patterns, in a broader perspective, among EPD. To investigate intra-generational social mobility in employed individuals diagnosed with affective disorder, personality disorder, schizophrenia and drug dependence in a national Swedish cohort. We identified a national sample of employed Swedish adults born in 1939-1949 (N = 876, 738), and among them individuals with a first-time hospital admission for affective psychosis, neurosis and personality disorder, alcoholism, drug dependence or schizophrenia in 1964-1980 (N = 18, 998). Employed individuals without hospital admission for such diagnoses were utilised as a comparison group (N = 866, 442). Intra-individual social class changes between 1980 and 1990 among EPD and the comparison group were described through summary statistics and graphs. EPD more often held Low manual occupations at baseline in 1980 than the comparison group (44% vs. 28%), although parental social class was similar. In 1990, 19% of EPD and 4% of the comparison group had lost contact with the labour market. Social stability was less common among EPD (49 %) than in the comparison group (67%). Mobility out of the labour force increased and social stability decreased by number of inpatient admissions. Employees diagnosed with affective psychosis or neurosis and personality disorder fared better in the labour market than employees with schizophrenia. Employees suffering from psychiatric disorder do not maintain their social class or remain in the labour force to the same extent as individuals without those problems, irrespective of their parental class. Our results support the social drift hypothesis that individuals with poor psychiatric health move downward in the social hierarchy. © The Author(s) 2015.

The Savannah River Site`s Groundwater Monitoring Program, third quarter 1991

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The Environmental Protection Department/Environmental Monitoring Section (EPD/EMS) administers the Savannah River Site`s (SRS) Groundwater Monitoring Program. During third quarter 1991, EPD/EMS conducted extensive sampling of monitoring wells. Analytical results from third quarter 1991 are listed in this report.

The Savannah River Site`s groundwater monitoring program. Third quarter 1990

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1991-05-06

The Environmental Protection Department/Environmental Monitoring Section (EPD/EMS) administers the Savannah River Site`s (SRS) Groundwater Monitoring Program. During third quarter 1990 (July through September) EPD/EMS conducted routine sampling of monitoring wells and drinking water locations. EPD/EMS established two sets of flagging criteria in 1986 to assist in the management of sample results. The flagging criteria do not define contamination levels; instead they aid personnel in sample scheduling, interpretation of data, and trend identification. The flagging criteria are based on detection limits, background levels in SRS groundwater, and drinking water standards. All analytical results from third quarter 1990 are listed in thismore » report, which is distributed to all site custodians. One or more analytes exceeded Flag 2 in 87 monitoring well series. Analytes exceeded Flat 2 for the first since 1984 in 14 monitoring well series. In addition to groundwater monitoring, EPD/EMS collected drinking water samples from SRS drinking water systems supplied by wells. The drinking water samples were analyzed for radioactive constituents.« less

The Savannah River Site's groundwater monitoring program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1991-05-06

The Environmental Protection Department/Environmental Monitoring Section (EPD/EMS) administers the Savannah River Site's (SRS) Groundwater Monitoring Program. During third quarter 1990 (July through September) EPD/EMS conducted routine sampling of monitoring wells and drinking water locations. EPD/EMS established two sets of flagging criteria in 1986 to assist in the management of sample results. The flagging criteria do not define contamination levels; instead they aid personnel in sample scheduling, interpretation of data, and trend identification. The flagging criteria are based on detection limits, background levels in SRS groundwater, and drinking water standards. All analytical results from third quarter 1990 are listed in thismore » report, which is distributed to all site custodians. One or more analytes exceeded Flag 2 in 87 monitoring well series. Analytes exceeded Flat 2 for the first since 1984 in 14 monitoring well series. In addition to groundwater monitoring, EPD/EMS collected drinking water samples from SRS drinking water systems supplied by wells. The drinking water samples were analyzed for radioactive constituents.« less

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Assessment of the Electrical Power Distribution and Control/Electrical Power Generation (EPD and C/EPG) FMEA/CIL

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccants, C. N.; Bearrow, M.

1988-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA effort first completed an analysis of the Electrical Power Distribution and Control/Electrical Power Generation (EPD and C/EPG) hardware, generating draft failure modes and potential critical items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. The IOA results were then compared to the NASA FMEA/CIL baseline with proposed Post 51-L updates included. A resolution of each discrepancy from the comparison was provided through additional analysis as required. The results of that comparison is documented for the Orbiter EPD and C/EPG hardware. The IOA product for the EPD and C/EPG analysis consisted of 263 failure mode worksheets that resulted in 42 potential critical items being identified. Comparison was made to the NASA baseline which consisted of 211 FMEA and 47 CIL items.

Binder-free Si nanoparticle electrode with 3D porous structure prepared by electrophoretic deposition for lithium-ion batteries.

PubMed

Yang, Yang; Chen, Dingqiong; Liu, Bo; Zhao, Jinbao

2015-04-15

A binder-free silicon (Si) based electrode for lithium-ion battery was fabricated in an organic solvent through one-step electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The nanosized Si and acetylene black (AB) particles were bonded tightly together to form a homogeneous co-deposited film with 3D porous structure through the EPD process. The 3D porous structure provides buffer spaces to alleviate the mechanical stress due to silicon volume change during the cycling and improves lithium-ion conductivity by shortening ion diffusion length and better ion conducting pathway. The electrode prepared with 5 s deposition duration shows the best cycling performance among electrodes fabricated by EPD method, and thus, it was selected to be compared with the silicon electrode prepared by the conventional method. Our results demonstrate that the Si nanoparticle electrode prepared through EPD exhibits smaller cycling capacity decay rate and better rate capability than the electrode prepared by the conventional method.

Electrophoretic co-deposition of PEEK-hydroxyapatite composite coatings for biomedical applications.

PubMed

Baştan, Fatih E; Atiq Ur Rehman, Muhammad; Avcu, Yasemin Yıldıran; Avcu, Egemen; Üstel, Fatih; Boccaccini, Aldo R

2018-05-03

This study focuses on the optimization of electrophoretic deposition (EPD) and suspension parameters for producing PEEK-hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings with feasible microstructure, adhesion strength, and in-vitro bioactivity. Nanostructured hydroxyapatite (HA) micro-granules were incorporated with PEEK to form PEEK-hydroxyapatite composite coatings via EPD. After EPD, a heat-treatment at 375 °C was applied for densification of the coatings and for enhancing the adhesion between the coatings and the substrates. It was found that both adhesion strength and in-vitro bioactivity of the coatings were dependent on the PEEK and HA relative contents. Thus, increasing the amount of HA improved the bioactivity while decreased the adhesion strength of the coatings. Apatite-like layer formation was observed on coatings with high HA content after incubation for three days in simulated body fluid (SBF). Finally, a deposition mechanism was proposed for the EPD of the PEEK-hydroxyapatite composite system. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Anxiety and stress in the postpartum: is there more to postnatal distress than depression?

PubMed

Miller, Renée L; Pallant, Julie F; Negri, Lisa M

2006-03-24

Postnatal depression has received considerable research and clinical attention, however anxiety and stress in the postpartum has been relatively ignored. Along with the widespread use of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), depression has become the marker for postnatal maladjustment. Symptoms of anxiety tend to be subsumed within diagnoses of depression, which can result in anxiety being minimized or overlooked in the absence of depression. Some researchers have identified the need to distinguish between postnatal depression and anxiety, and to discern cases where depression and anxiety co-exist. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of postnatal distress using the EPDS and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). As part of a larger cross-sectional study, the EPDS and DASS-21 were administered to a convenience sample of 325 primiparous mothers, who ranged in age from 18 to 44 years (M = 32 years). Recruited through mother's groups and health centres in Melbourne Australia, inclusion was limited to mothers whose babies were aged between 6 weeks and 6 months. Analyses included comparisons between the classifications of women according to the EPDS and the DASS-21, and an exploration of the extent to which the EPDS identified anxious-depressed women. The EPDS identified 80 women (25%) as possibly depressed (using a cut-off of over 9), of which the DASS-21 corroborated 58%. In the total sample, 61 women (19%) were classified by the DASS-21 to be depressed. Using broader criteria for distress, it was revealed by the DASS-21 that a further 33 women (10%) showed symptoms of anxiety and stress without depression. A total of 41 women (13%) had symptoms of anxiety either in isolation or in combination with depression. The DASS-21 identified 7% of the sample as being both anxious and depressed. This at-risk sub-group had higher mean EPDS and DASS-depression scores than their depressed-only counterparts. The prevalence of anxiety and stress in the present study points to the importance of assessing postnatal women for broader indicators of psychological morbidity than that of depression alone. The DASS-21 appears to be a useful instrument for this purpose.

Electrophoretic nanotechnology of graphene-carbon nanotube and graphene-polypyrrole nanofiber composites for electrochemical supercapacitors.

PubMed

Shi, Kaiyuan; Zhitomirsky, Igor

2013-10-01

Thin films of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), graphene and polypyrrole (PPy) nanofibers were prepared by cathodic electrophoretic deposition (EPD) from aqueous suspensions, containing safranin (SAF) as a new dispersant. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy studies and sedimentation tests, coupled with deposition yield and electron microscopy data showed that SAF adsorbed on MWCNT, graphene and PPy, provided their dispersion and charging in the suspensions and allowed efficient EPD. The deposition yield can be controlled by the variation of SAF concentration in the suspensions and deposition time. The use of SAF as a co-dispersant for MWCNT, graphene and PPy, allowed controlled EPD of composite graphene-MWCNT and graphene-PPy films. The proposed approach for the deposition of PPy paves the way for EPD of neutral polymers using organic dyes as dispersing and charging agents. The composite films were investigated for application in electrochemical supercapacitors (ES). The graphene-MWCNT and graphene-PPy films showed significant increase in capacitance, decrease in resistance and increase in capacitance retention at high charge-discharge rates compared to the films of individual components. The analysis of electrochemical testing results and electron microscopy data provided an insight into the influence of composite microstructure on electrochemical performance. The composites, prepared by EPD are promising materials for electrodes of ES. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Theory of coupled resonator optical waveguides exhibiting high-order exceptional points of degeneracy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nada, Mohamed Y.; Othman, Mohamed A. K.; Capolino, Filippo

2017-11-01

We present an approach and a theoretical framework for generating high-order exceptional points of degeneracy (EPDs) in photonic structures based on periodic coupled resonator optical waveguides (CROWs). Such EPDs involve the coalescence of Floquet-Bloch eigenwaves in CROWs, without the presence of gain and loss, which contrasts with the parity-time symmetry required to develop exceptional points based on gain and loss balance. The EPDs arise here by introducing symmetry breaking in a conventional chain of coupled resonators through periodic coupling to an adjacent uniform optical waveguide, which leads to unique modal characteristics that cannot be realized in conventional CROWs. Such remarkable characteristics include high quality factors (Q factors) and strong field enhancement, even without any mirrors at the two ends of a cavity. We show for the first time the capability of CROWs to exhibit EPDs of various orders, including the degenerate band edge (DBE) and the stationary inflection point. The proposed CROW of finite length shows an enhanced quality factor when operating near the DBE, and the Q factor exhibits an unconventional scaling with the CROW's length. We develop the theory of EPDs in such unconventional CROW using coupled-wave equations, and we derive an analytical expression for the dispersion relation. The proposed unconventional CROW concepts have various potential applications including Q switching, nonlinear devices, lasers, and extremely sensitive sensors.

A cross-sectional study of antenatal depressive symptoms in women at high risk for gestational diabetes mellitus.

PubMed

Engberg, Elina; Stach-Lempinen, Beata; Sahrakorpi, Niina; Rönö, Kristiina; Roine, Risto P; Kautiainen, Hannu; Eriksson, Johan G; Koivusalo, Saila B

2015-12-01

To examine differences in antenatal depressive symptoms between women at high risk for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and pregnant women in the general population. We recruited pregnant women at high risk for GDM, based on a history of GDM and/or prepregnancy BMI ≥ 30 kg/m(2), (n = 482) and pregnant women in the general population (n = 358) before 20 weeks of gestation. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Of the women at high risk for GDM, 17% had an EPDS score ≥ 10 (indicating risk for depression) compared to 11% of the pregnant women in the general population (p = .025). The mean EPDS score was also higher in the women at risk for GDM (5.5, SD 4.5 vs. 4.6, SD 3.9, p = .004, effect size 0.21 [95% CI: 0.07 to 0.34]). After adjusting for age, prepregnancy BMI and income, the difference between the groups was no longer significant either in the proportion of women having an EPDS score ≥ 10 (p = .59) or in the mean EPDS score (p=.39). After controlling for age, prepregnancy BMI and income, women at high risk for GDM did not have greater depressive symptoms compared to pregnant women in the general population in early pregnancy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Household food insecurity is associated with depressive symptoms among low-income pregnant Latinas

PubMed Central

Hromi-Fiedler, Amber; Bermúdez-Millán, Angela; Segura-Pérez, Sofia; Pérez-Escamilla, Rafael

2010-01-01

Latinas experience high rates of poverty, household food insecurity, and prenatal depression. To date, only one U.S. study has examined the relationship between household food insecurity and prenatal depression, yet it focused primarily on non-Latina white and non-Latina Black populations. Therefore, this study examined the independent association of household food insecurity with depressive symptoms among low-income pregnant Latinas. This cross-sectional study included 135 low income pregnant Latinas living in Hartford, Connecticut. Women were assessed at enrollment for household food security during pregnancy using an adapted and validated version of the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module. Prenatal depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). A cutoff of ≥ 21 was used to indicate elevated levels of prenatal depressive symptoms (EPDS). Multivariate backwards stepwise logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for EPDS. Almost one third of participants had EPDS. Women who were food insecure were more likely to experience EPDS compared to food secure women (OR=2.59; 95% CI=1.03–6.52). Being primiparous, experiencing heartburn and reporting poor/fair health during pregnancy, as well as having a history of depression were also independent risk factors for experiencing EPDS. Findings from this study suggest the importance of assessing household food insecurity when evaluating depression risk among pregnant Latinas. PMID:20735732

Fabrication and kinetics study of nano-Al/NiO thermite film by electrophoretic deposition.

PubMed

Zhang, Daixiong; Li, Xueming

2015-05-21

Nano-Al/NiO thermites were successfully prepared as film by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). For the key issue of this EPD, a mixture solvent of ethanol-acetylacetone (1:1 in volume) containing 0.00025 M nitric acid was proved to be a suitable dispersion system for EPD. The kinetics of electrophoretic deposition for both nano-Al and nano-NiO were investigated; the linear relation between deposition weight and deposition time in short time and parabolic relation in prolonged time were observed in both EPDs. The critical transition time between linear deposition kinetics and parabolic deposition kinetics for nano-Al and nano-NiO were 20 and 10 min, respectively. The theoretical calculation of the kinetics of electrophoretic deposition revealed that the equivalence ratio of nano-Al/NiO thermites film would be affected by the behavior of electrophoretic deposition for nano-Al and nano-NiO. The equivalence ratio remained steady when the linear deposition kinetics dominated for both nano-Al and nano-NiO. The equivalence ratio would change with deposition time when deposition kinetics for nano-NiO changed into parabolic kinetics dominated after 10 min. Therefore, the rule was suggested to be suitable for other EPD of bicomposites. We also studied thermodynamic properties of electrophoretic nano-Al/NiO thermites film as well as combustion performance.

Growth and dielectric properties of ZnO nanoparticles deposited by using electrophoretic deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chung, Yoonsung; Park, Hyejin; Kim, Dong-Joo; Cho, Sung Baek; Yoon, Young Soo

2015-05-01

The deposition behavior of ZnO nanoparticles on metal plates and conductive fabrics was investigated using electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The deposition kinetics on both metal plates and fabrics were examined using the Hamaker equation. Fabric substrates give more deposited weight than flat substrates due to their rougher shape and higher surface area. The morphologies and the structures of the deposited ZnO layers showed uniform deposition without any preferred orientation on both substrates. The dielectric properties of the ZnO layers formed by using EPD showed values that were reduced, but comparable to those of bulk ZnO. This result suggests that EPD is a convenient method to deposit functional oxides on flexible substrates.

Contract Training and Computer-Assisted Instruction at Santa Fe Community College.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ortego, Sheila; Richards, Beverly

In summer 1993, Santa Fe Community College, New Mexico, created the External Programs Division (EPD) under its credit instruction program to serve the needs of non-traditional students. The EPD encompasses contract training, the Flex Lab, distance education, the AutoDesk Training Center, an Alternative Fuels program, and the corrections training…

Life-Cycle Inventory Analysis of Cellulosic Fiberboard Production in North America

Treesearch

Richard D. Bergman

2014-01-01

Documenting the environmental performance of building products is becoming widespread because of many green-marketing claims made without scientific merit (i.e., green-washing). Developing environmental product declarations (EPDs) for building products is one way to accomplish this objective for scientific documentation and to counter green-washing. EPDs are based on...

Developing a Web-Based Mechanism for Assessing Teacher Science Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byers, Al; Koba, Susan; Sherman, Greg; Scheppke, Joan; Bolus, Roger

2011-01-01

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) recently launched a comprehensive electronic professional development (e-PD) online portal, the NSTA Learning Center. This support site for educators currently includes over 6,000 e-PD resources and opportunities available on-demand, as well as various tools designed to help educators maximize the…

Evaluation of Educational Personnel Development Projects in Indian Education. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wechsler, Marjorie E.; And Others

The Educational Personnel Development (EPD) program provides training for educational personnel to serve American Indian and Alaska Native students. From FY 1987 to FY 1991, EPD grants averaging $2.25 million per year were awarded to 21 institutions, which provided academic counseling, direct financial assistance, and supplemental training to a…

Validation of the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) in a sample of women with high-risk pregnancies in France.

PubMed

Adouard, F; Glangeaud-Freudenthal, N M C; Golse, B

2005-06-01

This research is intended to validate the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in a high-risk pregnant population. Sixty women attending antenatal consultations for pregnancy complication in a major Parisian maternity facility were included. They completed the EPDS and were then interviewed according to a standardised psychiatric interview. The study of its sensitivity, specificity and predictive values, with a DSM-IV diagnosis of major depression as the reference, found that 11.5 was the optimal cut-off score (Se 0.80; Sp 0.80). Its validity as an index of severity of depression was also good as well as internal consistency and reliability. Factor analysis showed that its internal structure is composed of two subscales (F2 "depression" and F1 with items reflecting depression and other disorders, including anxiety). The French version of the EPDS would be a valid instrument to identify pregnant women who are likely to have clinical major depression. The results may have to be confirmed on a community sample before clinical use.

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Assessment of the electrical power distribution and control subsystem, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmeckpeper, K. R.

1988-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA first completed an analysis of the Electrical Power Distribution and Control (EPD and C) hardware, generating draft failure modes and potential critical items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. The IOA results were then compared to the NASA FMEA/CIL baseline with proposed Post 51-L updates included. A resolution of each discrepancy from the comparison is provided through additional analysis as required. This report documents the results of that comparison for the Orbiter EPD and C hardware. The IOA product for the EPD and C analysis consisted of 1671 failure mode analysis worksheets that resulted in 468 potential critical items being identified. Comparison was made to the proposed NASA Post 51-L baseline which consisted of FMEAs and 158 CIL items. Volume 1 contains the EPD and C subsystem description, analysis results, ground rules and assumptions, and some of the IOA worksheets.

Association of birth of girls with postnatal depression and exclusive breastfeeding: an observational study

PubMed Central

Jain, Akanksha; Tyagi, Prashant; Kaur, Prabhjeet; Puliyel, Jacob; Sreenivas, Vishnu

2014-01-01

Objectives and hypothesis To examine the influence of gender of the baby on exclusive breastfeeding and incidence of postnatal depression (PND). We hypothesise that in a society with a male gender bias there may be more PND and less exclusive breastfeeding of the girl child. Design Prospective study. Setting The study was conducted in an urban, tertiary hospital in Delhi. Participants Mothers delivering normally with their babies roomed-in.1537 eligible women participated in the study. Primary and secondary outcome measures Exclusive breastfeeding within the first 48 h of life and score on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) were recorded. Results 3466 babies were born in the hospital. There were 792 girls for every 1000 boys. Among primiparous women, the sex ratio was 901 girls per 1000 boys. For second babies, the sex ratio was 737:1000. If the first child was a girl the birth ratio fell to 632. 1026 mothers were exclusively breastfeeding. Exclusive breastfeeding of boys was significantly higher (70.8% vs 61.5%, p<0.001). The EPDS score was significantly higher with the birth of girls (EPDS 6.0±3.39 vs 5.4±2.87, p<0.01). Women with an EPDS score >11 were less likely to exclusively breastfeed (p<0.01). Conclusions The results point to a pro-male gender bias evidenced by a low sex ratio at birth, higher EPDS score in mothers of girls and less breastfeeding of female children. PMID:24913326

PRogram In Support of Moms (PRISM): a pilot group randomized controlled trial of two approaches to improving depression among perinatal women.

PubMed

Byatt, Nancy; Moore Simas, Tiffany A; Biebel, Kathleen; Sankaran, Padma; Pbert, Lori; Weinreb, Linda; Ziedonis, Douglas; Allison, Jeroan

2017-10-10

This pilot study was designed to inform a larger effectiveness trial by: (1) assessing the feasibility of the PRogram In Support of Moms (PRISM) and our study procedures; and, (2) determining the extent to which PRISM as compared to an active comparison group, the Massachusetts Child Access Psychiatry Program (MCPAP) for Moms alone, improves depression among perinatal women. Four practices were randomized to either PRISM or MCPAP for Moms alone, a state-wide telephonic perinatal psychiatry program. PRISM includes MCPAP for Moms plus implementation assistance with local champions, training, and implementation of office prompts and procedures to enhance depression screening, assessment and treatment. Patients with Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scales (EPDS) ≥ 10 were recruited during pregnancy, and completed the EPDS and a structured interview at baseline and 3-12 weeks' postpartum. Among MCPAP for Moms alone practices, patients' (n = 9) EPDS scores improved from 15.22 to 10.11 (p = 0.010), whereas in PRISM practices patients' (n = 21) EPDS scores improved from 13.57 to 6.19 (p = 0.001); the between groups difference-of-differences was 2.27 (p = 0.341). PRISM was beneficial for patients, clinicians, and support staff. Both PRISM and MCPAP for Moms alone improve depression symptom severity and the percentage of women with an EPDS >10. The improvement difference between groups was not statistically significant due to limited power associated with small sample size.

Inconsolable infant crying and maternal postpartum depressive symptoms.

PubMed

Radesky, Jenny S; Zuckerman, Barry; Silverstein, Michael; Rivara, Frederick P; Barr, Marilyn; Taylor, James A; Lengua, Liliana J; Barr, Ronald G

2013-06-01

To quantify the extent to which maternal report of inconsolable infant crying, rather than colic (defined by Wessel's criteria of daily duration of fussing and crying >3 hours), is associated with maternal postpartum depressive symptoms. Participants were 587 mothers who were recruited shortly before or after delivery and followed longitudinally. At 5 to 6 weeks postpartum, mothers recorded the duration and mode (fussing, crying, or inconsolable crying) of their infant's distress by using the Baby's Day Diary. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was administered at enrollment and at 8 weeks postpartum. Using regression models that included baseline EPDS scores and multiple confounders, we examined associations of colic and inconsolable crying with later maternal EPDS scores at 8 weeks postpartum. Sixty mothers (10%) met the EPDS threshold for "possible depression" (score ≥9) at 8 weeks postpartum. For mothers reporting >20 minutes of inconsolable crying per day, the adjusted odds ratio for an EPDS score ≥9 was 4.0 (95% confidence interval: 2.0-8.1), whereas the adjusted odds ratio for possible depression in mothers whose infants had colic was 2.0 (95% confidence interval: 1.1-3.7). These associations persisted after adjusting for baseline depression symptoms. Maternal report of inconsolable infant crying may have a stronger association with postpartum depressive symptoms than infant colic. Asking a mother about her ability to soothe her infant may be more relevant for potential intervention than questions about crying and fussing duration alone.

One year follow-up of post-partum-onset depression: the role of depressive symptom severity and personality disorders.

PubMed

Uguz, Faruk; Akman, Cemal; Sahingoz, Mine; Kaya, Nazmiye; Kucur, Rahim

2009-06-01

Long-term follow-up and risk factors of persistent post-partum depression (PPD) are fairly unknown compared with its prevalence in the developing countries. In this study, we did a follow-up measure of PPD and examined the factors, which were associated with PPD 1-year post-partum. Our sample comprised of 34 women. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Edinburgh post-natal depression scale (EPDS) 6 weeks post-partum, and women with scores >12 on this scale was categorised as depressed. Personality disorders were determined at the same occasion by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R personality disorders (SCID-II). One year post-partum EPDS was completed. The rate of PPD 1-year post-partum was 32.4%, and it was unrelated to age at assessment, primiparity, number of children, employment status, economical status and educational level. Women depressed 1-year post-partum had significantly higher basal scores of EPDS and more often also a diagnosis of any axis II disorder; and specifically dependent and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders. In our sample, the predictors of 1-year post-partum PPD were having higher basal score of EPDS and the existence of a personality disorder. This study suggests that women with PPD, scoring high in the EPDS scale 6 weeks post-partum and having a personality disorder, run a higher risk for depression at 1-year follow-up.

Validation of screening tools for antenatal depression in Malawi--a comparison of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Self Reporting Questionnaire.

PubMed

Stewart, Robert C; Umar, Eric; Tomenson, Barbara; Creed, Francis

2013-09-25

The detection of antenatal depression in resource-limited settings such as Malawi, Africa, is important and requires an accurate and practical screening tool. It is not known which questionnaire would be most suitable for this purpose. A rigorously translated and modified Chichewa version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was developed. The Chichewa EPDS and an existing Chichewa version of the Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) were validated in women attending an antenatal clinic in rural Malawi, using DSM-IV major and major-or-minor depressive episode as the gold standard diagnoses, determined with Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). Weighted test characteristics for each possible cut-off were calculated and Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves derived. The participants were 224 pregnant women, 92 of whom were interviewed using the SCID. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for detection of current major depressive disorder for the EPDS was 0.811 (95% CI 0.734-0.889) and for the SRQ was 0.833 (95% CI 0.770-0.897). AUC for major-or-minor depressive disorder for the EPDS was 0.767 (95% CI 0.695-0.839) and for the SRQ was 0.883 (95% CI 0.839-0.927). These were not significant differences. Internal consistency was high for both the SRQ (Cronbach's alpha 0.825) and the EPDS (Cronbach's alpha 0.904). Inter-rater reliability testing was not done. The relatively small sample size resulted in wide confidence intervals around AUCs. The study was conducted amongst antenatal clinic attenders only, limiting generalisability to all pregnant women in this setting. The Chichewa versions of the EPDS and SRQ both show utility as brief screening measures for detection of antenatal depression in rural Malawi. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Depressive and anxiety disorders in the postpartum period: how prevalent are they and can we improve their detection?

PubMed

Austin, Marie-Paule V; Hadzi-Pavlovic, Dusan; Priest, Susan R; Reilly, Nicole; Wilhelm, Kay; Saint, Karen; Parker, Gordon

2010-10-01

The objectives of this study were: (1) to examine Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) period prevalence and comorbidity for depression and anxiety disorder in a cohort of women assessed during the first 6-8 months postpartum and (2) to examine the benefits of combining the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) with a simple "interval symptom" question to optimize screening postpartum. Women aged over 18 (N = 1,549) were assessed during late pregnancy and reviewed at approximately 2, 4, and 6-8 months postpartum using the EPDS and an "interval symptom" question. The latter asked about any depressive symptoms in the interval since the last EPDS. Women who scored >12 on the EPDS and/or positive on the "interval symptom" question were then administered the CIDI. A further 65 randomly selected women that screened negative were also administered the CIDI. Loss to postnatal follow-up was very significant, and returns rates were inconsistent across the three postnatal time points. Almost 25% of those who screened positive did not complete a CIDI. For screen-positive status, a total of 314 (24.4%) of those that returned questionnaires (N = 1,289) screened positive at least once across the 6- to 8-month interval. Of these, 79 were lost to follow-up; thus, 235 (74.8%) completed a CIDI. In this group, 34.7% had been positive both on the EPDS and the "interval" question, 15.9% on the EPDS alone, and 49.4% on the "interval" question alone. For the CIDI diagnosis and estimated 6- to 8-month period CIDI prevalence, among those 235 women who screened positive and completed a CIDI, 67.2% met the criteria for a CIDI diagnosis, as did 16.9% of those who screened negative. The breakdown in CIDI diagnoses in the 235 women was 32.8% major depression (± anxiety disorder); 26.4% minor depression alone; and 8.1% with a primary anxiety disorder (approximately half with minor depression). Put another way, 20.4% of these women had an anxiety disorder (approximately two thirds with comorbid depression) and 37.7% of women with a major depressive episode (MDE) had a comorbid anxiety disorder. The estimated 6- to 8-month prevalence rate for a CIDI diagnosis of anxiety or depression (major or minor) was 29.2% (95% CI 26.7%-31.7%). The use of the "interval symptom" question alone was 1.7 times more likely to identify positive CIDI cases than the EPDS alone. Almost 40% of postnatal women with a diagnosis of MDE have a comorbid diagnosis of anxiety disorder. The estimated 6- to 8-month period prevalence for CIDI cases of anxiety and depression was 29.2%. Screening for anxiety and depression using the EPDS alone was associated with a lesser capacity to identify CIDI caseness than a simple "interval symptom" question (for the 2 months prior) which almost doubled the yield. This paper demonstrates that combining the EPDS with the "interval symptom" question improves detection of CIDI caseness.

The effects of clinical aromatherapy for anxiety and depression in the high risk postpartum woman - a pilot study.

PubMed

Conrad, Pam; Adams, Cindy

2012-08-01

The aim of this study was to determine if aromatherapy improves anxiety and/or depression in the high risk postpartum woman and to provide a complementary therapy tool for healthcare practitioners. The pilot study was observational with repeated measures. Private consultation room in a Women's center of a large Indianapolis hospital. 28 women, 0-18 months postpartum. The treatment groups were randomized to either the inhalation group or the aromatherapy hand m'technique. Treatment consisted of 15 min sessions, twice a week for four consecutive weeks. An essential oil blend of rose otto and lavandula angustifolia @ 2% dilution was used in all treatments. The non-randomized control group, comprised of volunteers, was instructed to avoid aromatherapy use during the 4 week study period. Allopathic medical treatment continued for all participants. All subjects completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) at the beginning of the study. The scales were then repeated at the midway point (two weeks), and at the end of all treatments (four weeks). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was utilized to determine differences in EPDS and/or GAD-7 scores between the aromatherapy and control groups at baseline, midpoint and end of study. No significant differences were found between aromatherapy and control groups at baseline. The midpoint and final scores indicated that aromatherapy had significant improvements greater than the control group on both EPDS and GAD-7 scores. There were no adverse effects reported. The pilot study indicates positive findings with minimal risk for the use of aromatherapy as a complementary therapy in both anxiety and depression scales with the postpartum woman. Future large scale research in aromatherapy with this population is recommended. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application of gas chromatography to analysis of spirit-based alcoholic beverages.

PubMed

Wiśniewska, Paulina; Śliwińska, Magdalena; Dymerski, Tomasz; Wardencki, Waldemar; Namieśnik, Jacek

2015-01-01

Spirit-based beverages are alcoholic drinks; their production processes are dependent on the type and origin of raw materials. The composition of this complex matrix is difficult to analyze, and scientists commonly choose gas chromatography techniques for this reason. With a wide selection of extraction methods and detectors it is possible to provide qualitative and quantitative analysis for many chemical compounds with various functional groups. This article describes different types of gas chromatography techniques and their most commonly used associated extraction techniques (e.g., LLE, SPME, SPE, SFE, and SBME) and detectors (MS, TOFMS, FID, ECD, NPD, AED, O or EPD). Additionally, brief characteristics of internationally popular spirit-based beverages and application of gas chromatography to the analysis of selected alcoholic drinks are presented.

EPD--environmental product declarations for wood products : an application of life cycle information about forest products

Treesearch

Richard Bergman; Adam Taylor

2011-01-01

Transparent and credible environmental labeling of products is vital for a sustainable future. Ecolabeling shows information on the environmental performance of products, processes, and services. This article focuses on one type of ecolabeling referred to as environmental product declarations (EPDs) that provide environmental impact information based on life cycle...

The Savannah River Site`s Groundwater Monitoring Program. Second quarter, 1991

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1992-01-10

The Environmental Protection Department/Environmental Monitoring Section (EPD/EMS) administers the Savannah River Site`s (SRS) Groundwater Monitoring Program. During second quarter 1991 EPD/EMS conducted extensive sampling of monitoring wells. EPD/EMS established two sets of flagging criteria in 1986 to assist in the management of sample results. The flagging criteria do not define contamination levels; instead, they aid personnel in sample scheduling, interpretation of data, and trend identification. Beginning in 1991, the flagging criteria are based on EPA drinking water standards and method detection limits. A detailed explanation of the current flagging criteria is presented in the Flagging Criteria section of this document.more » Analytical results from second quarter 1991 are listed in this report.« less

The Savannah River Site's Groundwater Monitoring Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1992-01-10

The Environmental Protection Department/Environmental Monitoring Section (EPD/EMS) administers the Savannah River Site's (SRS) Groundwater Monitoring Program. During second quarter 1991 EPD/EMS conducted extensive sampling of monitoring wells. EPD/EMS established two sets of flagging criteria in 1986 to assist in the management of sample results. The flagging criteria do not define contamination levels; instead, they aid personnel in sample scheduling, interpretation of data, and trend identification. Beginning in 1991, the flagging criteria are based on EPA drinking water standards and method detection limits. A detailed explanation of the current flagging criteria is presented in the Flagging Criteria section of this document.more » Analytical results from second quarter 1991 are listed in this report.« less

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Assessment of the EPD and C/remote manipulator system FMEA/CIL

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robinson, W. W.

1988-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA effort first completed an analysis of the Electrical Power Distribution and Control (EPD and C)/Remote Manipulator System (RMS) hardware, generating draft failure modes and potential critical items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. The IOA analysis of the EPD and C/RMS hardware initially generated 345 failure mode worksheets and identified 117 Potential Critical Items (PCIs) before starting the assessment process. These analysis results were compared to the proposed NASA Post 51-L baseline of 132 FMEAs and 66 CIL items.

The Savannah River Site's Groundwater Monitoring Program: Second quarter 1992

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rogers, C.D.

1992-10-07

The Environmental Protection Department/Environmental Monitoring Section (EPD/EMS) administers the Savannah River Site's (SRS) Groundwater Monitoring Program. During second quarter 1992, EPD/EMS conducted extensive sampling of monitoring wells. EPD/EMS established two sets of criteria to assist in the management of sample results. The flagging criteria do not define contamination levels; instead, they aid personnel in sample scheduling, interpretation of data, and trend identification. Since 1991, the flagging criteria have been based on the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water standards and on method detection limits. A detailed explanation of the current flagging criteria is presented in the Flagging Criteria sectionmore » of this document. Analytical results from second quarter 1992 are listed in this report.« less

The “Puck” energetic charged particle detector: Design, heritage, and advancements

PubMed Central

Cohen, I.; Westlake, J. H.; Andrews, G. B.; Brandt, P.; Gold, R. E.; Gkioulidou, M. A.; Hacala, R.; Haggerty, D.; Hill, M. E.; Ho, G. C.; Jaskulek, S. E.; Kollmann, P.; Mauk, B. H.; McNutt, R. L.; Mitchell, D. G.; Nelson, K. S.; Paranicas, C.; Paschalidis, N.; Schlemm, C. E.

2016-01-01

Abstract Energetic charged particle detectors characterize a portion of the plasma distribution function that plays critical roles in some physical processes, from carrying the currents in planetary ring currents to weathering the surfaces of planetary objects. For several low‐resource missions in the past, the need was recognized for a low‐resource but highly capable, mass‐species‐discriminating energetic particle sensor that could also obtain angular distributions without motors or mechanical articulation. This need led to the development of a compact Energetic Particle Detector (EPD), known as the “Puck” EPD (short for hockey puck), that is capable of determining the flux, angular distribution, and composition of incident ions between an energy range of ~10 keV to several MeV. This sensor makes simultaneous angular measurements of electron fluxes from the tens of keV to about 1 MeV. The same measurements can be extended down to approximately 1 keV/nucleon, with some composition ambiguity. These sensors have a proven flight heritage record that includes missions such as MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging and New Horizons, with multiple sensors on each of Juno, Van Allen Probes, and Magnetospheric Multiscale. In this review paper we discuss the Puck EPD design, its heritage, unexpected results from these past missions and future advancements. We also discuss high‐voltage anomalies that are thought to be associated with the use of curved foils, which is a new foil manufacturing processes utilized on recent Puck EPD designs. Finally, we discuss the important role Puck EPDs can potentially play in upcoming missions. PMID:27867799

The "Puck" energetic charged particle detector: Design, heritage, and advancements.

PubMed

Clark, G; Cohen, I; Westlake, J H; Andrews, G B; Brandt, P; Gold, R E; Gkioulidou, M A; Hacala, R; Haggerty, D; Hill, M E; Ho, G C; Jaskulek, S E; Kollmann, P; Mauk, B H; McNutt, R L; Mitchell, D G; Nelson, K S; Paranicas, C; Paschalidis, N; Schlemm, C E

2016-08-01

Energetic charged particle detectors characterize a portion of the plasma distribution function that plays critical roles in some physical processes, from carrying the currents in planetary ring currents to weathering the surfaces of planetary objects. For several low-resource missions in the past, the need was recognized for a low-resource but highly capable, mass-species-discriminating energetic particle sensor that could also obtain angular distributions without motors or mechanical articulation. This need led to the development of a compact Energetic Particle Detector (EPD), known as the "Puck" EPD (short for hockey puck), that is capable of determining the flux, angular distribution, and composition of incident ions between an energy range of ~10 keV to several MeV. This sensor makes simultaneous angular measurements of electron fluxes from the tens of keV to about 1 MeV. The same measurements can be extended down to approximately 1 keV/nucleon, with some composition ambiguity. These sensors have a proven flight heritage record that includes missions such as MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging and New Horizons, with multiple sensors on each of Juno, Van Allen Probes, and Magnetospheric Multiscale. In this review paper we discuss the Puck EPD design, its heritage, unexpected results from these past missions and future advancements. We also discuss high-voltage anomalies that are thought to be associated with the use of curved foils, which is a new foil manufacturing processes utilized on recent Puck EPD designs. Finally, we discuss the important role Puck EPDs can potentially play in upcoming missions.

The "Puck" Energetic Charged Particle Detector: Design, Heritage, and Advancements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, G.; Cohen, I.; Westlake, J. H.; Andrews, G. B.; Brandt, P.; Gold, R. E.; Gkioulidou, M. A.; Hacala, R.; Haggerty, D.; Hill, M. E.;

Prepartum and Postpartum Maternal Depressive Symptoms Are Related to Children's Brain Structure in Preschool.

PubMed

Lebel, Catherine; Walton, Matthew; Letourneau, Nicole; Giesbrecht, Gerald F; Kaplan, Bonnie J; Dewey, Deborah

2016-12-01

Perinatal maternal depression is a serious health concern with potential lasting negative consequences for children. Prenatal depression is associated with altered brain gray matter in children, though relations between postpartum depression and children's brains and the role of white matter are unclear. We studied 52 women who provided Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores during each trimester of pregnancy and at 3 months postpartum and their children who underwent magnetic resonance imaging at age 2.6 to 5.1 years. Associations between maternal depressive symptoms and magnetic resonance imaging measures of cortical thickness and white matter structure in the children were investigated. Women's second trimester EPDS scores negatively correlated with children's cortical thickness in right inferior frontal and middle temporal regions and with radial and mean diffusivity in white matter emanating from the inferior frontal area. Cortical thickness, but not diffusivity, correlations survived correction for postpartum EPDS. Postpartum EPDS scores negatively correlated with children's right superior frontal cortical thickness and with diffusivity in white matter originating from that region, even after correcting for prenatal EPDS. Higher maternal depressive symptoms prenatally and postpartum are associated with altered gray matter structure in children; the observed white matter correlations appear to be uniquely related to the postpartum period. The reduced thickness and diffusivity suggest premature brain development in children exposed to higher maternal perinatal depressive symptoms. These results highlight the importance of ensuring optimal women's mental health throughout the perinatal period, because maternal depressive symptoms appear to increase children's vulnerability to nonoptimal brain development. Copyright © 2016 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Continuity, Support, Togetherness and Trust: Findings from an Evaluation of a University-Administered Early Professional Development Programme for Teachers in England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McIntyre, Joanna; Hobson, Andrew J.; Mitchell, Nick

2009-01-01

This article discusses the evaluation of a unique university-based early professional development (EPD) programme in England that enabled newly and recently qualified teachers to have continued contact with their initial teacher preparation provider. The programme was designed to enhance the induction, EPD and retention of beginning teachers of…

Very High Quality Crystals of Wide-Gap II-VI Semiconductors: What for?

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-01-01

the reciprocal space mapping , by the etch pit density (EPD) measurements (to determine the density of dislocations) and by the measurement of the width...crystals. The EPD was in the range 5 x 1 + 104 cmn2 for Cdl.,ZnxTe crystals and about 104 cmz for ZnTe. The reciprocal space mapping of the crystals

Relationship between anemia and depressive mood in the last trimester of pregnancy.

PubMed

Yılmaz, Elif; Yılmaz, Zehra; Çakmak, Bülent; Gültekin, İsmail Burak; Çekmez, Yasemin; Mahmutoğlu, Selma; Küçüközkan, Tuncay

2017-04-01

To compare the relationship between the severity of anemia and depressive mood in the last trimester of pregnancy. A cross-sectional study, enrolled a total of 450 pregnant women who attended the antenatal clinics in their third trimester for their routine antenatal follow-up. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. The study group was divided into two groups according to presence of anemia; anemic group (Hb < 11 gr/L; n = 150) and non-anemic group (Hb ≥ 11 gr/L; n = 300) and depression scores were compared. One hundred and fourteen (25.3%) women scored ≥13 points which were considered the cutoff value for depression on the EPDS. Anemia frequency was found as 33.3%. The total EPDS score was significantly higher in the anemic group (EPDS score 11 [min-max 0-29]) compared with the non-anemic group (EPDS score 7 [min-max 0-21]) (p = 0.000). Multiple regression analysis also revealed that serum Hb level was an independent factor for antenatal depressive mood. As anemia is associated with higher depressive symptom levels, it should be carefully considered during pregnancy. Prospective studies are needed to confirm our results.

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Analysis of the electrical power distribution and control/electrical power generation subsystem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patton, Jeff A.

1986-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA approach features a top-down analysis of the hardware to determine failure modes, criticality, and potential critical items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. This report documents the independent analysis results corresponding to the Orbiter Electrical Power Distribution and Control (EPD and C)/Electrical Power Generation (EPG) hardware. The EPD and C/EPG hardware is required for performing critical functions of cryogenic reactant storage, electrical power generation and product water distribution in the Orbiter. Specifically, the EPD and C/EPG hardware consists of the following components: Power Section Assembly (PSA); Reactant Control Subsystem (RCS); Thermal Control Subsystem (TCS); Water Removal Subsystem (WRS); and Power Reactant Storage and Distribution System (PRSDS). The IOA analysis process utilized available EPD and C/EPG hardware drawings and schematics for defining hardware assemblies, components, and hardware items. Each level of hardware was evaluated and analyzed for possible failure modes and effects. Criticality was assigned based upon the severity of the effect for each failure mode.

Electric Field-Assisted Orientation of Short Phosphate Glass Fibers on Stainless Steel for Biomedical Applications.

PubMed

Chen, Qiang; Jing, Jiajia; Qi, Hongfei; Ahmed, Ifty; Yang, Haiou; Liu, Xianhu; Lu, T L; Boccaccini, Aldo R

2018-04-11

Structural and compositional modifications of metallic implant surfaces are being actively investigated to achieve improved bone-to-implant bonding. In this study, a strategy to modify bulk metallic surfaces by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of short phosphate glass fibers (sPGF) is presented. Random and aligned orientation of sPGF embedded in a poly(acrylic acid) matrix is achieved by vertical and horizontal EPD, respectively. The influence of EPD parameters on the degree of alignment is investigated to pave the way for the fabrication of highly aligned sPGF structures in large areas. Importantly, the oriented sPGF structure in the coating, owing to the synergistic effects of bioactive composition and fiber orientation, plays an important role in directional cell migration and enhanced proliferation. Moreover, gene expression of MC3T3-E1 cells cultured with different concentrations of sPGF is thoroughly assessed to elucidate the potential stimulating effect of sPGF on osteogenic differentiation. This study represents an innovative exploitation of EPD to develop textured surfaces by orientation of fibers in the macroscale, which shows great potential for directional functionalization of metallic implants.

Detection of Solar Energetic Electron, Proton and Heavy Ions by EPT-HET of Solar Orbiter: Calibration Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kulkarni, S. R.; Boden, S.; Elftmann, R.; Tammen, J.; Martin-Garcia, C.; Boettcher, S. I.; Seimetz, L.; Ravanbakhsh, A.; Mahesh, Y.; Schuster, B.; Wimmer-Schweingruber, R. F.; Rodriguez-Pacheco, J.

2017-12-01

The Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) suite for ESA's Solar Orbiter will provide key measurements to address particle acceleration at and near the Sun. The EPD suite consists of four sensors (STEP, SIS, EPT, and HET). The Electron Proton Telescope (EPT) is designed to cleanly separate and measure electrons in the energy range from 20 - 400 keV and protons from 20 - 7000 keV. The Solar Orbiter EPT electron measurements from 20 - 400 keV will cover the gap with some overlap between suprathermal electrons measured by STEP and high energy electrons measured by HET. The proton measurements from 20 -7000 keV will partially cover the gap between STEP and HET. The Electron and Proton Telescope relies on the magnet/foil-technique. The High-Energy Telescope (HET) will measure electrons from 300 keV up to about 30 MeV, protons from 10 -100 MeV, and heavy ions from 20 to 200 MeV/nuc by dE/dx -Total E technique. Thus, HET covers the energy range which is of specific interest for studies of the space environment and will perform the measurements needed to understand the origin of high-energy events at the Sun which occasionally accelerate particles to such high energies that they can penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and be measured at ground level. Here we present calibration results of EPT-HET which show that EPT-HET will function as planned.

Electrophoretic deposition of porous CaO-MgO-SiO2 glass-ceramic coatings with B2O3 as additive on Ti-6Al-4V alloy.

PubMed

Zhang, Wei; Chen, Xianchun; Liao, Xiaoming; Huang, Zhongbing; Dan, Xiuli; Yin, Guangfu

2011-10-01

The sub-micron glass-ceramic powders in CaO-MgO-SiO(2) system with 10 wt% B(2)O(3) additive were synthesized by sol-gel process. Then bioactive porous CaO-MgO-SiO(2) glass-ceramic coatings on Ti-6Al-4V alloy substrates were fabricated using electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique. After being calcined at 850°C, the above coatings with thickness of 10-150 μm were uniform and crack-free, possessing porous structure with sub-micron and micron size connected pores. Ethanol was employed as the most suitable solvent to prepare the suspension for EPD. The coating porous appearance and porosity distribution could be controlled by adjusting the suspension concentration, applied voltage and deposition time. The heat-treated coatings possessed high crystalline and was mainly composed of diopside, akermanite, merwinite, calcium silicate and calcium borate silicate. Bonelike apatite was formed on the coatings after 7 days of soaking in simulated body fluid (SBF). The bonding strength of the coatings was needed to be further improved.

Potent cytotoxic effects of Calomeria amaranthoides on ovarian cancers.

PubMed

van Haaften, Caroline; Duke, Colin C; Weerheim, Arij M; Smit, Nico Pm; van Haard, Paul Mm; Darroudi, Firouz; Trimbos, Baptist Jmz

2011-03-14

Ovarian cancer remains the leading cause of death from gynaecological malignancy. More than 60% of the patients are presenting the disease in stage III or IV. In spite of combination of chemotherapy and surgery the prognosis stays poor for therapy regimen. The leaves of a plant endemic to Australia, Calomeria amaranthoides, were extracted and then fractionated by column chromatography. In vitro cytotoxicity tests were performed with fractions of the plant extract and later with an isolated compound on ovarian cancer cell lines, as well as normal fibroblasts at concentrations of 1-100 μg/mL (crude extract) and 1-10 μg/mL (compound). Cytotoxicity was measured after 24, 48 and 72 hours by using a non-fluorescent substrate, Alamar blue.In vivo cytotoxicity was tested on ascites, developed in the abdomen of nude mice after inoculation with human OVCAR3 cells intraperitoneally. The rate of change in abdomen size for the mice was determined by linear regression and statistically evaluated for significance by the unpaired t test. Two compounds were isolated by chromatographic fractionation and identified by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and mass spectrometry analyses, EPD, an α-methylene sesquiterpene lactone of the eremophilanolide subtype, and EPA, an α-methylene carboxylic acid.Cytotoxicity of EPD for normal fibroblasts at all time points IC50 was greater than 10 μg/mL, whereas, for OVCAR3 cells at 48 hours IC50 was 5.3 μg/mL (95% confidence interval 4.3 to 6.5 μg/mL).Both, the crude plant extract as well as EPD killed the cancer cells at a final concentration of 10 μg/mL and 5 μg/mL respectively, while in normal cells only 20% cell killing effect was observed. EPA had no cytotoxic effects.Changes in abdomen size for control versus Cisplatin treated mice were significantly different, P = 0.023, as were control versus EPD treated mice, P = 0.025, whereas, EPD versus Cisplatin treated mice were not significantly different, P = 0.13. For the first time both crude plant extract from Calomeria amaranthoides and EPD have been shown to have potent anti-cancer effects against ovarian cancer.

Ubiquitous Nature of Distal Athero/Thromboembolic Events during Lower Extremity Atherectomy Procedures Involving the Superficial Femoral Artery

PubMed Central

Wasty, Najam; Khakwani, M. Z.; Kotev, Spas; Boiangiu, Catalin; Hasan, Omar; Anna, Manjusha; Tayal, Rajiv; Kaid, Khalil; Baker, Gail; Cohen, Marc

2016-01-01

This study aims to evaluate occurrence, size, composition, and clinical significance of embolized debris during superficial femoral artery atherectomy using all commercially available atherectomy devices. Distal athero/thromboembolic events (DATE) are a universal phenomenon in lower extremity atherectomy procedures (LEAPs) due to the sheer volume of atheroma and the thrombus burden in peripheral arterial disease. Some of these events can be clinically significant. We prospectively gathered clinical and histopathological data on all commercially available atherectomy devices by using embolic protection devices (EPD) in every case. After intervention, the contents of EPD were examined both microscopically and macroscopically. Data from 59 consecutive patients undergoing LEAP were analyzed. DATE occurred 100% of the time. The composition of particulate debris varied with the device used. Grossly visible agglomerated debris was captured by the filter in the majority of patients 54/59 (91.5%). Clinically significant debris, defined by the Preventing Lower Extremity Distal Embolization Using Embolic Filter Protection registry as particle diameter > 0.2 cm, was found in 33/59 (56%) patients. The size of captured debris particles ranged from 0.1 to 2.4 mm. While DATE occurred in all patients, clinically significant DATE occurred in 56% patients undergoing LEAP regardless of the atherectomy device. In spite of a large fraction of the clinically significant debris occurring on our routine dual antiplatelet regimen, no patient suffered an amputation. Although DATE was prevented by the use of EPD in all 59 cases, more data are needed to determine whether the use of EPD translates into a long-term clinical benefit. Use of EPD and optimal thromboprophylaxis should be considered in patients, especially in the setting of compromised distal runoff. PMID:27867291

Correlation of Infant Gender with Postpartum Maternal and Paternal Depression and Exclusive Breastfeeding Rates.

PubMed

Goyal, Kanika; Purbiya, Pragati; Lal, Sandeep N; Kaur, Jaspreet; Anthwal, Pooja; Puliyel, Jacob M

2017-06-01

Male bias in India has resulted in an altered sex ratio. It also results in maternal postpartum depression (PPD) and lower breastfeeding rates. We studied depression among fathers in this context. Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) questionnaire was administered to 479 parents separately. Breastfeeding on day 7 was determined. Depression was significantly higher in fathers of girls. Mean EPDS score was 5.86 ± 4.98 versus 2.5 ± 2.64 (p < 0.001). Concordance between parents was significant (r = 0.95, p < 0.001). Boys were more likely to be exclusively breastfed (64.46% versus 35.54%, p < 0.001). In second-order births, if the first born was a girl and second baby was again a girl, 23% were exclusively breastfed compared with 86% if it was boy after a girl (p < 0.001). Among parents who had EPDS scores ≥11, no babies were exclusively breastfed. Among the 25 babies who received no breast milk, 21 were girls and 4 were boys (p < 0.042). The multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that birth of girls (OR 0.269, 95% CI 0.076-0.953), high EPDS score in mothers (OR = 0.080, 95% CI 0.026-0.249), and high EPDS score in fathers (OR = 0.096, 95% CI 0.031-0.299) were associated with lower breastfeeding rates. Paternal depression correlates closely with maternal PPD and low exclusive breastfeeding of girls. Breastfeeding has implications for survival of girls. Efforts are needed to support the parents of girl children with PPD and such support must extend to fathers to improve survival.

Comparison of Flow Impairment during Carotid Artery Stenting Using Two Types of Eccentric Filter Embolic Protection Devices.

PubMed

Nii, Kouhei; Tsutsumi, Masanori; Maeda, Hitoshi; Aikawa, Hiroshi; Inoue, Ritsuro; Eto, Ayumu; Sakamoto, Kimiya; Mitsutake, Takafumi; Hanada, Hayatsura; Kazekawa, Kiyoshi

2016-12-15

We investigated the angiographic findings and the clinical outcomes after carotid artery stenting (CAS) using two different, eccentric filter embolic protection devices (EPDs). Between July 2010 and August 2015, 175 CAS procedures were performed using a self-expandable closed-cell stent and a simple eccentric filter EPD (FilterWire EZ in 86 and Spider FX in 89 procedures). The angiographic findings (i.e., flow impairment and vasospasm) at the level of EPDs, neurologic events, and post-operative imaging results were compared between the FilterWire EZ and the Spider FX groups. The CAS was angiographically successful in all 175 procedures. However, the angiographs were obtained immediately after CAS-detected flow impairment in the distal internal carotid artery (ICA) in 11 (6.3%) and ICA spasms at the level of the EPD in 40 cases (22.9%). The incidence of these complications was higher with FilterWire EZ than Spider FX (ICA flow impairment of 10.5% vs. 2.2%, P = 0.03; vasospasm 30.2% vs. 15.7%, P = 0.03). There were nine neurologic events (5.1%); five patients were presented with transient ischemic attacks, three had minor strokes, and one had a major stroke. New MRI lesions were seen in 25 (29.1%) FilterWire-group and in 36 (40.4%) Spider-group patients. The neurologic events and new MRI lesions were not associated with the type of EPD used. Although the ICA flow impairment may result in neurologic events, there was no significant association between the FilterWire EZ and the Spider FX CAS with respect to the incidence of neurologic events by the prompt treatment such as catheter aspiration.

A pragmatic randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a facilitated exercise intervention as a treatment for postnatal depression: the PAM-PeRS trial.

PubMed

Daley, A J; Blamey, R V; Jolly, K; Roalfe, A K; Turner, K M; Coleman, S; McGuinness, M; Jones, I; Sharp, D J; MacArthur, C

2015-08-01

Postnatal depression affects about 10-15% of women in the year after giving birth. Many women and healthcare professionals would like an effective and accessible non-pharmacological treatment for postnatal depression. Women who fulfilled the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 criteria for major depression in the first 6 months postnatally were randomized to receive usual care plus a facilitated exercise intervention or usual care only. The intervention involved two face-to-face consultations and two telephone support calls with a physical activity facilitator over 6 months to support participants to engage in regular exercise. The primary outcome was symptoms of depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 6 months post-randomization. Secondary outcomes included EPDS score as a binary variable (recovered and improved) at 6 and 12 months post-randomization. A total of 146 women were potentially eligible and 94 were randomized. Of these, 34% reported thoughts of self-harming at baseline. After adjusting for baseline EPDS, analyses revealed a -2.04 mean difference in EPDS score, favouring the exercise group [95% confidence interval (CI) -4.11 to 0.03, p = 0.05]. When also adjusting for pre-specified demographic variables the effect was larger and statistically significant (mean difference = -2.26, 95% CI -4.36 to -0.16, p = 0.03). Based on EPDS score a larger proportion of the intervention group was recovered (46.5% v. 23.8%, p = 0.03) compared with usual care at 6 months follow-up. This trial shows that an exercise intervention that involved encouragement to exercise and to seek out social support to exercise may be an effective treatment for women with postnatal depression, including those with thoughts of self-harming.

Surface free energy of TiC layers deposited by electrophoretic deposition (EPD)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorji, Mohammad Reza; Sanjabi, Sohrab

2018-01-01

In this study porous structure coatings of bare TiC (i.e. 20 nm, 0.7 µm and 5/45 µm) and core-shell structures of TiC/NiP synthesized through electroless plating were deposited by EPD. Room temperature surface free energy (i.e. γs) of TiC and TiC/NiP coatings were determined via measuring contact angles of distilled water and diiodemethane liquids. The effect of Ni-P shell on spreading behavior of pure copper on porous EPD structures was also investigated by high temperature wetting experiments. According to the results existence of a Ni-P layer around the TiC particles has led to roughness (i.e. at least 0.1 µm), and porosity mean length (i.e. at least 1 µm) increase. This might be related to various sizes of TiC agglomerates formed during electroless plating. It has been observed that room temperature γs changed from 44.49 to 54.12 mJ.m-2 as a consequence of particle size enlargement for TiC. The highest and lowest (67.25 and 44.49 mJ.m-2) γs were measured for TiC nanoparticles which showed 1.5 times increase in surface free energy after being plated with Ni-P. It was also observed that plating Ni-P altered non-spreading (θs > 100 o) behavior of TiC to full-spreading ((θs 0o)) which can be useful for preparation of hard coatings by infiltration sintering phenomenon. Zeta potential of EPD suspensions, morphology, phase structure and topography of as-EPD layers were investigated through Zetasizer, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) instruments respectively.

Comparative efficacy of the generalized anxiety disorder 7-item scale and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale as screening tools for generalized anxiety disorder in pregnancy and the postpartum period.

PubMed

Simpson, William; Glazer, Melanie; Michalski, Natalie; Steiner, Meir; Frey, Benicio N

2014-08-01

About 24.1% of pregnant women suffer from at least 1 anxiety disorder, 8.5% of whom suffer specifically from generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). GAD is often associated with major depressive disorder (MDD). During the perinatal period, the presence of physical and somatic symptoms often makes differentiation between depression and anxiety more challenging. To date, no screening tools have been developed to detect GAD in the perinatal population. We investigated the psychometric properties of the GAD 7-item Scale (GAD-7) as a screening tool for GAD in pregnant and postpartum women. Two hundred and forty perinatal women (n = 155 pregnant and n = 85 postpartum) referred for psychiatric consultation were enrolled. On the day of initial assessment, all women completed the GAD-7 and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition-based diagnoses were made by experienced psychiatrists. Scores from the GAD-7 and EPDS were compared with the clinical diagnoses to evaluate the psychometric properties of the GAD-7 and EPDS when used as a screening tool for GAD. The GAD-7 yielded a sensitivity of 61.3% and specificity of 72.7% at an optimal cut-off score of 13. Compared with the EPDS and the EPDS-3A subscale, the GAD-7 displayed greater accuracy and specificity over a greater range of cut-off scores and more accurately identified GAD in patients with comorbid MDD. Our findings suggest that the GAD-7 represents a clinically useful scale for the detection of GAD in perinatal women.

Screening mixed depression and bipolarity in the postpartum period at a primary health care center.

PubMed

Çelik, Sercan Bulut; Bucaktepe, Gamze Erten; Uludağ, Ayşegül; Bulut, İbrahim Umud; Erdem, Özgür; Altınbaş, Kürşat

2016-11-01

Mixed depression is a clinical condition accompanied by the symptoms of (hypo)mania and is considered to be a predictor for bipolar disorder. Compared to pure major depression, mixed depression is worse in progress. There are limited data on the prevalence of mixed depression since it is a relatively new entity. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of mixed depression during the postpartum period which is risky for mood disorders. The study included 63 postpartum women. The participants were administered Beck Depression Scale, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Mood Disorders Questionnaire (MDQ), and Modified Hypomania Symptom Checklist-32 (mHCL-32). The MDQ scores of the women with expected depression according to the EPDS cut-off scores, were significantly higher than the women with lower EPDS scores (t=-4.968; p<0.001). The modified hypomania scores were significantly higher in the women with higher depression scores compared to the women under EPDS cut-off scores (t=-4.713; p<0.001). According to the EPDS and BDS results, 27 (42.9%) and 14 (22.2%) women needed additional clinical examination for depression, respectively. In addition, 3 (4.8%) women require additional clinical examination for bipolar disorder. The scores for the first item of MDQ were above the cut-off value in 11 (17.5%) women. According to the mHCL-32 results, 50 (79.4%) women had at least 1 symptom, 45 (71.4%) women had at least 3 symptoms, and 43 (68.3%) women had at least 5 symptoms of mixed depression. Postpartum mixed depression should be promptly diagnosed by using appropriate diagnostic tools, particularly by primary health care physicians. Patients with mixed depression should be closely monitored to avoid manic switch. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Construction of the STAR Event Plane Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adams, Joseph

2017-09-01

The Event Plane Detector (EPD) is an upgrade to the STAR experiment at RHIC, providing high granularity and acceptance in the forward (2.2 < |eta| < 5.1) region. This will improve the resolution of the event plane determination and allow selection on the collision centrality at rapidities well-separated from the midrapidity region measured by the STAR Time Projection Chamber (TPC). The EPD consists of two scintillator discs, one at positive and one at negative rapidity, 3.75 m from the center of the TPC. Each disc is segmented into 372 optically isolated tiles, read out by wavelength shifting fibers coupled to silicon photomultipliers. One quarter of a single disc was installed in STAR for the 2017 run for commissioning. In this talk I will discuss the construction of the EPD, the installation of the quarter wheel, and plans for full installation in 2018.

Energy Production Demonstrator for Megawatt Proton Beams

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pronskikh, Vitaly S.; Mokhov, Nikolai V.; Novitski, Igor

2014-07-16

A preliminary study of the Energy Production Demonstrator (EPD) concept - a solid heavy metal target irradiated by GeV-range intense proton beams and producing more energy than consuming - is carried out. Neutron production, fission, energy deposition, energy gain, testing volume and helium production are simulated with the MARS15 code for tungsten, thorium, and natural uranium targets in the proton energy range 0.5 to 120 GeV. This study shows that the proton energy range of 2 to 4 GeV is optimal for both a natU EPD and the tungsten-based testing station that would be the most suitable for proton acceleratormore » facilities. Conservative estimates, not including breeding and fission of plutonium, based on the simulations suggest that the proton beam current of 1 mA will be sufficient to produce 1 GW of thermal output power with the natU EPD while supplying < 8% of that power to operate the accelerator. The thermal analysis shows that the concept considered has a problem due to a possible core meltdown; however, a number of approaches (a beam rastering, in first place) are suggested to mitigate the issue. The efficiency of the considered EPD as a Materials Test Station (MTS) is also evaluated in this study.« less

Measurements of occupational exposure for a technologist performing 18F FDG PET scans.

PubMed

Biran, Talma; Weininger, Jolie; Malchi, Shalom; Marciano, Rami; Chisin, Roland

2004-11-01

Radiation doses to one PET technologist performing 100 18F FDG (18F fluorodeoxyglucose) imaging procedures were measured in a clinical setting using two types of thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) badges, one finger-ring TLD and one electronic pocket dosimeter (EPD). 18F FDG was handled either with unshielded or with viewing window tungsten shielded syringes. The resulting doses using unshielded syringes were 13.8 +/- 0.8 microSv/370 MBq and 14.3 +/- 0.4 microSv/370 MBq, measured with TLD 100 and with TLD 700H/600H, respectively. For the same series of measurements, the doses obtained using shielded syringes were 10.7 +/- 0.4 microSv/370 MBq and 7.2 +/- 2.1 microSv/370 MBq with TLD700H/600H and with EPD, respectively. The dose to the right hand from shielded syringes was 69.3 +/- 5.5 microSv/370 MBq. All these values are within the ICRP recommended dose limits. Extrapolated to 725 examinations per year, the resulting effective dose measured with TLD would be 10 mSv with unshielded and 7.5 mSv with shielded syringes, respectively (25% dose reduction). The doses measured by TLD were consistently higher than those measured by EPD, suggesting that EPD measurements might underestimate occupational doses.

Subconstructs of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in a multi-ethnic inner-city population in the U.S.

PubMed

Chiu, Yueh-Hsiu Mathilda; Sheffield, Perry E; Hsu, Hsiao-Hsien Leon; Goldstein, Jonathan; Curtin, Paul C; Wright, Rosalind J

2017-12-01

The ten-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is one of the most widely used self-report measures of postpartum depression. Although originally described as a one-dimensional measure, the recognition that depressive symptoms may be differentially experienced across cultural and racial/ethnic groups has led to studies examining structural equivalence of the EPDS in different populations. Variation of the factor structure remains understudied across racial/ethnic groups of US women. We examined the factor structure of the EPDS assessed 6 months postpartum in 515 women (29% black, 53% Hispanic, 18% white) enrolled in an urban Boston longitudinal birth cohort. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) identified that a three-factor model, including depression, anxiety, and anhedonia subscales, was the most optimal fit in our sample as a whole and across race/ethnicity. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the fit of both the two- and three-factor models reported in prior research. CFA confirmed the best fit for a three-factor model, with minimal differences across race/ethnicity. "Things get on top of me" loaded on the anxiety factor among Hispanics, but loaded on the depression factor in whites and African Americans. These findings suggest that EPDS factor structure may need to be adjusted for diverse samples and warrants further study.

Maternal expectations and postpartum emotional adjustment in first-time mothers: results of a questionnaire survey.

PubMed

Henshaw, Erin J; Fried, Rachel; Teeters, Jenni Beth; Siskind, Emily E

2014-09-01

Several predictors of postpartum mood have been identified in the literature, but the role of maternal expectations in postpartum mental health remains unclear. The aim of this study was to identify whether maternal expectations during the postpartum hospital stay predict adjustment and depressive symptoms at 6 weeks postpartum. The sample included 233 first-time mothers recruited from the postpartum unit of a Midwestern hospital. Participants completed measures of maternal expectations and depressive symptoms (EPDS) at Time 1 (2 d postpartum) and completed EPDS and an Emotional Adjustment Scale (BaM-13) at Time 2 (6 weeks postpartum). A conditional relationship between the expectation that an infant's behavior will reflect maternal skill and Time 2 outcomes (BaM-13 and EPDS) was found, such that endorsing this belief predicted increased depression and poorer adjustment in those with higher (but not lower) Time 1 EPDS scores. Time 2 BaM-13 scores were also negatively predicted by expectations of self-sacrifice and positively predicted by expectations that parenthood would be naturally fulfilling. The expectations that new mothers hold about parenting soon after delivery are predictive of emotional adjustment in the early postpartum period, suggesting a role for discussion of expectations in future preventive strategies.

Aiding eco-labelling process and its implementation: Environmental Impact Assessment Methodology to define Product Category Rules for canned anchovies.

PubMed

Laso, Jara; Margallo, María; Fullana, Pére; Bala, Alba; Gazulla, Cristina; Irabien, Ángel; Aldaco, Rubén

2017-01-01

To be able to fulfil high market expectations for a number of practical applications, Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) have to meet and comply with specific and strict methodological prerequisites. These expectations include the possibility to add up Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)-based information in the supply chain and to compare different EPDs. To achieve this goal, common and harmonized calculation rules have to be established, the so-called Product Category Rules (PCRs), which set the overall LCA calculation rules to create EPDs. This document provides PCRs for the assessment of the environmental performance of canned anchovies in Cantabria Region based on an Environmental Sustainability Assessment (ESA) method. This method uses two main variables: the natural resources sustainability (NRS) and the environmental burdens sustainability (EBS). To reduce the complexity of ESA and facilitate the decision-making process, all variables are normalized and weighted to obtain two global dimensionless indexes: resource consumption (X 1 ) and environmental burdens (X 2 ). •This paper sets the PCRs adapted to the Cantabrian canned anchovies.•ESA method facilitates the product comparison and the decision-making process.•This paper stablishes all the steps that an EPD should include within the PCRs of Cantabrian canned anchovies.

Controlled trial of hyposensitisation in children with food-induced hyperkinetic syndrome.

PubMed

Egger, J; Stolla, A; McEwen, L M

1992-05-09

Food intolerance seems to be an important cause of the hyperkinetic syndrome, but restricted diets are expensive, socially disruptive, and often nutritionally inadequate. Enzyme-potentiated desensitisation (EPD) may overcome some of these difficulties. EPD was tested in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial among 40 children with food-induced hyperkinetic behaviour disorder. A total of 185 children with established hyperkinetic syndrome underwent oligoantigenic dietary treatment for four weeks. 116 whose behaviour responded had provoking foods identified by sequential reintroduction. Foods that reproducibly provoked overactivity were avoided. 40 patients who were then invited to take part in the hyposensitisation trial were randomly assigned to treated and control groups. Treated patients received three doses of EPD (beta-glucuronidase and small quantities of food antigens) intradermally at two-monthly intervals. Controls received buffer only. Thereafter, patients were allowed to eat known provoking foods. Of 20 patients who received active treatment, 16 became tolerant towards provoking foods compared with 4 of 20 who received placebo (p less than 0.001). Our results show that EPD permits children with food-induced hyperkinetic syndrome to eat foods that had previously been identified as responsible for their symptoms. These results also support the notion that food allergy is a possible mechanism of the hyperkinetic syndrome.

Ag nanoparticle-filled TiO2 nanotube arrays prepared by anodization and electrophoretic deposition for dye-sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Xing; Sugri Nbelayim, Pascal; Kawamura, Go; Muto, Hiroyuki; Matsuda, Atsunori

2017-03-01

A layer of TiO2 nanotube (TNT) arrays with a thickness of 13 μm is synthesized by a two-step anodic oxidation from Ti metal foil. Surface charged Ag nanoparticles (NPs) are prepared by chemical reduction. After a pretreatment of the TNT arrays by acetone vapor, Ag NP filled TNT arrays can be achieved by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). Effects of the applied voltage during EPD such as DC-AC difference, frequency and waveform are investigated by quantitative analysis using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The results show that the best EPD condition is using DC 2 V + AC 4 V and a square wave of 1 Hz as the applied voltage. Back illuminated dye-sensitized solar cells are fabricated from TNT arrays with and without Ag NPs. The efficiency increased from 3.70% to 5.01% by the deposition of Ag NPs.

Formation of diamond nanoparticle thin films by electrophoretic deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goto, Yosuke; Ohishi, Fujio; Tanaka, Kuniaki; Usui, Hiroaki

2016-03-01

Thin films of diamond nanoparticles were prepared by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) using 0.5 wt % dispersions in water, ethanol, and 2-propanol. The film growth rate increased with increasing voltage applied to the electrodes. However, an excessive increase in voltage caused the degradation of film morphology. The optimum voltage was 4 V with an electrode separation of 5 mm. The film growth rate was higher in organic solvents than in water. The deposited film had a smooth surface with an average surface roughness comparable to the size of primary particles of the source material. It is notable that the EPD films had a considerably higher physical stability than spin-coated and cast films. The stability was further improved by thermally annealing the films. IR analysis revealed that the diamond nanoparticles have carboxy and amino groups on their surfaces. It is considered that the stability of the EPD films originate from a chemical reaction between these functional groups.

Inverse Energy Dispersion of Energetic Ions Observed in the Magnetosheath

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, S. H.; Sibeck, D. G.; Hwang, K.-J.; Wang, Y.; Silveira, M. V. D.; Fok, M.-C.; Mauk, B. H.; Cohen, I. J.; Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Kitamura, N.;

The Effect of Phonons in RbCl Quantum Pseudodot Qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Yong; Ding, Zhao-Hua; Xiao, Jing-Lin

2016-07-01

By employing the Pekar variational method, the eigenenergies and eigenfunctions of the ground and first-excited states are obtained in a strong electron-longitudinal optical (LO) phonon coupling RbCl quantum pseudodot (QPD). A single qubit can be realized in this two-level quantum system. The electron probability density (EPD) oscillates in the RbCl QPD with a certain period. The investigated results show that the EPD rises with raising the chemical potential of the two-dimensional electron gas and the zero point of the pseudoharmonic potential, whereas it decays with increasing the polaron radius. However, the oscillating period (OP) possesses precisely the opposite characteristics. Through the results and analysis above, we find three ways to adjust the EPD and the OP via changing the chemical potential of the two-dimensional electron gas, the zero point of the pseudoharmonic potential, and the polaron radius.

Methods for functionalization of microsized polystyrene beads with titania nanoparticles for cathodic electrophoretic deposition.

PubMed

Radice, S; Kern, P; Dietsch, H; Mischler, S; Michler, J

2008-02-15

Functionalization of colloidal particles based on the use of polyelectrolytes and heterocoagulation was combined with electrophoretic deposition (EPD), with the aim of depositing titania-polystyrene (TiO(2)-PS) composite particles on Ti6Al4V substrates. The composite particles were obtained by heterocoagulation of TiO(2) nanoparticles on the surface of monosized polystyrene beads of 4.6 microm in diameter. Two alternative methods were developed for the preparation of the TiO(2)-PS suspensions in organic fluids for cathodic electrodeposition. The first method was carried out in alkaline aqueous medium with the use of polyelectrolytes and intermediate control measurements of zeta potential, conductivity, and pH; the second one was carried out directly in the organic solvent used for EPD, typically isopropanol. Examples of deposits obtained by EPD in both suspensions and a comparative analysis between the two methods are presented.

GaAs Substrates for High-Power Diode Lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mueller, Georg; Berwian, Patrick; Buhrig, Eberhard; Weinert, Berndt

GaAs substrate crystals with low dislocation density (Etch-Pit Density (EPD) < 500,^-2) and Si-doping ( ~10^18,^-3) are required for the epitaxial production of high-power diode-lasers. Large-size wafers (= 3 mathrm{in} -> >=3,) are needed for reducing the manufacturing costs. These requirements can be fulfilled by the Vertical Bridgman (VB) and Vertical Gradient Freeze (VGF) techniques. For that purpose we have developed proper VB/VGF furnaces and optimized the thermal as well as the physico-chemical process conditions. This was strongly supported by extensive numerical process simulation. The modeling of the VGF furnaces and processes was made by using a new computer code called CrysVUN++, which was recently developed in the Crystal Growth Laboratory in Erlangen.GaAs crystals with diameters of 2 and 3in were grown in pyrolytic Boron Nitride (pBN) crucibles having a small-diameter seed section and a conical part. Boric oxide was used to fully encapsulate the crystal and the melt. An initial silicon content in the GaAs melt of c (melt) = 3 x10^19,^-3 has to be used in order to achieve a carrier concentration of n = (0.8- 2) x10^18,^-3, which is the substrate specification of the device manufacturer of the diode-laser. The EPD could be reduced to values between 500,^-2 and 50,^-2 with a Si-doping level of 8 x10^17 to 1 x10^18,^-3. Even the 3in wafers have rather large dislocation-free areas. The lowest EPDs ( <100,^-2) are achieved for long seed wells of the crucible.

In vivo assessments of bioabsorbable AZ91 magnesium implants coated with nanostructured fluoridated hydroxyapatite by MAO/EPD technique for biomedical applications.

PubMed

Razavi, Mehdi; Fathi, Mohammadhossein; Savabi, Omid; Vashaee, Daryoosh; Tayebi, Lobat

2015-03-01

Although magnesium (Mg) is a unique biodegradable metal which possesses mechanical property similar to that of the natural bone and can be an attractive material to be used as orthopedic implants, its quick corrosion rate restricts its actual clinical applications. To control its rapid degradation, we have modified the surface of magnesium implant using fluoridated hydroxyapatite (FHA: Ca10(PO4)6OH2-xFx) through the combined micro-arc oxidation (MAO) and electrophoretic deposition (EPD) techniques, which was presented in our previous paper. In this article, the biocompatibility examinations were conducted on the coated AZ91 magnesium alloy by implanting it into the greater trochanter area of rabbits. The results of the in vivo animal test revealed a significant enhancement in the biocompatibility of FHA/MAO coated implant compared to the uncoated one. By applying the FHA/MAO coating on the AZ91 implant, the amount of weight loss and magnesium ion release in blood plasma decreased. According to the histological results, the formation of the new bone increased and the inflammation decreased around the implant. In addition, the implantation of the uncoated AZ91 alloy accompanied by the release of hydrogen gas around the implant; this release was suppressed by applying the coated implant. Our study exemplifies that the surface coating of magnesium implant using a bioactive ceramic such as fluoridated hydroxyapatite may improve the biocompatibility of the implant to make it suitable as a commercialized biomedical product. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Potent cytotoxic effects of Calomeria amaranthoides on ovarian cancers

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Ovarian cancer remains the leading cause of death from gynaecological malignancy. More than 60% of the patients are presenting the disease in stage III or IV. In spite of combination of chemotherapy and surgery the prognosis stays poor for therapy regimen. Methods The leaves of a plant endemic to Australia, Calomeria amaranthoides, were extracted and then fractionated by column chromatography. In vitro cytotoxicity tests were performed with fractions of the plant extract and later with an isolated compound on ovarian cancer cell lines, as well as normal fibroblasts at concentrations of 1-100 μg/mL (crude extract) and 1-10 μg/mL (compound). Cytotoxicity was measured after 24, 48 and 72 hours by using a non-fluorescent substrate, Alamar blue. In vivo cytotoxicity was tested on ascites, developed in the abdomen of nude mice after inoculation with human OVCAR3 cells intraperitoneally. The rate of change in abdomen size for the mice was determined by linear regression and statistically evaluated for significance by the unpaired t test. Results Two compounds were isolated by chromatographic fractionation and identified by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and mass spectrometry analyses, EPD, an α-methylene sesquiterpene lactone of the eremophilanolide subtype, and EPA, an α-methylene carboxylic acid. Cytotoxicity of EPD for normal fibroblasts at all time points IC50 was greater than 10 μg/mL, whereas, for OVCAR3 cells at 48 hours IC50 was 5.3 μg/mL (95% confidence interval 4.3 to 6.5 μg/mL). Both, the crude plant extract as well as EPD killed the cancer cells at a final concentration of 10 μg/mL and 5 μg/mL respectively, while in normal cells only 20% cell killing effect was observed. EPA had no cytotoxic effects. Changes in abdomen size for control versus Cisplatin treated mice were significantly different, P = 0.023, as were control versus EPD treated mice, P = 0.025, whereas, EPD versus Cisplatin treated mice were not significantly different, P = 0.13. Conclusions For the first time both crude plant extract from Calomeria amaranthoides and EPD have been shown to have potent anti-cancer effects against ovarian cancer. PMID:21401934

Using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) to assess suicidal ideation among pregnant women in Lima, Peru.

PubMed

Zhong, Qiu-Yue; Gelaye, Bizu; Rondon, Marta B; Sánchez, Sixto E; Simon, Gregory E; Henderson, David C; Barrios, Yasmin V; Sánchez, Pedro Mascaro; Williams, Michelle A

2015-12-01

We sought to examine the concordance of two suicidal ideation items from the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), to evaluate the prevalence of suicidal ideation among pregnant women, and to assess the co-occurrence of suicidal ideation with antepartum depressive symptoms. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,517 pregnant women attending prenatal care clinics in Lima, Peru. Item 9 of the PHQ-9 assesses suicidal ideation over the last 14 days while item 10 of the EPDS assesses suicidal ideation in the past 7 days. The two suicidal ideation items have a high concordance rate (84.2 %) but a moderate agreement (the Cohen's kappa = 0.42). Based on the PHQ-9 and the EPDS, 15.8 and 8.8 % of participants screened positive for suicidal ideation, respectively. Assessed by the PHQ-9, 51 % of participants with suicidal ideation had probable depression. In prenatal care clinics, screening for suicidal ideation is needed for women with and without depressive symptoms. Future studies are needed to identify additional predictors of antepartum suicidality, determine the appropriate duration of reporting period for suicidal ideation screening, and assess the percentage of individuals with positive responses to the two suicidal ideation items at high risk of planning and attempting suicide.

Managing pregnant women with serious mental illness: using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale as a marker of anxiety and depressive symptoms.

PubMed

Nguyen, Thinh N; Faulkner, Deb; Allen, Suzanna; Hauck, Yvonne L; Frayne, Jacqueline; Rock, Daniel; Rampono, Jonathan

2010-11-01

To examine the course of depressive and anxiety symptoms using serial measurements of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in pregnant women with serious mental illness (SMI) attending a specialist multi-disciplinary antenatal clinic in Perth, Western Australia. A retrospective review of case notes was undertaken for 48 Western Australian pregnant women with schizophrenia and related psychoses and bipolar affective disorders who attended the Childbirth and Mental Illness (CAMI) antenatal clinic between December 2007 and November 2009. Of these patients, 27 completed the EPDS at booking (first appointment) and at 32 weeks gestation. Additional variables collected were demographic data, gestation at booking, and attendance rates for these 27 women, and for comparison another 21 women who did not complete the EPDS for one or both screening periods. Mean total EPDS score decreased from 12.2 (SD 7.6) at booking to 8.5 (SD 6.4) at 32 weeks gestation (p = 0.007). Overall mean attendance rates and number of appointments were similar to the non-SMI population and in keeping with standard guidelines. We speculate from these preliminary findings that being managed by a consistent small multi-disciplinary team and knowing that they will be supported throughout their pregnancy could lead to improvement of anxiety and depressive symptoms in pregnant women with SMI, and has the potential to increase their attendance for antenatal care.

Identification of women at risk of depression in pregnancy: using women's accounts to understand the poor specificity of the Whooley and Arroll case finding questions in clinical practice.

PubMed

Darwin, Zoe; McGowan, Linda; Edozien, Leroy C

2016-02-01

Antenatal mental health assessment is increasingly common in high-income countries. Despite lacking evidence on validation or acceptability, the Whooley questions (modified PHQ-2) and Arroll 'help' question are used in the UK at booking (the first formal antenatal appointment) to identify possible cases of depression. This study investigated validation of the questions and women's views on assessment. Women (n = 191) booking at an inner-city hospital completed the Whooley and Arroll questions as part of their routine clinical care then completed a research questionnaire containing the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS). A purposive subsample (n = 22) were subsequently interviewed. The Whooley questions 'missed' half the possible cases identified using the EPDS (EPDS threshold ≥ 10: sensitivity 45.7 %, specificity 92.1 %; ≥ 13: sensitivity 47.8 %, specificity 86.1 %), worsening to nine in ten when adopting the Arroll item (EPDS ≥ 10: sensitivity 9.1 %, specificity 98.2 %; ≥ 13: sensitivity 9.5 %, specificity 97.1 %). Women's accounts indicated that under-disclosure relates to the context of assessment and perceived relevance of depression to maternity services. Depression symptoms are under-identified in current local practice. While validated tools are needed that can be readily applied in routine maternity care, psychometric properties will be influenced by the context of disclosure when implemented in practice.

Metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy of AlN on sapphire with low etch pit density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koleske, D. D.; Figiel, J. J.; Alliman, D. L.; Gunning, B. P.; Kempisty, J. M.; Creighton, J. R.; Mishima, A.; Ikenaga, K.

2017-06-01

Using metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy, methods were developed to achieve AlN films on sapphire with low etch pit density (EPD). Key to this achievement was using the same AlN growth recipe and only varying the pre-growth conditioning of the quartz-ware. After AlN growth, the quartz-ware was removed from the growth chamber and either exposed to room air or moved into the N2 purged glove box and exposed to H2O vapor. After the quartz-ware was exposed to room air or H2O, the AlN film growth was found to be more reproducible, resulting in films with (0002) and (10-12) x-ray diffraction (XRD) rocking curve linewidths of 200 and 500 arc sec, respectively, and EPDs < 100 cm-2. The EPD was found to correlate with (0002) linewidths, suggesting that the etch pits are associated with open core screw dislocations similar to GaN films. Once reproducible AlN conditions were established using the H2O pre-treatment, it was found that even small doses of trimethylaluminum (TMAl)/NH3 on the quartz-ware surfaces generated AlN films with higher EPDs. The presence of these residual TMAl/NH3-derived coatings in metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) systems and their impact on the sapphire surface during heating might explain why reproducible growth of AlN on sapphire is difficult.

Cataphoretic assembly of cationic dyes and deposition of carbon nanotube and graphene films.

PubMed

Su, Y; Zhitomirsky, I

2013-06-01

Cathodic electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method has been developed for the fabrication of thin films from aqueous solutions of crystal violet (CV) dyes. The films contained rod-like particles with a long axis oriented perpendicular to the substrate surface. The proposed deposition mechanism involved cataphoresis of cationic CV(+) species, base generation in the cathodic reactions, and charge neutralization at the electrode surface. The assembly of rod-like particles was governed by π-π interactions of polyaromatic CV molecules. The deposition kinetics was studied by quartz crystal microbalance. CV dyes allowed efficient dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and graphene in water at relatively low CV concentrations. The feasibility of cathodic EPD of MWCNT and graphene from aqueous suspensions, containing CV, has been demonstrated. The deposition yield was investigated at different CV concentrations and deposition voltages. The relatively high deposition yield of MWCNT and graphene indicated that CV is an efficient dispersing, charging, and film forming agent for EPD. Electron microscopy data showed that at low CV concentrations in MWCNT or graphene suspensions and low deposition voltages, the films contained mainly MWCNT or graphene. The increase in the CV concentration and/or deposition voltage resulted in enhanced co-deposition of CV. The EPD method developed in this investigation paves the way for the fabrication of advanced nanocomposites by cathodic electrodeposition. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

HgCdTe Growth on 6 cm × 6 cm CdZnTe Substrates for Large-Format Dual-Band Infrared Focal-Plane Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reddy, M.; Peterson, J. M.; Lofgreen, D. D.; Vang, T.; Patten, E. A.; Radford, W. A.; Johnson, S. M.

2010-07-01

This paper describes molecular-beam epitaxy growth of mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) and long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) dual-band device structures on large-area (6 cm × 6 cm) CdZnTe substrates. Wafer-level composition and defect mapping techniques were used to investigate the limiting mechanisms in improving the cutoff wavelength ( λ c) uniformity and reducing the defect density. Structural quality of epitaxial layers was monitored using etch pit density (EPD) measurements at various depths in the epitaxial layers. Finally, 640 × 480, 20- μm-pixel-pitch dual-band focal-plane arrays (FPAs) were fabricated to demonstrate the overall maturity of growth and fabrication processes of epitaxial layers. The MWIR/LWIR dual-band layers, at optimized growth conditions, show a λ c variation of ±0.15 μm across a 6 cm × 6 cm CdZnTe substrate, a uniform low macrodefect density with an average of 1000 cm-2, and an average EPD of 1.5 × 105 cm-2. FPAs fabricated using these layers show band 1 (MWIR) noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) operability of 99.94% and band 2 (LWIR) NETD operability of 99.2%, which are among the highest reported to date.

Electrophoretic deposition of hydroxyapatite-hexagonal boron nitride composite coatings on Ti substrate.

PubMed

Göncü, Yapıncak; Geçgin, Merve; Bakan, Feray; Ay, Nuran

2017-10-01

In this study, commercial pure titanium samples were coated with nano hydroxyapatite-nano hexagonal boron nitride (nano HA-nano hBN) composite by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The effect of process parameters (applied voltage, deposition time and solid concentration) on the coating morphology, thickness and the adhesion behavior were studied systematically and crack free nano hBN-nano HA composite coating production was achieved for developing bioactive coatings on titanium substrates for orthopedic applications. For the examination of structural and morphological characteristics of the coating surfaces, various complementary analysis methods were performed. For the structural characterization, XRD and Raman Spectroscopy were used while, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) techniques were carried out for revealing the morphological characterization. The results showed that nano HA-nano hBN were successfully deposited on Ti surface with uniform, crack-free coating by EPD. The amounts of hBN in suspension are considered to have no effect on coating thickness. By adding hBN into HA, the morphology of HA did not change and hBN has no significant effect on porous structure. These nanostructured surfaces are expected to be suitable for proliferation of cells and have high potential for bioactive materials. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biophysical characterization and conformational stability of Ebola and Marburg virus-like particles.

PubMed

Hu, Lei; Trefethen, Jared M; Zeng, Yuhong; Yee, Luisa; Ohtake, Satoshi; Lechuga-Ballesteros, David; Warfield, Kelly L; Aman, M Javad; Shulenin, Sergey; Unfer, Robert; Enterlein, Sven G; Truong-Le, Vu; Volkin, David B; Joshi, Sangeeta B; Middaugh, C Russell

2011-12-01

The filoviruses, Ebola virus and Marburg virus, cause severe hemorrhagic fever with up to 90% human mortality. Virus-like particles of EBOV (eVLPs) and MARV (mVLPs) are attractive vaccine candidates. For the development of stable vaccines, the conformational stability of these two enveloped VLPs produced in insect cells was characterized by various spectroscopic techniques over a wide pH and temperature range. Temperature-induced aggregation of the VLPs at various pH values was monitored by light scattering. Temperature/pH empirical phase diagrams (EPDs) of the two VLPs were constructed to summarize the large volume of data generated. The EPDs show that both VLPs lose their conformational integrity above about 50°C-60°C, depending on solution pH. The VLPs were maximally thermal stable in solution at pH 7-8, with a significant reduction in stability at pH 5 and 6. They were much less stable in solution at pH 3-4 due to increased susceptibility of the VLPs to aggregation. The characterization data and conformational stability profiles from these studies provide a basis for selection of optimized solution conditions for further vaccine formulation and long-term stability studies of eVLPs and mVLPs. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The Effect of Telephone-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Postnatal Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Ngai, Fei-Wan; Wong, Paul Wai-Ching; Leung, Kwok-Yin; Chau, Pui-Hing; Chung, Ka-Fai

2015-01-01

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective interventions for postnatal depression. However, few studies have evaluated the effect of CBT delivered via telephone for newborn mothers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of telephone-based CBT for postnatal depression at 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum. A multisite randomized controlled trial was conducted in the postnatal units at 3 regional hospitals in Hong Kong. A total of 397 women with an Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score ≥10 on the second or third day postpartum were randomized to receive telephone-based CBT (n = 197) or standard care (n = 200). Primary outcome was the total EPDS score. A cutoff score of 9/10 on the EPDS was used to define women at risk of postnatal depression. Telephone-based CBT was associated with significantly lower depressive symptoms compared with standard care, when assessed at 6 weeks postpartum in the subgroups of mothers with minor depression (EPDS 10-12; difference = 1.90, 95% CI: 0.72-3.08; p = 0.002) and major depression (EPDS ≥13; difference = 5.00, 95% CI: 3.12-6.88; p < 0.001). The effect was sustained at 6 months postpartum in the subgroup with minor depression (difference = 1.20, 95% CI: 0.09-2.32; p = 0.034) but not significant in the subgroup with major depression (difference = 1.69, 95% CI: -0.10-3.47; p = 0.064). The proportion of women who satisfied our definition of postnatal depression was significantly lower in the intervention group at 6 weeks (difference = 23.3%, 95% CI: 13.7-33.0%; p < 0.001) and 6 months postpartum (difference = 11.4%, 95% CI: 1.9-20.8%; p = 0.019). Telephone-based CBT produced a significantly greater reduction in depressive symptoms than standard care during the postpartum period. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Design and characterization of thick InxGa1-xAs metamorphic buffer layers grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulte, K. L.; Zutter, B. T.; Wood, A. W.; Babcock, S. E.; Kuech, T. F.

2014-03-01

Thick InxGa1-xAs metamorphic buffer layers (MBLs) grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) were studied. Relationships between MBL properties and growth parameters such as grading rate, cap layer thickness, final xInAs, and deposition temperature (TD) were explored. The MBLs were characterized by measurement of in-plane residual strain (ɛ¦¦), surface etch pit density (EPD), and surface roughness. Capping layer thickness had a strong effect on strain relaxation, with thickly capped samples exhibiting the lowest ɛ¦¦. EPD was higher in samples with thicker caps, reflecting their increased relaxation through dislocation generation. ɛ¦¦ and EPD were weakly affected by the grading rate, making capping layer thickness the primary structural parameter which controls these properties. MBLs graded in discrete steps had similar properties to MBLs with continuous grading. In samples with identical thickness and 10-step grading style, ɛ¦¦ increased almost linearly with final xInAs, while total relaxation stayed relatively constant. Relaxation as a function of xInAs could be described by an equilibrium model in which dislocation nucleation is impeded by the energy of the existing dislocation array. EPD was constant from xInAs = 0 to 0.24 then increased exponentially, which is related to the increased dislocation interaction and blocking seen at higher dislocation densities. RMS roughness increased with xInAs above a certain strain rate (0.15%/µm) samples grown below this level possessed large surface hillocks and high roughness values. The elimination of hillocks at higher values of xInAs is attributed to increased density of surface steps and is related to the out-of-plane component of the burgers vector of the dominant type of 60° dislocation. TD did not affect ɛ¦¦ for samples with a given xInAs. EPD tended to increase with TD, indicating dislocation glide likely is impeded at higher temperatures.

Heterogeneity of postpartum depression: a latent class analysis

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Summary Background Maternal depression in the postpartum period confers substantial morbidity and mortality, but the definition of postpartum depression remains controversial. We investigated the heterogeneity of symptoms with the aim of identifying clinical subtypes of postpartum depression. Methods Data were aggregated from the international perinatal psychiatry consortium Postpartum Depression: Action Towards Causes and Treatment, which represents 19 institutions in seven countries. 17 912 unique subject records with phenotypic data were submitted. We applied latent class analyses in a two-tiered approach to assess the validity of empirically defined subtypes of postpartum depression. Tier one assessed heterogeneity in women with complete data on the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) and tier two in those with postpartum depression case status. Findings 6556 individuals were assessed in tier one and 4245 in tier two. A final model with three latent classes was optimum for both tiers. The most striking characteristics associated with postpartum depression were severity, timing of onset, comorbid anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Women in class 1 had the least severe symptoms (mean EPDS score 10·5), followed by those in class 2 (mean EPDS score 14·8) and those in class 3 (mean EPDS score 20·1). The most severe symptoms of postpartum depression were significantly associated with poor mood (mean EPDS score 20·1), increased anxiety, onset of symptoms during pregnancy, obstetric complications, and suicidal ideation. In class 2, most women (62%) reported symptom onset within 4 weeks postpartum and had more pregnancy complications than in other two classes (69% vs 67% in class 1 and 29% in class 3). Interpretation PPD seems to have several distinct phenotypes. Further assessment of PPD heterogeneity to identify more precise phenotypes will be important for future biological and genetic investigations. Funding Sources of funding are listed at the end of the article. PMID:26359613

Results from Preliminary Checks on AmBe Neutron Source Number 71

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-02-01

radiation and additional lead shielding was used to shield against gamma radiation emissions. Electronic dosimeters , the MGP DMC2000GN and Thermo EPD...DMC2000GN (S/N: 007395) and EPD-N2 (S/N: 07106323) electronic dosimeters were employed as these both are able to measure and record gamma and neutron...the AN/VDR-2 gamma radiation meter and Meridian Model 5085 neutron meter to confirm this and electronic dosimeters would be worn by personnel to

The Savannah River Site`s Groundwater Monitoring Program: Third quarter 1992

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rogers, C.D.

1993-02-04

The Environmental Protection Department/Environmental Monitoring Section (EPD/EMS) administers the Savannah River Site`s (SRS) Groundwater Monitoring Program. During third quarter 1992, EPD/EMS conducted extensive sampling of monitoring wells. Table 1 lists those well series with constituents in the groundwater above Flag 2 during third quarter 1992, organized by location. Results from all laboratory analyses are used to generate this table. Specific conductance and pH data from the field also are included in this table.

Electromagnetic Scattering by an Exponentially Distributed Rough Surface with the Introduction of a Rough Surface Generation Technique

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-12-01

d integer corrow, corcol , refrow, refcol C Create lower triangle of corr. matrix (symetric matrix) do 33 i~l,n2 C calculate the row point (i) is in...reference Fig.(21)) corrow = (((i-l)/n)+1) C claculate the column point (i) is in corcol = i-(corrow-l)*n) write(6,*) i do 31 jl,i C calculate the row...refrow)*space C the horizontal distance (b) b = ( corcol -refcol)*space 14 d = sqrt(a**2+b**2) S coeff(i,j) = e%-P(-d**2) 31 ]i<ontiinue .3 crnt inue

An improved driving waveform reference grayscale of electrophoretic displays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Li; Yi, Zichuan; Peng, Bao; Zhou, Guofu

2015-10-01

Driving waveform is an important component for gray scale display on the electrophoretic display (EPD). In the traditional driving waveform, a white reference gray scale is formed before writing a new image. However, the reflectance value can not reach agreement in each gray scale transformation. In this paper, a new driving waveform, which has a short waiting time after the formation of reference gray scale, is proposed to improve the consistency of reference gray scale. Firstly, the property of the particles in the microcapsule is analyzed and the change of the EPD reflectance after the white reference gray scale formation is studied. Secondly, the reflectance change curve is fitted by using polynomial and the duration of the waiting time is determined. Thirdly, a set of the new driving waveform is designed by using the rule of DC balance and some real E-ink commercial EPDs are used to test the performance. Experimental results show that the effect of the new driving waveform has a better performance than traditional waveforms.

Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of English and Spanish Versions of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale Among Hispanic Women in a Primary Care Setting

PubMed Central

Hartley, Chelsey M.; Barroso, Nicole; Rey, Yasmin; Pettit, Jeremy W.; Bagner, Daniel M.

2015-01-01

Background Although a number of studies have examined the factor structure of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in predominately White or African American samples, no published research has reported on the factor structure among Hispanic women who reside in the United States. Objective The current study examined the factor structure of the EPDS among Hispanic mothers in the United States. Method Among 220 Hispanic women, drawn from a pediatric primary care setting, with an infant aged 0 to 10 months, 6 structural models guided by the empirical literature were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis. Results Results supported a 2-factor model of depression and anxiety as the best fitting model. Multigroup models supported the factorial invariance across women who completed the EDPS in English and Spanish. Conclusion These findings provide initial support for the 2-factor structure of the EPDS among Hispanic women in the United States. PMID:24807217

Factor structure and psychometric properties of english and spanish versions of the edinburgh postnatal depression scale among Hispanic women in a primary care setting.

PubMed

Hartley, Chelsey M; Barroso, Nicole; Rey, Yasmin; Pettit, Jeremy W; Bagner, Daniel M

2014-12-01

Although a number of studies have examined the factor structure of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in predominately White or African American samples, no published research has reported on the factor structure among Hispanic women who reside in the United States. The current study examined the factor structure of the EPDS among Hispanic mothers in the United States. Among 220 Hispanic women, drawn from a pediatric primary care setting, with an infant aged 0 to 10 months, 6 structural models guided by the empirical literature were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis. Results supported a 2-factor model of depression and anxiety as the best fitting model. Multigroup models supported the factorial invariance across women who completed the EDPS in English and Spanish. These findings provide initial support for the 2-factor structure of the EPDS among Hispanic women in the United States. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The efficacy of E.P.D., a new immunotherapy, in the treatment of allergic diseases in children.

PubMed

Caramia, G; Franceschini, F; Cimarelli, Z A; Ciucchi, M S; Gagliardini, R; Ruffini, E

1996-11-01

A double blind study was made on a group of 35 children, 8 of whom were allergic to Grass and 27 allergic to Pteronyssinus and Farinae Dermatophagoides. We verified the efficacy and tolerability of a new immunotherapy called E.P.D. (Enzyme Potentiated Desensitization). This particular immunotherapy consists in an intradermal injection of a mix made up of an allergic solution at extremely low doses and an enzyme, beta-glucuronidase. The vaccine is administered once a year, two weeks before pollen peaks for children with seasonal allergies and two times a year, in February and November, for children with non-seasonal allergies (Dermatophagoides). The results, statistically analyzed on the basis of a symptoms score, showed good clinical efficacy in patients affected by both seasonal and non-seasonal allergies. Due to the clinical effectiveness, easy administration and excellent tolerability of the immunotherapy, E.P.D. is particularly suited for treating or reducing allergic symptoms in allergic children.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of preventive immunotherapy with E.P.D., in the treatment of seasonal allergic disease.

PubMed

Di Stanislao, C; Di Berardino, L; Bianchi, I; Bologna, G

1997-02-01

Control of seasonal symptoms by means of a preventive and easy to use (only one intradermal injection eight weeks before the pollen peak) immunotherapy, is recommended nowadays. We verified the clinical efficacy of E.P.D. (Enzyme Potentiated Desensibilization) in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. This particular immunotherapy consists of an intradermal injection mix, made up of allergenic extracts at extremely low doses and an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase. The vaccine is administered once a year, eight weeks before pollen peaks. We studied a group of 40 patients allergic to grass pollen. The results, analysed statistically on the basis of a symptoms score, showed good clinical efficacy and a significant reduction of drug consumption during the high pollen period. Due to the clinical effectiveness, easy administration (only on injection) and excellent tolerance of the immunotherapy, E.P.D. is particularly suited for the prevention of seasonal symptoms in patients allergic to grass pollen.

Maternal postnatal depression and child growth: a European cohort study

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Previous studies have reported postpartum depression to be associated with both positive and negative effects on early infant growth. This study examined the hypothesis that maternal postnatal depression may be a risk factor for later child growth faltering or overweight. Methods A total of 929 women and their children participating in a European multicenter study were included at a median age of 14 days. Mothers completed the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) at 2, 3 and 6 months after delivery. EPDS scores of 13 and above at any time were defined as maternal depression. Weight, length, triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses were measured, and body mass index (BMI) were calculated when the children were two years old and converted to standard deviation scores based on the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study (MGRS). Results Z-scores for weight-for-length at inclusion of infants of mothers with high EPDS scores (-0.55, SD 0.74) were lower than of those with normal scores (-0.36, SD 0.74; p = 0.013). BMI at age 24 months did not differ in the high (16.3 kg/m2, SD 1.3) and in the normal EPDS groups (16.2 kg/m2, SD 1.3; p = 0.48). All other anthropometric indices also did not differ between groups, with no change by multivariate adjustment. Conclusions We conclude that a high maternal postnatal depression score does not have any major effects on offspring growth in high income countries. PMID:20226021

Barriers to access to treatment for mothers with postpartum depression in primary health care centers: a predictive model1

PubMed Central

Martínez, Pablo; Vöhringer, Paul A.; Rojas, Graciela

2016-01-01

Objective to develop a predictive model to evaluate the factors that modify the access to treatment for Postpartum Depression (PPD). Methods prospective study with mothers who participated in the monitoring of child health in primary care centers. For the initial assessment and during 3 months, it was considered: sociodemographic data, gyneco-obstetric data, data on the services provided, depressive symptoms according to the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) and quality of life according to the Short Form-36 Health Status Questionnaire (SF-36). The diagnosis of depression was made based on MINI. Mothers diagnosed with PPD in the initial evaluation, were followed-up. Results a statistical model was constructed to determine the factors that prevented access to treatment, which consisted of: item 2 of EPDS (OR 0.43, 95%CI: 0.20-0.93) and item 5 (OR 0.48, 95%CI: 0.21-1.09), and previous history of depression treatment (OR 0.26, 95%CI: 0.61-1.06). Area under the ROC curve for the model=0.79; p-value for the Hosmer-Lemershow=0.73. Conclusion it was elaborated a simple, well standardized and accurate profile, which advises that nurses should pay attention to those mothers diagnosed with PPD, presenting low/no anhedonia (item 2 of EPDS), scarce/no panic/fear (item 5 of EPDS), and no history of depression, as it is likely that these women do not initiate treatment. PMID:27027674

Subclinical depressive symptoms during pregnancy and birth outcome--a pilot study in a healthy German sample.

PubMed

Gawlik, S; Waldeier, L; Müller, M; Szabo, A; Sohn, C; Reck, C

2013-04-01

There is a high prevalence of depression in Germany and all over the world. Maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy have been shown in some studies to be associated with an increased risk of preterm birth and low birth weight. The influence of maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy on preterm delivery and fetal birth weight was investigated in a prospective single-centre study. A sample of 273 healthy pregnant women was assessed for symptoms of antepartum depression. Symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). Symptoms of anxiety were assessed using the State/Trait Anxiety Inventory. Patients who scored above the cutoff were contacted by phone for a Structured Clinical Diagnostic interview. Neonatal measurements were obtained from the birth registry of the Department of Obstetrics. Baseline data were assessed with a self-styled data sheet. Prevalence of elevated depressive symptoms was 13.2% when measured with the EPDS and 8.4% with the PHQ. According to DSM-IV criteria, only four (EPDS) respective two (PHQ-D) of these patients could be diagnosed with a depressive disorder and ten (EPDS) respective seven (PHQ) with an anxiety disorder. There was no significant influence on preterm birth or birth weight. Maternal depressive symptoms are self-reported. Elevated subclinical symptoms of depression and anxiety during pregnancy are common. However, this study showed no evidence that these symptoms are associated with adverse pregnancy outcome.

Electrophoretic deposition of ultrasonicated and functionalized nanomaterials for multifunctional composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, Qi

Recent advances in the synthesis and characterization of nanostructured composite materials have enabled a broad range of opportunities for engineering the properties of polymer-matrix materials. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are known to have exceptional mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. Because of their small size, CNTs can occupy regions between traditional micro-scale reinforcements and create a hierarchical micro/nano structure spanning several orders of magnitude. Since CNTs possess critical reinforcement dimensions below 100 nm, new opportunities exist for tailoring the fiber/matrix interphase regions and ultimately the mechanical and electrical performance of advanced fiber-composites with minimal impact on the fiber-dominated properties. This growing interest in nanoscale hybridization with conventional fiber reinforcement has highlighted the need to develop new processing techniques for successful CNT integration. In this work, a novel and industrially scalable approach for producing multi-scale hybrid carbon nanotube/fiber composites using an electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique has been studied as an alternative to in situ chemical vapor deposition growth (CVD). EPD is a widely used industrial coating process employed in areas ranging from automotive to electronics production. The method has a number of benefits which include low energy use and the ability to homogenously coat complex shapes with well adhered films of controlled thickness and density. A stable aqueous dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was produced using a novel ozonolysis and ultrasonication (USO) technique that results in dispersion and functionalization in a single step. Networks of CNTs span between adjacent fibers and the resulting composites exhibit significant increases in electrical conductivity and considerable improvements in the interlaminar shear strength and fracture toughness. In order to better understand the underlying mechanisms behind the selective reinforcement of CNTs on the glass-epoxy systems, detailed model interphase study and microdroplet debonding test were conducted to investigate the interfacial properties between an epoxy matrix and glass with the electrophoretically coated CNTs.

An Overview of the Electron-Proton and High Energy Telescopes for Solar Orbiter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boden, Sebastian; Kulkarni, Shrinivasrao R.; Tammen, Jan; Steinhagen, Jan; Martin, César; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F.; Böttcher, Stephan I.; Seimetz, Lars; Ravanbakhsh, Ali; Elftmann, Robert; Rodriguez-Pacheco, Javier; Prieto Mateo, Manuel; Gomez Herrero, Rául

2014-05-01

The Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) suite for ESA's Solar Orbiter will provide key measurements to address particle acceleration at and near the Sun. The EPD suite consists of four sensors (STEP, SIS, EPT, and HET). The University of Kiel in Germany is responsible for the design, development, and building of STEP, EPT and HET. This poster will focus on the last two. The Electron Proton Telescope (EPT) is designed to cleanly separate and measure electrons in the energy range from 20 - 400 keV and protons from 20 - 7000 keV. To separate electrons and protons EPT relies on the magnet/foil-technique. EPT is intended to close the gap between the supra-thermal particles measured by STEP and the high energy range covered by HET. The High-Energy Telescope (HET) will measure electrons from 300 keV up to about 30 MeV, protons from 10 to 100 MeV, and heavy ions from ~20 to 200 MeV/nuc. To achieve this performance HET consists of a series of silicon detectors in a telescope configuration with a scintillator calorimeter to stop high energy protons and ions. It uses the dE/dx vs. total E technique . In this way HET covers an energy range which is of interest for studies of the space radiation environment and will perform measurements needed to understand the origin of high-energy particle events at the Sun. EPT and HET share a common Electronics Box, there are two EPT-HET sensors on Solar Orbiter to allow rudimentary pitch-angle coverage. Here we present the current development status of EPT-HET units and calibration results of demonstration models as well as plans for future activities.

Erosive Pustular Dermatosis of the Scalp with Urate-Like Crystals.

PubMed

Emanuel, Patrick O; Paul, Sharad P

2017-01-01

Follicular urate-like crystals were first described in Necrotizing Infundibular Crystalline Folliculitis (NICF), a rare cutaneous disorder with multiple waxy folliculocentric papules. Similar crystal accumulation may be seen within follicular infundibulae as an incidental finding. We describe a case showing identical crystals occurring within the horn-like crusts of a patient with erosive pustular dermatosis of the scalp (EPDS), a condition which due to its presentation can often be mistaken for nonmelanoma skin cancer. A brief overview of erosive pustular dermatosis of the scalp (EPDS) is presented in this paper.

Effects of extended pleurectomy and decortication on quality of life and pulmonary function in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

PubMed

Burkholder, David; Hadi, Duraid; Kunnavakkam, Rangesh; Kindler, Hedy; Todd, Kristy; Celauro, Amy Durkin; Vigneswaran, Wickii T

2015-05-01

Maximal cytoreductive surgeries--extrapleural pneumonectomy and extended pleurectomy and decortication (EPD)--are effective surgical treatments in selected patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Extended pleurectomy and decortication results in equivalent survival yet better health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma were studied for the effects of EPD on HRQoL and pulmonary function. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionaire-C30 was used to evaluate HRQoL before operation, and at 4 to 5 and 7 to 8 months postoperatively. Pulmonary function tests were measured immediately before and 5 to 7 months after the operation. Patients were compared according to World Health Organization baseline performance status (PS). Of the 36 patients enrolled, 17 were PS 0 and 19 were PS 1 or PS 2 at baseline. Patients in groups PS 1 and PS 2 had significantly worse global health, functional, and symptoms scores. After EPD, PS 0 patients had no change in global health or function and symptoms scores except for emotional function, whereas PS 1 or PS 2 patients showed improvements at 4 to 5 months with further improvements at 7 to 8 months. The PS 0 patients demonstrated a significant decrease in forced vital capacity (p = 0.001), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (p = 0.002), total lung capacity (p = 0.0006) and diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (p = 0.003) after EPD, whereas no change was observed in PS 1 and PS 2 patients. Extended pleurectomy and decortication did not improve overall HRQoL and had a negative impact in pulmonary function in minimally symptomatic patients. In symptomatic patients, a significant improvement in HRQoL was observed after EPD, which continued at late follow-up, although the pulmonary function was not affected. As changes in HRQoL are multidimensional, the preservation of the pulmonary function may have contributed to the net benefit observed in PS 1 and PS 2 patients. Copyright © 2015 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Revalidation of the Malay Version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) Among Malay Postpartum Women Attending the Bakar Bata Health Center in Alor Setar, Kedah, North West Of Peninsular Malaysia

PubMed Central

Mahmud, Wan Mohd. Rushidi Wan; Awang, Amir; Mohamed, Mahmood Nazar

2003-01-01

Aim: To reevaluate the psychometric characteristics of the Malay version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale among a sample of postpartum Malay women attending the Bakar Bata Health Center in Alor Setar, Kedah, North West of Peninsular Malaysia. Materials and methods: 64 women between 4 to 12 weeks postpartum were recruited for there validation study. They were given questionnaires on socio-demography, the 21-item Malay version of the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) and the 10-item Malay version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). All the participants were later interviewed using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17) and the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). All diagnoses were made based on the Tenth Edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) Results: 9 women (14.1%) were diagnosed to have significant depression (7 mild depressive episodes and 2 moderate depressive episodes according to ICD-10). EPDS was found to have good internal consistency (Cronbach alpha =0.86) and split half reliability (Spearman split half coefficient = 0.83). The instrument also showed satisfactory discriminant and concurrent validity as evidenced by the statistically significant difference in EPDS scores between the depressed group and their non-depressed counterparts (Mann Whitney U test: 2 tailed p value < 0.01) and good correlations between the instrument and both the Malay version of BDI-II and the HRDS-17 (Spearman rank correlation coefficients of 0.78 and 0.88 respectively). At the 11/12 cut-off score the sensitivity of the EPDS is 100%, with a specificity of 98.18%, positive predictive value of 90%, negative predictive value of 100 % and misclassification rate of 1.56%. Conclusion: This study confirmed the reliability and validity of the Malay version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in identifying postpartum depression among recently delivered Malay women attending the Bata Bata Health Center in Alor Setar, Kedah, North West of Peninsular Malaysia. PMID:23386800

Implementation of depression screening in antenatal clinics through tablet computers: results of a feasibility study.

PubMed

Marcano-Belisario, José S; Gupta, Ajay K; O'Donoghue, John; Ramchandani, Paul; Morrison, Cecily; Car, Josip

2017-05-10

Mobile devices may facilitate depression screening in the waiting area of antenatal clinics. This can present implementation challenges, of which we focused on survey layout and technology deployment. We assessed the feasibility of using tablet computers to administer a socio-demographic survey, the Whooley questions and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) to 530 pregnant women attending National Health Service (NHS) antenatal clinics across England. We randomised participants to one of two layout versions of these surveys: (i) a scrolling layout where each survey was presented on a single screen; or (ii) a paging layout where only one question appeared on the screen at any given time. Overall, 85.10% of eligible pregnant women agreed to take part. Of these, 90.95% completed the study procedures. Approximately 23% of participants answered Yes to at least one Whooley question, and approximately 13% of them scored 10 points of more on the EPDS. We observed no association between survey layout and the responses given to the Whooley questions, the median EPDS scores, the number of participants at increased risk of self-harm, and the number of participants asking for technical assistance. However, we observed a difference in the number of participants at each EPDS scoring interval (p = 0.008), which provide an indication of a woman's risk of depression. A scrolling layout resulted in faster completion times (median = 4 min 46 s) than a paging layout (median = 5 min 33 s) (p = 0.024). However, the clinical significance of this difference (47.5 s) is yet to be determined. Tablet computers can be used for depression screening in the waiting area of antenatal clinics. This requires the careful consideration of clinical workflows, and technology-related issues such as connectivity and security. An association between survey layout and EPDS scoring intervals needs to be explored further to determine if it corresponds to a survey layout effect. Future research needs to evaluate the effect of this type of antenatal depression screening on clinical outcomes and clinic workflows. This study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov under the identifier NCT02516982 on 20 July 2015.

A Systematic Approach Toward Stabilization of CagL, a Protein Antigen from Helicobacter pylori That Is a Candidate Subunit Vaccine

PubMed Central

Choudhari, Shyamal P.; Pendleton, Kirk P.; Ramsey, Joshua D.; Blanchard, Thomas G.; Picking, William D.

2013-01-01

An important consideration in the development of subunit vaccines is loss of activity caused by physical instability of the protein. Such instability often results from suboptimal solution conditions related to pH and temperature. Excipients can help to stabilize vaccines, but it is important to screen and identify excipients that adequately contribute to stabilization of a given formulation. CagL is a protein present in strains of Helicobacter pylori that possess type IV secretion systems. It contributes to bacterial adherence via α5β1 integrin, thereby making it an attractive subunit vaccine candidate. We characterized the stability of CagL in different pH and temperature conditions using a variety of spectroscopic techniques. Stability was assessed in terms of transition temperature (Tm) with the accumulated data then incorporated into an empirical phase diagram (EPD) that provided an overview of CagL physical stability. These analyses indicated maximum CagL stability at pH 4–6 up to 40 °C in the absence of excipient. Using this EPD analysis, aggregation assays were developed to screen a panel of excipients with some found to inhibit CagL aggregation. Candidate stabilizers were selected to confirm their enhanced stabilizing effect. These analyses will help in the formulation of a stable vaccine against H. pylori. PMID:23794457

Electrophoretic Deposition of Chitosan/h-BN and Chitosan/h-BN/TiO₂ Composite Coatings on Stainless Steel (316L) Substrates.

PubMed

Raddaha, Namir S; Cordero-Arias, Luis; Cabanas-Polo, Sandra; Virtanen, Sannakaisa; Roether, Judith A; Boccaccini, Aldo R

2014-03-04

This article presents the results of an experimental investigation designed to deposit chitosan/hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and chitosan/h-BN/titania (TiO₂) composites on SS316L substrates using electrophoretic deposition (EPD) for potential antibacterial applications. The influence of EPD parameters (voltage and deposition time) and relative concentrations of chitosan, h-BN and TiO₂ in suspension on deposition yield was studied. The composition and structure of deposited coatings were investigated by FTIR, XRD and SEM. It was observed that h-BN and TiO₂ particles were dispersed in the chitosan matrix through simultaneous deposition. The adhesion between the electrophoretic coatings and the stainless steel substrates was tested by using tape test technique, and the results showed that the adhesion strength corresponded to 3B and 4B classes. Corrosion resistance was evaluated by electrochemical polarization curves, indicating enhanced corrosion resistance of the chitosan/h-BN/TiO₂ and chitosan/h-BN coatings compared to the bare stainless steel substrate. In order to investigate the in-vitro inorganic bioactivity, coatings were immersed in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 28 days. FTIR and XRD results showed no formation of hydroxyapatite on the surface of chitosan/h-BN/TiO₂ and chitosan/h-BN coatings, which are therefore non bioactive but potentially useful as antibacterial coatings.

Functionalization and Dispersion of Carbon Nanomaterials Using an Environmentally Friendly Ultrasonicated Ozonolysis Process.

PubMed

Yeo, Eudora S Y; Mathys, Gary I; Brack, Narelle; Thostenson, Erik T; Rider, Andrew N

2017-05-30

Functionalization of carbon nanomaterials is often a critical step that facilitates their integration into larger material systems and devices. In the as-received form, carbon nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), may contain large agglomerates. Both agglomerates and impurities will diminish the benefits of the unique electrical and mechanical properties offered when CNTs or GNPs are incorporated into polymers or composite material systems. Whilst a variety of methods exist to functionalize carbon nanomaterials and to create stable dispersions, many the processes use harsh chemicals, organic solvents, or surfactants, which are environmentally unfriendly and may increase the processing burden when isolating the nanomaterials for subsequent use. The current research details the use of an alternative, environmentally friendly technique for functionalizing CNTs and GNPs. It produces stable, aqueous dispersions free of harmful chemicals. Both CNTs and GNPs can be added to water at concentrations up to 5 g/L and can be recirculated through a high-powered ultrasonic cell. The simultaneous injection of ozone into the cell progressively oxidizes the carbon nanomaterials, and the combined ultrasonication breaks down agglomerates and immediately exposes fresh material for functionalization. The prepared dispersions are ideally suited for the deposition of thin films onto solid substrates using electrophoretic deposition (EPD). CNTs and GNPs from the aqueous dispersions can be readily used to coat carbon- and glass-reinforcing fibers using EPD for the preparation of hierarchical composite materials.

Electrophoretic Deposition of Chitosan/h-BN and Chitosan/h-BN/TiO2 Composite Coatings on Stainless Steel (316L) Substrates

PubMed Central

Raddaha, Namir S.; Cordero-Arias, Luis; Cabanas-Polo, Sandra; Virtanen, Sannakaisa; Roether, Judith A.; Boccaccini, Aldo R.

2014-01-01

This article presents the results of an experimental investigation designed to deposit chitosan/hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and chitosan/h-BN/titania (TiO2) composites on SS316L substrates using electrophoretic deposition (EPD) for potential antibacterial applications. The influence of EPD parameters (voltage and deposition time) and relative concentrations of chitosan, h-BN and TiO2 in suspension on deposition yield was studied. The composition and structure of deposited coatings were investigated by FTIR, XRD and SEM. It was observed that h-BN and TiO2 particles were dispersed in the chitosan matrix through simultaneous deposition. The adhesion between the electrophoretic coatings and the stainless steel substrates was tested by using tape test technique, and the results showed that the adhesion strength corresponded to 3B and 4B classes. Corrosion resistance was evaluated by electrochemical polarization curves, indicating enhanced corrosion resistance of the chitosan/h-BN/TiO2 and chitosan/h-BN coatings compared to the bare stainless steel substrate. In order to investigate the in-vitro inorganic bioactivity, coatings were immersed in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 28 days. FTIR and XRD results showed no formation of hydroxyapatite on the surface of chitosan/h-BN/TiO2 and chitosan/h-BN coatings, which are therefore non bioactive but potentially useful as antibacterial coatings. PMID:28788541

An exploration of the relationship between postnatal distress and maternal role attainment, breast feeding problems and breast feeding cessation in Australia.

PubMed

Cooke, Margaret; Schmied, Virginia; Sheehan, Athena

2007-03-01

To explore the relationships between maternal distress, breast feeding cessation, breast feeding problems and breast feeding maternal role attainment. Longitudinal cohort study. Three urban hospitals within Sydney, Australia. 449 women were invited to participate in the study, with an 81% response rate. Self-report questionnaires were used to collect the data in pregnancy (28-36 weeks) and 2 weeks and 3 months after birth. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to measure postnatal distress, and the Maternal Role Attainment subscale (MRA) of the Maternal Breast Feeding Evaluation Scale (MBFES) was used to measure breast feeding maternal role attainment. Women with high MRA were less likely to stop breast feeding (even when they had breast feeding problems) than women with low MRA. Antenatal EPDS and anxiety scores were not related to breast feeding cessation or breast feeding problems when analysed alone. As hypothesised, the relationship between breast feeding cessation and postnatal distress (EPDS scores) varied according to MRA level. Women who were categorised as high MRA and no longer breast feeding had higher EPDS scores and were more likely to be categorised as distressed (36%) than women who had low MRA (<12%) or women who had high MRA and continued to breast feed (7%). There is a complex relationship between maternal identity, stopping breast feeding earlier than desired, and psychological distress. Women with strong beliefs about the importance of breast feeding to their maternal role may benefit from psychological assessment and support should they decide to stop breast feeding earlier.

Scheduled Relaxation Jacobi method: Improvements and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adsuara, J. E.; Cordero-Carrión, I.; Cerdá-Durán, P.; Aloy, M. A.

2016-09-01

Elliptic partial differential equations (ePDEs) appear in a wide variety of areas of mathematics, physics and engineering. Typically, ePDEs must be solved numerically, which sets an ever growing demand for efficient and highly parallel algorithms to tackle their computational solution. The Scheduled Relaxation Jacobi (SRJ) is a promising class of methods, atypical for combining simplicity and efficiency, that has been recently introduced for solving linear Poisson-like ePDEs. The SRJ methodology relies on computing the appropriate parameters of a multilevel approach with the goal of minimizing the number of iterations needed to cut down the residuals below specified tolerances. The efficiency in the reduction of the residual increases with the number of levels employed in the algorithm. Applying the original methodology to compute the algorithm parameters with more than 5 levels notably hinders obtaining optimal SRJ schemes, as the mixed (non-linear) algebraic-differential system of equations from which they result becomes notably stiff. Here we present a new methodology for obtaining the parameters of SRJ schemes that overcomes the limitations of the original algorithm and provide parameters for SRJ schemes with up to 15 levels and resolutions of up to 215 points per dimension, allowing for acceleration factors larger than several hundreds with respect to the Jacobi method for typical resolutions and, in some high resolution cases, close to 1000. Most of the success in finding SRJ optimal schemes with more than 10 levels is based on an analytic reduction of the complexity of the previously mentioned system of equations. Furthermore, we extend the original algorithm to apply it to certain systems of non-linear ePDEs.

Implementing Electric Potential Difference as a New Practical Parameter for Rapid and Specific Measurement of Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of Antibiotics.

PubMed

Mobasheri, Nasrin; Karimi, Mehrdad; Hamedi, Javad

2018-06-05

New methods to determine antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial pathogens especially the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of antibiotics have great importance in pharmaceutical industry and treatment procedures. In the present study, the MIC of several antibiotics was determined against some pathogenic bacteria using macrodilution test. In order to accelerate and increase the efficiency of culture-based method to determine antimicrobial susceptibility, the possible relationship between the changes in some physico-chemical parameters including conductivity, electrical potential difference (EPD), pH and total number of test strains was investigated during the logarithmic phase of bacterial growth in presence of antibiotics. The correlation between changes in these physico-chemical parameters and growth of bacteria was statistically evaluated using linear and non-linear regression models. Finally, the calculated MIC values in new proposed method were compared with the MIC derived from macrodilution test. The results represent significant association between the changes in EPD and pH values and growth of the tested bacteria during the exponential phase of bacterial growth. It has been assumed that the proliferation of bacteria can cause the significant changes in EPD values. The MIC values in both conventional and new method were consistent to each other. In conclusion, cost and time effective antimicrobial susceptibility test can be developed based on monitoring the changes in EPD values. The new proposed strategy also can be used in high throughput screening of biocompounds for their antimicrobial activity in a relatively shorter time (6-8 h) in comparison with the conventional methods.

An evaluation of routine antenatal depression screening and psychosocial assessment in a regional private maternity setting in Australia.

PubMed

Kalra, Harish; Reilly, Nicole; Austin, Marie-Paule

2018-01-30

There is limited information relating to routine depression screening and psychosocial assessment programs in private maternity settings in Australia. To describe the psychosocial profile of a sample of private maternity patients who participated in a depression screening and psychosocial risk assessment program as part of routine antenatal care, and to explore women's experience of receiving this component of pregnancy care. We conducted a retrospective medical records audit of 455 consecutive women having a routine psychosocial assessment and referral. Assessment was undertaken using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Antenatal Risk Questionnaire (ANRQ) for psychosocial risk; 101 women completed a feedback survey about their experience of receiving routine psychosocial care. Of the 87.7% of women who completed both EPDS and ANRQ, 4.3% scored 13 or more on the EPDS. On the ANRQ, 25.3% of women endorsed one risk factor, 11.6% two risk factors and 10.5% three or more risk factors. Elevated EPDS scores were associated with major stresses in the last 12 months, high trait anxiety and significant past mental health issue/s. Acceptability of depression screening and psychosocial risk assessment was high. This study highlights the need for, and acceptability of, depression and psychosocial assessment in the private maternity sector. These findings are particularly timely given the provision of new Medicare Benefits Scheme items for obstetricians to undertake psychosocial assessment (both antenatally and postnally) in line with recommended clinical best practice. © 2018 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Effects of a brief psychoanalytic intervention for perinatal depression.

PubMed

Nanzer, Nathalie; Sancho Rossignol, Ana; Righetti-Veltema, Marion; Knauer, Dora; Manzano, Juan; Palacio Espasa, Francisco

2012-08-01

This pilot study explores the effects of a brief individual psychoanalytic therapy on perinatal depressive symptoms. This intervention is based on the Geneva's mother-infant intervention model. A sample of 129 pregnant women was recruited in Geneva (Switzerland) and screened for depressive symptoms with two instruments: the 'Edinburgh postnatal depression scale' (EPDS) and the 'Dépistage anténatal de la dépression postnatale'. A group of 40 women presenting depressive symptoms (treatment group) participated in a four-session intervention called 'Psychotherapy centred on parenthood (PCP)'. It consists in two antenatal and two postnatal sessions and is focussed on changing problematic representations of parenthood. This treatment group was compared to a control group of 88 women without depressive symptoms and following the usual obstetrical care. The main outcome measure was EPDS at 3 and 6 months after delivery. The 'Global assessment functioning scale' was administered at the end of each therapeutic session. The 'Parent-infant relationship global assessment scale' was administered at the two postnatal sessions in order to explore if PCP was also effective in preventing the potential negative effects of depression on mother-infant relationship. Results show that in the treatment group (N = 31), EPDS scores dropped from 12.8 to 4.8; none of these women met the EPDS cut-off score of 12 at 3 and 6 months postpartum. Mother-infant relationship was well adapted for all 31 dyads at the end of the intervention. These results suggest that PCP is a promising intervention for treating perinatal depression and helping mothers engaging in parenting.

Postpartum Depression in Mothers of Infants With Cleft Lip and/or Palate.

PubMed

Johns, Alexis L; Hershfield, Jennifer A; Seifu, Netsanet Mulugeta; Haynes, Karla A

2018-02-23

This study describes postpartum depression rates and risk factors for mothers with infants with cleft lip and/or palate as postpartum depression has been associated with a range of negative maternal and child outcomes. A retrospective chart review from August 2009 to May 2015 included medical diagnoses, demographics, receipt of prenatal diagnosis, and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Mothers (N = 206) had infants (59.2% male; mean age in weeks 5.1 ± 6.9) with isolated cleft lip (18%), cleft palate (22.8%), or cleft lip and palate (59.2%). Mothers ranged from 16 to 45 years old (mean age 29 ± 6.2) and half had received a prenatal diagnosis. Patients mostly had public insurance (57.8%) and represented diverse ethnicities. Based on the EPDS, 11.7% of mothers met the depression cutoff of 10 or higher. The majority endorsed self-blame (68.9%), difficulty coping (59.2%), and feeling anxious (57.3%). Mothers of infants with cleft lip or cleft lip and palate who did not receive a prenatal diagnosis had higher total EPDS scores, anxiety, and incidence of feeling scared. Higher EPDS scores were predicted by not having a prenatal diagnosis and by older maternal age. Mothers of infants with a cleft had similar rates of postpartum depression as the general population; however, those who were older and who did not receive a prenatal diagnosis endorsed more symptoms. Prenatal diagnosis may contribute to positive maternal postpartum adjustment. Providers should incorporate screening for risk factors into their evaluation and treatment planning.

The Effect of Postpartum Depression and Current Mental Health Problems of the Mother on Child Behaviour at Eight Years.

PubMed

Closa-Monasterolo, R; Gispert-Llaurado, M; Canals, J; Luque, V; Zaragoza-Jordana, M; Koletzko, B; Grote, V; Weber, M; Gruszfeld, D; Szott, K; Verduci, E; ReDionigi, A; Hoyos, J; Brasselle, G; Escribano Subías, J

2017-07-01

Background Maternal postpartum depression (PPD) could affect children's emotional development, increasing later risk of child psychological problems. The aim of our study was to assess the association between child's emotional and behavioural problems and mother's PPD, considering maternal current mental health problems (CMP). Methods This is a secondary analysis from the EU-Childhood Obesity Project (NCT00338689). Women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at, 2, 3 and 6 months after delivery and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) to assess CMP once the children reached the age of 8 years. EPDS scores > 10 were defined as PPD and GHQ-12 scores > 2 were defined as CMP. The psychological problems of the children at the age of eight were collected by mothers through the Child's Behaviour Checklist (CBCL). Results 473, 474 and 459 mothers filled in GHQ-12 and CBCL tests at 8 years and EPDS at 2, 3 and 6 months, respectively. Anxiety and depression was significantly increased by maternal EPDS. Children whose mothers had both PPD and CMP exhibited the highest levels of psychological problems, followed by those whose mothers who had only CMP and only PPD. PPD and CMP had a significant effect on child's total psychological problems (p = 0.033, p < 0.001, respectively). Children whose mothers had PPD did not differ from children whose mothers did not have any depression. Conclusions Maternal postpartum depression and current mental health problems, separately and synergistically, increase children's psychological problems at 8 years.

Subscales measuring symptoms of non-specific depression, anhedonia, and anxiety in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

PubMed

Tuohy, Alan; McVey, Cynthia

2008-06-01

There has been considerable research and clinical interest in the comorbidity of anxiety and depression in the post-partum period, and specifically in the possibility that the commonly used Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) incorporates an anxiety component. We hypothesized that the recommended version of factor analysis (Fabrigar, Wegener, MacCallum, & Strahan, 1999) would identify such covert dimensions more reliably than the commonly used principal components analysis with varimax rotation and eigenvalues greater than 1. Principal axis factor extraction with parallel analysis and oblique (direct quartimin) factor rotation was applied to the 10 EPDS items. The study used a sample of recent mothers recruited and assessed via e-mail and the Internet (N=440). In addition to the EPDS, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Positive and Negative Affect Scales (PANAS) were also administered. Three factors were found, which were identified as 'non-specific depressive symptoms', 'anhedonia', and 'anxietal symptoms' subscales, respectively. These subscales were regressed on the HADS anxiety and depression and the PANAS positive and negative affectivity scales, with results substantially consistent with current structural models of the taxonomy of the emotional disorders. The data were obtained from a self-selected non-clinical sample. In addition, it is known that the use of computer-based assessment may tend to inflate self-report scores. It was concluded that there is now sufficient evidence that clinicians should not assume the EPDS to be unidimensional, but should assess all three subscales when screening for susceptibility to post-partum depression and/or post-partum anxiety.

Electrophoretic deposition of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on porous anodic aluminum oxide using ionic liquid as a dispersing agent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hekmat, F.; Sohrabi, B.; Rahmanifar, M. S.; Jalali, A.

2015-06-01

Multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MW-CNTs) have been arranged in nanochannels of anodic aluminum oxide template (AAO) by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) to make a vertically-aligned carbon nanotube (VA-CNT) based electrode. Well ordered AAO templates were prepared by a two-step anodizing process by applying a constant voltage of 45 V in oxalic acid solution. The stabilized CNTs in a water-soluble room temperature ionic liquid (1-methyl-3-octadecylimidazolium bromide), were deposited in the pores of AAO templates which were conductive by deposition of Ni nanoparticles in the bottom of pores. In order to obtain ideal results, different EPD parameters, such as concentration of MWCNTs and ionic liquid on stability of MWCNT suspensions, deposition time and voltage which are applied in EPD process and also optimal conditions for anodizing of template were investigated. The capacitive performance of prepared electrodes was analyzed by measuring the specific capacitance from cyclic voltammograms and the charge-discharge curves. A maximum value of 50 Fg-1 at the scan rate of 20 mV s-1was achieved for the specific capacitance.

Elevated risk of adverse obstetric outcomes in pregnant women with depression.

PubMed

Kim, Deborah R; Sockol, Laura E; Sammel, Mary D; Kelly, Caroline; Moseley, Marian; Epperson, C Neill

2013-12-01

In this study, we evaluated the association between prenatal depression symptoms adverse birth outcomes in African-American women. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 261 pregnant African-American women who were screened with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at their initial prenatal visit. Medical records were reviewed to assess pregnancy and neonatal outcomes, specifically preeclampsia, preterm birth, intrauterine growth retardation, and low birth weight. Using multivariable logistic regression models, an EPDS score ≥10 was associated with increased risk for preeclampsia, preterm birth, and low birth weight. An EPDS score ≥10 was associated with increased risk for intrauterine growth retardation, but after controlling for behavioral risk factors, this association was no longer significant. Patients who screen positive for depression symptoms during pregnancy are at increased risk for multiple adverse birth outcomes. In a positive, patient-rated depression screening at the initial obstetrics visit, depression is associated with increased risk for multiple adverse birth outcomes. Given the retrospective study design and small sample size, these findings should be confirmed in a prospective cohort study.

All solution processed organic thin film transistor-backplane with printing technology for electrophoretic display

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lee, Myung W.; Song, C.K.

2012-01-01

In this study, solution processes were developed for backplane using an organic thin film transistor (OTFT) as a driving device for an electrophoretic display (EPD) panel. The processes covered not only the key device of OTFTs but also interlayer and pixel electrodes. The various materials and printing processes were adopted to achieve the requirements of devices and functioning layers. The performance of OTFT of the backplane was sufficient to drive EPD sheet by producing a mobility of 0.12 cm2/v x sec and on/off current ratio of 10(5).

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Assessment of the reaction control system, volume 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prust, Chet D.; Hartman, Dan W.

1988-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA effort first completed an analysis of the aft and forward Reaction Control System (RCS) hardware and Electrical Power Distribution and Control (EPD and C), generating draft failure modes and potential critical items. The IOA results were then compared to the proposed Post 51-L NASA FMEA/CIL baseline. This report documents the results of that comparison for the Orbiter RCS hardware and EPD and C systems. Volume 3 continues the presentation of IOA worksheets.

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Assessment of the reaction control system, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prust, Chet D.; Hartman, Dan W.

1988-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA effort first completed an analysis of the aft and forward Reaction Control System (RCS) hardware and Electrical Power Distribution and Control (EPD and C), generating draft failure modes and potential critical items. The IOA results were then compared to the proposed Post 51-L NASA FMEA/CIL baseline. This report documents the results of that comparison for the Orbiter RCS hardware and EPD and C systems. Volume 2 continues the presentation of IOA worksheets.

The impact of training strategies on the accuracy of genomic predictors in United States Red Angus cattle.

PubMed

Lee, J; Kachman, S D; Spangler, M L

2017-08-01

Genomic selection (GS) has become an integral part of genetic evaluation methodology and has been applied to all major livestock species, including beef and dairy cattle, pigs, and chickens. Significant contributions in increased accuracy of selection decisions have been clearly illustrated in dairy cattle after practical application of GS. In the majority of U.S. beef cattle breeds, similar efforts have also been made to increase the accuracy of genetic merit estimates through the inclusion of genomic information into routine genetic evaluations using a variety of methods. However, prediction accuracies can vary relative to panel density, the number of folds used for folds cross-validation, and the choice of dependent variables (e.g., EBV, deregressed EBV, adjusted phenotypes). The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of genomic predictors for Red Angus beef cattle with different strategies used in training and evaluation. The reference population consisted of 9,776 Red Angus animals whose genotypes were imputed to 2 medium-density panels consisting of over 50,000 (50K) and approximately 80,000 (80K) SNP. Using the imputed panels, we determined the influence of marker density, exclusion (deregressed EPD adjusting for parental information [DEPD-PA]) or inclusion (deregressed EPD without adjusting for parental information [DEPD]) of parental information in the deregressed EPD used as the dependent variable, and the number of clusters used to partition training animals (3, 5, or 10). A BayesC model with π set to 0.99 was used to predict molecular breeding values (MBV) for 13 traits for which EPD existed. The prediction accuracies were measured as genetic correlations between MBV and weighted deregressed EPD. The average accuracies across all traits were 0.540 and 0.552 when using the 50K and 80K SNP panels, respectively, and 0.538, 0.541, and 0.561 when using 3, 5, and 10 folds, respectively, for cross-validation. Using DEPD-PA as the response variable resulted in higher accuracies of MBV than those obtained by DEPD for growth and carcass traits. When DEPD were used as the response variable, accuracies were greater for threshold traits and those that are sex limited, likely due to the fact that these traits suffer from a lack of information content and excluding animals in training with only parental information substantially decreases the training population size. It is recommended that the contribution of parental average to deregressed EPD should be removed in the construction of genomic prediction equations. The difference in terms of prediction accuracies between the 2 SNP panels or the number of folds compared herein was negligible.

Predictors of Postpartum Depression in Dubai, a Rapidly Growing Multicultural Society in the United Arab Emirates.

PubMed

Alhammadi, Salwa M; Hashem, Lien Abou; Abusbeih, Zainah R; Alzaabi, Fatima S; Alnuaimi, Salama N; Jalabi, Ala F; Nair, Satish C; Carrick, Frederick R; Abdulrahman, Mahera

2017-09-01

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a significant public health problem adversely affecting mothers, their newborns, and other members of the family. Although PPD is common and potentially dangerous, only a minority of the cases are identified in primary health care settings during routine care, and the majority of depressed mothers in the community lies unrecognized and therefore untreated. In this study, a total of 1500 mothers were approached randomly, 808 accepted to participate, and 504 were within the inclusion criteria (women who had a birth of a singleton full-term healthy infant, had an uncomplicated pregnancy, and were within their one week to six months postpartum). The participants completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. A total of 168 women had an EPDS score ≥10, yielding a crude prevalence rate of 33%. The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 14 out of 504 (3%), among which 11 (79%) had EPDS score of ≥10. We fitted multiple linear regression models to evaluate the predictors of variables measured on the EPDS scale. This model was statistically significant p<0.0001 in predicting the total EPDS score. Women's employment status, baby's birth weight, stressful life event and marital conflict were statistically significant predictors. The findings of this study are anticipated to entail the government and policy makers in the region to pay more attention to the apparently high prevalence of unrevealed PPD in the community. It is crucial to enhance screening mechanisms for early detection, providing interventions to manage symptoms, and at the same time mandating local guidelines to address the PPD pathology as a high priority for the UAE population.

Potentially inappropriate prescribing in two populations with differing socio-economic profiles: a cross-sectional database study using the PROMPT criteria.

PubMed

Cooper, Janine A; Moriarty, Frank; Ryan, Cristín; Smith, Susan M; Bennett, Kathleen; Fahey, Tom; Wallace, Emma; Cahir, Caitriona; Williams, David; Teeling, Mary; Hughes, Carmel M

2016-05-01

The purpose of this study is to establish the prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) in middle-aged adults (45-64 years) in two populations with differing socio-economic profiles, and to investigate factors associated with PIP, using the PROMPT (PRescribing Optimally in Middle-aged People's Treatments) criteria. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using 2012 data from the Enhanced Prescribing Database (EPD), covering the full population in Northern Ireland and the Health Services Executive Primary Care Reimbursement Service (HSE-PCRS) database, covering the most socio-economically deprived third of the population in this age group in the Republic of Ireland. The prevalence for each PROMPT criterion and overall prevalence of PIP were calculated. Logistic regression was used to investigate the association between PIP and gender, age group and polypharmacy. This study included 441,925 patients from the EPD and 309,748 patients from the HSE-PCRS database. Polypharmacy was common in both datasets (46.7 % in the HSE-PCRS and 20.3 % in the EPD). The prevalence of PIP was 42.9 % (95%CI 42.7, 43.1) in the HSE-PCRS and 21.1 % (95%CI 21.0, 21.2) in the EPD. Age group, female gender and polypharmacy were significantly associated with PIP in both populations (p < 0.05) and polypharmacy had the strongest association. PIP is common amongst middle-aged people with the risk of PIP increasing with polypharmacy. Differences in the prevalence of polypharmacy and PIP between the two populations may relate to heterogeneity in healthcare services and different socio-economic profiles, with higher rates of multimorbidity and associated polypharmacy in more deprived groups.

Antenatal depressive symptoms among pregnant women: Evidence from a Southern Brazilian population-based cohort study.

PubMed

Coll, Carolina de Vargas Nunes; da Silveira, Mariângela Freitas; Bassani, Diego Garcia; Netsi, Elena; Wehrmeister, Fernando César; Barros, Fernando César; Stein, Alan

2017-02-01

Antenatal depression (AD) is a major public health issue but evidence regarding its prevalence and associated factors in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) is limited. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence and identify risk factors for AD among Brazilian pregnant women. All women living in the urban area of the city of Pelotas, Southern Brazil, with confirmed pregnancy and estimated delivery date in the year 2015, were invited to take part. Eligible pregnant women were recruited from health services. Symptoms of antenatal depression were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) by face-to-face interviews. A cutoff-point of 13 or more was used to define probable AD. EPDS scores were available for 4130 women. The prevalence of AD was 16% (95%CI 14·9-17·1). After adjustment for potential confounders, the factors most strongly associated with higher EPDS scores were a previous history of depression (PR 2·81; 95%CI 2·44-3·25), high parity (PR 1·72; 95%CI 1·38-2·15 - ≥2 children vs. 1 child) and maternal education (PR 5·47; 95%CI 4·22-7·09 - 0-4 vs. ≥12 years of formal education). EPDS was administered through face-to-face interviews rather than questionnaires and some women may have felt uncomfortable reporting their symptoms leading to underreporting and consequently underestimation of the prevalence found. AD prevalence is substantially higher in Brazil than in high-income countries (HICs) but similar to other LMICs. Our study identified relevant risk factors that may be potential targets to plan interventions, particularly a history of depression. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Suicidality among pregnant women in Brazil: prevalence and risk factors.

PubMed

Castro e Couto, Tiago; Brancaglion, Mayra Yara Martins; Cardoso, Mauro Nogueira; Faria, Gustavo Coutinho; Garcia, Frederico Duarte; Nicolato, Rodrigo; Aguiar, Regina Amélia Lopes P; Leite, Henrique Vitor; Corrêa, Humberto

2016-04-01

Suicide is one of the major causes of preventable death. We evaluated suicidality among pregnant women who participated in prenatal care in Brazil. A total of 255 patients were assessed using semi-structured interviews as well as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) Plus. Thereafter, Stata 12 was used to identify the significant predictors of current suicide risk (CSR) among participants using univariate and multivariate analyses (p < 0.05). According to MINI Plus module C, the lifetime suicide attempt rate was 12.55%. The overall CSR was 23.53%, distributed across risk levels of low (12.55%), moderate (1.18%), and high (9.80%). Our rates approximate those found in another Brazilian study (18.4%). Antenatal depression (AD), lifetime bipolar disorder, and any current anxiety disorder (as measured using the MINI) as well as BDI scores ≥15 and EPDS scores ≥11 were identified as positive risk factors in a univariate analysis (p < 0.001). These factors changed after a multivariate analysis was employed, and only years of education [odds ratio (OR) = 0.45; 95% confidence intervals (CIs) = 0.21-0.99], AD (OR = 3.42; 95% CIs = 1.37-8.53), and EPDS scores ≥11 (OR = 4.44; 95% CIs = 1.97-9.97) remained independent risk factors. AD and other psychiatric disorders were the primary risk factors for suicidality, although only the former remained an independent factor after a multivariate analysis. More than 10 years of education and EPDS scores ≥11 were also independent factors; the latter can be used as a screening tool for suicide risk.

Conception by means of in vitro fertilization is not associated with maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy or postpartum.

PubMed

Gambadauro, Pietro; Iliadis, Stavros; Bränn, Emma; Skalkidou, Alkistis

2017-08-01

To study whether conception by means of in vitro fertilization (IVF) is associated with maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy or postpartum. Longitudinal observational study. University hospital. A total of 3,283 women with singleton pregnancies receiving antenatal care and delivering in Uppsala from 2010 to 2015. A web-based self-administered structured questionnaire including sociodemographic, clinical and pregnancy-related items, and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was delivered at 17 and 32 gestational weeks and at 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum. Prevalence of significant depressive symptoms (EPDS ≥12) and EPDS scores. A total of 167 women (5%) had conceived via IVF and 3,116 (95%) had a spontaneous pregnancy. IVF mothers were more frequently ≥35 years of age (46.1% vs. 22.6%) and primiparous (71.7% vs. 49.9%) and had a higher cesarean delivery rate (22.4% vs. 14.2%). Demographic and clinical characteristics were otherwise similar between the two groups. Significant depressive symptoms were reported by 12.8%, 12.4%, 13.8%, and 11.9% of women at 17 and 32 gestational weeks and 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum, respectively. The prevalence of depressive symptoms and the EPDS scores during pregnancy and postpartum were similar between women conceiving spontaneously or through IVF. The mode of conception was not associated with significant depressive symptoms at any time point, even when adjusting for several possible confounders in multivariable logistic regression analysis. Despite the psychologic distress characterizing subfertility and its treatment, conception by means of IVF is not associated with maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy or postpartum. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Translation of EPDS Questionnaire into Kiswahili: Understanding the Cross-Cultural and Translation Issues in Mental Health Research

PubMed Central

Kumar, Manasi; Ongeri, Linnet; Mathai, Muthoni; Mbwayo, Anne

2015-01-01

The need for a suitable tool for assessing postpartum depression in Kenya led to the process of translation of the 10 items Edinburgh Postnatal Scale into Kiswahili. The idea was to seek semantic, conceptual as well as normative equivalence in this translation. The paper discusses issues and the process of translation and provides in depth discussions around translation from the point of view of cross-cultural mental health research and practice. The English version of the EPDS screening tool was finally successfully translated into Kiswahili and the translated version is attached with this paper. PMID:25893218

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Assessment of the reaction control system, volume 4

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prust, Chet D.; Hartman, Dan W.

1988-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA effort first completed an analysis of the aft and forward Reaction Control System (RCS) hardware and Electrical Power Distribution and Control (EPD and C), generating draft failure modes and potential critical items. The IOA results were then compared to the proposed Post 51-L NASA FMEA/CIL baseline. This report documents the results of that comparison for the Orbiter RCS hardware and EPD and C systems. Volume 4 continues the presentation of IOA worksheets and contains the potential critical items list.

Photovoltaic properties of multilayered quantum dot/quantum rod-sensitized TiO₂ solar cells fabricated by SILAR and electrophoresis.

PubMed

Cerdán-Pasarán, Andrea; López-Luke, Tzarara; Esparza, Diego; Zarazúa, Isaac; De la Rosa, Elder; Fuentes-Ramírez, Rosalba; Alatorre-Ordaz, Alejandro; Sánchez-Solís, Ana; Torres-Castro, Alejandro; Zhang, Jin Z

2015-07-28

A multilayered semiconductor sensitizer structure composed of three differently sized CdSe quantum rods (QRs), labeled as Q530, Q575, Q590, were prepared and deposited on the surface of mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) for photovoltaic applications. By varying the arrangement of layers as well as the time of EPD, the photoconversion efficiency was improved from 2.0% with the single layer of CdSe QRs (TiO2/Q590/ZnS) to 2.9% for multilayers (TiO2/Q590Q575/ZnS). The optimal EPD time was shorter for the multilayered structures. The effect of CdS quantum dots (QDs) deposited by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) was also investigated. The addition of CdS QDs resulted in the enhancement of efficiency to 4.1% for the configuration (TiO2/CdS/Q590Q575/ZnS), due to increased photocurrent and photovoltage. Based on detailed structural, optical, and photoelectrical studies, the increased photocurrent is attributed to broadened light absorption while the increased voltage is due to a shift in the relevant energy levels.

Contribution to the epidemiology of postnatal depression in Germany--implications for the utilization of treatment.

PubMed

v Ballestrem, C-L; Strauss, M; Kächele, H

2005-05-01

Using a longitudinal screening model, 772 mothers were screened for postnatal depression after delivery in Stuttgart (Germany). This model contained the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD). The first screening was 6-8 weeks after delivery with the EPDS. Mothers with high scores in the first screening had a second screening 9-12 weeks after delivery with the EPDS at least three weeks after the first. Mothers with high scores in both screenings were investigated with the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD). Classification was performed with the DSM-IV. After observation until the third month after delivery, 3.6% (N = 28) of the 772 mothers were diagnosed with postnatal depression. Various methods of therapy were offered to those mothers. 18% (N = 5) accepted one or more of these methods of treatment. The rest of the mothers with postnatal depression refused--mostly for attitudinal or practical reasons. 13.4% of the mothers showed high scores in the first screening but not in the second. For those mothers a longitudinal observation is currently being performed to distinguish between a depressive episode and a depression with oscillating symptoms.

Association between parental depressive symptoms and impaired bonding with the infant.

PubMed

Kerstis, Birgitta; Aarts, Clara; Tillman, Carin; Persson, Hanna; Engström, Gabriella; Edlund, Birgitta; Öhrvik, John; Sylvén, Sara; Skalkidou, Alkistis

2016-02-01

Impaired bonding with the infant is associated with maternal postpartum depression but has not been investigated extensively in fathers. The primary study aim was to evaluate associations between maternal and paternal depressive symptoms and impaired bonding with their infant. A secondary aim was to determine the associations between parents' marital problems and impaired bonding with the infant. The study is part of a population-based cohort project (UPPSAT) in Uppsala, Sweden. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum and the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire at 6 months postpartum were completed by 727 couples. The prevalence of impaired bonding was highest among couples in which both spouses had depressive symptoms. Impaired bonding was associated with higher EPDS scores in both mothers and fathers, as well as with experiencing a deteriorated marital relationship. The association between maternal and paternal impaired bonding and the mothers' and fathers' EPDS scores remained significant even after adjustment for relevant confounding factors. Depressive symptoms at 6 weeks postpartum are associated with impaired bonding with the infant at 6 months postpartum for both mothers and fathers. It is critical to screen for and prevent depressive symptoms in both parents during early parenthood.

Topical HPMC/S-Nitrosoglutathione Solution Decreases Inflammation and Bone Resorption in Experimental Periodontal Disease in Rats

PubMed Central

Martins, Conceição S.; Leitão, Renata F. C.; Costa, Deiziane V. S.; Melo, Iracema M.; Santos, Glaylton S.; Lima, Vilma; Baldim, Victor; Wong, Deysi V. T.; Bonfim, Luana E.; Melo, Cíntia B.; Brito, Gerly A. C.

2016-01-01

S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) is a nitric oxide (NO) donor, which exerts antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and microbicidal actions. Intragingival application of GSNO was already shown to decrease alveolar bone loss, inflammation and oxidative stress in an experimental periodontal disease (EPD) model. In the present study, we evaluated the potential therapeutic effect of topical applications of hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC)/GSNO solutions on EPD in Wistar rats. EPD was induced by placing a sterilized nylon (3.0) thread ligature around the cervix of the second left upper molar of the animals, which received topical applications of a HPMC solutions containing GSNO 2 or 10 mM or vehicle (HPMC solution), 1 h prior to the placement of the ligature and then twice daily until sacrifice on day 11. Treatment with HPMC/GSNO 10 mM solution significantly reduced alveolar bone loss, oxidative stress and TNF-α e IL-1β levels in the surrounding gingival tissue, and led to a decreased transcription of RANK and TNF-α genes and elevated bone alkaline phosphatase, compared to the HPMC group. In conclusion, topical application of HPMC/GSNO solution is a potential treatment to reduce inflammation and bone loss in periodontal disease. PMID:27116554

Topical HPMC/S-Nitrosoglutathione Solution Decreases Inflammation and Bone Resorption in Experimental Periodontal Disease in Rats.

PubMed

Martins, Conceição S; Leitão, Renata F C; Costa, Deiziane V S; Melo, Iracema M; Santos, Glaylton S; Lima, Vilma; Baldim, Victor; Wong, Deysi V T; Bonfim, Luana E; Melo, Cíntia B; G de Oliveira, Marcelo; Brito, Gerly A C

2016-01-01

S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) is a nitric oxide (NO) donor, which exerts antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and microbicidal actions. Intragingival application of GSNO was already shown to decrease alveolar bone loss, inflammation and oxidative stress in an experimental periodontal disease (EPD) model. In the present study, we evaluated the potential therapeutic effect of topical applications of hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC)/GSNO solutions on EPD in Wistar rats. EPD was induced by placing a sterilized nylon (3.0) thread ligature around the cervix of the second left upper molar of the animals, which received topical applications of a HPMC solutions containing GSNO 2 or 10 mM or vehicle (HPMC solution), 1 h prior to the placement of the ligature and then twice daily until sacrifice on day 11. Treatment with HPMC/GSNO 10 mM solution significantly reduced alveolar bone loss, oxidative stress and TNF-α e IL-1β levels in the surrounding gingival tissue, and led to a decreased transcription of RANK and TNF-α genes and elevated bone alkaline phosphatase, compared to the HPMC group. In conclusion, topical application of HPMC/GSNO solution is a potential treatment to reduce inflammation and bone loss in periodontal disease.

Composite electrochemical biosensors: a comparison of three different electrode matrices for the construction of amperometric tyrosinase biosensors.

PubMed

Serra, B; Jiménez, S; Mena, M L; Reviejo, A J; Pingarrón, J M

2002-03-01

A comparison of the behaviour of three different rigid composite matrices for the construction of amperometric tyrosinase biosensors, which are widely used for the detection of phenolic compounds, is reported. The composite electrode matrices were, graphite-Teflon; reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC)-epoxy resin; and graphite-ethylene/propylene/diene (EPD) terpolymer. After optimization of the experimental conditions, different aspects regarding the stability of the three composite tyrosinase electrode designs were considered and compared. A better reproducibility of the amperometric responses was found with the graphite-EPD electrodes, whereas a longer useful lifetime was observed for the graphite-Teflon electrodes. The kinetic parameters of the tyrosinase reaction were calculated for eight different phenolic compounds, as well as their corresponding calibration plots. The general trend in sensitivity was graphite-EPD>graphite-Teflon>RVC-epoxy resin. A correlation between sensitivity and the catalytic efficiency of the enzyme reaction for each phenolic substrate was found. Furthermore, differences in the sensitivity order for the phenolic compounds were observed among the three biocomposite electrodes, which suggests that the nature of the electrode matrix influences the interactions in the tyrosinase catalytic cycle.

The Effect of the Wall Contact and Post-Growth, Cool-Down on Defects in CdTe Crystals Grown By 'Contactless' PVT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Palosz, W.; Grasza, K.; Dudley, M.; Raghothamachar, B.; Cai, L.; Dunrose, K.; Halliday, D.; Boyall, N. M.; Rose, M. Franklin (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

To take a maximum advantage of materials processing in microgravity for understanding the effects of gravity, gravity-independent effects should be minimized. In crystal growth, the quality of the grown crystals may depend, among other factors, on their interaction with the walls of the processing container during and after growth, and on the rate of the crystal cool-down at the end of the process. To investigate the above phenomena, a series of CdTe crystal growth processes was carried out. The crystals were grown by physical vapor transport without contact with the side walls of the silica glass ampoules. To eliminate the effect of the seed quality, and to reduce the number of nuclei and related crystal grains, the Low Supersaturation Nucleation technique was applied. The source temperature was 930 C, the undercooling was a few degrees. The crystals, having the diameter of 25 mm, grew at the rate of a few mm per day. The post-growth cool-down to the room temperature was conducted at different rates, and lasted from a few minutes to four days. The crystals were characterized using chemical etching, low temperature luminescence, and Synchrotron White Beam X-ray Topography techniques. The dislocation (etch pit) density was measured and its distribution was analyzed by comparison with Poisson curves and with the Normalized Radial Distribution Correlation Function. In the regions where the crystal is in contact with silica, the materials show a considerable strain field which extends for a few mm or more from the silica-crystal interface. In the reference crystal grown with contact with the ampoule walls, and when the crystals are cooled at the highest rates, the etch pit/dislocation density is in the high 10(exp 5) per square centimeter region. Typical EPD values for lower cool-down rates are in the lower 10(exp 4) per square centimeter region. In some areas the actual dislocation density was about 10(exp 3) per square centimeter or even less. No apparent effect of the cool-down rate on polygonization was observed. Low temperature PL spectra show, that the dominant peak is (D(sup 0), h) and (A(sup 0), e) for samples with low and high dislocation densities, respectively. For low EPD crystals a peak at 1.45 eV with 21 meV phonon replicas was observed and attributed to donor-acceptor pair to neutral copper-acceptor transition. In high EPD crystals this PL structure was not observed, apparently due to the masking effect of the strong contribution from the dislocation band.

Advanced stent coating for drug delivery and in vivo biocompatibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yi; Wang, Wuchen; Acharya, Gayathri; Shim, Yoon-Bo; Choe, Eun Sang; Lee, Chi H.

2013-10-01

As an effort to alleviate stent-induced cardiovascular injury including restenosis and thrombosis, advanced drug-eluting stent (ADES) with a bilayer construct composed of a top-coat made of collagen and a base-coat incorporated with N-nitrosomelatonin (NOMela)-loaded PLGA nanoparticles has been developed. NOMela is a hydrophobic prodrug of nitric oxide (NO) that is an endogenous anti-platelet compound. ADES was coated with PLGA nanoparticles via either electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique or dip-coating technique, and their coating characteristics and efficacies were compared. The drug-loading efficacy and in vitro drug-release profiles from ADES were expressed with various variables including the additives to the collagen layer, the number of layers of the collagen top-coat, the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity of the loaded drug, the coating technique of nanoparticles, and the concentration of coating emulsions in the EPD method. The morphological status of cross-section and surface of ADES was evaluated by laser scanning confocal microscope and scanning electronic microscope. The real-time release profiles of NO were assessed using the NO-microbiosensor. The anti-platelet activity of ADES was evaluated on the rabbit whole blood using an aggregometer. The intima formation and protein expression in aorta were examined using an in vivo rat model. Both collagen and PLGA used in ADES are biodegradable polymers that fully degrade and consequently produce less inflammation responses. NO released from ADES significantly reduced platelet aggregation in the rabbit blood as compared with those exposed to the control stents. ADES coated with a double layer consisted of collagen and PLGA and containing NOMela was less antigenic at the implanted sites and alleviating intima formation and thrombosis. An external exposure of aorta to NO elicits distinct and specific effects on mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) activities which evoke the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response. These findings elucidated that coordinate and reciprocal alterations in the protein kinases followed by the ER stress protein expression are an integral feature of the in-stent-mediated cardiovascular injury.

A proteomic chronology of gene expression through the cell cycle in human myeloid leukemia cells.

PubMed

Ly, Tony; Ahmad, Yasmeen; Shlien, Adam; Soroka, Dominique; Mills, Allie; Emanuele, Michael J; Stratton, Michael R; Lamond, Angus I

2014-01-01

Technological advances have enabled the analysis of cellular protein and RNA levels with unprecedented depth and sensitivity, allowing for an unbiased re-evaluation of gene regulation during fundamental biological processes. Here, we have chronicled the dynamics of protein and mRNA expression levels across a minimally perturbed cell cycle in human myeloid leukemia cells using centrifugal elutriation combined with mass spectrometry-based proteomics and RNA-Seq, avoiding artificial synchronization procedures. We identify myeloid-specific gene expression and variations in protein abundance, isoform expression and phosphorylation at different cell cycle stages. We dissect the relationship between protein and mRNA levels for both bulk gene expression and for over ∼6000 genes individually across the cell cycle, revealing complex, gene-specific patterns. This data set, one of the deepest surveys to date of gene expression in human cells, is presented in an online, searchable database, the Encyclopedia of Proteome Dynamics (http://www.peptracker.com/epd/). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01630.001.

A proteomic chronology of gene expression through the cell cycle in human myeloid leukemia cells

PubMed Central

Ly, Tony; Ahmad, Yasmeen; Shlien, Adam; Soroka, Dominique; Mills, Allie; Emanuele, Michael J; Stratton, Michael R; Lamond, Angus I

2014-01-01

Technological advances have enabled the analysis of cellular protein and RNA levels with unprecedented depth and sensitivity, allowing for an unbiased re-evaluation of gene regulation during fundamental biological processes. Here, we have chronicled the dynamics of protein and mRNA expression levels across a minimally perturbed cell cycle in human myeloid leukemia cells using centrifugal elutriation combined with mass spectrometry-based proteomics and RNA-Seq, avoiding artificial synchronization procedures. We identify myeloid-specific gene expression and variations in protein abundance, isoform expression and phosphorylation at different cell cycle stages. We dissect the relationship between protein and mRNA levels for both bulk gene expression and for over ∼6000 genes individually across the cell cycle, revealing complex, gene-specific patterns. This data set, one of the deepest surveys to date of gene expression in human cells, is presented in an online, searchable database, the Encyclopedia of Proteome Dynamics (http://www.peptracker.com/epd/). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01630.001 PMID:24596151

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Assessment of the reaction control system, volume 5

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prust, Chet D.; Hartman, Dan W.

1988-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA effort first completed an analysis of the aft and forward Reaction Control System (RCS) hardware and Electrical Power Distribution and Control (EPD and C), generating draft failure modes and potential critical items. The IOA results were then compared to the proposed Post 51-L NASA FMEA/CIL baseline. This report documents the results of that comparison for the Orbiter RCS hardware and EPD and C systems. Volume 5 contains detailed analysis and superseded analysis worksheets and the NASA FMEA to IOA worksheet cross reference and recommendations.

Developing a Web-Based Mechanism for Assessing Teacher Science Content Knowledge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Byers, Al; Koba, Susan; Sherman, Greg; Scheppke, Joan; Bolus, Roger

2011-04-01

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) recently launched a comprehensive electronic professional development (e-PD) online portal, the NSTA Learning Center. This support site for educators currently includes over 6,000 e-PD resources and opportunities available on-demand, as well as various tools designed to help educators maximize the effectiveness of using NSTA resources. One tool, the PD Indexer, helps teachers identify their own areas of content strengths and weaknesses by selecting content-specific assessments. Individual NSTA resources are recommended based on assessment outcomes. This paper presents a detailed description of the procedures employed by NSTA to develop valid and reliable PD Indexer content-specific multiple-choice assessment items.

Tailoring Interfacial Properties by Controlling Carbon Nanotube Coating Thickness on Glass Fibers Using Electrophoretic Deposition.

PubMed

Tamrakar, Sandeep; An, Qi; Thostenson, Erik T; Rider, Andrew N; Haque, Bazle Z Gama; Gillespie, John W

2016-01-20

The electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method was used to deposit polyethylenimine (PEI) functionalized multiwall carbon nanotube (CNT) films onto the surface of individual S-2 glass fibers. By varying the processing parameters of EPD following Hamaker's equation, the thickness of the CNT film was controlled over a wide range from 200 nm to 2 μm. The films exhibited low electrical resistance, providing evidence of coating uniformity and consolidation. The effect of the CNT coating on fiber matrix interfacial properties was investigated through microdroplet experiments. Changes in interfacial properties due to application of CNT coatings onto the fiber surface with and without a CNT-modified matrix were studied. A glass fiber with a 2 μm thick CNT coating and the unmodified epoxy matrix showed the highest increase (58%) in interfacial shear strength (IFSS) compared to the baseline. The increase in the IFSS was proportional to CNT film thickness. Failure analysis of the microdroplet specimens indicated higher IFSS was related to fracture morphologies with higher levels of surface roughness. EPD enables the thickness of the CNT coating to be adjusted, facilitating control of fiber/matrix interfacial resistivity. The electrical sensitivity provides the opportunity to fabricate a new class of sizing with tailored interfacial properties and the ability to detect damage initiation.

Electrophoretic deposition of graphene oxide on magnetic ribbon: Toward high sensitive and selectable magnetoimpedance response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamilpanah, L.; Azadian, S.; Shoa e Gharehbagh, J.; Haghniaz Jahromi, S.; Sheykhifard, Z.; Hosseinizadeh, S.; Erfanifam, S.; Hajiali, M. R.; Tehranchi, M. M.; Mohseni, S. M.

2018-07-01

Graphene oxide (GO) layers have shown to be fascinating elements for application in high performance sensors. They can be applied in multi-disciplinary designs based on surface selective sensing mechanisms. One immediate application of such surface sensitive elements is implementing of GO layer in magnetoimpedance (MI) sensors to improve their multi-functionality. In this paper, deposition of GO on the surface of Co-based amorphous ribbons (Co68.15Fe4.35Si12.5B15) is performed using electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method to evaluate the MI response. MI ratio increased from 271% (bare ribbon) up to 281% and 301% EPD GO deposited within 4 and 8 min, respectively. Similar experiment for the ribbon drop coated with GO was carried out while no enhancement in MI response was seen. Vertical growth of GO on the surface of the ribbon in EPD and drop coated layers observed by topographical measurements. We explained the difference between the MI responses based on layers verticality and surface coverage. UV-Visible absorption and Raman spectroscopy were used to study the nature of GO. Gaining a high surface area of GO along with their biocompatible and anticorrosive properties atop the MI sensors can open pathways towards increasing applications of surface selective and high sensitive MI sensors.

Degenerate band edge laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veysi, Mehdi; Othman, Mohamed A. K.; Figotin, Alexander; Capolino, Filippo

2018-05-01

We propose a class of lasers based on a fourth-order exceptional point of degeneracy (EPD) referred to as the degenerate band edge (DBE). EPDs have been found in parity-time-symmetric photonic structures that require loss and/or gain; here we show that the DBE is a different kind of EPD since it occurs in periodic structures that are lossless and gainless. Because of this property, a small level of gain is sufficient to induce single-frequency lasing based on a synchronous operation of four degenerate Floquet-Bloch eigenwaves. This lasing scheme constitutes a light-matter interaction mechanism that leads also to a unique scaling law of the laser threshold with the inverse of the fifth power of the laser-cavity length. The DBE laser has the lowest lasing threshold in comparison to a regular band edge laser and to a conventional laser in cavities with the same loaded quality (Q ) factor and length. In particular, even without mirror reflectors the DBE laser exhibits a lasing threshold which is an order of magnitude lower than that of a uniform cavity laser of the same length and with very high mirror reflectivity. Importantly, this novel DBE lasing regime enforces mode selectivity and coherent single-frequency operation even for pumping rates well beyond the lasing threshold, in contrast to the multifrequency nature of conventional uniform cavity lasers.

All-solid-state reduced graphene oxide supercapacitor with large volumetric capacitance and ultralong stability prepared by electrophoretic deposition method.

PubMed

Wang, Mei; Duong, Le Dai; Mai, Nguyen Thi; Kim, Sanghoon; Kim, Youngjun; Seo, Heewon; Kim, Ye Chan; Jang, Woojin; Lee, Youngkwan; Suhr, Jonghwan; Nam, Jae-Do

2015-01-21

Portable energy storage devices have gained special attention due to the growing demand for portable electronics. Herein, an all-solid-state supercapacitor is successfully fabricated based on a poly(vinyl alcohol)-H3PO4 (PVA-H3PO4) polymer electrolyte and a reduced graphene oxide (RGO) membrane electrode prepared by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The RGO electrode fabricated by EPD contains an in-plane layer-by-layer alignment and a moderate porosity that accommodate the electrolyte ions. The all-solid-state RGO supercapacitor is thoroughly tested to give high specific volumetric capacitance (108 F cm(-3)) and excellent energy and power densities (7.5 Wh cm(-3) and 2.9 W cm(-3), respectively). In addition, the all-solid-state RGO supercapacitor exhibits an ultralong lifetime for as long as 180 days (335 000 cycles), which is an ultrahigh cycling capability for a solid-state supercapacitor. The RGO is also tested for being used as a transparent supercapacitor electrode demonstrating its possible use in various transparent optoelectronic devices. Due to the facile scale-up capability of the EPD process and RGO dispersion, the developed all-solid-state supercapacitor is highly applicable to large-area portable energy storage devices.

Postpartum bonding: the role of perinatal depression, anxiety and maternal-fetal bonding during pregnancy.

PubMed

Dubber, S; Reck, C; Müller, M; Gawlik, S

2015-04-01

Adverse effects of perinatal depression on the mother-child interaction are well documented; however, the influence of maternal-fetal bonding during pregnancy on postpartum bonding has not been clearly identified. The subject of this study was to investigate prospectively the influence of maternal-fetal bonding and perinatal symptoms of anxiety and depression on postpartum mother-infant bonding. Data from 80 women were analyzed for associations of symptoms of depression and anxiety as well as maternal bonding during pregnancy to maternal bonding in the postpartum period using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Pregnancy Related Anxiety Questionnaire (PRAQ-R), the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS) and the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ-16). Maternal education, MFAS, PRAQ-R, EPDS and STAI-T significantly correlated with the PBQ-16. In the final regression model, MFAS and EPDS postpartum remained significant predictors of postpartum bonding and explained 20.8 % of the variance. The results support the hypothesized negative relationship between maternal-fetal bonding and postpartum maternal bonding impairment as well as the role of postpartum depressive symptoms. Early identification of bonding impairment during pregnancy and postpartum depression in mothers plays an important role for the prevention of potential bonding impairment in the early postpartum period.

Effects of a herbal gel containing carvacrol and chalcones on alveolar bone resorption in rats on experimental periodontitis.

PubMed

Botelho, Marco Antonio; Rao, Vietla Satyanarayana; Montenegro, Danusa; Bandeira, Mary Anne Menezes; Fonseca, Said Gonçalves Cruz; Nogueira, Nadia Accioly Pinto; Ribeiro, Ronaldo Albuquerque; Brito, Gerly Anne Castro

2008-04-01

Carvacrol and dimeric chalcones are the respective bioactive components of Lippia sidoides and Myracrodruon urundeuva, popular medicinal plants of Northeastern Brazil with proven antimicrobial and antiinflammatory properties. Periodontal disease is associated with inflammation and microbiological proliferation, thus the study aimed to investigate the effect of a topical gel based on carvacrol and chalcones in the experimental periodontal disease (EPD) in rats. Animals were treated with carvacrol and/or chalcones gel, immediately after EPD induction, three times a day for 11 days. Appropriate controls were included in the study. Animals were weighed daily. They were killed on day 11, the mandibles dissected and alveolar bone loss was measured. The periodontium were examined at histopathology and the neutrophil influx into the gingiva was assayed using myeloperoxidase activity. The bacterial flora were assessed through culture of the gingival tissue. Alveolar bone loss was significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited by combined carvacrol and chalcones gel, compared with the vehicle and non-treated groups. The treatment with the combined gel reduced tissue lesion at histopathology, decreased myeloperoxidase activity in gingival tissue and inhibited the growth of oral microorganisms as well as the weight loss. Carvacrol and chalcones combination gel has a beneficial effect upon EPD in this model. (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Synthesis and Application of Ferroelectric Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride-co-Trifluoroethylene) Films using Electrophoretic Deposition

PubMed Central

Ryu, Jeongjae; No, Kwangsoo; Kim, Yeontae; Park, Eugene; Hong, Seungbum

2016-01-01

In this study, we investigated the deposition kinetics of polyvinylidene fluoride copolymerized with trifluoroethylene (P(VDF-TrFE)) particles on stainless steel substrates during the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) process. The effect of applied voltage and deposition time on the structure and ferroelectric property of the P(VDF-TrFE) films was studied in detail. A method of repeated EPD and heat treatment above melting point were employed to fabricate crack-free P(VDF-TrFE) thick films. This method enabled us to fabricate P(VDF-TrFE) films with variable thicknesses. The morphology of the obtained films was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the formation of β-phase was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. P(VDF-TrFE) films prepared with various thicknesses showed remnant polarization (Pr) of around 4 μC/cm2. To demonstrate the applicability of our processing recipe to complex structures, we fabricated a spring-type energy harvester by depositing P(VDF-TrFE) films on stainless steel springs using EPD process. Our preliminary results show that an electrophoretic deposition can be applied to produce high-quality P(VDF-TrFE) films on planar as well as three-dimensional (3-D) substrates. PMID:27805008

Effects of maternal depressive symptomatology during pregnancy and the postpartum period on infant-mother attachment.

PubMed

Ohoka, Harue; Koide, Takayoshi; Goto, Setsuko; Murase, Satomi; Kanai, Atsuko; Masuda, Tomoko; Aleksic, Branko; Ishikawa, Naoko; Furumura, Kaori; Ozaki, Norio

2014-08-01

Postnatal depression has demonstrated long-term consequences on child cognitive and emotional development; however, the link between maternal and child pathology has not been clearly identified. We conducted a prospective study using self-rating questionnaires to clarify the association between bonding disorder and maternal mood during pregnancy and after childbirth. A total of 389 women participated in this study and completed questionnaires. Participants were asked to complete the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale four times during pregnancy and the postpartum period. We found statistically significant weak to moderate correlations (r = 0.14-0.39) between the EPDS and Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale scores at each testing period. Women who experienced low mood tended to have stronger bonding disorder. Furthermore, the effectiveness of attachment between the mother and child was closely related to the mood of the mother as measured by the EPDS. We observed different patterns of bonding and maternal mood. Distinct subtypes regarding maternal mood and formation of mother-to-infant attachment suggests that analysis of bonding disorder should be performed considering the course of maternal depressive symptoms. © 2014 The Authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences © 2014 Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Quality of life and depression following childbirth: impact of social support.

PubMed

Webster, Joan; Nicholas, Catherine; Velacott, Catherine; Cridland, Noelle; Fawcett, Lisa

2011-10-01

to evaluate the impact of social support on postnatal depression and health-related quality of life. prospective cohort study. Data were collected at baseline and at six weeks post discharge using a postal survey. between August and December 2008, 320 women from a large tertiary hospital were recruited following the birth of their infant. Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Maternity Social Support Scale and World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment questionnaire. of the 320 women recruited, 222 (69.4%) returned their six-week questionnaire. Women with low social support had significantly higher scores on the EPDS than women who reported adequate support (p = 0.007). There was also a significant effect of social support on health-related quality of life. Women with low family or partner support scored lower in all domains, with the greatest mean difference in the social health domain (p = 0.000). Of those scoring >10 on the EPDS, 75.5% had sought professional help. women with low social support are more likely to report postnatal depression and lower quality of life than well-supported women. Careful assessment of a woman's level of support following the birth, particularly from her partner and family, may provide useful information for possible interventions. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and application of ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) films using electrophoretic deposition

DOE PAGES

Ryu, Jeongjae; No, Kwangsoo; Kim, Yeontae; ...

2016-11-02

In this paper, we investigated the deposition kinetics of polyvinylidene fluoride copolymerized with trifluoroethylene (P(VDF-TrFE)) particles on stainless steel substrates during the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) process. The effect of applied voltage and deposition time on the structure and ferroelectric property of the P(VDF-TrFE) films was studied in detail. A method of repeated EPD and heat treatment above melting point were employed to fabricate crack-free P(VDF-TrFE) thick films. This method enabled us to fabricate P(VDF-TrFE) films with variable thicknesses. The morphology of the obtained films was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the formation of β-phase was confirmed by X-raymore » diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. P(VDF-TrFE) films prepared with various thicknesses showed remnant polarization (P r) of around 4 μC/cm 2. To demonstrate the applicability of our processing recipe to complex structures, we fabricated a spring-type energy harvester by depositing P(VDF-TrFE) films on stainless steel springs using EPD process. Our preliminary results show that an electrophoretic deposition can be applied to produce high-quality P(VDF-TrFE) films on planar as well as three-dimensional (3-D) substrates.« less

Domestic violence: prevalence in pregnant women and associations with physical and psychological health.

PubMed

Bacchus, Loraine; Mezey, Gillian; Bewley, Susan

2004-03-15

To examine the prevalence of domestic violence (DV) and its associations with obstetric complications and psychological health in women on antenatal and postnatal wards. A cross-sectional survey conducted in an inner-London teaching hospital. Two hundred English-speaking women aged 16 and over, were interviewed between July 2001 and April 2002. The Abuse Assessment Screen was used to assess for experiences of DV. Depression was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The analysis of predictors of obstetric complications grouped together those known to be associated with DV. 23.5% of women had lifetime experience of DV, 3% during the current pregnancy. Women with a history of DV were significantly more likely to be single, separated or in non-cohabiting relationship and to have smoked in the year prior to and/or during pregnancy. Higher EPDS scores were significantly associated with DV, single, separated or non-cohabiting status, and obstetric complications. Both a history of DV and increased EPDS scores were significantly associated with obstetric complications after controlling for other known risk factors. Domestic violence is regarded as an important risk marker for the development of obstetric complications and depressive symptomatology. This finding of itself justifies training and education of maternity health professionals to raise awareness.

Depression, Social Support, and Coping Styles among Pregnant Women after the Lushan Earthquake in Ya’an, China

PubMed Central

Yao, Jianrong; Li, Xirong; Liu, Xinghui; Pang, Meiche

2015-01-01

Aim The aim of this study is to assess the depression of pregnant women in the aftermath of an earthquake, and to identify the social support that they obtained, their coping styles and socio-demographic factors associated with depression. Methods A total of 128 pregnant women from three hospitals in the epicenter area were recruited immediately after the Ya’an earthquake. Their depression was investigated using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) with a cutoff score of 14; the social support that they obtained was measured using the Social Support Questionnaire; and their coping styles were assessed using the Coping Styles Questionnaire. Results Immediately after the earthquake, the incidence rate of depression in pregnant women was 35.2%, higher than that of the general pregnant population (7%-14%). The EPDS scores were significantly correlated with gestation age at the time of the earthquake, objective support, subjective support, use of support, negative coping style, and positive coping style. The regression analysis indicated that risk factors of prenatal depression include the number of children, relatives wounded, subjective support, and coping styles. A further analysis of the interaction between social support and two types of coping styles with depression showed that there was interaction effect between subjective social support and positive coping styles in relation to EPDS scores. There was an inverse relationship between low EPDS scores and positive coping styles and high social support, and vice versa. Conclusion The timing of the occurrence of the earthquake may not necessarily affect the progress of the illness and recovery from depression, and psychological intervention could be conducted in the immediate aftermath after the earthquake. The impact of coping styles on prenatal depression appeared to be linked with social support. Helping pregnant women to adopt positive coping styles with good social support after a recent major earthquake, which is a stressor, may reduce their chances of developing prenatal depression. PMID:26270035

Reliability and Validity of Instruments for Assessing Perinatal Depression in African Settings: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Tsai, Alexander C.; Scott, Jennifer A.; Hung, Kristin J.; Zhu, Jennifer Q.; Matthews, Lynn T.; Psaros, Christina; Tomlinson, Mark

2013-01-01

Background A major barrier to improving perinatal mental health in Africa is the lack of locally validated tools for identifying probable cases of perinatal depression or for measuring changes in depression symptom severity. We systematically reviewed the evidence on the reliability and validity of instruments to assess perinatal depression in African settings. Methods and Findings Of 1,027 records identified through searching 7 electronic databases, we reviewed 126 full-text reports. We included 25 unique studies, which were disseminated in 26 journal articles and 1 doctoral dissertation. These enrolled 12,544 women living in nine different North and sub-Saharan African countries. Only three studies (12%) used instruments developed specifically for use in a given cultural setting. Most studies provided evidence of criterion-related validity (20 [80%]) or reliability (15 [60%]), while fewer studies provided evidence of construct validity, content validity, or internal structure. The Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS), assessed in 16 studies (64%), was the most frequently used instrument in our sample. Ten studies estimated the internal consistency of the EPDS (median estimated coefficient alpha, 0.84; interquartile range, 0.71-0.87). For the 14 studies that estimated sensitivity and specificity for the EPDS, we constructed 2 x 2 tables for each cut-off score. Using a bivariate random-effects model, we estimated a pooled sensitivity of 0.94 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.68-0.99) and a pooled specificity of 0.77 (95% CI, 0.59-0.88) at a cut-off score of ≥9, with higher cut-off scores yielding greater specificity at the cost of lower sensitivity. Conclusions The EPDS can reliably and validly measure perinatal depression symptom severity or screen for probable postnatal depression in African countries, but more validation studies on other instruments are needed. In addition, more qualitative research is needed to adequately characterize local understandings of perinatal depression-like syndromes in different African contexts. PMID:24340036

Postnatal depressive symptoms amongst women in Central Vietnam: a cross-sectional study investigating prevalence and associations with social, cultural and infant factors.

PubMed

Murray, Linda; Dunne, Michael P; Van Vo, Thang; Anh, Phuong Nguyen Thi; Khawaja, Nigar G; Cao, Thanh Ngoc

2015-09-30

This study investigated the prevalence and socio-cultural correlates of postnatal mood disturbance amongst women 18-45 years old in Central Vietnam. Son preference and traditional confinement practices were explored as well as factors such as poverty, parity, family and intimate partner relationships and infant health. A cross-sectional study was conducted in twelve randomly selected Commune Health Centres from urban and rural districts of Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietnam. Mother-infant dyads one to six months postpartum were invited to participate. Questionnaires from 431 mothers (urban n = 216; rural n = 215) assessed demographic and family characteristics, traditional confinement practices, son preference, infant health and social capital. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and WHO5 Wellbeing Index indicated depressive symptoms and emotional wellbeing. Data were analysed using general linear models. Using an EPDS cut-off of 12/13, 18.1% (n = 78, 95% CI 14.6-22.1) of women had depressive symptoms (20.4% urban; 15.8% rural). Contrary to predictions, infant gender and traditional confinement were unrelated to depressive symptoms. Poverty, food insecurity, being frightened of family members, and intimate partner violence increased both depressive symptoms and lowered wellbeing. The first model accounted for 30.2% of the variance in EPDS score and found being frightened of one's husband, husband's unemployment, breastfeeding difficulties, infant diarrhoea, and cognitive social capital were associated with higher EPDS scores. The second model had accounted for 22% of the variance in WHO5 score. Living in Hue city, low education, poor maternal competence and a negative family response to the baby lowered maternal wellbeing. Traditional confinement practices and son preference were not linked to depressive symptoms among mothers, but were correlates of family relationships and wellbeing. Poverty, food insecurity, violence, infant ill health, and discordant intimate and family relationships were linked with depressive symptoms in Central Vietnam.

Salvage treatment for childhood ependymoma after surgery only: Pitfalls of omitting 'at once' adjuvant treatment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Massimino, Maura; Giangaspero, Felice; INM Neuromed, Pozzilli

2006-08-01

Purpose: To discuss the results obtained by giving adjuvant treatment for childhood ependymoma (EPD) at relapse after complete surgery only. Methods and Materials: Between 1993 and 2002, 63 children older than 3 years old entered the first Italian Association for Pediatric Hematology and Oncology protocol for EPD (group A), and another 14 patients were referred after relapsing after more tumor excisions only (group B). Prognostic factors were homogeneously matched in the two groups. We report on the outcome of group B. Results: Mean time to first local progression in group B had been 14 months. Tumors originated in the posteriormore » fossa (PF) in 10 children and were supratentorial (ST) in 4; 11 had first been completely excised (NED) and 3 had residual disease (ED). Diagnoses were classic EPD in 9 patients, anaplastic in 5. Eight children were referred NED and 6 ED after two or more operations, 5 had cranial nerve palsy, 1 had recurrent meningitis, and 2 had persistent hydrocephalus. All received radiotherapy (RT) to tumor bed and 5 also had pre-RT chemotherapy. Six of 14 patients (6/10 with PF tumors) had a further relapse a mean 6 months after the last surgery; 4 of 6 died: progression-free survival and overall survival at 4 years after referral were 54.4% and 77%, respectively. Considering only PF tumors and setting time 0 as at the last surgery for group B, progression-free survival and overall survival were 32% and 50% for group B and 52% (p < 0.20)/70% (p < 0.29) for the 46 patients in group A with PF tumors. Local control was 32% in group B and 70.5% in group A (p = 0.02). Conclusions: Relapsers after surgery only, especially if with PF-EPD, do worse than those treated after first diagnosis; subsequent surgery for tumor relapse has severe neurologic sequelae.« less

Depression, Social Support, and Coping Styles among Pregnant Women after the Lushan Earthquake in Ya'an, China.

PubMed

Ren, Jianhua; Jiang, Xiaolian; Yao, Jianrong; Li, Xirong; Liu, Xinghui; Pang, Meiche; Chiang, Chung Lim Vico

2015-01-01

The aim of this study is to assess the depression of pregnant women in the aftermath of an earthquake, and to identify the social support that they obtained, their coping styles and socio-demographic factors associated with depression. A total of 128 pregnant women from three hospitals in the epicenter area were recruited immediately after the Ya'an earthquake. Their depression was investigated using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) with a cutoff score of 14; the social support that they obtained was measured using the Social Support Questionnaire; and their coping styles were assessed using the Coping Styles Questionnaire. Immediately after the earthquake, the incidence rate of depression in pregnant women was 35.2%, higher than that of the general pregnant population (7%-14%). The EPDS scores were significantly correlated with gestation age at the time of the earthquake, objective support, subjective support, use of support, negative coping style, and positive coping style. The regression analysis indicated that risk factors of prenatal depression include the number of children, relatives wounded, subjective support, and coping styles. A further analysis of the interaction between social support and two types of coping styles with depression showed that there was interaction effect between subjective social support and positive coping styles in relation to EPDS scores. There was an inverse relationship between low EPDS scores and positive coping styles and high social support, and vice versa. The timing of the occurrence of the earthquake may not necessarily affect the progress of the illness and recovery from depression, and psychological intervention could be conducted in the immediate aftermath after the earthquake. The impact of coping styles on prenatal depression appeared to be linked with social support. Helping pregnant women to adopt positive coping styles with good social support after a recent major earthquake, which is a stressor, may reduce their chances of developing prenatal depression.

The Energetic Particle Detector Suite for Solar Orbiter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F.; Rodriguez-Pacheco, J.; Lin, R. P.; Mason, G. M.; Heber, B.; Valtonen, E.; Sanchez, S.; Blanco, J.; Prieto, M.; Martin, C.; Ho, G.; Andrews, B.; Burmeister, S.; Boettcher, S.; Kulkarni, S. R.; Seimetz, L.; Schuster, B.

Multiple processes in the solar atmosphere or near the Sun are capable of energizing electrons and ions which are remotely observed as Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events. SEP events are of great interest not only because they can cause large radiation increases in the interplanetary space and over the Earth's polar regions, but also because they are part of a broad range of astrophysical sources of energetic particles. Since astrophysical particle accelerators cannot be studied directly, SEPs provide the best opportunity to study all aspects of the problem, namely the acceleration process itself and the ways in which the particles escape the source and travel to remote sites. The Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) addresses two primary science goals of Solar Orbiter: 1) What are the sources of energetic particles and how are they accelerated to high energy? 2) How are solar energetic particles released from their sources and distributed in time? To address these questions, the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) suite consists of five sensors measuring electrons, protons, and ions from helium to iron, and operating at partly overlapping energy ranges from 2 keV up to 200 MeV/n. The five EPD sensors are the SupraThermal Elec-trons, Ions, Neutrals (STEIN) sensor, the Suprathermal Ion Spectrograph (SIS), the Electron Proton Telescope (EPT), the Low Energy Telescope (LET), and the High Energy Telescope (HET). All sensors share a Common Data Processing Unit (CDPU), and EPT and HET share a common E-Box. EPT/HET and LET consist of two separate sensors with multiple viewing directions. The overall energy coverage achieved with the EPD sensors is 0.002 MeV to 20 MeV for electrons, 0.003 MeV to 100 MeV for protons, 0.008 MeV/n to 200 MeV/n for heavy ions (species-dependent), and 3 keV 30 keV for neutral atoms.

Kiel sensors for the EPD instrument on-board Solar Orbiter - An overview of the qualification and acceptance test campaigns in phase D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ravanbakhsh, A.; Kulkarni, S. R.; Panitzsch, L.; L Richards, M.; Munoz Hernandez, A.; Seimetz, L.; Elftmann, R.; Mahesh, Y.; Boden, S.; Boettcher, S. I.; Kulemzin, A.; Martin-Garcia, C.; Prieto, M.; Rodriguez-Pacheco, J.; Sanchez Prieto, S.; Schuster, B.; Steinhagen, J.; Tammen, J.; Wimmer-Schweingruber, R. F.

2016-12-01

Solar Orbiter is ESA's next solar and heliospheric mission which is planned to be launched in October 2018. The Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) on board on Solar Orbiter will provide key measurements for the Solar Orbiter science objectives. The EPD suite consists of four sensors; STEP, SIS, EPT and HET. The University of Kiel in Germany is responsible for the design, development, and building of STEP, and the two identical units EPT-HET 1 and EPT-HET 2. ESA's Solar Orbiter will explore the heliosphere at heliocentric distances between 0.28AU and 0.9AU and with inclination up to 38deg with respect to the Sun's equator. The spacecraft uses a heat shield to protect the bus and externally mounted instruments from the solar flux at the close distances to the sun. All three EPD-Kiel units are mounted externally but in different positions on the spacecraft outer deck. Although being protected by the spacecraft heat shield from high solar flux, EPT-HET1 and EPT-HET-2 as well as STEP experience a harsh environmental condition during the course of the mission. In addition due to the highly demanding science requirements, the qualification and acceptance test requirements of these externally mounted units are quite challenging. In this paper we present the development status of the EPT-HET 1, EPT-HET 2 and STEP sensors focusing on the activities performed in phase D and the qualification and acceptance test campaigns. The main objective of these test campaigns is to ensure and demonstrate the compatibility between the scientific requirements and the harsh environment expected during the mission. This paper includes the results summary of the environmental tests on the EPT-HET and STEP Proto-Qualification Models (PQMs) as well as Proto-Flight Models (PFMs). Only an adequate selection of environmental qualification and acceptance campaigns will guarantee the success of the scientific space missions.

Association of glucocorticoid and type 1 corticotropin-releasing hormone receptors gene variants and risk for depression during pregnancy and post-partum.

PubMed

Engineer, Neelam; Darwin, Lucy; Nishigandh, Deole; Ngianga-Bakwin, Kandala; Smith, Steve C; Grammatopoulos, Dimitris K

2013-09-01

Women with postnatal depression (PND) appear to have abnormal hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis responses to stress, which might involve a genetic variability component. We investigated association of genetic variants in the glucocorticoid receptor (GR, NR3C1) and corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1 (CRHR1) genes with increased risk for PND. Two hundred pregnant women were recruited prospectively and PND risk was assessed by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) during pregnancy and again 2-8 weeks post-natally (CW-GAPND study). The BclI and ER22/23EK single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the GR and the haplotype-tagged rs1876828, rs242939 and rs242941 SNPs of the CRHR1 associated with genetic risk to depressive disorders were genotyped. A cut-off score of 10 was used to detect increased risk of PND. Association analysis was carried out in 140 patients that completed the study protocol. The BclI and rs242939 SNPs were over-represented in women with postnatal EPDS score ≥10 with significant allele association (p = 0.011 and <0.001, respectively) and risk ratios of 2.9 (95% CI: 1.2-6.9) for BclI, 4.9 (2-12) for rs242939 and 5.48 (2.13-14.10) for both. The rs242939 SNP was also associated with increased EPDS values during pregnancy. Moreover, the G-G-T haplotype of the CRHR1 was significantly over-represented in patients with high EPDS scores, with risk ratio of 3.22 (95% CI: 1.91-5.42). This is the first evidence that specific SNPs of genes involved in 'stress' responses might contribute in the genetics of high-risk for depression during pregnancy and postpartum. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Detection, prevention and treatment of postpartum depression: a controlled study of 859 patients].

PubMed

Chabrol, H; Teissedre, F; Saint-Jean, M; Teisseyre, N; Sistac, C; Michaud, C; Roge, B

2002-01-01

This study evaluated the clinical effectiveness of a programme aimed at detecting, preventing and treating postpartum depression. The French version of the EPDS was used to measure the intensity of postpartum blues on a sample of 859 women, during their stay at the obstetrical clinic. Subjects under treatment for psychological problems were excluded from the study. Mothers scoring 9 or above on the EPDS, which is predictive of pospartum depression, were randomly assigned to a prevention and a control group. Written informed consent was obtained from the subjects after the study procedure had been explained. The prevention group received a counselling session integrating supportive, educational and cognitive-behavioral components. Therapists included five female Master's Degree level students in psychology. All therapists participated in didactic and clinical training as wells as weekly supervision from the first author. All subjects were given a second EPDS with written instructions to complete the questionnaire during the period 4 to 6 weeks postpartum and return it for analysis. At four to 6 weeks, women in the prevention group had significant reductions in the frequency of probable depression, as defined by a score of 11 or above on the EPDS (30.2% vs 48.2%, chi 2 = 7.36, dl = 1, p = 0.0067) and in the intensity of depressive symptoms measured by the mean score on the EPDS (8.5, SD = 4 vs 10.3, SD = 4.4, t = 3.06, dl = 209, p = 0.0024). Mothers with a probable depression were interviewed at home and assessed using the MINI (Mini Neuropsychiatric Interview, Lecrubier et al., 1997) to diagnose major depressive episode, the SIGH-D (Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Williams, 1988) and the BDI (Beck Depression Inventory, Beck et al., 1988). The baseline depression rating scores, EPDS (mean = 13.6, SD = 4), BDI (mean = 15.7, SD = 5.9), HDRS (mean = 14.8, SD = 6), were consistent with moderate depression. No significant differences in baseline scores were observed between the two groups on all the rating scales (p < 0.001). Mothers with probable depression in the prevention group were offered a program of 5 to 8 home visits. Most of the mothers in the prevention group (72%) agreed to participate in the program. On the contrary, most of the mothers (83.3%) who scored below 9 on the first EPDS and 11 or above on the second, who so did not received the preventive counselling session, declined to participate. This suggests the importance of the preventive session in establishing therapeutic alliance. The home visits program integrated four components, supportive, educational, cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic centred on the mother-infant relationship in terms of the mother's personal history. Therapist participated in clinical training and weekly supervision. Fifteen women (71.4%) in the study group demonstrated complete symptom remission, as defined by HDRS score below 7 after the intervention, compared with 4 women (10.5%) in the control group (chi 2 = 23, p < 0.0001). A clearly therapeutic response to treatment was observed in the treated group with a mean reduction in HDRS score of 9.5 (DS = 6.7) from baseline. The improvement in the women in the treated group, as measured by the mean HDRS scores was statistically greater than that in the control group (m = 5.35, SD = 3.5 vs m = 15.8, SD = 4.6, t = 8.24, dl = 52, p < 0.0001). Our results indicate that a program based on an intervention at obstetrical clinics and on home visits is efficacious and well accepted for prevention, detection and treatment of postpartum depression.

An Overview of Electron-Proton and High Energy Telescopes of Solar Orbiter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kulkarni, S. R.; Grunau, J.; Boden, S.; Steinhagen, J.; Martin, C.; Wimmer-Schweingruber, R. F.; Boettcher, S.; Seimetz, L.; Ravanbakhsh, A.; Elftmann, R.; Rodriguez-Pacheco, J.; Prieto, M.; Gomez-Herrero, R.

2013-12-01

The Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) suite for ESA's Solar Orbiter will provide key measurements to address particle acceleration at and near the Sun. The EPD suite consists of five sensors (STEP, SIS, EPT, and HET). The University of Kiel in Germany is also responsible for the design, development, and build of EPT and HET which are presented here. The Electron Proton Telescope (EPT) is designed to cleanly separate and measure electrons in the energy range from 20 - 400 keV and protons from 20 - 7000 keV. The Solar Orbiter EPT electron measurements from 20 - 400 keV will cover the gap with some overlap between suprathermal electrons measured by STEP and high energy electrons measured by HET. The proton measurements from 20 -7000 keV will partially cover the gap between STEP and HET. The Electron and Proton Telescope relies on the magnet/foil-technique. The High-Energy Telescope (HET) on ESA's Solar Orbiter mission, will measure electrons from 300 keV up to about 30 MeV, protons from 10 -100 MeV, and heavy ions from ~20 to 200 MeV/nuc. Thus, HET covers the energy range which is of specific interest for studies of the space environment and will perform the measurements needed to understand the origin of high-energy events at the Sun which occasionally accelerate particles to such high energies that they can penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and be measured at ground level. Here we present the current development status of EPT-HET units and calibration results of demonstration models and present plans for future activities.

The relationship between postpartum depression, domestic violence, childhood violence, and substance use: epidemiologic study of a large community sample.

PubMed

Dennis, Cindy-Lee; Vigod, Simone

2013-04-01

The objective of this study was to determine the contribution of interpersonal violence and substance use to the prediction of postpartum depressive symptomatology. A community-based sample of 634 women in British Columbia, Canada was screened for interpersonal violence and substance use using the Antenatal Psychosocial Health Assessment (ALPHA) form. Of these women, 497 (78%) subsequently completed questionnaires at 8 weeks postpartum to assess for depressive symptomatology using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). A predictive model for postpartum depressive symptomatology (EPDS > 9) was developed using regression analysis. Findings suggest that women who experience past or current interpersonal violence or personal or partner substance use problems should be considered for targeted screening for postpartum depression (PPD).

Influence of socio-economic factors on emotional changes during the postnatal period.

PubMed

Wszołek, Katarzyna; Żak, Ewa; Żurawska, Joanna; Olszewska, Jolanta; Pięta, Beata; Bojar, Iwona

2018-03-14

The aim of the study was to identify socio-economic factors that may influence the emotional changes which occur among new mothers in the first days postpartum. A group of 541 women completed a questionnaire consisting of 30 multiple-choice questions, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Statistical calculations were performed with the use of Statistica v.10 and Cytel Studio v. 9.0.0. The findings revealed the presence of factors which might increase the risk of mood disorders during the postpartum period. Women who demonstrate warning symptoms should be screened for postnatal emotional changes and mood swings during their hospitalization after delivery. EPDS seems to be a suitable tool for early detection of emotional disturbances.

A model of adsorption of albumin on the implant surface titanium and titanium modified carbon coatings (MWCNT-EPD). 2D correlation analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wesełucha-Birczyńska, Aleksandra; Stodolak-Zych, Ewa; Piś, Wojciech; Długoń, Elżbieta; Benko, Aleksandra; Błażewicz, Marta

2016-11-01

Common materials used as orthopedic implants are titanium and its alloys. To improve its compatibility with the environment of a living organism titanium implant surfaces are covered with bioactive layers of MWCNT. During the insertion into a living organism such material is exposed to direct contact with the patient's blood, which includes proteins - eg. albumin. The adsorption of albumin may constitute one of the early stages of implant surface modification serving cell adhesion. An analysis of this phenomenon in terms of the kinetics of deposition of protein on the surface of the implant confirms its biocompatibility in vivo. The proposed working model of the adsorption of albumin allows for choosing the best of time for the protein to form a stable connection with the surface of the titanium implant. Traditional methods of materials engineering and chemistry allow for the obtaining of information about the presence of a protein on the surface (UV-Vis, the wettability). The application of 2D correlation analysis, in turn, gains insight into the dynamics of the changes associated with the deposition of protein (the formation of a uniform layer, the change in conformation). This analysis has allowed for the selection of an optimal time of protein adsorption to the surface of the implant. Better compatibility with the body of the implant provides its modification by introducing layers that accelerate the material-tissue interactions. Such a composition is a layer of carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) deposited on titanium by the electrophoretic (EPD) method. Using Raman spectroscopy and analyzing the spectra with the 2D correlation method it is possible to gain insight into the molecular structure of this layer. Our studies indicate that albumin in contact with the surface of titanium has obtained stable conformation after 30 min (confirmed by: UV-Vis, Raman). Shifts of the CH2, CH3 stretching bands position as well as an analysis of the amide I band confirms this conformation. The dynamics of these changes are noticed as correlation peaks observed on 2D maps.

Breastfeeding and Postnatal Depression: A Prospective Cohort Study in Sabah, Malaysia.

PubMed

Yusuff, Aza Sherin Mohamad; Tang, Li; Binns, Colin W; Lee, Andy H

2016-05-01

Postnatal depression is a disorder that can lead to serious consequences for both the mother and infant. Despite the extensively documented health benefits of breastfeeding, its association with postnatal depression remains uncertain. To investigate the relationship between full breastfeeding at 3 months postpartum and postnatal depressive symptoms among mothers in Sabah, Malaysia. A prospective cohort study of 2072 women was conducted in Sabah during 2009-2010. Participants were recruited at 36 to 38 weeks of gestation and followed up at 1 and 3 months postpartum. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the validated Malay version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Repeated-measures analyses of variance was performed to compare the depression scores over time and between subgroups of breastfeeding mothers. Approximately 46% of women were fully breastfeeding their infants at 3 months postpartum. These mothers had significantly (P < .001) lower mean EPDS scores at both 1 and 3 months postpartum (mean ± SD, 4.14 ± 4.12 and 4.27 ± 4.12, respectively) than others who did not initiate or maintain full breastfeeding for 3 months (4.94 ± 4.34 and 5.25 ± 4.05, respectively). After controlling for the effects of covariates, the differences in EPDS scores remained statistically significant (P = .001) between the 2 breastfeeding groups. Full breastfeeding appeared to be negatively associated with postnatal depressive symptoms for mothers residing in Sabah. © The Author(s) 2015.

Electrophoretic assembly of organic molecules and composites for electrochemical supercapacitors.

PubMed

Su, Y; Zhitomirsky, I

2013-02-15

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method has been developed for the fabrication of 1-pyrenebutyric acid (PBH) films from aqueous solutions. The films can be deposited at constant voltage or potentiodynamic conditions. The method allowed the formation of 0.1-2 μm thick films, containing needle-shape PBH particles. The deposition mechanism involved the electrophoresis, pH decrease at the anode surface, charge neutralization and formation of insoluble PBH films. The film morphology and shape of the PBH particles are controlled by the π-π stacking mechanism of the polyaromatic PBH molecules. The important finding was the possibility of controlled EPD of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) using PBH as a charging, dispersing and film forming agent. It was found that at low voltages or low PBH concentrations the deposits contained mainly MWCNT. The increase in the deposition voltage or/and PBH concentration resulted in co-deposition of MWCNT and needle-shape PBH particles. The new approach to the deposition of MWCNT was used for the fabrication of composite MnO(2)-MWCNT films for electrodes of electrochemical supercapacitors, which showed a specific capacitance of 250 F g(-1). The EPD method developed in this investigation paves the way for the deposition of other small organic molecules and composites and their applications in new materials and devices, utilizing functional properties of the organic molecules, CNT, and other advanced materials. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

In situ synthesis of mesoporous polyvinyl alcohol/hydroxyapatite composites for better biomedical coating adhesion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussain, Riaz; Tabassum, Sobia; Gilani, Mazhar Amjad; Ahmed, Ejaz; Sharif, Ahsan; Manzoor, Faisal; Shah, Asma Tufail; Asif, Anila; Sharif, Faiza; Iqbal, Farasat; Siddiqi, Saadat Anwar

2016-02-01

Hydroxyapatite (HA) shows diverse biomedical applications as bone filler and coating material for metal implants to enhance osteoconduction. Four different PVAHA composites were synthesized in situ by an economical co-precipitation wet methodology. The FTIR spectra of PVAHA composites showed characteristic signals of HA and PVA. The BET surface area of PVAHA composites were in range of 41.3-63.7 m2/g. The composites showed type IV nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherm, a characteristic for mesoporous material. The pore diameter range (6.3-8.1 nm) of PVAHA composites also confirmed their mesoporous nature. The Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) pore size distribution curves indicated a narrow pore size distribution. To obtain a homogeneous crack free coating with EPD on stainless steel (SS) plates, different parameters such as PVA percentages in PVAHA composites, solvent, deposition time and voltage were optimized. The PVAHA composites were stable after EPD as confirmed by FTIR spectra recorded before and after EPD. The SEM images of the coating showed a homogeneous morphology. The thickness of the coating was controlled by varying voltage and time. The best results were obtained with c-PVAHA composite at 30 volts for 5-10 min and current density was around 4.5 to 5 mA. The adhesion strength of c-PVAHA coating was measured by using ASTM standard F1044-99. The average value was approximately 9.328 ± 1.58 MPa.

Screening for postpartum depression using Kurdish version of Edinburgh postnatal depression scale.

PubMed

Ahmed, Hamdia Mirkhan; Alalaf, Shahla Kareem; Al-Tawil, Namir Ghanim

2012-05-01

One of the important public health problems affecting maternal and child health is postpartum depression (PPD). It generally occurs within 6-8 weeks after childbirth. To determine the prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) using a Kurdish version of Edinburgh postpartum depression scale (EPDS) and to analyze the risk factors for postpartum depression in a population of puerperal Kurdish women in Erbil city. A cross-sectional study was conducted between 20th of June and 30th of November 2010, in 14 antenatal care units of primary health centers, in Erbil city, Kurdistan region, Iraq. The sample of the study included 1,000 puerperal women (6-8 weeks postpartum), ranging in age from 14 to 48 years. Data were collected after interviewing the women using a questionnaire designed by the researchers, and the Kurdish version of the EPDS. Chi square test of association and the logistic regression tests were used in the analysis. The prevalence of postpartum depression was 28.4%. Logistic regression analysis showed that the factors found to be associated with PPD were: physical or sexual abuse, delivery by cesarean section, history of past psychiatric illness, and family history of past psychiatric illness; while marriage with no previous agreement, and high socio-economic level were associated with lower levels of PPD. The Kurdish version of the EPDS can be successfully used to screen depression in a Kurdish population of puerperal women.

A more rational, theory-driven approach to analysing the factor structure of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

PubMed

Kozinszky, Zoltan; Töreki, Annamária; Hompoth, Emőke A; Dudas, Robert B; Németh, Gábor

2017-04-01

We endeavoured to analyze the factor structure of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) during a screening programme in Hungary, using exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), testing both previously published models and newly developed theory-driven ones, after a critical analysis of the literature. Between April 2011 and January 2015, a sample of 2967 pregnant women (between 12th and 30th weeks of gestation) and 714 women 6 weeks after delivery completed the Hungarian version of the EPDS in South-East Hungary. EFAs suggested unidimensionality in both samples. 33 out of 42 previously published models showed good and 6 acceptable fit with our antepartum data in CFAs, whilst 10 of them showed good and 28 acceptable fit in our postpartum sample. Using multiple fit indices, our theory-driven anhedonia (items 1,2) - anxiety (items 4,5) - low mood (items 8,9) model provided the best fit in the antepartum sample. In the postpartum sample, our theory-driven models were again among the best performing models, including an anhedonia and an anxiety factor together with either a low mood or a suicidal risk factor (items 3,6,10). The EPDS showed moderate within- and between-culture invariability, although this would also need to be re-examined with a theory-driven approach. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Maternal attachment patterns and personality in post partum depression].

PubMed

Aceti, Franca; Baglioni, Valentina; Ciolli, Paola; De Bei, Francesco; Di Lorenzo, Flavia; Ferracuti, Stefano; Giacchetti, Nicoletta; Marini, Isabella; Meuti, Valentina; Motta, Paola; Roma, Paolo; Zaccagni, Michela; Williams, Riccardo

2012-01-01

This study investigates the prevalence of post partum depression (PPD) in a sample of Roman women, and the role of socio-demographic variables, personality structure and maternal attachment patterns, in order to identify primary and secondary prevention strategies. Data were collected in two phases. During the third trimester of pregnancy, a sample of 453 women completed a socio-demographic data sheet and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Among the patients scoring 12 or more at EPDS, 15 entered the second phase of the study and completed SCID-II and Adult Attachment Interview. PPD diagnosis was confirmed by the SCID-I. The study group was compared with a control group. Among the 453 women who were evaluated, 92 (20.3%) scored ≥12 at EPDS, 39 has been enrolled and 15 entered the study. Presence of depressive symptoms was associated with: complications in pregnancy, previous psychiatric disorders, family and marital conflicts. 66.6% of depressed mothers showed more than one diagnosis on Axis II (particularly avoidant/dependent + borderline or histrionic + dependent). The AAI showed a prevalence of insecure (33.3%) and unresolved/disorganized (46.6%) attachment pattern in the clinical group. Our results suggest that psychological factors such as personality structure and attachment patterns are not only involved in post natal affective disorders, but have a key role in the onset and development of PPD.

Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale: Validation of the Italian Version and Correlation With Breast-feeding at 3 Months.

PubMed

Petrozzi, Angela; Gagliardi, Luigi

2016-01-01

Psychological factors can influence breast-feeding. We translated into Italian and validated the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale Short Form (BSES-SF) and investigated its predictive ability and its relation with postpartum depression symptoms.BSES-SF and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) were administered 2 to 3 days after delivery to 122 mothers. Breast-feeding was assessed at 3 months.The BSES-SF displayed good validity (receiver operating characteristic area = 0.69) for predicting full breast-feeding at 3 months. In multivariate analysis, the probability of full breast-feeding increased 2.4% for 1-point increase of BSES-SF. The BSES-SF and EPDS scores were inversely correlated. BSES-SF is a useful tool to identify the risk of early breast-feeding attrition.

Mechanism and kinetics of electrophoretic deposition of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sarkar, P.; Nicholson, P.S.

1996-06-01

The four main electrophoretic deposition (EPD) mechanisms are discussed and their shortcomings pointed out. The Hamaker constant for Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} in ethanol suspension is determined by modelling the relationship between particle interaction energy and suspension stability. The Derjagun-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) interaction energy curve for Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} particles in ethanol suspension is calculated and the minimum deposition voltage determined. Three probe dc measurements were conducted to explain discrepancies between the calculated and experimentally-observed voltage. A mechanism proposed is based on the DLVO theory and particle-lyosphere destortion/thinning. Kinetic equations for EPD are developed for constant current and constant voltage deposition usingmore » mass balance conditions and verified by experimental data.« less

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Assessment of the Electrical Power Distribution and Control Subsystem, Volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmeckpeper, K. R.

1988-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA first completed an analysis of the Electrical Power Distribution and Control (EPD and C) hardware, generating draft failure modes and potential critical items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. The IOA results were then compared to the NASA FMEA/CIL baseline with proposed Post 51-L updates included. A resolution of each discrepancy from the comparison is provided through additional analysis as required. This report documents the results of that comparison for the Orbiter EPD and C hardware. Volume 2 continues the presentation of IOA worksheets.

The endpoint detection technique for deep submicrometer plasma etching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wei; Du, Zhi-yun; Zeng, Yong; Lan, Zhong-went

2009-07-01

The availability of reliable optical sensor technology provides opportunities to better characterize and control plasma etching processes in real time, they could play a important role in endpoint detection, fault diagnostics and processes feedback control and so on. The optical emission spectroscopy (OES) method becomes deficient in the case of deep submicrometer gate etching. In the newly developed high density inductively coupled plasma (HD-ICP) etching system, Interferometry endpoint (IEP) is introduced to get the EPD. The IEP fringe count algorithm is investigated to predict the end point, and then its signal is used to control etching rate and to call end point with OES signal in over etching (OE) processes step. The experiment results show that IEP together with OES provide extra process control margin for advanced device with thinner gate oxide.

Effect of pH on enhancement of hydrogen storage capacity in carbon nanotubes on a copper substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varshoy, Sh.; Khoshnevisan, B.; Mohammadi, M.; Behpour, M.

2017-12-01

Electrochemical storage of hydrogen in Cu-CNTs (copper and carbon nanotubes) electrodes was studied by Chronopotentiometry technique. In this project effective absorption factors in atomic hydrogenation by CNTs such as charge/discharge (C&D) cyclic number, current and also different pHs were studied. Acidic method was used for purifying and functionalizing the CNTs, and the outputs were characterized using XRD spectroscopy. The CNTs were deposited on copper foam with nano metric porosity by electrophoretic method (EPD). By comparing the results of different experiments in different charge and discharge cycles, it was observed that multi-wall carbon nanotubes in the current of 3 mA with pH=5.4 have a maximum discharge capacity ‎about 10,000 mA h/g.

Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) attitude measurements of the interplanetary dust experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kassel, Philip C., Jr.; Singer, S. Fred; Mulholland, J. Derral; Oliver, John P.; Weinberg, Jerry L.; Cooke, William J.; Wortman, Jim J.; Motley, William R., III

1992-01-01

The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) Interplanetary Dust Experiment (IDE) was unique in providing a time history of impacts of micron-sized particles on six orthogonal faces of LDEF during the first year in orbit. The value of this time resolved data depended on and was enhanced by the proper operation of some basic LDEF systems. Thus, the value of the data is greatly enhanced when the location and orientation of LDEF is known for each time of impact. The location and velocity of LDEF as a function of time can be calculated from the 'two-line elements' published by GSFC during the first year of the LDEF mission. The attitude of LDEF was passively stabilized in a gravity-gradient mode and a magnetically anchored viscous damper was used to dissipate roll, pitch, and yaw motions. Finally, the IDE used a standard LDEF Experiment Power and Data System (EPDS) to collect and store data and also to provide a crystal derived clock pulse (1 count every 13.1072 seconds) for all IDE time measurements. All that remained for the IDE was to provide a system to calibrate the clock, eliminating accumulative errors, and also verify the attitude of LDEF. The IDE used solar cells on six orthogonal faces to observe the LDEF sunrise and provide data about the LDEF attitude. The data was recorded by the EPDS about 10 times per day for the first 345 days of the LDEF mission. This data consist of the number of IDE counts since the last LDEF sunrise and the status of the six solar cells (light or dark) at the time of the last IDE count. The EPDS determined the time that data was recorded and includes, with each record, the master EPDS clock counter (1 count every 1.6384 seconds) that provided the range and resolution for time measurements. The IDE solar cells provided data for an excellent clock calibration, meeting their primary purpose, and the time resolved LDEF attitude measurements that can be gleaned from this data are presented.

Clinical phenotypes of perinatal depression and time of symptom onset: analysis of data from an international consortium.

PubMed

Putnam, Karen T; Wilcox, Marsha; Robertson-Blackmore, Emma; Sharkey, Katherine; Bergink, Veerle; Munk-Olsen, Trine; Deligiannidis, Kristina M; Payne, Jennifer; Altemus, Margaret; Newport, Jeffrey; Apter, Gisele; Devouche, Emmanuel; Viktorin, Alexander; Magnusson, Patrik; Penninx, Brenda; Buist, Anne; Bilszta, Justin; O'Hara, Michael; Stuart, Scott; Brock, Rebecca; Roza, Sabine; Tiemeier, Henning; Guille, Constance; Epperson, C Neill; Kim, Deborah; Schmidt, Peter; Martinez, Pedro; Di Florio, Arianna; Wisner, Katherine L; Stowe, Zachary; Jones, Ian; Sullivan, Patrick F; Rubinow, David; Wildenhaus, Kevin; Meltzer-Brody, Samantha

2017-06-01

The perinatal period is a time of high risk for onset of depressive disorders and is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, including maternal suicide. Perinatal depression comprises a heterogeneous group of clinical subtypes, and further refinement is needed to improve treatment outcomes. We sought to empirically identify and describe clinically relevant phenotypic subtypes of perinatal depression, and further characterise subtypes by time of symptom onset within pregnancy and three post-partum periods. Data were assembled from a subset of seven of 19 international sites in the Postpartum Depression: Action Towards Causes and Treatment (PACT) Consortium. In this analysis, the cohort was restricted to women aged 19-40 years with information about onset of depressive symptoms in the perinatal period and complete prospective data for the ten-item Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS). Principal components and common factor analysis were used to identify symptom dimensions in the EPDS. The National Institute of Mental Health research domain criteria functional constructs of negative valence and arousal were applied to the EPDS dimensions that reflect states of depressed mood, anhedonia, and anxiety. We used k-means clustering to identify subtypes of women sharing symptom patterns. Univariate and bivariate statistics were used to describe the subtypes. Data for 663 women were included in these analyses. We found evidence for three underlying dimensions measured by the EPDS: depressed mood, anxiety, and anhedonia. On the basis of these dimensions, we identified five distinct subtypes of perinatal depression: severe anxious depression, moderate anxious depression, anxious anhedonia, pure anhedonia, and resolved depression. These subtypes have clear differences in symptom quality and time of onset. Anxiety and anhedonia emerged as prominent symptom dimensions with post-partum onset and were notably severe. Our findings show that there might be different types and severity of perinatal depression with varying time of onset throughout pregnancy and post partum. These findings support the need for tailored treatments that improve outcomes for women with perinatal depression. Janssen Research & Development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Developing and validating a perinatal depression screening tool in Kenya blending Western criteria with local idioms: A mixed methods study.

PubMed

Green, Eric P; Tuli, Hawa; Kwobah, Edith; Menya, D; Chesire, Irene; Schmidt, Christina

2018-03-01

Routine screening for perinatal depression is not common in most primary health care settings. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force only recently updated their recommendation on depression screening to specifically recommend screening during the pre- and postpartum periods. While practitioners in high-income countries can respond to this new recommendation by implementing one of several existing depression screening tools developed in Western contexts, such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) or the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), these tools lack strong evidence of cross-cultural equivalence, validity for case finding, and precision in measuring response to treatment in developing countries. Thus, there is a critical need to develop and validate new screening tools for perinatal depression that can be used by lay health workers, primary health care personnel, and patients. Working in rural Kenya, we used free listing, card sorting, and item analysis methods to develop a locally-relevant screening tool that blended Western psychiatric concepts with local idioms of distress. We conducted a validation study with a random sample of 193 pregnant women and new mothers to test the diagnostic accuracy of this scale along with the EPDS and PHQ-9. The sensitivity/specificity of the EPDS and PHQ-9 was estimated to be 0.70/0.72 and 0.70/0.73, respectively. This compared to sensitivity/specificity of 0.90/0.90 for a new 9-item locally-developed tool called the Perinatal Depression Screening (PDEPS). Across these three tools, internal consistency reliability ranged from 0.77 to 0.81 and test-retest reliability ranged from 0.57 to 0.67. The prevalence of depression ranges from 5.2% to 6.2% depending on the clinical reference standard. The EPDS and PHQ-9 are valid and reliable screening tools for perinatal depression in rural Western Kenya, the PDEPS may be a more useful alternative. At less than 10%, the prevalence of depression in this region appears to be lower than other published estimates for African and other low-income countries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Maternal depression and child development: Evidence from São Paulo's Western Region Cohort Study.

PubMed

Brentani, Alexandra; Fink, Günther

2016-09-01

While a growing body of evidence has investigated the relationship between maternal mental health and child development, evidence on children's early life outcomes remains mixed. We analyze the empirical relationship between maternal depression and children's development at age one using data from the São Paulo Western Region Cohort project. Seven hundred and ninety-eight (798) mother-child dyads living in the Butantã-Jaguaré' region of São Paulo were assessed through a home visit between January and March 2015. Maternal mental health was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Mothers were classified as "possibly depressed" if their EPDS score was between 10 and 13 and as "likely depressed" if their EPDS score was > 13. The child outcomes analyzed were height, weight, and overall development as assessed by the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ). Height and weight were age-normalized using WHO growth standards. Stunting was defined as height-for-age z-score (HAZ) < -2. Obesity was defined as body mass index z-score (BMIZ) > 2. Adjusted and unadjusted linear regression models were used to assess the associations between Edinburgh scores and child outcomes. No association was found between maternal depression variables and children's height, weight, stunting, and obesity. Positive associations were found between possible depression and ASQ (delta = 0.33; 95CI 0.11-0.54; p-value<0.01); no associations were found between likely depression and any of the outcomes analyzed. The results from this study suggest that symptoms of maternal depression are not associated with delays in child development in the study setting analyzed. Further research will be needed to understand this lack of association: while it is possible that caregivers' mental health did not affect caregiving behavior, it is possible that the effect of maternal depression can vary according to timing, persistence, and intensity. It is also possible that the EPDS instrument may fail to identify mothers with clinical depression, or that children with depressed mothers get increased support from other family members or public early childhood focused programs.

Elevated corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) during pregnancy and risk of postpartum depression (PPD).

PubMed

Meltzer-Brody, Samantha; Stuebe, Alison; Dole, Nancy; Savitz, David; Rubinow, David; Thorp, John

2011-01-01

Perinatal depression has a prevalence of 10% with devastating consequences for mother and baby. The prospective identification of those at risk for postpartum (PPD) or prenatal (PND) depression has led to biomarker searches in pregnancy. There are conflicting reports of associations between midpregnancy placental CRH (pCRH) and PPD or PND. The objective of the study was to quantify the association of maternal pCRH with PPD and PND. This was a prospective cohort study (the Pregnancy, Infection, and Nutrition Study). The study was conducted at a prenatal clinics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Patients included 1230 pregnant women. The relationship between pCRH at less than 20 wk and 24-29 wk and maternal depression assessed in pregnancy [Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)] and postpartum (12 wk and 1 yr) with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). At 24-29 wk, 24.8% of women had CES-D score of 17 or greater, and 9.7% had a CES-D score of 25 or greater. At 12 wk postpartum, 18.2% of women had an EPDS score of 10 or greater and 7.6% had an EPDS score of 13 or greater. CRH measures at less than 20 wk and 24-29 wk were inversely correlated with a CES-D score at 24-29 wk (n = 1080, P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). Pregnancy pCRH was not correlated with the EPDS score at 12 wk (n = 484) or 1 yr postpartum (n = 391). In covariate-adjusted models, higher pCRH was not associated with a CES-D of 17 or greater at 24-29 wk (odds ratio 0.88 per sd change in pCRH at 24-29 wk, 95% confidence interval 0.76-1.03). There was no association between log CRH at 24-29 wk and PPD (covariate-adjusted odds ratio per sd 0.99, 95% confidence interval 0.69-1.42). Higher midpregnancy pCRH was not associated with an increased risk of PND or PPD.

Solid oxide fuel cell electrolytes produced via very low pressure suspension plasma spray and electrophoretic deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fleetwood, James D.

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are a promising element of comprehensive energy policies due to their direct mechanism for converting the oxidization of fuel, such as hydrogen, into electrical energy. Both very low pressure plasma spray and electrophoretic deposition allow working with high melting temperature SOFC suspension based feedstock on complex surfaces, such as in non-planar SOFC designs. Dense, thin electrolytes of ideal composition for SOFCs can be fabricated with each of these processes, while compositional control is achieved with dissolved dopant compounds that are incorporated into the coating during deposition. In the work reported, sub-micron 8 mole % Y2O3-ZrO2 (YSZ) and gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC), powders, including those in suspension with scandium-nitrate dopants, were deposited on NiO-YSZ anodes, via very low pressure suspension plasma spray (VLPSPS) at Sandia National Laboratories' Thermal Spray Research Laboratory and electrophoretic deposition (EPD) at Purdue University. Plasma spray was carried out in a chamber held at 320 - 1300 Pa, with the plasma composed of argon, hydrogen, and helium. EPD was characterized utilizing constant current deposition at 10 mm electrode separation, with deposits sintered from 1300 -- 1500 °C for 2 hours. The role of suspension constituents in EPD was analyzed based on a parametric study of powder loading, powder specific surface area, polyvinyl butyral (PVB) content, polyethyleneimine (PEI) content, and acetic acid content. Increasing PVB content and reduction of particle specific surface area were found to eliminate the formation of cracks when drying. PEI and acetic acid content were used to control suspension stability and the adhesion of deposits. Additionally, EPD was used to fabricate YSZ/GDC bilayer electrolyte systems. The resultant YSZ electrolytes were 2-27 microns thick and up to 97% dense. Electrolyte performance as part of a SOFC system with screen printed LSCF cathodes was evaluated with peak power densities as high as 520 mW/cm2 at 800 °C for YSZ and 350 mW/cm 2 at 800 °C for YSZ/GDC bilayer electrolytes.

Patient Dose During Carotid Artery Stenting With Embolic-Protection Devices: Evaluation With Radiochromic Films and Related Diagnostic Reference Levels According to Factors Influencing the Procedure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

D'Ercole, Loredana, E-mail: l.dercole@smatteo.pv.it; Quaretti, Pietro; Cionfoli, Nicola

2013-04-15

To measure the maximum entrance skin dose (MESD) on patients undergoing carotid artery stenting (CAS) using embolic-protection devices, to analyze the dependence of dose and exposure parameters on anatomical, clinical, and technical factors affecting the procedure complexity, to obtain some local diagnostic reference levels (DRLs), and to evaluate whether overcoming DRLs is related to procedure complexity. MESD were evaluated with radiochromic films in 31 patients (mean age 72 {+-} 7 years). Five of 33 (15 %) procedures used proximal EPD, and 28 of 33 (85 %) procedures used distal EPD. Local DRLs were derived from the recorded exposure parameters inmore » 93 patients (65 men and 28 women, mean age 73 {+-} 9 years) undergoing 96 CAS with proximal (33 %) or distal (67 %) EPD. Four bilateral lesions were included. MESD values (mean 0.96 {+-} 0.42 Gy) were <2 Gy without relevant dependence on procedure complexity. Local DRL values for kerma area product (KAP), fluoroscopy time (FT), and number of frames (N{sub FR}) were 269 Gy cm{sup 2}, 28 minutes, and 251, respectively. Only simultaneous bilateral treatment was associated with KAP (odds ratio [OR] 10.14, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1-102.7, p < 0.05) and N{sub FR} overexposures (OR 10.8, 95 % CI 1.1-109.5, p < 0.05). Type I aortic arch decreased the risk of FT overexposure (OR 0.4, 95 % CI 0.1-0.9, p = 0.042), and stenosis {>=} 90 % increased the risk of N{sub FR} overexposure (OR 2.8, 95 % CI 1.1-7.4, p = 0.040). At multivariable analysis, stenosis {>=} 90 % (OR 2.8, 95 % CI 1.1-7.4, p = 0.040) and bilateral treatment (OR 10.8, 95 % CI 1.1-109.5, p = 0.027) were associated with overexposure for two or more parameters. Skin doses are not problematic in CAS with EPD because these procedures rarely lead to doses >2 Gy.« less

Clinical phenotypes of perinatal depression and time of symptom onset: analysis of data from an international consortium

PubMed Central

Putnam, Karen T; Wilcox, Marsha; Robertson-Blackmore, Emma; Sharkey, Katherine; Bergink, Veerle; Munk-Olsen, Trine; Deligiannidis, Kristina M; Payne, Jennifer; Altemus, Margaret; Newport, Jeffrey; Apter, Gisele; Devouche, Emmanuel; Viktorin, Alexander; Magnusson, Patrik; Penninx, Brenda; Buist, Anne; Bilszta, Justin; O’Hara, Michael; Stuart, Scott; Brock, Rebecca; Roza, Sabine; Tiemeier, Henning; Guille, Constance; Epperson, C Neill; Kim, Deborah; Schmidt, Peter; Martinez, Pedro; Di Florio, Arianna; Wisner, Katherine L; Stowe, Zachary; Jones, Ian; Sullivan, Patrick F; Rubinow, David; Wildenhaus, Kevin; Meltzer-Brody, Samantha

2018-01-01

Summary Background The perinatal period is a time of high risk for onset of depressive disorders and is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, including maternal suicide. Perinatal depression comprises a heterogeneous group of clinical subtypes, and further refinement is needed to improve treatment outcomes. We sought to empirically identify and describe clinically relevant phenotypic subtypes of perinatal depression, and further characterise subtypes by time of symptom onset within pregnancy and three post-partum periods. Methods Data were assembled from a subset of seven of 19 international sites in the Postpartum Depression: Action Towards Causes and Treatment (PACT) Consortium. In this analysis, the cohort was restricted to women aged 19–40 years with information about onset of depressive symptoms in the perinatal period and complete prospective data for the ten-item Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS). Principal components and common factor analysis were used to identify symptom dimensions in the EPDS. The National Institute of Mental Health research domain criteria functional constructs of negative valence and arousal were applied to the EPDS dimensions that reflect states of depressed mood, anhedonia, and anxiety. We used k-means clustering to identify subtypes of women sharing symptom patterns. Univariate and bivariate statistics were used to describe the subtypes. Findings Data for 663 women were included in these analyses. We found evidence for three underlying dimensions measured by the EPDS: depressed mood, anxiety, and anhedonia. On the basis of these dimensions, we identified five distinct subtypes of perinatal depression: severe anxious depression, moderate anxious depression, anxious anhedonia, pure anhedonia, and resolved depression. These subtypes have clear differences in symptom quality and time of onset. Anxiety and anhedonia emerged as prominent symptom dimensions with post-partum onset and were notably severe. Interpretation Our findings show that there might be different types and severity of perinatal depression with varying time of onset throughout pregnancy and post partum. These findings support the need for tailored treatments that improve outcomes for women with perinatal depression. Funding Janssen Research & Development. PMID:28476427

Effect of laser processing on physical properties of (Ba0.85Ca0.15Ti0.9Zr0.1O3) lead-free thick films fabricated by the electrophoretic deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramana, E. Venkata; Ferreira, N. M.; Mahajan, A.; Ferro, Marta C.; Figueiras, F.; Graça, M. P. F.; Valente, M. A.

2018-02-01

In this work, we have fabricated lead-free piezoelectric Ba0.85Ca0.15Ti0.9Zr0.1O3 thick films by the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) followed by a continuous-wave CO2 laser annealing and demonstrated the effect of laser energy on the quality of the final product. Thick films annealed under optimized conditions, 50 W/15 min, show a controlled microstructure/density compared to those derived from higher laser power/annealing time/conventional sintering. The increase in laser power above this limit affects the grain growth kinetics and results in the compositional heterogeneities. From the results of Raman spectra, it was found that the film annealed under optimized conditions has a high degree of crystallinity and tetragonality, while the increase in laser fluence results in the growth of A1g mode. The controlled composition and microstructure, thus has resulted in the improved ferroelectricity with a remanent polarization 12 μC/cm2, on par with the bulk or larger than the films grown by the chemical solution deposition techniques. From the piezoresponse studies, we found that the film annealed at 75 W/5 min has weak ferroelectric nature with no switchable ferroelectric domains compared to those under optimized conditions. Subtle differences in phase transition temperatures and drop in ferroelectric polarization, for films annealed conventionally or at higher laser fluence, are related to porosity or site defects as well as compositional heterogeneities. Our study demonstrates that the combination of EPD and laser annealing is an effective way to achieve high quality piezoelectric thick films with a controlled composition, useful for energy harvesting applications.

Energetic particles at venus: galileo results.

PubMed

Williams, D J; McEntire, R W; Krimigis, S M; Roelof, E C; Jaskulek, S; Tossman, B; Wilken, B; Stüdemann, W; Armstrong, T P; Fritz, T A; Lanzerotti, L J; Roederer, J G

1991-09-27

At Venus the Energetic Particles Detector (EPD) on the Galileo spacecraft measured the differential energy spectra and angular distributions of ions >22 kiloelectron volts (keV) and electrons > 15 keV in energy. The only time particles were observed by EPD was in a series of episodic events [0546 to 0638 universal time (UT)] near closest approach (0559:03 UT). Angular distributions were highly anisotropic, ordered by the magnetic field, and showed ions arriving from the hemisphere containing Venus and its bow shock. The spectra showed a power law form with intensities observed into the 120- to 280-keV range. Comparisons with model bow shock calculations show that these energetic ions are associated with the venusian foreshock-bow shock region. Shock-drift acceleration in the venusian bow shock seems the most likely process responsible for the observed ions.

Electrophoretic deposition and electrochemical behavior of novel graphene oxide-hyaluronic acid-hydroxyapatite nanocomposite coatings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ming; Liu, Qian; Jia, Zhaojun; Xu, Xuchen; Shi, Yuying; Cheng, Yan; Zheng, Yufeng; Xi, Tingfei; Wei, Shicheng

2013-11-01

Novel ternary graphene oxide-hyaluronic acid-hydroxyapatite (GO-HY-HA) nanocomposite coatings were prepared on Ti substrate using anodic electrophoretic deposition (EPD). Hyaluronic acid was employed as charging additive and dispersion agent during EPD. The kinetics and mechanism of the deposition, and the microstructure of the coated samples were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectrum, thermo-gravimetric analysis, and microscopic Fourier transform infrared analysis. The results showed that the addition of GO sheets into the HY-HA suspensions could increase the deposition rate and inhibit cracks creation and propagation in the coatings. The corrosion resistant of the resulting samples were evaluated using potentiodynamic polarization method in simulated body fluid, and the GO-HY-HA coatings could effectively improve the anti-corrosion property of the Ti substrate.

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Assessment of the orbital maneuvering subsystem, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haufler, W. A.

1988-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA effort first completed an analysis of the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) hardware and electrical power distribution and control (EPD and C), generating draft failure modes and potential critical items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. The IOA results were then compared to the proposed Post 51-L NASA FMEA/CIL baseline. This report documents the results of that comparison for the Orbiter OMS hardware and EPD and C systems. Volume 2 continues the presentation of IOA worksheets and contains the critical items list and the NASA FMEA to IOA worksheet cross reference and recommendations.

Maternal depression and physical health problems in early pregnancy: findings of an Australian nulliparous pregnancy cohort study.

PubMed

Perlen, Susan; Woolhouse, Hannah; Gartland, Deirdre; Brown, Stephanie J

2013-03-01

to investigate the relationship between physical health problems and depressive symptoms in early pregnancy. baseline questionnaire, prospective pregnancy cohort study. six metropolitan public maternity hospitals in Victoria, Australia. 1507 nulliparous women recruited in early pregnancy. nine per cent of women (131/1500) scored ≥ 13 on the EPDS indicating probable clinical depression in early pregnancy (mean gestation=15 weeks). The five most commonly reported physical health problems were as follows: exhaustion (86.9%), morning sickness (64.3%), back pain (45.6%), constipation (43.5%) and severe headaches or migraines (29.5%). Women scoring ≥ 13 on the EPDS reported a mean of six physical health problems compared with a mean of 3.5 among women scoring <13 on the EPDS. Women reporting five or more physical health problems had a three-fold increase in likelihood of reporting depressive symptoms (Adj OR=3.13, 95% CI 2.14-4.58) after adjusting for socio-demographic factors, including maternal age. the findings from this large multi-centre study show that women experiencing a greater number of physical health problems are at increased risk of reporting depressive symptoms in early pregnancy. early detection and support for women experiencing physical and psychological health problems in pregnancy is an important aspect of antenatal care. The extent of co-morbid physical and psychological health problems underlines the need for comprehensive primary health care as an integral component of antenatal care. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of Annealing on the Density of Defects in Epitaxial CdTe (211)/GaAs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bakali, Emine; Selamet, Yusuf; Tarhan, Enver

2018-05-01

CdTe thin films were grown on GaAs (211) wafers by molecular beam epitaxy as the buffer layer for HgCdTe infrared detector applications. We studied the effect of annealing on the density of dislocation of these CdTe thin films under varying annealing parameters such as annealing temperature, annealing duration, and number of cycles. Annealings were carried out using a homemade annealing reactor possessing a special heater element made of a Si wafer for rapid heating. The density of dislocations, which were made observable with a scanning electron microscope after etching with an Everson solution, were calculated by counting the number of dislocations per unit surface area, hence the term etch pit density (EPD). We were able to decrease EPD values by one order of magnitude after annealing. For example, the best EPD value after a 20-min annealing at 400°C was ˜ 2 × 107 cm-2 for a 1.63-μm CdTe thin film which was about 9.5 × 107 cm-2 before annealing. We also employed Raman scattering measurements to see the changes in the structural quality of the samples. From the Raman measurements, we were able to see improvements in the quality of our samples from the annealing by studying the ratio of 2LO/LO phonon mode Raman intensities. We also observed a clear decrease in the intensity of Te precipitations-related modes, indicating a decrease in the size and number of these precipitations.

Perinatal western-type diet and associated gestational weight gain alter postpartum maternal mood.

PubMed

Bolton, Jessica L; Wiley, Melanie G; Ryan, Bailey; Truong, Samantha; Strait, Melva; Baker, Dana Creighton; Yang, Nancy Y; Ilkayeva, Olga; O'Connell, Thomas M; Wroth, Shelley W; Sánchez, Cristina L; Swamy, Geeta; Newgard, Christopher; Kuhn, Cynthia; Bilbo, Staci D; Simmons, Leigh Ann

2017-10-01

The role of perinatal diet in postpartum maternal mood disorders, including depression and anxiety, remains unclear. We investigated whether perinatal consumption of a Western-type diet (high in fat and branched-chain amino acids [BCAA]) and associated gestational weight gain (GWG) cause serotonin dysregulation in the central nervous system (CNS), resulting in postpartum depression and anxiety (PPD/A). Mouse dams were fed one of four diets (high-fat/high BCAA, low-fat/high BCAA, high-fat, and low-fat) prior to mating and throughout gestation and lactation. Postpartum behavioral assessments were conducted, and plasma and brain tissues assayed. To evaluate potential clinical utility, we conducted preliminary human studies using data from an extant sample of 17 primiparous women with high GWG, comparing across self-reported postpartum mood symptoms using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) for percent GWG and plasma amino acid levels. Mouse dams fed the high-fat/high BCAA diet gained more weight per kcal consumed, and BCAA-supplemented dams lost weight more slowly postpartum. Dams on BCAA-supplemented diets exhibited increased PPD/A-like behavior, decreased dopaminergic function, and decreased plasma tyrosine and histidine levels when assessed on postnatal day (P)8. Preliminary human data showed that GWG accounted for 29% of the variance in EPDS scores. Histidine was also lower in women with higher EPDS scores. These findings highlight the role of perinatal diet and excess GWG in the development of postpartum mood disorders.

Relationships of Race and Socioeconomic Status to Postpartum Depressive Symptoms in Rural African American and Non-Hispanic White Women

PubMed Central

Dolbier, Christyn L.; Rush, Taylor E.; Sahadeo, Latoya S.; Shaffer, Michele L.; Thorp, John

2012-01-01

This study examines the potential racial disparity in postpartum depression (PPD) symptoms among a cohort of non-Hispanic white and African American women after taking into consideration the influence of socioeconomic status (SES). Participants (N = 299) were recruited from maternity clinics serving rural counties, with over-sampling of low SES and African Americans. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was administered 1 and 6 months postpartum, and subjective SES scale at 6 months postpartum. Demographic information was collected during enrollment and 1 month postpartum, with updates at 6 months postpartum. Separate logistic regressions were conducted for 1 and 6 month time points for minor-major PPD (EPDS ≥ 10) and major PPD (EPDS > 12); with marital status, poverty, education, subjective SES, and race predictors entered in block sequence. After including all other predictors, race was not a significant predictor of minor-major or major PPD at 1 or 6 months postpartum. Subjective SES was the most consistent predictor of PPD, being significantly associated with minor-major PPD and major PPD at 6 months postpartum, with higher subjective SES indicating lower odds of PPD, even after accounting for all other predictors. This study shows that significant racial disparities were not observed for minor-major or major PPD criteria at 1 or 6 months postpartum. The most consistent and significant predictor of PPD was subjective SES. Implications of these findings for future research, as well as PPD screening and intervention are discussed. PMID:22961387

Are stress-induced cortisol changes during pregnancy associated with postpartum depressive symptoms?

PubMed

Nierop, Ada; Bratsikas, Aliki; Zimmermann, Roland; Ehlert, Ulrike

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between psychobiological stress reactivity during healthy pregnancy and depressive symptoms in the early puerperium. A sample of healthy nulliparous pregnant women (N = 57) between the ages of 21 and 35 years underwent a standardized psychosocial stress test during pregnancy. Within an average of 13 days after delivery, postpartum depressive symptoms were assessed using the German version of the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS). The sample was divided into a group with probable cases (EPDS score >9, N = 16) and a group with probable noncases (EPDS score < or =9, N = 41). The probable case group showed significantly higher cortisol responses to the stress test compared with the probable noncase group, whereas baseline levels did not differ. Additionally, women in the probable case group showed significantly higher state anxiety and lower mood state throughout the experiment. Furthermore, the probable case group showed higher stress susceptibility, higher trait anxiety, and higher levels in the Symptom Checklist. No differences were found for prior episodes of psychiatric disorders, obstetrical complications, birth weight, or mode of delivery. Our data provide evidence that healthy pregnant women developing postpartum depressive symptoms might already be identified during pregnancy by means of their higher cortisol reactivity and their higher psychological reactivity in response to psychosocial stress. Further investigations are required to explore whether higher psychobiological stress responses not only precede depressive symptoms within 2 weeks after birth, but might also predict postpartum major depression.

Drop Impingement on Highly Wetting Micro/Nano Porous Surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buie, Cullen; Joung, Youngsoo

2011-11-01

Recently, we developed a novel fabrication method using a combination of electrophoretic deposition (EPD) and break down anodization (BDA) to achieve highly wetting nanoporous surfaces with microscale features. In this study we investigate droplet impingement behavior on these surfaces as a function of impact velocity, droplet size, and liquid properties. We observe impingement modes we denote as ``necking'' (droplet breaks before full penetration in the porous surface), ``spreading'' (continuous wicking into the porous surface), and ``jetting'' (jets of liquid emanate from the edges of the wicking liquid). To predict the droplet impingement modes, we've developed a non-dimensional parameter that is a function of droplet velocity, dynamic viscosity, effective pore radius and contact angle. The novel dimensionless parameter successfully predicts drop impingement modes across multiple fluids. Results of this study will inform the design of spray impingement cooling systems for electronics applications where the ``spreading'' mode is preferred.

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Analysis of the Electrical Power Distribution and Control Subsystem, Volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmeckpeper, K. R.

1987-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA approach features a top-down analysis of the hardware to determine failure modes, criticality, and potential critical items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. This report documents the independent analysis results corresponding to the Orbiter Electrical Power Distribution and Control (EPD and C) hardware. The EPD and C hardware performs the functions of distributing, sensing, and controlling 28 volt DC power and of inverting, distributing, sensing, and controlling 117 volt 400 Hz AC power to all Orbiter subsystems from the three fuel cells in the Electrical Power Generation (EPG) subsystem. Volume 2 continues the presentation of IOA analysis worksheets and contains the potential critical items list.

Perinatal depression and screening among Aboriginal Australians in the Kimberley.

PubMed

Kotz, Jayne; Munns, Ailsa; Marriott, Rhonda; Marley, Julia V

2016-02-01

Adhoc culturally questionable perinatal mental-health screening among Aboriginal women in the Kimberley. Mental-health issues, substance abuse and suicide attempts are high among young Aboriginal women in Australia. There is no evidence that the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is effective or culturally safe. Screening practices are complicated by limited understanding of the complex cultural interface between Western and Aboriginal beliefs and notions about health and mental-health. What is the current context of perinatal mental-health screening practices among Aboriginal women in the Kimberley and what might be considered a culturally safe approach? A review of the literature and exploration of current screening practices preceded community participatory action research (CPAR) of perinatal mental-health screening. More than 100 Kimberley women and 72 health practitioners contributed to this joint strategic body of work. Recommendations for practice include one single culturally appropriate Kimberley version of the EPDS.

Postpartum depression and traditional postpartum care in China: role of zuoyuezi.

PubMed

Wan, Ellen Y; Moyer, Cheryl A; Harlow, Siobán D; Fan, Zitian; Jie, Yan; Yang, Huixia

2009-03-01

To determine the relationship between the traditional Chinese practice of postpartum care, known as zuoyuezi, and postpartum depression (PPD) in China. A total of 342 Chinese women were surveyed 6- to 8-weeks post partum using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and items assessing sociodemographics, health history, peripartum experiences, zuoyuezi, and social support. Prevalence of PPD was 15.5% (EPDS cutoff >or=13). PPD was associated with lower income, difficult pregnancy experience, poor infant health status, not attending childbirth classes, and low spousal involvement before and after delivery. Among the 96% of women who practiced zuoyuezi, those for whom the caregiver was her mother-in-law or who perceived zuoyuezi as unhelpful had twice the odds of PPD. These data highlight the importance of the peripartum experience in assessing PPD risk. Zuoyuezi is still commonly practiced in urban China, and further research is needed to explore its role in the potential prevention of PPD.

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Assessment of the electrical power distribution and control subsystem, volume 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmeckpeper, K. R.

1988-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA first completed an analysis of the Electrical Power Distribution and Control (EPD and C) hardware, generating draft failure modes and potential critical items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. The IOA results were then compared to the NASA FMEA/CIL baseline with proposed Post 51-L updates included. A resolution of each discrepancy from the comparison is provided through additional analysis as required. This report documents the results of that comparison for the Orbiter EPD and C hardware. Volume 3 continues the presentation of IOA worksheets and contains the potential critical items list and the NASA FMEA to IOA worksheet cross reference and recommendations.

Analysis of the Variation of Energetic Electron Flux with Respect to Longitude and Distance Normal to the Magnetic Equatorial Plane for Galileo Energetic Particle Detector Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swimm, Randall; Garrett, Henry B.; Jun, Insoo; Evans, Robin W.

2004-01-01

In this study we examine ten-minute omni-directional averages of energetic electron data measured by the Galileo spacecraft Energetic Particle Detector (EPD). Count rates from electron channels B1, DC2, and DC3 are evaluated using a power law model to yield estimates of the differential electron fluxes from 1 MeV to 11 MeV at distances between 8 and 51 Jupiter radii. Whereas the orbit of the Galileo spacecraft remained close to the rotational equatorial plane of Jupiter, the approximately 11 degree tilt of the magnetic axis of Jupiter relative to its rotational axis allowed the EPD instrument to sample high energy electrons at limited distances normal to the magnetic equatorial plane. We present a Fourier analysis of the semi-diurnal variation of electron fluxes with longitude.

The impact of education, country, race and ethnicity on the self-report of postpartum depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale

PubMed Central

Di Florio, A.; Putnam, K.; Altemus, M.; Apter, G.; Bergink, V.; Bilszta, J.; Brock, R.; Buist, A.; Deligiannidis, K. M.; Devouche, E.; Epperson, C. N.; Guille, C.; Kim, D.; Lichtenstein, P.; Magnusson, P. K. E.; Martinez, P.; Munk-Olsen, T.; Newport, J.; Payne, J.; Penninx, B. W.; O’Hara, M.; Robertson-Blackmore, E.; Roza, S. J.; Sharkey, K. M.; Stuart, S.; Tiemeier, H.; Viktorin, A.; Schmidt, P. J.; Sullivan, P. F.; Stowe, Z. N.; Wisner, K. L.; Jones, I.; Rubinow, D. R.; Meltzer-Brody, S.

2017-01-01

Background Universal screening for postpartum depression is recommended in many countries. Knowledge of whether the disclosure of depressive symptoms in the postpartum period differs across cultures could improve detection and provide new insights into the pathogenesis. Moreover, it is a necessary step to evaluate the universal use of screening instruments in research and clinical practice. In the current study we sought to assess whether the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the most widely used screening tool for postpartum depression, measures the same underlying construct across cultural groups in a large international dataset. Method Ordinal regression and measurement invariance were used to explore the association between culture, operationalized as education, ethnicity/race and continent, and endorsement of depressive symptoms using the EPDS on 8209 new mothers from Europe and the USA. Results Education, but not ethnicity/race, influenced the reporting of postpartum depression [difference between robust comparative fit indexes (Δ*CFI) < 0.01]. The structure of EPDS responses significantly differed between Europe and the USA (Δ*CFI > 0.01), but not between European countries (Δ*CFI < 0.01). Conclusions Investigators and clinicians should be aware of the potential differences in expression of phenotype of postpartum depression that women of different educational backgrounds may manifest. The increasing cultural heterogeneity of societies together with the tendency towards globalization requires a culturally sensitive approach to patients, research and policies, that takes into account, beyond rhetoric, the context of a person’s experiences and the context in which the research is conducted. PMID:27866476

[Quality of life of women depressed in the post-partum period].

PubMed

Rojas, Graciela; Fritsch, Rosemarie; Solís, Jaime; González, Marcos; Guajardo, Viviana; Araya, Ricardo

2006-06-01

Depression is common among women, specially during breeding. To characterize post-partum depression in a group of women attending a primary health care clinic and its relationship to quality of life. The sample included women meeting criteria for Major Depression, with a child of up to 11 months old. Exclusion criteria included the presence of psychosis, history of mania, alcohol abuse, illegal drug use, high suicide risk, and receiving mental health care in the last three months. Structured interviews used were the Edinburgh postpartum depression scale (EPDS), Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), Medical Outcomes Study Questionnaire (SF-36) and questions about incapacity and health care use. The sample included 159 women with a median age of 27 years (range: 16-43 years). Thirty three percent were married, 30.8% lived in common law marriage, 9.4% were divorced, and 26.4% were single. Most (89.3%) were housewives, 31% were students, and 6.9% were employed. The average score on the EPDS was 17 points (S.D. 4.2). The average SF-36 somatic score was 42.7 points (S.D. 8.2), and the emotional score was 30.3 (D.S. 0.3). The relation between the average score on the EPDS and the somatic and emotional scores was statistically significant (p=0.000-0.006). Most women were mildly to moderately depressed. Their depression was associated with a marked impairment of activities of daily living. These findings add to the evidence suggesting that depression is associated with marked disability cultures, even when the depression is mild to moderate.

Genetic and epigenetic associations of MAOA and NR3C1 with depression and childhood adversities.

PubMed

Melas, Philippe A; Wei, Yabin; Wong, Chloe C Y; Sjöholm, Louise K; Åberg, Elin; Mill, Jonathan; Schalling, Martin; Forsell, Yvonne; Lavebratt, Catharina

2013-08-01

Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) harbours a polymorphic upstream variable-number tandem repeat (u-VNTR). The MAOA-L allele of the u-VNTR leads to decreased gene expression levels in vitro and has been found to increase the risk of conduct disorder in males with childhood adversities. Early-life adversities have been associated with hypermethylation of the glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1). In this study, we first performed a genetic association analysis of the MAOA u-VNTR using individuals with depression (n = 392) and controls (n = 1276). Next, DNA methylation analyses of MAOA and NR3C1 were performed using saliva samples of depressed and control subgroups. Adult MAOA-L females with childhood adversities were found to have a higher risk of developing depression (p = 0.006) and overall MAOA methylation levels were decreased in depressed females compared to controls (mean depressed, 42% vs. mean controls, 44%; p = 0.04). One specific childhood adversity [early parental death (EPD)] was associated with hypermethylation of NR3C1 close to an NGFI-A binding site (mean EPD, 19% vs. mean non-EPD, 14%; p = 0.005). Regression analysis indicated that this association may be mediated by the MAOA-L allele (adjusted R² = 0.24, ANOVA: F = 23.48, p < 0.001). Conclusively: (1) depression in females may result from a gene × childhood-adversity interaction and/or a dysregulated epigenetic programming of MAOA; (2) childhood-adversity subtypes may differentially impact DNA methylation at NR3C1; (3) baseline MAOA-genotypic variations may affect the extent of NR3C1 methylation.

Predictors of Postpartum Depression Among Immigrant Women in the Year After Childbirth.

PubMed

Ganann, Rebecca; Sword, Wendy; Thabane, Lehana; Newbold, Bruce; Black, Margaret

2016-02-01

Immigrant women are at increased risk for postpartum depression (PPD). The factors that influence PPD among immigrant women are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to identify individual- and community-level factors predictive of PPD among immigrant women living in a large Ontario city at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year postpartum. The study involved a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study, The Ontario Mother and Infant Study 3. This study included 519 immigrant women who were recruited from two hospitals in one urban city and delivered full-term singleton infants. Women completed a written questionnaire in hospital, followed by structured telephone interviews at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year after hospital discharge. Generalized estimating equations were used to explore factors associated with PPD, measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and two thresholds for depression (≥12 and ≥9). Rates of PPD at all time points were 8%-10% for EPDS scores of ≥12. For EPDS scores of ≥9, rates of PPD more than doubled at all time points. A lack of social support was strongly associated with PPD in all analyses. Living in Canada for ≤2 years, poor perceptions of health, and lower mental health functioning were other important predictors of PPD. Living in communities with a high prevalence of immigrants and low income also was associated with PPD. Complex individual and community-level factors are associated with PPD in immigrant women. Understanding these contextual factors can inform a multifaceted approach to addressing PPD.

Prospective Associations of Maternal Dietary Patterns and Postpartum Mental Health in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Cohort: The Growing up in Singapore towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) Study.

PubMed

Teo, Cherlyen; Chia, Ai-Ru; Colega, Marjorelee T; Chen, Ling-Wei; Fok, Doris; Pang, Wei Wei; Godfrey, Keith M; Tan, Kok Hian; Yap, Fabian; Shek, Lynette Pei-Chi; Chong, Yap-Seng; Meaney, Michael; Chen, Helen; Chong, Mary Foong-Fong

2018-03-02

Diet in the first month postpartum, otherwise known as "the confinement diet" in Asia, has unique characteristics that are influenced by traditions, cultures, and beliefs. We aimed to characterize dietary patterns during confinement period in a multi-ethnic Asian cohort and examined their associations with postpartum depression (PPD) and anxiety (PPA). Dietary intakes of 490 women were ascertained in the first month postpartum using 3-day food diaries and dietary patterns were derived by factor analysis. Participants completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) at three months' postpartum; higher scores are indicative of more depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively. Four dietary patterns were identified: Traditional-Chinese-Confinement diet, Traditional-Indian-Confinement diet, Eat-Out diet and Soup-Vegetables-Fruits diet. The Traditional-Indian-Confinement diet was associated with less PPD symptoms [β (95% CI) -0.62 (-1.16, -0.09) EPDS score per SD increase in diet score] and a non-significant trend with reduced probable PPD (EPDS scores ≥ 13) [OR (95% CI) 0.56 (0.31, 1.01)]. The Soup-Vegetables-Fruits diet was associated with less PPA symptoms [β (95% CI) -1.49 (-2.56, -0.42) STAI-state score]. No associations were observed for other dietary patterns. Independent of ethnicity, adherence to the Traditional-Indian-Confinement diet that is characterized by intake of herbs and legumes, and Soup-Vegetables-Fruits diet high in fruits, vegetables and fish during the postpartum period were associated with less PPD and PPA symptoms, respectively.

Screening for maternal postpartum depression and associationswith personality traits and social support. A Polish follow-upstudy 4 weeks and 3 months after delivery.

PubMed

Maliszewska, Karolina; Świątkowska-Freund, Małgorzata; Bidzan, Mariola; Krzysztof, Preis

2017-10-29

To investigate the likelihood of postpartum depression and to explore maternal characteristics in terms of personality, social support and other medical and psychological data. A sample of 548 patients was investigated 4 weeks and 3 months after delivery. They responded to questionnaires containing sociodemographic questions: the EPDS (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), the PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), theNEO-FFI (Personality Inventory), and the BSSS (Berlin Social Support Scales). Probable depression any time during first 3 months postpartum was prevalent among 6.38% of women, based on the following criteria: EPDS > 12 points and PHQ-9 > 9 points. A score of EPDS > 9 in the first week after delivery (ORa = 4.16; CI 1.59-10.86), a history of hospitalisation during pregnancy (ORa = 3.51; CI 1.32-9.20), a high level of neuroticism (ORa = 1.37; CI 1.05-1.77), and high buffering-protective social support (ORa =2.56; 1.25-5.23) were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Potential protective factors were initial breastfeeding (ORa = 0.31; CI 0.11-0.90) and high satisfaction with currently received social support (ORa=0.41;CI 0.22-0.79). The total dropout rate was 23%. New mothers who are neurotic and who suffered from physical or mental problems during pregnancy and puerperium might experience depressive symptoms more easily. They would also protect those close to them from negative information about themselves. A lack of initial breastfeeding and unsatisfactory social support played a similar role.

Environmental Report 1993-1996

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-08-16

These reports are prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), as required by DOE Order 5400.1 and DOE Order 231.1, by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The results of LLNL's envi...

Prevalence and risk factors for postpartum depressive symptoms in Argentina: a cross-sectional study

PubMed Central

Mathisen, Siv Elin; Glavin, Kari; Lien, Lars; Lagerløv, Per

2013-01-01

Introduction Postpartum depression is a prevalent disorder with negative consequences for women, infants, and the family as a whole. Most studies of this disorder have been conducted in Western countries, and studies from developing countries are few. In this paper, we report the first – as far as we are aware – study of the prevalence and risk factors associated with postpartum depressive symptoms in Argentina. Materials and methods The study participants were 86 women attending 6 week checkups, (range 4–12 weeks) postpartum at a private health care center in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires. The women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and a questionnaire collecting demographic and obstetric data. Data were described as proportions (percentages). Differences between proportions were assessed with chi-squared tests. To control for possible confounders, we fitted bivariate logistic regression models in which the dependent variable was an EPDS sum score of <10 versus a score of ≥10. Results We found a high prevalence of depressive symptoms. A total of 32 women (37.2%) had an EPDS score of ≥10, 16 (18.6%) had a score between 10 and 12, and 16 (18.6%) had a score of ≥13. In our sample, an EPDS score of ≥10 was significantly associated with multiparity (odds ratio [OR] =3.58; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13–11.30; P=0.030), pregnancy complications (OR =3.40; 95% CI: 1.03–11.26; P=0.045), labor complications (OR =11.43; 95% CI: 1.71–76.61; P=0.012), cesarean section (OR =4.19; 95% CI: 1.10–16.01; P=0.036), and incomplete breast-feeding (OR =5.00; 95% CI: 1.42–17.54; P=0.012). Conclusion Our results indicate that postpartum depression may be prevalent in Argentina, and may be associated with incomplete breast-feeding, cesarean section, perinatal complications and multiparity. The prevalence and risk factors for postpartum depression has not been described previously and is a considerable health-related problem among women. Argentinian health professionals should be aware of the high prevalence rate and possible risk factors so that these women and families can be identified and receive adequate support and treatment. PMID:24294009

Comparative effectiveness of commonly used devices for carotid artery stenting: an NCDR Analysis (National Cardiovascular Data Registry).

PubMed

Giri, Jay; Kennedy, Kevin F; Weinberg, Ido; Hawkins, Beau M; Press, Marcella Calfon; Drachman, Douglas; McCormick, Daniel J; Aronow, Herbert D; White, Christopher J; Rosenfield, Kenneth; Yeh, Robert W

2014-02-01

This study sought to characterize usage and outcomes of carotid stenting platforms. A variety of stents and embolic protection devices (EPDs) are used for carotid artery stenting. Little is known about current usage patterns and differences in outcomes with these devices. We analyzed 12,135 consecutive carotid stent procedures in the NCDR (National Cardiovascular Data Registry) CARE (Carotid Artery Revascularization and Endarterectomy) registry performed between January 1, 2007 and March 31, 2012. We compared baseline characteristics and crude and multivariable-adjusted rates of in-hospital combined death/stroke among patients treated with Acculink/Accunet (Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Illinois), Xact/Emboshield (Abbott), and Precise/Angioguard (Cordis Corporation, Bridgewater, New Jersey) stent/EPD combinations. In 78.2% of cases, stents were used in conjunction with their specific, corresponding U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved EPD. The Acculink/Accunet (n = 2,617, 21.6%), Xact/Emboshield (n = 3,507, 28.9%), and Precise/Angioguard (n = 2,696, 22.2%) stent/EPD combinations were used in 72.7% of all cases. The Protégé/SpiderFx (ev3 Endovascular Inc., Plymouth, Minnesota) (n = 453, 3.7%) and Wallstent/Filterwire (Boston Scientific, Natick, Massachusetts) (n = 213, 1.8%) devices were used in a minority of cases. In unadjusted analyses, the Precise/Angioguard system was associated with higher rates of the primary outcome than were the Acculink/Accunet (2.5% vs. 1.8%; p = 0.058) and Xact/Emboshield (2.5% vs. 1.9%; p = 0.14) systems that were not statistically different. In adjusted analyses, differences between Precise/Angioguard and Accunet/Acculink (odds ratio [OR]: 1.48, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.89 to 2.47; p = 0.065), Precise/Angioguard and Xact/Emboshield (OR: 1.16, 95% CI: 0.77 to 1.76; p = 0.38), and Xact/Emboshield and Accunet/Acculink (OR: 1.28, 95% CI: 0.82 to 1.97; p = 0.18) remained nonsignificant. In modern U.S. practice, the Acculink/Accunet, Xact/Emboshield, and Precise/Angioguard carotid stenting systems are used in most cases and are associated with similarly low rates of adverse events. Copyright © 2014 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An independent association of prenatal depression with wheezing and anxiety with rhinitis in infancy.

PubMed

Cheng, Tuck Seng; Chen, Helen; Lee, Theresa; Teoh, Oon Hoe; Shek, Lynette P; Lee, Bee Wah; Chee, Cornelia; Godfrey, Keith M; Gluckman, Peter D; Kwek, Kenneth; Saw, Seang Mei; Chong, Yap-Seng; Meaney, Michael; Broekman, Birit F P; Chay, Oh Moh; Van Bever, Hugo; Goh, Anne

2015-12-01

Different maternal psychological states during pregnancy have been associated with wheeze-rhinitis-eczema symptoms in children. However, previous studies were limited and it was unclear whether the type of prenatal psychological state was associated with a particular symptom. We examined the association of maternal depression and anxiety during pregnancy with wheeze-rhinitis-eczema symptoms in infancy. In a longitudinal birth cohort (GUSTO) of 1152 mother-child pairs, wheeze-rhinitis-eczema symptoms in the infants during the first year of life were collected by parental report. Maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed at 26 weeks of gestation using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Logistic regression analyses were performed with adjustment for potential confounders. An increased risk of wheezing was found in infants of pregnant women with probable depression (EPDS ≥ 15) [odds ratio (OR) = 1.85 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10-3.12)], and an increased risk of rhinitis was associated with maternal anxiety [STAI state ≥ 41: OR = 1.42 (95% CI 1.04-1.93); STAI trait ≥ 43: OR = 1.38 (95% CI 1.01-1.88)]. After adjusting for known risk factors for the development of allergic disease, these associations remained significant [EPDS ≥ 15: adjusted OR = 2.09 (95% CI 1.05-4.19); STAI state ≥ 41: adjusted OR = 1.82 (95% CI 1.17-2.82); STAI trait ≥ 43: adjusted OR = 1.70 (95% CI 1.10-2.61)]. However, maternal psychological states were not associated with infantile eczema. This study suggests that there may be an independent effect of prenatal depression on wheezing and anxiety on rhinitis in infancy. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Antenatal depression case-finding by community health workers in South Africa: feasibility of a mobile phone application

PubMed Central

Tsai, Alexander C.; Tomlinson, Mark; Dewing, Sarah; le Roux, Ingrid M.; Harwood, Jessica M.; Chopra, Mickey; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane

2014-01-01

Purpose Randomised controlled trials conducted in resource-limited settings have shown that once women with depressed mood are evaluated by specialists and referred for treatment, lay health workers can be trained to effectively administer psychological treatments. We sought to determine the extent to which community health workers could also be trained to conduct case finding using short and ultra-short screening instruments programmed into mobile phones. Methods Pregnant, Xhosa-speaking women were recruited independently in two cross-sectional studies (N=1,144 and N=361) conducted in Khayelitsha, South Africa and assessed for antenatal depression. In the smaller study, community health workers with no training in human subjects research were trained to administer the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) during the routine course of their community-based outreach. We compared the operating characteristics of 4 short and ultra-short versions of the EPDS with the criterion standard of probable depression, defined as an EPDS-10 ≥13. Results The prevalence of probable depression (475/1144 [42%] and 165/361 [46%]) was consistent across both samples. The 2-item subscale demonstrated poor internal consistency (Cronbach’s α ranged from 0.55-0.58). All 4 subscales demonstrated excellent discrimination, with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values ranging from 0.91-0.99. Maximal discrimination was observed for the 7-item depressive symptoms subscale: at the conventional screening threshold of ≥10, it had 0.97 sensitivity and 0.76 specificity for detecting probable antenatal depression. Conclusions The comparability of the findings across the two studies suggests that it is feasible to use community health workers to conduct case finding for antenatal depression. PMID:24682529

Emotion recognition in early Parkinson's disease patients undergoing deep brain stimulation or dopaminergic therapy: a comparison to healthy participants.

PubMed

McIntosh, Lindsey G; Mannava, Sishir; Camalier, Corrie R; Folley, Bradley S; Albritton, Aaron; Konrad, Peter E; Charles, David; Park, Sohee; Neimat, Joseph S

2014-01-01

Parkinson's disease (PD) is traditionally regarded as a neurodegenerative movement disorder, however, nigrostriatal dopaminergic degeneration is also thought to disrupt non-motor loops connecting basal ganglia to areas in frontal cortex involved in cognition and emotion processing. PD patients are impaired on tests of emotion recognition, but it is difficult to disentangle this deficit from the more general cognitive dysfunction that frequently accompanies disease progression. Testing for emotion recognition deficits early in the disease course, prior to cognitive decline, better assesses the sensitivity of these non-motor corticobasal ganglia-thalamocortical loops involved in emotion processing to early degenerative change in basal ganglia circuits. In addition, contrasting this with a group of healthy aging individuals demonstrates changes in emotion processing specific to the degeneration of basal ganglia circuitry in PD. Early PD patients (EPD) were recruited from a randomized clinical trial testing the safety and tolerability of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) in early-staged PD. EPD patients were previously randomized to receive optimal drug therapy only (ODT), or drug therapy plus STN-DBS (ODT + DBS). Matched healthy elderly controls (HEC) and young controls (HYC) also participated in this study. Participants completed two control tasks and three emotion recognition tests that varied in stimulus domain. EPD patients were impaired on all emotion recognition tasks compared to HEC. Neither therapy type (ODT or ODT + DBS) nor therapy state (ON/OFF) altered emotion recognition performance in this study. Finally, HEC were impaired on vocal emotion recognition relative to HYC, suggesting a decline related to healthy aging. This study supports the existence of impaired emotion recognition early in the PD course, implicating an early disruption of fronto-striatal loops mediating emotional function.

Trends in the incidence of tooth extraction due to periodontal disease: results of a 12-year longitudinal cohort study in South Korea

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Purpose This study evaluated trends in tooth extraction due to acute and chronic periodontal disease (PD) using data from the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort for 2002–2013. Methods A random sample of 1,025,340 individuals was selected as a representative sample of the population, and a database (DB) of diagnostic and prescription codes was followed up for 12 years. We used multivariate logistic regression analysis to assess the incidence of total extraction (TE), extraction due to periodontal disease (EPD), and immediate extraction due to periodontal disease (IEPD) according to sociodemographic factors (sex, age, household income, health status, and area of residence). Results The incidence of tooth extraction was found to be increasing, and at a higher rate for TE in PD patients. In 2002, 50.6% of cases of TE were caused by PD, and this increased to 70.8% in 2013, while the number of cases of IEPD increased from 42.8% to 54.9% over the same period. The incidence rates of extraction due to acute and chronic PD increased monotonically. We found that the incidence rates of TE, EPD, and IEPD were all 2-fold higher among patients with high income levels and those who were not beneficiaries of health insurance. Conclusions The rates of TE, EPD, and IEPD have been steadily increasing despite dental healthcare policies to expand public health insurance coverage, increasing the accessibility of dental clinics. Moreover, the effects of these policies were found to vary with both income and education levels. Consistent patient follow-up is required to observe changes in trends regarding tooth extraction according to changes in dental healthcare policies, and meticulous studies of such changes will ensure optimal policy reviews and revisions. PMID:29093985

Antenatal depression case finding by community health workers in South Africa: feasibility of a mobile phone application.

PubMed

Tsai, Alexander C; Tomlinson, Mark; Dewing, Sarah; le Roux, Ingrid M; Harwood, Jessica M; Chopra, Mickey; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane

2014-10-01

Randomized controlled trials conducted in resource-limited settings have shown that once women with depressed mood are evaluated by specialists and referred for treatment, lay health workers can be trained to effectively administer psychological treatments. We sought to determine the extent to which community health workers could also be trained to conduct case finding using short and ultrashort screening instruments programmed into mobile phones. Pregnant, Xhosa-speaking women were recruited independently in two cross-sectional studies (N = 1,144 and N = 361) conducted in Khayelitsha, South Africa and assessed for antenatal depression. In the smaller study, community health workers with no training in human subject research were trained to administer the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) during the routine course of their community-based outreach. We compared the operating characteristics of four short and ultrashort versions of the EPDS with the criterion standard of probable depression, defined as an EPDS-10 ≥ 13. The prevalence of probable depression (475/1144 [42 %] and 165/361 [46 %]) was consistent across both samples. The 2-item subscale demonstrated poor internal consistency (Cronbach's α ranged from 0.55 to 0.58). All four subscales demonstrated excellent discrimination, with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values ranging from 0.91 to 0.99. Maximal discrimination was observed for the 7-item depressive symptoms subscale: at the conventional screening threshold of ≥10, it had 0.97 sensitivity and 0.76 specificity for detecting probable antenatal depression. The comparability of the findings across the two studies suggests that it is feasible to use community health workers to conduct case finding for antenatal depression.

On the relationship between the tree and its environment, based on electrical potential difference monitoring on trunk of trees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koppan, A.; Fenyvesi, A.; Szarka, L.; Wesztergom, V.

2002-05-01

Electrical potential differences (EPD) in the trunk of a Turkey oak tree (measured by using non-polarising electrodes deepened in the sap wood) have been continuously recorded in the Geophysical Observatory "Istv n Széchenyi" of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences since 1997. Besides of various geophysical observations, meteorological and direct sap-flow measurements have also been carried out in the observatory. As it was found (Kopp n A., Szarka L., Wesztergom V., 2000: Annual fluctuation in amplitudes of daily variations of electrical signals measured in the trunk of a standing tree. C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Life Sciences 323, 559-563), the measured electric potential difference data have a characteristic sinusoidal daily fluctuation, and the intensity of the diurnal variations has a double-peak annual characteristics, which coincides with the life activity maximums of the tree. We have found a remarkable inter-correlation between trunk EPD, water potential of air (derived from meteorological data), and direct sap flow velocity data from a neighboring tree. All these results clearly demonstrate that the sap streaming due to the transpiration and root pressure generates the largest part of measured potential differences. The ratio of the flow velocity of a diluted solution forced through stems and the potential differences was found to be constant (Gindl, W., L”ppert, H.-G., Wimmer, R., 1999: Relationship between streaming potential and sap velocity in Salix alba L. Phyton, 39, 217-224.). On the contrary in our in-vivo experiments the relationship between the measured sap flow velocity and EPD is non-linear, which means that the conductivity (i.e. ion concentration) of the xylem sap itself also has a daily fluctuation.

Eating disorders and trauma history in women with perinatal depression.

PubMed

Meltzer-Brody, Samantha; Zerwas, Stephanie; Leserman, Jane; Holle, Ann Von; Regis, Taylor; Bulik, Cynthia

2011-06-01

Although the prevalence of perinatal depression (depression occurring during pregnancy and postpartum) is 10%, little is known about psychiatric comorbidity in these women. We examined the prevalence of comorbid eating disorders (ED) and trauma history in women with perinatal depression. A research questionnaire was administered to 158 consecutive patients seen in a perinatal psychiatry clinic during pregnancy (n=99) or postpartum (n=59). Measures included Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID) IV-based questions for lifetime eating psychopathology and assessments of comorbid psychiatric illness including the State/Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and Trauma Inventory. In this cohort, 37.1% reported a putative lifetime ED history; 10.1% reported anorexia nervosa (AN), 10.1% reported bulimia nervosa (BN), 10.1% reported ED not otherwise specified-purging subtype (EDNOS-P), and 7.0% reported binge eating disorder (BED). Women with BN reported more severe depression (EPDS score, 19.1, standard deviation [SD 4.3], p=0.02; PHQ-severity 14.5, SD 7.4, p=0.02) than the referent group of women with perinatal depression and no ED history (EPDS 13.3, SD=6.1; PHQ 9.0, SD=6.2). Women with AN were more likely to report sexual trauma history than the referent group (62.5% vs. 29.3%, p<0.05), and those with BN were more likely report physical (50.0%, p<0.05) and sexual (66.7%, p<0.05) trauma histories. ED histories were present in over one third of admissions to a perinatal psychiatry clinic. Women with BN reported more severe depression and histories of physical and sexual trauma. Screening for histories of eating psychopathology is important in women with perinatal depression.

Prospective Associations of Maternal Dietary Patterns and Postpartum Mental Health in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Cohort: The Growing up in Singapore towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) Study

PubMed Central

Teo, Cherlyen; Colega, Marjorelee T.; Chen, Ling-Wei; Fok, Doris; Pang, Wei Wei; Yap, Fabian; Shek, Lynette Pei-Chi; Chong, Yap-Seng; Meaney, Michael; Chen, Helen; Chong, Mary Foong-Fong

2018-01-01

Diet in the first month postpartum, otherwise known as “the confinement diet” in Asia, has unique characteristics that are influenced by traditions, cultures, and beliefs. We aimed to characterize dietary patterns during confinement period in a multi-ethnic Asian cohort and examined their associations with postpartum depression (PPD) and anxiety (PPA). Dietary intakes of 490 women were ascertained in the first month postpartum using 3-day food diaries and dietary patterns were derived by factor analysis. Participants completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) at three months’ postpartum; higher scores are indicative of more depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively. Four dietary patterns were identified: Traditional-Chinese-Confinement diet, Traditional-Indian-Confinement diet, Eat-Out diet and Soup-Vegetables-Fruits diet. The Traditional-Indian-Confinement diet was associated with less PPD symptoms [β (95% CI) −0.62 (−1.16, −0.09) EPDS score per SD increase in diet score] and a non-significant trend with reduced probable PPD (EPDS scores ≥ 13) [OR (95% CI) 0.56 (0.31, 1.01)]. The Soup-Vegetables-Fruits diet was associated with less PPA symptoms [β (95% CI) −1.49 (−2.56, −0.42) STAI-state score]. No associations were observed for other dietary patterns. Independent of ethnicity, adherence to the Traditional-Indian-Confinement diet that is characterized by intake of herbs and legumes, and Soup-Vegetables-Fruits diet high in fruits, vegetables and fish during the postpartum period were associated with less PPD and PPA symptoms, respectively. PMID:29498695

Intimate Partner Violence Associated with Postpartum Depression, Regardless of Socioeconomic Status.

PubMed

Kothari, Catherine L; Liepman, Michael R; Shama Tareen, R; Florian, Phyllis; Charoth, Remitha M; Haas, Suzanne S; McKean, Joseph W; Moe, Angela; Wiley, James; Curtis, Amy

2016-06-01

Objective This study examined whether socioeconomic status moderated the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) and postpartum depression among a community-based sample of women. Defining the role of poverty in the risk of postpartum depression for IPV victims enables prioritization of health promotion efforts to maximize the effectiveness of existing maternal-infant resources. Methods This cross-sectional telephone-survey study interviewed 301 postpartum women 2 months after delivery, screening them for IPV and depression [using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)]. Socioeconomic status was defined by insurance (Medicaid-paid-delivery or not). This analysis controlled for the following covariates, collected through interview and medical-record review: demographics, obstetric history, prenatal health and additional psychosocial risk factors. After adjusting for significant covariates, multiple linear regression was conducted to test whether socioeconomic status confounded or moderated IPV's relationship with EPDS-score. Results Ten percent of participants screened positive for postpartum depression, 21.3 % screened positive for current or previous adult emotional or physical abuse by a partner, and 32.2 % met poverty criteria. IPV and poverty were positively associated with each other (χ(2) (1) = 11.76, p < .001) and with EPDS score (IPV: beta 3.2 (CI 2.0, 4.5) p < .001, poverty: beta 1.3 (CI 0.2, 2.4) p = .017). In the multiple linear regression, IPV remained significantly associated, but poverty did not (IPV: adjusted beta 3.1 (CI 1.8, 4.3) p < .001, poverty: adjusted beta 0.8 (CI -0.3, 1.9) p = .141), and no statistically significant interaction between IPV and poverty was found. Conclusions Study findings illustrated that IPV was strongly associated with postpartum depression, outweighing the influence of socioeconomic status upon depression for postpartum women.

Perceived Financial Satisfaction, Health Related Quality of Life and depressive Symptoms in Early Pregnancy.

PubMed

Sahrakorpi, Niina; Koivusalo, Saila B; Eriksson, Johan G; Kautiainen, Hannu; Stach-Lempinen, Beata; Roine, Risto P

2017-07-01

Objectives To assess the associations of perceived financial satisfaction and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and depressive symptoms in an unselected pregnant population in early pregnancy. Methods 750 consecutive pregnant women attending the first communal ultrasound examination before gestational week 14 were invited to participate. Questionnaires assessing HRQoL (15D), depressive symptoms (Edinburgh Depression Scale, EPDS), medical, obstetric, and socioeconomic status were handed out. The participants were divided into three groups according to their satisfaction with their financial status, (unsatisfied, somewhat satisfied, and satisfied). Main outcome measures were 15D and EPDS-scores and dimensions of HRQoL. Results 325 (43,3%) questionnaires were returned. The mean 15D-score for HRQoL was 0,926 (SD 0,056). The financially unsatisfied women had lower HRQoL than women in more satisfied groups (0.906, 0.923 and 0.931, p = 0.012). The result remained significant, even after adjusting for age and education(p = 0.032). The unsatisfied women had a higher mean body mass index (BMI) (25.4, 24.4 and 23.2 kg/m 2 , p for linearity = 0.002), were more often smokers, (13 vs. 4 and 3%, p = 0.029), and had experienced at least one abortion (18, 14 and 7%, p = 0.017). Dimensions of depression, distress and sleep explained the differences between the groups. 27% of unsatisfied women scored EPDS ≥10 points suggesting increased risk of depression. Conclusions Financial satisfaction in early pregnancy associates with HRQoL and risk of perinatal depressive symptoms. Unsatisfied women more often have risk factors for unfavourable pregnancy outcomes which may influence the later health and wellbeing of the mother and child.

Nitinol Embolic Protection Filters: Design Investigation by Finite Element Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conti, Michele; de Beule, Matthieu; Mortier, Peter; van Loo, Denis; Verdonck, Pascal; Vermassen, Frank; Segers, Patrick; Auricchio, Ferdinando; Verhegghe, Benedict

2009-08-01

The widespread acceptance of carotid artery stenting (CAS) to treat carotid artery stenosis and its effectiveness compared with surgical counterpart, carotid endarterectomy (CEA), is still a matter of debate. Transient or permanent neurological deficits may develop in patients undergoing CAS due to distal embolization or hemodynamic changes. Design, development, and usage of embolic protection devices (EPDs), such as embolic protection filters, appear to have a significant impact on the success of CAS. Unfortunately, some drawbacks, such as filtering failure, inability to cross tortuous high-grade stenoses, malpositioning and vessel injury, still remain and require design improvement. Currently, many different designs of such devices are available on the rapidly growing dedicated market. In spite of such a growing commercial interest, there is a significant need for design tools as well as for careful engineering investigations and design analyses of such nitinol devices. The present study aims to investigate the embolic protection filter design by finite element analysis. We first developed a parametrical computer-aided design model of an embolic filter based on micro-CT scans of the Angioguard™ XP (Cordis Endovascular, FL) EPD by means of the open source pyFormex software. Subsequently, we used the finite element method to simulate the deployment of the nitinol filter as it exits the delivery sheath. Comparison of the simulations with micro-CT images of the real device exiting the catheter showed excellent correspondence with our simulations. Finally, we evaluated circumferential basket-vessel wall apposition of a 4 mm size filter in a straight vessel of different sizes and shape. We conclude that the proposed methodology offers a useful tool to evaluate and to compare current or new designs of EPDs. Further simulations will investigate vessel wall apposition in a realistic tortuous anatomy.

Low serum levels of High-Density Lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) as an indicator for the development of severe postpartum depressive symptoms

PubMed Central

Ramachandran Pillai, Raji; Wilson, Anand Babu; Premkumar, Nancy R.; Kattimani, Shivanand; Sagili, Haritha

2018-01-01

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a psychiatric complication of childbirth affecting 10–20% of new mothers and has negative impact on both mother and infant. Serum lipid levels have been related to depressive disorders, but very limited literatures are available regarding the lipid levels in women with postpartum depression. The present study is aimed to examine the association of serum lipids with the development of postpartum depressive symptoms. This is a cross sectional study conducted at a tertiary care hospital in South India. Women who came for postpartum check-up at 6th week post-delivery were screened for PPD (September 2014-October 2015). Women with depressive symptoms were assessed using EPDS (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale). The study involved 186 cases and 250 controls matched for age and BMI. Serum levels of lipid parameters were estimated through spectrophotometry and the atherogenic indices were calculated in all the subjects. Low serum levels of Total Cholesterol (TC) and High Density Lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) were significantly low in PPD women with severe depressive symptoms. The study recorded a significant negative correlation between HDL-c and the EPDS score in PPD women (r = -0.140, p = 0.05). Interestingly, the study also observed a significant negative correlation between Body Mass Index (BMI) and EPDS scores in case group (r = -0.146, p = 0.047), whereas a positive correlation between the same in controls (r = 0.187, p = 0.004). Our study demonstrated that low levels of serum HDL-c is correlated with the development of severe depressive symptoms in postpartum women. Study highlights the role of lipids in the development of postpartum depressive symptoms. PMID:29444162

Selection Indices and Multivariate Analysis Show Similar Results in the Evaluation of Growth and Carcass Traits in Beef Cattle

PubMed Central

Brito Lopes, Fernando; da Silva, Marcelo Corrêa; Magnabosco, Cláudio Ulhôa; Goncalves Narciso, Marcelo; Sainz, Roberto Daniel

2016-01-01

This research evaluated a multivariate approach as an alternative tool for the purpose of selection regarding expected progeny differences (EPDs). Data were fitted using a multi-trait model and consisted of growth traits (birth weight and weights at 120, 210, 365 and 450 days of age) and carcass traits (longissimus muscle area (LMA), back-fat thickness (BF), and rump fat thickness (RF)), registered over 21 years in extensive breeding systems of Polled Nellore cattle in Brazil. Multivariate analyses were performed using standardized (zero mean and unit variance) EPDs. The k mean method revealed that the best fit of data occurred using three clusters (k = 3) (P < 0.001). Estimates of genetic correlation among growth and carcass traits and the estimates of heritability were moderate to high, suggesting that a correlated response approach is suitable for practical decision making. Estimates of correlation between selection indices and the multivariate index (LD1) were moderate to high, ranging from 0.48 to 0.97. This reveals that both types of indices give similar results and that the multivariate approach is reliable for the purpose of selection. The alternative tool seems very handy when economic weights are not available or in cases where more rapid identification of the best animals is desired. Interestingly, multivariate analysis allowed forecasting information based on the relationships among breeding values (EPDs). Also, it enabled fine discrimination, rapid data summarization after genetic evaluation, and permitted accounting for maternal ability and the genetic direct potential of the animals. In addition, we recommend the use of longissimus muscle area and subcutaneous fat thickness as selection criteria, to allow estimation of breeding values before the first mating season in order to accelerate the response to individual selection. PMID:26789008

Selection Indices and Multivariate Analysis Show Similar Results in the Evaluation of Growth and Carcass Traits in Beef Cattle.

PubMed

Brito Lopes, Fernando; da Silva, Marcelo Corrêa; Magnabosco, Cláudio Ulhôa; Goncalves Narciso, Marcelo; Sainz, Roberto Daniel

2016-01-01

This research evaluated a multivariate approach as an alternative tool for the purpose of selection regarding expected progeny differences (EPDs). Data were fitted using a multi-trait model and consisted of growth traits (birth weight and weights at 120, 210, 365 and 450 days of age) and carcass traits (longissimus muscle area (LMA), back-fat thickness (BF), and rump fat thickness (RF)), registered over 21 years in extensive breeding systems of Polled Nellore cattle in Brazil. Multivariate analyses were performed using standardized (zero mean and unit variance) EPDs. The k mean method revealed that the best fit of data occurred using three clusters (k = 3) (P < 0.001). Estimates of genetic correlation among growth and carcass traits and the estimates of heritability were moderate to high, suggesting that a correlated response approach is suitable for practical decision making. Estimates of correlation between selection indices and the multivariate index (LD1) were moderate to high, ranging from 0.48 to 0.97. This reveals that both types of indices give similar results and that the multivariate approach is reliable for the purpose of selection. The alternative tool seems very handy when economic weights are not available or in cases where more rapid identification of the best animals is desired. Interestingly, multivariate analysis allowed forecasting information based on the relationships among breeding values (EPDs). Also, it enabled fine discrimination, rapid data summarization after genetic evaluation, and permitted accounting for maternal ability and the genetic direct potential of the animals. In addition, we recommend the use of longissimus muscle area and subcutaneous fat thickness as selection criteria, to allow estimation of breeding values before the first mating season in order to accelerate the response to individual selection.

Evaluation of a radiation protection cabin for invasive electrophysiological procedures.

PubMed

Dragusin, Octavian; Weerasooriya, Rukshen; Jaïs, Pierre; Hocini, Mélèze; Ector, Joris; Takahashi, Yoshihide; Haïssaguerre, Michel; Bosmans, Hilde; Heidbüchel, Hein

2007-01-01

Complex invasive electrophysiological procedures may result in high cumulative operator radiation exposure. Classical protection with lead aprons results in discomfort while radioprotection is still incomplete. This study evaluated the usefulness of a radiation protection cabin (RPC) that completely surrounds the operator. The evaluation was performed independently in two electrophysiology laboratories (E1-Leuven, Belgium; E2-Bordeaux, France), comparing operator radiation exposure using the RPC vs. a 0.5 mm lead-equivalent apron (total of 135 procedures). E1 used thermoluminiscent dosimeters (TLDs) placed at 16 positions in and out of the RPC and nine positions in and out of the apron. E2 used more sensitive electronic personal dosimeters (EPD), placed at waist and neck. The sensitivity thresholds of the TLDs and EPDs were 10-20 microSv and 1-1.5 microSv, respectively. All procedures could be performed unimpeded with the RPC. Median TLD dose values outside protected areas were in the range of 57-452 microSv, whereas doses under the apron or inside the RPC were all at the background radiation level, irrespective of procedure and fluoroscopy duration and of radiation energy delivered. In addition, the RPC was protecting the entire body (except the hands), whereas lead apron protection is incomplete. Also with the more sensitive EPDs, the radiation dose within the RPC was at the sensitivity threshold/background level (1.3+/-0.6 microSv). Again, radiation to the head was significantly lower within the RPC (1.9+/-1.2 microSv) than with the apron (102+/-23 microSv, P<0.001). The use of the RPC allows performing catheter ablation procedures without compromising catheter manipulation, and with negligible radiation exposure for the operator.

Maturational effect on Functional Movement Screen™ score in adolescent soccer players.

PubMed

Portas, Matthew David; Parkin, Guy; Roberts, James; Batterham, Alan Mark

2016-10-01

The effect of maturity on Functional Movement Screen (FMS) scores in elite, adolescent soccer players was examined. A cross-sectional observational study was completed. Participants were 1163 male English Football League soccer players (age 8-18 years). Players were mid-foundation phase (MF) (U9); late foundation phase (LF) (U10 and U11); early youth development phase (EYD) (U12 and U13); mid-youth development (MYD) phase (U14-U15); Late Youth Development Phase (LYD) (U16) and early professional development phase (EPD) (U18). Age from peak height velocity was estimated and players were categorized as pre- or post-peak height velocity (PHV). To analyse where differences in FMStotal score existed we separated the screen into FMSmove (3 movement tests); FMSflex (2 mobility tests) and FMSstab (2 stability tests). FMStotal median score ranged from 11 at MF to 14 for EPD. There was a substantial increase (10%) in those able to achieve a score of ≥14 on FMStotal in those who were post-PHV compared to pre-PHV. This was explained by a substantial increase in those achieving a score of ≥4 on FMSstab (21%). There was a substantial increase in the proportion of players who achieved the FMStotal threshold of ≥14 with an increase of 47.5 (41.4-53.6)% from the MF phase to the EPD phase due to improvements in FMSmove and FMSstab. PHV and maturity have substantial effects on FMS performance. FMS assessment appears to be invalid for very young players. Findings are relevant to those analyzing movement in soccer players. Copyright © 2015 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemosensitivity of BRCA1-Mutated Ovarian Cancer Cells and Established Cytotoxic Agents.

PubMed

van Haaften, Caroline; van Eendenburg, Jaap; Boot, Arnoud; Corver, Willem E; Haans, Lucien; van Wezel, Tom; Trimbos, J Baptist

2017-10-01

Serous adenocarcinomas that arise in patients with inherited mutations in the tumor suppressor genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are initially well treatable with platinum/paclitaxel. For recurrent disease in patients with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, olaparib treatment is available. To study additional therapeutic regimens, a better understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of the tumors in in vitro models is important. From a high-grade serous ovarian tumor of a BRCA1 mutation carrier, we established 3 distinct cell line subclones, OVCA-TR3.1, -2, and -3. Immunohistochemical characterization, flow cytometric analyses, chemosensitivity, and somatic mutation profiling were performed. The cell lines expressed AE1/AE3, Pax8, WT-1, OC125, estrogen receptor (ER), and p53, comparable to the primary tumor. Synergism could be shown in the combination treatment eremophila-1-(10)-11(13)-dien-12,8β-olide (EPD), with cisplatin, whereas combination with olaparib did not show synergism. Eremophila-1-(10)-11(13)-dien-12,8β-olide, a sesquiterpene lactone, is a novel chemotherapeutic agent. The inherited BRCA1 c.2989_2990dupAA mutation was confirmed in the cell lines. Loss of heterozygosity of BRCA1 was detected in each cell line, as well as a homozygous TP53 c.722C>A mutation. Flow cytometry showed that all cell lines had a distinct DNA index. Three new isogenic ovarian cancer cell lines were developed from a patient with a germ line BRCA1 mutation. Chemosensitivity profiling of the cell lines showed high tolerance for olaparib. Treatment with EPD proved synergistic with cisplatin. The effects of EPD will be further investigated for future clinical efficacy.

PROTECTING HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT ON SIOUX TRIBAL LANDS: A PARTNERSHIP OF EPA AND TRIBAL EPD

EPA Science Inventory

Through environmental sampling performed by EPA and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Environmental Protection Division personnel, mercury contamination in managed pond systems in South Dakota was characterized and risk reduction recommendations were made to protect subsistence fisherma...

"Experiential" Professional Development: Improving World Language Pedagogy inside Spanish Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burke, Brigid Moira

2012-01-01

"Experiential" professional development (EPD), influenced by Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound design, was integrated in the classrooms of secondary Spanish teachers to create opportunities for them to learn to use communicative language teaching (CLT) through experience. Teachers collaborated with colleagues, students, and a…

Interhemispheric Poynting Flux Associated with Postsunset Equatorial Plasma Depletions as Observed by Swarm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez-Zuluaga, J.; Stolle, C.; Park, J.

2017-12-01

By using simultaneous measurements of electric and magnetic fields gathered by the Swarm constellation, the direction of both Poynting flux and field-aligned currents (FACs) associated with topside equatorial plasma depletions (EPDs) is derived. Contrary to expectations, FACs are found to flow at the walls of EPDs from one magnetic hemisphere to the other rather than flowing away from and towards the dip equator, as has been suggested so far. In turn, an interhemispheric Poynting flux is observed to flow into the E region of the hemisphere with larger ionospheric conductivity when eastward polarisation electric field is present across the depletion. However, also westward electric field is often observed but without a change in the FACs orientation, that would preserve the direction of the Poynting flux. The interhemispheric flows show seasonal, longitudinal and local time dependence. Empirical models are used to substantiate the conclusions of this study. After these new findings, the question about the location of a generator and load in terms of electromagnetic energy flow remains open.

Social Support, Stigma and Antenatal Depression Among HIV-Infected Pregnant Women in South Africa.

PubMed

Brittain, Kirsty; Mellins, Claude A; Phillips, Tamsin; Zerbe, Allison; Abrams, Elaine J; Myer, Landon; Remien, Robert H

2017-01-01

Depression, HIV-related stigma and low levels of social support may be particularly prevalent and adversely affect health and treatment outcomes among HIV-infected pregnant women. We examined factors associated with social support and stigma among pregnant women initiating antiretroviral therapy in the Western Cape, South Africa; and explored associations with depressive symptoms (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; EPDS) in linear regression models. Among 623 participants, 11 and 19 % had elevated EPDS scores using thresholds described in the original development of the scale (scores ≥13 and ≥10, respectively). Social support and stigma were highly interrelated and were associated with depressive symptoms. Stigma was observed to moderate the association between social support and depression scores; when levels of stigma were high, no association between social support and depression scores was observed. Elevated depression scores are prevalent in this setting, and interventions to reduce stigma and to address risk factors for depressive symptoms are needed.

Electrophoretic deposition of bi-layered LSM/LSM-YSZ cathodes for solid oxide fuel cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itagaki, Yoshiteru; Watanabe, Shinji; Yamaji, Tsuyoshi; Asamoto, Makiko; Yahiro, Hidenori; Sadaoka, Yoshihiko

2012-09-01

Bi-layered cathodes with the LSM/LSM-YSZ structure for solid oxide fuel cells were successfully formed on the carbon-sputtered surface of a YSZ sheet by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The thicknesses of the first layer of LSM-YSZ (LY) and the second layer of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 (LSM) could be controlled by adjusting the deposition time in the EPD process. The cathodic properties of the bi-layered structures were superior to those of the mono-layered structures, and were dependent on the thickness of each layer. Decreasing the thickness of the first layer and increasing that of the second layer tended to reduce both polarization and ohmic resistances. The optimal thickness of the first layer at the operating temperature of 600 °C was 4 μm, suggesting that an effective three-phase boundary was extended from the interface between the electrolyte and cathode film to around 4 μm thickness.

Performance of the STAR Event Plane Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ewigleben, Justin; Justin Ewigleben Collaboration

2017-09-01

The Beam Energy Scan (BES) program at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider has shown hints of a critical point and first order phase transition at the BES energies. Key measurements for locating the critical point and determining the first order phase transition are limited by poor event plane resolution, limited statistics and a TPC-only centrality determination. A new event plane and collision centrality detector (EPD) is planned to replace the existing detector, the Beam-Beam Counter (BBC), with higher granularity and acceptance. The design of the EPD consists of two scintillator discs at z = +/- 3.75m from the center of STAR, covering 2.2 < η < 5.1. One quarter of a single disc was installed in STAR for the 2017 run for commissioning. In this talk we will discuss the detector performance during this commissioning run in both proton-proton collisions at √{ s = 510 } GeV and Au-Au collisions at √{sNN = 54.4 } GeV. NSF Grant 1614474.

The Euler-Poisson-Darboux equation for relativists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, John M.

2009-09-01

The Euler-Poisson-Darboux (EPD) equation is the simplest linear hyperbolic equation in two independent variables whose coefficients exhibit singularities, and as such must be of interest as a paradigm to relativists. Sadly it receives scant treatment in the textbooks. The first half of this review is didactic in nature. It discusses in the simplest terms possible the nature of solutions of the EPD equation for the timelike and spacelike singularity cases. Also covered is the Riemann representation of solutions of the characteristic initial value problem, which is hard to find in the literature. The second half examines a few of the possible applications, ranging from explicit computation of the leading terms in the far-field backscatter from predominantly outgoing radiation in a Schwarzschild space-time, to computing explicitly the leading terms in the matter-induced singularities in plane symmetric space-times. There are of course many other applications and the aim of this article is to encourage relativists to investigate this underrated paradigm.

Global Proteomics Analysis of the Response to Starvation in C. elegans*

PubMed Central

Larance, Mark; Pourkarimi, Ehsan; Wang, Bin; Brenes Murillo, Alejandro; Kent, Robert; Lamond, Angus I.; Gartner, Anton

2015-01-01

Periodic starvation of animals induces large shifts in metabolism but may also influence many other cellular systems and can lead to adaption to prolonged starvation conditions. To date, there is limited understanding of how starvation affects gene expression, particularly at the protein level. Here, we have used mass-spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics to identify global changes in the Caenorhabditis elegans proteome due to acute starvation of young adult animals. Measuring changes in the abundance of over 5,000 proteins, we show that acute starvation rapidly alters the levels of hundreds of proteins, many involved in central metabolic pathways, highlighting key regulatory responses. Surprisingly, we also detect changes in the abundance of chromatin-associated proteins, including specific linker histones, histone variants, and histone posttranslational modifications associated with the epigenetic control of gene expression. To maximize community access to these data, they are presented in an online searchable database, the Encyclopedia of Proteome Dynamics (http://www.peptracker.com/epd/). PMID:25963834

Proteomic analysis of the response to cell cycle arrests in human myeloid leukemia cells

PubMed Central

Ly, Tony; Endo, Aki; Lamond, Angus I

2015-01-01

Abstract Previously, we analyzed protein abundance changes across a ‘minimally perturbed’ cell cycle by using centrifugal elutriation to differentially enrich distinct cell cycle phases in human NB4 cells (Ly et al., 2014). In this study, we compare data from elutriated cells with NB4 cells arrested at comparable phases using serum starvation, hydroxyurea, or RO-3306. While elutriated and arrested cells have similar patterns of DNA content and cyclin expression, a large fraction of the proteome changes detected in arrested cells are found to reflect arrest-specific responses (i.e., starvation, DNA damage, CDK1 inhibition), rather than physiological cell cycle regulation. For example, we show most cells arrested in G2 by CDK1 inhibition express abnormally high levels of replication and origin licensing factors and are likely poised for genome re-replication. The protein data are available in the Encyclopedia of Proteome Dynamics (http://www.peptracker.com/epd/), an online, searchable resource. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.04534.001 PMID:25555159

A decision-making tool for incorporating sustainability measures into pavement design : research project capsule.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-10-01

The objective of the proposed study is to conceive and develop a decision-making tool : for evaluating sustainability of pavement designs based on a cradle-to-grave analysis. : This tool will utilize EPDs to enhance the reliability of the assessment ...

Comparison of genomic-enhanced EPD systems using an external phenotypic database

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The American Angus Association (AAA) is currently evaluating two methods to incorporate genomic information into their genetic evaluation program: 1) multi-trait incorporation of an externally produced molecular breeding value as an indicator trait (MT) and 2) single-step evaluation with an unweight...

Postnatal Depression and Infant Health Practices among High-Risk Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zajicek-Farber, Michaela L.

2009-01-01

Women's postnatal depressive symptoms have been associated with many adverse outcomes for children. The current study examined the frequency association with relative risk between postnatal depressive symptoms and mothers' use of preventative infant health practices. The study used the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Parental…

MEASUREMENT AND MODELING OF ATMOSPHERIC MERCURY SPECIES AND RELATED POLLUTANTS IN SOUTH FLORIDA FROM 2000-2005

EPA Science Inventory

In 2000, Florida DEP, USEPA, and Broward EPD located an atmospheric mercury monitoring site adjacent to the Everglades in southeast Florida for the purposes of field testing the Tekran mercury speciation system under long-term operational conditions and evaluating the impact of e...

Product Category Rules Alignment Workshop, October 4, 2011 in Chicago, IL, USA

EPA Science Inventory

A workshop on Product Category Rule (PCR) alignment was held as a special session in the LCA XI conference with approximately 120 participants. PCR alignment refers to the process of assuring that PCRs (rules for developing LCA-based claims like EPDs) developed by different parti...

Comparison of different drying methods on the physical properties, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of raspberry powders.

PubMed

Si, Xu; Chen, Qinqin; Bi, Jinfeng; Wu, Xinye; Yi, Jianyong; Zhou, Linyan; Li, Zhaolu

2016-04-01

Dehydration has been considered as one of the traditional but most effective techniques for perishable fruits. Raspberry powders obtained after dehydration can be added as ingredients into food formulations such as bakery and dairy products. In this study, raspberry powders obtained by hot air drying (HAD), infrared radiation drying (IRD), hot air and explosion puffing drying (HA-EPD), infrared radiation and microwave vacuum drying (IR-MVD) and freeze drying (FD) were compared on physical properties, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity. Drying techniques affected the physical properties, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of raspberry powders greatly. FD led to significantly higher (P < 0.05) values of water solubility (45.26%), soluble solid (63.46%), hygroscopicity (18.06%), color parameters and anthocyanin retention (60.70%) of raspberry powder compared with other drying methods. However, thermal drying techniques, especially combined drying methods, were superior to FD in final total polyphenol content, total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity. The combined drying methods, especially IR-MVD, showed the highest total polyphenol content (123.22 g GAE kg(-1) dw) and total flavonoid content (0.30 g CAE kg(-1) dw). Additionally, IR-MVD performed better in antioxidant activity retention. Overall, combined drying methods, especially IR-MVD, were found to result in better quality of raspberry powders among the thermal drying techniques. IR-MVD could be recommended for use in the drying industry because of its advantages in time saving and nutrient retention. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Leadership for Change. National EPD Seminar Proceedings [AND] Leadership for Change Program [AND] AVA Speech (New Orleans, December 6, 1974).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

1974

Presented are the proceedings of the National Education Professions Development Seminar, Leadership for Change, held in December 1974. Transcripts of the speeches given include "Leadership in Vocational Education: Potential for Change," Mary Kievit; "Vocational Education Legislation," Melvin Barlow; and "Leadership in…

The prevalence of early postpartum psychiatric morbidity in Dubai: a transcultural perspective.

PubMed

Abou-Saleh, M T; Ghubash, R

1997-05-01

There have been numerous studies of the prevalence of postpartum psychiatric illness and its putative risk factors in Western Europe and North America, but very few studies have been undertaken in developing countries, including the Arab world. A total of 95 women admitted to the New Dubai Hospital in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for childbirth were studied. All subjects were assessed in the postpartum period using clinical and socio-cultural instruments, namely the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) on day 2 and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) on day 7 after delivery. The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity was 24% according to the SRQ and 18% according to the EPDS. A number of psychosocial factors emerged as putative risk factors for postpartum psychiatric disturbance, including depressive illness. It is concluded that the prevalence of postpartum psychiatric morbidity and its risk factors in this Arab culture are similar to the results obtained in numerous previous studies conducted in industrialized countries. These findings have implications for the early detection and care of women at risk for postpartum psychiatric illness.

Postpartum psychiatric illness in Arab culture: prevalence and psychosocial correlates.

PubMed

Ghubash, R; Abou-Saleh, M T

1997-07-01

There have been numerous studies of the prevalence of postpartum depression and its putative risk factors in Western Europe and North America, but very few studies in developing countries including the Arab world. Ninety-five women admitted to the New Dubai Hospital in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for childbirth were studied. All subjects were assessed in the postpartum period using clinical and socio-cultural instruments: the Self Report Questionnaire (SRQ) at day 2, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at day 7, and the Present State Examination (PSE) at week 8 +/- 2 and week 30 +/- 2 after delivery. The prevalence rate of psychiatric morbidity was 24.5% by the SRQ, 17.8% by the EPDS, and 15.8% by the PSE. A number of psychosocial factors emerged as putative risk factors for postpartum depression. The prevalence rates of postpartum psychiatric morbidity and its risk factors in this Arab culture are similar to the results obtained in numerous previous studies in industrialised countries. These findings have implications for the early detection and care of women at risk for postpartum depression.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reid, A.A.; Fleming, P.J.; Lake, C.R.

We modified a norepinephrine radioenzymatic method for determination of plasma phenylpropanolamine (PPA) concentrations. PPA is converted to N(methyl-/sup 3/H)ephedrine ((/sup 3/H)EPD) by the enzyme phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT) and S-(methyl-/sup 3/H)adenosyl-L-methionine ((/sup 3/H)AdoMet). The product, (/sup 3/H)EPD, is isolated from unreacted (/sup 3/H)AdoMet and labeled side products by an organic extraction and a TLC procedure. In addition, a preincubation organic extraction procedure is included to remove inhibitors of PNMT from plasma and to concentrate the sample for enhanced enzymatic conversion. In order to accurately quantitate PPA across the wide range of possible concentrations, the assay is conducted at two plasma volumes.more » PPA concentrations between 0.3 and 50 micrograms/liter can be detected with 1 ml of plasma, while concentrations between 4 and 1500 micrograms/liter can be detected with 0.1 ml of plasma. The intra-assay coefficients of variation (CVs) are 9.3 and 5.7% at 0.5 and 1500 micrograms/liter, respectively, while the mean interassay CV is 13.8%.« less

Alternating Current Electrophoretic Deposition of Antibacterial Bioactive Glass-Chitosan Composite Coatings

PubMed Central

Seuss, Sigrid; Lehmann, Maja; Boccaccini, Aldo R.

2014-01-01

Alternating current (AC) electrophoretic deposition (EPD) was used to produce multifunctional composite coatings combining bioactive glass (BG) particles and chitosan. BG particles of two different sizes were used, i.e., 2 μm and 20–80 nm in average diameter. The parameter optimization and characterization of the coatings was conducted by visual inspection and by adhesion strength tests. The optimized coatings were investigated in terms of their hydroxyapatite (HA) forming ability in simulated body fluid (SBF) for up to 21 days. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy results showed the successful HA formation on the coatings after 21 days. The first investigations were conducted on planar stainless steel sheets. In addition, scaffolds made from a TiAl4V6 alloy were considered to show the feasibility of coating of three dimensional structures by EPD. Because both BG and chitosan are antibacterial materials, the antibacterial properties of the as-produced coatings were investigated using E. coli bacteria cells. It was shown that the BG particle size has a strong influence on the antibacterial properties of the coatings. PMID:25007822

Fabrication of Electrophoretic Display Driven by Membrane Switch Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Senda, Kazuo; Usui, Hiroaki

2010-04-01

Electrophoretic devices (EPDs) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have potential application in a large-area flexible displays, such as digital signage. For this purpose, a new backplane is capable of driving a large unit is required instead of thin-film transistors. In this paper we describe the fabrication of a membrane switch array suitable for driving large-scale flat-panel displays. An array of membrane switches was prepared using flexible printed circuit (FPC) technology of polyimide films, by combining low-temperature processes of lamination and copper electroplating methods. An array of 256 matrix switches with a pixel size of 7 mm2 was prepared to drive the EPD front panel. The switches were driven at a voltage of about 40 V and a frequency of 10 Hz. The operation characteristics agreed well with the result of the theoretical calculation. The calculation also suggested that driving voltage can be lowered by increasing pixel size. The contact resistance of the membrane switch was as low as 0.2 Ω, which implies the wide applicability of this device for driving a variety of elements.

Postnatal depression screening in a paediatric primary care setting in Italy.

PubMed

Clavenna, Antonio; Seletti, Elena; Cartabia, Massimo; Didoni, Anna; Fortinguerra, Filomena; Sciascia, Teresa; Brivio, Luca; Malnis, Daniela; Bonati, Maurizio

2017-01-25

Postnatal depression is a non-psychotic depressive disorder that begins within 4 weeks of childbirth and occurs in 13% of mothers and 10% of fathers. A prospective study with the aim to evaluate the prevalence of postnatal depression by screening parents with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in the Italian paediatric primary care setting was performed. Mothers and fathers of infants born between 1 February and 31 July 2012, living in Italy's Milan-1 local health unit area, represented the target population of this pilot study. Parents attending well-child visits at any of the family paediatricians' offices between 60 to 90 days postpartum were asked to participate in the screening and to fill out the EPDS questionnaire. A cut-off score of 12 was used to identify parents with postnatal depression symptoms. Maternal and paternal socio-demographic variables and information concerning pregnancy and delivery were also collected. To investigate the association between screening positivity (dependent variable) and socio-demographic variables and factors related to pregnancy and delivery, a Pearson's χ2 test was used. Moreover, a stepwise multivariate logistic regression was carried out to evaluate the risk factors that most influence the probability of suffering from postnatal depression. In all, 126 out of 2706 (4.7%, 95% CI 3.9-5.5%) mothers and 24 out of 1420 (1.7%, 95% CI 1.0-2.4%) fathers were found to be positive for depressive symptoms. Women with mood disorders and anxiety during pregnancy were at increased risk of postpartum depression (OR 22.9, 95% CI 12.1-43.4). Only 11 mothers (8.7%) positive to EPDS screening attended a psychiatric service, and for 8 of them the diagnosis of postnatal depression was confirmed. The prevalence of postnatal depression was lower than previously reported. Routine screening resulted ineffective, since few mothers found positive for depression symptoms decided to attend psychiatric services.

Obstetric and psychosocial risk factors for Australian-born and non-Australian born women and associated pregnancy and birth outcomes: a population based cohort study.

PubMed

Dahlen, Hannah Grace; Barnett, Bryanne; Kohlhoff, Jane; Drum, Maya Elizabeth; Munoz, Ana Maria; Thornton, Charlene

2015-11-09

One in four Australians is born overseas and 47% are either born overseas or have a parent who was. Obstetric and psychosocial risk factors for these women may differ. Data from one Sydney hospital (2012-2013) of all births recorded in the ObstetriX database were analysed (n = 3,092). Demographics, obstetric and psychosocial risk profile, obstetric interventions and complications and selected maternal and neonatal outcomes were examined for women born in Australia and overseas. Women born in Australia were younger, more likely to be primiparous (28.6 v 27.5%), be obese (32.0% v 21.4%), smoke (19.7 % v 3.0%), have an epidural (26.2% v 20.2%) and were less likely to have gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) (6.8% v 13.7% when compared to non-Australian born women. The highest rates of GDM, Gestational Hypertension (GH) and maternal anaemia were seen in women born in China, the Philippines and Pakistan respectively. Differences were also seen in psychosocial screening between Australian and non-Australian women with Australian-born women more likely to smoke and report a mental health disorder. There was an association between having an Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) ≥ 13 and other psychosocial issues, such as thoughts of self-harm, domestic violence, childhood abuse etc. These women were also less likely to breastfeed. Women with an EPDS ≥ 13 at booking compared to women with EPDS ≤12 had a higher chance of being diagnosed with GDM (AOR 1.85 95% CI 1.14-3.0). There are significant differences in obstetric and psychosocial risk profiles and maternal and neonatal outcomes between Australian-born and non-Australian born women. In particular there appears to be an association between an EPDS of ≥13 and developing GDM, which warrants further investigation.

Maternal supplementation with small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements during pregnancy and lactation does not reduce depressive symptoms at 6 months postpartum in Ghanaian women: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Okronipa, Harriet; Adu-Afarwuah, Seth; Lartey, Anna; Ashorn, Per; Vosti, Stephen A; Young, Rebecca R; Dewey, Kathryn G

2018-02-01

We examined the impact on depression at 6 months postpartum of maternal supplementation with small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplement (SQ-LNS) compared to supplementation with iron and folic acid (IFA) or multiple micronutrients (MMN). In this partially double-blinded randomized controlled trial, pregnant women ≤20 weeks gestation (n = 1320) were recruited from antenatal clinics and randomly assigned to receive either (1) SQ-LNS during pregnancy and for 6 months postpartum, or (2) IFA during pregnancy only, or (3) MMN during pregnancy and for 6 months postpartum. Maternal depressive symptoms were measured at 6 months postpartum using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Women who scored 12 or more on the EPDS were considered to show symptoms of depression. One thousand one hundred fifty-one women were included in this analysis (LNS = 382, IFA = 387 and MMN = 382). Characteristics of the three groups were similar at baseline, and there were no significant differences between women who were included in the analysis (n = 1151) and those who were not (n = 169). At 6 months postpartum, 13% of the women overall showed symptoms of depression, and this did not differ by group (LNS = 13.1%, IFA = 11.2% and MMN = 14.7%. P = 0.36). The median (25, 75 percentile) EPDS score did not differ by group (LNS 4.0 (1.0, 8.0), IFA 4.0 (1.0, 8.0), MMN 5.0 (2.0, 9.0), P transformed  = 0.13). Adjustment for covariates did not alter these findings. Maternal supplementation with SQ-LNS compared to MMN or IFA did not affect postnatal depressive symptoms in this sample of Ghanaian women.

Association between maternal postnatal depressive symptoms and infants' communication skills: A longitudinal study.

PubMed

Valla, Lisbeth; Wentzel-Larsen, Tore; Smith, Lars; Birkeland, Marianne Skogbrott; Slinning, Kari

2016-11-01

Postnatal depression (PND) is associated with adverse effects on a broad range of child outcomes, including language problems. The current study aimed to investigate if the time of exposure to maternal PND symptoms measured with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 6 weeks, 4 months and 6 months postpartum were related to the infants' communication skills measured with the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) at 12 and 24 months. Secondly, to study to what extent the number of exposures to high level of PND symptoms (i.e., EPDS score≥10) might be associated with level of communication skills later (at 12 and 24 months), and last, to determine to what extent maternal PND symptoms at 6 weeks were related to changes in the developmental course of communication skills from 4 to 24 months. 1555 children and their mothers participate in the study. Regression analyses indicated that PND at 4 months were associated with lower levels of communicative skills at 12 (coefficient -0.37, 95% CI -0.63 to -0.12, p=0.004) and 24 months (coefficient -0.34, CI -0.56 to -0.13, p=0.002). Infants of mothers with an EPDS sum score≥10 obtained at a minimum of two time points, had significantly worse communicative skills at 12 months than infants of mothers with no indication of PND (difference -6.12, CI -11.14 to -1.09, p=0.017). No such significant relations were found at 24 months. However, linear mixed effects analysis showed that mothers' depressive symptoms at 6 weeks were not significantly related to changes in infant communication scores from age 4 to 24 months. These findings suggest that symptoms of maternal PND symptoms should be taken into account for communication development in infancy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Is the Effect of Postpartum Depression on Mother-Infant Bonding Universal?

PubMed

Badr, Lina Kurdahi; Ayvazian, Nelly; Lameh, Salma; Charafeddine, Lama

2018-05-01

Although the negative consequences of maternal depression on infants has been documented in several Western societies, similar studies have not been conducted in Middle-Eastern countries where cultural norms and traditions may differ. The main objective of this study was to determine the risk factors for postpartum depression (PPD) and its relationship to mother -infant bonding in a Lebanese population. One hundred and fifty participants were administered the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS), and the social support scale at 2-3 days postpartum. At 10-12 weeks mother-infant bonding using the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) and depression using the Beck Inventory (BDI-II) were assessed during a telephone interview. The prevalence of depression was 19% with an average score of 10.9 ± 6.02 on the EPDS. At 10-12 weeks 2.7% of the whole sample was depressed with an average score of 18.60 ± 16.87 on the BDI-II. Risk factors of PPD on the EPDS were; history of alcohol use, complications during pregnancy, not a good marital relationship, baby admitted to an intensive care unit, history of depression and low social support. Risk factors for impaired bonding were age, history of depression, BDI-II scores above 20 and low social support. The multiple regression analysis found that impaired bonding was associated with older age, history of depression and low social support, which explained 39% of the variance, F = 7.12, p = 0.02. The prevalence of PPD was higher than previously reported at day 2-3 post-delivery, but lower at 10-12 weeks postpartum. Impaired mother- infant bonding was associated older mothers, history of depression, low social support and BDI-II scores above 20 which should alert practitioner to assessing these factors in post-partum mothers. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Onset timing, thoughts of self-harm, and diagnoses in postpartum women with screen-positive depression findings.

PubMed

Wisner, Katherine L; Sit, Dorothy K Y; McShea, Mary C; Rizzo, David M; Zoretich, Rebecca A; Hughes, Carolyn L; Eng, Heather F; Luther, James F; Wisniewski, Stephen R; Costantino, Michelle L; Confer, Andrea L; Moses-Kolko, Eydie L; Famy, Christopher S; Hanusa, Barbara H

2013-05-01

The period prevalence of depression among women is 21.9% during the first postpartum year; however, questions remain about the value of screening for depression. To screen for depression in postpartum women and evaluate positive screen findings to determine the timing of episode onset, rate and intensity of self-harm ideation, and primary and secondary DSM-IV disorders to inform treatment and policy decisions. Sequential case series of women who recently gave birth. Urban academic women's hospital. During the maternity hospitalization, women were offered screening at 4 to 6 weeks post partum by telephone. Screen-positive women were invited to undergo psychiatric evaluations in their homes. A positive screen finding was an Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score of 10 or higher. Self-harm ideation was assessed on EPDS item 10: "The thought of harming myself has occurred to me" (yes, quite often; sometimes; hardly ever; never). Screen-positive women underwent evaluation with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV for Axis I primary and secondary diagnoses. Ten thousand mothers underwent screening, with positive findings in 1396 (14.0%); of these, 826 (59.2%) completed the home visits and 147 (10.5%) completed a telephone diagnostic interview. Screen-positive women were more likely to be younger, African American, publicly insured, single, and less well educated. More episodes began post partum (40.1%), followed by during pregnancy (33.4%) and before pregnancy (26.5%). In this population, 19.3% had self-harm ideation. All mothers with the highest intensity of self-harm ideation were identified with the EPDS score of 10 or higher. The most common primary diagnoses were unipolar depressive disorders (68.5%), and almost two-thirds had comorbid anxiety disorders. A striking 22.6% had bipolar disorders. The most common diagnosis in screen-positive women was major depressive disorder with comorbid generalized anxiety disorder. Strategies to differentiate women with bipolar from unipolar disorders are needed. clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00282776.

Bidirectional psychoneuroimmune interactions in the early postpartum period influence risk of postpartum depression.

PubMed

Corwin, Elizabeth J; Pajer, Kathleen; Paul, Sudeshna; Lowe, Nancy; Weber, Mary; McCarthy, Donna O

2015-10-01

More than 500,000 U.S. women develop postpartum depression (PPD) annually. Although psychosocial risks are known, the underlying biology remains unclear. Dysregulation of the immune inflammatory response and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are associated with depression in other populations. While significant research on the contribution of these systems to the development of PPD has been conducted, results have been inconclusive. This is partly because few studies have focused on whether disruption in the bidirectional and dynamic interaction between the inflammatory response and the HPA axis together influence PPD. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that disruption in the inflammatory-HPA axis bidirectional relationship would increase the risk of PPD. Plasma pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines were measured in women during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy and on Days 7 and 14, and Months 1, 2, 3, and 6 after childbirth. Saliva was collected 5 times the day preceding blood draws for determination of cortisol area under the curve (AUC) and depressive symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Survey (EPDS). Of the 152 women who completed the EPDS, 18% were depressed according to EDPS criteria within the 6months postpartum. Cortisol AUC was higher in symptomatic women on Day 14 (p=.017). To consider the combined effects of cytokines and cortisol on predicting symptoms of PPD, a multiple logistic regression model was developed that included predictors identified in bivariate analyses to have an effect on depressive symptoms. Results indicated that family history of depression, day 14 cortisol AUC, and the day 14 IL8/IL10 ratio were significant predictors of PPD symptoms. One unit increase each in the IL8/IL10 ratio and cortisol AUC resulted in 1.50 (p=0.06) and 2.16 (p=0.02) fold increases respectively in the development of PPD. Overall, this model correctly classified 84.2% of individuals in their respective groups. Findings suggest that variability in the complex interaction between the inflammatory response and the HPA axis influence the risk of PPD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Changes in maternal self-efficacy, postnatal depression symptoms and social support among Chinese primiparous women during the initial postpartum period: A longitudinal study.

PubMed

Zheng, Xujuan; Morrell, Jane; Watts, Kim

2018-07-01

There are many parenting problems during infancy for Chinese primiparous women. As an important determinant of good parenting, maternal self-efficacy (MSE) should be paid more attention by researchers. At present, the limitations of previous research examining MSE during infancy are that most studies were conducted with a homogeneous sample and there were few studies with Chinese women. Secondly, the trajectory of change in MSE, postnatal depression symptoms and social support for Chinese primiparous women was not clear during the initial postpartum period in earlier studies. This study aimed to describe changes in MSE, postnatal depression symptoms and social support among Chinese primiparous women in the first three months postnatally. A quantitative longitudinal study using questionnaires was conducted. Obstetric wards at three hospitals in Xiamen City, South-East China. In total, 420 Chinese primiparous women were recruited. Initial baseline questionnaires to measure socio-demographic and clinical characteristics at three days postnatally were distributed to participants face-to-face by the researcher on the postnatal ward. Follow-up questionnaires at six and 12 weeks postnatally were sent via e-mail by the researcher to participants, including the Self-efficacy in Infant Care Scale (SICS), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Postpartum Social Support Scale (PSSS) to measure MSE, postnatal depression symptoms and social support, respectively. These were returned by participants via e-mail. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS. The mean MSE score at six weeks postnatally was 74.92 (SD = 11.05), and increased to 77.78 (SD = 11.13) at 12 weeks postnatally. The mean social support scores at six and 12 weeks postnatally were 40.99 (SD = 9.31) and 43.00 (SD = 9.55). The mean EPDS scores decreased from 9.09 (SD = 4.33) at six weeks postnatally to 8.63 (SD = 4.40) at 12 weeks postnatally; the proportion of women with an EPDS score of ten or more and 13 or more at the two time points declined from 47.4% to 38.3%, and from 21.4% to 18.2%, respectively. In this study, Chinese primiparous women had a moderate level of MSE and received a moderate level of social support at six and 12 weeks postnatally, and a higher proportion of Chinese women had postnatal depression symptoms than did women in Western countries. From six to 12 weeks postnatally, the mean MSE scores and social support scores had a statistically significant increase; the mean EPDS scores had a statistically significant decrease. Copyright © 2018 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Development of a Cavitation Erosion Resistant Advanced Material System

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-11-01

Sheet EPD M results .............................................................................. 47 Figure 5.11 - EPDM rubber samples, sheet (left...Testing The long test times of EPDM rubber and other durable elastomer samples created a need for overnight testing capability. In the original test setup...seals, adhesives and molded flexible parts. Common examples of elastomers include natural and synthetic rubber , silicone, neoprene, EPDM , polyurethane

Cradle-to-Gate Life-Cycle Inventory of Cellulosic Fiberboard Produced in North America

Treesearch

Richard D. Bergman

2015-01-01

Documenting the environmental performance of building products is becoming widespread because of many green marketing claims made without scientific merit (i.e., green-washing). Developing environmental product declarations (EPDs) for building products is one way to accomplish this objective for scientific documentation and to counter green-washing (ISO 2006a; Bergman...

The Savannah River Site's groundwater monitoring program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

This report summarizes the Savannah River Site (SRS) groundwater monitoring program conducted by EPD/EMS in the first quarter of 1991. In includes the analytical data, field data, data review, quality control, and other documentation for this program, provides a record of the program's activities and rationale, and serves as an official document of the analytical results.

Professional Development Framework for e-Learning: A Guide for Advisers and Practitioners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Ros

2007-01-01

In January 2006 the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) launched its draft publication, "A Professional Development Framework for e-Learning" (ePD) for consultation with the post-16 education and training sector. In March 2006 the Learning and Skills Council funded the Learning and Skills Network (LSN) to run a pilot to…

Study of Structural, Optical and Electrical Properties of InAs/InAsSb Superlattices Using Multiple Characterization Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Xiaomeng

InAs/InAsSb type-II superlattices (T2SLs) can be considered as potential alternatives for conventional HgCdTe photodetectors due to improved uniformity, lower manufacturing costs with larger substrates, and possibly better device performance. This dissertation presents a comprehensive study on the structural, optical and electrical properties of InAs/InAsSb T2SLs grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy. The effects of different growth conditions on the structural quality were thoroughly investigated. Lattice-matched condition was successfully achieved and material of exceptional quality was demonstrated. After growth optimization had been achieved, structural defects could hardly be detected, so different characterization techniques, including etch-pit-density (EPD) measurements, cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging and X-ray topography (XRT), were explored, in attempting to gain better knowledge of the sparsely distributed defects. EPD revealed the distribution of dislocation-associated pits across the wafer. Unfortunately, the lack of contrast in images obtained by CL imaging and XRT indicated their inability to provide any quantitative information about defect density in these InAs/InAsSb T2SLs. The nBn photodetectors based on mid-wave infrared (MWIR) and long-wave infrared (LWIR) InAs/InAsSb T2SLs were fabricated. The significant difference in Ga composition in the barrier layer coupled with different dark current behavior, suggested the possibility of different types of band alignment between the barrier layers and the absorbers. A positive charge density of 1.8 x 1017/cm3 in the barrier of MWIR nBn photodetector, as determined by electron holography, confirmed the presence of a potential well in its valence band, thus identifying type-II alignment. In contrast, the LWIR nBn photodetector was shown to have type-I alignment because no sign of positive charge was detected in its barrier. Capacitance-voltage measurements were performed to investigate the temperature dependence of carrier densities in a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structure based on MWIR InAs/InAsSb T2SLs, and a nBn structure based on LWIR InAs/InAsSb T2SLs. No carrier freeze-out was observed in either sample, indicating very shallow donor levels. The decrease in carrier density when temperature increased was attributed to the increased density of holes that had been thermally excited from localized states near the oxide/semiconductor interface in the MOS sample. No deep-level traps were revealed in deep-level transient spectroscopy temperature scans.

Crystal growth, structural, optical, thermal, mechanical, laser damage threshold and electrical properties of triphenylphosphine oxide 4-nitrophenol (TP4N) single crystals for nonlinear optical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karuppasamy, P.; Senthil Pandian, Muthu; Ramasamy, P.; Verma, Sunil

2018-05-01

The optically good quality single crystals of triphenylphosphine oxide 4-nitrophenol (TP4N) with maximum dimension of 15 × 10 × 5 mm3 were grown by slow evaporation solution technique (SEST) at room temperature. The cell dimensions of the grown TP4N crystal were confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction (SXRD) and the crystalline purity was confirmed and planes were indexed by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis. Functional groups of TP4N crystal were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectral analysis. The optical transmittance of the grown crystal was determined by the UV-Vis NIR spectral analysis and it has good optical transparency in the entire visible region. The band tail (Urbach) energy of the grown crystal was analyzed and it appears to be minimum, which indicates that the TP4N has good crystallinity. The position of valence band (Ev) and conduction band (Ec) of the TP4N have been determined from the electron affinity energy (EA) and the ionization energy (EI) of its elements and using the optical band gap. The thermal behaviour of the grown crystal was investigated by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). Vickers microhardness analysis was carried out to identify the mechanical stability of the grown crystal and their indentation size effect (ISE) was explained by the Meyer's law (ML), Hays-Kendall's (HK) approach, proportional specimen resistance (PSR) model, modified PSR model (MPSR), elastic/plastic deformation (EPD) model and indentation induced cracking (IIC) model. Chemical etching study was carried out to find the etch pit density (EPD) of the grown crystal. Laser damage threshold (LDT) value was measured by using Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm). The dielectric permittivity (ε՛) and dielectric loss (tan δ) as a function of frequency was measured. The electronic polarizability (α) of the TP4N crystal was calculated. It is well matched to the value which was calculated from Clausius-Mossotti relation, Lorentz-Lorentz equation, optical band gap and coupled dipole method (CDM). The Z-scan technique was carried out using solid state laser (640 nm) to analyze the nonlinear optical properties of the TP4N crystal. It exhibits the self-defocusing and saturable absorbance effect during analysis of closed and open aperture respectively. The nonlinear optical parameters such as refractive index (n2), absorption coefficient (β) and the third order nonlinear optical susceptibility (χ(3)) were analyzed.

Effects of relaxation on depression levels in women with high-risk pregnancies: a randomised clinical trial 1

PubMed Central

de Araújo, Wanda Scherrer; Romero, Walckiria Garcia; Zandonade, Eliana; Amorim, Maria Helena Costa

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyse the effects of relaxation as a nursing intervention on the depression levels of hospitalised women with high-risk pregnancies. Methods: a randomised clinical trial realised in a reference centre for high-risk pregnancies. The sample consisted of 50 women with high-risk pregnancies (25 in the control group and 25 in the intervention group). The Benson relaxation technique was applied to the intervention group for five days. Control variables were collected using a predesigned form, and the signs and symptoms of depression were evaluated using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20.0, was used with a significance level of 5%. The Wilcoxon and paired t-tests were used to evaluate depression levels between two timepoints. Using categorical data, the McNemar test was used to analyse differences in depression severity before and after the intervention. Results: depression levels decreased in the intervention group five days after the relaxation technique was applied (4.5 ± 3, p<0.05) compared with the levels at the first timepoint (10.3±5.9). Conclusion: as a nursing intervention, relaxation was effective in decreasing the symptoms of depression in hospitalised women with high-risk pregnancies. PMID:27627126

Micro-proteomics with iterative data analysis: Proteome analysis in C. elegans at the single worm level.

PubMed

Bensaddek, Dalila; Narayan, Vikram; Nicolas, Armel; Murillo, Alejandro Brenes; Gartner, Anton; Kenyon, Cynthia J; Lamond, Angus I

2016-02-01

Proteomics studies typically analyze proteins at a population level, using extracts prepared from tens of thousands to millions of cells. The resulting measurements correspond to average values across the cell population and can mask considerable variation in protein expression and function between individual cells or organisms. Here, we report the development of micro-proteomics for the analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans, a eukaryote composed of 959 somatic cells and ∼1500 germ cells, measuring the worm proteome at a single organism level to a depth of ∼3000 proteins. This includes detection of proteins across a wide dynamic range of expression levels (>6 orders of magnitude), including many chromatin-associated factors involved in chromosome structure and gene regulation. We apply the micro-proteomics workflow to measure the global proteome response to heat-shock in individual nematodes. This shows variation between individual animals in the magnitude of proteome response following heat-shock, including variable induction of heat-shock proteins. The micro-proteomics pipeline thus facilitates the investigation of stochastic variation in protein expression between individuals within an isogenic population of C. elegans. All data described in this study are available online via the Encyclopedia of Proteome Dynamics (http://www.peptracker.com/epd), an open access, searchable database resource. © 2015 The Authors. PROTEOMICS Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

In-situ USAXS/SAXS Investigation of Tunable Structural Color in Amorphous Photonic Crystals During Electrophoretic Deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bukosky, Scott; Hammons, Joshua; Han, Jinkyu; Freyman, Megan; Lee, Elaine; Cook, Caitlyn; Kuntz, Joshua; Worsley, Marcus; Han, Thomas Yong; Ristenpart, William; Pascall, Andrew

2017-11-01

Amorphous photonic crystals (APCs) formed via electrophoretic deposition (EPD) exhibit non-iridescent, angle-independent, structural colors believed to arise from changes in the particle-particle interactions and inter-particle spacing, representing a potential new paradigm for display technologies. However, particle dynamics on nanometer length scales that govern the displayed color, crystallinity, and other characteristics of the photonic structures, are not well understood. In this work, in-situ USAXS/SAXS studies of three-dimensional colloidal particle arrays were performed in order to identify their structural response to applied external electric fields. These results were compared to simultaneously acquired UV-Vis spectra to tie the overall electrically induced structure of the APCs directly to the observed changes in visible color. The structural evolution of the APCs provides new information regarding the correlation between nano-scale particle-particle interactions and the corresponding optical response. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. LLNL-ABS-736068.

Life-Cycle Inventory Analysis of Laminated Veneer Lumber Production in the United States

Treesearch

Richard D. Bergman

2015-01-01

Documenting the environmental performance of building products is becoming increasingly common. Developing environmental product declarations (EPDs) based on life-cycle assessment (LCA) data is one way to provide scientific documentation. Many U.S. structural wood products have LCA-based “eco-labels” using the ISO standard. However, the standard requires underlying...

Life-Cycle Inventory Analysis of I-joist Production in the United States

Treesearch

Richard D. Bergman

2015-01-01

Documenting the environmental performance of building products is becoming increasingly common. Creating environmental product declarations (EPDs) based on life-cycle assessment (LCA) data is one approach to provide scientific documentation of the products’ environmental performance. Many U.S. structural wood products have LCA-based “eco-labels” developed under the ISO...

Across-breed EPD tables for the year 2016 adjusted to breed differences for birth year of 2014

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Records of progeny of 18 breeds were used to estimate differences among the breeds for birth, weaning, and yearling weight and for maternal effects of weaning weight, among 15 of the 18 breeds for carcass marbling and ribeye area and among 14 of the 18 breeds for fat depth and carcass weight. The r...

The Savannah River Site`s groundwater monitoring program. First quarter 1991

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

This report summarizes the Savannah River Site (SRS) groundwater monitoring program conducted by EPD/EMS in the first quarter of 1991. In includes the analytical data, field data, data review, quality control, and other documentation for this program, provides a record of the program`s activities and rationale, and serves as an official document of the analytical results.

Challenges in Leadership in Vocational Education. National EPD Leadership Development Seminar Proceedings (Atlantic City, New Jersey, December 2, 1977). Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bottoms, Gene; And Others

Current delivery systems for vocational education and their implications for the future is the topic of presentations included in this report of an EPDA (Educational Professions Development Act) leadership development seminar. Major contents are an evaluation summary, texts of the three major speeches, and outlines of afternoon interaction…

Psychosocial impact of mothers with perinatal loss and its contributing factors: an insight.

PubMed

Sutan, Rosnah; Amin, Rosnah Mohamad; Ariffin, Khatija Banu; Teng, Tang Zoun; Kamal, Mohd Faiz; Rusli, Rusli Zaim

2010-03-01

To evaluate the psychosocial impact among mothers with perinatal loss and its contributing factors. A cross sectional study was conducted in University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) from April 2008 to May 2009 using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and self administered questionnaire. Sixty-two respondents were included and most of them were working mothers (77.4%). The mean age of the respondents was (31.0+/-5.6) years and a majority of the subjects aged between 20-34 years (77.4%). According to the EPDS score, 53.2% of the respondents had a psychosocial impact with a total score of >9, out of 30. There was a significant relationship between psychosocial impact after perinatal loss and support from friends (P=0.019). However, there were no significant differences between psychosocial impact and history of previous perinatal loss, ethnicity, occupation, educational level, age or total income. Mothers with perinatal loss should be screened for psychosocial impact and offered support when needed. Family and friends should continue to provide emotional support. People who have experienced similar problem before will be able to provide better support than those who have not.

Foundations of resilience thinking.

PubMed

Curtin, Charles G; Parker, Jessica P

2014-08-01

Through 3 broad and interconnected streams of thought, resilience thinking has influenced the science of ecology and natural resource management by generating new multidisciplinary approaches to environmental problem solving. Resilience science, adaptive management (AM), and ecological policy design (EPD) contributed to an internationally unified paradigm built around the realization that change is inevitable and that science and management must approach the world with this assumption, rather than one of stability. Resilience thinking treats actions as experiments to be learned from, rather than intellectual propositions to be defended or mistakes to be ignored. It asks what is novel and innovative and strives to capture the overall behavior of a system, rather than seeking static, precise outcomes from discrete action steps. Understanding the foundations of resilience thinking is an important building block for developing more holistic and adaptive approaches to conservation. We conducted a comprehensive review of the history of resilience thinking because resilience thinking provides a working context upon which more effective, synergistic, and systems-based conservation action can be taken in light of rapid and unpredictable change. Together, resilience science, AM, and EPD bridge the gaps between systems analysis, ecology, and resource management to provide an interdisciplinary approach to solving wicked problems. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Psychosocial impact of mothers with perinatal loss and its contributing factors: an insight*

PubMed Central

Sutan, Rosnah; Amin, Rosnah Mohamad; Ariffin, Khatija Banu; Teng, Tang Zoun; Kamal, Mohd Faiz; Rusli, Rusli Zaim

2010-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the psychosocial impact among mothers with perinatal loss and its contributing factors. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) from April 2008 to May 2009 using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and self administered questionnaire. Results: Sixty-two respondents were included and most of them were working mothers (77.4%). The mean age of the respondents was (31.0±5.6) years and a majority of the subjects aged between 20–34 years (77.4%). According to the EPDS score, 53.2% of the respondents had a psychosocial impact with a total score of >9, out of 30. There was a significant relationship between psychosocial impact after perinatal loss and support from friends (P=0.019). However, there were no significant differences between psychosocial impact and history of previous perinatal loss, ethnicity, occupation, educational level, age or total income. Conclusion: Mothers with perinatal loss should be screened for psychosocial impact and offered support when needed. Family and friends should continue to provide emotional support. People who have experienced similar problem before will be able to provide better support than those who have not. PMID:20205307

Biophysical Characterization of the Type III Secretion Tip Proteins and the Tip Proteins Attached to Bacterium-Like Particles

PubMed Central

Choudhari, Shyamal P.; Chen, Xiaotong; Kim, Jae Hyun; van Roosmalen, Maarten L.; Greenwood, Jamie C.; Joshi, Sangeeta B.; Picking, William D.; Leenhouts, Kees; Middaugh, C. Russell; Picking, Wendy L.

2014-01-01

Bacterium-like particles (BLPs), derived from Lactococcus lactis, offer a self-adjuvanting delivery vehicle for subunit protein vaccines. Proteins can be specifically loaded onto the BLPs via a peptidoglycan anchoring domain (PA). In this study, the tip proteins IpaD, SipD and LcrV belonging to type three secretion systems of Shigella flexneri, Salmonella enterica and Yersinia enterocolitica, respectively, were fused to the PA and loaded onto the BLPs. Herein, we biophysically characterized these nine samples and condensed the spectroscopic results into three-index empirical phase diagrams (EPDs). The EPDs show distinctions between the IpaD/SipD and LcrV subfamilies of tip proteins, based on their physical stability, even upon addition of the PA. Upon attachment to the BLPs, the BLPs become defining moiety in the spectroscopic measurements, leaving the tip proteins to have a subtle yet modulating effect on the structural integrity of the tip proteins-BLPs binding. In summary, this work provides a comprehensive view of physical stability of the tip proteins and tip protein-BLPs and serves as a baseline for screening of excipients to increase the stability of the tip protein-BLPs for future vaccine formulation. PMID:24916512

A green single-step procedure to synthesize Ag-containing nanocomposite coatings with low cytotoxicity and efficient antibacterial properties

PubMed Central

Ma, Kena; Gong, Lingling; Cai, Xinjie; Huang, Pin; Cai, Jing; Huang, Dan; Jiang, Tao

2017-01-01

Implant-associated infections still pose a serious threat leading to several complications. This study reported an environmentally benign Ag-containing nanocomposite coating with efficient antibacterial property fabricated on the metal implant via electrophoretic deposition (EPD). In such coatings, Ag2O/AgCl mixed with chitosan/gelatin (CS/G) polymers work together to exert the antibacterial property which could act as an alternative to traditional Ag nanoparticles. Scanning electron microscopy images showed the shuttle fiber-like morphology distributed lamellarly and some nanoparticles carved uniformly into the cross section. Transmission electron microscopy results revealed a core–shell-like structure of the released nanoparticles in experimental groups. The Ag-containing coatings exhibited strong antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus strains and Escherichia coli strains. Meanwhile, the CCK-8 tests showed that after assembling with chitosan and gelatin polymers, the cytotoxicity of Ag was largely decreased. In addition, such coatings also exhibited strong bond strength with metal substrates and good degradable properties. Therefore, such Ag-containing CS/G coatings fabricated via EPD may be a promising candidate to be administrated in controlling the implant-associated infections. PMID:28553106

Fabrication and mechanical properties of Al2O3/SiC/ZrO2 functionally graded material by electrophoretic deposition.

PubMed

Askari, E; Mehrali, M; Metselaar, I H S C; Kadri, N A; Rahman, Md M

2012-08-01

This study describes the synthesis of Al(2)O(3)/SiC/ZrO(2) functionally graded material (FGM) in bio-implants (artificial joints) by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). A suitable suspension that was based on 2-butanone was applied for the EPD of Al(2)O(3)/SiC/ZrO(2), and a pressureless sintering process was applied as a presintering. Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) was used to densify the deposit, with beneficial mechanical properties after 2 h at 1800 °C in Ar atmosphere. The maximum hardness in the outer layer (90 vol.% Al(2)O(3)+10 vol.% SiC) and maximum fracture toughness in the core layer (75 vol.% Al(2)O(3)+10 vol.% SiC + 15 vol.% ZrO(2)) composite were 20.8±0.3 GPa and 8±0.1 MPa m(1/2), respectively. The results, when compared with results from Al(2)O(3)/ZrO(2) FGM, showed that SiC increased the compressive stresses in the outer layers, while the inner layers were under a residual tensile stress. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electrophoretic deposition of silicon substituted hydroxyapatite coatings from n-butanol-chloroform mixture.

PubMed

Xiao, Xiu Feng; Liu, Rong Fang; Tang, Xiao Lian

2008-01-01

Silicon Substituted Hydroxyapatite (Si-HA) coatings were prepared on titanium substrates by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The stability of Si-HA suspension in n-butanol and chloroform mixture has been studied by electricity conductivity and sedimentation test. The microstructure, shear strength and bioactivity in vitro has been tested. The stability of Si-HA suspension containing n-butanol and chloroform mixture as medium is better than that of pure n-butanol as medium. The good adhesion of the particles with the substrate and good cohesion between the particles were obtained in n-butanol and chloroform mixture. Adding triethanolamine (TEA) as additive into the suspension is in favor of the formation of uniform and compact Si-HA coatings on the titanium substrates by EPD. The shear strength of the coatings can reach 20.43 MPa after sintering at 700 degrees C for 2 h, when the volume ratio of n-butanol: chloroform is 2:1 and the concentration of TEA is 15 ml/L. Titanium substrates etched in H(2)O(2)/NH(3) solution help to improve the shear strength of the coatings. After immersion in simulated body fluid for 7 days, Si-HA coatings have the ability to induce the bone-like apatite formation.

Spacelab payload accommodation handbook. Appendix B: Structure interface definition module

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

The mechanical interfaces between Spacelab and its payload are defined. The envelopes available for mounting payload hardware are specified together with the standard structural attachment interfaces. Overall load capabilities and the local load capabilities for individual attachment interfaces are defined for the standard mounting locations. The mechanical environment is defined and the mechanical interfaces between the payload and the EPDS, CDMS and ECS are included.

Updating of U.S. Wood Product Life-Cycle Assessment Data for Environmental Product Declarations

Treesearch

Richard Bergman; Elaine Oneil; Maureen Puettmann; Ivan Eastin; Indroneil Ganguly

2014-01-01

The marketplace has an increasing desire for credible and transparent product eco-labels based on life-cycle assessment (LCA) data, especially involving international trade. Over the past several years, stakeholders in the U.S. wood products industry have developed many such “eco-labels” under the ISO standard of LCA-based environmental product declarations (EPDs). The...

Unshielded Facility Nondestructive Inspection (NDI) Radiation Protection Survey for Homestead ARB, FL

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-09

dosimetry records, NDI’s operating procedures/instructions, and radiation safety training. c. Survey Personnel: (1) Health... Dosimetry . (1) Verify unshielded NDI safety procedures meet T.O. 33B-l-l and other occupational safety and health requirements. (2) Verify an...distribution is unlimited. Case Number: 88ABW-2013-3977, 9 Sep 2013 b. The electronic personal dosimeters (EPDs) worn by NDI personnel had

Depression in Teenager Pregnant Women in a Public Hospital in a Northern Mexican City: Prevalence and Correlates

PubMed Central

Alvarado-Esquivel, Cosme; Sifuentes-Alvarez, Antonio; Salas-Martinez, Carlos

2015-01-01

Background Very little is known about prenatal depression in teenagers in Mexico. We determined the prevalence and correlates of prenatal depression in teenager women attending a public hospital in Durango City, Mexico. Methods We performed a cross-sectional study to assess depression in 181 teenager pregnant women who attended a public hospital for prenatal care. We used a validated Mexican version of the Edinburg postnatal depression scale (EPDS) to screen depression. Women with EPDS scores suggestive of depression were further examined to confirm depression by a psychiatric evaluation using the DSM-IV criteria. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the prevalence association with socio-demographic, clinical and psychosocial characteristics of the pregnant women. Results Of the 181 teenager pregnant women studied, 61 (33.7%) had EPDS equal to or higher than 8 (range 8 - 23), and 37 of them were confirmed to have prenatal depression by the psychiatric evaluation. The general prevalence of prenatal depression in the teenager pregnant women studied was 20.4%. Of the 37 women with depression, 34 suffered from minor depression and three suffered from major depression. Thus, the prevalence of minor and major depression in the women studied was 18.8% and 1.7%, respectively. Multivariate analysis of the socio-demographic, clinical and psychosocial characteristics of the teenager pregnant women showed that prenatal depression was associated with a previous episode of depression during pregnancy (odds ratio (OR) = 6.12; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.68 - 22.30; P = 0.006), and borderline associations with big fetal size (OR = 9.9; 95% CI: 0.94 - 104.24; P = 0.05) and family problems (OR = 3.83; 95% CI: 0.99 - 14.84; P = 0.05). Conclusions Results demonstrate that prenatal depression is common in pregnant teenagers in Durango City, Mexico. The history of an episode of depression during pregnancy should alert physicians for further depression episodes during pregnancy in teenagers. Further research to elucidate the association of prenatal depression with size of the fetus and family problems in pregnant teenagers is needed. PMID:26015817

Depression in teenager pregnant women in a public hospital in a northern mexican city: prevalence and correlates.

PubMed

Alvarado-Esquivel, Cosme; Sifuentes-Alvarez, Antonio; Salas-Martinez, Carlos

2015-07-01

Very little is known about prenatal depression in teenagers in Mexico. We determined the prevalence and correlates of prenatal depression in teenager women attending a public hospital in Durango City, Mexico. We performed a cross-sectional study to assess depression in 181 teenager pregnant women who attended a public hospital for prenatal care. We used a validated Mexican version of the Edinburg postnatal depression scale (EPDS) to screen depression. Women with EPDS scores suggestive of depression were further examined to confirm depression by a psychiatric evaluation using the DSM-IV criteria. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the prevalence association with socio-demographic, clinical and psychosocial characteristics of the pregnant women. Of the 181 teenager pregnant women studied, 61 (33.7%) had EPDS equal to or higher than 8 (range 8 - 23), and 37 of them were confirmed to have prenatal depression by the psychiatric evaluation. The general prevalence of prenatal depression in the teenager pregnant women studied was 20.4%. Of the 37 women with depression, 34 suffered from minor depression and three suffered from major depression. Thus, the prevalence of minor and major depression in the women studied was 18.8% and 1.7%, respectively. Multivariate analysis of the socio-demographic, clinical and psychosocial characteristics of the teenager pregnant women showed that prenatal depression was associated with a previous episode of depression during pregnancy (odds ratio (OR) = 6.12; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.68 - 22.30; P = 0.006), and borderline associations with big fetal size (OR = 9.9; 95% CI: 0.94 - 104.24; P = 0.05) and family problems (OR = 3.83; 95% CI: 0.99 - 14.84; P = 0.05). Results demonstrate that prenatal depression is common in pregnant teenagers in Durango City, Mexico. The history of an episode of depression during pregnancy should alert physicians for further depression episodes during pregnancy in teenagers. Further research to elucidate the association of prenatal depression with size of the fetus and family problems in pregnant teenagers is needed.

Study on the bonding strength between calcium phosphate/chitosan composite coatings and a Mg alloy substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jie; Dai, Chang-Song; Wei, Jie; Wen, Zhao-Hui

2012-11-01

In order to improve the bonding strength between calcium phosphate/chitosan composite coatings and a micro-arc oxidized (MAO)-AZ91D Mg alloy, different influencing parameters were investigated in the process of electrophoretic deposition (EPD) followed by conversion in a phosphate buffer solution (PBS). Surface morphology and phase constituents of the as-prepared materials were investigated by using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Fourier-transformed infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR), Raman spectrometer, scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and a thermo gravimetric and differential thermal analyzer (TG-DTA). Scratch tests were carried out to study the bonding properties between the coatings and the substrates. In vitro immersion tests were conducted to determine the corrosion behaviors of samples with and without deposit layers through electrochemical experiments. In the EPD process, the acetic acid content in the electrophoresis suspension and the electrophoretic voltage played important roles in improving the bonding properties, while the contents of chitosan (CS) and nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA, Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) in the suspension had less significant influences on the mechanical bonding strength. It was observed that the coatings showed the excellent bonding property when an electrophoretic voltage was in a range of 40-110 V with other reagent amounts as follows: acetic acid: 4.5 vol.%, CS ≤ 0.25 g, nHA ≤ 2.0 g in 200 ml of a CS-acetic acid aqueous solution and nHA ≤ 2.5 g in 300 ml of absolute ethanol. The morphology of the composite coating obtained under the above optimal condition had a flake-like crystal structure. The EPD in the nHA/CS-acetic acid/ethanol suspension resulted in hydroxyapatite, chitosan, brushite (DCPD, CaHPO4·2H2O) and Ca(OH)2 in the coatings. After the as-prepared coating materials were immersed into PBS, Ca(OH)2 could be converted into HA and DCPD. The results of the electrochemical tests manifested that the corrosion resistance of the Mg alloy was improved by coating this composite film.

Acute stress and depression 3 days after vaginal delivery--observational, comparative study.

PubMed

Imsiragić, Azijada Srkalović; Begić, Drazen; Martić-Biocina, Sanja

2009-06-01

During the first month postpartum, 85% of women experience some form of mood disorders. The most common are: postpartum blues, non-psychotic postpartum depression, puerperal psychosis. Delivery of a child can be traumatic for some women. Several authors have found that women could get symptoms of one form of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after childbirth. However, etiology of established postpartum disorders is still unknown. The aim of this study is to detect symptoms of acute stress reaction and acute depressive state as a consequence of peripartal complications, as early as three days postpartum using Impact of Events Scale revised (IES-R) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) questionnaires and to demonstrate their potential usage for the early detection of vulnerable mothers with greater risk to develop any of postpartum psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. For that purpose 103 subjects, without previous medical history of psychiatric illness, were included in the investigation. Long duration of delivery (> or = 12 h), very painful delivery, complication and illness of mother during and after delivery as a consequence of delivery, preterm delivery (before week 36) and/or illness of the child (as a consequence of delivery or congenital) are considered to be risk factors for acute stress reaction and acute depressive state after delivery. Sixty one out of 103 investigated mothers had one or more researched peripartal complications. A statistically significant difference has been found between the control (n=42) and the peripartal complications (n=61) groups in both the mean IES-R (4.67 +/- 5.43 and 13.50 +/- 14.12, respectively, p < 0.01) as well as in the mean EPDS (3.85 +/- 2.76 and 7.03 +/- 3.90, respectively, p < 0.01) scores. Additionally, while there were 4 cases of acute stress reactions and 3 cases of acute depressive state in the peripartal complications group there were no cases of these states in the control group. Based on our findings we conclude that using IES-R and EPDS questionnaires as early as three days after delivery could provide an early detection of previously healthy mothers with greater risk for development of postpartum psychiatric disorders.

Onset Timing, Thoughts of Self-harm, and Diagnoses in Postpartum Women With Screen-Positive Depression Findings

PubMed Central

Wisner, Katherine L.; Sit, Dorothy K. Y.; McShea, Mary C.; Rizzo, David M.; Zoretich, Rebecca A.; Hughes, Carolyn L.; Eng, Heather F.; Luther, James F.; Wisniewski, Stephen R.; Costantino, Michelle L.; Confer, Andrea L.; Moses-Kolko, Eyclie L.; Famy, Christopher S.; Hanusa, Barbara H.

2015-01-01

Importance The period prevalence of depression among women is 21.9% during the first postpartum year; however, questions remain about the value of screening for depression. Objectives To screen for depression in postpartum women and evaluate positive screen findings to determine the timing of episode onset, rate and intensity of self-harm ideation, and primary and secondary DSM-IV disorders to inform treatment and policy decisions. Design Sequential case series of women who recently gave birth. Setting Urban academic women’s hospital. Participants During the maternity hospitalization, women were offered screening at 4 to 6 weeks post parturn by telephone. Screen-positive women were invited to undergo psychiatric evaluations in their homes. Main Outcomes and Measures A positive screen finding was an Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score of 10 or higher. Self-harm ideation was assessed on EPDS item 10: “The thought of harming myself has occurred to me” (yes, quite often; sometimes; hardly ever; never). Screen-positive women underwent evaluation with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV for Axis I primary and secondary diagnoses. Results Ten thousand mothers underwent screening, with positive findings in 1396 (14.0%); of these, 826 (59.2%) completed the home visits and 147 (10.5%) completed a telephone diagnostic interview. Screen-positive women were more likely to be younger, African American, publicly insured, single, and less well educated. More episodes began post partum (40.1%), followed by during pregnancy (33.4%) and before pregnancy (26.5%). In this population, 19.3% had self-harm ideation. All mothers with the highest intensity of self-harm ideation were identified with the EPDS score of 10 or higher. The most common primary diagnoses were unipolar depressive disorders (68.5%), and almost two-thirds had co-morbid anxiety disorders. A striking 22.6% had bipolar disorders. Conclusions and Relevance The most common diagnosis in screen-positive women was major depressive disorder with comorbid generalized anxiety disorder. Strategies to differentiate women with bipolar from unipolar disorders are needed. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00282776 PMID:23487258

Web-based interventions for prevention and treatment of perinatal mood disorders: a systematic review.

PubMed

Lee, Eleanor W; Denison, Fiona C; Hor, Kahyee; Reynolds, Rebecca M

2016-02-29

Perinatal depression is strikingly common with a prevalence of 10-15%. The adverse effects of perinatal depression on maternal and child health are profound with considerable costs. Despite this, few women seek medical attention. E-health, providing healthcare via the Internet is an accessible and effective solution for the treatment of depression in the general population. We aimed to conduct a systematic review of web-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of mood disorders in the perinatal period, defined as the start of pregnancy to 1 year post-partum. Six databases were searched until 26(th) March 2015. Two researchers independently screened articles for eligibility. Of the 547 screened articles, four met the inclusion criteria. These included three randomised-controlled trials and one feasibility trial, with total data from 1274 participants. MOOSE and PRISMA guidelines were adhered to for the conduct and reporting of the systematic review. All studies were conducted in the post-partum period. All reported an improvement in maternal mood following intervention. A significant improvement in depressive symptoms was measured using validated rating scales, such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), either at post-treatment or follow-up which ranged from 3 to 12 months post study completion. For the two RCTs utilising the EPDS, the EPDS score reductions were (mean ± SEM) 8.52 ± 0.22 (Range 19.46 to10.94) and 9.19 ± 0.63 (Range, 20.24 to 11.05) for treatment groups and 5.16 ± 0.25 (Range 19.44 to 14.28) and 6.81 ± 0.71 (Range 21.07 to 14.26) for comparator groups. However attrition within studies ranged from 13 to 61%. One study was rated as 'good' quality. Preliminary data suggests web-based therapies for perinatal depression delivered in the post-partum period may play a role in improving maternalmood but more studies are needed, particularly with interventions delivered antenatally. Further research is needed to address the limitations of the existing evidence base.

Electrophoretic deposition of nanostructured hydroxyapatite coating on AZ91 magnesium alloy implants with different surface treatments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rojaee, Ramin; Fathi, Mohammadhossein; Raeissi, Keyvan

2013-11-01

Bio-absorbable magnesium (Mg) based alloys have been introduced as innovative orthopedic implants during recent years. It has been specified that rapid degradation of Mg based alloys in physiological environment should be restrained in order to be utilized in orthopedic trauma fixation and vascular intervention. In this developing field of healthcare materials, micro-arc oxidation (MAO), and MgF2 conversion coating were exploited as surface pre-treatment of AZ91 magnesium alloy to generate a nanostructured hydroxyapatite (n-HAp) coating via electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques were used to characterize the obtained powder and coatings. The potentiodynamic polarization tests were carried out to evaluate the corrosion behavior of the coated and uncoated specimens, and in vitro bioactivity evaluation were performed in simulated body fluid. Results revealed that the MAO/n-HAp coated AZ91 Mg alloy samples with a rough topography and lower corrosion current density leads to a lower Mg degradation rate accompanied by high bioactivity.

Surface microstructure and in vitro analysis of nanostructured akermanite (Ca2MgSi2O7) coating on biodegradable magnesium alloy for biomedical applications.

PubMed

Razavi, Mehdi; Fathi, Mohammadhossein; Savabi, Omid; Hashemi Beni, Batoul; Vashaee, Daryoosh; Tayebi, Lobat

2014-05-01

Magnesium (Mg) alloys, owing to their biodegradability and good mechanical properties, have potential applications as biodegradable orthopedic implants. However, several poor properties including low corrosion resistance, mechanical stability and cytocompatibility have prevented their clinical application, as these properties may result in the sudden failure of the implants during the bone healing. In this research, nanostructured akermanite (Ca2MgSi2O7) powder was coated on the AZ91 Mg alloy through electrophoretic deposition (EPD) assisted micro arc oxidation (MAO) method to modify the properties of the alloy. The surface microstructure of coating, corrosion resistance, mechanical stability and cytocompatibility of the samples were characterized with different techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electrochemical corrosion test, immersion test, compression test and cell culture test. The results showed that the nanostructured akermanite coating can improve the corrosion resistance, mechanical stability and cytocompatibility of the biodegradable Mg alloy making it a promising material to be used as biodegradable bone implants for orthopedic applications. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Interaction of carbon nanotubes coatings with titanium substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraczek-Szczypta, Aneta; Wedel-Grzenda, Alicja; Benko, Aleksandra; Grzonka, Justyna; Mizera, Jaroslaw

2017-02-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) after chemical surface functionalization on the interaction with a titanium surface. Two kinds of MWCNTs differing in terms of concentration of functional groups were deposited on the Ti surface using the electrophoretic deposition method (EPD). The study has shown the detailed analysis of the physicochemical properties of this form of carbon nanomaterial and received on their base coatings using various techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), confocal microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy. The adhesion of the MWCNTs coatings to the Ti surface was determined using the shear test method, according to standard ASTM F-1044-05. These results indicated that one type of MWCNTs characterized by a higher concentration of functional groups has better adhesion to the metal surface than the second type. Analysis of the MWCNT-metal interface using Raman spectroscopy and SEM and STEM indicates the presence of phase built of MWCNT and TiO2. This phase could be a type of nanocomposite that affects the improvement of the adhesion of MWCNT to the Ti surface.

YIG based broad band microwave absorber: A perspective on synthesis methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Vinay; Saha, J.; Patnaik, S.; Kuanr, Bijoy K.

2017-10-01

The fabrication of a thin layer of microwave absorber that operates over a wide band of frequencies is still a challenging task. With recent advances in nanostructure synthesis techniques, considerable progress has been achieved in realizations of thin nanocomposite layer designed for full absorption of incident electromagnetic (EM) radiation covering S to K band frequencies. The primary objective of this investigation is to achieve best possible EM absorption with a wide bandwidth and attenuation >10 dB for a thin absorbing layer (few hundred of microns). Magnetic yttrium iron garnet (Y3Fe5O12; in short YIG) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by sol-gel (SG) as well as solid-state (SS) reaction methods to elucidate the effects of nanoscale finite size on the magnetic behavior of the particles and hence their microwave absorption capabilities. It is found that YIG prepared by these two methods are different in many ways. Magnetic properties investigated using vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) exhibit that the coercivity (Hc) of solid-state NPs is much larger (72 Oe) than the sol-gel NPs (31 Oe). Microwave absorption properties were studied by ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) technique in field sweep mode at different fixed frequencies. A thin layer (∼300 μm) of YIG film was deposited using electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique over a coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission line made on copper coated RT/duroid® 5880 substrates. Temperature dependent magnetic properties were also investigated using VSM and FMR techniques. Microwave absorption properties were investigated at high temperatures (up to 300 °C) both for sol-gel and solid-state synthesized NPs and are related to skin depth of YIG films. It is observed that microwave absorption almost vanishes when the temperature reached the Néel temperature of YIG.

In-situ fabrication of zirconium-titanium nano-composite and its coating on Ti-6Al-4V for biomedical applications.

PubMed

Chellappa, Manickam; Vijayalakshmi, Uthirapathy

2017-02-01

In this study, nanocomposite powder consisting of zirconia and titania (Zr-Ti) have been synthesised by sol-gel method, with the aim of protecting Ti-6Al-4V surface. A simple and low cost electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique has been employed for coating the nanocomposite material on Ti-6Al-4V. The prepared nanocomposite powder was characterised for its functional groups, phase purity, surface topography by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Further, the biocompatibility nature of the composite powder was studied by [3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] colorimetric assay and fluorescence analysis with MG63 osteoblast cell lines. The electrochemical behaviour of composite coating was investigated by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance method. The results obtained from the electrochemical techniques indicate more corrosion resistance behaviour with increase of R ct value with the corresponding decrease in R dl values. From the above findings, the composite coating acts as a barrier layer against corrosion by preventing the leaching of metal ions from a dense and defect free coating. A scratch test analyser was used to assess the integrity of the coating; the lower traction force value of composite coating with increase in load has confirmed the presence of thick adherent layer on the substrate.

Characterization of the Radiological Environment at J-Village during Operation Tomodachi

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-02-01

individual as compared to those for the helicopter crew members (Appendix A). 3.2.2. Other Relevant Dosimetry Results Thermoluminescent dosimeter ( TLD ...internal monitoring results are available for 14 of these individuals. External dosimetry data (EPD and TLD ) showed that the maximum recorded dose for an...Washington, DC. http://www.NNSAResponseData.net. Accessed December 7. USAFCRD (U. S. Air Force Center for Radiation Dosimetry ), 2011. Electronic Pocket

Multi-Length Scale Tribology of Electrophoretically Deposited Nickel-Diamond Coatings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Awasthi, Shikha; Goel, Sneha; Pandey, Chandra Prabha; Balani, Kantesh

2017-02-01

Electrophoretically deposited (EPD) nickel and its composite coatings are widely used to enhance the life span of continuous ingot casting molds in the steel, aerospace and automotive industries. This article reports the effect of different concentrations of diamond particles (2.5-10 g/L) on the wear mechanism of EPD Ni. The distribution of diamond particles in the Ni matrix was observed using Voronoi tessellation. Variation in COF was observed by a fretting wear test to be 0.51 ± 0.07 for Ni, which decreases to 0.35 ± 0.03 for the Ni-diamond coatings. The wear volume of the coatings with 7.5 g/L concentration of diamond was observed to be a minimum (0.051 ± 0.02 × 10-3 mm3) compared with other composite coatings. Further, the micro-scratch testing of the coatings also exhibited a reduced COF (0.03-0.12) for 7.5 g/L diamond concentration compared with Ni (0.08-0.13). Higher wear resistance of the diamond-added coatings (optimum 7.5 g/L concentration) is due to the balance between the dispersion strengthening mechanism and the enhancement of the load-bearing capacity due to the incorporation of diamond particles. Thus, these composites can be used for applications in automotive and aerospace industries.

Breast-feeding difficulties experienced by women taking part in a qualitative interview study of postnatal depression.

PubMed

Shakespeare, Judy; Blake, Fiona; Garcia, Jo

2004-09-01

to explore how women experience breast-feeding difficulties. This theme emerged unexpectedly during a study of women's experiences of screening with the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) and subsequent care from primary health-care professionals. qualitative in-depth interview study. postnatal women of 22 general practices within Oxford City Primary Care Group area. 39 postnatal women from a purposeful sample were interviewed at an average of 15 months postnatal. They were chosen from different general practices and with a range of emotional difficulties after birth, judged using EPDS results at eight weeks and eight months postnatal, and whether they received 'listening visits' from health visitors. a qualitative thematic analysis was used, including searches for anticipated and emergent themes. Fifteen women had breast-feeding difficulties. Five themes emerged which explore the difficulties. Firstly, commitment to breast feeding and high expectations of success; secondly, unexpected difficulties; thirdly, seeking professional support for difficulties; fourthly, finding a way to cope; and fifthly, guilt. in this study breast-feeding difficulties were common, caused emotional distress and interactions with professionals could be difficult. Current breast-feeding policy, such as the 'Baby Friendly Initiative', may be a contributing factor. This needs to be explored in a further study.

C-QDs@UiO-66-(COOH)2 Composite Film via Electrophoretic Deposition for Temperature Sensing.

PubMed

Feng, Ji-Fei; Gao, Shui-Ying; Shi, Jianlin; Liu, Tian-Fu; Cao, Rong

2018-03-05

Temperature plays a crucial role in both scientific research and industry. However, traditional temperature sensors, such as liquid-filled thermometers, thermocouples, and transistors, require contact to obtain heat equilibrium between the probe and the samples during the measurement. In addition, traditional temperature sensors have limitations when being used to detect the temperature change of fast-moving samples at smaller scales. Herein, the carbon quantum dots (C-QDs) functionalized metal-organic framework (MOF) composite film, a novel contactless solid optical thermometer, has been prepared via electrophoretic deposition (EPD). Instead of terephthalic acid (H 2 BDC), 1',2',4',5'-benzenetetracarboxylic (H 4 BTEC) acid was employed to construct a UiO-66 framework to present two uncoordinated carboxylic groups decorated on the pore surface. The uncoordinated carboxylic groups can generate negative charges, which facilitates the deposition of film on the positive electrode during the EPD process. Moreover, UiO-66-(COOH) 2 MOFs can absorb C-QDs from the solution and prevent C-QDs from aggregating, and the well-dispersed C-QDs impart fluorescence characteristics to composites. As-synthesized composite film was successfully used to detect temperature change in the range of 97-297 K with a relative sensitivity up to 1.3% K -1 at 297 K.

Emergency Pancreatico-Duodenectomy with Superior Mesenteric and Portal Vein Resection and Reconstruction Using a Gore-Tex Vascular Graft.

PubMed

Eftimie, Mihai Adrian; Lungu, Vasile; Tudoroiu, Marian; Vatachki, Genady; Batca, Severina; David, Leonard

2017-01-01

Emergency pancreatico-duodenectomy(EPD) is a very rare procedure and few reports are present in medical literature. It is an uncommon approach, usually used for emergency surgical treatment of abdominal trauma that involves the head of the pancreas or the duodenum, but it is also a surgical tool for the treatment of ruptured aneurysms, bleeding pseudocysts, duodenal perforations, uncontrollable hemorrhage from ulcers and tumors, severe infectious complications of acute pancreatitis or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography related complications (1,2). It is rarely used as the first line of treatment in case of acute bleeding from arterial pseudoaneurysm of the cephalad region of the pancreas. We present the case of a bleeding pseudoaneurysm of the cefalic region of the pancreas in a young patient with previously undiagnosed chronic pancreatitis and with suspicion of a malignant process located in the head of the pancreas. We performed a pancreatico-duodenectomy with resection of superior mesenteric and portal vein with reconstruction using Gore-Tex vascular graft due to probable venous abutment. Postoperative course was without any major complications, only minor grad-I pancreatic fistula was present. We determine that EPD is a useful tool in the treatment of such cases. It can be used as a first line of treatment or secondary to endovascular stenting or embolization. Celsius.

Infant gender and postpartum sadness in the light of region of birth and some other factors: a contribution to the knowledge of postpartum depression.

PubMed

Lagerberg, Dagmar; Magnusson, Margaretha

2012-04-01

The purpose of this paper is to analyse postpartum depressive symptoms as related to baby gender, maternal region of birth, stress, perception of child difficult temperament and some demographic factors. The setting was 36 Swedish child health centres. Mothers of 1,848 19-month-old children completed a questionnaire, including an item about recall of postpartum sadness. A subsample of 360 answered the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Overall, significantly more mothers of boys than of girls recalled postpartum sadness. The same was found in mothers born in Sweden and in other regions, except for the Middle East (no significant result). Among those born in Sweden and in other regions, more mothers of boys than of girls scored ≥12 on the EPDS, except for Middle East mothers with the opposite pattern (no significant finding). More mothers of "difficult" boys than of "difficult" girls recalled postpartum sadness. Our findings are tentative but may inspire future research. Immigrant mothers in Sweden seem rather like the majority population, possibly with the exception of Middle East mothers. The significance of parents' knowledge of their child's gender in advance is an important area for research. Future parents could benefit from discussing gender expectations with a nurse or other professional.

Personality, preterm labor contractions, and psychological consequences.

PubMed

Handelzalts, Jonathan E; Krissi, Haim; Levy, Sigal; Freund, Yael; Carmiel, Naama; Ashwal, Eran; Peled, Yoav

2016-03-01

Research of psychological factors associated with imminent preterm labor (PTL) is sparse, compared with considerable research of preterm birth. We explored state and trait psychological variables associated with PTL, both pre- and postpartum. During 2012-2014, 56 women hospitalized due to PTL, and 33 pregnant women without PTL, responded during gestational week 20-33, to a demographic questionnaire, the Big-Five Inventory (BFI), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the Fear of Childbirth Questionnaire, and the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Inventory (MFAS). At 4-6 weeks postpartum, 35 and 23 of the women in the respective groups responded online to the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Mother to Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS). Compared to women without PTL, women with PTL scored higher on neuroticism, openness to experience, and MFAS (p < 0.01 each), scored lower on consciousness and agreeableness (p < 0.01 each), and showed greater fear of childbirth (p < 0.05). Significant differences were not found in the postpartum variables of EPDS and MIBS. In the PTL group, MFAS (β = 0.36, p < 0.01), but not fear of childbirth (β = 0.08, p = NS), remained higher, after controlling for demographic variables and neuroticism. PTL was associated with personality variables, but not with psychological consequences, other than elevated prepartum attachment to the fetus.

Action research regarding the optimisation of radiological protection for nurses during vascular interventional radiology.

PubMed

Mori, Hiroshige

2015-06-01

The optimisation and decision-making processes for radiological protection have been broadened by the introduction of re-examination or feedback after introducing protective measures. In this study, action research was used to reduce the occupational exposure of vascular interventional radiology (IR) nurses. Four radiological protection improvement measures were continuously performed in cooperation with the researchers, nurses and stakeholders, and the nurses' annual effective doses were compared before and after the improvements. First, the dosimetry equipment was changed from one electronic personal dosimeter (EPD) to two silver-activated phosphate glass dosimeters (PGDs). Second, the nurses were educated regarding maintaining a safe distance from the sources of scattered and leakage radiation. Third, portable radiation shielding screens were placed in the IR rooms. Fourth, the x-ray units' pulse rates were reduced by half. On changing the dosimetry method, the two PGDs recorded a 4.4 fold greater dose than the single EPD. Educating nurses regarding radiological protection and reducing the pulse rates by half decreased their effective doses to one-third and two-fifths of the baseline dose, respectively. No significant difference in their doses was detected after the placement of the shielding screens. Therefore, the action research effectively decreased the occupational doses of the vascular IR nurses.

A Centrality and Event Plane Detector for STAR to Complete the Phase Diagram of Quantum Chromodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halal, George; STAR Collaboration

2017-09-01

The properties of the nearly perfect liquid, Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP), which filled the universe a microsecond after the Big Bang are studied by colliding heavy-ions at relativistic energies. Our project focuses on building and testing an Event Plane Detector (EPD) for the STAR experiment and analyzing the data collected from collisions. When a minimum ionizing particle hits one of the optically-isolated tiles of this detector, which are made of scintillator plastic, it lights up. The light then travels through a wavelength-shifting fiber embedded in the tile to a clear optical fiber to be detected by silicon photo-multipliers. This detector is an improved version of the Beam-Beam Counter, which is currently at STAR. It will help us measure the centrality and event plane of collisions with more precision. Data collected will aid us in mapping out the transition phase between the QGP and hadronic matter, which evolved into the chemical elements we see today, and in searching for a unique critical point in the phase diagram of Quantum Chromodynamics matter. In 2017, a commissioning run has taken place at RHIC, colliding protons at 510 GeV and gold ions at 54.4 GeV. Some data analysis from one eighth of the EPD that is installed will also be discussed.

[Perinatal depression and affective bonds: experience in close relationship during pregnancy].

PubMed

Aceti, Franca; Giacchetti, Nicoletta; Meuti, Valentina; Carluccio, Giuseppe Mattia; Zaccagni, Michela; Marini, Isabella; Di Lorenzo, Flavia; Grillo, Alessandra; Mancini, Guido; Serio, Valentina; Rocchi, Giordana; Giancola, Orazio; Biondi, Massimo

2015-01-01

This study aims to investigate the influence of the "romantic attachment" style, stressful life events, social factors on the risk of developing a depression during pregnancy and on the severity of depressive symptoms. The study started with a screening on a sample of 453 women, during their third trimester of pregnancy, to which has been administered a survey data form, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Experience in Close Relationship (ECR). Based on the results at EPDS, a clinical group of pre-natal depression (D=89) was selected and compared with a control group (C=89), in regards to psychopathological and social variables, exposure to stressful life events and attachment patterns. Analysis of correlation were performed to evaluate the influence of these factors on depressive symptoms severity. In D group, 52.8% of subjects reported previous psychiatric disorders and 49.4% a familiarity; 29.2% of these women complains of conflicts with their family of origin and 32.6% with partner. The ECR showed a prevalence of "fearful-avoidant" attachment style in clinical group (29.2% vs 1.1%, p=0.000); besides, ECR dimensions ("Avoidance", "Anxiety"), correlate with the severity of depressive symptoms. Positive family history for psychiatric disorders and an insecure romantic attachment might influence the development and the severity of perinatal depression.

[Depressive Symptoms and Psychosocial Risk Factors in High Complexity Obstetric Patients Admitted to a Critical Care Obstetric Unit in Cali, Colombia].

PubMed

Guerra, Ana María; Dávalos Pérez, Diana María; Castillo Martínez, Alejandro

Depression is the main cause of years lossed due to disability in the world, and it affects 50% more women 50% than men. Perinatal depression has been linked with more anxiety, a chronic course, and disability than depression in other life stages. In spite of its high prevalence and serious health effects on both mother and foetus, it is frequently under-diagnosed. This study was performed on all high risk obstetric patients admitted to a critical care obstetric unit in Cali, Colombia, from January to June, 2014. Depressive symptoms and psychosocial risk factors were screened by means of a survey and the Edinburgh Prenatal Depression Scale (EPDS). A total of 695 women were included, of whom 30.2% had depressive symptoms on the EPDS, and 3.6% reported having self-injury thoughts in the last 7 days. Our findings are consistent with previous reports on a history of child abuse and family depression as risk factors. It was also suggested that lower socio-economic status is associated with more vulnerability. Early screening is needed to ensure timely detection and treatment. Copyright © 2016 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

Neighborhood adversity, ethnic diversity, and weak social cohesion and social networks predict high rates of maternal depressive symptoms: a critical realist ecological study in South Western Sydney, Australia.

PubMed

Eastwood, John Graeme; Kemp, Lynn Ann; Jalaludin, Bin Badrudin; Phung, Hai Ngoc

2013-01-01

The aim of the study reported here is to explore ecological covariate and latent variable associations with perinatal depressive symptoms in South Western Sydney for the purpose of informing subsequent theory generation of perinatal context, depression, and the developmental origins of health and disease. Mothers (n = 15,389) delivering in 2002 and 2003 were assessed at two to three weeks after delivery for risk factors for depressive symptoms. The binary outcome variables were Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)> 9 and > 12. Aggregated EPDS > 9 was analyzed for 101 suburbs. Suburb-level variables were drawn from the 2001 Australian Census, New South Wales Crime Statistics, and aggregated individual-level risk factors. Analysis included exploratory factor analysis, univariate and multivariate likelihood, and Bayesian linear regression with conditional autoregressive components. The exploratory factor analysis identified six factors: neighborhood adversity, social cohesion, health behaviors, housing quality, social services, and support networks. Variables associated with neighborhood adversity, social cohesion, social networks, and ethnic diversity were consistently associated with aggregated depressive symptoms. The findings support the theoretical proposition that neighborhood adversity causes maternal psychological distress and depression within the context of social buffers including social networks, social cohesion, and social services.

Prevalence rates and socioeconomic characteristics of post-partum depression in Hungary.

PubMed

Nagy, Emese; Molnar, Peter; Pal, Attila; Orvos, Hajnalka

2011-01-30

The rapid socioeconomic transition in post-communist Hungary adversely affected the overall morbidity and mortality rates in the 1990s. Prevalence data on depressive disorders from the region are still scarce, however. This study reports the findings of the first epidemiological survey, using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), on the prevalence of post-partum depression and the associated risk factors in Hungary. A total of 1030 mothers who delivered their babies between May and July 1999 in 16 counties in Hungary were screened for depressive symptoms 3-26 weeks post-partum. The survey found that 10.81% of the sample was above the cut-off score of 13, and the EPDS detected post-partum depressive symptoms with 76% (95% confidence interval (CI)=60.5-87.1) sensitivity and 92% (95% CI=90.5-94.1) specificity. In addition, 24 socio-demographic, socio-psychiatric data and personal and obstetric variables were surveyed. Results of a hierarchical logistic regression analysis showed that depression of the mother during pregnancy was the strongest predictor of depressive symptoms post-partum. Depression before pregnancy, housing conditions, marital relationship status and family history of alcohol problems were also identified as predictors for post-partum depressive symptoms. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Maternal postpartum depression and infant social withdrawal among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive mother-infant dyads.

PubMed

Hartley, C; Pretorius, K; Mohamed, A; Laughton, B; Madhi, S; Cotton, M F; Steyn, B; Seedat, S

2010-05-01

Maternal postpartum depression poses significant risks for mother-child interaction and long-term infant outcomes. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status has also been implicated in the development of postpartum depression, but the association between maternal depression and infant social behavior in the context of HIV infection has not been fully investigated. First, we examined the relationship between maternal postpartum depression and infant social withdrawal at 10-12 months of age in HIV-infected mothers and infants. Second, we ascertained whether infant social withdrawal could be significantly predicted by maternal postpartum depression. The sample consisted of 83 HIV-infected mother-infant dyads. Mothers were assessed for postpartum depression with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and infant social withdrawal behavior was rated using the Modified Alarm Distress Baby Scale (m-ADBB). 42.2% of the mothers scored above the cut-off point for depression on the EPDS, and a third of infants (31%) were socially withdrawn. Notably, maternal depression did not predict infant social withdrawal as measured by the m-ADBB. Infant social withdrawal was also not significantly associated with failure to thrive or gender. These preliminary findings need further investigation with respect to the impact on long-term neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes.

Vegetarian diets and depressive symptoms among men.

PubMed

Hibbeln, Joseph R; Northstone, Kate; Evans, Jonathan; Golding, Jean

2018-01-01

Vegetarian diets are associate with cardiovascular and other health benefits, but little is known about mental health benefits or risks. To determine whether self-identification of vegetarian dietary habits is associated with significant depressive symptoms in men. Self-report data from 9668 adult male partners of pregnant women in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) included identification as vegetarian or vegan, dietary frequency data and the Edinburgh Post Natal Depression Scale (EPDS). Continuous and binary outcomes were assessed using multiple linear and logistic regression taking account of potential confounding variables including: age, marital status, employment status, housing tenure, number of children in the household, religion, family history of depression previous childhood psychiatric contact, cigarette and alcohol consumption. Vegetarians [n = 350 (3.6% of sample)], had higher depression scores on average than non-vegetarians (mean difference 0.96 points [95%CI + 0.53, + 1.40]) and a greater risk for EPDS scores above 10 (adjusted OR = 1.67 [95% CI: 1.14,2.44]) than non-vegetarians after adjustment for potential confounding factors. Vegetarian men have more depressive symptoms after adjustment for socio-demographic factors. Nutritional deficiencies (e.g. in cobalamin or iron) are a possible explanation for these findings, however reverse causation cannot be ruled out. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Electrophoretic Approach for the Simultaneous Deposition and Functionalization of Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanosheets with Diazonium Compounds: Application for Lysozyme Sensing in Serum.

PubMed

Wang, Qian; Vasilescu, Alina; Wang, Qi; Coffinier, Yannick; Li, Musen; Boukherroub, Rabah; Szunerits, Sabine

2017-04-12

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (rGO) offers several advantages over other surface coating approaches, including process simplicity, uniformity of the deposited films, and good control of the film thickness. The EPD conditions might also be of interest for the reduction of diazonium salts, which upon the release of N 2 molecules and generation of radicals, can form covalent bonds with the sp 2 hybridized carbon lattice atoms of rGO films. In this work, we report on the coating of gold electrodes in one step with rGO/polyethylenimine (PEI) thin films and their simultaneous modification using different phenyl (Ph) diazonium salt precursors bearing various functionalities such as -B(OH) 2 , -COOH, and -C≡CH. We show further the interest of such interfaces for designing highly sensitive sensing platforms. Azide-terminated lysozyme aptamers were clicked onto the rGO/PEI/Ph-alkynyl matrix and used for the sensing of lysozyme levels in patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), where lysozyme levels are up-regulated. The approach attained the required demand for the determination of lysozyme level in patients suffering from IBD with a 200 fM detection limit and a linear range up to 20 pM without signal amplification.

Interconnects for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Wenhua

Presently, one of the principal goals of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) research is to reduce the stack operating temperature to between 600 and 800°C. However, one of the principal technological barriers is the non-availability of a suitable material satisfying all of the stability requirements for the interconnect. In this work two approaches for intermediate temperature SOFC interconnects have been explored. The first approach comprises an interconnect consisting of a bi-layer structure, a p-type oxide (La0.96Sr0.08MnO 2.001/LSM) layer exposed to a cathodic environment, and an n-type oxide (Y0.08Sr0.88Ti0.95Al0.05O 3-delta/YSTA) layer exposed to anodic conditions. Theoretical analysis based on the bi-layer structure has established design criteria to implement this approach. The analysis shows that the interfacial oxygen partial pressure, which determines the interconnect stability, is independent of the electronic conductivities of both layers but dependent on the oxygen ion layer interconnects, the oxygen ion conductivities of LSM and YSTA were measured as a function of temperature and oxygen partial pressure. Based on the measured data, it has been determined that if the thickness of YSTA layer is around 0.1cm, the thickness of LSM layer should be around 0.6 mum in order to maintain the stability of LSM. In a second approach, a less expensive stainless steel interconnect has been studied. However, one of the major concerns associated with the use of metallic interconnects is the development of a semi-conducting or insulating oxide scale and chromium volatility during extended exposure to the SOFC operating environment. Dense and well adhered Mn-Cu spinet oxide coatings were successfully deposited on stainless steel by an electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique. It was found that the Mn-Cu-O coating significantly reduced the oxidation rate of the stainless steel and the volatility of chromium. The area specific resistance (ASR) of coated Crofer 22 APU is expected to he around 1.2x10 -2Ocm2 after exposure to air at 800°C for 50000 hours. This demonstrates that Crofer 22 APU with CuMn1.8O 4 coating deposited by EPD is suitable for application as interconnects in intermediate temperature SOFCs.

Hardware Verification of Laser Noise Cancellation and Gravitational Wave Extraction using Time-Delay Interferometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitryk, Shawn; Mueller, Guido

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a space-based modified Michelson interfer-ometer designed to measure gravitational radiation in the frequency range from 30 uHz to 1 Hz. The interferometer measurement system (IMS) utilizes one-way laser phase measurements to cancel the laser phase noise, reconstruct the proof-mass motion, and extract the gravitational wave (GW) induced laser phase modulations in post-processing using a technique called time-delay interferometry (TDI). Unfortunately, there exist few hard-ware verification experiments of the IMS. The University of Florida LISA Interferometry Simulator (UFLIS) is designed to perform hardware-in-the-loop simulations of the LISA interferometry system, modeling the characteris-tics of the LISA mission as accurately as possible. This depends, first, on replicating the laser pre-stabilization by locking the laser phase to an ultra-stable Zerodur cavity length reference using the PDH locking method. Phase measurements of LISA-like photodetector beat-notes are taken using the UF-phasemeter (PM) which can measure the laser BN frequency to within an accuracy of 0.22 uHz. The inter-space craft (SC) laser links including the time-delay due to the 5 Gm light travel time along the LISA arms, the laser Doppler shifts due to differential SC motion, and the GW induced laser phase modulations are simulated electronically using the electronic phase delay (EPD) unit. The EPD unit replicates the laser field propagation between SC by measuring a photodetector beat-note frequency with the UF-phasemeter and storing the information in memory. After the requested delay time, the frequency information is added to a Doppler offset and a GW-like frequency modulation. The signal is then regenerated with the inter-SC laser phase affects applied. Utilizing these components, I will present the first complete TDI simulations performed using the UFLIS. The LISA model is presented along-side the simulation, comparing the generation and measurement of LISA-like signals. Phasemeter measurements are used in post-processing and combined in the linear combinations defined by TDI, thus, canceling the laser phase and phase-lock loop noise to extract the applied GW modulation buried under the noise. Nine order of magnitude common mode laser noise cancellation is achieved at a frequency of 1 mHz and the GW signal is clearly visible after the laser and PLL noise cancellation.

Dietary supplements for preventing postnatal depression.

PubMed

Miller, Brendan J; Murray, Linda; Beckmann, Michael M; Kent, Terrence; Macfarlane, Bonnie

2013-10-24

Postnatal depression is a medical condition that affects many women and the development of their infants. There is a lack of evidence for treatment and prevention strategies that are safe for mothers and infants. Certain dietary deficiencies in a pregnant or postnatal woman's diet may cause postnatal depression. By correcting these deficiencies postnatal depression could be prevented in some women. Specific examples of dietary supplements aimed at preventing postnatal depression include: omega-3 fatty acids, iron, folate, s-adenosyl-L-methionine, cobalamin, pyridoxine, riboflavin, vitamin D and calcium. To assess the benefits of dietary supplements for preventing postnatal depression either in the antenatal period, postnatal period, or both. We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (30 April 2013). Randomised controlled trials, involving women who were pregnant or who had given birth in the previous six weeks, who were not depressed or taking antidepressants at the commencement of the trials. The trials could use as intervention any dietary supplementation alone or in combination with another treatment compared with any other preventive treatment, or placebo, or standard clinical care. Two review authors independently assessed trials for inclusion and assessed the risk of bias for the two included studies. Two review authors extracted data and the data were checked for accuracy. We included two randomised controlled trials.One trial compared oral 100 microgram (µg) selenium yeast tablets with placebo, taken from the first trimester until birth. The trial randomised 179 women but outcome data were only provided for 85 women. Eighty-three women were randomised to each arm of the trial. Sixty-one women completed the selenium arm, 44 of whom completed an Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). In the placebo arm, 64 women completed the trial, 41 of whom completed an EPDS. This included study (n = 85) found selenium had an effect on EPDS scores but did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.07). There was a mean difference (MD) of -1.90 (95% confidence interval (CI) -3.92 to 0.12) of the self-reported EPDS completed by participants within eight weeks of delivery. There was a high risk of attrition bias due to a large proportion of women withdrawing from the study or not completing an EPDS. This included study did not report on any of the secondary outcomes of this review.The other trial compared docosahexanoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) with placebo. The trial randomised 126 women at risk of postpartum depression to three arms: 42 were allocated to EPA, 42 to DHA, and 42 to placebo. Three women in the EPA arm, four in the DHA arm, and one woman in the placebo arm were lost to follow-up. Women who were found to have major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, current substance abuse or dependence, suicidal ideation or schizophrenia at recruitment were excluded from the study. The women who discontinued the intervention (five in the EPA arm, four in the DHA arm and seven in the placebo arm) were included in the intention-to-treat analysis, while those who were lost to follow-up were not. Women received supplements or placebo from recruitment at a gestational age of 12 to 20 weeks until their final review visit six to eight weeks postpartum. The primary outcome measure was the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score at the fifth visit (six to eight weeks postpartum). No benefit was found for EPA-rich fish oil (MD 0.70, 95% CI -1.78 to 3.18) or DHA-rich fish oil supplementation (MD 0.90, 95% CI -1.33 to 3.13) in preventing postpartum depression. No difference was found in the effect on postnatal depression comparing EPA with DHA (MD -0.20, 95% CI -2.61 to 2.21). No benefit or significant effect was found in terms of the secondary outcomes of the presence of major depressive disorder at six to eight weeks postpartum, the number of women who commenced antidepressants, maternal estimated blood loss at delivery or admission of neonates to the neonatal intensive care unit. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that selenium, DHA or EPA prevent postnatal depression. There is currently no evidence to recommend any other dietary supplement for prevention of postnatal depression.

Identification of depression in women during pregnancy and the early postnatal period using the Whooley questions and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale: protocol for the Born and Bred in Yorkshire: PeriNatal Depression Diagnostic Accuracy (BaBY PaNDA) study.

PubMed

Littlewood, Elizabeth; Ali, Shehzad; Ansell, Pat; Dyson, Lisa; Gascoyne, Samantha; Hewitt, Catherine; Keding, Ada; Mann, Rachel; McMillan, Dean; Morgan, Deborah; Swan, Kelly; Waterhouse, Bev; Gilbody, Simon

2016-06-13

Perinatal depression is well recognised as a mental health condition but <50% of cases are identified by healthcare professionals in routine clinical practice. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is often used to detect symptoms of postnatal depression in maternity and child services. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends 2 'ultra-brief' case-finding questions (the Whooley questions) to aid identification of depression during the perinatal period, but this recommendation was made in the absence of any validation studies in a perinatal population. Limited research exists on the acceptability of these depression case-finding instruments and the cost-effectiveness of routine screening for perinatal depression. The diagnostic accuracy of the Whooley questions and the EPDS will be determined against a reference standard (the Client Interview Schedule-Revised) during pregnancy (around 20 weeks) and the early postnatal period (around 3-4 months post partum) in a sample of 379 women. Further outcome measures will assess a range of psychological comorbidities, health-related quality of life and resource utilisation. Women will be followed up 12 months postnatally. The sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of the Whooley questions and the EPDS will be calculated against the reference standard at 20 weeks pregnancy and 3-4 months post partum. Acceptability of the depression case-finding instruments to women and healthcare professionals will involve in-depth qualitative interviews. An existing decision analytic model will be adapted to determine the cost-effectiveness of routine screening for perinatal depression. This study is considered low risk for participants. Robust protocols will deal with cases where risk of depression, self-harm or suicide is identified. The protocol received favourable ethical opinion from the North East-York Research Ethics Committee (reference: 11/NE/0022). The study findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at relevant conferences. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Breeding objectives for Targhee sheep.

PubMed

Borg, R C; Notter, D R; Kuehn, L A; Kott, R W

2007-11-01

Breeding objectives were developed for Targhee sheep under rangeland production conditions. Traits considered were those for which EPD were available from the US National Sheep Improvement Program and included direct and maternal effects on 120-d weaning weight (WW and MM, respectively); yearling weight (YW); yearling fleece weight, fiber diameter, and staple length; and percent lamb crop (PLC), measured as the number of lambs born per 100 ewes lambing. A bioeconomic model was used to predict the effects of a change of 1 additive SD in EPD for each trait, holding all other traits constant at their mean, on animal performance, feed requirements, feed costs, and economic returns. Resulting economic weightings were then used to derive selection indexes. Indexes were derived separately for 3 prolificacy levels (1.41, 1.55, and 1.70 lambs/ewe lambing), 2 triplet survival levels (50 and 67%), 2 lamb pricing policies (with or without discounting of prices for heavy feeder lambs), and 3 forage cost scenarios (renting pasture, purchasing hay, or reducing flock size to accommodate increased nutrient requirements for production). Increasing PLC generally had the largest impact on profitability, although an increase in WW was equally important, with low feed costs and no discounting of prices for heavy feeder lambs. Increases in PLC were recommended at all 3 prolificacy levels, but with low triplet survival the value of increasing PLC eventually declined as the mean litter size increased to approximately 2.15 lambs/ewe lambing and above. Increasing YW (independent of WW) increased ewe maintenance costs and reduced profitability. Predicted changes in breeding values for WW and YW under index selection varied with lamb pricing policy and feed costs. With low feed costs or no discounts for heavy lambs, YW increased at a modest rate in association with increasing WW, but with high feed costs or discounting of heavy lambs, genetic trends in WW were reduced by approximately 50% to constrain increases in YW. Changes in EPD for MM or fleece traits generally had smaller effects on profitability than changes in PLC, WW, and YW. Two indexes designed to address current rangeland production conditions (low forage costs and discounting of heavy feeder lambs) or more intensive and integrated production with retained ownership and value-based marketing of lambs (higher forage costs and no discounting of heavy lambs) were anticipated to meet the needs of most Targhee producers.

Comparison of mental health screening tools for detecting antenatal depression and anxiety disorders in South African women

PubMed Central

Honikman, Simone; Tomlinson, Mark; Field, Sally; Myer, Landon

2018-01-01

Background Antenatal depression and anxiety disorders are highly prevalent in low and middle-income countries. Screening of pregnant women in primary care antenatal settings provides an opportunity for entry to care, but data are needed on the performance of different screening tools. We compared five widely-used questionnaires in a sample of pregnant women in urban South Africa. Method Pregnant women attending a primary care antenatal clinic were administered five tools by trained research assistants: the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Kessler Psychological Distress scale (K10) and a shortened 6-item version (K6), the Whooley questions and the two-item Generalised Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-2). Following this, a registered mental health counsellor administered the MINI Plus, a structured clinical diagnostic interview. The Area Under the Curve (AUC) from Receiver Operator Characteristic curve analysis was used to summarise screening test performance and Cronbach’s α used to assess internal consistency. Results Of 376 participants, 32% were diagnosed with either MDE and/or anxiety disorders. All five questionnaires demonstrated moderate to high performance (AUC = 0.78–0.85). The EPDS was the best performing instrument for detecting MDE and the K10 and K6 for anxiety disorder. For MDE and/or anxiety disorders, the EPDS had the highest AUC (0.83). Of the short instruments, the K10 (AUC = 0.85) and the K6 (AUC = 0.85) performed the best, with the K6 showing good balance between sensitivity (74%) and specificity (85%) and a good positive predictive value (70%). The Whooley questions (AUC = 0.81) were the best performing ultra-short instrument. Internal consistency ranged from good to acceptable (α = 0.89–0.71). However, the PPV of the questionnaires compared with the diagnostic interview, ranged from 54% to 71% at the optimal cut-off scores. Conclusions Universal screening for case identification of antenatal depression and anxiety disorders in low-resource settings can be conducted with a number of commonly used screening instruments. Short and ultra-short screening instruments such as the K6 and the Whooley questions may be feasible and acceptable for use in these settings. PMID:29668725

Overview of Dynamic Test Techniques for Flight Dynamics Research at NASA LaRC (Invited)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Owens, D. Bruce; Brandon, Jay M.; Croom, Mark A.; Fremaux, C. Michael; Heim, Eugene H.; Vicroy, Dan D.

2006-01-01

An overview of dynamic test techniques used at NASA Langley Research Center on scale models to obtain a comprehensive flight dynamics characterization of aerospace vehicles is presented. Dynamic test techniques have been used at Langley Research Center since the 1920s. This paper will provide a partial overview of the current techniques available at Langley Research Center. The paper will discuss the dynamic scaling necessary to address the often hard-to-achieve similitude requirements for these techniques. Dynamic test techniques are categorized as captive, wind tunnel single degree-of-freedom and free-flying, and outside free-flying. The test facilities, technique specifications, data reduction, issues and future work are presented for each technique. The battery of tests conducted using the Blended Wing Body aircraft serves to illustrate how the techniques, when used together, are capable of characterizing the flight dynamics of a vehicle over a large range of critical flight conditions.

Professional Development of Officers Study. Volume 5 - Policy Impact Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-02-21

Megatrends : Ten New Directions Trans-. performance measures. This portion of the re- forming Our Lives by John Naisbitt. port describes how the Futures Team...involved development or progress). (2 01) in an armed conflict in which chemical or biolog - -- 6-ABILITIES/REQTS MATCH-An accurate ical weapons are...orical w ePDS"-"RX odl lease of nuclear, chemical or biological weapon(s) ,.-. -nPDOS INTERAX Model.USSR. ~~11-2-1

Electrophoretic display technologies for e-book readers: system integration aspects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gentric, Philippe

2011-03-01

Emerging screen technologies, such as Electrophoretic Displays (EPD) used in E-book Readers, are changing product power requirements due to their advantageous properties such as bi-stability (effective "zero power" static display) and reflective mode of operation (no backlight). We will first review the emerging screen technologies under the angle of system and IC design impact. We will explain power management consequences for IC design, with a focus on Application Engine SOCs for the wireless/portable markets.

Postpartum Depression Among Asian Indian Mothers.

PubMed

Goyal, Deepika; Park, Van Ta; McNiesh, Susan

2015-01-01

To explore Asian Indian mothers' perspectives of postpartum depression (PPD) and mental health help-seeking behavior. Qualitative exploratory design. Using convenience sampling, postpartum mothers were recruited through flyers posted in public places and on social media sites. Postpartum depression risk was assessed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) prior to qualitative interviews. Content analysis methods were used to extract themes from participant narratives. Twelve self-identified, married, Asian Indian mothers, aged between 29 and 40 years, living in Northern California, who gave birth to a healthy infant within the last 12 months, took part in this study. Scores on the EPDS indicated two participants were at an increased risk for developing PPD. Content analysis revealed two emerging themes: (1) Culture-specific postpartum practices and ceremonies and their role in maternal-infant postpartum recovery; and (2) Maternal mental health help-seeking behavior. Nurses taking care of women during the extended prenatal and postpartum period have the unique opportunity to build rapport with their patients which can offer a window of opportunity to educate and help dispel myths about PPD symptoms and treatment. To promote successful maternal-infant outcomes, PPD education should be initiated at the first prenatal appointment, continue during the pregnancy, and be incorporated into well-baby visits through the first postpartum year. Education should include signs and symptoms of PPD as well as importance of timely mental-health help-seeking.

[Physical activity and childbirth classes during a pregnancy and the level of perceived stress and depressive symptoms in women after childbirth].

PubMed

Kowalska, Joanna; Olszowa, Daria; Markowska, Dominika; Teplik, Marzena; Rymaszewska, Joanna

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to answer the question of whether physical activity during pregnancy and participation in childbirth classes prepare women for childbirth; further, does it influence the levels of perceived stress and the occurrence of depressed mood. 100 women participated in the study. Half of the women had taken part in the childbirth classes before giving birth. A questionnaires of own authorship, Edinburgh Postnatal Depressioni Scale (EPDS) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) were used. There was no significant relationship observed between participation in childbirth classes and the results of EPDS and PSS-10. The mood of women after childbirth correlated significantly with the level of stress in the whole study group (p<0.0001). Best mean well-being and lowest mean perceived stress were observed in women who stayed in a relationship (p =0.0029, p = 0.0008). Women physically active during pregnancy were also characterized by better mood and lower levels of perceived stress (6.7 and 14.4 vs. 8.4 and 16.0). Among women exercising during pregnancy the participants in childbirth classes was far more numerous (p<0.0001). Declared physical activity during pregnancy was linked to lower levels of stress experienced by women and less severe depressive symptoms after childbirth,; espe- cially in the group of childbirth classes participants.

Inhibitory effects of Persicariae Rhizoma aqueous extracts on experimental periodontitis and alveolar bone loss in Sprague-Dawley rats

PubMed Central

Kang, Su Jin; Lee, Eun Kyung; Han, Chang Hyun; Lee, Bong Hyo; Lee, Young Joon; Ku, Sae Kwang

2016-01-01

Persicariae Rhizoma (PR) is the dried stem parts of Persicaria tinctoria H. Gross (Polygonaceae), and has been traditionally used as anti-inflammatory and detoxifying agent. In the present study, the effects of PR aqueous extracts on ligation-induced experimental periodontitis (EPD) and associated alveolar bone loss in rats were examined. Following the induction of EPD in rats, PR extracts were orally administered once a day for 10 days, and the changes and gains in body weight, alveolar bone loss and total aerobic bacterial counts of buccal gingiva were observed with histopathological analysis. In addition, anti-inflammatory effects were evaluated by monitoring myeloperoxidase (MPO) activities, and interleukin (IL)-1β and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α contents, and anti-oxidant effects were investigated by measuring inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activities and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Bacterial proliferation, periodontitis and associated alveolar bone loss induced by ligature placement were significantly and dose-dependently inhibited by the treatment with PR extracts. The inhibitory effects of 200 mg/kg PR were similar to those of 5 mg/kg indomethacin on ligation-induced periodontitis and associated alveolar bone losses in this study. The results suggest that PR effectively inhibits ligature placement-induced periodontitis and alveolar bone loss in rats via antibacterial, antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities. PMID:27588077

Introducing depression and developmental screenings into the national programme on immunization (NPI) in southeast Nigeria: an experimental cross-sectional assessment.

PubMed

Bakare, Muideen O; Okoye, Jane O; Obindo, James T

2014-01-01

This study investigates the possibility of introducing depression and developmental screening tools into the National Programme on Immunization (NPI) in southeast Nigeria. The specific objectives were to determine the prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) among mothers attending immunization clinics and to assess the association of maternal PPD and infant growth in relation to World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. Four hundred and eight (408) mothers completed the sociodemographic questionnaire and the self-report Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The weights, lengths and head circumferences of their infants were recorded, while the WHO recommended equivalents at 50th percentiles were also recorded for each child. The mothers were then interviewed with the major depressive episode module of Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) to make diagnosis of depression. About 24.8% and 15.2% of the mothers were found to be depressed using EPDS and major depressive episode module of M.I.N.I., respectively. It was found that maternal PPD is significantly associated with the growth parameters of weights and lengths of the infants studied but not their head circumference. NPI may provide appropriate forum for early screening of mothers for PPD and interventions in Nigeria. The NPI would also serve a useful avenue of screening for developmental concerns in Nigerian children. © 2014.

The impact of education, country, race and ethnicity on the self-report of postpartum depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

PubMed

Di Florio, A; Putnam, K; Altemus, M; Apter, G; Bergink, V; Bilszta, J; Brock, R; Buist, A; Deligiannidis, K M; Devouche, E; Epperson, C N; Guille, C; Kim, D; Lichtenstein, P; Magnusson, P K E; Martinez, P; Munk-Olsen, T; Newport, J; Payne, J; Penninx, B W; O'Hara, M; Robertson-Blackmore, E; Roza, S J; Sharkey, K M; Stuart, S; Tiemeier, H; Viktorin, A; Schmidt, P J; Sullivan, P F; Stowe, Z N; Wisner, K L; Jones, I; Rubinow, D R; Meltzer-Brody, S

2017-04-01

Universal screening for postpartum depression is recommended in many countries. Knowledge of whether the disclosure of depressive symptoms in the postpartum period differs across cultures could improve detection and provide new insights into the pathogenesis. Moreover, it is a necessary step to evaluate the universal use of screening instruments in research and clinical practice. In the current study we sought to assess whether the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the most widely used screening tool for postpartum depression, measures the same underlying construct across cultural groups in a large international dataset. Ordinal regression and measurement invariance were used to explore the association between culture, operationalized as education, ethnicity/race and continent, and endorsement of depressive symptoms using the EPDS on 8209 new mothers from Europe and the USA. Education, but not ethnicity/race, influenced the reporting of postpartum depression [difference between robust comparative fit indexes (∆*CFI) 0.01), but not between European countries (∆*CFI < 0.01). Investigators and clinicians should be aware of the potential differences in expression of phenotype of postpartum depression that women of different educational backgrounds may manifest. The increasing cultural heterogeneity of societies together with the tendency towards globalization requires a culturally sensitive approach to patients, research and policies, that takes into account, beyond rhetoric, the context of a person's experiences and the context in which the research is conducted.

Risk factors, cross-cultural stressors and postpartum depression among immigrant Chinese women in Japan.

PubMed

Jin, Qiongai; Mori, Emi; Sakajo, Akiko

2016-04-01

The purpose of this mixed-method design study was to examine factors contributing to depression among immigrant Chinese women (primipara and multipara) (n = 22) delivering a child for the first time in Japan. Data were obtained just after hospital discharge by using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Social Support Scale, a new scale to measure cross-cultural stressors in the postpartum setting and a visual analogue scale for stress and a demographic survey. The average EPDS score was 9.0 (SD ± 3.7) at 1-3 weeks postpartum; yet, more than half of the subjects (n = 12; 54.5%) were high risk for depression (EPDS ≥ 10). Low household income and primiparous status were associated with depression scores. New mothers with depression also reported more general stress and more cross-cultural stress in the postpartum setting, although social support appeared to mediate cross-cultural stressors. Semi-structured interviews were held with two immigrant women at high risk for depression; these new mothers described additional stress because they could not follow Zuoyuezi, an important postpartum Chinese tradition, in the Japanese hospital. These findings suggest that immigrant Chinese women are at higher risk for postpartum depression when they give birth for the first time in Japan. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

The Effect of Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Nanoparticles on Hydroxyapatite (HA)/TiO2 Composite Coating Fabricated by Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amirnejad, M.; Afshar, A.; Salehi, S.

2018-05-01

Composite coatings of Hydroxyapatite (HA) with ceramics, polymers and metals are used to modify the surface structure of implants. In this research, HA/TiO2 composite coating was fabricated by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) on 316 stainless steel substrate. HA/TiO2 composite coatings with 5, 10 and 20 wt.% of TiO2, deposited at 40 V and 90 s as an optimum condition. The samples coated at this condition led to an adherent, continuous and crack-free coating. The influence of TiO2 content was studied by performing different characterization methods such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), corrosion resistance in simulated body fluid (SBF), coating's dissolution rate in physiological solution and bond strength to the substrate. The results showed that the higher amount of TiO2 in the composite coating led to increase in bond strength of coating to stainless steel substrate from 3 MPa for HA coating to 5.5 MPa for HA-20 wt.% TiO2 composite coating. In addition, it caused to reduction of corrosion current density of samples in the SBF solution from 18.92 μA/cm2 for HA coating to 6.35 μA/cm2 for HA-20 wt.% TiO2 composite coating.

Antenatal depression and male gender preference in Asian women in the UK.

PubMed

Dhillon, Navpreet; Macarthur, Christine

2010-06-01

to identify the prevalence of antenatal depression among Asian women living in the UK in one antenatal clinic, and to investigate the possible association with a desire for a male child and other risk factors. cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. general antenatal clinic in a hospital in Birmingham. 300 Asian women, irrespective of place of birth. consecutive Asian women attending routine antenatal appointments during the study period self-completed a questionnaire. The first part investigated socio-demographic, cultural and other possible risk factors, including gender preference. The second part comprised the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). EPDS score greater than or equal to 12 indicating probable depression. the prevalence of depression was 30.7% (92/300, 95% confidence interval 25.4-35.9%). Maternal male gender preference was not common and was not associated with antenatal depression. Family male gender preference, unplanned pregnancy, a history of depression and feeling anxious in pregnancy were independently associated with an increased likelihood of depression, whilst support from family and friends, being satisfied with pregnancy and being multiparous were associated with a reduced likelihood of depression. rates of antenatal depression were very high in Asian women with some associated risk factors. However, male gender preference was not associated with antenatal depression. given the high prevalence, screening Asian women for depression may be indicated to allow treatment. Copyright 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of Sn Composition in Ge1- x Sn x Layers Grown by Using Rapid Thermal Chemical Vapor Deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kil, Yeon-Ho; Kang, Sukill; Jeong, Tae Soo; Shim, Kyu-Hwan; Kim, Dae-Jung; Choi, Yong-Dae; Kim, Mi Joung; Kim, Taek Sung

2018-05-01

The Ge1- x Sn x layers were grown by using rapid thermal chemical-vapor deposition (RTCVD) on boron-doped p-type Si (100) substrates with Sn compositions up to x = 0.83%. In order to obtain effect of the Sn composition on the structural and the optical characteristics, we utilized highresolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD), etch pit density (EPD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, and photocurrent (PC) spectra. The Sn compositions in the Ge1- x Sn x layers were found to be of x = 0.00%, 0.51%, 0.65%, and 0.83%. The root-mean-square (RMS) of the surface roughness of the Ge1- x Sn x layer increased from 2.02 nm to 3.40 nm as the Sn composition was increased from 0.51% to 0.83%, and EPD was on the order of 108 cm-2. The Raman spectra consist of only one strong peak near 300 cm-1, which is assigned to the Ge-Ge LO peaks and the Raman peaks shift to the wave number with increasing Sn composition. Photocurrent spectra show near energy band gap peaks and their peak energies decrease with increasing Sn composition due to band-gap bowing in the Ge1- x Sn x layer. An increase in the band gap bowing parameter was observed with increasing Sn composition.

The Japanese version of the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire: Examination of the reliability, validity, and scale structure.

PubMed

Suetsugu, Yoshiko; Honjo, Shuji; Ikeda, Mari; Kamibeppu, Kiyoko

2015-07-01

The purpose of this study was to develop the Japanese version of the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) to gather data on Japanese mothers for comparison with other cultures and to examine the scale structure of the PBQ among Japanese mothers. We administered the PBQ to a cross-section of 244 mothers 4 weeks after delivery and again 2 weeks later to 199 mothers as a retest to examine reliability. We used exploratory factor analysis to evaluate the factor structure of the PBQ. Correlations with the Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS), the Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and sociodemographic variables were calculated for validation. The 14-item version of the PBQ extracted by exploratory analysis consisted of four factors: 'impaired bonding', 'rejection and anger', 'anxiety about care', and 'lack of affection'. We found significant correlations of the total scores of the PBQ and the 14-item version of the PBQ positively with the MIBS and negatively with the MAI. Moderate significant correlations with total scores were also found with the EPDS. Total scores for primiparous and depressed mothers were higher than those for multiparous mothers and mothers without depression. The results of this study demonstrated the reliability and validity of the PBQ and the 14-item version of the PBQ in Japanese mothers 4 weeks after delivery. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Spectroscopic and microscopic investigation of MBE-grown CdTe (211)B epitaxial thin films on GaAs (211)B substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özden, Selin; Koc, Mumin Mehmet

2018-03-01

CdTe epitaxial thin films, for use as a buffer layer for HgCdTe defectors, were grown on GaAs (211)B using the molecular beam epitaxy method. Wet chemical etching (Everson method) was applied to the epitaxial films using various concentrations and application times to quantify the crystal quality and dislocation density. Surface characterization of the epitaxial films was achieved using Atomic force microscopy and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) before and after each treatment. The Energy Dispersive X-Ray apparatus of SEM was used to characterize the chemical composition. Untreated CdTe films show smooth surface characteristics with root mean square (RMS) roughnesses of 1.18-3.89 nm. The thicknesses of the CdTe layers formed were calculated via FTIR spectrometry and obtained by ex situ spectroscopic ellipsometry. Raman spectra were obtained for various temperatures. Etch pit densities (EPD) were measured, from which it could be seen that EPD changes between 1.7 × 108 and 9.2 × 108 cm-2 depending on the concentration of the Everson etch solution and treatment time. Structure, shape and depth of pits resulting from each etch pit implementation were also evaluated. Pit widths varying between 0.15 and 0.71 µm with heights varying between 2 and 80 nm were observed. RMS roughness was found to vary by anything from 1.56 to 26 nm.

Maternal adversities during pregnancy and cord blood oxytocin receptor (OXTR) DNA methylation

PubMed Central

Unternaehrer, Eva; Bolten, Margarete; Nast, Irina; Staehli, Simon; Meyer, Andrea H.; Dempster, Emma; Hellhammer, Dirk H.; Lieb, Roselind

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate whether maternal adversities and cortisol levels during pregnancy predict cord blood DNA methylation of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR). We collected cord blood of 39 babies born to mothers participating in a cross-sectional study (N = 100) conducted in Basel, Switzerland (2007–10). Mothers completed the Inventory of Life Events (second trimester: T2), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS, third trimester: T3), the Trier Inventory of Chronic Stress (TICS-K, 1–3 weeks postpartum) and provided saliva samples (T2, T3) for maternal cortisol profiles, as computed by the area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCg) or increase (AUCi) for the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and for diurnal cortisol profiles (DAY). OXTR DNA methylation was quantified using Sequenom EpiTYPER. The number of stressful life events (P = 0.032), EPDS score (P = 0.007) and cortisol AUCgs at T2 (CAR: P = 0.020; DAY: P = 0.024) were negatively associated with OXTR DNA methylation. Our findings suggest that distinct prenatal adversities predict decreased DNA methylation in a gene that is relevant for childbirth, maternal behavior and wellbeing of mother and offspring. If a reduced OXTR methylation increases OXTR expression, our findings could suggest an epigenetic adaptation to an adverse early environment. PMID:27107296

The Effect of Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Nanoparticles on Hydroxyapatite (HA)/TiO2 Composite Coating Fabricated by Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amirnejad, M.; Afshar, A.; Salehi, S.

2018-04-01

Composite coatings of Hydroxyapatite (HA) with ceramics, polymers and metals are used to modify the surface structure of implants. In this research, HA/TiO2 composite coating was fabricated by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) on 316 stainless steel substrate. HA/TiO2 composite coatings with 5, 10 and 20 wt.% of TiO2, deposited at 40 V and 90 s as an optimum condition. The samples coated at this condition led to an adherent, continuous and crack-free coating. The influence of TiO2 content was studied by performing different characterization methods such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), corrosion resistance in simulated body fluid (SBF), coating's dissolution rate in physiological solution and bond strength to the substrate. The results showed that the higher amount of TiO2 in the composite coating led to increase in bond strength of coating to stainless steel substrate from 3 MPa for HA coating to 5.5 MPa for HA-20 wt.% TiO2 composite coating. In addition, it caused to reduction of corrosion current density of samples in the SBF solution from 18.92 μA/cm2 for HA coating to 6.35 μA/cm2 for HA-20 wt.% TiO2 composite coating.

A simple model for prediction postpartum PTSD in high-risk pregnancies.

PubMed

Shlomi Polachek, Inbal; Dulitzky, Mordechai; Margolis-Dorfman, Lilia; Simchen, Michal J

2016-06-01

This study aimed to examine the prevalence and possible antepartum risk factors of complete and partial post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among women with complicated pregnancies and to define a predictive model for postpartum PTSD in this population. Women attending the high-risk pregnancy outpatient clinics at Sheba Medical Center completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and a questionnaire regarding demographic variables, history of psychological and psychiatric treatment, previous trauma, previous childbirth, current pregnancy medical and emotional complications, fears from childbirth, and expected pain. One month after delivery, women were requested to repeat the EPDS and complete the Post-traumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS) via telephone interview. The prevalence rates of postpartum PTSD (9.9 %) and partial PTSD (11.9 %) were relatively high. PTSD and partial PTSD were associated with sadness or anxiety during past pregnancy or childbirth, previous very difficult birth experiences, preference for cesarean section in future childbirth, emotional crises during pregnancy, increased fear of childbirth, higher expected intensity of pain, and depression during pregnancy. We created a prediction model for postpartum PTSD which shows a linear growth in the probability for developing postpartum PTSD when summing these seven antenatal risk factors. Postpartum PTSD is extremely prevalent after complicated pregnancies. A simple questionnaire may aid in identifying at-risk women before childbirth. This presents a potential for preventing or minimizing postpartum PTSD in this population.

Calibration of the Solar Orbiter Energetic Particle Detector Suite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wimmer-Schweingruber, R. F.; Rodriguez-Pacheco, J.; Martin-Garcia, C.; Kulkarni, S. R.; Panitzsch, L.; Boettcher, S.; Mason, G. M.; Kohler, J.; Ho, G. C.; Boden, S.; Grunau, J.; Steinhagen, J.; Terasa, C.; Yu, J.; Prieto, M.; Gomez-Herrero, R.; Blanco, J.

2013-12-01

We present the current status and plans for the calibration of the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) suite on ESA's Solar Orbiter mission. Solar Orbiter is scheduled to launch in January 2017, instrument delivery in January 2015. EPD consists of four sensors: the SupraThermal Electron and Proton (STEP) sensor covers electrons (protons) from 2 (3) keV up to 100 keV, the Electron Proton Telescope (EPT) from 20 to 300 (7000) keV, the Suprathermal Ion Spectrograph (SIS) determines the ionic composition from ~0.05 to ~10 MeV/nuc (species dependent), and the High Energy Telescope (HET) measures electrons and protons (ions) from 0.3 to 30 and 10 to >100 MeV/nuc (20 - 200 MeV/nuc species dependent). EPT, HET, and SIS have two approximately opposite-facing fields of view, EPT, and HET share a common electronics box, two EPT/HET sensors allow the determination of second-order anisotropies (a total of 4 FoVs). Apart from the use of radioactive sources, STEP will be calibrated at the Kiel calibration facilities, EPT both at Kiel (electrons and low-energy protons) as well as at PTB in Braunschweig. SIS will undergo calibration at the LBL 88' cyclotron, HET at HIMAC in Chiba, Japan. Tests of the electron/protons discrimination of EPT show the expected behavior, HET prototypes have already been calibrated and the results will be shown.

Growth of ZnO films in sol-gel electrophoretic deposition by different solvents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hallajzadeh, Amir Mohammad; Abdizadeh, Hossein; Taheri, Mahtab; Golobostanfard, Mohammad Reza

2018-01-01

This article introduces a process to fabricate zinc oxide (ZnO) films through combining sol preparation and electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The experimental results have proved that the EPD process is a powerful route to fabricate ZnO films with desire thickness from stable colloidal suspension under a direct current (DC) electric field. In this method, ZnO sol is prepared by dissolving zinc acetate dehydrate (ZAD) as the main precursor and diethanolamine (DEA) as the additive in various solvents such as methanol (MeOH), ethanol (EtOH), and 2-proponal (2-PrOH). The deposition was performed under a constant voltage of 30 V for 2 min. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) were used to characterize ZnO films. XRD pattern of the ZnO film prepared by MeOH shows the highest degree of preferential orientation and this is mainly attributed to the higher dielectric constant of the MeOH which results in higher current density in electrophoretic deposit ion. The SEM cross section images also show that the thickness of the ZnO film enhances by decreasing the solvent chain length. According to SEM results, as the viscosity of the medium increased, more compact layers are formed, which can be attributed to the lower deposition rates in heavier alcohols.

Electrophoretic deposition of graphene oxide onto carbon fibers for in-tube solid-phase microextraction.

PubMed

Feng, Juanjuan; Wang, Xiuqin; Tian, Yu; Bu, Yanan; Luo, Chuannan; Sun, Min

2017-09-29

Carbon fibers (CFs) were functionalized with graphene oxide (GO) by an electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method for in-tube solid-phase microextraction (SPME). GO-CFs were filled into a poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) tube to obtain a fibers-in-tube SPME device, which was connected with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipment to build online SPME-HPLC system. Compared with CFs, GO-CFs presented obviously better extraction performance, due to excellent adsorption property and large surface area of GO. Using ten polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as model analytes, the important extraction conditions were optimized, such as sample flow rate, extraction time, organic solvent content and desorption time. An online analysis method was established with wide linear range (0.01-50μgL -1 ) and low detection limits (0.001-0.004μgL -1 ). Good sensitivity resulted from high enrichment factors (1133-3840) of GO-CFs in-tube device towards PAHs. The analysis method was used to online determination of PAHs in wastewater samples. Some target analytes were detected and relative recoveries were in the range of 90.2-112%. It is obvious that the proposed GO-CFs in-tube device was an efficient extraction device, and EPD could be used to develop nanomaterials functionalized sorbents for sample preparation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prenatal emotion management improves obstetric outcomes: a randomized control study

PubMed Central

Huang, Jian; Li, He-Jiang; Wang, Jue; Mao, Hong-Jing; Jiang, Wen-Ying; Zhou, Hong; Chen, Shu-Lin

2015-01-01

Introduction: Negative emotions can cause a number of prenatal problems and disturb obstetric outcomes. We determined the effectiveness of prenatal emotional management on obstetric outcomes in nulliparas. Methods: All participants completed the PHQ-9 at the baseline assessment. Then, the participants were randomly assigned to the emotional management (EM) and usual care (UC) groups. The baseline evaluation began at 31 weeks gestation and the participants were followed up to 42 days postpartum. Each subject in the EM group received an extra EM program while the participants in the UC groups received routine prenatal care and education only. The PHQ-9 and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression scale (EPDS) were used for assessment. Results: The EM group had a lower PHQ-9 score at 36 weeks gestation, and 7 and 42 days after delivery (P < 0.01), and a lower EPDS score 42 days postpartum (P < 0.05). The rate of cesarean section in the EM group was lower than the UC group (P < 0.01), and the cesarean section rate without a medical indication was lower (P < 0.01). The duration of the second stage of labor in the EM group was shorter than the UC group (P < 0.01). Conclusions: Prenatal EM intervention could control anxiety and depressive feelings in nulliparas, and improve obstetric outcomes. It may serve as an innovative approach to reduce the cesarean section rate in China. PMID:26309641

Effect of polyethylene glycol conjugation on conformational and colloidal stability of a monoclonal antibody antigen-binding fragment (Fab').

PubMed

Roque, Cristopher; Sheung, Anthony; Rahman, Nausheen; Ausar, S Fernando

2015-02-02

We have investigated the effects of site specific "hinge" polyethylene glycol conjugation (PEGylation) on thermal, pH, and colloidal stability of a monoclonal antibody antigen-binding fragment (Fab') using a variety of biophysical techniques. The results obtained by circular dichroism (CD), ultraviolet (UV) absorbance, and fluorescence spectroscopy suggested that the physical stability of the Fab' is maximized at pH 6-7 with no apparent differences due to PEGylation. Temperature-induced aggregation experiments revealed that PEGylation was able to increase the transition temperature, as well as prevent the formation of visible and subvisible aggregates. Statistical comparison of the three-index empirical phase diagram (EPD) revealed significant differences in thermal and pH stability signatures between Fab' and PEG-Fab'. Upon mechanical stress, micro-flow imaging (MFI) and measurement of the optical density at 360 nm showed that the PEG-Fab' had significantly higher resistance to surface-induced aggregation compared to the Fab'. Analysis of the interaction parameter, kD, indicated repulsive intermolecular forces for PEG-Fab' and attractive forces for Fab'. In conclusion, PEGylation appears to protect Fab' against thermal and mechanical stress-induced aggregation, likely due to a steric hindrance mechanism.

A systematic review, evidence synthesis and meta-analysis of quantitative and qualitative studies evaluating the clinical effectiveness, the cost-effectiveness, safety and acceptability of interventions to prevent postnatal depression.

PubMed

Morrell, C Jane; Sutcliffe, Paul; Booth, Andrew; Stevens, John; Scope, Alison; Stevenson, Matt; Harvey, Rebecca; Bessey, Alice; Cantrell, Anna; Dennis, Cindy-Lee; Ren, Shijie; Ragonesi, Margherita; Barkham, Michael; Churchill, Dick; Henshaw, Carol; Newstead, Jo; Slade, Pauline; Spiby, Helen; Stewart-Brown, Sarah

2016-05-01

Postnatal depression (PND) is a major depressive disorder in the year following childbirth, which impacts on women, their infants and their families. A range of interventions has been developed to prevent PND. To (1) evaluate the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, acceptability and safety of antenatal and postnatal interventions for pregnant and postnatal women to prevent PND; (2) apply rigorous methods of systematic reviewing of quantitative and qualitative studies, evidence synthesis and decision-analytic modelling to evaluate the preventive impact on women, their infants and their families; and (3) estimate cost-effectiveness. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Science Citation Index and other databases (from inception to July 2013) in December 2012, and we were updated by electronic alerts until July 2013. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts with consensus agreement. We undertook quality assessment. All universal, selective and indicated preventive interventions for pregnant women and women in the first 6 postnatal weeks were included. All outcomes were included, focusing on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), diagnostic instruments and infant outcomes. The quantitative evidence was synthesised using network meta-analyses (NMAs). A mathematical model was constructed to explore the cost-effectiveness of interventions contained within the NMA for EPDS values. From 3072 records identified, 122 papers (86 trials) were included in the quantitative review. From 2152 records, 56 papers (44 studies) were included in the qualitative review. The results were inconclusive. The most beneficial interventions appeared to be midwifery redesigned postnatal care [as shown by the mean 12-month EPDS score difference of -1.43 (95% credible interval -4.00 to 1.36)], person-centred approach (PCA)-based and cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)-based intervention (universal), interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT)-based intervention and education on preparing for parenting (selective), promoting parent-infant interaction, peer support, IPT-based intervention and PCA-based and CBT-based intervention (indicated). Women valued seeing the same health worker, the involvement of partners and access to several visits from a midwife or health visitor trained in person-centred or cognitive-behavioural approaches. The most cost-effective interventions were estimated to be midwifery redesigned postnatal care (universal), PCA-based intervention (indicated) and IPT-based intervention in the sensitivity analysis (indicated), although there was considerable uncertainty. Expected value of partial perfect information (EVPPI) for efficacy data was in excess of £150M for each population. Given the EVPPI values, future trials assessing the relative efficacies of promising interventions appears to represent value for money. In the NMAs, some trials were omitted because they could not be connected to the main network of evidence or did not provide EPDS scores. This may have introduced reporting or selection bias. No adjustment was made for the lack of quality of some trials. Although we appraised a very large number of studies, much of the evidence was inconclusive. Interventions warrant replication within randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Several interventions appear to be cost-effective relative to usual care, but this is subject to considerable uncertainty. Several interventions appear to be cost-effective relative to usual care, but this is subject to considerable uncertainty. Future research conducting RCTs to establish which interventions are most clinically effective and cost-effective should be considered. This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42012003273. The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.

Assessment of Diagnostic Value of Single View Dynamic Technique in Diagnosis of Developmental Dysplasia of Hip: A Comparison with Static and Dynamic Ultrasond Techniques

PubMed Central

Alamdaran, Seyed Ali; Kazemi, Sahar; Parsa, Ali; Moghadam, Mohammad Hallaj; Feyzi, Ali; Mardani, Reza

2016-01-01

Background: Developmental dysplasia of hip (DDH) is a common childhood disorder, and ultrasonography examination is routinely used for screening purposes. In this study, we aimed to evaluate a modified combined static and dynamic ultrasound technique for the detection of DDH and to compare with the results of static and dynamic ultrasound techniques. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, during 2013- 2015, 300 high-risk infants were evaluated by ultrasound for DDH. Both hips were examined with three techniques: static, dynamic and single view static and dynamic technique. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 11.5. Results: Patients aged 9 days to 83 weeks. 75% of the patients were 1 to 3 months old. Among 600 hip joints, about 5% were immature in static sonography and almost all of them were unstable in dynamic techniques. 0.3% of morphologically normal hips were unstable in dynamic sonography and 9% of unstable hips had normal morphology. The mean β angle differences in coronal view before and after stress maneuver was 14.43±5.47° in unstable hips. Single view static and dynamic technique revealed that all cases with acetabular dysplasia, instability and dislocation, except two dislocations, were detected by dynamic transverse view. For two cases, Ortolani maneuver showed femoral head reversibility in dislocated hips. Using single view static and dynamic technique was indicative and applicable for detection of more than 99% of cases. Conclusion: Single view static and dynamic technique not only is a fast and easy technique, but also it is of high diagnostic value in assessment of DDH. PMID:27847852

Relationship of perceived job strain and workplace support to antenatal depressive symptoms among pregnant employees in Taiwan.

PubMed

Tsai, Su-Ying

2018-02-05

Most Taiwanese women continue to work throughout pregnancy. Few studies have investigated the prevalence of antenatal depressive symptoms in employed women and their relationship with work-related factors. We explored the relations of work-related factors, including perceived job strain and workplace support, to depressive symptoms among pregnant Taiwanese employees. During 2015-2016, we interviewed 153 employees in their third trimester of pregnancy using questionnaires to collect data on demographics, pregnancy status, physical conditions, work-related factors, family function, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The prevalence of antenatal depressive symptoms, based on EPDS scores≥13, was 13.7%. Pregnant employees with depressive symptoms had lower Family APGAR scores (p < 0.0001) and lower scores on all scales of the HRQoL (p < 0.05). Controlling for covariates, work-related feelings of stress and distress were associated with increased odds of antenatal depressive symptoms (Odds Ratio [OR] = 4.7, 95% confidence Interval [95% CI] = 1.3-19.9). Feeling tired at work (OR = 9.1, 95% CI = 2.3-47.0) and lack of support from colleagues (OR = 16.7, 95% CI = 2.9-53.1) were significantly associated with antenatal depressive symptoms. Such information will facilitate implementation of supportive workplace climates for pregnant employees by employers, supervisors, and occupational and environmental health nurses, which may help improve the health of pregnant employees.

Current issues in malignant pleural mesothelioma evaluation and management.

PubMed

Ai, Jing; Stevenson, James P

2014-09-01

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an uncommon disease most often associated with occupational asbestos exposure and is steadily increasing in worldwide incidence. Patients typically present at an older age, with advanced clinical stage and other medical comorbidities, making management quite challenging. Despite great efforts, the prognosis of MPM remains poor, especially at progression after initial treatment. Macroscopic complete resection of MPM can be achieved through extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) or extended (ie, radical) pleurectomy (e-P/D) in selected patients and can result in prolonged survival when incorporated into a multimodality approach. Given the morbidity associated with surgical resection of MPM, optimizing identification of appropriate patients is essential. Unfortunately, most patients are not candidates for EPP or e-P/D due to advanced stage, age, and/or medical comorbidity. Pemetrexed and platinum combination chemotherapy has become the cornerstone of therapy for patients with unresectable disease because the combination is associated with improved survival and quality of life in treated patients. However, MPM eventually becomes resistant to initial therapy, and benefit to further lines of therapy has not been substantiated in randomized clinical trials. Translational research has provided exciting insights into tumorigenesis, biomarkers, and immune response in MPM, leading to the development of multiple novel therapeutic agents that are currently in clinical trials. These advances hold the promise of a new era in the treatment of MPM and suggest that this disease will not be left behind in the war on cancer. ©AlphaMed Press.

Influences of prenatal and postnatal maternal depression on amygdala volume and microstructure in young children.

PubMed

Wen, D J; Poh, J S; Ni, S N; Chong, Y-S; Chen, H; Kwek, K; Shek, L P; Gluckman, P D; Fortier, M V; Meaney, M J; Qiu, A

2017-04-25

Maternal depressive symptoms influence neurodevelopment in the offspring. Such effects may appear to be gender-dependent. The present study examined contributions of prenatal and postnatal maternal depressive symptoms to the volume and microstructure of the amygdala in 4.5-year-old boys and girls. Prenatal maternal depressive symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 26 weeks of gestation. Postnatal maternal depression was assessed at 3 months using the EPDS and at 1, 2, 3 and 4.5 years using the Beck's Depression Inventory-II. Structural magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging were performed with 4.5-year-old children to extract the volume and fractional anisotropy (FA) values of the amygdala. Our results showed that greater prenatal maternal depressive symptoms were associated with larger right amygdala volume in girls, but not in boys. Increased postnatal maternal depressive symptoms were associated with higher right amygdala FA in the overall sample and girls, but not in boys. These results support the role of variation in right amygdala structure in transmission of maternal depression to the offspring, particularly to girls. The differential effects of prenatal and postnatal maternal depressive symptoms on the volume and FA of the right amygdala suggest the importance of the timing of exposure to maternal depressive symptoms in brain development of girls. This further underscores the need for intervention targeting both prenatal and postnatal maternal depression to girls in preventing adverse child outcomes.

Electrophoretic deposition of Cu2ZnSn(S0.5Se0.5)4 films using solvothermal synthesized nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badkoobehhezaveh, Amir Masoud; Abdizadeh, Hossein; Golobostanfard, Mohammad Reza

2018-01-01

In this paper, a simple, practical, and fast solvothermal route is presented for synthesizing the Cu2ZnSn(S0.5Se0.5)4 nanoparticles (CZTSSe). In this method, the precursors were dissolved in triethylenetetramine and placed in an autoclave at 240 °C for 1 h under controlled pressure and constant stirring. After washing the samples for several times with absolute ethanol, the obtained CZTSSe nanoparticles were successfully deposited on fluorine doped tin oxide substrates by convenient electrophoretic deposition (EPD) using colloidal nanoparticles. The most appropriate parameters for EPD of pre-synthesized CZTSSe nanoparticles which result in proper surface properties, controlled thickness, and high film quality are investigated by adjusting applied voltage, pH, and deposition time. X-ray diffraction pattern and Raman spectroscopy of the pre-synthesized nanoparticles show kesterite structure formation. The particle size of the CZTSSe nanoparticles is in the range of 100 to 400 nm and for some agglomerates, it is about 2 µm confirmed by scanning electron microscope. The deposited film with optimized parameter has acceptable quality without any crack in it with the thickness of about 4-5 µm. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirms that the chemical composition of the samples is in near stoichiometric Cu-poor and Zn-rich region, which guarantees the p-type character of the film. The diffuse reflectance spectroscopy also demonstrates that the optical band gap of the sample is about 1.2 eV.

Influences of prenatal and postnatal maternal depression on amygdala volume and microstructure in young children

PubMed Central

Wen, D J; Poh, J S; Ni, S N; Chong, Y-S; Chen, H; Kwek, K; Shek, L P; Gluckman, P D; Fortier, M V; Meaney, M J; Qiu, A

2017-01-01

Maternal depressive symptoms influence neurodevelopment in the offspring. Such effects may appear to be gender-dependent. The present study examined contributions of prenatal and postnatal maternal depressive symptoms to the volume and microstructure of the amygdala in 4.5-year-old boys and girls. Prenatal maternal depressive symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 26 weeks of gestation. Postnatal maternal depression was assessed at 3 months using the EPDS and at 1, 2, 3 and 4.5 years using the Beck's Depression Inventory-II. Structural magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging were performed with 4.5-year-old children to extract the volume and fractional anisotropy (FA) values of the amygdala. Our results showed that greater prenatal maternal depressive symptoms were associated with larger right amygdala volume in girls, but not in boys. Increased postnatal maternal depressive symptoms were associated with higher right amygdala FA in the overall sample and girls, but not in boys. These results support the role of variation in right amygdala structure in transmission of maternal depression to the offspring, particularly to girls. The differential effects of prenatal and postnatal maternal depressive symptoms on the volume and FA of the right amygdala suggest the importance of the timing of exposure to maternal depressive symptoms in brain development of girls. This further underscores the need for intervention targeting both prenatal and postnatal maternal depression to girls in preventing adverse child outcomes. PMID:28440816

Enhanced performance of HRGO-RuO 2 solid state flexible supercapacitors fabricated by electrophoretic deposition

DOE PAGES

Amir, Fatima Z.; Pham, V. H.; Mullinax, D. W.; ...

2016-06-07

Ruthenium oxide (RuO 2) nanomaterials exist as excellent materials for electrochemical capacitors. However, they tend to suffer from low mechanical flexibility when cast into films, which makes them unsuitable for flexible device applications. Herein, we report an environmentally friendly and solution-processable approach to fabricate RuO 2-based composite electrodes for flexible solid state supercapacitors. The composites were produced by anchoring RuO 2 nanoparticles onto holey reduced graphene oxide (HRGO) via a sol-gel method, followed by the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of the material into thin films. The uniform anchoring of ultra-small RuO 2 nanoparticles on the two-dimensional HRGO sheets resulted in HRGO-RuOmore » 2 hybrid sheets with excellent mechanical flexibility of HRGO. EPD induced a layer-by-layer assembly mechanism for the HRGO-RuO 2 hybrid sheets, which resulted in a binder-free, flexible electrode. The obtained HRGO-RuO 2 flexible supercapacitors exhibited excellent electrochemical capacitive performance in a PVA-H 2SO 4 gel electrolyte with a specific capacitance of 418 F g -1 and superior cycling stability of 88.5% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles. Additionally, these supercapacitors exhibited high rate performance with capacitance retention of 85% by increasing the current density from 1.0 to 20.0 Ag -1, and excellent mechanical flexibility with only 4.9% decay in the performance when bent 180°.« less

Effect of the addition CNTs on performance of CaP/chitosan/coating deposited on magnesium alloy by electrophoretic deposition.

PubMed

Zhang, Jie; Wen, Zhaohui; Zhao, Meng; Li, Guozhong; Dai, Changsong

2016-01-01

CaP/chitosan/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) coating on AZ91D magnesium alloy was prepared via electrophoretic deposition (EPD) followed by conversion in a phosphate buffer solution (PBS). The bonding between the layer and the substrate was studied by an automatic scratch instrument. The phase compositions and microstructures of the composite coatings were determined by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The element concentration and gentamicin concentration were respectively determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) test and ultraviolet spectrophotometer (UV). The cell counting kit (CCK) assay was used to evaluate the cytotoxicity of samples to SaOS-2 cells. The results showed that a few CNTs with their original tubular morphology could be found in the CaP/chitosan coating and they were beneficial for the crystal growth of phosphate and improvement of the coating bonding when the addition amount of CNTs in 500 ml of electrophoretic solution was from 0.05 g to 0.125 g. The loading amount of gentamicin increased and the releasing speed of gentamicin decreased after CNTs was added into the CaP/chitosan coating for immersion loading and EPD loading. The cell viability of Mg based CaP/chitosan/CNTs was higher than that of Mg based CaP/chitosan from 16 days to 90 days. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Direct Electrophoretic Deposition of Binder-Free Co3O4/Graphene Sandwich-Like Hybrid Electrode as Remarkable Lithium Ion Battery Anode.

PubMed

Yang, Yang; Huang, Jingxin; Zeng, Jing; Xiong, Jian; Zhao, Jinbao

2017-09-27

Co 3 O 4 is emerging as a promising anode candidate for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) with high theoretical capacity (890 mAh g -1 ) but suffers from poor electrochemical cycling stability resulting from the inferior intrinsic electronic conductivity and large volume changes during electrochemical cycling. Here, a new electrophoretic deposition Co 3 O 4 /graphene (EPD Co 3 O 4 /G) hybrid electrode is developed to improve the electrochemical performance. Through EPD, Co 3 O 4 nanocubes can be homogeneously embedded between graphene sheets to form a sandwich-like structure. Owing to the excellent flexibility of graphene and a large number of voids in this sandwich-like structure, the structural integrity and unobstructed conductive network can be maintained during cycling. Moreover, the electrode kinetics has proved to be a fast surface-controlled lithium storage process. As a result, the Co 3 O 4 /G hybrid electrode exhibits high specific capacity and excellent electrochemical cycling performance. The Co 3 O 4 /G hybrid electrode was also further studied by in situ electrochemical XRD to understand the relationship of its structure and performance: (1) The observed Li x Co 3 O 4 indicates an intermediate of possible small volume change in the first discharging. (2) The theoretical capacity achievement of the Co 3 O 4 in hybrid electrode was evidenced. (3) The correlation between the electrochemical performance and the structural evolution of the Co 3 O 4 /G hybrid electrode was discussed detailedly.

Online Screening and Referral for Postpartum Depression: An Exploratory Study

PubMed Central

Drake, Emily; Gustavson, Erica; Kinsey, Emily

2013-01-01

The fear and stigma associated with Postpartum Depression (PPD) is a major challenge in the treatment of this disease. Our goal is to develop innovative methods of screening women for the symptoms of PPD to facilitate referral and treatment. This study explores the efficacy of the Internet in reaching out to postpartum women in the convenience and privacy of their own homes, particularly those in rural and underserved areas. An exploratory study design was used to explore the feasibility and acceptability of online screening for PPD with postpartum women in the first 2–3 months after delivery (N=18). In the first phase, a focus group was conducted with a small group of postpartum women; the second phase consisted of individual interviews of postpartum women in their homes; and in phase three, 10 women participated in the on-line screening intervention. Postpartum depression was measured using an online version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) a well-established instrument with reported alpha reliabilities (0.81–0.88) across studies and concurrent validity demonstrated using the gold standard, DSM IV criteria for depression interview. Qualitative data collected from all the participants were also analyzed. The sample included women age 18–29; 70% White/Caucasian, 50% low income, and the majority living in rural areas. The EPDS scores ranged from 0–13 (mean 8.0; SD 4.76). Participants described the online PPD screening process as easy, straightforward and personalized and provided additional suggestions for improvement. PMID:23283485

Maternal adversities during pregnancy and cord blood oxytocin receptor (OXTR) DNA methylation.

PubMed

Unternaehrer, Eva; Bolten, Margarete; Nast, Irina; Staehli, Simon; Meyer, Andrea H; Dempster, Emma; Hellhammer, Dirk H; Lieb, Roselind; Meinlschmidt, Gunther

2016-09-01

The aim of this study was to investigate whether maternal adversities and cortisol levels during pregnancy predict cord blood DNA methylation of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR). We collected cord blood of 39 babies born to mothers participating in a cross-sectional study (N = 100) conducted in Basel, Switzerland (2007-10). Mothers completed the Inventory of Life Events (second trimester: T2), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS, third trimester: T3), the Trier Inventory of Chronic Stress (TICS-K, 1-3 weeks postpartum) and provided saliva samples (T2, T3) for maternal cortisol profiles, as computed by the area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCg) or increase (AUCi) for the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and for diurnal cortisol profiles (DAY). OXTR DNA methylation was quantified using Sequenom EpiTYPER. The number of stressful life events (P = 0.032), EPDS score (P = 0.007) and cortisol AUCgs at T2 (CAR: P = 0.020; DAY: P = 0.024) were negatively associated with OXTR DNA methylation. Our findings suggest that distinct prenatal adversities predict decreased DNA methylation in a gene that is relevant for childbirth, maternal behavior and wellbeing of mother and offspring. If a reduced OXTR methylation increases OXTR expression, our findings could suggest an epigenetic adaptation to an adverse early environment. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A history of mental health problems may predict maternal distress in women postpartum.

PubMed

Seimyr, Louise; Welles-Nyström, Barbara; Nissen, Eva

2013-02-01

to elucidate the effects of prior mental disorders on newly delivered women's mental health and to compare the outcome of different instruments to screen for maternal distress and depression after childbirth. The sample of 232 Stockholm women responded to a questionnaire on background data and three questionnaires, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Postpartum Depression Symptoms Rating Scale (PPDS) at 4-6 weeks and 10-12 weeks after childbirth. show that maternal distress was experienced by 20% of the women as assessed by the BDI and the EPDS at 4-6 weeks postpartum, and by 13-16% of the women at 10-12 weeks after childbirth. A regression analysis showed that a history of mental health problems influenced maternal self-assessment at both points-in-time. The following background data showed a small but significant impact on maternal self-assessment; younger age, lower educational level, and a short-term partner relationship. The most important emotional responses were sadness, guilt and self-blame across all three instruments at both points in time. Loss of pleasure, self-accusations, irritability, anger, worry and somatic symptoms such as muscular tension, headaches and stomach cramps also occurred. women with prior mental health problems are more vulnerable for maternal distress and midwives at the antenatal health clinics should encourage pregnant women to express emotional issues during their transition to motherhood in order to offer appropriate professional support and care. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stress levels and depressive symptoms in NICU mothers in the early postpartum period.

PubMed

Alkozei, Anna; McMahon, Erin; Lahav, Amir

2014-11-01

This study examined whether particular maternal and infant factors can identify mothers at risk for increased stress upon admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Eighty-five mothers of preterm infants (25-34 weeks gestation) were assessed using the Parental Stressor Scale (PSS:NICU) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) within 3.24 ± 1.58 d postpartum. Hierarchical linear regression models were used to determine the extent to which maternal stress is influenced by individual factors. Fifty-two percent of mothers experienced increased stress (PSS:NICU score ≥3) and 38% had significant depressive symptoms (EPDS score ≥10). Stress related to alterations in parental role was the most significant source of stress among NICU mothers. Distance from the hospital and married marital status were significant predictors for stress related to alterations in parental role (p = 0.003) and NICU sights and sounds (p = 0.01), respectively. Higher stress levels were associated with higher depressive scores (p = 0.001). Maternal mental health factors, demographic factors, pregnancy factors and infant characteristics were not associated with increased stress. Elevated stress levels and depressive symptoms are already present in mothers of preterm infants upon NICU admission. Being married or living long distance from the hospital is associated with higher stress. Future work is needed to develop effective interventions for alleviating stress in NICU mothers and preventing its potential development into postnatal depression.

High serum testosterone levels during postpartum period are associated with postpartum depression.

PubMed

Aswathi, A; Rajendiren, Soundravally; Nimesh, Archana; Philip, R Ravi; Kattimani, Shivanand; Jayalakshmi, D; Ananthanarayanan, P H; Dhiman, Pooja

2015-10-01

In view of the reported cases of mood disorders that occur in mothers following childbirth and believing that sex steroid hormones contribute to mood and behavioral changes, this study has been aimed to explore the role of sex steroid hormones as an etiological factor for postpartum depression (PPD). This study was conducted at JIPMER, Puducherry, India between January 2010 and 2011. 103 women were recruited in the study after childbirth, out of which 62 women who were believed to be suffering from PPD were categorized as cases and the remaining 41 with no mood changes as controls, using Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) (cases had EPDS score ≥10 at 24-28h, controls had score <10 at 24-48h postpartum). The hormones estimated in these two groups included estradiol, progesterone and testosterone, and their levels were compared between these two groups. A significantly high testosterone levels were observed in cases with PPD at 24-28h when compared to controls. Estradiol and progesterone levels did not show significant difference between cases and controls. ROC analysis done at 24-28h showed that testosterone levels beyond 42.71ng/mL predict the development of PPD with 79% sensitivity, 63% specificity, 68% positive predictive value, 74% negative predictive value with AUC being 0.708. This study shows that there is an association between persistent high serum testosterone level in women following childbirth and PPD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An empirical model of the high-energy electron environment at Jupiter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Soria-Santacruz, M.; Garrett, H. B.; Evans, R. W.; Jun, I.; Kim, W.; Paranicas, C.; Drozdov, A.

2016-10-01

We present an empirical model of the energetic electron environment in Jupiter's magnetosphere that we have named the Galileo Interim Radiation Electron Model version-2 (GIRE2) since it is based on Galileo data from the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD). Inside 8RJ, GIRE2 adopts the previously existing model of Divine and Garrett because this region was well sampled by the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft but poorly covered by Galileo. Outside of 8RJ, the model is based on 10 min averages of Galileo EPD data as well as on measurements from the Geiger Tube Telescope on board the Pioneer spacecraft. In the inner magnetosphere the field configuration is dipolar, while in the outer magnetosphere it presents a disk-like structure. The gradual transition between these two behaviors is centered at about 17RJ. GIRE2 distinguishes between the two different regions characterized by these two magnetic field topologies. Specifically, GIRE2 consists of an inner trapped omnidirectional model between 8 to 17RJ that smoothly joins onto the original Divine and Garrett model inside 8RJ and onto a GIRE2 plasma sheet model at large radial distances. The model provides a complete picture of the high-energy electron environment in the Jovian magnetosphere from ˜1 to 50RJ. The present manuscript describes in great detail the data sets, formulation, and fittings used in the model and provides a discussion of the predicted high-energy electron fluxes as a function of energy and radial distance from the planet.

Dynamic Tensile Experimental Techniques for Geomaterials: A Comprehensive Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heard, W.; Song, B.; Williams, B.; Martin, B.; Sparks, P.; Nie, X.

2018-01-01

This review article is dedicated to the Dynamic Behavior of Materials Technical Division for celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM). Understanding dynamic behavior of geomaterials is critical for analyzing and solving engineering problems of various applications related to underground explosions, seismic, airblast, and penetration events. Determining the dynamic tensile response of geomaterials has been a great challenge in experiments due to the nature of relatively low tensile strength and high brittleness. Various experimental approaches have been made in the past century, especially in the most recent half century, to understand the dynamic behavior of geomaterials in tension. In this review paper, we summarized the dynamic tensile experimental techniques for geomaterials that have been developed. The major dynamic tensile experimental techniques include dynamic direct tension, dynamic split tension, and spall tension. All three of the experimental techniques are based on Hopkinson or split Hopkinson (also known as Kolsky) bar techniques and principles. Uniqueness and limitations for each experimental technique are also discussed.

Dynamic Tensile Experimental Techniques for Geomaterials: A Comprehensive Review

DOE PAGES

Heard, W.; Song, B.; Williams, B.; ...

2018-01-03

Here, this review article is dedicated to the Dynamic Behavior of Materials Technical Division for celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM). Understanding dynamic behavior of geomaterials is critical for analyzing and solving engineering problems of various applications related to underground explosions, seismic, airblast, and penetration events. Determining the dynamic tensile response of geomaterials has been a great challenge in experiments due to the nature of relatively low tensile strength and high brittleness. Various experimental approaches have been made in the past century, especially in the most recent half century, to understand the dynamic behavior ofmore » geomaterials in tension. In this review paper, we summarized the dynamic tensile experimental techniques for geomaterials that have been developed. The major dynamic tensile experimental techniques include dynamic direct tension, dynamic split tension, and spall tension. All three of the experimental techniques are based on Hopkinson or split Hopkinson (also known as Kolsky) bar techniques and principles. Finally, uniqueness and limitations for each experimental technique are also discussed.« less

Dynamic Tensile Experimental Techniques for Geomaterials: A Comprehensive Review

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Heard, W.; Song, B.; Williams, B.

Here, this review article is dedicated to the Dynamic Behavior of Materials Technical Division for celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM). Understanding dynamic behavior of geomaterials is critical for analyzing and solving engineering problems of various applications related to underground explosions, seismic, airblast, and penetration events. Determining the dynamic tensile response of geomaterials has been a great challenge in experiments due to the nature of relatively low tensile strength and high brittleness. Various experimental approaches have been made in the past century, especially in the most recent half century, to understand the dynamic behavior ofmore » geomaterials in tension. In this review paper, we summarized the dynamic tensile experimental techniques for geomaterials that have been developed. The major dynamic tensile experimental techniques include dynamic direct tension, dynamic split tension, and spall tension. All three of the experimental techniques are based on Hopkinson or split Hopkinson (also known as Kolsky) bar techniques and principles. Finally, uniqueness and limitations for each experimental technique are also discussed.« less

Reducing bias in maintenance energy expected progeny difference by accounting for selection on weaning and yearling weights.

PubMed

Williams, J L; Garrick, D J; Speidel, S E

2009-05-01

Maintenance energy requirements of cattle can be predicted from published equations utilizing metabolic BW and milk production potential. Metabolic BW is a function of BW at a constant fat percentage or BCS. Pedigree and performance records can be used in random regression models to predict genetic merit for metabolic BW and milk production potentials. The purpose of this study was to present a methodology for predicting mature cow maintenance energy EPD using mature cow BW and BCS and accounting for prior selection of replacement females at weaning and yearling ages. Variance components were obtained for direct and maternal effects on weaning weight, direct effects on postweaning BW gain, and direct coefficients for random regression on mature weights (MW) adjusted for BCS. These BW were transformed into metabolic BW by taking BW to the power of 0.75, variance components were estimated for metabolic BW, and were then used to predict breeding values from which cow maintenance energy EPD could be derived. Data used in this analysis were obtained from the Red Angus Association of America and limited to herds with MW and corresponding BCS observations. The data set included 52,338 BW records on 21,103 individuals. Weaning and yearling contemporaries to those with MW observations, but with no MW records themselves, were included to account for selection occurring before maturity. Heritability estimates for weaning weight direct, weaning weight maternal, and postweaning BW gain were 0.18 +/- 0.02, 0.16 +/- 0.02, and 0.18 +/- 0.02, respectively. Mature BW observed at 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 yr of age had heritability estimates of 0.45 +/- 0.03, 0.44 +/- 0.03, 0.49 +/- 0.03, 0.66 +/- 0.04, and 0.62 +/- 0.05, respectively. Correlations between weaning weight direct and MW ranged from 0.65 +/- 0.07 to 0.82 +/- 0.04, and correlations between MW at different ages ranged from 0.95 +/- 0.03 to 0.99 +/- 0.01. The genetic correlations between postweaning BW gain and MW ranged from 0.48 +/- 0.06 to 0.59 +/- 0.06. The 15-yr genetic increase in metabolic BW was 3.6 kg(0.75), greater than the value of 0.23 kg(0.75) obtained from the same data ignoring weaning and yearling contemporaries with unobserved MW, the approach currently used in the derivation of cow maintenance EPD published by the Red Angus Association of America.

Digital Peer-Support Platform (7Cups) as an Adjunct Treatment for Women With Postpartum Depression: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy Study.

PubMed

Baumel, Amit; Tinkelman, Amanda; Mathur, Nandita; Kane, John M

2018-02-13

Peer support is considered to be an important framework of support for mothers experiencing postpartum depression (PPD); however, some barriers exist that may limit its use including peer availability and mothers' lack of time due to child care. This non-randomized study was designed to examine the feasibility, acceptance, and preliminary clinical outcomes of using 7 Cups of Tea (7Cups), a digital platform that delivers self-help tools and 24/7 emotional support delivered by trained volunteers, as an adjunct treatment for mothers diagnosed with PPD. Mothers with PPD were referred during intake to the study coach who provided guidance about 7Cups. 7Cups features included self-help tools and chats with trained volunteers who had experienced a perinatal mood disorder in their past. Acceptability was measured by examining self-reports and user engagement with the program. The primary outcome was the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) change score between pre- and postintervention at 2 months, as collected in usual care by clinicians blinded to the study questions. Using a propensity score matching to control for potential confounders, we compared women receiving 7Cups to women receiving treatment as usual (TAU). Participants (n=19) proactively logged into 7Cups for a median of 12 times and 175 minutes. Program use was mostly through the mobile app (median of mobile use 94%) and between 18:00 and 08:00 when clinicians are unavailable (68% of total program use time). Participants chatted with volunteers for a total of 3064 minutes and have indicated in their responses 0 instances in which they felt unsafe. Intent-to-treat analysis revealed that 7Cups recipients experienced significant decreases in EPDS scores (P<.001, Cohen d=1.17). No significant difference in EPDS decrease over time was found between 7Cups and TAU, yet the effect size was medium favoring 7Cups (P=.05, Cohen d=0.58). This study supports using a computerized method to train lay people, without any in-person guidance or screening, and engage them with patients diagnosed with mental illness as part of usual care. The medium effect size (d=0.58) favoring the 7Cups group relative to TAU suggests that 7Cups might enhance treatment outcomes. A fully powered trial has to be conducted to examine this effect. ©Amit Baumel, Amanda Tinkelman, Nandita Mathur, John M Kane. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 13.02.2018.

Factors associated with depressive symptoms in the early postpartum period among women with recent gestational diabetes mellitus.

PubMed

Nicklas, Jacinda M; Miller, Laura J; Zera, Chloe A; Davis, Roger B; Levkoff, Sue E; Seely, Ellen W

2013-11-01

Women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have a substantial risk of subsequently developing type 2 diabetes. This risk may be mitigated by engaging in healthy eating, physical activity, and weight loss when indicated. Since postpartum depressive symptoms may impair a woman's ability to engage in lifestyle changes, we sought to identify factors associated with depressive symptoms in the early postpartum period among women with recent GDM. The participants are part of the baseline cohort of the TEAM GDM (Taking Early Action for Mothers with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus) study, a one-year randomized trial of a lifestyle intervention program for women with a recent history of GDM, conducted in Boston, Massachusetts between June 2010 and September 2012. We administered the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 4-15 weeks postpartum to women whose most recent pregnancy was complicated by GDM (confirmed by laboratory data or medical record review). An EPDS score ≥9 indicated depressive symptoms. We measured height and thyroid stimulating hormone, and administered a questionnaire to collect demographic data and information about breastfeeding and sleep. We calculated body mass index (BMI) using self-reported pre-pregnancy weight and measured height. We reviewed medical records to obtain data about medical history, including history of depression, mode of delivery, and insulin use during pregnancy. We conducted bivariable analyses to identify correlates of postpartum depressive symptoms, and then modeled the odds of postpartum depressive symptoms using multivariable logistic regression. Our study included 71 women (mean age 33 years ± 5; 59 % White, 28 % African-American, 13 % Asian, with 21 % identifying as Hispanic; mean pre-pregnancy BMI 30 kg/m(2) ± 6). Thirty-four percent of the women scored ≥9 on the EPDS at the postpartum visit. In the best fit model, factors associated with depressive symptoms at 6 weeks postpartum included cesarean delivery (aOR 4.32, 95 % CI 1.46, 13.99) and gestational weight gain (aOR 1.21 [1.02, 1.46], for each additional 5 lbs gained). Use of insulin during pregnancy, breastfeeding, personal history of depression, and lack of a partner were not retained in the model. Identifying factors associated with postpartum depression in women with GDM is important since depression may interfere with lifestyle change efforts in the postpartum period. In this study, cesarean delivery and greater gestational weight gain were correlated with postpartum depressive symptoms among women with recent GDM (Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01158131).

Functional Evaluation of the DOZA DKG-05D Electronic Dosimeter System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Piper, Roman K.; Scherpelz, Robert I.

2009-11-04

The DOZA DKG-05D electronic personal dosimeter (EPD) was the subject of a limited type-test evaluation in support of Plutonium Production Reactor Agreement (PPRA) Implementation. The primary goal of this evaluation was to provide confidence in the functionality of the dosimeter and identify potential weaknesses in PPRA applications. The tests were based on IEC-61526, recommendations of the International Electrotechnical Commission pertaining to EPDs. All tests were performed in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL) Radiological Calibrations and Standards Facility in the 318 building. The first testing category was functional considerations. The tests found that the mechanical characteristics of the DKG-05D support usability.more » However, user controls are not intuitive and straightforward, and the user instructions were unclear and difficult to follow. The unit functioned in a variety of humidity conditions. In high temperature conditions it performed well. However, in cold conditions the display began to fade, which limits its usefulness below about 5 °C. The vendor claims that the unit functions to -20 °C, and it may be correctly recording doses at that low temperature, but the doses cannot be read in real time. Testing found that battery life is generally good, operating for 200 hours on a full charge. This is far more than needed for the intended application. Charging the battery, however, had some pitfalls resulting from two charging modes. The high-current mode would be automatically selected if the battery charge fell below a threshold value when inserted in the charger. Otherwise, a low-current mode would be selected. In some cases a battery needing recharging would not get sufficient current to fully charge in a reasonable time period. There were also problems found in the low-battery indication and there was a possibility for data loss in the low-battery condition. The EPD generally performed well in measuring dose and dose rate. There were some small problems with non-linearity over a range of doses, but these non-linearities were at extremely low and very high doses and would not adversely affect the performance in our intended application. The testing resulted in the general conclusion that the DOZA DKG-05D is suitable for use in PPRA applications for real-time indication of dose received by a user and for estimation of stay times in radiation zones. It can be used as a supplement to a passive dosimeter, but it should not be used for measuring the user’s dose of record.« less

Live animal measurements, carcass composition and plasma hormone and metabolite concentrations in male progeny of sires differing in genetic merit for beef production.

PubMed

Clarke, A M; Drennan, M J; McGee, M; Kenny, D A; Evans, R D; Berry, D P

2009-07-01

In genetic improvement programmes for beef cattle, the effect of selecting for a given trait or index on other economically important traits, or their predictors, must be quantified to ensure no deleterious consequential effects go unnoticed. The objective was to compare live animal measurements, carcass composition and plasma hormone and metabolite concentrations of male progeny of sires selected on an economic index in Ireland. This beef carcass index (BCI) is expressed in euros and based on weaning weight, feed intake, carcass weight and carcass conformation and fat scores. The index is used to aid in the genetic comparison of animals for the expected profitability of their progeny at slaughter. A total of 107 progeny from beef sires of high (n = 11) or low (n = 11) genetic merit for the BCI were compared in either a bull (slaughtered at 16 months of age) or steer (slaughtered at 24 months of age) production system, following purchase after weaning (8 months of age) from commercial beef herds. Data were analysed as a 2 × 2 factorial design (two levels of genetic merit by two production systems). Progeny of high BCI sires had heavier carcasses, greater (P < 0.01) muscularity scores after weaning, greater (P < 0.05) skeletal scores and scanned muscle depth pre-slaughter, higher (P < 0.05) plasma insulin concentrations and greater (P < 0.01) animal value (obtained by multiplying carcass weight by carcass value, which was based on the weight of meat in each cut by its commercial value) than progeny of low BCI sires. Regression of progeny performance on sire genetic merit was also undertaken across the entire data set. In steers, the effect of BCI on carcass meat proportion, calculated carcass value (c/kg) and animal value was positive (P < 0.01), while a negative association was observed for scanned fat depth pre-slaughter and carcass fat proportion (P < 0.01), but there was no effect in bulls. The effect of sire expected progeny difference (EPD) for carcass weight followed the same trends as BCI. Muscularity scores, carcass meat proportion and calculated carcass value increased, whereas scanned fat depth, carcass fat and bone proportions decreased with increasing sire EPD for conformation score. The opposite association was observed for sire EPD for fat score. Results from this study show that selection using the BCI had positive effects on live animal muscularity, carcass meat proportion, proportions of high-value cuts and carcass value in steer progeny, which are desirable traits in beef production.

Morphological study of electrophoretically deposited TiO2 film for DSSC application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patel, Alkesh B.; Patel, K. D.; Soni, S. S.; Sonigara, K. K.

2018-05-01

In the immerging field of eco-friendly and low cost photovoltaic devices, dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) [1] has been investigated as promising alternative to the conventional silicon-based solar cells. In the DSSC device, photoanode is crucial component that take charge of holding sensitizer on it and inject the electrons from the sensitizer to current collector. Nanoporous TiO2 is the most relevant candidate for the preparation of photoanode in DSSCs. Surface properties, morphology, porosity and thickness of TiO2 film as well as preparation technique determine the performance of device. In the present work we have report the study of an effect of nanoporous anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2) film thickness on DSSC performance. Photoanode TiO2 (P25) film was deposited on conducting substrate by electrophoresis technique (EPD) and film thickness was controlled during deposition by applying different current density for a constant time interval. Thickness and surface morphology of prepared films was studied by SEM and transmittance analysis. The same set of photoanode was utilized in DSSC devices using metal free organic dye sensitizer to evaluate the photovoltaic performance. Devices were characterized through Current-Voltage (I-V) characteristic, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and open circuit voltage decay curves. Dependency of device performance corresponding to TiO2 film thickness is investigated through the lifetime kinetics of electron charge transfer mechanism trough impedance fitting. It is concluded that appropriate thickness along with uniformity and porosity are required to align the dye molecules to respond efficiently the incident light photons.

Crystal growth and characterization of third order nonlinear optical piperazinium bis(4-hydroxybenzenesulphonate) (P4HBS) single crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pichan, Karuppasamy; Muthu, Senthil Pandian; Perumalsamy, Ramasamy

2017-09-01

The organic single crystal of piperazinium bis(4-hydroxybenzenesulphonate) (P4HBS) was grown by slow evaporation solution technique (SEST) at room temperature. The lattice parameters of the grown crystal were confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Functional groups of P4HBS crystal were confirmed by FTIR spectrum analysis. The optical quality of the grown crystal was identified by the UV-Vis NIR spectrum analysis. The grown crystal has good optical transmittance in the range of 410-1100 nm. In photoluminescence spectrum, sharp emission peaks are observed, which indicates the ultraviolet (UV) emission. The photoconductivity study reveals that the grown crystal has negative photoconductive nature. The thermal behaviour of the P4HBS crystal was investigated by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The mechanical stability of grown crystal was analyzed and the indentation size effect (ISE) was explained by Hays-Kendall's (HK) approach and proportional specimen resistance model (PSRM). Chemical etching study was carried out and the etch pit density (EPD) was calculated. The dielectric constant (ε‧) and dielectric loss (tan δ) as a function of frequency were measured for the grown crystal. The solid state parameters such as valence electron, plasma energy, Penn gap and Fermi energy were evaluated theoretically for the P4HBS using the empirical relation. The estimated values are used to calculate the electronic polarizability. The third-order nonlinear optical properties such as nonlinear refractive index (n2), absorption co-efficient (β) and susceptibility (χ(3)) were studied by Z-scan technique at 632.8 nm using He-Ne laser.

Effect of Brownian motion on reduced agglomeration of nanostructured metal oxide towards development of efficient cancer biosensor.

PubMed

Kumar, Suveen; Ashish; Kumar, Saurabh; Augustine, Shine; Yadav, Santosh; Yadav, Birendra Kumar; Chauhan, Rishi Pal; Dewan, Ajay Kumar; Malhotra, Bansi Dhar

2018-04-15

We report results of the studies relating to fabrication of nanostructured metal oxide (NMO) based cancer biosensor. With the help of 2D electroactive reduced graphene oxide (RGO), we successfully inhibited the Brownian motion of NMO that led to reduced agglomeration of NMO. The nanostructured hafnium oxide (nHfO 2 ) was used as a model NMO. The reduced agglomeration of nHfO 2 was achieved through controlled hydrothermal synthesis and investigated via nanoparticles tracking analysis (NTA). X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) techniques were used for phase identification as well as morphological analysis of the synthesized nanohybrid (nHfO 2 @RGO) material. The 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES) was used for the functionalization of nHfO 2 @RGO and electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique was used for its deposition onto ITO coated glass electrode. Further, antibodies of cancer biomarker (anti-CYFRA-21-1) were immobilized via EDC-NHS chemistry and Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used for blocking of the non-specific binding sites. The electrochemical response studies of fabricated immunoelectrode (BSA/anti-CYFRA-21-1/APTES/nHfO 2 @RGO/ITO) revealed higher sensitivity (18.24µAmLng -1 ), wide linear detection range (0 to 30ngmL -1 ), with remarkable lower detection limit (0.16ngmL -1 ). The obtained results showed good agreement with the concentration of CYFRA-21-1 obtained through enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in saliva samples of oral cancer patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Quantitative Analysis of Color Differences within High Contrast, Low Power Reversible Electrophoretic Displays

DOE PAGES

Giera, Brian; Bukosky, Scott; Lee, Elaine; ...

2018-01-23

Here, quantitative color analysis is performed on videos of high contrast, low power reversible electrophoretic deposition (EPD)-based displays operated under different applied voltages. This analysis is coded in an open-source software, relies on a color differentiation metric, ΔE * 00, derived from digital video, and provides an intuitive relationship between the operating conditions of the devices and their performance. Time-dependent ΔE * 00 color analysis reveals color relaxation behavior, recoverability for different voltage sequences, and operating conditions that can lead to optimal performance.

Quantitative Analysis of Color Differences within High Contrast, Low Power Reversible Electrophoretic Displays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Giera, Brian; Bukosky, Scott; Lee, Elaine

Here, quantitative color analysis is performed on videos of high contrast, low power reversible electrophoretic deposition (EPD)-based displays operated under different applied voltages. This analysis is coded in an open-source software, relies on a color differentiation metric, ΔE * 00, derived from digital video, and provides an intuitive relationship between the operating conditions of the devices and their performance. Time-dependent ΔE * 00 color analysis reveals color relaxation behavior, recoverability for different voltage sequences, and operating conditions that can lead to optimal performance.

LWIR HgCdTe Detectors Grown on Ge Substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vilela, M. F.; Lofgreen, D. D.; Smith, E. P. G.; Newton, M. D.; Venzor, G. M.; Peterson, J. M.; Franklin, J. J.; Reddy, M.; Thai, Y.; Patten, E. A.; Johnson, S. M.; Tidrow, M. Z.

2008-09-01

Long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) HgCdTe p-on- n double-layer heterojunctions (DLHJs) for infrared detector applications have been grown on 100 mm Ge (112) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The objective of this current work was to grow our baseline p-on- n DLHJ detector structure (used earlier on Si substrates) on 100 mm Ge substrates in the 10 μm to 11 μm LWIR spectral region, evaluate the material properties, and obtain some preliminary detector performance data. Material characterization techniques included are X-ray rocking curves, etch pit density (EPD) measurements, compositional uniformity determined from Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) transmission, and doping concentrations determined from secondary-ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). Detector properties include resistance-area product (RoA), spectral response, and quantum efficiency. Results of LWIR HgCdTe detectors and test structure arrays (TSA) fabricated on both Ge and silicon (Si) substrates are presented and compared. Material properties demonstrated include X-ray full-width of half-maximum (FWHM) as low as 77 arcsec, typical etch pit densities in mid 106 cm-2 and wavelength cutoff maximum/minimum variation <2% across the full wafer. Detector characteristics were found to be nearly identical for HgCdTe grown on either Ge or Si substrates.

High-Throughput Biophysical Analysis and Data Visualization of Conformational Stability of an IgG1 Monoclonal Antibody (mAb) After Deglycosylation

PubMed Central

Alsenaidy, Mohammad A.; Kim, Jae Hyun; Majumdar, Ranajoy; Weis, David D.; Joshi, Sangeeta B.; Tolbert, Thomas J.; Middaugh, C. Russell; Volkin, David B.

2013-01-01

The structural integrity and conformational stability of an IgG1 monoclonal antibody (mAb), after partial and complete enzymatic removal of the N-linked Fc glycan, was compared to the untreated mAb over a wide range of temperature (10° to 90°C) and solution pH (3 to 8) using circular dichroism, fluorescence spectroscopy, and static light scattering combined with data visualization employing empirical phase diagrams (EPDs). Subtle to larger stability differences between the different glycoforms were observed. Improved detection of physical stability differences was then demonstrated over narrower pH range (4.0-6.0) using smaller temperature increments, especially when combined with an alternative data visualization method (radar plots). Differential scanning calorimetry and differential scanning fluorimetry were then utilized and also showed an improved ability to detect differences in mAb glycoform physical stability. Based on these results, a two-step methodology was used in which mAb glycoform conformational stability is first screened with a wide variety of instruments and environmental stresses, followed by a second evaluation with optimally sensitive experimental conditions, analytical techniques and data visualization methods. With this approach, high-throughput biophysical analysis to assess relatively subtle conformational stability differences in protein glycoforms is demonstrated. PMID:24114789

Camera flash heating of a three-layer solid composite: An approximate solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jibrin, Sani; Moksin, Mohd Maarof; Husin, Mohd Shahril; Zakaria, Azmi; Hassan, Jumiah; Talib, Zainal Abidin

2014-03-01

Camera flash heating and the subsequent thermal wave propagation in a solid composite material is studied using the Laplace transform technique. Full-field rear surface temperature for a single-layer, two-layer and three-layer solid composites are obtained directly from the Laplace transform conversion tables as opposed to the tedious inversion process by integral transform method. This is achieved by first expressing the hyperbolic-transcendental equation in terms of negative exponentials of square root of s/α and expanded same in a series by the binomial theorem. Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) and dip coating processes were used to prepare three-layer solid composites consisting ZnO/Cu/ZnO and starch/Al/starch respectively. About 0.5ml of deionized water enclosed within an air-tight aluminium container serves as the third three layer sample (AL/water/AL). Thermal diffusivity experiments were carried out on all the three samples prepared. Using Scaled Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm, the approximate temperature curve for the three-layer solid composite is fitted with the corresponding experimental result. The agreement between the theoretical curve and the experimental data as well as that between the obtained thermal diffusivity values for the ZnO, aluminium and deionized water in this work and similar ones found in literature is found to be very good.

Unleashing the Full Sustainable Potential of Thick Films of Lead-Free Potassium Sodium Niobate (K0.5Na0.5NbO3) by Aqueous Electrophoretic Deposition.

PubMed

Mahajan, Amit; Pinho, Rui; Dolhen, Morgane; Costa, M Elisabete; Vilarinho, Paula M

2016-05-31

A current challenge for the fabrication of functional oxide-based devices is related with the need of environmental and sustainable materials and processes. By considering both lead-free ferroelectrics of potassium sodium niobate (K0.5Na0.5NbO3, KNN) and aqueous-based electrophoretic deposition here we demonstrate that an eco-friendly aqueous solution-based process can be used to produce KNN thick coatings with improved electromechanical performance. KNN thick films on platinum substrates with thickness varying between 10 and 15 μm have a dielectric permittivity of 495, dielectric losses of 0.08 at 1 MHz, and a piezoelectric coefficient d33 of ∼70 pC/N. At TC these films display a relative permittivity of 2166 and loss tangent of 0.11 at 1 MHz. A comparison of the physical properties between these films and their bulk ceramics counterparts demonstrates the impact of the aqueous-based electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique for the preparation of lead-free ferroelectric thick films. This opens the door to the possible development of high-performance, lead-free piezoelectric thick films by a sustainable low-cost process, expanding the applicability of lead-free piezoelectrics.

Postpartum depression according to time frames and sub-groups: a survey in primary health care settings in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

PubMed

Lobato, Gustavo; Moraes, Claudia L; Dias, Alessandra S; Reichenheim, Michael E

2011-06-01

This study aimed at estimating the prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) according to postpartum periods and sub-groups in public primary health care settings in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in five primary health care units and included 811 participants randomly selected among mothers of children up to five postpartum months. Women were classified as depressed and given scores on Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) above 11. The overall estimate of PPD was 24.3% (95% CI, 21.4-27.4). However, estimates were not homogeneous during the first 5 months postpartum (p value = 0.002). There was a peak of depressive symptoms around 3 months postpartum, when 128 women (37.5%, 95% CI, 29.1-46.5) disclosed scores above 11 on EPDS. Regarding the magnitude of PPD according to some maternal and partners' characteristics, it was consistently higher among women with low schooling, without a steady partner, and whose partners misused alcohol or used illicit drugs. The prevalence of PPD among women attending primary health care units in Rio de Janeiro seems to be higher than general estimates of 10-15%, especially among mothers with low schooling and that receive little (if any) support from partners. Also, the "burden" of PPD may be even higher around 3 months postpartum. These results are particularly relevant for public health policies. Evaluation of maternal mental health should be extended at least until 3 to 4 months postpartum, and mothers presenting a high-risk profile deserve special attention.

Association Between Maternal Mood and Oxytocin Response to Breastfeeding

PubMed Central

Grewen, Karen; Meltzer-Brody, Samantha

2013-01-01

Abstract Background Postpartum depression is associated with reduced breastfeeding duration. We previously hypothesized that shared neuroendocrine mechanisms underlie this association. We sought to measure the association between maternal mood and neuroendocrine response to breastfeeding. Methods We conducted a longitudinal cohort study of women recruited during pregnancy who intended to breastfeed. Baseline depression and anxiety history were assessed with a structured clinical interview. We measured mood symptoms using validated psychometric instruments, and we quantified affect and neuroendocrine responses to breastfeeding during laboratory visits at 2 and 8 weeks postpartum. Results We recruited 52 women who intended to breastfeed, among whom 47 completed 8-week follow-up. Duration and intensity of breastfeeding through 8 weeks were similar among mothers with lower versus higher anxiety and depression scores. In the third trimester, oxytocin was inversely correlated with Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score (p=0.03). We did not find differences in neuroendocrine profile during breastfeeding at 2 weeks postpartum. Among the 39 women who breastfed at 8 weeks postpartum, oxytocin area under the curve during breastfeeding was inversely correlated with maternal EPDS and STAI-State and STAI-Trait anxiety scores (all p≤0.01). Higher anxiety and depression scores was further associated with lower oxytocin (group p<0.05) during feeding. During feeding at both visits, higher anxiety and depression scores were also associated with more negative affect: mothers reported feeling less happy and more depressed, overwhelmed, and stressed during feeding than women with lower scores. Conclusion Symptoms of depression and anxiety were associated with differences in oxytocin response and affect during breastfeeding. PMID:23586800

Antenatal Risk Factors of Postpartum Depression at 20 Weeks Gestation in a Japanese Sample: Psychosocial Perspectives from a Cohort Study in Tokyo

PubMed Central

Tachibana, Yoshiyuki; Koizumi, Tomoe; Takehara, Kenji; Kakee, Naoko; Tsujii, Hiromi; Mori, Rintaro; Inoue, Eisuke; Ota, Erika; Yoshida, Keiko; Kasai, Keiko; Okuyama, Makiko; Kubo, Takahiko

2015-01-01

Background Prevalence of postnatal depression (PND) is high (Western countries, 10–15%; Japan, 17%). PND can cause parenting impairment and affect family health (e.g. child behaviors, cognitive development and physical health). This study aimed to reveal the risk factors of PND during the pregnancy period in a Japanese sample, and to identify the psychosocial risk factors of PND that should be appended to existing obstetric interview sheets. A cohort study with a Japanese sample was conducted. Methods All 14 obstetrics hospitals in the Setagaya ward, Tokyo, Japan, participated in this study. Pregnant women who booked their delivery between December 2012 and May 2013 were enrolled. Data used for this study were collected at 20 weeks gestation, a few days and one month postnatal. The questionnaires consisted of psychosocial factors and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). To identify PND risk factors, multivariate analyses were performed. Results A total of 1,775 women participated in this study. Eventually, the data of 1,133 women were used for the multivariate analyses. The demonstrated significant risk factors include EPDS score, primipara, “a perceived lack of family cohesion”, “current physical illness treatment” and “current psychiatric illness treatment”. Conclusion This study highlights the importance of mental health screening using psychological measures during the pregnancy period. In addition, family environment, parity, physical and psychiatric illness should be paid attention by professionals in maternal and child health. The results also suggest that mothers’ feelings of developing their families should be supported. PMID:26625132

Appraisal of the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire in a perinatal cohort: The APrON study.

PubMed

Leung, Brenda; Letourneau, Nicole; Bright, Katherine; Giesbrecht, Gerald F; Ntanda, Henry; Gagnon, Lisa

2017-08-01

Depression and anxiety are routinely screened as part of perinatal care. However, other Axis 1 disorders and specific anxiety disorders are less likely to be screened or assessed as part of obstetric care. The objective of this study was to determine whether the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire (PDSQ) is a potentially useful tool to screen for psychiatric conditions in pregnant and postpartum women in a community setting. We compared the prevalence of DSM Axis I disorders obtained on the PDSQ with: (1) the prevalence of these disorders reported in previous studies of pregnant and postpartum women, and (2) scores obtained on the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90R) anxiety scale. Data were obtained from the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) study. The PDSQ was completed by 1575 women prenatally and 1481 postnatally. The three most prevalent PDSQ conditions were social phobia, somatic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The prevalence of social phobia, alcohol disorder, OCD and psychosis were higher in the APrON cohort compared with statistics in the literature. The proportion of women meeting depression and anxiety cut-offs on the PDSQ were lower than for the EPDS and the SCL-90R. The Cohens Kappa index ( k) indicated poor to fair agreement between the measures in classifying pregnant women as depressed or anxious. The PDSQ subscales may not be appropriate for the pregnant population. Research into instruments more specific to pregnant and postpartum women are needed to determine the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in this population.

Maternal anxiety about a child's diabetes risk in the TEDDY study: the potential role of life stress, postpartum depression, and risk perception.

PubMed

Roth, Roswith; Lynch, Kristian; Lernmark, Barbro; Baxter, Judy; Simell, Tuula; Smith, Laura; Swartling, Ulrica; Ziegler, Anette-G; Johnson, Suzanne B

2015-06-01

To understand the association between life stress, postpartum depression (PD), maternal perception of her child's risk for type 1 diabetes (T1D) and a mother's anxiety about her child's T1D risk in mothers of genetically at risk children in The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study. A short form of the state component (SAI) of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, negative life events (LE), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and one question about the child's risk of developing T1D risk perceptions (RP) were given to mothers at the 6-month TEDDY clinic visit. The relationship between the four measures was modeled using multiple regressions. Controlling for sociodemographic factors, significant country differences in SAI, LE, EPDS, and RP emerged. LE - particularly interpersonal LE - had a strong association to maternal anxiety about the baby's risk of diabetes. Both evidence of PD and accurate risk perceptions (RPs) about the child's T1D risk were associated with increased maternal anxiety about the child's T1D risk. Heightened maternal anxiety in response to the news that a child is at increased risk for T1D is common. Mothers who have experienced recent negative LE, who experience PD and who accurately understand their child's risk may be particularly vulnerable to high levels of anxiety. The findings reported here need to be confirmed in future prospective studies. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The development of peripartum depressive symptoms is associated with gene polymorphisms of MAOA, 5-HTT and COMT.

PubMed

Doornbos, Bennard; Dijck-Brouwer, D A Janneke; Kema, Ido P; Tanke, Marit A C; van Goor, Saskia A; Muskiet, Frits A J; Korf, Jakob

2009-10-01

Polymorphisms of monoamine-related genes have been associated with depression following life events. The peripartum is a physiologically and psychologically challenging period, characterized by fluctuations in depressive symptoms, therefore facilitating prospective investigations in this gene x environment (G x E) interaction. Eighty nine pregnant women filled in two Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) questionnaires during pregnancy and two in the postpartum period. MAOA, COMT and 5-HTT polymorphisms were analyzed. We found a significant interaction between the development of depressive symptoms in the course of pregnancy and polymorphisms in 5-HTT (p=0.019); MAOA (p=0.044) and COMT (p=0.026), and MAOA x COMT (p<0.001). Particularly, women carrying the combination of low activity variants of MAOA and COMT showed increased EPDS scores at week 36 of pregnancy and 6 weeks postpartum, but not during early pregnancy or 12 weeks postpartum. We found that MAOA in combination with COMT appears to regulate not only the stress response in laboratory experiments, but also seems to influence the stress-evoked onset of mood during normal, mild, stressful events, such as experienced in the peripartum period. These findings support the GxE concept for depression, but they underline the complexity of this concept, as the cumulating effects of these polymorphic genes (i.e. MAOA+COMT) might be needed and the effects of these polymorphic genes becomes apparent in special environmental or physiological conditions (i.e. the peripartum period). We therefore suggest that G x E interactions become especially noticeable from longitudinal study designs in specific physiological or social challenging periods.

Parenting stress in mothers of very preterm infants -- influence of development, temperament and maternal depression.

PubMed

Gray, Peter H; Edwards, Dawn M; O'Callaghan, Michael J; Cuskelly, Monica; Gibbons, Kristen

2013-09-01

To measure levels of parenting stress and postnatal depression in mothers of very preterm infants in comparison with mothers of infants born at term is the objective of this study. The study also aimed to explore factors associated with parenting stress in the mothers of the preterm infants. One hundred and five mothers who delivered 124 babies at ≤30 weeks gestation were enrolled together with 105 term mothers who delivered 120 babies. At one year of age (corrected for prematurity for the preterm cohort), the mothers completed the Parenting Stress Index Short Form (PSI), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Short Temperament Scale for Toddlers. The infants had neurodevelopmental assessment. The preterm and term groups were compared. Questionnaires were completed by 101 of the preterm mothers and 98 of the term mothers. The mean PSI Total Stress score was significantly higher for the preterm mothers (70.28 vs 64.52, p = 0.022), with 19% of the preterm group and 9% of the term group having high scores (p = 0.038).There was no group difference on the EPDS or measures of temperament, with disability being greater in the preterm infants. For the preterm group, maternal depression and infant temperament were independent predictors of Total Stress scores on multivariate analysis. Parenting stress in mothers of preterm infants at one year of age is significantly greater than that found in mothers of term infants. For preterm mothers, symptoms of depression and infant temperament are independent risk factors for higher levels of parenting stress. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Residual Circulation and Temperature Changes during the Evolution of Stratospheric Sudden Warmings Revealed in MERRA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Byeong-Gwon; Chun, Hye-Yeong; Kim, Young-Ha

2015-04-01

A composite analysis for 21 stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) cases in 1979-2012 northern winter is performed using the MERRA reanalysis in order to investigate the changes in residual circulation and temperature during the SSW evolution. The SSW cases are classified as Type-1 and Type-2, based on the relative amplitude of planetary waves with zonal wavenumbers 1 and 2. The residual circulation induced by each forcing term in the transformed Eulerian mean (TEM) equation and the temperature advection associated with the circulation are calculated for both types of SSW. It is found that strong poleward and downward motion exists in the polar stratosphere just before the central date of SSW, which is induced primarily by the Eliassen-Palm flux divergence forcing (EPD). Gravity-wave drag (GWD) induces strong poleward and downward motion in the lower mesosphere. The temperature advection is significantly increased in the stratosphere before the central date of the SSW, as a result of the strong downward motion due to the EPD. However, the temperature change in the lower mesosphere is small despite the strong downward motion, because the vertical gradient of the potential temperature is relatively small at these altitudes. The temperature change in the stratosphere before the SSW is more rapid for Type-2 than Type-1. After the central date of SSW, the polar stratospheric temperature is recovered primarily by diabatic heating rather than by the residual circulation associated with wave forcing. Difference in the speed of temperature recovery between the two types of SSW is not significant.

Electrochemical Sensor Coating Based on Electrophoretic Deposition of Au-Doped Self-Assembled Nanoparticles.

PubMed

Zhang, Rongli; Zhu, Ye; Huang, Jing; Xu, Sheng; Luo, Jing; Liu, Xiaoya

2018-02-14

The electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of self-assembled nanoparticles (NPs) on the surface of an electrode is a new strategy for preparing sensor coating. By simply changing the deposition conditions, the electrochemical response for an analyte of deposited NPs-based coating can be controlled. This advantage can decrease the difference between different batches of sensor coating and ensure the reproducibility of each sensor. This work investigated the effects of deposition conditions (including deposition voltage, pH value of suspension, and deposition time) on the structure and the electrochemical response for l-tryptophan of sensor coating formed from Au-doped poly(sodium γ-glutamate) with pendant dopamine units nanohybrids (Au/γ-PGA-DA NBs) via the EPD method. The structure and thickness of the deposited sensor coating were measured by atomic force microscopy, which demonstrated that the structure and thickness of coating can be affected by the deposition voltage, the pH value of the suspension, and the deposition time. The responsive current for l-tryptophan of the deposited sensor coating were measured by differential pulse voltammetry, which showed that the responsive current value was affected by the structure and thickness of the deposited coating. These arguments suggested that a rich design-space for tuning the electrochemical response for analyte and a source of variability in the structure of sensor coating can be provided by the deposition conditions. When Au/γ-PGA-DA NBs were deposited on the electrode surface and formed a continuous coating with particle morphology and thinner thickness, the deposited sensor coating exhibited optimal electrochemical response for l-tryptophan.

Association of physical activity and sedentary behavior with depression and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy in a multiethnic cohort of Asian women.

PubMed

Padmapriya, Natarajan; Bernard, Jonathan Y; Liang, Shen; Loy, See Ling; Shen, Zhe; Kwek, Kenneth; Godfrey, Keith M; Gluckman, Peter D; Chong, Yap-Seng; Saw, Seang Mei; Meaney, Michael J; Chen, Helen; Müller-Riemenschneider, Falk

2016-12-01

This study aimed to investigate associations of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) with depression and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy among Chinese, Malay, and Indian women. Women answered PA and SB (sitting time and television time) interview questions and self-completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) questionnaires, at week 26-28 gestation. Sufficient levels of PA (≥600MET-minutes/week) and higher sitting time (≥7 h/day) were determined. Associations of PA and SB with probable antenatal depression (EPDS-score ≥15), higher state anxiety (score ≥42), and higher trait anxiety (score ≥43) were determined by logistic regression analysis. Among the 1144 pregnant women included in the study, 7.3, 22.5, and 23.6 % had probable antenatal depression, higher state anxiety, and higher trait anxiety symptoms, respectively. In the adjusted models, women with sufficient level of PA were less likely to have probable antenatal depression (OR 0.54, 95 % CI 0.31-0.94, p = 0.030) and higher trait anxiety symptoms (OR 0.68, 95 % CI 0.48-0.94, p = 0.022). PA was not associated with state anxiety symptoms. SB was not associated with any of the investigated outcomes. Sufficient PA was associated with a reduced likelihood of probable antenatal depression and trait anxiety symptoms. Further investigation of these findings is warranted to determine cause-effect relationships and identify potential preventive strategies.

Distinguishing 3He and 4He with the Electron Proton Telescope (EPT) on Solar Orbiter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boden, S.; Kulkarni, S. R.; Steinhagen, J.; Tammen, J.; Martin-Garcia, C.; Wimmer-Schweingruber, R. F.; Boettcher, S. I.; Seimetz, L.; Ravanbakhsh, A.; Elftmann, R.; Schuster, B.; Kulemzin, A.; Kolbe, S.; Mahesh, Y.; Knieriem, V.; Yu, J.; Kohler, J.; Panitzsch, L.; Terasa, C.; Boehm, E.; Rodriguez-Pacheco, J.; Prieto, M.; Gomez-Herrero, R.

2015-12-01

The Electron Proton Telescope (EPT) is one of the sensors of the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) for the Solar Orbiter mission, which will provide key measurements to address particle acceleration at and near the Sun. The EPD suite consists of four different sensors (STEP, SIS, EPT and HET) which together will resolve the energetic particle spectrum from 2 keV to 20 MeV for electrons, 3 keV to 100 MeV for protons and circa 100 keV/nuc to 100 MeV/nuc for heavier ions.EPT itself is primarily designed to cleanly separate and measure electrons in the energy range from 20 - 400 keV and protons from 20 - 7000 keV. To achieve this, EPT uses two back-to-back solid state detectors with a magnet system to deflect electrons on one side and a Polyimide foil to stop protons below ~400 keV on the other side. The two detectors then serve as each other's anti-coincidence. Additionally this setup also allows us to measure penetrating particles with deposited energies in the 1 MeV to 40 MeV range. Looking at the ratio of deposited energy in the two detectors versus total deposited energy allows us to differentiate between protons and alpha particles. Distinguishing 3He from 4He will be challenging, but possible provided good knowledge of the instrument, high-fidelity modeling and a precise calibration of EPT. Here, we will present feasibility studies leading to a determination of the 3He / 4He ratio with EPT.

POEMS: A Case Study of an Italian Wine-Producing Firm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ardente, Fulvio; Beccali, Giorgio; Cellura, Maurizio; Marvuglia, Antonino

2006-09-01

Over the last decade, researchers paid much attention to concepts such as Design for Environment, Extended Producer Responsibility, Responsible Chain Management, and Eco-design. Many management tools and standards (such as EMAS, ISO 14001, LCA, EPD, Ecolabel) have been developed to support companies in the evaluation and management of their environmental performance and to pursue continual environmental improvement. The more recent development of the aforesaid fields looks at interorganizational environmental management. Such an approach can complement the more traditional intraorganizational corporate environmental management approaches and tools. A typical example of this new trend is the Product Oriented Environmental Management System (POEMS), which represents the natural evolution of the above-mentioned tools, combining the features of EMS, EPD and Ecolabel. Although the structure of the POEMS is still not standardized, many experimental applications have yet been carried out in Europe. In developing a POEMS, a company needs to determine all of the environmental impacts caused at all life-cycle stages of the product and, ideally, to reduce all of them through a continual commitment. The aim of the present study was to perform a survey of the developed POEMS models and to analyze their peculiarities and drawbacks in the application to Small and Medium Enterprises. A case study regarding an Italian winery company is presented. The study analyzes the structure and the activities of the examined firm, in order to estimate direct and indirect environmental impacts following a life-cycle approach. The chosen functional unit is a 0.75-L bottle of red wine. The article also suggests some solutions to improve the environmental performances of the firm’s products.

Effect of Home Visiting with Pregnant Teens on Maternal Health.

PubMed

Samankasikorn, Wilaiporn; Pierce, Brittany; St Ivany, Amanda; Gwon, Seok Hyun; Schminkey, Donna; Bullock, Linda

2016-01-01

Determine the extent that participation in Resource Mothers Program (RMP) home visiting improves maternal health at 3 months postpartum. A randomized controlled trial using RMPs in two urban and one rural location in a mid-Atlantic state. Community health workers from these RMPs enrolled teens into the study and the research team assigned participants to either the intervention group or telephone support control group using computerized randomization assignments. Data collection from baseline and 3 months postpartum using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Prenatal Psychosocial Profile (PPP) is reported. The sample included 150 pregnant teens with a mean age of 17 years. Mean self-esteem scores between groups were not significantly different at baseline, but the RMP group self-esteem scores improved significantly at the 3 months postpartum interview (36.40 ± 5.63 for RMP vs. 34.10 ± 4.29 telephone control group, p = 0.049). Neither group was at risk for depression at baseline or 3 months postpartum. Because 60% of the total sample identified as Hispanic, post hoc analysis revealed significantly different baseline stress mean scores between Hispanic and non-Hispanic teens (p = 0.038); however, these differences were no longer significant by 3 months postpartum (p = 0.073). The EPDS scores by ethnicity were not different at baseline (p = 0.875) but were significantly different at 3 months (p = 0.007). The RMP home-visiting intervention can lead to improved self-esteem scores in teens, particularly in Hispanic teens. Improved self-esteem has been shown to lead to better parenting.

POEMS: a case study of an Italian wine-producing firm.

PubMed

Ardente, Fulvio; Beccali, Giorgio; Cellura, Maurizio; Marvuglia, Antonino

2006-09-01

Over the last decade, researchers paid much attention to concepts such as Design for Environment, Extended Producer Responsibility, Responsible Chain Management, and Eco-design. Many management tools and standards (such as EMAS, ISO 14001, LCA, EPD, Ecolabel) have been developed to support companies in the evaluation and management of their environmental performance and to pursue continual environmental improvement. The more recent development of the aforesaid fields looks at interorganizational environmental management. Such an approach can complement the more traditional intraorganizational corporate environmental management approaches and tools. A typical example of this new trend is the Product Oriented Environmental Management System (POEMS), which represents the natural evolution of the above-mentioned tools, combining the features of EMS, EPD and Ecolabel. Although the structure of the POEMS is still not standardized, many experimental applications have yet been carried out in Europe. In developing a POEMS, a company needs to determine all of the environmental impacts caused at all life-cycle stages of the product and, ideally, to reduce all of them through a continual commitment. The aim of the present study was to perform a survey of the developed POEMS models and to analyze their peculiarities and drawbacks in the application to Small and Medium Enterprises. A case study regarding an Italian winery company is presented. The study analyzes the structure and the activities of the examined firm, in order to estimate direct and indirect environmental impacts following a life-cycle approach. The chosen functional unit is a 0.75-L bottle of red wine. The article also suggests some solutions to improve the environmental performances of the firm's products.

Development of a prenatal psychosocial screening tool for post-partum depression and anxiety.

PubMed

McDonald, Sheila; Wall, Jennifer; Forbes, Kaitlin; Kingston, Dawn; Kehler, Heather; Vekved, Monica; Tough, Suzanne

2012-07-01

Post-partum depression (PPD) is the most common complication of pregnancy in developed countries, affecting 10-15% of new mothers. There has been a shift in thinking less in terms of PPD per se to a broader consideration of poor mental health, including anxiety after giving birth. Some risk factors for poor mental health in the post-partum period can be identified prenatally; however prenatal screening tools developed to date have had poor sensitivity and specificity. The objective of this study was to develop a screening tool that identifies women at risk of distress, operationalized by elevated symptoms of depression and anxiety in the post-partum period using information collected in the prenatal period. Using data from the All Our Babies Study, a prospective cohort study of pregnant women living in Calgary, Alberta (N = 1578), we developed an integer score-based prediction rule for the prevalence of PPD, as defined as scoring 10 or higher on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 4-months postpartum. The best fit model included known risk factors for PPD: depression and stress in late pregnancy, history of abuse, and poor relationship quality with partner. Comparison of the screening tool with the EPDS in late pregnancy showed that our tool had significantly better performance for sensitivity. Further validation of our tool was seen in its utility for identifying elevated symptoms of postpartum anxiety. This research heeds the call for further development and validation work using psychosocial factors identified prenatally for identifying poor mental health in the post-partum period. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Stability of depressive symptoms over 3 months post-partum.

PubMed

Abdollahi, Fatemeh; Zarghami, Mehran; Sazlina, Shariff-Ghazali; Lye, Munn-Sann

2017-02-01

Prolonged depression during the post-partum period is associated with maternal and infant mortality and morbidity. Less attention has been given to factors that predict the persistence of depression beyond the first 3 months post-partum. From a longitudinal cohort of 2279 women who attended Mazandaran's primary health centres in 2009, 478 women with an Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score of 12 or greater in the third trimester of pregnancy were recruited. Persistently depressed women (depressed at all three occasions: during pregnancy, and at 2 and 12 weeks post-partum) were compared with those without depression to determine demographic, cultural, obstetric and biopsychosocial predictors for persistence of depression. Data were analysed using chi-square test, t-test and logistic regression models. The stability of depression was found in 193 (46.2 %) of 418 depressed cases who were followed up over the study period. Of those mothers who scored more than the threshold of 12 during the third trimester of pregnancy, 277 (66.3%) and 221 (52.9%) had high EPDS at 2 and 12 weeks post-partum. Psychological distress (based upon the General Health Questionnaire), low maternal parental self-efficacy (based upon the Parental Expectation Survey) and perceived social isolation (based upon the Network Orientation Scale) were independent predictors of persistent depression. Fewer depressed mothers in this study were found to recover during the first 3 months after giving birth. Psychosocial factors predicted sustained depression from pregnancy to 3 months post-partum. The findings highlight the significance of support in enhancing maternal mental health. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Coping strategies for postpartum depression: a multi-centric study of 1626 women.

PubMed

Gutiérrez-Zotes, Alfonso; Labad, Javier; Martín-Santos, Rocío; García-Esteve, Luisa; Gelabert, Estel; Jover, Manuel; Guillamat, Roser; Mayoral, Fermín; Gornemann, Isolde; Canellas, Francesca; Gratacós, Mónica; Guitart, Montserrat; Roca, Miguel; Costas, Javier; Ivorra, Jose Luis; Navinés, Ricard; de Diego-Otero, Yolanda; Vilella, Elisabet; Sanjuan, Julio

2016-06-01

The transition to motherhood is stressful as it requires several important changes in family dynamics, finances, and working life, along with physical and psychological adjustments. This study aimed at determining whether some forms of coping might predict postpartum depressive symptomatology. A total of 1626 pregnant women participated in a multi-centric longitudinal study. Different evaluations were performed 8 and 32 weeks after delivery. Depression was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the structured Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies (DIGS). The brief Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences (COPE) scale was used to measure coping strategies 2-3 days postpartum. Some coping strategies differentiate between women with and without postpartum depression. A logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationships between the predictors of coping strategies and major depression (according to DSM-IV criteria). In this model, the predictor variables during the first 32 weeks were self-distraction (OR 1.18, 95 % CI 1.04-1.33), substance use (OR 0.58, 95 % CI 0.35-0.97), and self-blame (OR 1.18, 95 % CI 1.04-1.34). In healthy women with no psychiatric history, some passive coping strategies, both cognitive and behavioral, are predictors of depressive symptoms and postpartum depression and help differentiate between patients with and without depression.

Approximated Stable Inversion for Nonlinear Systems with Nonhyperbolic Internal Dynamics. Revised

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Devasia, Santosh

1999-01-01

A technique to achieve output tracking for nonminimum phase nonlinear systems with non- hyperbolic internal dynamics is presented. The present paper integrates stable inversion techniques (that achieve exact-tracking) with approximation techniques (that modify the internal dynamics) to circumvent the nonhyperbolicity of the internal dynamics - this nonhyperbolicity is an obstruction to applying presently available stable inversion techniques. The theory is developed for nonlinear systems and the method is applied to a two-cart with inverted-pendulum example.

A novel emissive projection display (EPD) on transparent phosphor screen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Botao; Sun, Leonard; Yu, Ge; Sun, Ted X.

2017-03-01

A new paradigm of digital projection is on the horizon, based on innovative emissive screen that are made fully transparent. It can be readily applied and convert any surface to a high image quality emissive digital display, without affecting the surface appearance. For example, it can convert any glass window or windshield to completely see-through display, with unlimited field of view and viewing angles. It also enables a scalable and economic projection display on a pitch-black emissive screen with black level and image contrast that rivals other emissive displays such as plasma display or OLED.

A Potential Pitfall in the Use of the Monorail System for Carotid Stenting

PubMed Central

Pereira, E.; Birnbaum, L.

2006-01-01

Summary The use of EPDs seems to be necessary for safe CAS. Though the monorail system may offer advantages for a single operator, we caution its use with certain aortic arch anatomies. In such anatomies, using an OTW system or at least a 300 cm filter wire or devices that support wire extension will remedy some complications, such as the loss of the guiding sheath. As in our case, the added advantage of a 300 cm filter wire enabled us to avoid a poor outcome or an emergency vascular surgery. PMID:20569594

A potential pitfall in the use of the monorail system for carotid stenting. A technical case report.

PubMed

Pereira, E; Birnbaum, L

2006-12-15

The use of EPDs seems to be necessary for safe CAS. Though the monorail system may offer advantages for a single operator, we caution its use with certain aortic arch anatomies. In such anatomies, using an OTW system or at least a 300 cm filter wire or devices that support wire extension will remedy some complications, such as the loss of the guiding sheath. As in our case, the added advantage of a 300 cm filter wire enabled us to avoid a poor outcome or an emergency vascular surgery.

NASA Innovations in Climate Education Connects Audiences Coast-to-Coast for Climate Literacy via the NASA Digital Learning Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murray, B.; Barnes, M. H.; Chambers, L. H.; Pippin, M. R.; Martin, A. M.; Geyer, A. J.; Leber, M.; Joyner, E.; Small, C.; Dublin, D.

2013-12-01

The Minority University Research and Education Program (MUREP) NASA Innovations in Climate Education (NICE) project advances NASA's Office of Education's strategic initiative to improve the quality of the nation's Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and enhance literacy about climate and other Earth systems environmental changes. NICE also strategically supports the United States' progressive initiative to enhance the science and technology enterprise for successful competition in the 21st century global community. To extend to wider networks in 2013, MUREP NICE partnered with the NASA Digital Learning Network (DLNTM) in a unique, non-traditional collaborative model to significantly increase the impact and connection with formal and informal educators, curriculum developers, science education specialists, and researchers regarding climate literacy. DLN offers an expansive distance learning capability that bridges presenters with education audiences for interactive, web-based, synchronous and asynchronous Educator Professional Development (EPD). DLN services over 10,000 educators each year. In 3rd quarter FY13 alone DLN totaled 3,361 connections with educators. The DLN allows for cost effective (no travel) engagement of multiple geographically dispersed audiences with presenters from remote locations. This facilitates interactive communication among participants through distance education, allowing them to share local experiences with one another. A comprehensive four-part EPD workshop, featuring several NICE Principal Investigators (PI) and NASA subject matter experts was developed for NICE in April 2013. Topics covered in the workshop progressed from a simple introduction of Earth's energy budget, through explanation of temperature data collection and evidence of temperature rise, impacts on phenology, and finally consequences for bugs and birds. This event was an innovative hybrid workshop, connecting onsite teachers interactively with remotely connected participants and presenters across the nation. In addition to the 19 educators who participated live, 298 watched the sessions via a webcast. A similar workshop series experienced 300% growth in 2 years indicating the potential for comparable growth of NICE events. Due to unanimous requests for more information on these and other topics, beginning Fall 2013, NICE will reach into additional educators' classrooms via the DLN to deliver continued EPD from NICE PIs and other NASA researchers. With DLN capability, hundreds of additional unique viewers have been exposed to NICE via the DLN this year. This large-scale effort allows for long term, sustained engagement of the global community. We intend to take advantage of capabilities of the DLN as we continue to scale NICE events to wider audiences. The use of distance education allows for immediate release of new information and more frequent connections, resulting in sustained engagement of participants. This presentation will explore the various successes and future opportunities for expanding the impact of climate literacy via the NASA DLN, a large-scale collaborative network.

Generalized Green's function molecular dynamics for canonical ensemble simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coluci, V. R.; Dantas, S. O.; Tewary, V. K.

2018-05-01

The need of small integration time steps (˜1 fs) in conventional molecular dynamics simulations is an important issue that inhibits the study of physical, chemical, and biological systems in real timescales. Additionally, to simulate those systems in contact with a thermal bath, thermostating techniques are usually applied. In this work, we generalize the Green's function molecular dynamics technique to allow simulations within the canonical ensemble. By applying this technique to one-dimensional systems, we were able to correctly describe important thermodynamic properties such as the temperature fluctuations, the temperature distribution, and the velocity autocorrelation function. We show that the proposed technique also allows the use of time steps one order of magnitude larger than those typically used in conventional molecular dynamics simulations. We expect that this technique can be used in long-timescale molecular dynamics simulations.

Video assisted thoracoscopic and open chest surgery in diagnosis and treatment of malignant pleural diseases

PubMed Central

Waller, David A.

2017-01-01

Parenchymal cancers of lung, breast, gastrointestinal tract and ovaries as well as lymphomas and mesotheliomas are among the most common cancer types causing malignant effusions, though almost all tumour types have been reported to cause a malignant effusion. The prognosis heavily depends on patients’ response to systemic therapy however, regardless of the causing pathology and histopathologic form, malignant pleural disease is normally associated with a poor prognosis. To date, there are not sufficient data to allow accurate predictions of survival that would facilitate decision making for managing patients with malignant pleural diseases. Interventions are directed towards drainage of the effusion and, when appropriate, concurrent or subsequent pleurodesis or establishing long-term drainage to prevent re-accumulation. The rate of re-accumulation of the pleural effusion, the patient's prognosis, and the severity of the patient’s symptoms should guide the subsequent choice of therapy. In contemporary medicine, not many cancers have managed to generate as intense debates concerning treatment, as malignant pleural mesothelioma. The relative advantages of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and any combination of the three are continuously reassessed and reconsidered, even though not always based on scientific evidence. The aim of surgery in mesothelioma may be prolongation of life, in addition to palliation of symptoms. Longer recovery periods from more extensive surgical procedures could be justified, in carefully selected patients. Surgical options include: Video assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) pleurodesis, VATS partial pleurectomy (VATS PP)—both parietal and visceral; open pleurectomy decortication (PD)—with an extended option (EPD) and extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP). Current evidence implies that EPD can be performed reliably in specialised centres with good results, both in terms of mortality and survival; however, no operation has yet been shown to be beneficial in a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial. PMID:29078648

Association between particulate air pollution exposure during pregnancy and postpartum maternal psychological functioning

PubMed Central

Speranza, Rosa; Chiu, Yueh-Hsiu Mathilda; Hsu, Hsiao-Hsien Leon; Curtin, Paul C.; Renzetti, Stefano; Pajak, Ashley; Coull, Brent; Schwartz, Joel; Kloog, Itai; Wright, Rosalind J.

2018-01-01

Postpartum psychological functioning impacts both women’s health and outcomes in children. Lower income, ethnic minority women may be at particular risk for adverse postpartum mental health outcomes. Studies link ambient air pollution exposure with psychological dysfunction in adults although this association has not been examined among postpartum women. Methods We studied associations between prenatal exposure to particulate matter with diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and postpartum psychological functioning in a lower income, ethnically mixed sample of urban US women enrolled in a pregnancy cohort study. Analyses included 557 mothers who delivered at ≥37 weeks gestation. Daily estimates of residential PM2.5 over gestation were derived using a satellite-based spatio-temporally resolved model. Outcomes included the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score from 6 or 12 months postpartum and subscale scores for anhedonia, depressive and anxiety symptoms. Associations were also examined within racial/ethnic groups. Distributed lag models (DLMs) were implemented to identify windows of vulnerability during pregnancy. Results Most mothers had less than a high school education (64%) and were primarily Hispanic (55%) and Black (29%). In the overall sample, a DLM adjusted for age, race, education, prenatal smoking, and season of delivery, we found significant associations between higher PM2.5 exposure in the second trimester and increased anhedonia subscale scores postpartum. In race stratified analyses, mid-pregnancy PM2.5 exposure was significantly associated with increased total EPDS scores as well as higher anhedonia and depressive symptom subscale scores among Black women. Conclusions Increased PM2.5 exposure in mid-pregnancy was associated with increased depressive and anhedonia symptoms, particularly in Black women. PMID:29668689

The GIRE2 Model and Its Application to the Europa Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

De Soria-Santacruz Pich, Maria; Garrett, Henry B.; Evans, Robin W.; Jun, Insoo; Kim, Wousik; Paranicas, Chris

2016-01-01

We present an empirical model of Jupiter's electron radiation environment and its application to the design of the future NASA mission to Europa. The model is based on data from the Galileo spacecraft. Measurements of the high-energy, omni-directional electrons from the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) and magnetic field from the Magnetometer (MAG) onboard Galileo are used for this purpose. Ten-minute averages of the EPD data are used to provide an omni-directional electron flux spectrum at 0.238, 0.416, 0.706, 1.5, 2.0, and 11.0 MeV. Additionally, data from the Geiger Tube Telescope onboard Pioneer 10 and 11 are used to calculate the flux of 31 MeV electrons. The Galileo Interim Radiation Electron model v.2 (GIRE2) combines these datasets with the original Divine model and synchrotron observations to estimate the trapped electron radiation environment. Unlike the original Divine model, which was based on flybys of the Voyager and Pioneer spacecraft, the new GIRE2 model covers about 7 years of data and more than 30 orbits around Jupiter from the Galileo spacecraft. The model represents a step forward in the study of the Jovian radiation environment and is a valuable tool to assist in the design of future missions to Jupiter. This paper gives an overview of GIRE2 and focuses on its application to the design of the future NASA mission to Europa. The spacecraft will orbit Jupiter and perform multiple flybys of the moon Europa, which is embedded in the middle of a very strong radiation environment. The radiation environment surrounding the moon as well as along the trajectory are described in the paper together with the implications of this environment on the design of a mission.

Ultrasensitive Superconducting Transition Edge Sensors Based On Electron-Phonon Decoupling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jethava, Nikhil; Chervenak, James; Brown, Ari-David; Benford, Dominic; Kletetschka, Gunther; Mikula, Vilem; U-yen, Kongpop

2011-01-01

We have successfully fabricated the superconducting transition edge sensor (TES), bolometer technology that centers on the use of electron-phonon decoupling (EPD) to thermally isolate the bolometer. Along with material characterization for large format antenna coupled bolometer arrays, we present the initial test results of bolometer based on EPD designed for THz detection. We have selected a design approach that separates the two functions of photon absorption and temperature measurement, allowing separate optimization of the performance of each element. We have integrated Molybdenum/Gold (Mo/Au) bilayer TES and ion assisted thermally evaporated (IAE) Bismuth (Bi) films as radiation absorber coupled to a low-loss microstripline from Niobium (Nb) ground plane to a twin-slot antenna structure. The thermal conductance and the time constant of these devices have been measured, and are consistent with our calculations. The device exhibits a single time constant at 0.1 K of approx.160 IlS, which is compatible with readout by a high-bandwidth single SQUID or a time domain SQUID multiplexer. The effects of thermal conductance and electrothermal feedback are major determinants of the time constant, but the electronic heat capacity also plays a major role. The NEP achieved in the device described above is 2.5x10(exp -17)W(gamma)Hz. Our plan is to demonstrate a reduction of the volume in the superconducting element to 5 microns x 5 microns in films of half the thickness at Tc = 60mK. By calculation, this new geometry corresponds to an NEP reduction of two orders of magnitude to 2.5x10(exp -19)W/(gamma)Hz, with a time constant of 130/ls.

A Dosimetry Study of Deuterium-Deuterium Neutron Generator-based In Vivo Neutron Activation Analysis.

PubMed

Sowers, Daniel; Liu, Yingzi; Mostafaei, Farshad; Blake, Scott; Nie, Linda H

2015-12-01

A neutron irradiation cavity for in vivo neutron activation analysis (IVNAA) to detect manganese, aluminum, and other potentially toxic elements in human hand bone has been designed and its dosimetric specifications measured. The neutron source is a customized deuterium-deuterium neutron generator that produces neutrons at 2.45 MeV by the fusion reaction 2H(d, n)3He at a calculated flux of 7 × 10(8) ± 30% s(-1). A moderator/reflector/shielding [5 cm high density polyethylene (HDPE), 5.3 cm graphite and 5.7 cm borated (HDPE)] assembly has been designed and built to maximize the thermal neutron flux inside the hand irradiation cavity and to reduce the extremity dose and effective dose to the human subject. Lead sheets are used to attenuate bremsstrahlung x rays and activation gammas. A Monte Carlo simulation (MCNP6) was used to model the system and calculate extremity dose. The extremity dose was measured with neutron and photon sensitive film badges and Fuji electronic pocket dosimeters (EPD). The neutron ambient dose outside the shielding was measured by Fuji NSN3, and the photon dose was measured by a Bicron MicroREM scintillator. Neutron extremity dose was calculated to be 32.3 mSv using MCNP6 simulations given a 10-min IVNAA measurement of manganese. Measurements by EPD and film badge indicate hand dose to be 31.7 ± 0.8 mSv for neutrons and 4.2 ± 0.2 mSv for photons for 10 min; whole body effective dose was calculated conservatively to be 0.052 mSv. Experimental values closely match values obtained from MCNP6 simulations. These are acceptable doses to apply the technology for a manganese toxicity study in a human population.

Prediction of incidence and bio-psycho-socio-cultural risk factors of post-partum depression immediately after birth in an Iranian population.

PubMed

Abdollahi, Fatemeh; Zarghami, Mehran; Sazlina, Shariff-Ghazali; Zain, Azhar Md; Mohammad, Asghari Jafarabadi; Lye, Munn-Sann

2016-10-01

Post-partum depression (PPD) is the most prevalent mental problem associated with childbirth. The purpose of the present study was to determine the incidence of early PPD and possible relevant risk factors among women attending primary health centers in Mazandaran province, Iran for the first time. A longitudinal cohort study was conducted among 2279 eligible women during weeks 32-42 of pregnancy to determine bio-psycho-socio-cultural risk factors of depression at 2 weeks post-partum using the Iranian version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Univariate and hierarchical multiple logistic regression models were used for data analysis. Among 1,739 mothers whose EPDS scores were ≤ 12 during weeks 32-42 of gestation and at the follow-up study, the cumulative incidence rate of depression was 6.9% (120/1,739) at 2 weeks post-partum. In the multivariate model the factor that predicted depression symptomatology at 2 weeks post-partum was having psychiatric distress in pregnancy based on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) (OR = 1.06, (95% CI: 1.04-1.09), p = 0.001). The risk of PPD also lower in those with sufficient parenting skills (OR = 0.78 (95% CI: 0.69-0.88), p = 0.001), increased marital satisfaction (OR = 0.94 (95% CI: 0.9-0.99), p = 0.03), increased frequency of practicing rituals (OR = 0.94 (95% CI: 0.89-0.99), p = 0.004) and in those whose husbands had better education (OR = 0.03 (95% CI: 0.88-0.99), p = 0.04). The findings indicated that a combination of demographic, sociological, psychological and cultural risk factors can make mothers vulnerable to PPD.

Safety and effectiveness of the INVATEC MO.MA proximal cerebral protection device during carotid artery stenting: results from the ARMOUR pivotal trial.

PubMed

Ansel, Gary M; Hopkins, L Nelson; Jaff, Michael R; Rubino, Paolo; Bacharach, J Michael; Scheinert, Dierk; Myla, Subbarao; Das, Tony; Cremonesi, Alberto

2010-07-01

The multicenter ARMOUR (ProximAl PRotection with the MO.MA Device DUring CaRotid Stenting) trial evaluated the 30-day safety and effectiveness of the MO.MA Proximal Cerebral Protection Device (Invatec, Roncadelle, Italy) utilized to treat high surgical risk patients undergoing carotid artery stenting (CAS). Distal embolic protection devices (EPD) have been traditionally utilized during CAS. The MO.MA device acts as a balloon occlusion "endovascular clamping" system to achieve cerebral protection prior to crossing the carotid stenosis. This prospective registry enrolled 262 subjects, 37 roll-in and 225 pivotal subjects evaluated with intention to treat (ITT) from September 2007 to February 2009. Subjects underwent CAS using the MO.MA device. The primary endpoint, myocardial infarction, stroke, or death through 30 days (30-day major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events [MACCE]) was compared to a performance goal of 13% derived from trials utilizing distal EPD. For the ITT population, the mean age was 74.7 years with 66.7% of the cohort being male. Symptomatic patients comprised 15.1% and 28.9% were octogenarians. Device success was 98.2% and procedural success was 93.2%. The 30-day MACCE rate was 2.7% [95% CI (1.0-5.8%)] with a 30-day major stroke rate of 0.9%. No symptomatic patient suffered a stroke during this trial. The ARMOUR trial demonstrated that the MO.MA(R) Proximal Cerebral Protection Device is safe and effective for high surgical risk patients undergoing CAS. The absence of stroke in symptomatic patients is the lowest rate reported in any independently adjudicated prospective multicenter registry trial to date. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Maternal depression and personality traits in association with child neuropsychological and behavioral development in preschool years: Mother-child cohort (Rhea Study) in Crete, Greece.

PubMed

Koutra, Katerina; Roumeliotaki, Theano; Kyriklaki, Andriani; Kampouri, Mariza; Sarri, Katerina; Vassilaki, Maria; Bitsios, Panos; Kogevinas, Manolis; Chatzi, Leda

2017-08-01

Poor perinatal maternal mental health has been linked with negative outcomes on early child development; however, the importance of maternal personality has been neglected thus far. We aimed to examine the effects of antenatal and postnatal maternal mental health, including assessment of maternal personality characteristics, on child neuropsychological and behavioral development at preschool years in a population based mother-child cohort (Rhea Study) in Crete, Greece. Self-reported measures of maternal depression (EPDS), trait anxiety (STAI-Trait) and personality traits (EPQ-R) were assessed in a sample of 288 women at 28-32 weeks of gestation. A larger sample of 642 mothers completed the EPDS scale at 8 weeks postpartum. Children's neuropsychological (MSCA) and behavioral (ADHDT and SDQ) development were assessed at 4 years of age. Linear regression analyses were used to estimate the associations between the exposures and outcomes of interest after adjustment for potential confounders. Regarding child neuropsychological development, increased postnatal depressive symptoms were associated with child's perceptual performance, whereas increased maternal psychoticism was linked with child's motor ability at 4 years of age. Furthermore, elevated levels of maternal depression during pregnancy and postpartum, and the predisposing personality characteristics of trait anxiety and neuroticism, were associated with children's behavioral difficulties. A clinical diagnostic instrument for maternal mental health was not used and assessment of children's behavior was based on maternal report. These findings suggest that poor perinatal maternal mental health and an adverse personality profile may be associated with impaired child neuropsychological and behavioral development at preschool years. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Associations Between Postpartum Depression, Breastfeeding, and Oxytocin Levels in Latina Mothers.

PubMed

Lara-Cinisomo, Sandraluz; McKenney, Kathryn; Di Florio, Arianna; Meltzer-Brody, Samantha

2017-09-01

Postpartum depression (PPD), often comorbid with anxiety, is the leading medical complication among new mothers. Latinas have elevated risk of PPD, which has been associated with early breastfeeding cessation. Lower plasma oxytocin (OT) levels have also been associated with PPD in non-Latinas. This pilot study explores associations between PPD, anxiety, breastfeeding, and OT in Latinas. Thirty-four Latinas were enrolled during their third trimester of pregnancy and followed through 8 weeks postpartum. Demographic data were collected at enrollment. Depression was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at each time point (third trimester of pregnancy, 4 and 8 weeks postpartum). The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was administered postpartum and EPDS anxiety subscale was used to assess anxiety at each time point. Breastfeeding status was assessed at 4 and 8 weeks postpartum. At 8 weeks, OT was collected before, during, and after a 10-minute breast/bottle feeding session from 28 women who completed the procedures. Descriptive statistics are provided and comparisons by mood and breastfeeding status were conducted. Analyses of variance were used to explore associations between PPD, anxiety, breastfeeding status, and OT. Just under one-third of women were depressed at enrollment. Prenatal depression, PPD, and anxiety were significantly associated with early breastfeeding cessation (i.e., stopped breastfeeding before 2 months) (p < 0.05). There was a significant interaction between early breastfeeding cessation and depression status on OT at 8 weeks postpartum (p < 0.05). Lower levels of OT were observed in women who had PPD at 8 weeks and who had stopped breastfeeding their infant by 8 weeks postpartum. Future studies should investigate the short- and long-term effects of lower OT levels and early breastfeeding cessation on maternal and child well-being.

Relation of plasma tryptophan concentrations during pregnancy to maternal sleep and mental well-being: The GUSTO cohort.

PubMed

van Lee, Linde; Cai, Shirong; Loy, See Ling; Tham, Elaine K H; Yap, Fabian K P; Godfrey, Keith M; Gluckman, Peter D; Shek, Lynette P C; Teoh, Oon Hoe; Goh, Daniel Y T; Tan, Kok Hian; Chong, Yap Seng; Meaney, Michael J; Chen, Helen; Broekman, Birit F P; Chong, Mary F F

2018-01-01

Evidence suggests a relation between plasma tryptophan concentrations and sleep and mental well-being. As no studies have been performed in pregnant women, we studied the relation of plasma tryptophan concentrations during pregnancy with sleep quality, and mood during and after pregnancy. Pregnant women (n = 572) from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes study completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) at 26-28 weeks gestation and three months post-delivery. Plasma tryptophan concentrations were measured at 26-28 weeks gestation. Poisson regressions estimated prevalence ratios (PR) for the association between tryptophan and poor sleep quality (PSQI global score > 5), probable antenatal depression (EPDS ≥ 15) and probable anxiety (STAI-state ≥ 41) were calculated adjusting for covariates. Mean plasma tryptophan concentrations was 48.0µmol/L (SD: 8.09). Higher plasma tryptophan concentrations were associated with a lower prevalence of antenatal poor sleep quality adjusting for covariates [PR: 0.88 (95% CI 0.80, 0.97) per 10µmol/L], especially in those participants who also suffered from anxiety symptoms [PR: 0.80 (95% CI 0.67, 0.95)]. No associations were observed between tryptophan concentrations during pregnancy and postnatal sleep quality or mental well-being. Subjective measures were used to assess sleep and mental well-being. We observed that higher plasma tryptophan concentrations were associated with a 12% lower prevalence of poor sleep quality during pregnancy, in particular among those with anxiety symptoms. These findings suggest the importance of having adequate tryptophan concentrations during pregnancy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) experiment M0003 meteoroid and debris survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meshishnek, M. J.; Gyetvay, S. R.; Paschen, K. W.; Coggi, J. M.

1993-01-01

A survey of the meteoroid and space debris impacts on LDEF experiment M0003 was performed. The purpose of this survey was to document significant impact phenomenology and to obtain impact crater data for comparison to current space debris and micrometeoroid models. The survey consists of the following: photomicrographs of significant impacts in a variety of material types; accurate measurements of impact crater coordinates and dimensions for selected experiment surfaces; and databasing of the crater data for reduction, manipulation, and comparison to models. Large area surfaces that were studied include the experiment power and data system (EPDS) sunshields, environment exposure control canister (EECC) sunshields, and the M0003 signal conditioning unit (SCU) covers. Crater diameters down to 25 microns were measured and cataloged. Both leading (D8) and trailing (D4) edge surfaces were studied and compared. The EPDS sunshields are aluminum panels painted with Chemglaze A-276 white thermal control paint, the EECC sunshields are chromic acid-anodized aluminum, and the SCU covers are aluminum painted with S13GLO white thermal control paint. Typical materials that have documented impacts are metals, glasses and ceramics, composites, polymers, electronic materials, and paints. The results of this survey demonstrate the different response of materials to hypervelocity impacts. Comparison of the survey data to curves derived from the Kessler debris model and the Cour-Palais micrometeoroid model indicates that these models overpredict small impacts (less than 100 micron) and may underpredict large impacts (greater than 1000 micron) while having fair to good agreement for the intermediate impacts. Comparison of the impact distributions among the various surfaces indicates significant variations, which may be a function of material response effects, or in some cases surface roughness. Representative photographs and summary graphs of the impact data are presented.

The relationship between sexual functioning and depressive symptomatology in postpartum women: a pilot study.

PubMed

Chivers, Meredith L; Pittini, Richard; Grigoriadis, Sophie; Villegas, Laura; Ross, Lori E

2011-03-01

Previous research on postpartum sexuality has primarily focused on the impact of physical factors on the resumption and frequency of sexual intercourse; fewer studies have focused on the impact of psychological factors on women's sexual functioning. The aim of this study is to assess current sexual functioning and sexual behavior in women with and without symptoms of postpartum depression using validated measures of postpartum depression and sexual functioning. Women attending postpartum appointments were consecutively recruited over a 12-month period and completed questionnaires assessing sexual functioning, current sexual behavior, and mental health. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and items assessing current sexual behaviors. A total of 77 women returned completed questionnaire packages (mean postpartum weeks: 13, range 3-24). Of these, 57 women (74%) had engaged in sexual activity with a partner in the 4 weeks prior to completing the questionnaire. The mean FSFI score was 23.0 (range 6-34), with 37 women (65%) scoring in the range associated with clinical sexual dysfunction. Women with elevated EPDS scores had significantly lower total FSFI, arousal, orgasm, and satisfaction FSFI subscale scores (all P values <0.005) than nondepressed women, suggesting more problematic sexual functioning. Desire, lubrication, and pain FSFI subscale scores were not significantly associated with depression status. A substantial proportion of women experience sexual problems in the postpartum period; these problems are particularly pronounced among women with symptoms of postpartum depression. Longitudinal research is needed to better understand the relationship between sexual dysfunction and depression among postpartum women, and to identify implications for prevention and treatment of both conditions. © 2010 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Impact of Detergent on Biophysical Properties and Immune Response of the IpaDB Fusion Protein, a Candidate Subunit Vaccine against Shigella Species

PubMed Central

Chen, Xiaotong; Choudhari, Shyamal P.; Martinez-Becerra, Francisco J.; Kim, Jae Hyun; Dickenson, Nicholas E.; Toth, Ronald T.; Joshi, Sangeeta B.; Greenwood, Jamie C.; Clements, John D.; Picking, William D.; Middaugh, C. Russell

2014-01-01

Shigella spp. are causative agents of bacillary dysentery, a human illness with high global morbidity levels, particularly among elderly and infant populations. Shigella infects via the fecal-oral route, and its virulence is dependent upon a type III secretion system (T3SS). Two components of the exposed needle tip complex of the Shigella T3SS, invasion plasmid antigen D (IpaD) and IpaB, have been identified as broadly protective antigens in the mouse lethal pneumonia model. A recombinant fusion protein (DB fusion) was created by joining the coding sequences of IpaD and IpaB. The DB fusion is coexpressed with IpaB's cognate chaperone, IpgC, for proper recombinant expression. The chaperone can then be removed by using the mild detergents octyl oligooxyethelene (OPOE) or N,N-dimethyldodecylamine N-oxide (LDAO). The DB fusion in OPOE or LDAO was used for biophysical characterization and subsequent construction of an empirical phase diagram (EPD). The EPD showed that the DB fusion in OPOE is most stable at neutral pH below 55°C. In contrast, the DB fusion in LDAO exhibited remarkable thermal plasticity, since this detergent prevents the loss of secondary and tertiary structures after thermal unfolding at 90°C, as well as preventing thermally induced aggregation. Moreover, the DB fusion in LDAO induced higher interleukin-17 secretion and provided a higher protective efficacy in a mouse challenge model than did the DB fusion in OPOE. These data indicate that LDAO might introduce plasticity to the protein, promoting thermal resilience and enhanced protective efficacy, which may be important in its use as a subunit vaccine. PMID:25368115

Functional network changes in the hippocampus contribute to depressive symptoms in epilepsy.

PubMed

Peng, Weifeng; Mao, Lingyan; Yin, Dazhi; Sun, Wei; Wang, He; Zhang, Qianqian; Wang, Jing; Chen, Caizhong; Zeng, Mengsu; Ding, Jing; Wang, Xin

2018-06-01

Our study aimed to investigate the functional connectivity (FC) between the hippocampus and other brain regions in epilepsy patients with depressive symptoms. Epilepsy patients with and without depressive symptoms, assessed using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores, were enrolled. Healthy volunteers were recruited as the control group. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed, and the data were processed using Resting-State fMRI (DPARSFA2.0) software. The regional homogeneity (ReHo) values and the FC between the right hippocampus and other brain regions were analysed. The ReHo value of the cerebellum (particularly the left cerebellar hemisphere) was significantly lower in epilepsy patients than in healthy controls, and was lower in epilepsy patients with depressive symptoms (EP + DS group) than in those without depressive symptoms (EP-DS group, p < 0.05). Additionally, the FC between the right hippocampus and the bilateral cerebellum was significantly greater in the EP + DS group than in the EP-DS group (p < 0.05). Moreover, abnormal ReHo values in the bilateral frontal lobes, including the right anterior cingulate cortex, and changes in the FC between the right hippocampus and the bilateral frontal lobes were found in the EP + DS group. Minor changes in the FC between the temporal and parietal lobes were also found in the epilepsy patients. The functional right hippocampus-cerebellum circuit might contribute to the pathogenesis of depressive symptoms in epilepsy, with the exception of brain areas associated with emotion such as the frontal and temporal lobes. Modulating the hippocampus-cerebellum circuit is a potential therapeutic strategy for epilepsy patients with depressive symptoms. Copyright © 2018 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relationships of maternal folate and vitamin B12 status during pregnancy with perinatal depression: The GUSTO study.

PubMed

Chong, Mary F F; Wong, Jocelyn X Y; Colega, Marjorelee; Chen, Ling-Wei; van Dam, Rob M; Tan, Chuen Seng; Lim, Ai Lin; Cai, Shirong; Broekman, Birit F P; Lee, Yung Seng; Saw, Seang Mei; Kwek, Kenneth; Godfrey, Keith M; Chong, Yap Seng; Gluckman, Peter; Meaney, Michael J; Chen, Helen

2014-08-01

Studies in the general population have proposed links between nutrition and depression, but less is known about the perinatal period. Depletion of nutrient reserves throughout pregnancy and delayed postpartum repletion could increase the risk of perinatal depression. We examined the relationships of plasma folate and vitamin B12 concentrations during pregnancy with perinatal depression. At 26th-28th weeks of gestation, plasma folate and vitamin B12 were measured in women from the GUSTO mother-offspring cohort study in Singapore. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) during the same period and at 3-month postpartum. EPDS scores of ≥15 during pregnancy or ≥13 at postpartum were indicative of probable depression. Of 709 women, 7.2% (n = 51) were identified with probable antenatal depression and 10.4% (n = 74) with probable postnatal depression. Plasma folate concentrations were significantly lower in those with probable antenatal depression than those without (mean ± SD; 27.3 ± 13.8 vs 40.4 ± 36.5 nmol/L; p = 0.011). No difference in folate concentrations was observed in those with and without probable postnatal depression. In adjusted regression models, the likelihood of probable antenatal depression decreases by 0.69 for every unit variation (increase) in folate (OR = 0.69 per SD increase in folate; 95% CI: 0.52, 0.94). Plasma vitamin B12 concentrations were not associated with perinatal depression. Lower plasma folate status during pregnancy was associated with antenatal depression, but not with postnatal depression. Replication in other studies is needed to determine the direction of causality between low folate and antenatal depression. NCT01174875. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social stress and depression during pregnancy and in the postnatal period in British Pakistani mothers: a cohort study.

PubMed

Husain, Nusrat; Cruickshank, Kennedy; Husain, Meher; Khan, Sarah; Tomenson, Barbara; Rahman, Atif

2012-11-01

Depressive disorders are common and disabling among perinatal women. The rates are high in ethnic minority groups. The causes are not known in British Pakistani women. The aim of this study was to estimate the rates, correlates and maintaining factors of perinatal depression in a Pakistani sample in UK. The design used was a cross-sectional two phase population based survey with a prospective cohort study. All women in 3rd trimester attending antenatal clinic were screened with the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS). Women scoring 12 or more on EPDS and a random sample of low scorers were interviewed using the Schedules for Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN) and the Life Events and Difficulties schedule (LEDS). Social support was assessed with the Multidimensional Scale for Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). They were reassessed 6 months after the delivery using the same measures. The weighted prevalence of depression was 16.8%. Depressed mothers had more marked non health difficulties (housing, financial and marital). They had less social support and were socially isolated. Marked social isolation and marked non-health related difficulties were independent predictors of depression. Analyses of all the possible risk factors, comparing 26 persistent depressed with 27 depression resolved group showed significant differences in the MSPSS subscales between the two groups. The study lacked inter-rater reliability testing between the individuals carrying out diagnostic interviews. The study sample did not accurately represent the general population and information about the origins of depression in this group of mothers was limited. Depression in British Pakistani mothers is associated with social isolation, poor social support and severe and persistent social difficulties. The findings will have implications in planning suitable services for this group. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.