The infant health effects of starting universal child benefits in pregnancy: Evidence from England and Wales

Child benefits are typically paid from birth. This paper asks whether starting universal child benefits in pregnancy leads to improvements in infant health. Leveraging administrative birth registry and hospital microdata from England and Wales, I study the effects of the Health in Pregnancy Grant, a universal conditional cash transfer equivalent to three months of child benefit (190 GBP) as a lump sum to pregnant mothers from 2009 to 2011. I exploit quasi-experimental variation in eligibility with a regression discontinuity design in the date of birth of the baby. I find that the policy increased birth weight by 8–12 grams on average, reduced low birth weight ($<$2500 g) by 3-6 percent and decreased prematurity by 9–11 percent. Younger mothers, particularly those living in deprived areas, benefit the most. I present evidence that the mechanisms are unlikely to be antenatal care, nutrition or smoking, with reductions in stress remaining a possible explanation.     

Evaluación del desarrollo psicomotor hasta los 3 años de edad de niños españoles concebidos por técnicas de reproducción asistida (FIV/ICSI): estudio prospectivo de cohorte controlado

IntroductionMore than five million children have been conceived by assisted reproductive techniques (ART) around the world. Most authors agree that there are no differences in psychomotor development in comparison to naturally conceived children. However, these results are still contradictory.ObjectiveTo determine whether children born from a cohort of ART-clinical gestations have a higher risk of suffering neurodevelopmental disorders in comparison to a control group. The potential associated ART-factors associated were also determined.Material and methodsThe study included the assessment of children up to 3 years old conceived by ART, and born from a cohort of women treated by the reproduction unit of a public hospital from May 2012 to May 2014. A simultaneous assessment was made of matched controls, by following the newborn naturally conceived after the ART-case, of the same group of maternal age, gestational age, and type of gestation.ResultsThere were 243 clinical gestations and 267 ART-newborns, of which 231 were assessed (87%). A simultaneous assessment was carried out in 208/230 controls (90%). There were no differences in neurodevelopmental disorders (global developmental delay, autism spectrum or language delay). Multivariate analysis of potential ART factors only showed an association between transfer of frozen embryos with language delay that has not been previously described.ConclusionsThere were no differences between groups after adjusting the results according to maternal age, multiple pregnancy, and other possible confounding factors, supporting that the role of these factors may be more relevant than the ART itself. The association between frozen embryo transfer and language delay has not been previously described. Thus, more studies are needed to confirm or refute this relationship.     

养精种玉汤辅助体外受精-胚胎移植对排卵障碍性不孕患者的影响

目的：探究养精种玉汤辅助体外受精-胚胎移植（IVF-ET）对排卵障碍性不孕患者的影响。方法：选取2016年12月至2017年3月邯郸市中心医院收治的排卵障碍性不孕患者82例作为研究对象，按照随机数字表法随机分为对照组与观察组，每组41例。对照组给予促性腺激素释放激素激动剂（Gn）+控制性促排卵+IVF-ET治疗，观察组在此基础上联合养精种玉汤治疗，至HCG日停止服用。治疗后统计2组Gn使用情况、取卵数及妊娠率；检测并比较HCG日2组子宫内膜容受性指标；比较2组妊娠结局及治疗期间相关不良反应发生情况。结果：观察组Gn使用天数及使用剂量均低于对照组，而妊娠率高于对照组（P<0.05或P<0.01）；观察组子宫内膜类型为A型患者比例高于对照组，而子宫内膜类型为C型患者比例低于对照组（P<0.05或P<0.01）；观察组子宫内膜厚度大于对照组，而子宫内膜动脉血流参数PI及RI均低于对照组（P<0.01）；2组不良反应发生率差异无统计学意义（P>0.05），且治疗期间2组血清肝功能指标及血尿常规检测均未发现异常。结论：养精种玉汤辅助IVF-ET可有效增强排卵障碍性不孕患者子宫内膜容受性，提高患者妊娠率并改善其妊娠结局，具有良好的安全性。     

Computer-generated vegan menus: The importance of food composition database choice

Precise data on food chemical composition is crucial for any quantitative nutrition research and indispensable for evaluation and planning of computer-based menus. Moreover, exact food chemical composition is of the utmost importance in composing specific diets that may be low in certain essential nutrients. Therefore, this research evaluated a weekly vegan menu using three different food composition databases (FCDB): the Croatian, the official Danish Food Composition Database and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were determined in evaluated and optimised offers for the same menu when using different FCDBs. Furthermore, in these menus quantities of some nutrients have not reached official daily recommendations needed for prevention of non-communicable diseases. In this research, new vegan menus that can provide adequate quantity of essential nutrients, regardless of FCDB utilized, were created with linear optimisation (LO). This resulted in high quality daily menu offers. However, depending on the FCDB that was used, optimal menus differed in daily meal combinations, and the effectiveness of the optimisation in the minimisation of differences caused by differences of data in FCDBs was tested. Linear optimisation has been proved to be an effective tool in planning of specific diets, such as vegan diets. Nonetheless, the quality of computer-planned menus depends heavily on the quality of FCDB used.     

Temperature-controlled power modulation compensates for heterogeneous nanoparticle distributions: a computational optimization analysis for magnetic hyperthermia

Purpose: To study, with computational models, the utility of power modulation to reduce tissue temperature heterogeneity for variable nanoparticle distributions in magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia.

Methods: Tumour and surrounding tissue were modeled by elliptical two- and three-dimensional computational phantoms having six different nanoparticle distributions. Nanoparticles were modeled as point heat sources having amplitude-dependent loss power. The total number of nanoparticles was fixed, and their spatial distribution and heat output were varied. Heat transfer was computed by solving the Pennes’ bioheat equation using finite element methods (FEM) with temperature-dependent blood perfusion. Local temperature was regulated using a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller. Tissue temperature, thermal dose and tissue damage were calculated. The required minimum thermal dose delivered to the tumor was kept constant, and heating power was adjusted for comparison of both the heating methods.

Results: Modulated power heating produced lower and more homogeneous temperature distributions than did constant power heating for all studied nanoparticle distributions. For a concentrated nanoparticle distribution, located off-center within the tumor, the maximum temperatures inside the tumor were 16% lower for modulated power heating when compared to constant power heating. This resulted in less damage to surrounding normal tissue. Modulated power heating reached target thermal doses up to nine-fold more rapidly when compared to constant power heating.

Conclusions: Controlling the temperature at the tumor-healthy tissue boundary by modulating the heating power of magnetic nanoparticles demonstrably compensates for a variable nanoparticle distribution to deliver effective treatment.     

Principles of pressure transducer function and sources of error in clinical use

The invasive measurement of physiological pressures is a common requirement in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine. From arterial blood pressure to intracranial pressure, these calculated variables give a swift graphical and numerical representation of a patient's current physiological status. This allows us to respond rapidly to conditions outside our preferred parameters and to carefully titrate treatment to target effects. These systems are, however, not infallible. An understanding of the principles of their function will promote appropriate use and an ability to recognize and react to sources of error. This article aims to furnish the reader with this level of understanding in order to inform their academic and clinical practice.