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.     

Deepm5C: A deep-learning-based hybrid framework for identifying human RNA N5-methylcytosine sites using a stacking strategy

1. Download : Download high-res image (173KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

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.     

The oncogenic impact of RNF2 on cell proliferation,invasion and migration through EMT on mammary carcinoma

Mammary carcinoma (MC) is one of most common malignancy in women, and ring finger protein 2 (RNF2) possesses various roles in vast human tumors. In MC tissues as well as in cell lines RNF2 exhibited high expression, had significant association with tumor size, lymph node status, TNM stage, patients’ poor survival, and promoted cell proliferation, colony formation, cell migration and invasion of MC cell lines which was mediated by downregulation of E-cadherin protein. These data reveal that RNF2 protein plays a vital role in the development of MC and may be a potential therapy target of MC.     

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.     

Ebola Virus RNA Stability in Human Blood and Urine in West Africa’s Environmental Conditions

We evaluated RNA stability of Ebola virus in EDTA blood and urine samples collected from infected patients and stored in West Africa’s environmental conditions. In blood, RNA was stable for at least 18 days when initial cycle threshold values were <30, but in urine, RNA degradation occurred more quickly.