Greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiencies for soybeans and maize cultivated in different agronomic zones: A case study of Argentina.

Of all human activities, agriculture has one of the highest environmental impacts, particularly related to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, energy use and land use change. Soybean and maize are two of the most commercialized agricultural commodities worldwide. Argentina contributes significantly to this trade, being the third major producer of soybeans, the first exporter of soymeal and soybean oil, and the third exporter of maize.

Immune Modifications in Fetal Membranes Overlying the Cervix Precede Parturition in Humans.

In humans, parturition is currently viewed as an intrauterine outbreak of inflammation, accompanied by a massive release of proinflammatory cytokines at the maternal-fetal interface that comprises the maternal decidua, placenta, and fetal membranes. At term, fetal membranes overlying the cervix, the future site of rupture, show altered morphology and are termed the zone of altered morphology (ZAM). These alterations occur in normal fetal membranes during late pregnancy, in preparation for labor.

Impact of routine transvaginal ultrasound monitoring of cervical length in twins on administration of antenatal corticosteroids.

Objective: To evaluate whether routine measurement of cervical length (CL) by transvaginal ultrasound (TVU) in twin pregnancies can enable identification of women who will give birth before 34 weeks and require antenatal corticosteroids (ACSs), and whether it can limit their administration to women who will give birth later.

Study Design: Retrospective comparative study in two tertiary referral centers in France. Women with twin gestations followed in two tertiary university hospital maternity units and who delivered from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2009 were included.

Continued pregnancy and vaginal delivery after 32 weeks of gestation for monoamniotic twins.

Objective: To report the outcomes of 38 monoamniotic twin pregnancies managed homogeneously to assess whether continuing the pregnancy past 32 weeks of gestation and vaginal delivery are reasonable options.

Study Design: Single-centre retrospective study including all monoamniotic pregnancies managed over a 20-year period at Port-Royal Obstetrics Department, Paris, France.

Methods: In the study department, both continuation of the pregnancy up to 36 weeks of gestation and vaginal delivery are allowed for monoamniotic pregnancies in some conditions.

Assessment of the Cervix in Pregnant Women Using Shear Wave Elastography: A Feasibility Study.

The quantitative assessment of the cervix is crucial for the estimation of pre-term delivery risk and the prediction of the success of labor induction. We conducted a cross-sectional study using shear wave elastography based on the supersonic shear imaging technique. The shear wave speed (SWS) of the lower anterior part of the cervix was quantified over an 8-mm region of interest in 157 pregnant women.

Neural correlates of infant accent discrimination: an fNIRS study.

The present study investigated the neural correlates of infant discrimination of very similar linguistic varieties (Quebecois and Parisian French) using functional Near InfraRed Spectroscopy. In line with previous behavioral and electrophysiological data, there was no evidence that 3-month-olds discriminated the two regional accents, whereas 5-month-olds did, with the locus of discrimination in left anterior perisylvian regions. These neuroimaging results suggest that a developing language network relying crucially on left perisylvian cortices sustains infants' discrimination of similar linguistic varieties within this early period of infancy.

Air stepping in response to optic flows that move Toward and Away from the neonate.

To shed further light on the perceptual regulation of newborn stepping, we compared neonatal air stepping in response to optic flows simulating forward or backward displacement with stepping forward on a surface. Twenty-two 3-day-olds performed four 60 s trials in which they stepped forward on a table (Tactile) or in the air in response to a pattern that moved toward (Toward) or away (Away) from them or was static (Static). Significantly more steps were taken in the Tactile and Toward conditions than the Static condition.

Friend or foe? Early social evaluation of human interactions.

We report evidence that 29-month-old toddlers and 10-month-old preverbal infants discriminate between two agents: a pro-social agent, who performs a positive (comforting) action on a human patient and a negative (harmful) action on an inanimate object, and an anti-social agent, who does the converse. The evidence shows that they prefer the former to the latter even though the agents perform the same bodily movements. Given that humans can cause physical harm to their conspecifics, we discuss this finding in light of the likely adaptive value of the ability to detect harmful human agents.

Vertical and horizontal smooth pursuit eye movements in children with developmental coordination disorder.

Aim: Our aim was to study horizontal and vertical smooth pursuit eye movements in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD).

Method: Horizontal and vertical smooth pursuit eye movements of 91 children were studied using electro-oculography: 27 children with DCD (23 males, four females), according to the DSM-IV-TR criteria, and 64 comparison children (26 males, 38 females). All children were 7 to 12 years old (mean 9y, SD 1.

Risk factors of superimposed preeclampsia in women with essential chronic hypertension treated before pregnancy.

Objective: To determine risk factors of superimposed preeclampsia in women with essential chronic hypertension receiving antihypertensive therapy prior to conception.

Methods: A retrospective study of 211 patients that analyzed risk factors of superimposed preeclampsia at first prenatal visit. Variables with a p<.

Insights on NIRS Sensitivity from a Cross-Linguistic Study on the Emergence of Phonological Grammar.

Each language has a unique set of phonemic categories and phonotactic rules which determine permissible sound sequences in that language. Behavioral research demonstrates that one's native language shapes the perception of both sound categories and sound sequences in adults, and neuroimaging results further indicate that the processing of native phonemes and phonotactics involves a left-dominant perisylvian brain network. Recent work using a novel technique, functional Near InfraRed Spectroscopy (NIRS), has suggested that a left-dominant network becomes evident toward the end of the first year of life as infants process phonemic contrasts.

(Non)words, (non)words, (non)words: evidence for a protolexicon during the first year of life.

Previous research with artificial language learning paradigms has shown that infants are sensitive to statistical cues to word boundaries (Saffran, Aslin & Newport, 1996) and that they can use these cues to extract word-like units (Saffran, 2001). However, it is unknown whether infants use statistical information to construct a receptive lexicon when acquiring their native language. In order to investigate this issue, we rely on the fact that besides real words a statistical algorithm extracts sound sequences that are highly frequent in infant-directed speech but constitute nonwords.

[Pregnancy in women aged 43 years or older: maternal and perinatal risks].

Objectives: The proportion of women with advanced age at the time of delivery increases constantly, partly due to assisted reproductive technologies. Maternal morbidity is known to increase with maternal age, whereas data on perinatal outcomes are controversial. Risks of maternal and perinatal complications may be elevated among older pregnant women.

Association between oocyte donation and maternal and perinatal outcomes in women aged 43 years or older.

Background: Although older maternal age is a risk factor for pregnancy complications, an increasing number of women delay conception until the age of 40, and some must resort to IVF with oocyte donation. Our objective was to study the association between IVF, both with and without oocyte donation, and maternal and perinatal outcomes in a population of older women.

Methods: This retrospective study covered all women, aged 43 or more, who gave birth between 2008 and 2010.

[Comparison of two bedside tests performed on cervicovaginal fluid to diagnose premature rupture of membranes].

Objective: To compare the performance of two rapid tests for the diagnosis of premature rupture of membranes (PROM) based on the detection of the insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) and placental α-microglobulin-1 (PAMG-1) in cervicovaginal secretions.

Methods: A case-control prospective study. Pregnant women between 24 and 41(6/7) weeks' of gestation, consulting for profuse amniotic fluid loss (group 1) or for other reasons without any rupture of membrane (group 2) were included in the study.

Functional screening of TLRs in human amniotic epithelial cells.

Intrauterine infection is a major cause of spontaneous preterm birth. Amniotic epithelial cells represent the first line of defense against intra-amniotic bacteria. We hypothesize that this epithelial cell barrier is able to recognize and respond to pathogens through the function of TLRs, which are crucial regulators of the innate immune system.

[Value of fetal scalp pH sampling early during the first stage of labour].

Objective: When fetal heart rate (FHR) abnormalities occur early during the first stage of labour, the risk of caesarean increases. In this study, we assessed the value of fetal scalp pH sampling on delivery mode, among women with FHR abnormalities before or at 5 cm cervical dilatation.

Methods: It is a retrospective observational study setting in a tertiary maternity center.

Assessing signal-driven mechanisms in neonates: brain responses to temporally and spectrally different sounds.

Past studies have found that, in adults, the acoustic properties of sound signals (such as fast versus slow temporal features) differentially activate the left and right hemispheres, and some have hypothesized that left-lateralization for speech processing may follow from left-lateralization to rapidly changing signals. Here, we tested whether newborns' brains show some evidence of signal-specific lateralization responses using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and auditory stimuli that elicits lateralized responses in adults, composed of segments that vary in duration and spectral diversity. We found significantly greater bilateral responses of oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) in the temporal areas for stimuli with a minimum segment duration of 21 ms, than stimuli with a minimum segment duration of 667 ms.

Subtypes of developmental coordination disorder: research on their nature and etiology.

Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) are a group embracing clumsiness and developmental dyspraxia. Our study provides a better understanding of the nature of DCD and its etiology, and identifies subtypes of dyspraxia. Forty-three children with DCD (5-15 years) were enrolled on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.

[Termination of pregnancy and placenta previa, interest of performing feticide before the labor induction?].

Objectives: Study of maternal morbidity when termination of pregnancy (TOP) is associated with placenta previa and study of the interest of performing feticide before labor induction.

Patients And Methods: This is a retrospective case control study with two groups of matched women: the case group (women with placenta previa) and the control group (women without placenta previa). Maternal morbidity have been studied and compared between the two groups and in the case group, between women who had feticide between labor induction and women who did not have feticide.

[Nifedipine or nicardipine in management of threatened preterm delivery: an observational population-based study].

Objective: For the first line tocolysis, calcium channel blockers (CCB)--oral nifedipine (Adalate®) or intravenous nicardipine (Loxen®)--are frequently used in France. No study compared nifedipine and nicardipine in management of threatened preterm delivery. From data of a French observational study, we compared factors associated with the use of nifedipine and nicardipine.

Vascularization of the placenta and the sub-placental myometrium: feasibility and reproducibility of a three-dimensional power Doppler ultrasound quantification technique. A pilot study.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of placental and myometrial vascularization quantification using 3D power Doppler ultrasonography.

Methods: 3D standardized acquisition was performed in the mid part of the utero-placental unit, once, in 38 patients undergoing normal pregnancies between 15 and 39 weeks. Vascularization parameters (VI, FI, and VFI) of placentae and myometrium were measured.

Secreted surfactant protein A from fetal membranes induces stress fibers in cultured human myometrial cells.

In the present study, we investigated the ability of human fetal membranes (amnion and choriodecidua) to regulate human maternal uterine cell functions through the secretion of surfactant protein (SP)-A and SP-D at the end of pregnancy. We detected the expression of both SP-A (SP-A1 and SP-A2) and SP-D by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Immunohistochemistry revealed that human fetal membranes expressed both SP-A and SP-D.

Active versus expectant management for preterm prelabor rupture of membranes at 34-36 weeks of completed gestation: comparison of maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Objective: To compare maternal and neonatal outcomes in deliveries managed by a policy of expectant management and active management of women with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (pPROM), at 34-36 completed weeks of gestation.

Design: Retrospective multicenter cohort study.

Setting: Three tertiary care teaching hospitals in France.

[Perineal consequences according to obstetric practices: A comparative study here and elsewhere, Canada and France].

Objective: To study how differences in birth management can influence the frequency and types of perineal lesions.

Material And Methods: We compared outcomes and obstetric practices during labour and birth in low-risk primiparous women in two maternity units: one Canadian (maternitA Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Quebec), one French (maternité Cochin-Port-Royal, Paris). We compared the occurrence of perineal lesions--episiotomy and severe perineal tear--in these two maternity units according to delivery method.