Exploring phenotypic plasticity and biogeography in emerald moths: A phylogeny of the genus Nemoria (Lepidoptera: Geometridae).

The moth genus Nemoria (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) includes 134 described species whose larvae and adults display a considerable range of phenotypic plasticity in coloration and morphology. We reconstructed the phylogeny of 54 species of Nemoria and seven outgroups using characters from the mitochondrial genes, Cytochrome Oxidase I and II (COI and COII), and the nuclear gene, Elongation Factor-alpha (EF-1alpha). Maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference were used to infer the phylogeny.

Frequency of holoprosencephaly in the International Clearinghouse Birth Defects Surveillance Systems: searching for population variations.

Background: Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is a developmental field defect of the brain that results in incomplete separation of the cerebral hemispheres that includes less severe phenotypes, such as arhinencephaly and single median maxillary central incisor. Information on the epidemiology of HPE is limited, both because few population-based studies have been reported, and because small studies must observe a greater number of years in order to accumulate sufficient numbers of births for a reliable estimate.

Methods: We collected data from 2000 through 2004 from 24 of the 46 Birth Defects Registry Members of the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Surveillance and Research.

Trends in the postfortification prevalence of spina bifida and anencephaly in the United States.

Background: The prevalence of NTDs in the US declined significantly after mandatory folic acid fortification; however, it is not known if the prevalence of NTDs has continued to decrease in recent years relative to the period immediately following the fortification mandate.

Methods: Population-based data from 21 birth defects surveillance systems were used to examine trends in the birth prevalence of spina bifida and anencephaly during 1999-2000, 2001-2002, and 2003-2004. Prevalence data were stratified by non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic race or ethnicity.

Alcohol consumption by women before and during pregnancy.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence, patterns, and predictors of alcohol consumption prior to and during various intervals of pregnancy in the U.S.

Methods: Alcohol-related, pregnancy-related, and demographic data were derived from computer-assisted telephone interviews with 4,088 randomly selected control mothers from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study who delivered live born infants without birth defects during 1997-2002.

Rorschach Comprehensive System data for a sample of 37 nonpatient/nondelinquent adolescents from the United States.

This study is composed of 37 American adolescents, ages 15 to 17 years of age, all from the United States. The principal author was the sole examiner. Inclusion criteria are described.

Pilot test of prenatal surveillance for birth defects in South Texas.

Background: The Texas Birth Defects Registry (TBDR) does not access prenatal diagnostic facilities to ascertain cases. Objectives of the study were to determine how many cases may be missing from the registry as a result, and to assess the feasibility and utility of prenatal surveillance for birth defects, through a pilot test in one region of Texas.

Methods: A trained abstractor reviewed medical records of all patients with abnormal ultrasound findings during 2004 in all prenatal diagnostic facilities in Texas Health Region 11 (n = 6 facilities).

Socioeconomic status in relation to selected birth defects in a large multicentered US case-control study.

This study examined individual and household socioeconomic status (SES) in relation to phenotypes of neural tube defects, orafacial clefts, and conotruncal heart defects using data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study with 2,551 nonmalformed liveborn controls and 1,841 cases delivered in 1997-2000. The individual SES was measured by maternal and paternal education, occupation, and household income. All individual SES measures were combined to create a household SES index.

Assuring clinical genetic services for newborns identified through U.S. newborn screening programs.

Purpose: The study purpose was to determine whether U.S. newborn screening and/or genetics programs systematically document whether newborns and their families, identified with genetic disorders through newborn dried blood spot screening, receive clinical genetic services.

Prepregnancy obesity as a risk factor for structural birth defects.

Objective: To describe the relation between maternal obesity, overweight and underweight status, and 16 categories of structural birth defects.

Design: An ongoing multisite, case-control study. Clinical geneticists reviewed all of the cases, excluding those that had or were strongly suspected to have a single-gene disorder or chromosomal abnormality.

Awareness and attitudes regarding prenatal testing among Texas women of childbearing age.

Despite increased visibility and availability of prenatal testing procedures, very little is known about the attitudes among the populace toward these procedures. Using a computer assisted telephone interview of pregnant and non-pregnant women of childbearing age we analyze awareness and attitudes regarding prenatal tests among a diverse group of women of childbearing age in Texas. We also examine maternal characteristics associated with awareness and the willingness to undergo these procedures.

Maternal thyroid disease as a risk factor for craniosynostosis.

Objective: To study the relationship between maternal thyroid disease and craniosynostosis using data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, a multisite, case-control study.

Methods: Case infants (n=431) were identified through population-based birth defects surveillance systems at eight sites and had craniosynostosis verified by radiographic imaging. Control infants (n=4,094) consisted of a random sample of live births with no major birth defects from the same population as the case infants.

Maternal exposures to cigarette smoke, alcohol, and street drugs and neural tube defect occurrence in offspring.

Objectives: Cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, and street drugs contain substances potentially toxic to the developing embryo. We investigated whether maternal cigarette smoking, secondhand smoke exposure, and alcohol or street drug use contributed to neural tube defect (NTD) occurrence in offspring.

Methods: We conducted a population-based case-control study among Mexican American women who were residents of the 14 Texas counties bordering Mexico.

Neural tube defects, micronutrient deficiencies, and Helicobacter pylori: a new hypothesis.

Background: Previous findings for the Texas Neural Tube Defects Project suggested that while maternal access to nutrients is adequate, bioavailability of nutrients to the fetus is compromised in NTD-affected pregnancies. Helicobacter pylori could cause nutrient loss to the fetus. Folate, B12, and ferritin are depleted in H.

Folic acid supplementation among diabetic, overweight, or obese women of childbearing age.

Objective: To examine whether obese, overweight, or diabetic women were equally likely to supplement with folic acid as normal-weight or nondiabetic women.

Design: Texas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System was used to compare folic acid supplementation rates among obese, overweight, or diabetic women to those of normal-weight or nondiabetic women.

Participants: Responses from nonpregnant Texas women of ages 18 to 44 were analyzed.

Abstinence and initiation of treatment following inpatient detoxification.

This prospective cohort study compared in-patients who remained abstinent and initiated aftercare treatment following detoxification with those who did not. Of 110 patients enrolled, 58% (46/79) were totally abstinent and 72% (67/93) initiated treatment during the first 30 days following hospital discharge. Patients who relapsed after hospital discharge were more likely than those who remained abstinent to have a primary drug-use disorder (p = 0.

National estimates and race/ethnic-specific variation of selected birth defects in the United States, 1999-2001.

Background: In the United States, birth defects affect approximately 3% of all births, are a leading cause of infant mortality, and contribute substantially to childhood morbidity.

Methods: Population-based data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Network were combined to estimate the prevalence of 21 selected defects for 1999-2001, stratified by surveillance system type. National prevalence was estimated for each defect by pooling data from 11 states with active case-finding, and adjusting for the racial/ethnic distribution of US live births.

Residential mobility patterns and exposure misclassification in epidemiologic studies of birth defects.

Many studies of environmental exposures and birth defects use mothers' addresses at delivery as a proxy for the exposure. The validity of these studies is questionable because birth defects generally occur within 8 weeks of conception and the mother's address at delivery may differ from her address early in pregnancy. In order to assess the extent of this bias, we examined the pattern of maternal residential mobility over the span of 3 months prior to conception through delivery, and associated maternal socio-demographic characteristics.

Folic acid awareness and supplementation among Texas women of childbearing age.

Objective: Neural tube defects (NTDs) affect about seven of every 10,000 deliveries in Texas. To reduce the risk for NTDs, women are encouraged to supplement with 400 mcg folic acid daily during their reproductive years. This study examines folic acid awareness, knowledge, and supplementation practices among women of childbearing age (WCBA), including residents of Texas-Mexico border as well as women of Hispanic origin/ethnicity, populations that have NTD rates up to three times higher than the national average.

Correlates of intake of folic acid-containing supplements among pregnant women.

Objective: This study describes the timing and correlates of folic acid supplement intake among pregnant women.

Study Design: Data from 2518 women with estimated delivery dates from 1997 to 2000, collected for the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, a population-based case-control study, were analyzed. Multinomial logistic regression was used to identify correlates of supplement intake.

Changes in the birth prevalence of selected birth defects after grain fortification with folic acid in the United States: findings from a multi-state population-based study.

Background: Observational studies and clinical trials have suggested that periconceptional use of folic acid can reduce the risk of birth defects other than neural tube defects (NTDs). Using data reported by states to the National Birth Defects Prevention Network, we examined whether folic acid fortification might have decreased the prevalence of other specific birth defects.

Methods: For each of 16 birth defect categories selected for study, birth prevalence for two time periods was calculated with data submitted from a number of states in 1995-1996 ("pre-fortification") and 1999-2000 ("post-fortification").

Epidemiology of noncomplex left ventricular outflow tract obstruction malformations (aortic valve stenosis, coarctation of the aorta, hypoplastic left heart syndrome) in Texas, 1999-2001.

Background: The left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) malformations aortic valve stenosis (AVS), coarctation of the aorta (CoA), and hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) contribute significantly to infant mortality due to birth defects. Previous epidemiology data showed rate differences between male and female and white and black ethnic groups. The Texas Birth Defects Registry, an active surveillance program, enables study in a large, diverse population including Hispanics.

Prevalence of nonsyndromic oral clefts in Texas: 1995-1999.

Nonsyndromic cleft lip with/without cleft palate (NSCLP) and nonsyndromic cleft palate only (NSCPO) are common complex birth defects affecting 4,000 newborns annually. We undertook a descriptive study of oral clefts in Texas, focusing on the effect of folic acid fortification and Hispanic ethnicity on the prevalence of oral clefts as these factors have not previously been described. Data on 896 infants with NSCLP and NSCPO born between 1995 and 1999 in Texas were compared to all births in Texas during the same period.

Idiopathic talipes equinovarus (ITEV) (clubfeet) in Texas.

Idiopathic talipes equinovarus (ITEV) is the most common form of clubfoot with a birth prevalence of 1 per 1,000 births. Serial casting and surgical correction impose a substantial financial burden on families and the health care system. While the etiology of ITEV is considered to be complex, the causes remain elusive.

Maternal obesity, gestational diabetes, and central nervous system birth defects.

Background: Maternal obesity and diabetes are both associated with increased risk of congenital central nervous system (CNS) malformations in the offspring and may share a common underlying mechanism. Our objective was to evaluate whether gestational diabetes influenced the association of prepregnancy maternal obesity and risks for CNS birth defects.

Methods: This Texas population-based case-control study evaluated births occurring January 1997 through June 2001.