Background: Pregnant people are widely exposed to numerous synthetic chemicals with known endocrine-disrupting properties (e.g., phthalates, phenols, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed large portions of the global populations to increased daily stressors. Research on risky choice in medical contexts suggests that affect-rich choice options promote less-advantageous decision strategies compared with affect-poor options, causing an "affect gap" in decision making. The current experiments (total = 437, age range: 21-82) sought to test whether negative pandemic-related affect would lower expected-value (EV) maximisation within individuals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFear reactivity is an early emerging temperament trait that predicts longer term behavioral and health outcomes. The current analysis tests the hypothesis, an extension of prior research on maternal immune activation (MIA), that the prenatal maternal immune system is a reliable predictor of observed fear reactivity in infancy. The analysis is based on a prospective longitudinal cohort study that collected data from the first trimester and conducted observational assessments of temperament at approximately 12 months of age ( = 281 infants).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals used in industrial and consumer goods that are widely detected in human populations and are associated with adverse health outcomes, including perinatal health risks and child health. One mechanism of influence may be the impact of PFAS exposure on placental structure and function.
Objectives: The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between maternal prenatal exposure to PFAS and measures of placental vascularization, and to assess whether changes in vascularization play a role in mediating the impact of PFAS on birth outcomes.
Objectives: The goal of this preregistered study was to synthesize empirical findings on age differences in motivated cognition using a meta-analytic approach, with a focus on the domains of cognitive control and episodic memory.
Methods: A systematic search of articles published before July 2022 yielded 27 studies of cognitive control (N = 1,908) and 73 studies of memory (N = 5,837). Studies had to include healthy younger and older adults, a within-subjects or between-subjects comparison of motivation (high vs low), and a measure of cognitive control or memory.
At the start of the pandemic in early 2020, many cities went to complete or partial lockdown to minimize the mass transmission of COVID-19. Consequently, personal travel patterns have changed throughout the world. This study explores the transport mode preferences and associated dilemmas that commuters face in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in the post-lockdown period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe beneficial disaccharide, trehalulose, is a feature of stingless bee honey, while not dominant in any other foods. By experimentally feeding sugar solutions to confined colonies of the Australian stingless bee , the origin of trehalulose has now been established. Complete conversion of fed sucrose was observed, by analysis of the honey, forming trehalulose (64-72%) with lesser erlose (18-23%), fructose (9-12%), and minor glucose detected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFForensic application of carbon isotope ratio measurements of honey and honey protein to investigate the degree of adulteration with high fructose corn syrup or other C plant sugars is well established. These measurements must use methods that exhibit suitable performance criteria, particularly with regard to measurement uncertainty and traceability - low levels of adulteration can only be detected by methods that result in suitably small measurement uncertainties such that differences of 1‰ or less can be reliably detected. Inter-laboratory exercises are invaluable to assess the state-of-the art of measurement capabilities of laboratories necessary to achieve such performance criteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis project was aimed to determine the effect of concurrent administration of sulfamethoxazole and diclofenac sodium. Equilibrium dialysis method was adopted to study different protein binding aspects of sulfamethoxazole and diclofenac sodium. Sulfamethoxazole showed two types of association constants; high affinity constant 29.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To identify how 10 low- and middle-income countries achieved accelerated progress, ahead of comparable countries, towards meeting millennium development goals 4 and 5A to reduce child and maternal mortality.
Methods: We synthesized findings from multistakeholder dialogues and country policy reports conducted previously for the Success Factors studies in 10 countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Nepal, Peru, Rwanda and Viet Nam. A framework approach was used to analyse and synthesize the data from the country reports, resulting in descriptive or explanatory conclusions by theme.
Background: A range of formal and informal close-to-community (CTC) health service providers operate in an increasingly urbanized Bangladesh. Informal CTC health service providers play a key role in Bangladesh's pluralistic health system, yet the reasons for their popularity and their interactions with formal providers and the community are poorly understood. This paper aims to understand the factors shaping poor urban and rural women's choice of service provider for their sexual and reproductive health (SRH)-related problems and the interrelationships between these providers and communities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReducing maternal and child mortality is a priority in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and will likely remain so after 2015. Evidence exists on the investments, interventions and enabling policies required. Less is understood about why some countries achieve faster progress than other comparable countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study explored violence against women with chronic maternal disabilities in rural Bangladesh. During November 2006-July 2008, in-depth interviews were conducted with 17 rural Bangladeshi women suffering from uterine prolapse, stress incontinence, or fistula. Results of interviews showed that exposure to emotional abuse was almost universal, and most women were sexually abused.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper analyzes data on approximately 30,000 women from a survey in Uttar Pradesh in 1995 together with the data from surveys of public and private providers of healthcare and family planning services. A framework was developed for analyzing the effects of quality of services on utilization, and for understanding the gradual evolution of the healthcare infrastructure. The empirical results from logistic regressions for use of female sterilization and IUD showed significant effects of quality of services in government and private hospitals, and of socioeconomic variables such as education, caste, and an index of household possessions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: According to our current understanding, iron absorption with weekly iron supplements is not higher than that with daily supplements (ie, there is no mucosal block). However, community-based trials have repeatedly shown that a weekly regimen is as effective as a daily one. Furthermore, when differences in absorption are found, they are commonly smaller than would be expected on the basis of differences in the amount of iron provided.
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