School connectedness mediates the association of social function with depressive symptoms in teenagers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

BACKGROUND: Depressive symptoms commonly co-occur in teenagers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and poor social function is a known predictor of depressive symptoms. This study's purpose was to determine whether school connectedness mediates the association between social function and depressive symptoms in teenagers with ADHD. METHOD: In this secondary analysis, we selected 313 (74%) of 425 teenagers with ADHD (male 72%, mean age = 15 years) who had completed data on depressive symptoms, social function, and school connectedness in the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study. The mediation effect of school connectedness was tested by multiple regression using SPSS PROCESS macro with 5000 bootstrap samples controlling covariates (teenagers' age, gender, and race, their relationship with primary caregivers, type of school teenager attends, time of living with primary caregivers, and primary caregivers' education). RESULTS: Social function predicted depressive symptoms (direct effect = -0.132, 95% CI = -0.218, -0.045). School connectedness mediated the relationship between social function and depressive symptoms (indirect effect = -0.084; 95% CI = -0.130, -0.045). CONCLUSION: This study points to the importance of considering school factors in understanding depression symptoms in children with ADHD. Also, clinicians should consider asking teenagers about school-related factors such as school connectedness which is likely important in understanding the experience of depressive symptoms in this population. Identifying ways to help enhance school connectedness for young people with ADHD should be prioritized.

Inhibition of extracellular matrix production and remodeling by doxycycline in smooth muscle cells.

Alterations in the extracellular matrix (ECM) production and remodeling of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) have been implicated in processes related to the differentiation in atherosclerosis. Due to the anti-atherosclerotic properties of the tetracyclines, we aimed to investigate whether cholesterol supplementation changes the effect of doxycycline over the ECM proteins synthesis and whether isoprenylated proteins and Rho A protein activation are affected. SMC primary culture isolated from chicks exposed to atherogenic factors in vivo (a cholesterol-rich diet, SMC-Ch), comparing it with control cultures isolated after a standard diet (SMC-C). After treatment with 20 nM doxycycline, [H3]-proline and [H3]-mevalonate incorporation were used to measure the synthesis of collagen and isoprenylated proteins, respectively. Real-time PCR was assessed to determine col1a2, col2a1, col3a1, fibronectin, and mmp2 gene expression and the pull-down technique was applied to determine the Rho A activation state. A higher synthesis of collagens and isoprenylated proteins in SMC-Ch than in SMC-C was determined showing that doxycycline inhibits ECM production and remodeling in both SMC types of cultures. Moreover, preliminary results about the effect of doxycycline on protein isoprenylation and Rho A protein activation led us to discuss the possibility that membrane G-protein activation pathways could mediate the molecular mechanism.

Increase of drug use and genotype 3 in HCV-infected patients from Central West and Northeast Mexico.

BACKGROUND: The evolving pattern of HCV genotypes (GTs) and risk factors (RFs) in HCV-infected patients in Mexico is poorly understood. This study aimed to access the temporal trend of HCV GTs and RFs in HCV patients from two care centers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Chronic HCV patients [177 and 153 patients from the Northeast (NE) and Central West (CW) regions, respectively] were selected. Baseline features were demographics, date of birth (DOB), blood transfusion before 1992 (BTb1992), RFs, sexual promiscuity (SP), dental procedure (DP), injection drug use (IDU), viral load (VL), GTs, cirrhosis status and antiviral therapy (AT). Data were analyzed by Chi-square test for trends, unpaired T-test, and logistic regression. RESULTS: HCV GT distribution was: GT1, 67%; GT2, 16%; GT3, 12% and GT4, 1%. RFs were BTb1992, 56%; surgeries, 56%; tattooing, 18% and IDU, 16%. GT1a mostly prevailed in CW than NE patients. GT1b, surgeries, BTb1992 and cirrhosis were more prevalent in older patients (p < 0.05); GT3, male gender IDU, SP, and tattooing showed an upward trend as younger were the patients in both regions (p < 0.05), contrariwise to the prevalence of GT1b. BTb1992 and surgeries were seen in elder women; BTb1992 was an independent RF for GT1. Age ≥ 50 years old, GT1 and exposure to AT (p < 0.05) were associated with cirrhosis. CONCLUSION: GT1a prevalence in CW Mexico remained stable, whereas GT3 increased and GT1b decreased in younger patients in both regions, along with associated RFs. Further regional molecular epidemiology and RF analyses are required in order to avoid the dissemination of new cases of HCV infection.

Testing efficacy of teaching food safety and identifying variables that affect learning in a low-literacy population.

Nurses at a meeting of the Asociación de Hemato Oncología Pediátrica de Centroamérica y El Caribe recognized food safety as one of the main issues affecting patient care. The objective was to increase awareness of food safety issues among caregivers for pediatric cancer patients in Guatemala and El Salvador. A low-literacy booklet about food safety, "Alimentación del niño con cáncer (Feeding the child with cancer)," was developed for caregivers. Tests were developed to assess information acquisition and retention. An educator's guide was developed for consistency of education along with a demographics questionnaire. The efficacy of the booklet was tested with 162 caregivers of patients with newly diagnosed leukemia. Information retention was tested 1 and 3 months after the initial education. The booklet was found to be efficient for food safety education. There was no significant difference between post-educational knowledge in either country at 1 month or in Guatemala at 3 months. Pre-educational knowledge was not associated with any demographic variable except for self-reported ability to read in El Salvador. There was no significant association between learning ability and demographic variables in either country. Caregivers from El Salvador had a better ability to learn than caregivers from Guatemala. Education using the booklet greatly improved food safety knowledge, which remained high 1 and 3 months later. Education with the booklet was efficacious for teaching a low-literacy population about food safety. However, it is unknown which part of the education contributed to the significant improvement in knowledge.

Psychometric Testing of the Autonomy and Relatedness Inventory-Spanish Version.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The Hispanic population is the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States. There is a lack of validated health-related tools culturally and linguistically appropriate. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Autonomy and Relatedness Inventory-Spanish version (ARI-S). METHODS: We recruited a convenience sample of 100 pregnant Hispanic women. RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha for the ARI-S total scale was .92. Factor analysis yielded a similar factor structure as reported with the ARI-English version. As hypothesized, the ARI-S was inversely correlated with depressive symptoms and positively correlated with social support. CONCLUSIONS: ARI-S provides a psychometrically sound method for measuring the quality of intimate relationships. This is particularly important considering the limited inclusion of Hispanic women in current research.

Transcriptional profiling of peripheral blood in pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients identifies diagnostic biomarkers.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal malignancy associated with poor survival rates. Fast detection of PDAC appears to be the most relevant strategy to improve the long-term survival of patients. AIMS: Our objective was to identify new markers in peripheral blood that differentiates between PDAC patients and healthy controls. METHODS: Peripheral blood samples from PDAC patients (n = 18) and controls (n = 18) were analyzed by whole genome cDNA microarray hybridization. The most relevant genes were validated by quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) in the same set of samples. Finally, our gene prediction set was tested in a blinded set of new peripheral blood samples (n = 30). RESULTS: Microarray studies identified 87 genes differentially expressed in peripheral blood samples from PDAC patients. Four of these genes were selected for analysis by RT-qPCR, which confirmed the previously observed changes. In our blinded validation study, the combination of CLEC4D and IRAK3 predicted the diagnosis of PDAC with 93 % accuracy, with a sensitivity of 86 % and specificity of 100 %. CONCLUSIONS: Peripheral blood gene expression profiling is an useful tool for the diagnosis of PDAC. We present a validated four-gene predictor set (ANKRD22, CLEC4D, VNN1, and IRAK3) that may be useful in PDAC diagnosis.

Concentrations of Lead and Arsenic in Mother's Milk and Children's Blood in Peruvian Breastfeeding Dyads.

BACKGROUND: Toxic trace elements could enter human milk through mothers' food consumption, drinking water, air, or incidental soil ingestion, and are of concern to the nursing infant. RESEARCH AIM: To determine the concentration of toxic trace elements (lead and arsenic) in Peruvian mothers' milk and their association with blood concentrations in their own infants 3-20 months old. METHOD: This exploratory, cross-sectional study, carried out in Peru, included breastfeeding mother/child dyads (N = 40). Following standardized protocols, biospecimens of human milk and child's blood were collected. RESULTS: Lead and arsenic concentrations in milk were above the method detection limits in 73% and 100% of samples with median concentrations of 0.26 µg/L (IQR = 0.10, 0.33 µg/L) and 0.73 µg/L (IQR = 0.63, 0.91 µg/L), respectively. Concentrations of lead and arsenic in blood were 2.05 µg/dL (SD = 1.35), and 1.43 µg/dl (geometric mean: SD = 1.39), respectively. Blood lead concentrations in 12.5% (n = 5) of the samples were above the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention reference value (< 3.5 µg/dl), and over half of arsenic concentrations were above the acceptable levels of < 1.3 µg/dl (Mayo Clinic Interpretative Handbook). Our results showed that for every one-month increase in age, lead blood concentrations increased by 0.1 µg/dl (p = 0.023). Additionally, every 1 µg/L increase in the mother's milk arsenic was associated with a 1.40 µg/dl increase in the child's blood arsenic concentration. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing effective interventions to decrease the toxic exposure of reproductive-aged women is needed in Peru and worldwide.

Surface-imprinted nanofilaments for europium-amplified luminescent detection of fluoroquinolone antibiotics.

The development and characterization of novel, molecularly imprinted polymer nanofilament-based optical sensors for the analysis of enrofloxacin, an antibiotic widely used for human and veterinary applications, is reported. The polymers were prepared by nanomolding in porous alumina by using enrofloxacin as the template. The antibiotic was covalently immobilized on to the pore walls of the alumina by using different spacers, and the prepolymerization mixture was cast in the pores and the polymer synthesized anchored onto a glass support through UV polymerization. Various parameters affecting polymer selectivity were evaluated to achieve optimal recognition, namely, the spacer arm length and the binding solvent. The results of morphological characterization, binding kinetics, and selectivity of the optimized polymer material for ENR and its derivatives are reported. For sensing purposes, the nanofilaments were incubated in solutions of the target molecule in acetonitrile/HEPES buffer (100 mM, pH 7.5, 50:50, v/v) for 20 min followed by incubation in a 10 mM solution of europium(III) ions to generate a europium(III)-enrofloxacin complex on the polymer surface. The detection event was based on the luminescence of the rare-earth ion (λexc=340 nm; λem=612 nm) that results from energy transfer from the antibiotic excited state to the metal-ion emitting excited state. The limit of detection of the enrofloxacin antibiotic was found to be 0.58 µM.

Limits of laparoscopic radical nephrectomy.

OBJECTIVES: Laparoscopic radical nephrectomy is considered to be the technique of choice in the management of stage T1 and T2 renal cancer, through increased expertise in this alternative type of surgery has served to expand its indications. In any case, these procedures have a series of limitations which are tied to the intrinsic characteristics of laparoscopic surgery, and associated with patient and tumor characteristics, and surgeon's expertise. METHODS: We performed a bibliographic review through Pub Med database. RESULTS: The present study discusses the different indications and establishes the current limits of laparoscopic surgery applied to the management of renal tumors (including T3 and T4). Its role in cell reducing therapy for metastatic disease, and the available methods to reduce tumor implantation in the surgical ports are also commented. CONCLUSIONS: Radical laparoscopic surgery is the technique of choice for the treatment of renal tumors in stage T1 and T2. There are not significant differences among the different approaches, and it has lower incision-related morbidity compared to traditional surgery, a shorter period of convalescence and the same oncological efficacy.

Hospital Adhering to the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding Predicts Exclusive Breastfeeding in Latinx Mothers.

Introduction: Assessing how well a hospital adheres to the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding is the key to outlining necessary modifications in mother breastfeeding support. This study aimed to assess Latinx mothers' perception of how well a hospital adheres to the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and its influence on exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) rates at hospital discharge. Methods: Secondary analysis of two longitudinal studies. The combined sample (N = 74) of Latinx pregnant women residing in the US. We modified, translated, and evaluated reliability of the Questionnaire for the Breastfeeding Mother (QBFM), which was applied to evaluate mothers' perception of how well a hospital adheres to the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. Results: The QBFM obtained a standardized KR-20 of 0.77. Mothers who EBF had higher scores of the QBFM than mothers who used formula during hospitalization. For each point that the QBFM score increased, the likelihood that the mother was EBF at discharge increased by 1.30 times. Conclusion: Mothers' perceptions of how well a hospital adheres to the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding were the only significant variable associated with EBF at discharge. The QBFM Spanish version is a valuable instrument that can be used to obtain measurable outcomes and outlines necessary changes after implementing the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.

Effectiveness of individualized counseling on the duration of exclusive breastfeeding: study protocol for a multicenter, randomized, parallel, and open clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Despite the benefits of breastfeeding, early weaning is a reality, so less than 50% of children worldwide and in Brazil are on exclusive breastfeeding in the sixth month of life. A strategy to counteract this scenario is breastfeeding counseling. This study aims to verify the effectiveness of individualized counseling by nurses trained in breastfeeding counseling, on the duration of exclusive breastfeeding, compared to standard care. METHODS: Multicenter, randomized, parallel, and open clinical trial, with primiparous women aged over 18 years, hospitalized in rooming-in wards at participating centers and hemodynamically stable, aware, and oriented, who had a single-fetus pregnancy and gave birth, regardless of the type of delivery, with live child, gestational age of 37 to 42 weeks and birth weight greater than 2500 g. The women will be initially approached in rooming-in wards and, upon consent to participate in the study, will be allocated through randomization by blocks composed of eight participants in two groups: intervention and control. The randomization lists will be organized by a central without involvement with the study, which will manage the allocation groups and be prepared in the Randon® program. Women allocated to the intervention group will receive breastfeeding counseling by trained nurses, and those in the control group will receive standard care at the center participating in the study. DISCUSSION: The results can contribute to breastfeeding by evidencing possible exclusivity and duration of the counseling trained nurses provide. TRIAL REGISTRATION: REBEC RBR-4w9v5rq (UTN: U1111-1284-3559) ( https://ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-4w9v5rq ). Posted on March 20, 2023.

A critical analysis of national plans for climate adaptation for health in South America.

Climate adaptation measures are critical for protecting human health. National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and National Communications (NCs) play a crucial role in helping countries identify, analyze, and address their vulnerabilities to climate change impacts, while also assessing available resources and capacities. This study aimed to assess the comprehensiveness of South American countries' NAPs, NDCs, and NCs in addressing the effects of climate change on health. A total of 38 NAPs, NDCs, and NCs of 12 South American countries were analysed. Ad hoc scores were developed to assess baseline information, adaptation proposals, identification of involved institutions, funding needs and allocation, measurable progress indicators, and coherence. Overall, all South American countries have NDCs and NCs, and seven have NAPs. In most countries, the intersectoral health analysis revealed a lack of linkage to health issues related to that sector. Additionally, most planning documents lack detailed information to guide policymakers in taking practical actions; areas with low scores include allocation of funds, involvement of health-related institutions, and measurable indicators. While South American countries acknowledge the health impacts of climate change in their plans, enhancing public health protection requires maximizing climate policy benefits and including health-related issues across all relevant sectors. Funding: This study was not funded. However, three co-authors received funding for some of their time: AV and KC were supported by the Wellcome Trust (209734/Z/17/Z); RCN was funded by K01AI139284 (NIH-NIAID). Funding for the publication was provided by Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia.

Molecularly imprinted polymers.

Molecular imprinting is a process that allows for the synthesis of artificial receptors for a given target molecule based on synthetic polymers. The target molecule acts as a template around which interacting and cross-linking monomers are arranged and co-polymerized to form a cast-like shell. In essence, a molecular memory is imprinted in the polymer, which is now capable of selectively binding the target. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) thus possess the most important feature of biological antibodies - specific molecular recognition. They can thus be used in applications where selective binding events are of importance, such as immunoassays, affinity separation, biosensors, and directed synthesis and catalysis. Since its beginnings in the 1970s, the technique of molecular imprinting has greatly diversified during the last decade both from a materials point of view and from an application point of view. Still, there is much room for further improvement. The key challenges, in particular the binding site homogeneity and water compatibility of MIPs, and the possibility of synthesizing MIPs specific for proteins, are actively addressed by research groups over the World. Other important points are the conception of composite materials based on MIPs, in order to include additional interesting properties into the material, and the synthesis of very small and quasi-soluble MIPs, close in size to proteins.

Experiences of ethnic discrimination and COMT rs4680 polymorphism are associated with depressive symptoms in Latinx adults at risk for cardiovascular disease.

BACKGROUND: Ethnic discrimination is frequently experienced among U.S. Latinx communities, and is linked to CVD risk factors, such as depression. Genetic variants may influence this relationship. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to examine associations between experiences of discrimination, rs4680 genotype, and depressive symptoms in Latinx adults. METHODS: We analyzed data from 124 Latinx adults with two or more CVD risk factors, and conducted hierarchical linear regression, adjusting for sex, age, income, education, and acculturation. RESULTS: Participants were predominately female (74.2%) and aged 40.2 ± 9.3 years. More experiences of discrimination were associated with higher depressive symptoms (p = 0.041). Those with Met-Met-and Val-Met-genotypes had increased depressive symptoms than those with Val-Val-genotype (p = 0.049). Rs4680 was not a moderator. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest discrimination and rs4680 genotype are associated with depressive symptoms in Latinx adults, which may increase CVD risk. Further research is needed to better understand biological mechanisms of these relationships.

Social Health Care Determinants of Breastfeeding Black Women: A Multigenerational Study.

Background: Black women encounter many challenges to breastfeeding, including inequitable access to support and resources and medical racism. However, limited research investigates how Black women across generations interface with health care systems to initiate or continue breastfeeding and what factors facilitate or hinder their breastfeeding experiences. Objective: Using the social determinants of health (SDoH) theoretical framework, this study qualitatively explored how a multigenerational sample of Black mothers' interactions with health care systems facilitated or hindered their breastfeeding initiation and continuation. There were three areas of interest: (1) access and quality, (2) professional and personal support, and (3) literacy and resources. Materials and Methods: Four age cohorts and three breastfeeding length cohorts of Black mothers in Kentucky completed semi-structured interviews on their breastfeeding experiences. Responses to research questions (e.g., "What was your experience during the birthing process and how did it impact your decision to breastfeed?") informed by the SDoH were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Four themes emerged on how experiences within health care systems influence Black women's breastfeeding initiation and continuation: (1) health care access, (2) health care quality/bias, (3) health care-related support, and (4) health care resource use. Conclusions: Interpersonal and systemic barriers in health care related to access, quality, support, and resources hindered Black mother's breastfeeding across generations. Mothers across each age and breastfeeding cohorts emphasized a need for culturally tailored pro-breastfeeding health care systems to meet their breastfeeding needs.

CyTOF analysis identifies unusual immune cells in urine of BCG-treated bladder cancer patients.

High grade non-muscle-invasive bladder tumours are treated with transurethral resection followed by recurrent intravesical instillations of Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG). Although most bladder cancer patients respond well to BCG, there is no clinical parameter predictive of treatment response, and when treatment fails, the prognosis is very poor. Further, a high percentage of NMIBC patients treated with BCG suffer unwanted effects that force them to stop treatment. Thus, early identification of patients in which BCG treatment will fail is really important. Here, to identify early stage non-invasive biomarkers of non-responder patients and patients at risk of abandoning the treatment, we longitudinally analysed the phenotype of cells released into the urine of bladder cancer patients 3-7 days after BCG instillations. Mass cytometry (CyTOF) analyses revealed a large proportion of granulocytes and monocytes, mostly expressing activation markers. A novel population of CD15+CD66b+CD14+CD16+ cells was highly abundant in several samples; expression of these markers was confirmed using flow cytometry and qPCR. A stronger inflammatory response was associated with increased cell numbers in the urine; this was not due to hematuria because the cell proportions were distinct from those in the blood. This pilot study represents the first CyTOF analysis of cells recruited to urine during BCG treatment, allowing identification of informative markers associated with treatment response for sub-selection of markers to confirm using conventional techniques. Further studies should jointly evaluate cells and soluble factors in urine in larger cohorts of patients to characterise the arms of the immune response activated in responders and to identify patients at risk of complications from BCG treatment.

Unpacking the behavioural components and delivery features of early childhood obesity prevention interventions in the TOPCHILD Collaboration: a systematic review and intervention coding protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Little is known about how early (eg, commencing antenatally or in the first 12 months after birth) obesity prevention interventions seek to change behaviour and which components are or are not effective. This study aims to (1) characterise early obesity prevention interventions in terms of target behaviours, delivery features and behaviour change techniques (BCTs), (2) explore similarities and differences in BCTs used to target behaviours and (3) explore effectiveness of intervention components in preventing childhood obesity. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Annual comprehensive systematic searches will be performed in Epub Ahead of Print/MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane (CENTRAL), CINAHL, PsycINFO, as well as clinical trial registries. Eligible randomised controlled trials of behavioural interventions to prevent childhood obesity commencing antenatally or in the first year after birth will be invited to join the Transforming Obesity in CHILDren Collaboration. Standard ontologies will be used to code target behaviours, delivery features and BCTs in both published and unpublished intervention materials provided by trialists. Narrative syntheses will be performed to summarise intervention components and compare applied BCTs by types of target behaviours. Exploratory analyses will be undertaken to assess effectiveness of intervention components. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has been approved by The University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee (project no. 2020/273) and Flinders University Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee (project no. HREC CIA2133-1). The study's findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and targeted communication with key stakeholders. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020177408.

Transforming Obesity Prevention for CHILDren (TOPCHILD) Collaboration: protocol for a systematic review with individual participant data meta-analysis of behavioural interventions for the prevention of early childhood obesity.

INTRODUCTION: Behavioural interventions in early life appear to show some effect in reducing childhood overweight and obesity. However, uncertainty remains regarding their overall effectiveness, and whether effectiveness differs among key subgroups. These evidence gaps have prompted an increase in very early childhood obesity prevention trials worldwide. Combining the individual participant data (IPD) from these trials will enhance statistical power to determine overall effectiveness and enable examination of individual and trial-level subgroups. We present a protocol for a systematic review with IPD meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of obesity prevention interventions commencing antenatally or in the first year after birth, and to explore whether there are differential effects among key subgroups. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Systematic searches of Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycInfo and trial registries for all ongoing and completed randomised controlled trials evaluating behavioural interventions for the prevention of early childhood obesity have been completed up to March 2021 and will be updated annually to include additional trials. Eligible trialists will be asked to share their IPD; if unavailable, aggregate data will be used where possible. An IPD meta-analysis and a nested prospective meta-analysis will be performed using methodologies recommended by the Cochrane Collaboration. The primary outcome will be body mass index z-score at age 24±6 months using WHO Growth Standards, and effect differences will be explored among prespecified individual and trial-level subgroups. Secondary outcomes include other child weight-related measures, infant feeding, dietary intake, physical activity, sedentary behaviours, sleep, parenting measures and adverse events. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Approved by The University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee (2020/273) and Flinders University Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee (HREC CIA2133-1). Results will be relevant to clinicians, child health services, researchers, policy-makers and families, and will be disseminated via publications, presentations and media releases. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020177408.

Patterning nanostructured, synthetic, polymeric receptors by simultaneous projection photolithography, nanomolding, and molecular imprinting.

Microscope projection photolithography is combined with nanomolding and molecular imprinting for the fast microfabrication of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) arrays in the form of micrometric islands of nanofilaments. Dot diameters from 70-90 µm are easily obtained using a 10× objective and a photomask carrying the desired pattern. The dots are composed of parallel nanofilaments of a high aspect ratio, 150 nm in diameter and several micrometers in length, which are obtained through a nanomolding procedure on porous alumina. The arrays are molecularly imprinted with the small molecule fluorescein or with the protein myoglobin. The fluorescein MIP arrays are able to specifically recognize their target, as demonstrated by fluorescence microscopy. A four-fold increase in binding capacity and imprinting factor (IF = 13) is obtained compared to non-nanostructured porous dots. Imprinting of the nanofilament arrays with the protein myoglobin as the template is also possible and allows for a high imprinting factor of 4.3. Such nanostructured microarrays of synthetic receptors obtained by projection photolithography have great potential in biosensor and biochip development.

Women's Perceptions of Hospital-Based Breastfeeding Care and the Association With Exclusive Breastfeeding.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the differences in women's perceptions of hospital-based breastfeeding care and the association of these perceptions with exclusive breastfeeding. DESIGN: Observational, mixed-methods study. SETTING/LOCAL PROBLEM: A 932-bed, Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative-designated, university hospital with approximately 2,000 births per year, where 50% of women who wanted to breastfeed were supplementing with formula before hospital discharge. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-four women who gave birth to a term, singleton newborn and had a desire to breastfeed exclusively. MEASUREMENTS: Women's perceptions were assessed using a modified version of the Questionnaire for the Breastfeeding Mother. RESULTS: Women's perceptions of breastfeeding care were positively associated with exclusive breastfeeding (p = .049). In addition, the influence of how a woman's own mother fed her as an infant was shown, because women who themselves were breastfed as infants were more likely to exclusively breastfeed their own newborns. Content analysis showed that women appreciated the care received in the hospital from lactation consultants and access to a hospital-administered breastfeeding clinic after discharge. CONCLUSION: Creating a hospital environment supportive of breastfeeding could yield positive breastfeeding outcomes for women and newborns.