Virulence of entomopathogenic fungi against fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) under laboratory conditions.

Maize is an essential crop of China. The recent invasion of Spodoptera frugiperda, also known as fall armyworm (FAW), poses a danger to the country's ability to maintain a sustainable level of productivity from this core crop. Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) Metarhizium anisopliae MA, Penicillium citrinum CTD-28 and CTD-2, Cladosporium sp. BM-8, Aspergillus sp. SE-25 and SE-5, Metarhizium sp. CA-7, and Syncephalastrum racemosum SR-23 were tested to determine their effectiveness in causing mortality in second instars, eggs, and neonate larvae. Metarhizium anisopliae MA, P. citrinum CTD-28, and Cladosporium sp. BM-8 caused the highest levels of egg mortality, with 86.0, 75.3, and 70.0%, respectively, followed by Penicillium sp. CTD-2 (60.0%). Additionally, M. anisopliae MA caused the highest neonatal mortality of 57.1%, followed by P. citrinum CTD-28 (40.7%). In addition, M. anisopliae MA, P. citrinum CTD-28, and Penicillium sp. CTD-2 decreased the feeding efficacy of second instar larvae of FAW by 77.8, 75.0, and 68.1%, respectively, followed by Cladosporium sp. BM-8 (59.7%). It is possible that EPF will play an important role as microbial agents against FAW after further research is conducted on the effectiveness of these EPF in the field.

Multilayer dynamic ensemble model for intensive care unit mortality prediction of neonate patients.

Robust and rabid mortality prediction is crucial in intensive care units because it is considered one of the critical steps for treating patients with serious conditions. Combining mortality prediction with the length of stay (LoS) prediction adds another level of importance to these models. No studies in the literature predict such tasks for neonates, especially using time-series data and dynamic ensemble techniques. Dynamic ensembles are novel techniques that dynamically select the base classifiers for each new case. Medically, implementing an accurate machine learning model is insufficient to gain the trust of physicians. The model must be able to justify its decisions. While explainable AI (XAI) techniques can be used to handle this challenge, no studies have been done in this regard for neonate monitoring in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This study utilizes advanced machine learning approaches to predict mortality and LoS through data-driven learning. We propose a multilayer dynamic ensemble-based model to predict mortality as a classification task and LoS as a regression task for neonates admitted to the NICU. The model has been built based on the patient's time-series data of the first 24 h in the NICU. We utilized a cohort of 3,133 infants from the MIMIC-III real dataset to build and optimize the selected algorithms. It has shown that the dynamic ensemble models achieved better results than other classifiers, and static ensemble regressors achieved better results than classical machine learning regressors. The proposed optimized model is supported by three well-known explainability techniques of SHAP, decision tree visualization, and rule-based system. To provide online assistance to physicians in monitoring and managing neonates in the NICU, we implemented a web-based clinical decision support system based on the most accurate models and selected XAI techniques. The code of the proposed models is publicly available at https://github.com/InfoLab-SKKU/neonateMortalityPrediction.

Perinatal Risks of Neonatal and Infant Mortalities in a Sub-provincial Region of China: A Livebirth Population-based Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Current vital statistics of birth population and neonatal outcome in China lacked information and definition of deaths at delivery and during hospitalization, especially for extreme preterm (EPT) birth. This study aims to delineate the prevalence of neonatal hospitalization, neonatal and infant mortality rates (NMR, IMR) and associated perinatal risks based on all livebirths in Huai'an, an evolving sub-provincial region in eastern China. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study established a comprehensive database linking information of whole regional livebirths and neonatal hospitalization in 2015, including deaths at delivery and EPT livebirths. The primary outcomes were NMR and IMR stratified by gestational age (GA) and birthweight (BW) with 95% confidence intervals. Causes of the neonatal and infant deaths were categorized according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases 10th version, and population attributable fractions of GA and BW strata were analyzed. Perinatal risks of infant mortalities in continuum periods were estimated by Cox regression models. RESULTS: Among the whole livebirth population (59056), 7960 were hospitalized (prevalence 13.5%), with 168 (2.8‰) in-hospital deaths. The NMR was 3.6 (3.2, 4.1)‰ and IMR 4.9 (1.4, 4.5)‰, with additionally 35 (0.6‰) deaths at delivery. The major causes of infant deaths were perinatal conditions (2.6‰, mainly preterm-related), congenital anomalies (1.5‰), sudden unexpected death in infancy (0.6‰) and other causes (0.2‰). The deaths caused by preterm and low BW (LBW) accounted for 50% and 40% of NMR and IMR, with 20-30% contributed by EPT or extremely LBW, respectively. Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that peripartum factors and LBW strata had strong association with early- and late-neonatal deaths, whereas those of GA < 28 weeks were highly associated with postneonatal deaths. Congenital anomalies and neonatal hospitalization remained high death risks over the entire infancy, whereas maternal co-morbidities/complications were modestly associated with neonatal but not postneonatal infant mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The NMR, IMR, major causes of deaths and associated perinatal risks in continuum periods of infancy, denote the status and quality improvement of the regional perinatal-neonatal care associated with socioeconomic development. The study concept, applicability and representativeness may be validated in other evolving regions or countries for genuine comparison and better maternal-infant healthcare.

The survival rate of neonates in Pakistan: Problems in health care access, quality and recommendations.

There is a high prevalence of infant mortality in South Asia and other parts of Asia, but overall, the bulk of neonatal deaths occur in developing countries. Although Pakistan has made great strides in the past decade to reduce child mortality with the help of foreign donors and the government, very little progress has been made in reducing neonate and infant mortality. Several studies have demonstrated the potential for low-cost therapies to greatly reduce neonatal mortality by helping pregnant mothers and their newborns. We need to shed light on the efforts and problems surrounding this topic in order to find and implement solutions backed by research to lower newborn mortality. This brief overview was produced using international standards for conducting reviews. Researchers opted for an explanatory methodology. Our findings were based on research conducted through PubMed, Google's literature database, Journals Online, and the Internet Library. All of the works consulted primary sources, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank. The desired findings were obtained by using the term "neonatal mortality." The study's authors were interested in tracking variations in neonatal mortality over time. The increasing prevalence of neonatal death in Pakistan emphasizes the need for policies and programs that prioritized the health of children. Neonatal survival can be improved with the help of basic obstetric and newborn care in Pakistan.

Principales factores de riesgo de la morbilidad y mortalidad neonatales / Main risk factors of neonates morbidity and mortality

Se revisó la bibliografía disponible sobre la morbilidad y mortalidad neonatales, tanto nacional como foránea y se decidió hacer referencia a importantes aspectos relacionados con el tema, entre los cuales figuraron, además de una reseña histórica: clasificación y registro de las causas de muerte (síndrome de dificultad respiratoria, enfermedad de la membrana hialina, infecciones, displasia broncopulmonar y malformaciones congénitas), tipo de parto (complicaciones y prematuridad), así como bajo peso al nacer. De la información obtenida se infirió que el nacimiento de neonatos con insuficiencia ponderal para la edad gestacional, todavía constituye una grave situación de salud en el mundo de hoy, sobre todo en los países tercermundistas, donde no se dispone de recursos suficientes para brindar una adecuada asistencia sanitaria a la población.

The available literature either national or foreign about the neonate morbidity and mortality was reviewed and it was decided to make reference to important aspects related with the topic, among which there were figured, besides a historical review: classification and register of the death causes (distress syndrome, hyaline membrane disease, infections, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and congenital malformations), delivery type (complications and prematurity), as well as low birth weight. Of the obtained information it was inferred that the neonates birth with ponderal inadequacy for the gestational age, still constitutes a severe health situation in today's world, mainly in the third world countries, where enough resources are nor disposable to offer an appropriate health care to the population.

A study on preterm births during 2013-2015, Shiraz, Iran.

Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal and infant mortality and a substantial portion of neonatal morbidities. The perinatal mortality and morbidity statistics in developing countries are inadequate. In this study, we assessed prevalence and health outcomes of preterm deliveries in tertiary care university hospitals. A retrospective study of hospital records of premature babies born in all the five governmental tertiary care settings during the time interval of 2013-2015 in Shiraz was conducted. Result of this study showed that there was an overall 127.6 premature births per 1000 live births in the study duration. 23.8% of premature newborn had RDS and Incidence of prematurity with RDS was 82.4 per thousand live births. 52.6% of premature newborns were hospitalised in NICU and 8.5% had ROP. Five percent suffered from sepsis and 1% suffered from NEC. Overall mortality was nearly 10% of all the premature newborn. In conclusion, this study showed that premature births and its complications for newborn need to be addressed more in Iran. Impact statement Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal mortality and morbidities. Mortality and morbidity statistics related to preterm infants are important healthcare indicators implying the quality of the perinatal health care system and are prerequisite for the identification of problems and implementation of preventive measures. However, the perinatal mortality and morbidity statistics in developing countries are inadequate. The aim of this study was to assess prevalence and health outcome of preterm deliveries in tertiary care university hospitals in Shiraz city, Iran. This study showed that prematurity rate was 12.7%. Among preterm cases, 52.6% were admitted to NICU. RDS occurred among 23.8% of the total premature neonates and 8.2% of the total live births. The incidence of NEC was 1/0% of the total premature neonates and 0.4% of the total live births. The incidence of sepsis was 5% of the premature neonates and 1.9% of the total live births and the incidence of ROP was 8.5% among the premature neonate. The overall mortality of premature neonates was 9.9% of the total premature neonates and 1.2% of the total live births. Rigorous measures for prevention of premature births and its complications for newborns are required in Iran.

Neonatal mortality and death causes in hospital patients from 2012 to 2016 / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics ,causes of death and their changes of hospitalized neonates so as to provide theoretical basis for improving the level of intensive medical care and reduce neonatal mortality .Methods The clinical data of 108 neonates who died between January 2012 and December 2016 were collected .We compared the mortality rate of neonates with different gestational age ,birth weight ,sex ,family background and abnormal high-risk pregnancy .The causes of death and death rate were analyzed .Results Among the 8869 hospitalized neonates ,108 died and the mortality rate of the neonates was 1 .22% .The avoidable mortality rate of the neonates was 0 .86% and the avoidable mortality ratio was 71 .29% .Infectious diseases remained to be the leading cause of neonatal death in hospitals . The top five most common causes of death in our hospitalized neonates were infectious diseases ,respiratory diseases ,asphyxia ,congenital malformations ,and genetic metabolic diseases .The three most common causes of death in full-term infants were infectious diseases ,genetic metabolic diseases ,and asphyxia . The three most common causes of death in preterm infants were infectious diseases , respiratory diseases ,and asphyxia .The neonatal mortality rate in our hospital decreased from 2 .02% in 2012 to 1 .09% in 2016 .Sepsis was the leading cause of death between 2012 and 2015 and dropped to the third place in 2016 . Respiratory diseases were the leading cause of death in 2016 . Asphyxia was the second cause of death in 2016 . Congenital malformations dropped from the third cause of death to the fifth .Conclusion In recent years ,thetreatment of neonates has improved and mortality rate of hospitalized neonates is gradually decreased .Controlling infectious diseases should be the primary measure to reduce the avoidable mortality in hospitalized neonates .