Poor sleep quality, antepartum depression and suicidal ideation among pregnant women.

To evaluate the independent and combined associations of maternal self-reported poor sleep quality and antepartum depression with suicidal ideation during the third trimester METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1298 pregnant women (between 24 and 28 gestational weeks) attending prenatal clinics in Lima, Peru. Antepartum depression and suicidal ideation were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire was used to assess sleep quality. Multivariate logistical regression procedures were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) after adjusting for putative confounders. Approximately, 17% of women were classified as having poor sleep quality (defined using the recommended criteria of PSQI global score of >5 vs. ≤5). Further, the prevalence of antepartum depression and suicidal ideation were 10.3% and 8.5%, respectively in this cohort. After adjusting for confounders including depression, poor sleep quality was associated with a 2.81-fold increased odds of suicidal ideation (OR=2.81; 95% CI 1.78-4.45). When assessed as a continuous variable, each 1-unit increase in the global PSQI score resulted in a 28% increase in odds for suicidal ideation, even after adjusting for depression (OR=1.28; 95% CI 1.15-1.41). The odds of suicidal ideation was particularly high among depressed women with poor sleep quality (OR=13.56 95% CI 7.53-24.41) as compared with women without either risk factor. This cross-sectional study utilized self-reported data. Causality cannot be inferred, and results may not be fully generalizable. Poor sleep quality, even after adjusting for depression, is associated with antepartum suicidal ideation. Our findings support the need to explore sleep-focused interventions for pregnant women

Selective synthesis of visible light active γ-bismuth molybdate nanoparticles for efficient photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue, reduction of 4-nitrophenol, and antimicrobial activity

In this study, we have reported selective synthesis of γ-Bi2M2O6 NPs under different pH conditions for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB), reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) and antimicrobial activities.</p

Free volume and transport properties of heterogeneous poly(ethylene-co-octene)s

n-Hexane desorption measurements were pet-formed on heterogeneous poly(ethylene-co-octene)s with hexyl branch contents between 0.8 and 3.9 mol% and crystallinities between 30 and 60%, Crystal core contents obtained by Raman spectroscopy were lower than the density-based crystallinity, particularly For the samples with the highest degree of branching. A modified Cohen-Tumbull-Fujita free volume model adequately described the diffusivity data. The free volume of the penetrable phases was strongly dependent on their total volume fraction, suggesting the presence of an interfacial penetrable component with low fractional free volume. The dependence of the fractional free volume of the penetrable phases on the phase composition suggests that mass transport takes place from the liquid-like component to the interfacial component and that the penetrant molecules are trapped at the interfacial sites. The decrease in geometrical impedance factor with increasing crystallinity may be explained by the presence of extraordinarily wide dominant crystal lamellae in the heterogeneous low crystallinity samples. The saturation concentration of n-hexane in a wide range of polyethylenes (including the heterogeneous poly(ethylene-co-octene)s, linear polyethylenes and poly(ethylene-co-butene)s reported earlier; crystallinity range: 30-94%) showed a complex non-linear dependence on crystallinity that was qualitative in accordance with rubber elasticity theory considering also molecular cilia.</p

Assessing the Transport Properties of Organic Penetrants in Low-Density Polyethylene Using Free Volume Models

Three models, two of them relying on free volume - the Cohen-Turnbull-Fujita (CTF) model and the Vrentas-Duda (VD) model, and the third being empirical using an exponential concentration dependence of the diffusivity, were applied to desorption data for a series of alkane penetrants (2,2-dimethylbutane, cyclohexane, n-hexane, n-decane, and n-tetradecane) in low-density polyethylene. The CTF model described the desorption data very well and better than the exponential diffusion law. The VD model with the attractive feature of being based on independently determined parameters was successful in describing the desorpion data. Diffusivity data indicated that the three components outside the crystal core were less accessible to n-tetradecane than to the other penetrants. This indication was further substantiated by solubility data

FREE VOLUME AND TRANSPORT PROPERTIES OF HOMOGENEOUS POLY(ETHYLENE-CO-OCTENE)S

Liquid and vapour n-hexane sorption/desorption were studied on homogeneous poly(ethylene-co-octene)s produced by metallocenecatalyzed polymerisation covering a crystallinity range from 3.5 to 72.4%. Crystal core contents determined by Raman spectroscopy were lower than those determined by density assessments, particularly at low degrees of crystallinity. The solubility showed deviation from Henry’s law. The solubilities of n-hexane in the homogeneous copolymers depended in a non-linear manner on the content of penetrable polymer component and were lower than those earlier reported for heterogeneous copolymers at the same contents of penetrable component. The concentration dependence of the thermodynamic diffusivity predicted by the Cohen–Turnbull–Fujita free volume theory was confirmed by the data obtained by the differential method and the differences between the results obtained from the integral and differential methods were within the margins of experimental error. The fractional free volume of the penetrable polymer fraction increased with increasing fraction of penetrable polymer and with relative proportion of liquid-like component in the penetrable polymer fraction. The homogeneous copolymers showed a decreasing trend in the geometrical impedance factor with increasing degree of crystallinity

Assessing the transport properties of organic penetrants in low-density polyethylene using free volume models

Three models, two of them relying on free volume-the Cohen-Turnbull-Fujita (CTF) model and the Vrentas-Duda (VD) model, and the third being empirical using an exponential concentration dependence of the diffusivity, were applied to desorption data for a series of alkane penetrants (2,2-dimethylbutane, cyclohexane, n-hexane, n-decane, and n-tetradecane) in low-density polyethylene. The CTF model described the desorption data very well and better than the exponential diffusion law. The VD model with the attractive feature of being based on independently determined parameters was unsuccessful in describing the desorption data. Diffusivity data indicated that the three components outside the crystal core were less accessible to n-tetradecane than to the other penetrants. This indication was further substantiated by solubility data.</p

Sex and parity modulate cytokine production during murine ageing

We have previously shown that physiological hormone differences related to pregnancy or sex affect the age-related distribution of mononuclear cell populations during murine ageing. To determine whether such changes are involved in the age-related changes in functions of T cells, we examined the secretion of major T cell immunoregulatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), IL-3, IL-6 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)) of in vitro concanavalin A-activated spleen cells of C57Bl/6 mice. The study included multiparous and virgin females and males at 2, 8, 15 and 23 months of age. Short-term effects of parity (8 months) were evidenced by the decrease of IFN-γ and the preserved IL-2 production in multiparous females (8 months), while IFN-γ was unchanged and IL-2 decreased in virgin mice. The increase in IL-4 production appeared earlier in multiparous females (15 months) than in virgin mice (23 months). The increase in IL-4/IFN-γ and IL-4/IL-2 ratios at 8 and 15 months, respectively, in multiparous females, suggests that pregnancy modifies the Th1/Th2 equilibrium. In late adulthood (15 months), IL-6 and GM-CSF production was higher in multiparous females than in virgin males or females. Sex differences were also noticed: IFN-γ secretion capacity was lower in males than in females during ageing. This study underlines that the onset, magnitude and kinetics of the age-related changes in cytokine production are parity- and sex-dependent. These changes probably influence the incidence of age-related diseases and may explain the greater longevity of females

Crystallization and Melting Behavior of Monodisperse Oligomers of <i>ϵ</i>-Caprolactone

Monodisperse epsilon-caprolactone (CL) oligomers with different end groups (t-butyldimethylsilyl, benzyl, hydroxyl, and carboxylic acid) and different numbers of repeating units (4-64) have been studied by differential scanning calorimetry and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) in order to gather information regarding the melting temperature, long period, and melting enthalpy. Oligomers crystallized at their maximum temperatures (different for the different oligomers) to full crystallinity yielded extended-chain crystals for oligomers with 4, 8, and 16 repeating units with the important exception of the oligomers with four and eight repeating units and hydroxyl and benzyl end groups that showed double-layer crystals. Oligomers with 32 and 64 repeating units exhibited remarkably stable once-folded (32-mer) and thrice-folded (64-mer) crystals. Only the oligomer with 16 repeating units showed two crystallization temperature regimes resulting in once-folded crystals (low temperatures) and extended-chain crystals (high temperatures). The end groups had a profound effect on the structures. Hydrogen-bonding groups promoted the formation of crystal bilayers and led to a very high melting enthalpy (150 J g(-1)) exceeding the melting enthalpy of 100% crystalline poly (epsilon-caprolactone). The bulky end groups, in particular t-butyldimethylsilyl, reduced the crystallinity and favored chain tilting and probably preventing the unfolding of crystal stems in the oligomers with 32 and 64 repeating units. Melting temperatures of mature crystals obeyed a linear relationship with inverse CL stem length. The intercept (equilibrium melting temperature) was in the range of 350 to 357 K.</p