Blood pressure and heart rate are altered by sleep state and postnatal age in healthy term and preterm infants. Preterm infants have altered blood pressure responses to head-up tilting during sleep.

Preterm birth has marked effects on the maturation of baroreflex sensitivity during sleep, which may contribute to the greater vulnerability of preterm infants to sudden infant death syndrome. (Read the full article)

Delayed umbilical cord clamping in premature infants has been associated with decreased rates of intraventricular hemorrhage; however, the mechanisms that explain this finding have not been described.

Premature infants with delayed umbilical cord clamping have improved superior vena cava blood flow over the first days of life. This may provide one of the mechanism(s) by which this technique reduces the incidence in intraventricular hemorrhage in this at-risk population. (Read the full article)

There is no literature on the concentrations of vitamin B₆ vitamers in cerebrospinal fluid of preterm and term newborn infants. This knowledge, however, is highly important, because vitamin B₆ plays a pivotal role in brain development and functioning.

In cerebrospinal fluid of newborn infants, B₆ vitamer concentrations are strongly dependent on postmenstrual age, indicating that vitamin B₆ homeostasis in brain differs between preterm and term newborns. This has implications for the evaluation of epilepsy and vitamin B₆ deficiency. (Read the full article)

High doses of radiation have been linked to cancer induction in irradiated populations such as atomic bomb survivors. Medical imaging directs significant radiation doses to human tissues. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that children are more sensitive to radiation than adults.

The link between cancer induction from moderate radiation doses such as diagnostic imaging is controversial. This study uses Food and Drug Administration–accepted formulas to calculate theoretical risk of breast cancer induction in female pediatric trauma patients receiving diagnostic imaging of the thoracic spine. (Read the full article)

Birth asphyxia, or failure to initiate or sustain spontaneous breathing at birth, contributes to ~27% to 30% of neonatal deaths in resource-limited countries, including Tanzania. Without change, these countries will fail to meet Millennium Development Goal 4 targets by 2015.

The Helping Babies Breathe program was implemented in 8 hospitals in Tanzania in 2009. It has been associated with a sustained 47% reduction in early neonatal mortality within 24 hours and a 24% reduction in fresh stillbirths after 2 years. (Read the full article)

Survival of children with spinal muscular atrophy type 1 is determined by treatment choice: tracheostomy with mechanical ventilation, noninvasive mechanical ventilation, or a palliative approach. Few data are available on life expectancies with different approaches.

The present study provides data comparing therapeutic strategies that affect life expectancy. Clinicians involved in the care of patients with spinal muscular atrophy type 1 should be aware of survival trends while awaiting more definitive therapeutic strategies. (Read the full article)

Prenatal lipid-based nutrient supplementation has been demonstrated to increase birth length. However, the impact of this intervention on infant growth and morbidity is unknown.

Infants from mothers who were given prenatal lipid-based nutrient supplements showed decelerated linear growth. The gain in length at birth related to prenatal lipid-based nutrient supplementation was not sustained during infancy. (Read the full article)

Practice standards for managing adult cervical spine injuries (CSIs) are well established. However, pediatric CSIs are rare and different from those of adults, preventing extrapolation from adult practice and illustrating the need for larger multicenter investigations of CSIs in children.

This study comprehensively describes CSIs in a large multicenter pediatric cohort. The large number of young children included allowed us to comprehensively explore the relationship between CSI pattern and age, mechanism of injury, comorbid injuries, surgical interventions, and neurologic outcome. (Read the full article)

Delaying cord clamping beyond 30 to 60 seconds after birth seems beneficial for all infants due to blood transfusion from placenta. Experimental data have demonstrated that ventilation implemented before cord clamping improved cardiovascular stability by increasing pulmonary blood flow.

Healthy self-breathing neonates in a low-resource setting are more likely to die if cord clamping occurs before or immediately after onset of spontaneous respirations. The risk of death/admission decreases by 20% for every 10-second delay in clamping after breathing. (Read the full article)

Clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord at birth is the most prevalent of all operations; however, the optimal timing of cord clamping is still a controversial issue, with different timings offering advantages and disadvantages.

Our findings suggest a protective effect of late cord clamping, increasing the antioxidant capacity and decreasing the inflammatory-mediated effects induced during delivery of term neonates. (Read the full article)

Functional capabilities in patients with spina bifida depend on the spinal level of the lesion and its type. Sociodemographic characteristics have been shown in other conditions to be an important additional influence on outcomes, making them important for risk adjustment.

Males, non-Hispanic blacks, and patients without private insurance have less favorable functional outcomes in spina bifida, and age also has an impact. These attributes need to be considered by clinicians and researchers and used in comparing care outcomes across clinic settings. (Read the full article)

Delayed cord clamping is recommended for all premature births, despite some studies suggesting a decreased placental transfusion at cesarean delivery.

Umbilical cord milking appears to improve systemic blood flow and perfusion in preterm infants delivered by cesarean delivery more efficiently than delayed cord clamping. (Read the full article)

As we continue to build the leaders of the future, we must ensure their own belief in their abilities. This is the only way we can ensure their successful futures and ours.

Professor of Chemistry Paul Cremer is developing a biosensor platform that could be used to perform real-time, continuous detection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Allon Raiz is CEO of business incubator Raizcorp. In this series of articles, he offers entrepreneurs advice on surviving a crisis.

Banks can be as powerful and valued as the big technology firms. Yes, those trillion-dollar titans.

Stokvels are an important strategy for financial survival, so it's crucial to find a way to make them work during the pandemic, says Dr Norman Chivasa.

Now, more than ever, we need to be listening for market signals and ensuring that our businesses are primed to both take advantage of opportunities and to mitigate risks, says Allon Raiz.

For companies to survive and even thrive beyond the coronavirus pandemic, they’re going to have think more like the millennial generation, says Dr Anushka Bogdanov.

There’s always been massive inequality in South Africa, but those who have the money and power still aren’t getting it, says Carmen Williams.

The future choices made by airlines matter a great deal for the oil market, say Liam Denning and Brooke Sutherland.

Handyman Vincenzo Perugia walked out of the Louvre with a rolled-up painting under his smock. What ensured should be a lesson to us all, says Hannes Viljoen.

Where businesses are fighting to survive, agility is the name of the game, says Mignon Reynecke.

To history buffs, the Covid-19 pandemic must seem eerily familiar, says Noah Smith.

A team of social media analysts at an SA business school is tracking misinformation, disinformation, distortion and lies online.

Argentina is a case study in what happens when an economy already on its knees implements an aggressive lockdown, says Mac Margolis.

The crisis that has been occurring in CAR is certainly the most dramatic in its history: more than 600 000 Central Africans are internally displaced or sought refuge in neighbouring countries; according to the United Nations, 1.7 million live in a constant situation of food insecurity and 878 000 need immediate medical assistance; Muslim communities are fleeing Bangui and the western region, subsistence economy no longer exists and the de facto partition of the country, caused by the sectarian violence, is gradually becoming a reality.

Anidulafungin and micafungin were quantified in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of critically ill adults and in cerebral cortex of deceased patients. In CSF, anidulafungin levels (<0.01-0.66 μg/ml) and micafungin levels (<0.01-0.16 μg/ml) were lower than the simultaneous plasma concentrations (0.77-5.07 μg/ml and 1.21-8.70 μg/ml, respectively). In cerebral cortex, anidulafungin and micafungin levels were 0.21-2.34 μg/g and 0.18-2.88 μg/g, respectively. Thus, MIC values of several pathogenic Candida strains exceed concentrations in CSF and in brain.

Despite the worldwide re-emergence of the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and the high morbidity associated with CHIKV infections, there is no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment available. We here aim to identify the target of a novel class of CHIKV inhibitors i.e. CHVB series. CHVB compounds inhibit the in vitro replication of CHIKV isolates with 50% effective concentrations in the low micromolar range. A CHVB-resistant variant (CHVB^res) was selected that carried two mutations in the gene encoding nsP1 (responsible for viral RNA capping), one mutation in nsP2 and one mutation in nsP3. Reverse genetics studies demonstrated that both nsP1 mutations were necessary and sufficient to achieve ~18-fold resistance, suggesting that CHVB targets viral mRNA capping. Interestingly, CHVB^res was cross-resistant to the previously described CHIKV capping inhibitors from the MADTP series, suggesting they share a similar mechanism of action. In enzymatic assays, CHVB inhibited the methyltransferase and guanylyltransferase activities of alphavirus nsP1 proteins. To conclude, we identified a class of CHIKV inhibitors that targets the viral capping machinery. The potent anti-CHIKV activity makes this chemical scaffold a potential candidate for CHIKV drug development.

Linezolid has strong antimicrobial activity against the multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Little is known about the distribution of linezolid in tuberculosis (TB) lesions in patients with MDR-TB. The aim of this study is to evaluate the distribution of linezolid in TB lesions in patients with spinal MDR-TB. Nine patients with spinal MDR-TB were enrolled prospectively from August 2019 to February 2020. The patients received a linezolid-containing anti-TB treatment regimen and needed surgery for the removal of TB lesions. During the operation, nine blood samples, eight diseased bone tissue samples, seven pus samples and four granulation tissue samples were collected simultaneously and 2 h after the oral administration of 600 mg of linezolid. Linezolid concentrations in plasma, diseased bone tissue, pus, and granulation tissue samples were subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. At sample collection, the mean concentrations of linezolid in plasma, diseased bone tissue, pus, and granulation tissue samples of the nine patients were 11.14 ± 5.82, 5.94 ± 4.27, 11.09 ± 4.58, 14.08 ± 10.61 mg/L, respectively. The mean ratios of linezolid concentration in diseased bone/plasma, pus/plasma, and granulation/plasma were 53.84%, 91.69%, and 103.57%, respectively. The mean ratios of linezolid concentration in pus/plasma and granulation/plasma were higher than those in diseased bone/plasma, and the difference was statistically significant (t =-2.810, p = 0.015; t =-4.901, p = 0.001). In conclusion, linezolid had different concentration distributions in different types of TB infected tissues in patients with spinal MDR-TB.

Automated EFT payments enabled by technology from fintech company Ozow may be a secure alternative method to transact than card payments.

The shooting death of a 10-year-old spectator at a high school football game exposes a critical vulnerability and crucial responsibility for schools: keeping people safe at events outside school buildings.

Penn State Hazleton’s Student Services and Engagement team is continuing to forge personal connections with students while operating under the restrictions in the virtual environment created by the COVID-19 crisis.

Indiana has one of the largest voucher programs in the country, with over 34,000 students receiving tax dollars to pay for private schools. With the Trump administration favoring school choice, many wonder if vouchers help or hurt education.

Despite being rebuked by Congress in its bid to do so last year, the U.S. Department of Education says it will use Education Innovation and Research funds for teacher professional development vouchers.

Even great innovations can fail. Will blended learning be one of them? These five factors may help us determine if the new educational model has reached a tipping point.

Bogotá, Colombia, Apr 3, 2020 / 04:04 am (CNA).- Diana María Toro Vélez was kidnapped on a September day, as she drove home from Mass in the Colombian city where she lived. She spent 453 days in captivity. And she says that God’s grace kept her hope alive during the ordeal.

“I left Mass one Thursday and was driving home in my car and when I got home they assaulted me. They asked me a few questions and took me away. They sold me to the guerrillas,” Toro told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language news partner.

Toro, the mother of three, told ACI Prensa that during her captivity, she was sometimes forced to march a lot, one time for up to 15 days in a row.

“I clung to God. I cried and prayed a lot. I really held fast to God. I taught the kidnappers how to read and write. We prayed. There was a certain coexistence, and good things came out of the bad,” she said.

Toro, 41, was kidnapped Sept. 27, 2018, in Amagá, about an hour’s drive from Medellin. Her captors were criminals, members of a gang called “The Sorcerers,” who handed her over to Marxist guerrillas from the the National Liberation Army (ELN) for 48M pesos, about $12,000. The ELN reportedly asked 3 billion pesos, about $745,000 for her return.

Toro was released from captivity on Christmas Eve, 2019.

The Catholic Church in Colombia had appealed for her release, and the release appeared to be a goodwill gesture toward achieving some kind of peace agreement between the ELN and the country’s government. Public officials credited the Church with arranging the release.

Speaking to ACI Prensa, the young mom said that she was “very devoted to Our Lady of Guadalupe. When I was kidnapped I made a rosary and prayed it every day, praying a lot to the Virgin that she would allow me to be returned to my children. And God heard me, because I was released on Dec. 24, 2019.”

It was difficult, Toro said, to be “separated from my three children, one of them 3, another 4 and one 14 years old. Separated from my husband, my parents, my siblings, my family members, relatives and friends.”

“These were 453 days of anxiety, grief, sadness and despair. 453 days of living in the middle of the jungle, sleeping under a canopy, on branches, with snakes, scorpions, mosquitos and many other animals around,” she said.

Toro told ACI Prensa she subsisted on parrot, pasta, cooked banana, and rice. She had only two sets of clothes and infrequently bathed. 

“These were really hard days without knowing anything about my family, just with the certainty that God was with me, filling me daily with his strength and fortitude and firmly believing that if I woke up okay, my family was okay too,” she said.

“And God brought me out of that really hard situation. I saw that his glory and his mercy are immense.”

Toro said the ordeal has filled her with gratitude.

“I want to tell those people who in these times feel alone or in despair because of the situation we’re going through in Colombia and the entire world, that God is with us, he never has left us alone, especially now.”

“Let’s pray the rosary, let’s pray as a family. The power of prayer is immense,” she added.

 

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

 

Satellites could transfer data directly to Apple's devices and reduce dependency on wireless carriers, Bloomberg reports. It's another sign Apple wishes to replace most outside partners with in-house technologies in the next decade.

The STEM School shooting underscores the huge challenges educators face in keeping students safe, even as fatal and injurious gunfire inside K-12 schools remains statistically rare.

Scooters will be treated in a similar way to bicycles and will be allowed on roads and cycle lanes, but with their speeds capped at 15.5mph, following a government consultation next month.

We expected the Model Y to ship in the Fall with a 280 mile range, but now it's shipping in March with a 315 mile range.

Source: www.npr.org - Thursday, May 07, 2020
The version published in China Daily omitted a reference to the illness originating in China and spreading to the rest of the world. The piece was published in full on the authors' websites. (Image credit: Jason Lee/Reuters)

Concern for their students and adapting to remote teaching are only a few of the stressors that teachers are facing during the coronavirus pandemic. In response, the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) has partnered with Sebrina Doyle, a graduate fellow in the College of Education, to offer mindfulness-based stress reduction training via Zoom to their members – to help alleviate feelings of helplessness, fear and anxiety. Doyle offered the hour-long webinar two days this month to approximately 700 PSEA members.

If Virginia's proposal is approved, it will become part of a trend: states that are taking a stronger role in helping teachers find high-quality curriculum materials.

OM supplies rural schools in Bangladesh with books, new toilets and other essential facilities that positively impact students.

The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA), in partnership with five local housing counseling agencies, is hosting “Keeping Your Home Afloat”, a Statewide Foreclosure Prevention Open House, on Monday, July 22nd from 5:00pm to 7:30pm. Attendees will learn how the Making Home Affordable Program may be able to help them reduce the amount they owe on their mortgage. Homeowners who are “underwater”, or owe more than their homes are worth, are especially encouraged to come get more information about the MHA Program’s Principal Reduction Alternative.