| 1. |
- Calvert, Clara, et al.
(author)
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Changes in preterm birth and stillbirth during COVID-19 lockdowns in 26 countries
- 2023
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In: Nature Human Behaviour. - : Springer Nature. - 2397-3374. ; 7:4, s. 529-544
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of infant mortality worldwide. Changes in PTB rates, ranging from -90% to +30%, were reported in many countries following early COVID-19 pandemic response measures ('lockdowns'). It is unclear whether this variation reflects real differences in lockdown impacts, or perhaps differences in stillbirth rates and/or study designs. Here we present interrupted time series and meta-analyses using harmonized data from 52 million births in 26 countries, 18 of which had representative population-based data, with overall PTB rates ranging from 6% to 12% and stillbirth ranging from 2.5 to 10.5 per 1,000 births. We show small reductions in PTB in the first (odds ratio 0.96, 95% confidence interval 0.95-0.98, P value <0.0001), second (0.96, 0.92-0.99, 0.03) and third (0.97, 0.94-1.00, 0.09) months of lockdown, but not in the fourth month of lockdown (0.99, 0.96-1.01, 0.34), although there were some between-country differences after the first month. For high-income countries in this study, we did not observe an association between lockdown and stillbirths in the second (1.00, 0.88-1.14, 0.98), third (0.99, 0.88-1.12, 0.89) and fourth (1.01, 0.87-1.18, 0.86) months of lockdown, although we have imprecise estimates due to stillbirths being a relatively rare event. We did, however, find evidence of increased risk of stillbirth in the first month of lockdown in high-income countries (1.14, 1.02-1.29, 0.02) and, in Brazil, we found evidence for an association between lockdown and stillbirth in the second (1.09, 1.03-1.15, 0.002), third (1.10, 1.03-1.17, 0.003) and fourth (1.12, 1.05-1.19, <0.001) months of lockdown. With an estimated 14.8 million PTB annually worldwide, the modest reductions observed during early pandemic lockdowns translate into large numbers of PTB averted globally and warrant further research into causal pathways.
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| 2. |
- KC, Ashish, 1982-, et al.
(author)
-
Changes in preterm birth and stillbirth during COVID-19 lockdowns in 26 countries.
- 2023
-
In: Nature human behaviour. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3374. ; 7:4, s. 529-544
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of infant mortality worldwide. Changes in PTB rates, ranging from -90% to +30%, were reported in many countries following early COVID-19 pandemic response measures ('lockdowns'). It is unclear whether this variation reflects real differences in lockdown impacts, or perhaps differences in stillbirth rates and/or study designs. Here we present interrupted time series and meta-analyses using harmonized data from 52 million births in 26 countries, 18 of which had representative population-based data, with overall PTB rates ranging from 6% to 12% and stillbirth ranging from 2.5 to 10.5 per 1,000 births. We show small reductions in PTB in the first (odds ratio 0.96, 95% confidence interval 0.95-0.98, P value <0.0001), second (0.96, 0.92-0.99, 0.03) and third (0.97, 0.94-1.00, 0.09) months of lockdown, but not in the fourth month of lockdown (0.99, 0.96-1.01, 0.34), although there were some between-country differences after the first month. For high-income countries in this study, we did not observe an association between lockdown and stillbirths in the second (1.00, 0.88-1.14, 0.98), third (0.99, 0.88-1.12, 0.89) and fourth (1.01, 0.87-1.18, 0.86) months of lockdown, although we have imprecise estimates due to stillbirths being a relatively rare event. We did, however, find evidence of increased risk of stillbirth in the first month of lockdown in high-income countries (1.14, 1.02-1.29, 0.02) and, in Brazil, we found evidence for an association between lockdown and stillbirth in the second (1.09, 1.03-1.15, 0.002), third (1.10, 1.03-1.17, 0.003) and fourth (1.12, 1.05-1.19, <0.001) months of lockdown. With an estimated 14.8 million PTB annually worldwide, the modest reductions observed during early pandemic lockdowns translate into large numbers of PTB averted globally and warrant further research into causal pathways.
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| 3. |
- Sauquet, H., et al.
(author)
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The ancestral flower of angiosperms and its early diversification
- 2017
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recent advances in molecular phylogenetics and a series of important palaeobotanical discoveries have revolutionized our understanding of angiosperm diversification. Yet, the origin and early evolution of their most characteristic feature, the flower, remains poorly understood. In particular, the structure of the ancestral flower of all living angiosperms is still uncertain. Here we report model-based reconstructions for ancestral flowers at the deepest nodes in the phylogeny of angiosperms, using the largest data set of floral traits ever assembled. We reconstruct the ancestral angiosperm flower as bisexual and radially symmetric, with more than two whorls of three separate perianth organs each (undifferentiated tepals), more than two whorls of three separate stamens each, and more than five spirally arranged separate carpels. Although uncertainty remains for some of the characters, our reconstruction allows us to propose a new plausible scenario for the early diversification of flowers, leading to new testable hypotheses for future research on angiosperms.
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| 4. |
- Morvezen, R., et al.
(author)
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Multiplex PCR sets of novel microsatellite loci for the great scallop Pecten maximus and their application in parentage assignment
- 2013
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In: Aquatic Living Resources. - : EDP Sciences. - 0990-7440 .- 1765-2952. ; 26:3, s. 207-213
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report the isolation, development and multiplex optimisation of 12 new microsatellite loci for the great scallop, Pecten maximus. Diversity was moderate to high, with number of alleles ranging from 4 to 20 and observed heterozygosity between 0.28 and 0.88. Progeny produced in a commercial hatchery was used to test locus power for parentage assignment. The percentage of offspring that was unambiguously assigned to a unique pair of parents was 97% (software package CERVUS-COLONY). Parentage assignment revealed that 22% of the studied progeny resulted from unplanned crosses. Effective population size of the study progeny was also estimated. Our study illustrates the power of microsatellites for the genetic monitoring of hatchery-produced great scallops.
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| 5. |
- Staner, L, et al.
(author)
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Sublingual zolpidem is more effective than oral zolpidem in initiating early onset of sleep in the post-nap model of transient insomnia : a polysomnographic study
- 2009
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In: Sleep Medicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 1389-9457 .- 1878-5506. ; 10:6, s. 616-620
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective OX22 is zolpidem formulated for sublingual administration. The primary objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of single doses of sublingual zolpidem (5 and 10 mg) versus oral zolpidem (10 mg), with regard to latency to persistent sleep (LPS), in a post-nap model of insomnia. Methods Twenty-one healthy volunteers included in this study were recorded by polysomnography during 2 consecutive nights and, on the day in between, during a 2 h nap. Eighteen out of these 21 subjects were finally analyzed. Treatment was randomly administered before the second recording night to subjects demonstrating at least 30 min of sleep during the nap recording. Results Contrast analyses show that 10 mg OX22 significantly shortened LPS compared to oral zolpidem administration of 10 mg (12.8 ± 9.9 and 18.4 ± 11.3 min, respectively; p < .05). No treatment effects could be evidenced on total sleep time, time awake after sleep onset and sleep architecture parameters for OX22 compared to oral zolpidem. All treatments were well tolerated and did not induce next-day residual effects. Conclusion The present results show that OX22, a sublingual formulation of zolpidem, has a significant earlier sleep initiation as compared to an equivalent dose of oral zolpidem in healthy volunteers in a post-nap model of insomnia.
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