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BackgroundPrenatal phthalate exposure has been associated with lower birth weight but also higher weight in childhood. Few studies have examined weight or adiposity from birth to childhood and thus cannot assess growth trajectories associated with exposure.ObjectiveWe assessed associations between maternal phthalate exposures in pregnancy and child weight and adiposity measured prenatally through childhood (3-6 years of age).MethodsWithin The Infant Development and the Environment Study (TIDES), a prospective pregnancy cohort, we analyzed a panel of phthalate metabolites in urine collected at two visits from early and late gestation (N=780). We estimated average phthalate metabolite associations with child weight z-scores from ∼20wk gestation (estimated by ultrasound), birth, and 1, 3, 4, and 6 years of age using linear mixed-effects (LME) models. We also modeled associations with adiposity z-scores from birth (weight for length) and 1, 3, 4, and 6 years of age [body mass index (BMI)] using LME models.ResultsFor weight, we observed inverse associations between several phthalate metabolites and birth weight z-scores, but no associations were observed with postnatal weight z-scores in LME models. Regarding adiposity, we observed inverse associations between phthalate metabolites and weight-for-length z-scores at birth, but positive associations were observed with BMI z-scores at 3-4 years of age in LME models. For example, mono-ethyl phthalate was associated with a 0.17-unit decrease in birth weight-for-length z-score [95% confidence interval (CI): -0.29, -0.05] and a 0.18-unit increase in 4-years-of-age BMI z-score (95% CI: 0.04, 0.32).DiscussionWe observed associations between prenatal exposure to phthalates and lower weight at birth but not at childhood follow-up visits. However, for adiposity, we observed an interesting pattern of association with low adiposity at delivery as well as high adiposity at 3-4 years of age. Although it is not clear from our results whether these associations occur within the same children, such a pattern of adiposity in early life has been linked to cardiometabolic disease in adulthood and deserves special attention as an outcome in the study of prenatal exposures in the developmental origins of health and disease. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10077.

IMPORTANCE: During pregnancy in women with epilepsy, lower blood concentrations of antiseizure medications can have adverse clinical consequences. OBJECTIVE: To characterize pregnancy-associated concentration changes for several antiseizure medications among women with epilepsy. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Enrollment in this prospective, observational cohort study, Maternal Outcomes and Neurodevelopmental Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs (MONEAD), occurred from December 19, 2012, to February 11, 2016, at 20 US sites. Enrolled cohorts included pregnant women with epilepsy and nonpregnant control participants with epilepsy. Inclusion criteria were women aged 14 to 45 years, an intelligence quotient greater than 70 points, and, for the cohort of pregnant women, a fetal gestational age younger than 20 weeks. A total of 1087 women were assessed for eligibility; 397 were excluded and 230 declined. Data were analyzed from May 1, 2014, to June 30, 2021. EXPOSURE: Medication plasma concentrations in women taking monotherapy or in combination with noninteracting medications. The cohort of pregnant women was monitored through 9 months post partum, with similar time points for control participants. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Dose-normalized concentrations were calculated as total or unbound plasma medication concentrations divided by total daily dose. Phlebotomy was performed during 4 pregnancy study visits and 3 postpartum visits for the pregnant women and 7 visits over 18 months for control participants. The primary hypothesis was to test pregnancy changes of dose-normalized concentrations from nonpregnant postpartum samples compared with those of control participants. RESULTS: Of the 351 pregnant women and 109 control participants enrolled in MONEAD, 326 pregnant women (median [range] age, 29 [19-43] years) and 104 control participants (median [range] age, 29 [16-43] years) met eligibility criteria for this analysis. Compared with postpartum values, dose-normalized concentrations during pregnancy were decreased by up to 56.1% for lamotrigine (15.60 μg/L/mg to 6.85 μg/L/mg; P

Maternal morbidity and mortality continue to rise, and pre-eclampsia is a major driver of this burden1. Yet the ability to assess underlying pathophysiology before clinical presentation to enable identification of pregnancies at risk remains elusive. Here we demonstrate the ability of plasma cell-free RNA (cfRNA) to reveal patterns of normal pregnancy progression and determine the risk of developing pre-eclampsia months before clinical presentation. Our results centre on comprehensive transcriptome data from eight independent prospectively collected cohorts comprising 1,840 racially diverse pregnancies and retrospective analysis of 2,539 banked plasma samples. The pre-eclampsia data include 524 samples (72 cases and 452 non-cases) from two diverse independent cohorts collected 14.5 weeks (s.d., 4.5 weeks) before delivery. We show that cfRNA signatures from a single blood draw can track pregnancy progression at the placental, maternal and fetal levels and can robustly predict pre-eclampsia, with a sensitivity of 75% and a positive predictive value of 32.3% (s.d., 3%), which is superior to the state-of-the-art method2. cfRNA signatures of normal pregnancy progression and pre-eclampsia are independent of clinical factors, such as maternal age, body mass index and race, which cumulatively account for less than 1% of model variance. Further, the cfRNA signature for pre-eclampsia contains gene features linked to biological processes implicated in the underlying pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia., Expression signatures from cell-free RNA of pregnant women can be used to reveal normal biology of pregnancy and predict development of pre-eclampsia.

Additional file 1.

Environmental health studies are increasingly measuring multiple pollutants to characterize the joint health effects attributable to exposure mixtures. However, the underlying dose-response relationship between toxicants and health outcomes of interest may be highly nonlinear, with possible nonlinear interaction effects. Existing penalized regression methods that account for exposure interactions either cannot accommodate nonlinear interactions while maintaining strong heredity or are computationally unstable in applications with limited sample size. In this paper, we propose a general shrinkage and selection framework to identify noteworthy nonlinear main and interaction effects among a set of exposures. We design hierarchical integrative group LASSO (HiGLASSO) to (a) impose strong heredity constraints on two-way interaction effects (hierarchical), (b) incorporate adaptive weights without necessitating initial coefficient estimates (integrative), and (c) induce sparsity for variable selection while respecting group structure (group LASSO). We prove sparsistency of the proposed method and apply HiGLASSO to an environmental toxicants dataset from the LIFECODES birth cohort, where the investigators are interested in understanding the joint effects of 21 urinary toxicant biomarkers on urinary 8-isoprostane, a measure of oxidative stress. An implementation of HiGLASSO is available in the higlasso R package, accessible through the Comprehensive R Archive Network., Comment: 29 pages, 6 figures

Hesperobaenus constricticollis adult redescription (modified from Bousquet 2002) Material examined. Holotype: not directly examined, but images of holotype examined from Quinn (2011). Non-type material: 14 females, 13 males examined (GSPC, KESC) from the habitat as described above. Redescription (including variation from new material examined). Body length: 2.6 mm (holotype) Colouration of head, pronotum and scutellum light red-brown, elytra paler-yellow (holotype, 5 specimens collected herein); or head, pronotum, scutellum with surrounding area, apical two-thirds of elytra, and pygidium dark brown, transversehourglass shape on basal one-third of elytra lighter orange (all other specimens collected herein, Figure 4). Prosternal apophysis without microsculpture. Head. Wider than long (WH/LH: [not recorded on holotype]; avg. females = 1.51, range = 1.42 ��� 1.67; avg. males = 1.60, range = 1.54 ��� 1.72); wider than pronotum in males, narrower than pronotum in females (WH/WP: 1.09 [holotype]; avg. females = 0.97, range = 0.89 ��� - 0.99; avg. males = 1.05, range = 1.02 ��� 1.10). Eye rather large, longitudinal diameter about 1.5�� length of antennomere 1. Temple moderately long, about 0.5�� longitudinal diameter of eye, not produced posteriorly (Figure 4). Antennomere 9 as wide as long, narrower than antennomere 10. Thorax. Pronotum transverse-subquadrate (LP/WP = 0.88 [holotype]; avg. females = 0.94, range = 0.87 ��� 1.01; avg. males = 0.88, range = 0.82 ��� 0.92) with sides markedly narrowed in posterior half; anterior angle rounded, not produced (Figure 4); punctures rather distantly spaced laterally, not subcontiguous; disc flat, with moderately wide, median impunctate area, widening in posterior half. Hypomeron rugose. Elytra moderately long (LE/LP = 1.84 [holotype]; avg. females = 1.82, range = 1.60 ��� 1.95; avg. males = 1.83, range = 1.71 ��� 1.95), without oblique impression on anterior third. Third and fifth intervals with 0 ��� 2 setigerous punctures at base; scutellum without setigerous punctures. Abdomen. First visible sternite with coxal bead not triangularly produced but thickened, without longitudinal extension (Figure 5). Male first abdominal sternite with small tuft of short (but longer than adjacent ones) setae at middle. Male last visible sternite without depression. Male genitalia as in Bousquet (2002, p. 206). Diagnosis. Distinguished from other Hesperobaenus in North America north of Mexico by the markedly narrowed pronotum posteriorly. Distribution. This species is known only from the type locality, but there are other specimens of Hesperobaenus from extreme South Florida, Central, and South America with superficially similar body shapes to this species (McElrath, pers. obs.). Habitat. The species has only been collected directly from Texas sabal Palms in the manner described above., Published as part of Schnepp, Kyle E., McElrath, Thomas C. & Powell, Gareth S., 2019, The beetle fauna associated with the peduncle of Sabal mexicana (Arecaceae) in southern Texas, pp. 2183-2193 in Journal of Natural History 53 (35) on pages 2183-2193, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2019.1694183, http://zenodo.org/record/3654833, {"references":["Bousquet Y. 2002. Review of the genus Hesperobaenus LeConte (Coleoptera: Monotomidae) of America, north of Mexico. Pan-Pac Entomol. 78 (3): 197 - 214.","Quinn M 2011. BugGuide. Coleoptera - Hesperobaenus constricticollis Bousquet. [accessed 2018 Nov 29]. https: // bugguide. net / node / view / 498866 / bgpage."]}

McElrath, Thomas C. (2019): Book Review. The Coleopterists Bulletin 73 (1): 76-77, DOI: 10.1649/0010-065X-73.1.76, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1649/0010-065x-73.1.76

BackgroundPhthalates are common plasticizer chemicals that have been linked to glucose intolerance in the general population, but there is only limited research on their association with gestational diabetes (GDM).ObjectiveWe evaluated the association between 11 urinary phthalate metabolites and GDM, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and continuous blood glucose concentration during pregnancy in The Infant Development and Environment Study (TIDES). Based on prior study results, our primary analyses focused on monoethyl phthalate (MEP) in relation to our outcomes of interest.Study designWe used multi-variable logistic regression to examine the odds of GDM and IGT in relation to an interquartile-range (IQR) increase in natural log (ln)-transformed, specific gravity (SG)-adjusted first trimester (T1) and average of T1 and third trimester (T3) ("T1T3avg") phthalate metabolite concentrations. We fit linear regression models to examine the percent change in blood glucose per IQR increase in ln-transformed, SG-adjusted T1 and T1T3avg phthalates. In sensitivity analyses, we examined interactions between exposure and race. We adjusted for maternal age, maternal body mass index, study center, race/ethnicity, parity, and gestational age at glucose testing.ResultsIn our sample of 705 pregnant women, we observed 60 cases of GDM, 90 cases of IGT, and an average GLT blood glucose of 113.6 ± 27.7 mg/dL. In our primary analysis, T1T3avg MEP was positively associated with GDM ([OR (95% CI) per IQR increase] T1T3avg MEP: 1.61 (1.10, 2.36)). In secondary analyses, most other phthalates were not found to be related to study outcomes, though some associations were noted. Sensitivity analyses indicated possible strong race-specific associations in Asians, though these results are based on a small sample size (n = 35).ConclusionIn alignment with our a priori selection, we documented an association between T1T3avg MEP and GDM. Additional phthalate metabolites were also found to be linked to glucose intolerance, with possible stronger associations in certain racial/ethnic subgroups. Given the prevalence of phthalate exposures and the growing evidence of associations with metabolic outcomes, future studies should continue to examine this question in diverse cohorts of pregnant women, particularly in those who may be at higher risk for GDM and IGT.

Figure S1. Flow-through diagram displaying study design. Figure S2. Simplified directed acyclic graph (DAG) used to identify potential confounders and/or colliders. Table S1. Unadjusted and adjusted relationship between urinary metals and the HR (95% CI) of preeclampsia. Table S2. Unadjusted and adjusted relationship between urinary trace metals and the percent change (95% CI) in circulating maternal angiogenic biomarkers. Table S3. Standardized and rotated loading factors and communalities for each variable within each principal component. (DOCX 208 kb)

Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-26T16:28:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2016-01-01 Intramural Research Program of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health National Institute for Health Research Background: A common challenge in medicine, exemplified in the analysis of biomarker data, is that large studies are needed for sufficient statistical power. Often, this may only be achievable by aggregating multiple cohorts. However, different studies may use disparate platforms for laboratory analysis, which can hinder merging. Methods: Using circulating placental growth factor (PIGF), a potential biomarker for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) such as preeclampsia, as an example, we investigated how such issues can be overcome by inter-platform standardization and merging algorithms. We studied 16,462 pregnancies from 22 study cohorts. PIGF measurements (gestational age >= 20 weeks) analyzed on one of four platforms: R & Systems, Alere (R) Triage, Roche (R) Elecsys or Abbott (R) Architect, were available for 13,429 women. Two merging algorithms, using Z-Score and Multiple of Median transformations, were applied. Results: Best reference curves (BRC), based on merged, transformed PIGF measurements in uncomplicated pregnancy across six gestational age groups, were estimated. Identification of HDP by these PIGF-BRCS was compared to that of platform-specific curves. Conclusions: We demonstrate the feasibility of merging PIGF concentrations from different analytical platforms. Overall BRC identification of HDP performed at least as well as platform-specific curves. Our method can be extended to any set of biomarkers obtained from different laboratory platforms in any field. Merged biomarker data from multiple studies will improve statistical power and enlarge our understanding of the pathophysiology and management of medical syndromes. (C) 2015 International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Univ Oxford, Nuffield Dept Populat Hlth, Old Rd Campus, Oxford OX3 7LF, England Univ British Columbia, Dept Obstet & Gynaecol, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada Univ British Columbia, Child & Family Res Inst, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada Univ Oxford, Nuffield Dept Obstet & Gynaecol, Oxford, England Yale Univ, New Haven, CT USA Univ Milan, I-20122 Milan, Italy Kings Coll London, Womens Hlth Acad Ctr, London WC2R 2LS, England Univ Barcelona, Hosp Clin, Barcelona, Spain Hosp Univ 12 Octubre, Dept Obstet & Gynecol, Fetal Med Unit, Madrid, Spain Univ Complutense, E-28040 Madrid, Spain Michigan State Univ, E Lansing, MI 48824 USA Univ Pittsburgh, Magee Womens Res Inst, Pittsburgh, PA USA Aarhus Univ Hosp, Dept Obstet & Gynecol, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark Aarhus Univ, Aarhus, Denmark Aarhus Univ Hosp, Dept Oncol, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark Univ Helsinki, Med Genet Obstet & Gynaecol, Helsinki, Finland Univ Helsinki, Inst Mol Med Finland, Helsinki, Finland Helsinki Univ Hosp, Helsinki, Finland Univ Basel, Basel, Switzerland Harvard Univ, Brigham & Womens Hosp, Sch Med, Boston, MA 02115 USA Klagenfurt & Med Univ, Interdisciplinary Ctr Gynecol Gynecooncol & Fetom, Graz, Austria St Marys Hosp, Maternal & Fetal Hlth Res Ctr, Manchester M13 0JH, Lancs, England Univ Manchester, Manchester, Lancs, England Univ Texas Houston, Sch Publ Hlth, Houston, TX USA Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Obstet, Botucatu, SP, Brazil Univ Texas Med Branch, Galveston, TX 77555 USA Univ Amsterdam, Acad Med Ctr, Dept Obstet & Gynaecol, Meibergdreef 9, NL-1105 AZ Amsterdam, Netherlands Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands Univ Jena, D-07745 Jena, Germany Univ Leipzig, D-04109 Leipzig, Germany Univ Paris 05, Paris, France Charite, D-13353 Berlin, Germany Univ Helsinki, Obstet & Gynecol, Helsinki, Finland NIHR Univ Coll London Hosp, Biomed Res Ctr, Inst Womens Hlth, London, England Med Univ Vienna, Dept Obstet & Gynecol, Vienna, Austria Oslo Univ Hosp, Dept Obstet & Gynecol, Oslo, Norway Univ Oslo, Oslo, Norway Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Obstet, Botucatu, SP, Brazil National Institute for Health Research: RP-2014-05-019

M. bicolor Villa & Villa, 1835 (NEW STATE RECORD) (Figs. 2C, 3) Habitat and Biology: Likely native to Europe, this species is adventive in North America. They are collected using Berlese extraction of rotting vegetable or animal matter., Published as part of Mcelrath, Thomas C. & Mchugh, Joseph V., 2018, Undocumented beetle diversity in the Southeastern United States: a case study of the minute clubbed beetles (Coleoptera: Monotomidae), pp. 127-140 in Zootaxa 4472 (1) on page 131, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4472.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/1440064

R. (R.) cylindricus LeConte, 1866 (Fattig 1937; Bousquet 1990) (Fig. 1B, D) Habitat and Biology: An mostly Appalachian and central to southeastern species (Bousquet 1990), R. cylindricus is found under bark of freshly fallen or dead standing pine trees, usually in association with bark beetles (including southern pine beetle). Adults are active during the fall, winter, and spring months in Georgia and across the eastern United States. Lindgren funnel traps baited with ethanol attract them in small numbers., Published as part of Mcelrath, Thomas C. & Mchugh, Joseph V., 2018, Undocumented beetle diversity in the Southeastern United States: a case study of the minute clubbed beetles (Coleoptera: Monotomidae), pp. 127-140 in Zootaxa 4472 (1) on page 131, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4472.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/1440064, {"references":["Fattig, P. W. (1937) The Coleoptera or beetles of Georgia, IV / V. Entomological News, 48, 4 - 10, 250 - 255.","Bousquet, Y. (1990) A review of the North American species of Rhizophagus Herbst and a revision of the Nearctic members of the subgenus Anomophagus Reitter (Coleoptera: Rhizophagidae). The Canadian Entomologist, 122, 131 - 171. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.4039 / Ent 122131 - 1"]}

R. (Anomophagus) brunneus brunneus Horn, 1879 (NEW STATE RECORD) (Fig. 1A, D) Habitat and Biology: An eastern species with few records from the southeast, adults of these beetles are found under bark of pine and spruce and are active during the spring, summer, and fall months in Georgia. Their biology is unknown, but they may be bark beetle predators like many other species of this genus (Bousquet 1990). They vector Ceratocystis fungal spores, which are causative agents of aspen cankers in the western United States (Hinds 1972). Lindgren funnel traps baited with ethanol and ultraviolet lights attract them in small numbers., Published as part of Mcelrath, Thomas C. & Mchugh, Joseph V., 2018, Undocumented beetle diversity in the Southeastern United States: a case study of the minute clubbed beetles (Coleoptera: Monotomidae), pp. 127-140 in Zootaxa 4472 (1) on pages 129-130, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4472.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/1440064, {"references":["Bousquet, Y. (1990) A review of the North American species of Rhizophagus Herbst and a revision of the Nearctic members of the subgenus Anomophagus Reitter (Coleoptera: Rhizophagidae). The Canadian Entomologist, 122, 131 - 171. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.4039 / Ent 122131 - 1","Hinds, T. E. (1972) Insect transmission of Ceratocystis species associated with aspen cankers. Phytopathology, 62, 221 - 225. https: // doi. org / 10.1094 / Phyto- 62 - 221."]}

Pycnotomina cavicolle (Horn, 1879) (NEW STATE RECORD) (Fig. 5C, D) Habitat and Biology: Only found in the extreme north of the state, this species is rarely collected in Georgia. While they are supposedly attracted to fermenting molasses traps (White 1983), the two specimens from Georgia were collected in an ethanol-baited Lindgren funnel trap. Adults are active during spring and summer months. Little else is known about this species., Published as part of Mcelrath, Thomas C. & Mchugh, Joseph V., 2018, Undocumented beetle diversity in the Southeastern United States: a case study of the minute clubbed beetles (Coleoptera: Monotomidae), pp. 127-140 in Zootaxa 4472 (1) on page 135, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4472.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/1440064, {"references":["White, R. E. (1983) A Field Guide to the Beetles of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 368 pp."]}

M. producta LeConte, 1855 (Bousquet & Laplante 1999) (Figs. 2H, 3) Habitat and Biology: This species is endemic to the eastern North American seashore, where it is found in rotting beach wrack. In Georgia, this species is found in large numbers under ideal conditions, which are apparently the large piles of dense and humid sea vegetation that are deposited on the north ends of the coastal barrier islands (TCM, pers. observation). The first author collected a large series of over 50 individuals in one such pile in midsummer on the north end of Tybee Island, but failed to collect it again, despite numerous attempts, in either May, July, or October on Sapelo or Jekyll Island on the eastern and southern ends of those islands., Published as part of Mcelrath, Thomas C. & Mchugh, Joseph V., 2018, Undocumented beetle diversity in the Southeastern United States: a case study of the minute clubbed beetles (Coleoptera: Monotomidae), pp. 127-140 in Zootaxa 4472 (1) on page 133, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4472.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/1440064, {"references":["Bousquet, Y. & Laplante, S. (1999) Taxonomic review of the Canadian species of the genus Monotoma Herbst (Coleoptera: Monotomidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Ontario, 130, 67 - 96."]}

M. arida Casey, 1916 (Bousquet & Laplante 1999) (Figs. 2B, 3) Habitat and Biology: Little is known about this species, though it seems to range over most of eastern North America. They are found in many of the same habitats as Monotoma americana and M. emarginata., Published as part of Mcelrath, Thomas C. & Mchugh, Joseph V., 2018, Undocumented beetle diversity in the Southeastern United States: a case study of the minute clubbed beetles (Coleoptera: Monotomidae), pp. 127-140 in Zootaxa 4472 (1) on page 131, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4472.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/1440064, {"references":["Bousquet, Y. & Laplante, S. (1999) Taxonomic review of the Canadian species of the genus Monotoma Herbst (Coleoptera: Monotomidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Ontario, 130, 67 - 96."]}

R. (R.) sayi Schaeffer, 1913 (NEW STATE RECORD) (Fig. 1C, D) Habitat and Biology: A widespread eastern species, R. sayi is found under the bark of deciduous or coniferous trees (Bousquet 1990; Thomas & Lundgren 1992) and are also associated with bark beetle galleries (TCM, pers. obs.). Passive traps, especially Lindgren funnel or windowpane traps baited with ethanol, collect adult beetles on warmer days during the winter months (October to April) in Georgia., Published as part of Mcelrath, Thomas C. & Mchugh, Joseph V., 2018, Undocumented beetle diversity in the Southeastern United States: a case study of the minute clubbed beetles (Coleoptera: Monotomidae), pp. 127-140 in Zootaxa 4472 (1) on page 131, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4472.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/1440064, {"references":["Bousquet, Y. (1990) A review of the North American species of Rhizophagus Herbst and a revision of the Nearctic members of the subgenus Anomophagus Reitter (Coleoptera: Rhizophagidae). The Canadian Entomologist, 122, 131 - 171. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.4039 / Ent 122131 - 1","Thomas, M. C. & Lundgren, R. W. (1992) A new state record for Rhizophagus sayi Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Rhizophagidae). Insecta Mundi, 6, 140."]}

Hesperobaenus rufipes LeConte, 1863 (Fattig 1937; Bousquet 2002b) (Fig. 5B, D) Habitat and Biology: A widespread eastern species, H. rufipes is found under bark of hardwood trees (Acer, Carya, Fagus, Quercus) where it eats fungal hyphae, probably mostly Fungi Imperfecti (see Justis 2009). All examined records are from the months of December to May, so it is possible the adults are winter-active., Published as part of Mcelrath, Thomas C. & Mchugh, Joseph V., 2018, Undocumented beetle diversity in the Southeastern United States: a case study of the minute clubbed beetles (Coleoptera: Monotomidae), pp. 127-140 in Zootaxa 4472 (1) on page 135, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4472.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/1440064, {"references":["Fattig, P. W. (1937) The Coleoptera or beetles of Georgia, IV / V. Entomological News, 48, 4 - 10, 250 - 255.","Bousquet, Y. (2002 b) Monotomidae Laporte 1840. In: Arnett, R. H. Jr., Thomas, M. C., Skelley, P. E. & Frank, J. H. (Eds.), American Beetles. Fol. 2. Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. CRC Press, Boca Raton, London, New York, Washington, D. C., pp. 319 - 321.","Justis, S. (2009) Coleoptera - Hesperobaenus rufipes. Bugguide. net. Iowa State University. Available from: https: // bugguide. net / node / view / 247613 / bgpage (accessed 1 Dec. 2017)"]}

M. picipes Herbst, 1793 (Fattig 1937) (Figs. 2G, 3) Habitat and Biology: An adventive species native to the Palearctic, this species is collected in decaying plant matter such as compost heaps, Fuligo septica -infested bark chips, and grass piles, usually with pitfall trapping and Berlese extractions, but also with Lindgren funnel traps baited with ethanol., Published as part of Mcelrath, Thomas C. & Mchugh, Joseph V., 2018, Undocumented beetle diversity in the Southeastern United States: a case study of the minute clubbed beetles (Coleoptera: Monotomidae), pp. 127-140 in Zootaxa 4472 (1) on page 132, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4472.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/1440064, {"references":["Fattig, P. W. (1937) The Coleoptera or beetles of Georgia, IV / V. Entomological News, 48, 4 - 10, 250 - 255."]}

E. pallipennis (LeConte, 1861) (Fattig 1937) (Fig. 5A, D) Habitat and Biology: A widespread species in the eastern US, this species is collected in large numbers in ethanolbaited canopy traps in hardwood forests (Bousquet 2003c; Ulyshen & Hanula 2007; unpublished data). The few host records available report specimens from flowers of Calycanthus spp., old codling moth borings, flowers of Rhododendron nudiflorum, Exobasidium galls on azalea, and Exobasidium symploci galls on Symplocos tinctoria, though none in large numbers. Various singletons were taken by beating, sweeping, and Berlese extractions. A congener, Europs fervidus, is found in flowers of atemoya in Puerto Rico (Jenkins et al. 2015) so E. pallipennis may be associated with a canopy-blooming flowering species in the eastern United States. This species is commonly collected during the summer months, but is active from spring through late fall., Published as part of Mcelrath, Thomas C. & Mchugh, Joseph V., 2018, Undocumented beetle diversity in the Southeastern United States: a case study of the minute clubbed beetles (Coleoptera: Monotomidae), pp. 127-140 in Zootaxa 4472 (1) on page 135, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4472.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/1440064, {"references":["Fattig, P. W. (1937) The Coleoptera or beetles of Georgia, IV / V. Entomological News, 48, 4 - 10, 250 - 255.","Bousquet, Y. (2003 c) Review of the genus Europs Wollaston (Coleoptera: Monotomidae) of America, north of Mexico. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist, 79, 11 - 22.","Ulyshen, M. D. & Hanula, J. L. (2007) A comparison of the beetle (Coleoptera) fauna captured at two heights above the ground in a North American temperate deciduous forest. American Midland Naturalist, 158, 260 - 278. https: // doi. org / 10.1674 / 0003 - 0031 (2007) 158 [260: Acotbc] 2.0. Co; 2","Jenkins, D. A., Millan-Hernandez, C., Cline, A. R., McElrath, T. C., Irish, B. & Goenaga, R. (2015) Attraction of pollinators to Atemoya (Annona squamosa x Annona cherimola) in Puerto Rico using commercial lures and food attractants. Journal of Economic Entomology, 108, 1923 - 1929. https: // doi. org / 10.1093 / jee / tov 136"]}

M. americana Aub��, 1837 (NEW STATE RECORD) (Figs. 2A, 3) Habitat and Biology: A widespread species in North America, they are associated with rotting plant material, such as grass clippings, Magnolia leaf litter, compost, moldy flooring, or moldy bark chips. They are collected with pitfall traps, Berlese extractions of moldy plant matter, and Lindgren funnels baited with ethanol., Published as part of Mcelrath, Thomas C. & Mchugh, Joseph V., 2018, Undocumented beetle diversity in the Southeastern United States: a case study of the minute clubbed beetles (Coleoptera: Monotomidae), pp. 127-140 in Zootaxa 4472 (1) on page 131, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4472.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/1440064

M. emarginata Bousquet & Laplante, 1999 (NEW STATE RECORD) (Figs. 2D, 3) Habitat and Biology: Ranging over most of eastern North America, this species is collected in rotting or moldy plant matter, either by hand or with Berlese extraction and pitfalls, or with ethanol-baited Lindgren funnel traps.

M. bicolor Villa & Villa, 1835 (NEW STATE RECORD) (Figs. 2C, 3) Habitat and Biology: Likely native to Europe, this species is adventive in North America. They are collected using Berlese extraction of rotting vegetable or animal matter.

M. emarginata Bousquet & Laplante, 1999 (NEW STATE RECORD) (Figs. 2D, 3) Habitat and Biology: Ranging over most of eastern North America, this species is collected in rotting or moldy plant matter, either by hand or with Berlese extraction and pitfalls, or with ethanol-baited Lindgren funnel traps., Published as part of Mcelrath, Thomas C. & Mchugh, Joseph V., 2018, Undocumented beetle diversity in the Southeastern United States: a case study of the minute clubbed beetles (Coleoptera: Monotomidae), pp. 127-140 in Zootaxa 4472 (1) on page 131, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4472.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/1440064, {"references":["Bousquet, Y. & Laplante, S. (1999) Taxonomic review of the Canadian species of the genus Monotoma Herbst (Coleoptera: Monotomidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Ontario, 130, 67 - 96."]}

M. johnsoni Bousquet & Laplante, 1999 (NEW STATE RECORD) (Figs. 2E, 3) Habitat and Biology: This is an adventive species with a cosmopolitan distribution, likely native to the Palearctic. This species is collected with ethanol-baited Lindgren funnel traps, or found in rotting plant matter using Berlese extractions. It has been collected only rarely in Georgia., Published as part of Mcelrath, Thomas C. & Mchugh, Joseph V., 2018, Undocumented beetle diversity in the Southeastern United States: a case study of the minute clubbed beetles (Coleoptera: Monotomidae), pp. 127-140 in Zootaxa 4472 (1) on page 131, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4472.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/1440064, {"references":["Bousquet, Y. & Laplante, S. (1999) Taxonomic review of the Canadian species of the genus Monotoma Herbst (Coleoptera: Monotomidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Ontario, 130, 67 - 96."]}

Outlining descriptive characteristics of the nested case-control study population, ERS and WQS Construction, and additional modeling details. Table S1. Pearson correlation between mean sg-adjusted phthalate exposures. Table S2. Descriptive statistics for pregnant women in the nested case-control sample. Table S3. Descriptive Statistics for Phthalate Metabolites. Table S4. Interquartile Range (IQR) Standardization Values. Table S5. Weights for ERS and WQS Construction. Table S6. Association between preterm birth / gestational age and categorized phthalate risk score. Figure S1. Distribution of final gestational age for subjects included in the nested case-control sample. Figure S2. Distribution of ERS and WQS corresponding to the average exposure analysis. Figure S3. Scatterplot matrix and Pearson correlation between phthalate risk scores. Appendix A1: Construction of ERS and WQS in Average Exposure Analysis. Appendix A2: Single-pollutant models with repeated measures of exposure. (DOCX 469 kb)

Antibothrus morimotoi Sasaji 1997 (Figure 1) Species diagnosis. In the New World, A. morimotoi is the only species of Antibothrus currently established. Thus, the generic level diagnostic characters are sufficient to distinguish it from all other species of Bothrideridae that are known to occur in North America. When compared with similar species of Antibothrus in its native range, A. morimotoi can be distinguished by the peculiar form of the basal two antennal segments (scape with stout spine protruding asymmetrically; pedicel wider than following segment, inserted asymmetrically into scape); penultimate antennal segment much wider than terminal segment [of similar width in A. fatalis (Nikitsky 1985a)]; eyes prominent laterally; pronotal longitudinal furrow barely impressed; lateral edges of pronotum rounded, not carinate; sub-interval carinae of elytra shorter; and short stout setae on apex of elytra lacking [present in A. hirsutus Aoki (Aoki 2009)]. Species redescription (modified from Sasaji 1997, additional terminology from Lawrence et al. 2010) Body: somewhat cylindrical-flat, about 3.1�� as long as wide, nearly parallel-sided. Uniformly reddish brown or yellowish brown, without any dark or light markings. Surface almost glabrous. Head: Relatively large, wider than long in dorsal aspect. Eyes strongly prominent laterally and glabrous. Frons finely and sparsely punctate. Fronto-clypeal suture distinct. Clypeus wider than long, with visible setae near apex. Antenna clearly 11-segmented. Scape (A1) stout, mostly glabrous with small setal fringe preceding A2 insertion, with acute subbasal spine on outer edge, spine with associated longer seta; pedicel (A2) much smaller than A1 but strongly widened (measured perpendicularly to A1 insertion), inserted asymmetrically on A1 outer lateral edge; A3 subcylindrical, slightly longer than wide; A4���9 each wider than long; A10 strongly widening apically, about twice as wide as long; terminal antennomere (A11) transverse oval, much wider than long, with narrow stem, about 2/3 size of A10. Genal processes expanded into acute points ventrally. Prothorax: Nearly as long as wide, hexagonal, with weakly angulate sides. Surface of pronotal disc roughly sculptured by large (0.1���0.2 mm), irregular, elongate-oval punctures, each with a single minute, short seta. Pronotal base with a pair of weak and very short admedian elevations bordered laterally by weak depressions and mesally with an additional weak median depression. Lateral pronotal carina weakly present basally, nearly obliterated anteriorly. Prosternal process very narrow, and weakly widening posteriorly with a subtruncate apex, and nearly as long as basisternal length. Postcoxal process of prothoracic hypomeron very narrow. Pterothorax: Scutellar shield small, wider than long. Mesocoxal cavities closed externally, separated by ~1/2 width of mesocoxal cavity, subcircular. Mesoventrite trapezoidal, roughly punctured, nearly as long as mesocoxal cavity (not including mesoventral process); mesoventral process with gradual elevation anteromedially, reaching level of metaventrite; mesanepisternum distinctly separated from mesoventrite, roughly punctured, subtriangular in lateral view. Meso-metaventral junction straight. Metaventrite longer than first abdominal ventrite, coarsely and more densely punctured, with some minute setation. Metanepisternum long, thin, not expanded, impunctate. Elytra: Anteriorly wider than prothorax, widest in anterior third; almost parallel-sided with a short rounded apex. Disc of elytron with three distinct longitudinal carinae, reaching almost to elytral apex; suture also carinate; each of three intervals with a weak longitudinal carina at anterior half or anterior two-thirds. Surface of interstices between carinae very weakly, sparsely punctate, mostly smooth; nearly glabrous, except for minute, sparse setae only visible under high magnification. Abdomen: Intercoxal process broad, flat, truncate. Ventrite one (V1) longest, about 2���3�� as long as each of the remaining ventrites (V2���5). All ventrites somewhat coarsely, densely punctured. V1 mostly flat, curving towards dorsum laterally. V2-4 subequal in length. V2���4 each with median posterior margin with ridge-like expansion away from body, especially V4, so that the posterior edges of V2���4 project more strongly ventrad than the anterior edges. V5 mostly flattened, slightly longer than V4. Legs: Tarsal formula 4-4-4, basal and terminal tarsomeres longest. Tibial spur formula 1-2-2. Protibia with sharp terminal outward extension forming spine and several small but distinct denticles along outer edge; protibia with one long (nearly reaching apex of first tarsomere), slender, socketed, darkened, apically curved tibial spur. Meso- and metatibia each with a sharp terminal outward extension forming spine and two subequal, straight tibial spurs, each shorter and less robust than protibial spur. Body length: 2.00��� 2.35 mm (avg. 2.17 mm) (up to 2.5 mm in native range); width: 0.65���0.75 mm (avg. 0.69 mm) (n = 20, all specimens included). Distribution. JAPAN (Honshu: Fukui, Mie, Nara and Hy��go); UNITED STATES (Ohio: Franklin Co.) (Fig. 2). Biology. Antibothrus fatalis is associated with burrows of the scolytine genus Xyleborus (Nikitsky 1985a). Two species of Antibothrus have been collected beneath the bark of trees: Antibothrus ichihashii on Castanopsis sieboldii (Narukawa 2002) and A. hirsutus on an unidentified tree. The specimens of A. morimotoi found in North America were all collected by Lindgren funnel traps baited with various bark beetle attractants, such as alphapinene, Platypus quercivorus or Megaplatypus lure, and ethanol. Considering that most members of Bothrideridae are ectoparasites of wood-boring insect larvae, the capture of A. morimotoi in these baited traps suggests that the species is ectoparasitic on larvae of bark beetles, perhaps a species of Xyleborus. Interestingly, the specimens collected in 2013 were slightly shorter (x��= 2.14 mm, n = 15) than those collected in 2015 (x��= 2.27 mm, n = 5). While this difference is not statistically significant, it was readily visible and easily measurable. This may be due to changes in the host species utilized, or the health (and nutritional value) of the host species between the two years, or alternatively, to the number of individuals utilizing a single host larva or pupa., Published as part of Mcelrath, Thomas C., Androw, Robert A. & Mchugh, Joseph V., 2016, Antibothrus morimotoi Sasaji, an Old World cocoon-forming beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinelloidea: Bothrideridae) newly established in North America, pp. 323-330 in Zootaxa 4154 (3) on pages 325-328, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4154.3.7, http://zenodo.org/record/262622, {"references":["Sasaji, H. (1997) A new species of the genus Antibothrus (Coleoptera, Bothrideridae) from Japan, with notes on the Japanese Bothriderinae. Esakia, 37, 111 - 116.","Nikitsky, N. B. (1985 a) The cylindrical bark beetles (Col., Colydiidae) and Cerylonidae of the Soviet Far East. Archives of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, 23, 3 - 25.","Aoki, J. (2009) A new species of the genus Antibothrus (Coleoptera, Bothrideridae) from the Amami Islands of Japan. Elytra, Tokyo, 37, 291 - 295.","Narukawa, N. (2002) A new species of the genus Antibothrus (Coleoptera: Bothrideridae) from Japan. Entomological Review of Japan, 57, 123 - 126."]}

Antibothrus Sharp 1885 Systematics. Antibothrus is a predominantly Old World genus of cocoon-forming beetles with 17 described species (Ślipiński et al. 1989). Most of the species occur in Madagascar and Africa (Ślipiński 1982), but three species are known from Japan (Sasaji 1997; Narukawa 2002; Aoki 2009), one from Russia (Nikitsky 1985a, b), and one from Sri Lanka (Sharp 1885). Generic diagnosis. In America north of Mexico, this genus can be diagnosed by the following combination of characters (modified from Ślipiński et al. 1989) (Fig. 1): Small (less than 3 mm long), moderately to strongly convex. Head produced, eyes large, protuberant. Antennae 11-segmented with 2-segmented club, with terminal segment smaller than penultimate. Pronotum hexagonal in outline (although only vaguely so in A. morimotoi). Elytra with alternate intervals carinate, even intervals usually punctate. Procoxae narrowly separated, intercoxal process produced into single lobe. Metaventrite and abdominal ventrite 1 without postcoxal lines. Tibiae expanded toward apices., Published as part of Mcelrath, Thomas C., Androw, Robert A. & Mchugh, Joseph V., 2016, Antibothrus morimotoi Sasaji, an Old World cocoon-forming beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinelloidea: Bothrideridae) newly established in North America, pp. 323-330 in Zootaxa 4154 (3) on page 324, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4154.3.7, http://zenodo.org/record/262622, {"references":["Sharp, D. (1885) On the Colydiidae collected by Mr. G. Lewis in Japan. The Journal of the Linnean Society of London, 18, 117 - 131. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1096 - 3642.1885. tb 02050. x","Slipinski, S. A., Pope, R. D. & Aldridge, R. J. W. (1989) A review of the world Bothriderini (Coleoptera: Bothrideridae). Polskie Pismo Entomologiczne - Bulletin Entomologique de Pologne, 59, 131 - 202.","Slipinski, S. A. (1982) Studies on the African Colydiidae - Part 1. Genus Antibothrus Sharp (Coleoptera). Revue de Zoologie Africaine, 96, 685 - 699.","Sasaji, H. (1997) A new species of the genus Antibothrus (Coleoptera, Bothrideridae) from Japan, with notes on the Japanese Bothriderinae. Esakia, 37, 111 - 116.","Narukawa, N. (2002) A new species of the genus Antibothrus (Coleoptera: Bothrideridae) from Japan. Entomological Review of Japan, 57, 123 - 126.","Aoki, J. (2009) A new species of the genus Antibothrus (Coleoptera, Bothrideridae) from the Amami Islands of Japan. Elytra, Tokyo, 37, 291 - 295.","Nikitsky, N. B. (1985 a) The cylindrical bark beetles (Col., Colydiidae) and Cerylonidae of the Soviet Far East. Archives of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, 23, 3 - 25.","Nikitsky, N. B. (1985 b) A new species of the genus Antibothrus (Coleoptera, Colydiidae) from the south of the Soviet Far East. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal, 64, 625 - 628."]}

Cervical shortening is believed to be a marker for generalized intrauterine inflammation and has a strong association with spontaneous preterm birth. A variety of therapies, including vaginal and intramuscular progesterone, pessary, and cerclage, have been demonstrated to be effective in specific clinical circumstances. Cervical cerclage can be placed via transvaginal, open transabdominal, or laparoscopic transabdominal approach, preferably before pregnancy. A laparoscopic approach may be superior to the transabdominal approach in terms of surgical outcomes, cost, and postoperative morbidity.

Amniotic fluid infection with chorioamnionitis is associated with increased risks of morbidity and mortality in children born prematurely. These risks depend on the presence of a fetal inflammatory response. We measured the concentrations of 25 proteins in the blood of 871 infants born before the 28th week of gestation, and examined their placentas for acute inflammation. Newborns who had inflammatory lesions of the placenta were much more likely than their peers (p

In a 2002–2004 prospective cohort study of deliveries of infants at

Supplemental tables. Word document of Supplemental Tables S1, S2, and S3. (DOCX 43 kb)

Keywords for literature review. Word document of keywords used in literature review. (DOCX 64 kb)

Supplemental tables. Word document of Supplemental Tables S1, S2, and S3. (DOCX 43 kb)

Keywords for literature review. Word document of keywords used in literature review. (DOCX 64 kb)