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Gertie Wood (September 18, 1892–August 26, 1976) was a Guyanese social worker, music teacher, women’s rights activist, and the first female political candidate in the British West Indies. She is most often described by Caribbean historians, gender and development scholars, and supporters of the women’s movements as a pioneer women’s rights activist. However, Wood also made an invaluable impact on social work in then British Guiana during the 1930s and 1940s, articulating the plight of women and children in the former British colony. She found fame with the Circle of Sunshine Workers, the Second Inter-Colonial Conference of Women Social Workers, and her amplification of the need for social welfare workers and programs to the Royal West Indian Commission in 1939. Wood’s activism chartered the path for establishing the British Guiana League of Social Services, a trajectory that created a model for national and transnational collaborative work. Wood was honored for her self-sacrificing service as a recipient of the King’s Silver Jubilee Medal—an Order of the British Empire.

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Background Lipids are crucial for fetal growth and development. Maternal lipid concentrations are associated with fetal growth in the second and third trimester of pregnancy and with birth outcomes. However, it is unknown if this association starts early in pregnancy or arises later during fetal development. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the maternal lipid profile in early pregnancy and embryonic size. Methods We included 1474 women from the Generation R Study, a population based prospective birth cohort. Both embryonic size and the maternal lipid profile were measured between 10 weeks + 1 day and 13 weeks + 6 days gestational age. The maternal lipid profile was defined as total cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), remnant cholesterol, non-high-density (non-HDL-c) lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations and the triglycerides/high-density lipoprotein (TG/HDL-c) ratio. Additionally, maternal glucose concentrations were assessed. Embryonic size was assessed using crown-rump length (CRL) measurements. Associations were studied with linear regression models, adjusted for confounding factors: maternal age, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), parity, educational level, ethnicity, smoking and folic acid supplement use. Results Triglycerides and remnant cholesterol concentrations are positively associated with embryonic size (fully adjusted models, 0.17 SDS CRL: 95% CI 0.03; 0.30, and 0.17 SDS: 95% CI 0.04; 0.31 per 1 MoM increase, respectively). These associations were not present in women with normal weight (triglycerides and remnant cholesterol: fully adjusted model, 0.44 SDS: 95% CI 0.15; 0.72). Associations between maternal lipid concentrations and embryonic size were not attenuated after adjustment for glucose concentrations. Total cholesterol, HDL-c, LDL-c, non-HDL-c concentrations and the TG/HDL-c ratio were not associated with embryonic size. Conclusions Higher triglycerides and remnant cholesterol concentrations in early pregnancy are associated with increased embryonic size, most notably in overweight women. Trial registration The study protocol has been approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Erasmus University Medical Centre (Erasmus MC), Rotterdam (MEC-2007-413). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Sybil Agatha Patterson—AA (July 9, 1924–December 5, 2017) was a Guyanese social work pioneer known across the Anglophone Caribbean region for her contributions to social work education, community development, and women’s rights activism. In 1986, the Government of Guyana awarded her the Golden Arrow of Achievement (AA) for her contributions to social work, women’s research studies, and women’s development programs. Sybil Patterson was also a scholar and an adviser on social development to governments, the region’s nongovernmental sector, and international organizations. Her noble contributions to social work education and practice in Guyana impacted many professionals, who resultantly called her the matriarch of social work.

BACKGROUND In 2011, we launched the Smarter Pregnancy mobile health (mHealth) coaching program, which has shown to effectively improve inadequate nutrition and lifestyle behaviors in women before and during pregnancy. It is known that in deprived neighborhoods, risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes like inadequate nutrition and lifestyle behaviors accumulate. However, it has not yet been investigated whether the Smarter Pregnancy program is equally effective in women living in deprived neighborhoods. OBJECTIVE This paper aimed to study the associations between neighborhood deprivation and improvement of inadequate nutrition and lifestyle behaviors of women who were either contemplating pregnancy or already pregnant and subscribed to the Smarter Pregnancy program. METHODS We performed an additional analysis on data from women who used the Smarter Pregnancy program from 2011 to 2016. The program comprised 24 weeks of coaching on 5 nutrition and lifestyle behaviors, of which adequate intakes or lifestyle behaviors were defined as an intake of 200 grams or above of vegetables, 2 pieces of fruit, daily folic acid supplement use of 400 µg per day, and no smoking or alcohol consumption. Neighborhood deprivation was determined according to the status scores of the Netherlands Institute for Social Research. Logistic regression analyses and generalized estimating equation models were used to assess the associations between the neighborhood status score (NSS) and the improvement of inadequate nutrition and lifestyle behaviors, taking into account the behaviors at baseline. We adjusted the analyses for maternal age, body mass index, geographic origin, pregnancy status, and participation as a couple. RESULTS Of the 2554 women included, 521 participated with their male partner. Overall, daily vegetable intake was most frequently inadequate at the start of the program (77.72, 1985/2554). Women with a higher NSS (ie, nondeprived neighborhood) smoked less often (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.85; 95% CI 0.77-0.93), consumed alcohol more often (adjusted OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.04-1.24), and were less likely to complete the 24 weeks of coaching (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.88-0.95) compared with women who lived in a neighborhood with a low NSS (ie, deprived). In the total group, the relative improvement of inadequate nutrition and lifestyle behaviors after 24 weeks of coaching was between 26% and 64%. NSS was negatively associated with this improvement, indicating that women with a higher NSS were less likely to improve inadequate nutrition and lifestyle behaviors, especially vegetable intake (adjusted OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.82-0.97). CONCLUSIONS The Smarter Pregnancy mHealth coaching program empowers women to improve inadequate nutrition and lifestyle behaviors. Unexpectedly, the program seemed more effective in women living in deprived neighborhoods. It is important to unravel differences in needs and behaviors of specific target groups to further tailor the mHealth program on the basis of demographic characteristics like neighborhood deprivation.

When collecting small numbers of cells using laser microdissection for the purpose of generating a DNA profile it is important to know that the DNA extraction process applied to such samples is appropriate. The DNA extraction process routinely used for common forensic samples may not be the optimal process for low numbers of LMD collected cells. We compare three DNA IQ modification methods with a distinct single-tube method. The latter outperformed the others in its ability to provide fuller profiles and higher peaks from DNA extracted from 50, 100 and 150 LMD collected spermatozoa.

Tests were performed to check if the dissected cells are affectively retrieved into the collection tubes, if cross contamination could occur if cells were collected from multiple slides containing cells of differing origin, and if the work environment surfaces contained any DNA that may cause a contamination risk. A less than ideal laboratory environment, sampling different cells from multiple slides, and inadequate cleaning procedures may negatively affect cell collection and/or increase contamination risk. Recommendations are made to assist in limiting the risk of contamination while using laser microdissection to collect cells for forensic DNA profiling.