Search

Background: The aim of this study was to measure the effectiveness on breast feeding rates by the program 'Supporting a First-time Mother', a web-based platform of interactionbetween first-time mothers and breastfeeding-experienced women who act as peer-supporters., Methods: A randomized study with a control and intervention group was conducted between April and October 2016. Participants were recruited from Hospital Universitario de Canarias (Spain). Inclusive criteria were singleton pregnancy, healthy term baby, vaginal or assisted delivery. Participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention or control group. Type of feeding (exclusive, partial or artificial) was noted at 3 and 6 months. The study also gathered information from the peer-supporters., Results: Data showed higher rates of exclusive breastfeeding in the intervention group,at both 3 and 6 months post delivery (76% vs 56%, p = 0.020; 47% vs 35%, p = 0.049). Taking part in the study also increased the overall success of breastfeeding 2.65 times (IC95%, 1.21-5.78, p = 0.014) at 3 months and 3.30 times (IC95% 1.52-7.17, p = 0.003) at 6 months., Conclusions: A limitation of the study is mainly related to participation in the intervention. In spite of this limitation, this support programme increased breastfeeding rates 3 fold., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To evaluate whether maternal diabetes alters the habituation ability of fetuses and newborns., Study Design: Two nonrandomized clinical trials were performed. First, we studied prenatal fetuses of women with pregestational diabetes, and control subjects matched for gestational age, and then we studied infants of diabetic mothers (IDM) and control subjects matched for gestational age and mode of delivery. Fetus and newborns were stimulated with vibroacoustic stimulus., Results: In fetuses of diabetic mothers, the ability to habituate was lower, and the habituation rate was higher than in control subjects to all habituation tests. In the neonatal period, ability to habituate was lower (59% vs 100%; P< .001), and the habituation rate was higher (18 [14-21] vs 4 [1.2-6.8]; P< .001) in the IDM than in the control infants. We found a significant negative correlation between maternal glycosylated hemoglobin in each trimester of pregnancy and habituation ability in IDM., Conclusions: Fetuses and infants of diabetic mothers have impaired habituation ability, which is related to the degree of maternal metabolic control.

Two new PCR-based methods were developed to decode prion protein (PrP) gene polymorphisms at codons 136, 154 and 171: a PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis consisting of two PCR reactions followed by three enzymatic digestions, and a real-time PCR consisting of four reactions with seven fluorogenic probes. Both methods were used to study the distribution of PrP gene polymorphisms in a representative sample (1297 animals) of the populations of the two native breeds of sheep of the Spanish Basque Country, Latxa and Carranzana. Fourteen genotypes were found in the Latxa breed, in which ARQ/ARQ was the genotype most frequently observed (49.3 per cent), followed by ARR/ARQ (32.6 per cent) and ARQ/ARH (5.8 per cent). The genotype associated with the highest resistance to scrapie (ARR/ARR) was present in 5 per cent of the animals analysed. Similar results were observed in the Carranzana sheep.

This is a report on our first 2 years' experience of operating a helicopter emergency medical service in the Canary Islands, Spain. The two advanced life-support helicopters are staffed full time by a physician and a nurse. For the transport protocol, inter-hospital transport patients (secondary missions) were classified into three groups: group A, minor illnesses or injuries; group B, modified or middle critical condition; and group C, critical condition. On-scene patients (primary missions) were also divided into critical and non-critical condition. Cardiovascular and respiratory stabilization were necessary before transport. One thousand and fifty-four patients were transported, 19% of whom were primary missions and 81% of whom were secondary missions. Thirty per cent of the first group were in critical condition. The distribution of secondary missions was group A 16%, group B 44% and group C 40%. In group C, 60% of patients were mechanically ventilated, 70% needed cardiovascular drug support and 84% needed stabilization before transport. Thirty-two per cent were trauma patients and 12% neonates. The overall mortality rate was 0.8%. The cost per mission was US$2300. In the interests of safety and rationalization of the use of resources, transport of non-critical patients should be reduced. The presence of a trained physician and nursing crew and stabilization before transport could be responsible for the low mortality rate.