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Abstract Background Maternal nutritional status before and during pregnancy is an important contributor to pregnancy outcomes and early child health. The aim of this study was to describe the preconceptional nutritional status and dietary intake during pregnancy in high-risk women from South Africa and Zimbabwe. Methods This is a prospective observational study, nested to the CAP trial. Anthropometric measurements before and during pregnancy and dietary intake using 24-h recall during pregnancy were assessed. The Intake Distribution Estimation software (PC-SIDE) was used to evaluate nutrient intake adequacy taking the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) as a cut-off point. Results Three hundred twelve women who had pre-eclampsia in their last pregnancy and delivered in hospitals from South Africa and Zimbabwe were assessed. 73.7 and 60.2% women in South Africa and Zimbabwe, respectively started their pregnancy with BMI above normal (BMI ≥ 25) whereas the prevalence of underweight was virtually non-existent. The majority of women had inadequate intakes of micronutrients. Considering food and beverage intake only, none of the micronutrients measured achieved the estimated average requirement. Around 60% of pregnant women reported taking folic acid or iron supplements in South Africa, but almost none did so in Zimbabwe. Conclusion We found a high prevalence of overweight and obesity and high micronutrient intake inadequacy in pregnant women who had the previous pregnancy complicated with pre-eclampsia. The obesity figures and micronutrient inadequacy are issues of concern that need to be addressed. Pregnant women have regular contacts with the health system; these opportunities could be used to improve diet and nutrition. Trial registration PACTR201105000267371. Registered 06 December 2010.

The individual monitoring of cross-country skiers’ technique-related parameters is crucial to identifying possible athlete-individual deficits that need to be corrected in order to optimize the athlete’s performance in competition. To be able to record relevant biomechanical parameters during training in the field, the development of measuring systems exploiting the athlete’s full potential is the key. Known mobile monitoring systems for measuring forces on ski poles use comparably heavy uniaxial load cells mounted on the pole with a data logger also attached to the pole or carried by the athlete. Measurements that are more accurate can be acquired using wire-based systems. However, wire-based systems are highly immobile and only usable when the athletes undergo a stationary test, e.g., on a treadmill. This paper focuses on the functional design of a measuring system using specialized, miniaturized electronics for acquiring data from strain sensors. These data are then used to determine the technique-related parameters pole force and angle of bend. The functional design is also capable of transmitting the acquired data wirelessly via Bluetooth to a smartphone that runs a proprietary app. This approach is advantageous regarding mass, dynamic behavior, analyzing functionality, and signal processing compared to the state of the art.

Abstract Background The preconception period has the potential to influence pregnancy outcomes and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are needed to evaluate a variety of potentially beneficial preconception interventions. However, RCTs commencing before pregnancy have significant participant recruitment and retention challenges. The Calcium And Pre-eclampsia trial (CAP trial) is a World Health Organization multi-country RCT of calcium supplementation commenced before pregnancy to prevent recurrent pre-eclampsia in which non-pregnant participants are recruited and followed up until childbirth. This sub-study explores recruitment methods and preconception retention of participants of the CAP trial to inform future trials. Methods Recruiters at the study sites in Argentina, South Africa and Zimbabwe completed post-recruitment phase questionnaires on recruitment methods used. Qualitative data from these questionnaires and quantitative data on pre-pregnancy trial visit attendance and pregnancy rates up to September 2016 are reported in this paper. RStudio (Version 0.99.903 https://www.rstudio.org ) statistical software was used for summary statistics. Results Between July 2011 and 8 September 2016, 1354 women with previous pre-eclampsia were recruited. Recruitment took 2 years longer than expected and was facilitated mainly through medical record/register and maternity ward/clinic-based strategies. Recruiters highlighted difficulties associated with inadequate medical records, redundant patient contact details, and follow-up of temporarily ineligible women as some of the challenges faced. Whilst the attendance rates at pre-pregnancy visits were high (78% or more), visits often occurred later than scheduled. Forty-five percent of participants became pregnant (614/1354), 33.5% (454/1354) within 1 year of randomization. Conclusions In preconception trials, both retrospective and prospective methods are useful for recruiting eligible women with certain conditions. However, these are time-consuming in low-resource settings with suboptimal medical records and other challenges. Trial planners should ensure that trial budgets cover sufficient on-site researchers with pre-trial training, and should consider using mobile phone and web-based electronic tools to optimize recruitment and retention. This should lead to greater efficiency and shorter trial durations. Trial registration Pan-African Clinical Trials Registry, Registration Number: PACTR201105000267371 . The trial was registered on 6 December 2016.

Abstract Background Small insertions and deletions occur in humans at a lower rate compared to nucleotide changes, but evolve under more constraint than nucleotide changes. While the evolution of insertions and deletions have been investigated using ape outgroups, the now available genome of a Neandertal can shed light on the evolution of indels in more recent times. Results We used the Neandertal genome together with several primate outgroup genomes to differentiate between human insertion/deletion changes that likely occurred before the split from Neandertals and those that likely arose later. Changes that pre-date the split from Neandertals show a smaller proportion of deletions than those that occurred later. The presence of a Neandertal-shared allele in Europeans or Asians but the absence in Africans was used to detect putatively introgressed indels in Europeans and Asians. A larger proportion of these variants reside in intergenic regions compared to other modern human variants, and some variants are linked to SNPs that have been associated with traits in modern humans. Conclusions Our results are in agreement with earlier results that suggested that deletions evolve under more constraint than insertions. When considering Neandertal introgressed variants, we find some evidence that negative selection affected these variants more than other variants segregating in modern humans. Among introgressed variants we also identify indels that may influence the phenotype of their carriers. In particular an introgressed deletion associated with a decrease in the time to menarche may constitute an example of a former Neandertal-specific trait contributing to modern human phenotypic diversity.

Abstract Background Admixture between early modern humans and Neandertals approximately 50,000–60,000 years ago has resulted in 1.5–4% Neandertal ancestry in the genomes of present-day non-Africans. Evidence is accumulating that some of these archaic alleles are advantageous for modern humans, while others are deleterious; however, the major mechanism by which these archaic alleles act has not been fully explored. Results Here we assess the contributions of introgressed non-synonymous and regulatory variants to modern human protein and gene expression variation. We show that gene expression changes are more often associated with Neandertal ancestry than expected, and that the introgressed non-synonymous variants tend to have less predicted functional effect on modern human proteins than mutations that arose on the human lineage. Conversely, introgressed alleles contribute proportionally more to expression variation than non-introgressed alleles. Conclusions Our results suggest that the major influence of Neandertal introgressed alleles is through their effects on gene regulation.

In order to realize novel acoustic liners, honeycomb core structures specially adapted to these applications are required. For this purpose, various design concepts were developed to create a hybrid cell core by combining flexible wall areas based on thermoplastic elastomer films and rigid honeycomb areas made of fiber-reinforced thermoplastics. Within the scope of the presented study, a numerical approach was introduced to analyze the global compressive failure of the hybrid composite core structure, considering local buckling and composite failure according to Puck and Cuntze. Therefore, different geometrical configurations of fiber-reinforced tapes were compared with respect to their deformation as well as their resulting failure behavior by means of a finite element analysis. The resulting compression strength obtained by a linear buckling analysis agrees largely with calculated strengths of the more elaborate application of the failure criteria according to Puck and Cuntze, which were implemented in the framework of a nonlinear buckling analysis. The findings of this study serve as a starting point for the realization of the manufacturing concept, for the design of experimental tests of hybrid composite honeycomb core structures, and for further numerical investigations considering manufacturing as well as material specific aspects.

The extensive knowledge of root dentin’s mechanical properties is necessary for the prediction of microstructural alterations and the teeth’s deformations as well as their fracture behavior. Standardized microindentation tests were applied to apical, medial, and cervical root sections of a mandibular human first molar to determine the spatial distribution of the hard tissue’s properties (indentation modulus, indentation hardness, Martens hardness, indentation creep). Using an indentation mapping approach, the inhomogeneity of mechanical properties in longitudinal as well as in transversal directions were measured. As a result, the tooth showed strongly inhomogeneous material properties, which depended on the longitudinal and transversal positions. In the transversal cutting planes of the cervical, medial, apical sections, the properties showed a comparable distribution. A statistical evaluation revealed an indentation modulus between 12.2 GPa and 17.8 GPa, indentation hardness between 0.4 GPa and 0.64 GPa and an indentation creep between 8.6% and 10.7%. The established standardized method is a starting point for further investigations concerning the intensive description of the inhomogeneous mechanical properties of human dentin and other types of dentin.

Empirical models of ambient infrasound noise are valuable tools for assessing the detection capabilities of infrasound networks on local to global scales. Models that characterize noise in unpopulated, quiet environments are well established, and there is a detailed understanding of the sources that contribute to rural noise profiles. However, there is a research gap for infrasound and low-frequency noise in urban environments, based on the assumption that high noise levels generated by human activity will render signals of interest, such as earthquakes and explosions, undetectable. In this study, 11 infrasound sensors deployed across Las Vegas, NV, USA from 2019 to 2021 are used to create a long-term noise profile for infrasound and low-frequency noise in the city. The resulting empirical model is used to determine whether this network deployed in an urban area is capable of recording signals of interest or if noise from anthropogenic activity dominates detections to a prohibitive degree. The Las Vegas model presented here has noise levels that sit within the bounds of established global noise models, and the network records multiple signals of interest during the study period, indicating that this and similar urban networks are more capable of reliably detecting signals of interest than previously thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The first‐line approach for childhood obesity is lifestyle intervention (LI); however, success varies. This study aimed first to identify distinct subgroups of response in children living with overweight and obesity and second to elucidate predictors for subclusters. Methods: Based on the obesity patient follow‐up registry the APV (Adipositas‐Patienten‐Verlaufsdokumentation) initiative, a total of 12,453 children and adolescents (median age: 11.5 [IQR: 9.7–13.2] years; BMI z score [BMIz]: 2.06 [IQR: 1.79–2.34]; 52.6% girls) living with overweight/obesity and participating in outpatient LI were studied. Longitudinal k‐means clustering was used to identify individual BMIz response curve for up to 2 years after treatment initiation. Multinomial logistic regression was used to elucidate predictors for cluster membership. Results: A total of 36.3% of children and adolescents experienced "no BMIz loss." The largest subcluster (44.8%) achieved "moderate BMIz loss," with an average delta‐BMIz of −0.23 (IQR: −0.33 to −0.14) at study end. A total of 18.9% had a "pronounced BMIz loss" up to −0.61 (IQR: −0.76 to −0.49). Younger age and lower BMIz at LI initiation, larger initial BMIz loss, and less social deprivation were linked with higher likelihood for moderate or pronounced BMIz loss compared with the no BMIz loss cluster (all p < 0.05). Conclusions: These results support the importance of patient‐tailored intervention and earlier treatment escalation in high‐risk individuals who have little chance of success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical models of ambient infrasound noise are valuable tools for assessing the detection capabilities of infrasound networks on local to global scales. Models that characterize noise in unpopulated, quiet environments are well established, and there is a detailed understanding of the sources that contribute to rural noise profiles. However, there is a research gap for infrasound and low-frequency noise in urban environments, based on the assumption that high noise levels generated by human activity will render signals of interest, such as earthquakes and explosions, undetectable. In this study, 11 infrasound sensors deployed across Las Vegas, NV, USA from 2019 to 2021 are used to create a long-term noise profile for infrasound and low-frequency noise in the city. The resulting empirical model is used to determine whether this network deployed in an urban area is capable of recording signals of interest or if noise from anthropogenic activity dominates detections to a prohibitive degree. The Las Vegas model presented here has noise levels that sit within the bounds of established global noise models, and the network records multiple signals of interest during the study period, indicating that this and similar urban networks are more capable of reliably detecting signals of interest than previously thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]