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Sedimentary rocks filling the Boltysh meteorite crater preserve an expanded record of post Cretaceous-Palaeogene (K/Pg) event vegetation destruction and subsequent floral recolonization. A post-destruction barren zone is succeeded by a fern spore spike recording the initial recovery vegetation. The Boltysh fern spore spike is divisible into two phases. Phase 1 is characterized by low abundances of fern spores, whereas the overlying Phase 2 has high fern spore abundances and contains common palm pollen. Comparison of the Boltysh Phase 2 fern spore spike with other palynological records shows strong similarities to the immediately post K/Pg boundary record of the Western Interior, North America. Variation in the composition of the Boltysh palynofloras has been used to define four moisture availability cycles between the K/Pg boundary and the Dan-C2 negative carbon isotope excursion, a period of some 300 kyr. Early post K/Pg event vegetation community recovery followed a common seral successional pathway at rates seen in large igneous provinces, although enhanced by high moisture availability. Continued succession to the first true swamp community was at a considerably slower tempo. The post K/Pg event vegetation recovery was therefore retarded by lack of moisture availability, extending the apparent period of recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review discusses the causes, outcome and prevention of whiplash injury, which costs the economy of the United Kingdom approximately £3.64 billion per annum. Most cases occur as the result of rear-end vehicle collisions at speeds of less than 14 mph. Patients present with neck pain and stiffness, occipital headache, thoracolumbar back pain and upper-limb pain and paraesthesia. Over 66% make a full recovery and 2% are permanently disabled. The outcome can be predicted in 70% after three months.

Using a simulated UAV control task in which a vigilance display warned observers of the presence of enemy threats, Gunn et al. (2005) reported that perceived mental workload in relation to the vigilance task was unexpectedly low. The present study did not confirm that finding. It did show, however, that vigilance performance was greater and task induced stress was less among observers who had the opportunity to act upon vigilance signal detections by destroying the enemy threats than among those who detected threats but had no opportunity to counter them. Accordingly, the results point to the importance of a detection-action linkage to enhance signal detection and reduce stress in the performance of vigilance tasks.

AbstractObjective: To examine overweight trends over a 22-year period among preschool-aged children from primarily middle-income families enrolled in a health maintenance organization.Research Methods and Procedures: From well-child care visits to a Massachusetts health maintenance organization, we randomly selected one visit per child per calendar year, yielding a study sample of 120,680 children seen at 366,109 visits from 1980 through 2001. Using multivariate logistic regression models accounting for repeated observations of individual children across years, we estimated trends in prevalence of overweight (weight-for-length/height ≥ 95th percentile) and at-risk-for-overweight (85th to 95th percentile).Results: Over the 22-year study period, the observed prevalence of overweight increased from 6.3% to 10.0% and at-risk-for-overweight increased from 11.1% to 14.4%. These increases were evident among all groups of children including infants < 6 months of age. Overall, the adjusted odds ratios were 1.21 per decade (95% confidence interval, 1.17 to 1.25) for overweight and 1.06 per decade (95% confidence interval, 1.03 to 1.08) for at-risk-for-overweight.Discussion: Rates of overweight are increasing in very young children, even infants, from primarily middle-class families.

The article presents the short story "A Sound No Walkman Can Give," by S. Allyn Kelley.

Home healthcare (HHC) is one of the fastest-growing professions, currently employing more than 1 million workers in the United States. Unfortunately, these workers sustain an exceptionally high rate of musculoskeletal disorders. This is the second article in a two-part series providing information and suggestions for preventing overexertion that can lead to such disorders.

Home healthcare is one of the fastest-growing professions, currently employing more than 1 million workers in the United States. Unfortunately, these workers sustain an exceptionally high rate of musculoskeletal disorders. This is the first article in a two-part series providing information and suggestions for preventing overexertion that can lead to such disorders.

We examined employment outcomes among middle-aged and older clients with schizophrenia in three work rehabilitation programs that varied in their emphasis on conventional vocational rehabilitation (train-then-place) versus supported employment principles (place-then-train). We analyzed retrospective data from 36 veterans receiving VA Wellness and Vocational Enrichment Clinic (WAVE) services and prospective data from a randomized controlled trial of 30 subjects receiving Department of Rehabilitation/Employment Services (DOR) or Individual Placement and Support (IPS). Across interventions, half the subjects obtained volunteer or paid work. IPS participants, those with schizophrenia (versus schizoaffective disorder), and those with more education were more likely to work or volunteer. Rates of volunteer or paid work were 81% in IPS, 44% in WAVE, and 29% in DOR. Rates of competitive/paid work only were highest in IPS (69%), followed by DOR (29%) and WAVE (17%). Middle-aged and older people with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders benefit most from a supported employment approach.

Ar-Ar and fission-track dating from four low-grade sections in the Alpujárride Complex sheds light on the timing of the early contractional history of these high-pressure metamorphic units, and their subsequent exhumation during the early Miocene extensional collapse of the Betic orogen. White mica grains from the lowest-grade rocks yield partly reset detrital Ar-Ar ages; where deformation and recrystallization are more intense, however, they yield reproducible ages as old as c. 48 Ma, which we interpret as the approximate timing of the main contractional event and associated high-pressure metamorphism in these units. Rocks from slightly higher-grade sections give reproducible Ar-Ar ages between 30 and 40 Ma, but these younger ages probably reflect the interplay of growth and cooling in fine-grained micas heated to between 300 °C and 400 °C during prograde metamorphism. In each of the four areas studied the low-grade rocks are separated by an extensional detachment or shear zone from medium-grade rocks below. In two areas these detachments have been folded around major overturned north-vergent folds. Ar-Ar data from structurally below the detachments, and fission-track ages from all structural levels, indicate the onset of significant cooling in the early Miocene, which corresponds to the age of the extensional event. The folds must therefore be early Miocene or younger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small cell carcinoma (SCC) of the uterine cervix, like its pulmonary counterpart, is a rare but distinctive neoplasm that should be separated from nonendocrine carcinomas because of its highly aggressive clinical course and response to chemotherapy and irradiation. CD56 (neural cell adhesion molecule) has recently been shown to be the best marker for the diagnosis of pulmonary SCC. In this study, we assessed the sensitivity and specificity of CD56 in the diagnosis of SCC of the uterine cervix compared with those of chromogranin and synaptophysin. Twenty-two (88%) of 25 SCCs of the uterine cervix labeled with CD56 in a predominantly membranous and diffuse pattern, whereas 16 of 25 (64%) stained with synaptophysin in a predominantly diffuse pattern and 8 of 25 (32%) showed predominantly focal immunoreactivity for chromogranin. In contrast, 3 of 21 (14%) moderately to poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinomas and 1 of 16 (6%) moderately differentiated adenocarcinomas showed focal immunoreactivity for CD56. Although not specific, CD56 seems to be the most sensitive marker for the diagnosis of SCC of the uterine cervix. Moreover, its diffuse reactivity reduces the possibility of obtaining negative results in small biopsy samples.

Peptide conjugates of the xanthene dye rose bengal (RB) are described featuring sequences that promote DNA binding. The complexation of these conjugates with DNA causes efficient quenching of the fluorophore singlet state and suppresses singlet oxygen production. When incubated with human cells, the RB conjugates pass through the cell membrane but are not visualized in the nucleus. This behavior is in stark contrast to that exhibited by structurally analogous conjugates containing the unhalogenated xanthene dye fluorescein. These results highlight the marked sensitivity of cell permeability characteristics to subtle structural differences.

Parental feeding styles may promote overeating or overweight in children. A comprehensive literature review was undertaken to summarize the associations between parental feeding styles and child eating and weight status. Twenty‐two studies were identified. We systematically coded study attributes and outcomes and tested for patterns of association. Nineteen studies (86%) reported at least one significant association between parental feeding style and child outcome, although study methodology and results varied considerably. Studies measuring parental feeding restriction, as opposed to general feeding control or another feeding domain, were more likely to report positive associations with child eating and weight status. Certain associations differed by gender and by outcome measurement (e.g., rate of eating as opposed to total energy intake). Parental feeding restriction, but no other feeding domain, was associated with increased child eating and weight status. Longitudinal studies are needed to test underlying causal pathways, including bidirectional causal models, and to substantiate findings in the presence of other obesity risk factors.

The optimal characteristics of pneumatic compression for mechanical prophylaxis of thromboembolism after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are not known. Our study compared two methods of calf compression, with the hypothesis that the device which provided a larger increase in peak venous velocity would produce a lower rate of thromboembolism. We performed a prospective, randomised study on 423 patients (472 knees). Duplex ultrasonography was carried out by experienced technicians who were blinded to the device used. Overall, 206 patients (232 knees) used a rapid inflation, asymmetrical compression (RIAC) device and 217 (240 knees) a sequential circumferential compression device (SCD).The rate of venous thromboembolism was 6.9% with the RIAC device compared with 15% for the SCD device (p = 0.007). The incidence of thrombi with unilateral primary TKA was 8.4% for the RIAC compared with 16.8% for the SCD device (p = 0.03). In 47 patients with a bilateral TKA, the incidence of thrombi was 4% for the RIAC compared with 22.7% for the SCD device (p = 0.05 per knee). There was a low rate of mortality and pulmonary embolism when using mechanical prophylaxis for thromboembolism after TKA. Our findings show that the use of rapid inflation, asymmetrical calf compression gave a significantly lower rate of thromboembolism.

Endoscopic surgery offers substantial advantages over traditional open surgery, but endoscopic techniques require considerable practice and have been reported to induce high levels of stress in the surgeon. Some of that stress is believed to arise because of perceptual-motor distortions associated with the endoscopic interface. Prominent among those distortions is the disruption of normal eye-hand mapping in the endoscopic environment. The present study used the Dundee Stress State Questionnaire to determine the stress profile associated with performance in a simple endoscopic simulator under varying degrees of distortion of eye-hand mapping. The results indicated distinct stress profiles associated with different levels of hand-eye mapping distortion.

An integrated fermentation and membrane-based recovery (pervaporation) process has certain economical advantages in continuous conversion of biomass into alcohols. This article presents new pervaporation data obtained for poly[1-(trimethylsilyl)-1-propyne] (PTMSP) samples synthesized in various conditions. Three different catalytic systems, TaCl5/n-BuLi, TaCl5/Al(i-Bu)3, and NbCl5 were used for synthesis of the polymers. It was found that the catalytic system has a significant influence over the properties of membranes made from PTMSP. Although a combination of a high permeation rate and a high ethanol–water separation factor (not less than 15) was provided by all PTMSP samples, the PTMSP samples synthesized with TaCl5/n-BuLi showed significant deterioration of membrane properties when acetic acid was present in the feed. In contrast, the PTMSP samples synthesized with TaCl5/Al(i-Bu)3 or NbCl5 showed stable performance in the presence of acetic acid. When using a multicomponent mixture of organics and water, the copermeation of different organic components results in lower separation factor for both ethanol and butanol. These data are consistent with nanoporous morphology of PTMSP. It was demonstrated that pervaporative removal of ethanol improved the overall performance of the fermentation process. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 2271–2277, 2004

A 46-year-old woman presented with a right inguinal mass. Imaging studies revealed no abnormalities of the pelvis (including the ovaries) or abdomen. The inguinal mass was composed predominantly of variably sized cysts lined by flat to low cuboidal cells resembling mesothelial cells and ciliated columnar tubal-type cells with a focal transition between the two cell types. Papillae, detached cell clusters with mild cytologic atypia, and psammoma bodies were also found, warranting a diagnosis of a serous borderline tumor. This appears to be the first report of a serous borderline tumor arising in inguinal endosalpingiosis and not associated with an ovarian serous tumor.

Membrane-anchored adaptor proteins FRS2α/β (also known as SNT-1/2) mediate signaling of fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) and neurotrophin receptors (TRKs) through their N-terminal phosphotyrosine binding (PTB) domains. The FRS2 PTB domain recognizes tyrosine-phosphorylated TRKs at an NPXpY (where pY is phosphotyrosine) motif, whereas its constitutive association with FGFR involves a receptor juxtamembrane region lacking Tyr and Asn residues. Here we show by isothermal titration calorimetry that the FRS2α PTB domain binding to peptides derived from TRKs or FGFR is thermodynamically different. TRK binding is largely enthalpy-driven, whereas the FGFR interaction is governed by a favorable entropic contribution to the free energy of binding. Furthermore, our NMR spectral analysis suggests that disruption of an unstructured region C-terminal to the PTB domain alters local conformation and dynamics of the residues at the ligand-binding site, and that structural disruption of the β8-strand directly weakens the PTB domain association with the FGFR ligand. Together, our new findings support a molecular mechanism by which conformational dynamics of the FRS2α PTB domain dictates its association with either fibroblast growth factor or neurotrophin receptors in neuronal development.

Novel miniature fuel cells were fabricated from micromachined silicon wafers. The cells used methanol and air as reactants, and a thin polymer electrolyte as separator. The assembled cells had a working volume of 12 mm3 and could be scaled down in size by three orders of magnitude by simple adjustments of the masking and etching procedures. Electrodeposition of Pt‐Ru as the anode catalyst (oxidation of methanol) was successful in lowering the loading to 0.25 mg/cm2 without loss of performance. Cell performance approached that of the best, state‐of‐the‐art, large fuel cells, when scaled for size. In particular, single miniature cells yielded 822 Wh/kg and 924 Wh/L when operated at 70°C. The same chip design was also used for the hydrogen/air system, and the cell current, power, and specific energy density were higher than those of methanol/air, Further tailoring of the chips for spefici fuels could lead to further improvements.

This study describes the chemical modification of cellulose acetate (CA) using titanium isopropoxide (TiP) in a sol-gel process for the formation of an organic/inorganic hybrid (OIH) material. The hydrolysis and condensation reactions that characterize this process result in CA cross-linking and formation of inorganic oxide particles. TiP-modified CA gels and membrane materials are characterized by solubility and swelling measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and ultrasonic time-domain reflectometry. Whereas the solubility of the CA significantly decreased with increasing TiP exposure consistent with high levels of cross-linking, unambiguous spectroscopic evidence for cross-linking could not be determined. In addition, DSC measurements indicated no significant change in CA glass-transition temperature as a function of TiP exposure. On the other hand, TiP treatment dramatically improved the creep behavior of treated porous CA membranes, whereby the total compressive strain decreases by as much as 70% relative to the untreated materials. Overall, the results suggest that TiP treatment can be used as a post-fabrication processing step to create OIH-modified CA membranes with improved chemical and mechanical stability.

Apo2L/TRAIL (tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor gene family known to induce apoptosis in a number of cancer cell lines and may have broad-spectrum activity against human malignancies. These studies have evaluated the potency of recombinant soluble human Apo2L/TRAIL in a mouse xenograft model and the disposition and safety of Apo2L/TRAIL in rodents and nonhuman primates. Mice with established COLO205 tumors were given daily i.v. injections of Apo2L/TRAIL (30-120 mg/kg/day). Control tumors doubled in size every 2 to 3 days, while time to tumor doubling in the treatment groups was significantly longer and related to dose (14-21 days). For pharmacokinetic studies, Apo2L/TRAIL was given as an i.v. bolus to mice (10 mg/kg), rats (10 mg/kg), cynomolgus monkeys (1, 5, and 50 mg/kg), and chimpanzees (1 and 5 mg/kg). Apo2L/TRAIL was rapidly eliminated from the serum of all species studied. Half-lives were approximately 3 to 5 min in rodents and approximately 23 to 31 min in nonhuman primates. Allometric scaling provided estimates of Apo2L/TRAIL kinetics in humans, suggesting that on a milligram per kilogram basis, doses significantly lower than those used in xenograft studies could be effective in humans. Apo2L/TRAIL clearance was highly correlated with glomerular filtration rate across species, indicating that the kidneys play a critical role in the elimination of this molecule. Safety evaluations in cynomolgus monkeys and chimpanzees revealed no abnormalities associated with Apo2L/TRAIL exposure. In conclusion, these studies have characterized the disposition of Apo2L/TRAIL in rodents and primates and provide information that will be used to predict the pharmacokinetics of Apo2L/TRAIL in humans.

Joint replacement in HIV-positive patients remains uncommon, with most experience gained in patients with haemophilia. We analysed retrospectively the outcome of 102 replacement arthroplasties in 73 HIV-positive patients from eight specialist haemophilia centres. Of these, 91 were primary procedures. The mean age of the patients at surgery was 39 years, and the median follow-up was for five years. The overall rate of deep sepsis was 18.7% for primary procedures and 36.3% for revisions. This is a much higher rate of infection than that seen in normal populations. A total of 44% of infections resolved fully after medical and/or surgical treatment.The benefits of arthroplasty in haemophilic patients are well established but the rates of complications are high. As this large study has demonstrated, high rates of infection occur, but survivorship analysis strongly suggests that most patients already diagnosed with HIV infection at the time of surgery should derive many years of symptomatic relief after a successful joint replacement. Careful counselling and education of both patients and healthcare workers before operation are therefore essential.

To assess the relationship between maternal intake of vitamin A and cardiac outflow tract defects, we examined data from a population-based case-control study among liveborn infants born from 1987 through 1989 to mothers residing in the Baltimore-Washington area. Case infants (126) had a nonsyndromic cardiac outflow tract defect. Control infants (679) did not have birth defects and were a stratified random sample of liveborn infants from the same area. The main exposure was average daily maternal intake of retinol and provitamin A carotenoids from foods and supplements during the year before conception. Compared with an average intake of less than 10,000 IU, retinol intake of 10,000 IU or more from supplements was associated with a ninefold increased risk for transposition of the great arteries (odds ratio 9.2; 95 confidence interval 4.0–21.2), but not for outflow tract defects with normally related arteries (odds ratio 0.8; 95 confidence interval 0.1–6.6). Similar intakes of carotenoids and dietary retinol were not associated with an increased risk for either type of outflow tract defect.

This article represents the proceedings of a symposium at the 2000 ISBRA Meeting in Yokohama, Japan. The chairs were R. Adron Harris and Susumu Ueno. The presentations were (1) Protein kinase Cɛ‐regulated sensitivity of γ‐aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors to allosteric agonists, by Robert O. Messing, A. M. Sanchez‐Perez, C. W. Hodge, T. McMahon, D. Wang, K. K. Mehmert, S. P. Kelley, A. Haywood, and M. F. Olive; (2) Genetic and functional analysis of a GABAAreceptor γ2 subunit variant: A candidate for quantitative trait loci involved in alcohol sensitivity and withdrawal, by Kari J. Buck and Heather M. Hood; (3) Tryptophan‐scanning mutagenesis in GABAAreceptor subunits: Channel gating and alcohol actions, by Susumu Ueno; and (4) Can a single binding site account for actions of alcohols on GABAAand glycine receptors? by R. Adron Harris, Yuri Blednov, Geoffrey Findlay, and Maria Paola Mascia.

Recent biochemical studies have indicated a number of regions in both the 16S and 23S rRNA that are exposed on the ribosomal subunit surface. In order to predict potential interactions between these regions we applied novel phylogenetically-based statistical methods to detect correlated nucleotide changes occurring between the rRNA molecules. With these methods we discovered a number of highly significant correlated changes between different sets of nucleotides in the two ribosomal subunits. The predictions with the highest correlation values belong to regions of the rRNA subunits that are in close proximity according to recent crystal structures of the entire ribosome. We also applied a new statistical method of detecting base triple interactions within these same rRNA subunit regions. This base triple statistic predicted a number of new base triples not detected by pair-wise interaction statistics within the rRNA molecules. Our results suggest that these statistical methods may enhance the ability to detect novel structural elements both within and between RNA molecules.

To examine associations between rate of pregnancy weight gain and preterm delivery among women of varying prepregnancy body mass indices (BMI).

Background.Assessing the diets of children presents unique methodological challenges. Validity and reliability studies of recalls, records, food frequency questionnaires (FFQs), diet histories, and observations among children were reviewed.

Methods that predict the structure of molecules by looking for statistical correlation have been quite effective. Unfortunately, these methods often disregard phylogenetic information in the sequences they analyze. Here, we present a number of statistics for RNA molecular-structure prediction. Besides common pair-wise comparisons, we consider a few reasonable statistics for base-triple predictions, and present an elaborate analysis of these methods. All these statistics incorporate phylogenetic relationships of the sequences in the analysis to varying degrees, and the different nature of these tests gives a wide choice of statistical tools for RNA structure prediction.

Acedb is one of the more venerable pieces of Genomics software. Acedb was originally created in 1992 by Richard Durbin and Jean Thierry-Mieg to manage the data from the Caenorhabditis elegans mapping project and subsequently the C. elegans sequencing project. From beginnings as a C. elegans-specific tool, it has been continuously developed into a flexible suite of data management, display and scripting tools providing facilities for managing and annotation mapping information and DNA and peptide sequences. This paper gives a basic overview of the Acedb suite, and step-by-step guidance on how to download and install Acedb. It is intended to take an Acedb novice to stage where they can begin to experiment and explore the facilities that are available.

Pit-1/GHF-1 is a pituitary-specific, POU homeodomain transcription factor required for development of somatotroph, lactotroph, and thyrotroph cell lineages and regulation of the temporal and spatial expression of the growth hormone, prolactin (PRL), and thyrotropin-β genes. Synergistic interaction of Pit-1 with a member of the Ets family of transcription factors, Ets-1, has been shown to be an important mechanism regulating basal and Ras-induced lactotroph-specific rat (r) PRL promoter activity. Pit-1β/GHF-2, an alternatively spliced isoform containing a 26-amino acid insert (β-domain) within its transcription-activation domain, physically interacts with Ets-1 but fails to synergize. By using a series of Pit-1 internal-deletion constructs in a transient transfection protocol to reconstitute rPRL promoter activity in HeLa cells, we have determined that the functional and physical interaction of Pit-1 and Ets-1 is mediated via the POU homeodomain, which is common to both Pit-1 and Pit-1β. Although the Pit-1 homeodomain is both necessary and sufficient for direct binding to Ets-1 in a DNA-independent manner, an additional interaction surface was mapped to the β-domain, specific to the Pit-1β isoform. Thus, the unique transcriptional properties of Pit-1 and Pit-1β on the rPRL promoter may be due to the formation of functionally distinct complexes of these two Pit-1 isoforms with Ets-1.

Objective: To examine the association of maternal hemoglobin during pregnancy with preterm birth and small for gestational age (SGA).

Quasi-static spot weld strength is expected to increase with base metal tensile strength. This paper highlights the spot weld strength (evaluated in tension-shear and cross-tension loading modes) as a function of the base metal ultimate tensile strength (UTS). The studied steels included those with ferritic, dual-phase, and/or martensitic microstructures with tensile strengths ranging from ~ 300 to 1700 MPa. Tension-shear strength (TSS) increases with weld diameter. However, there was an inflection point in the trendline where the failure mode changed from interfacial fracture to plug failure. The weld diameter where inflection occured in the trendline increased with an increase in sheet thickness and changed slightly with the base metal characteristics. Overall, the effect of sheet thickness seems more pronounced than that associated with the chemistry/microstructure in the plug failure mode. The TSS and cross-tension strength (CTS) data were normalized to offset differences in sheet thickness and weld diameter. Examination of the data shows that TSS increases linearly with base metal tensile strength up to about 800 MPa, and then deviates from linearity. In contrast, CTS appears independent of the base metal UTS. For further analysis, the influence of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) softening (the difference between the base metal hardness and minimum hardness in the subcritical HAZ) on the spot weld strength was studied. The correlation of HAZ softening and spot weld mechanical behavior shows that the TSS increases, even with increasing HAZ softening, although there is a discontinuity in the trendline with the onset of HAZ softening. However, CTS appears to be independent of HAZ softening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined associations between weight gain (kg) per week of pregnancy and net weight gain per week of pregnancy (weight gain – birth weight/weeks of gestation at delivery) and preterm delivery in a population of 266,172 low-income women. Risk of preterm delivery was lowest among women with intermediate weight gain (0.35 to < 0.46 kg/week) and net weight gain (0.27 to < 0.37 kg/week). Both lower and higher weight gains and net weight gains per week were associated with an increased risk for preterm delivery. Associations, however, were not uniform across body mass index categories. Compared with women gaining 0.35 to < 0.46 kg/week, preterm risk differences (95 confidence limits) for women gaining < 0.10 kg/week were +9.5 (+6.5, +12.4) for underweight women, +6.7 (+5.6, +7.9) for average-weight women, +3.5 (+2.0, +4.9) for overweight women, and +0.4 (-0.4, +1.2) for obese women. The opposite pattern was observed with high weight gain. Preterm risk differences for weight gains >0.65 kg/week ranged from +0.8 (-0.7, +2.1) for underweight women, to +2.5 (+ 1.3, +3.9) for obese women. We also evaluated weight gain per week in the latter part of pregnancy (from week 14 to delivery). The same basic patterns were observed; however, variation in the associations across body mass index groups was not as marked.

Objective: To evaluate whether advice on pregnancy weight gain from health care professionals, women’s target weight gain (how much weight women thought they should gain), and actual weight gain corresponded with the 1990 Institute of Medicine recommendations.