Delivery of the newborn occurs either vaginally or via caesarean section. It is not known whether the mode of delivery and exposure to labor affects early autonomic nervous system (ANS) function, as measured by heart rate variability (HRV), or cortical electroencephalogram (EEG) activity. The objective of the study was to determine if autonomic function in newborns differs by mode of delivery. Simultaneous recording of EEG and electrocardiogram were collected in low-risk term newborns at <72 hours of age to measure HRV, the asymmetry index, and EEG power. Newborns were compared by delivery type: vaginal delivery (VD), cesarean section (CS) after labor (L-CS), or elective CS (E-CS). Quantile Regression controlled for gestational age, postnatal age, and percent active states. One hundred and eighteen newborns were studied at 25.2 (11.4) hours of age. Sixty-two (52.5%) were born by VD, 22 by L-CS (18.6%), and 34 by E-CS (28.8%). HRV metrics didn’t differ by delivery mode. Asymmetry index was higher in L-CS compared to VD and E-CS (P = 0.03). On EEG, L-CS newborns showed lower relative gamma power compared to VD and E-CS (P = 0.005). The study found that overall ANS tone is not altered by mode of delivery in low-risk term newborns.

Background In premature infants, we investigated whether the duration of extra-uterine development influenced autonomic nervous system (ANS) maturation. Methods We performed a longitudinal cohort study of ANS maturation in preterm infants. Eligibility included birth gestational age (GA) <37 weeks, NICU admission, and expected survival. The cohort was divided into three birth GA groups: Group 1 (≤29 weeks), Group 2 (30–33 weeks), and Group 3 (≥34 weeks). ECG data were recorded weekly and analyzed for sympathetic and parasympathetic tone using heart rate variability (HRV). Quantile regression modeled the slope of ANS maturation among the groups by postnatal age to term equivalent age (TEA) (≥37weeks). Results 100 infants, median (Q1-Q3) birth GA of 31.9 (28.7–33.9) weeks, were enrolled: Group 1 (n=35); Group 2 (n=40); and Group 3 (n=25). Earlier birth GA was associated with lower sympathetic and parasympathetic tone. However, the rate of autonomic maturation was similar, and at TEA there was no difference in HRV metrics across the three groups. The majority of infants (91%) did not experience significant neonatal morbidities. Conclusion Premature infants with low prematurity-related systemic morbidity have maturational trajectories of ANS development that are comparable across a wide range of ex-utero durations regardless of birth GA.

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OBJECTIVE: Partial and complete hydatidiform moles (PHM, CHM) are a common cause of pregnancy loss. To assess the frequency and nature of genomic imbalances, specifically polyploidy resulting in PHM and whole-genome uniparental disomy (WG-UPD) resulting in CHM, a comprehensive analysis of a large cohort of miscarriage samples was analyzed by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based chromosomal microarray (CMA). STUDY DESIGN: The CMA results for 21,342 miscarriage samples were analyzed for polyploidy and WG-UPD. DNA extracted from fresh products of conception (80%) or formalin-fixed paraffin embedded samples (FFPE, 19%) were subjected to SNP-based CMA. When available, correlation with histopathology was attempted. RESULTS: Abnormal CMA results were observed in 55.7% (11,899/ 21,342) of samples. Of these 11,899 cases, polyploidy was identified in 1641 (13.8%) and WG-UPD in 150 (1.26%). Majority of polyploid samples (1631/1641) had triploidy, of which 216 had hyper-or hypotriploidy, and 10 had confirmed or possible tetraploidy. SNP-genotype data suggested 6/150 CHM samples with WG-UPD resulted from dispermy. Histopathology was suggestive of PHM or CHM in only 236 samples (1.1%); 186 of these (79%) had abnormal CMA results (67 with polyploidy, 70 with WG-UPD) and the remainder with aneuploidy. Histopathology was more often suggestive of molar pregnancy in cases with WG-UPD (54/150, 36%) compared to polyploidy (60/1641, 3.7%). CONCLUSION: Diagnosis of polyploidy and whole-genome UPD as a cause of pregnancy loss is challenging. Implementation of SNP-based CMA provides a powerful tool enabling accurate identification of polyploidy and WG-UPD. The accurate genetic classification of PHM and CHM underscores the immense value of a genotype-first approach for accurate detection of molar pregnancies, and in particular for the identification of PHM that are unsuspected by histopathology. This study provides a comprehensive estimate of the frequency and types of genomic abnormalities that impact trophoblastic transformation of conceptions and result in partial or complete hydatidiform moles.

Studies on physicochemical and microbial profiles of selected hotel swimming pools in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria was carried out using standard methods. Six swimming pools of selected hotels within the Port Harcourt city that people use for recreational activity were selected for this study. The selection was done in such a way that all the zones within the city were considered. The hotels names were coded with alphabets for confidentiality. Each swimming pool was divided into up and down ends for this study. Average result obtained for both ends in each pool was taken as a sample value for each pool and was compared to World Health Organisation (WHO) standard for recreational water. Physicochemical results such as pH, alkalinity, calcium AJEE, 11(3): 1-11, 2019; Article no.AJEE.54299 2 hardness, chlorine and residual chlorine of most of the studied pools were not within WHO standard. The microbial loads of the studied pools in terms of total coliform, faecal coliform and Escherichia coli were higher than WHO standard. There is no doubt that most of the studied hotel swimming pools fall short of WHO standard for recreational activity. This becomes important when the consequences of swimming in such pools to humans are considered. There is urgent need for the hotels hosting the studied swimming pools to adopt the important five keys to maintaining water quality in swimming pool, which include proper filtration, proper chlorination as well as adjustment of pH, total alkalinity and calcium hardness levels as stipulated by WHO standards. This study has shown the physicochemical and microbial profiles of selected hotel swimming pools in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Original Research Article