OBJECTIVES. Our goal was to determine why women stop breastfeeding at various times during their infant's first year.METHODS. We analyzed self-reported data from 1323 mothers who participated in the Infant Feeding Practice Study II. Mail questionnaires were sent to mothers ϳ2, 3,4,5,6,7,9,10 1 ⁄2 , and 12 months after their child's birth, in which they were asked to rate the importance of 32 reasons for their decision to stop breastfeeding. We applied exploratory factorial analysis to extract meaningful constructs of mothers' responses to the 32 reasons. We then compared the percentages of mothers who indicated that each reason was important in their decision to stop breastfeeding among various weaning ages and used multiple logistic regression models to examine sociodemographic differences in the most frequently cited reasons for stopping breastfeeding.RESULTS. The perception that their infant was not satisfied by breast milk alone was cited consistently as 1 of the top 3 reasons in the mothers' decision to stop breastfeeding regardless of weaning age (43.5%-55.6%) and was even more frequent among Hispanic mothers and mothers with annual household incomes of Ͻ350% of the federal poverty level. Mothers' concerns about lactation and nutrition issues were the most frequently cited reasons for stopping breastfeeding during the first 2 months. Starting from the third month, self-weaning reasons were increasingly cited as important, with the statements "My baby began to bite" (31.7%), "My baby lost interest in nursing or began to wean himself or herself" (47.3%), and "Breast milk alone did not satisfy my baby" (43.5%) cited as the top 3 reasons at Ն9 months of age.CONCLUSIONS. Our findings about the major reasons why mothers stop breastfeeding at various times during their child's first year should be useful to health professionals when attempting to help mothers overcome breastfeeding barriers and to health officials attempting to devise targeted breastfeeding interventions on those issues prominent for each infant age. Pediatrics 2008;122:S69-S76 T HE SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS of breastfeeding for children, mothers, and society are widely recognized. A series of studies conducted in industrialized countries has shown that children who are not breastfed for at least 6 months are 3.5 times more likely than those who are to be hospitalized for respiratory infections such as pneumonia or asthma, 1-6 2 times more likely to suffer from diarrhea, 1,2,7,8 1.6 times more likely to suffer from ear infection, 1,7,8,[9][10][11] and 1.5 times more likely to become overweight during childhood. [12][13][14][15][16][17] Because of the numerous benefits of breastfeeding, the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Breastfeeding recommends that mothers breastfeed exclusively for approximately the first 6 months after their child's birth and continue breastfeeding for at least the first year of their child's life. 18 Despite the many benefits of breastfeeding, the most recent National Immunization Survey indicated that only 55% ...

No abstract

No abstract

We have investigated voltage‐dependent outward K+ currents of dentate granule cells (DGCs) in acute brain slices from young and adult rats using nucleated and outside‐out patch recordings. In adult DGCs, the outward current pattern was dominated by a transient K+ current component. One portion of this current (∼60 %) was blocked by micromolar concentrations of tetraethylammonium (TEA; IC50 42 μm) and BDS‐I, a specific blocker of Kv3.4 subunits (2.5 μm). A second component was insensitive to tetraethylammonium (10 mm) and BDS‐I. The transient outward current could be completely blocked by 4‐aminopyridine (IC50 296 μm). The TEA‐ and BDS‐I‐sensitive and the TEA‐resistant current components were isolated pharmacologically. The current component that was blocked by BDS‐I and TEA showed a depolarized threshold of activation (∼‐30 mV) reminiscent of Kv3.4 subunits, while the current component resistant to TEA activated at more hyperpolarized potentials (∼‐60 mV). In nucleated patches obtained by placing the patch pipette adjacent to the apical dendrite, only small Na+ currents and small BDS‐I‐sensitive transient currents were detected. Nucleated patches obtained from either the cell soma (see above) or the axon hillock showed significantly larger amplitude Na+ currents as well as larger BDS‐I‐sensitive currents, indicating that this current was predominantly localized within the axosomatic compartment. This result was in good agreement with the distribution of Kv3.4 protein as determined by immunohistochemistry. Current‐clamp as well as mock action potential‐clamp experiments revealed that the BDS‐sensitive current component contributes to action potential repolarization. A comparison of the two age groups (4‐10 days and 60‐100 days) revealed a marked developmental up‐regulation of the BDS‐I‐sensitive component. These functional changes are paralleled by a developmental increase in Kv3.4 mRNA expression determined by quantitative real‐time RT‐PCR, as well as a pronounced up‐regulation of Kv3.4 on the protein level determined by immunohistochemistry. These functional and molecular results argue that Kv3.4 channels located predominantly in the axosomatic compartment underlie a transient K+ current in adult DGCs, and that these channels are functionally important for regulating spike repolarization. The marked developmental regulation suggests an important role of Kv3.4 in neuronal maturation.

We provide evidence that serum MC-LR was an independent risk factor for HCC in humans, with an obvious positive interaction with hepatitis B virus and alcohol but a negative interaction with aflatoxin. (Hepatology 2017;66:1519-1528).

No abstract

No abstract

Fibroblast growth factor 13 (FGF13), a nonsecretory protein of the FGF family, plays a crucial role in developing cortical neurons by stabilizing the microtubule. In previous studies, we showed that regulation of microtubule dynamics was instrumental for both growth cone initiation and for promoting regrowth of injured axon. However, the expression and effect of FGF13 in spinal cord or after spinal cord injury (SCI) remains undefined. Here, we demonstrated a role of FGF13 in regulating microtubule dynamics and in enhancing axon regeneration after SCI. Administration of FGF13 not only promoted neuronal polarization, axon formation, and growth cone initiation in vitro, but it also facilitated functional recovery following SCI. In addition, we found that upregulation of FGF13 in primary cortical neurons was accompanied by enhanced mitochondrial function, which is essential for axon regeneration. Our study has defined a novel mechanism underlying the beneficial effect of FGF13 on axon regeneration, pointing out that FGF13 may serve as a potential candidate for treating SCI or other central nervous system (CNS) injury.