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Preterm birth is common and the associated short-term morbidity well described. The adult-onset consequences of preterm birth are less clear, but cardiovascular and metabolic health may be adversely affected. Although large animal models of preterm birth addressing important short-term issues exist, long-term studies are hampered by significant logistical constraints. Current small animal models of prematurity require terminal caesarean section of the mother; both caesarean birth and early maternal care modify offspring adult cardio-metabolic function. We describe a novel method for inducing preterm labour in guinea pigs. With support comparable to that received by moderately preterm human infants, preterm pups are viable. Growth trajectories between preterm and term-born pups differ significantly; between term equivalent age and weaning ex-preterm animals demonstrate increased weight and ponderal index. We believe this novel paradigm will significantly improve our ability to investigate the cardio-metabolic sequelae of preterm birth throughout the life course and into the second generation.

Recovery from acute and chronic stress in the pot-bellied seahorse Hippocampus abdominalis under aquaculture conditions was investigated in this study to evaluate (a) whether these relatively slow and sedentary fish develop the 'fight or flight' response and (b) the impact of transportation stress on pot-bellied seahorse physiology. Fish were exposed to either a control treatment, an acute stressor (air exposure for 60 s) or a chronic stressor (confinement or transportation). Plasma concentrations of cortisol, glucose and lactate did not increase in response to an acute stressor, suggesting that adrenergic activation was absent. In contrast, chronic stress initiated increases in cortisol (77 ng ml À1 ) and glucose (7 mM), which both returned to pre-stress concentrations (4 ng ml À1 , 4 mM respectively) within the subsequent 6 h. Recovery from chronic stress thus fitted the teleost paradigm, i.e. plasma levels of cortisol and glucose returned to pre-stress values in c. 6 h during recovery from a chronic stressor. The seemingly rapid return to homeostasis suggests that special precautions, over and above normal procedures, may not be required for long-distance transportation of pot-bellied seahorses.

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openAccessArticle: FalsePage Range: 97-97doi: 10.1053/j.nainr.2012.03.009Harvest Date: 2016-01-12 15:10:09issueName: Delivery Room Issuescover date: 2012-06-01pubType

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We consider the decay of a dark soliton in a homogeneous BEC at finite temperature, with a particular emphasis on the effect of thermal noise on the stability of the soliton. We present an analytical treatment of a damped soliton in an unbounded system, comparing the predicted dynamics with numerical stochastic simulations of a spatially confined system. By varying the system temperature we study the relative importance of noise on the motion of the soliton. In the regime of low temperature the soliton is largely immune to thermal fluctuations, and is well described by the damped Gross-Pitaevskii equation. In this regime our analytical treatment is in close agreement with numerical simulations. For sufficiently high temperature, the thermal fluctuations have the interesting effect of increasing the stability of the soliton, extending its lifetime beyond the predictions of damped Gross-Pitaevskii theory.

Introduction Adenotonsillectomy is commonly performed for recurrent tonsillitis and obstructive sleep apnoea. These conditions may improve with age. The COVID-19 pandemic led to all UK elective surgery being suspended. This study aimed to determine whether delaying surgery had any effect on a patient’s symptoms using the validated T-14 paediatric throat disorders outcome test. Methods Patients completed a T-14 questionnaire when the child was listed for surgery; this was repeated on the revised surgery date and a paired t test was used to compare the responses. Results Questionnaires were completed by 29 patients a mean of 6.4 months apart. There was a significant improvement in scores (p<0.02) for five domains: eating habits, visits to a doctor/A&E, antibiotics for less than 2 weeks, chronic infections and school missed due to sore throats. Conclusions This study demonstrates that following delays resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, paediatric patients experienced an improvement in some aspects of their quality of life while awaiting tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy. This was most apparent in quality-of-life measures relating to recurrent tonsillitis, namely visits to a doctor/A&E, antibiotics for less than 2 weeks, chronic infections and school missed due to sore throats. Patients may experience an improvement in some of their individual symptoms, in particular their infective symptoms, during an observation period.