[Maternal postnatal depression and its impact on child neurodevelopment: a cohort study]. / Depresión materna postnatal y su repercusión en el neurodesarrollo infantil: estudio de cohorte.

Post partum depresion (DPP) is the most frequent psquiatric disorder in pregnant woman and it may affect the neurodevelopment of their offspring. Our goal was to analyze the association between maternal depressive symptoms at 6 months after birth and child’s neurodevelopmental disorders at 18 months-old, in a homogeneous population characterized by low socioeconomic and cultural level. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted. There were included 127 healthy postpartum women and their infants. A structured interview was performed which included patronymic data and family perception before discharge. Binomial monitoring took place at 6 months postpartum, when was applied the Beck test for depression and anxiety to mothers; children´s neurodevelopment at 18 month-old was evaluated by Lezine Revised Brunet-test. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 125 women and their children. The mean age was 24.5 year old (SD 6.02); 30.6% had completed less than 6 years of formal education. The incidence of moderate to severe postpartum depression at 6 months after birth was 20%. The overall development score mean was 73.52 (SD 8.06) in the depression population and 76.97 (SD 8.07) in the population without depression (p = 0.04). The development coefficient was 69.08 (SD: 10.35) in the depression population and 74.11 (SD 0.67) in the population without depression (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of moderate to severe DPP was 20%. Persistent DPP in a vulnerable socio-economic context has impact on child development.

Depresión materna postnatal y su repercusión en el neurodesarrollo infantil: estudio de cohorte / Maternal postnatal depression and its impact on child neurodevelopment: a cohort study

La depresión postparto (DPP) es el trastorno psiquiátrico materno más frecuente que puede determinar efectos negativos en el vínculo madre-hijo y sobre el desarrollo infantil. Nuestro objetivo fue analizar la asociación entre la DPP a los 6 meses post parto y alteraciones del neurodesarrollo a los 18 meses, en una población homogénea caracterizada por bajo nivel socioeconómico y cultural. Pacientes y Método: Estudio de cohorte. Se incluyeron 127 puérperas y recién nacidos sanos. Se realizó el seguimiento del binomio a los 6 meses del parto, donde se le aplicó a la madre el test de Beck para depresión y ansiedad. Se evaluó el neurodesarrollo de los niños a los 18 meses mediante el test de Brunet-Lezine Revisado. Resultados: La muestra quedo compuesta por 125 mujeres y sus hijos. La media de edad fue de 24,5 años (DE: 6,02), el 30,6% tenía menos de 6 años de educación. La incidencia de DPP moderada a severa a los 6 meses del nacimiento fue de 20%. La media de puntaje de desarrollo global fue de 73,5 (DE: 8,1) en la población con depresión y 76,97 (DE: 8,07) en la población sin depresión (p = 0,04). El coeficiente de desarrollo de lenguaje fue de 69,08 (DE: 10,35) en la población con depresión y 74,11 (DE: 0,67) en la población sin depresión (p = 0,01). Conclusiones: La incidencia de DPP moderada a severa fue 20%. La DPP persistente en un contexto de vulnerabilidad socioeconómica impacta sobre el desarrollo infantil.

Post partum depresion (DPP) is the most frequent psquiatric disorder in pregnant woman and it may affect the neurodevelopment of their offspring. Our goal was to analyze the association between maternal depressive symptoms at 6 months after birth and child’s neurodevelopmental disorders at 18 months-old, in a homogeneous population characterized by low socioeconomic and cultural level. Patients and Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted. There were included 127 healthy postpartum women and their infants. A structured interview was performed which included patronymic data and family perception before discharge. Binomial monitoring took place at 6 months postpartum, when was applied the Beck test for depression and anxiety to mothers; children´s neurodevelopment at 18 month-old was evaluated by Lezine Revised Brunet-test. Results: The sample consisted of 125 women and their children. The mean age was 24.5 year old (SD 6.02); 30.6% had completed less than 6 years of formal education. The incidence of moderate to severe postpartum depression at 6 months after birth was 20%. The overall development score mean was 73.52 (SD 8.06) in the depression population and 76.97 (SD 8.07) in the population without depression (p = 0.04). The development coefficient was 69.08 (SD: 10.35) in the depression population and 74.11 (SD 0.67) in the population without depression (p = 0.01). Conclusions: The incidence of moderate to severe DPP was 20%. Persistent DPP in a vulnerable socio-economic context has impact on child development.

Direct Synthesis of Fractal Polymer Dispersions by Miniemulsion Polymerization.

Fractal colloids, which find applications in the preparation of advanced materials, are currently synthesized by means of a multistep procedure that yields a low solids content dispersion. This is not well suited for certain applications such as superhydrophobic coatings. In this work, a one-step method for the synthesis of higher solids content waterborne fractal polymer dispersions is presented and it is shown that the surfaces obtained from the fractal dispersions are superhydrophobic (contact angle, θ > 150°) which is beyond the current waterborne coating technology (θ = 130°-137°). This opens the possibility for the large-scale production of waterborne superhydrophobic coatings.

Controlling film topography to form highly hydrophobic waterborne coatings.

Coatings have a tremendous impact on economy as they reduce corrosion that has an estimated cost of 3% of the world's GDP. Hydrophobic coatings are particularly efficient for this purpose and the challenge is to produce cost effective and environmentally friendly, highly hydrophobic, cohesive and non-porous coatings applicable to large and irregular surfaces. This work shows that this goal can be achieved by forming wrinkles on the surface of waterborne coatings through fine-tuning of the film forming conditions. The proof of concept was demonstrated by using waterborne dispersions of copolymers of 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyl acrylate and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, and using the temperature and hardness of the copolymer as control variables during film formation. This allowed the formation of transparent films with a wrinkled surface that had a contact angle of 133°, which represents an increase of 20° with respect to the film cast under standard conditions.

Highly Hydrophobic Coatings from Waterborne Latexes.

This work reports on the formation of highly hydrophobic coatings from waterborne latexes able to form films at ambient temperature. The contact angle of film forming copolymers of 2-ethylhexyl acrylate and perfluorodecyl acrylate (PFDA) was limited to 114° because flat surfaces were obtained. Attempts to increase the roughness of the film using blends of film-forming latexes with the latex of PFDA homopolymer (which is not film forming) were not successful under regular casting conditions because the PFDA particles accumulated at the film-substrate interface. Film formation engineering allowed modifying the morphology of the film obtaining a contact angle of 137°.

Surfactant kinetics and their importance in nucleation events in (mini)emulsion polymerization revealed by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring.

Surfactants are vital components of almost all heterogeneous polymerizations for maintaining colloidal stability, but they also play an important role in the kinetics and mechanism of particle nucleation. Despite many decades of research, the knowledge of adsorption-desorption surfactant kinetics and their application in (mini)emulsion polymerization is largely based on qualitative arguments. In this paper we show that the use of a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring can provide quantitative information on both the adsorption equilibrium of ionic and nonionic surfactants, and also the kinetics of adsorption/desorption, that can be applied to the understanding of nucleation processes in (mini)emulsion polymerization. We show that surfactant dynamics and nucleation phenomena in (mini)emulsion polymerization are not dominated by diffusion phenomena linked to molecular size of surfactant as previously thought but rather are driven by the large differences in the rate of surfactant adsorption and desorption at the polymer-water interface. Finally, we show the application of this knowledge to explain the differences between nucleation processes for ionic and nonionic surfactants in emulsion polymerization.

Synthesis of cationic polyelectrolytes by inverse microemulsion polymerization.

The inverse microemulsion copolymerization of acrylamide and [2-(acryloyloxy)ethyl]- trimethylammonium chloride (Adamquat) was investigated using different reactors (batch, semicontinuous, and CSTR). It was found that formation of long branches through extensive intermolecular chain transfer occurred at low temperature (35 °C). Molecular weights and long branching levels were correlated and decreased as batch > semicontinuous > CSTR. These differences affected the performance of the copolymers as flocculants. Results indicated that successful flocculant should contain a good balance between short and long chains.

Monitoring the synthesis and properties of copolymeric polycations.

The kinetics; evolution of molar mass; solution conductivity, sigma; intrinsic viscosity; and average composition drift; and distribution were determined by monitoring the synthesis of copolymeric polycations of acrylamide (Am) and [2-(acryloyloxy)ethyl]-trimethylammonium chloride (Q9). The quantitative relationship between diminishing sigma and charged co-monomers incorporation was monitored for the first time and provided novel data on counterion condensation, which occurs gradually over a broad composition regime. This new capability allows predictions concerning the relationship between copolymer composition and linear charge density, xi, to be tested and models of trivariate mass, composition, and xi distributions to be built. This approach, hence, brings together the previously disparate fields of synthetic chemistry of copolymers and physical chemical properties of polyelectrolytes. Monitoring was achieved with a new implementation of the ACOMP (automatic continuous online monitoring of polymerization reactions) platform. Reactivity ratios determined by ACOMP were rQ9 = 0.47 and rAm = 1.10. Opposite trends in composition drift and final molar mass were found; low starting percentage of Q9 led to low composition drift and high molar mass, whereas the opposite was found at high starting percentage of Q9. Complementary end-product analysis by multidetector gel permeation chromatography supported the ACOMP results. End-product polyelectrolyte properties were characterized by automatic continuous mixing, revealing that combined electrostatic persistence length and excluded volume effects led to the expected large changes in polyelectrolyte conformation and interactions. These results set the groundwork for semibatch control of molar mass, composition, and xi, and eventually for monitoring and control for inverse emulsion-based reactions of this type.