This study aimed to assess the impact of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy on infant neurodevelopment by comparing 6-month and 2-year psychomotor development outcomes of infants exposed to gestational hypertension (GH) or preeclampsia (PE) versus normotensive pregnancy (NTP). Participating infants were children of women enrolled in the Postpartum Physiology, Psychology and Paediatric (P4) cohort study who had NTPs, GH or PE. 6-month and 2-year Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ-3) scores were categorised as passes or fails according to domain-specific values. For the 2-year Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID-III) assessment, scores > 2 standard deviations below the mean in a domain were defined as developmental delay. Infants (n = 369, male = 190) exposed to PE (n = 75) versus GH (n = 20) and NTP (n = 274) were more likely to be born small for gestational age and premature. After adjustment, at 2 years, prematurity status was significantly associated with failing any domain of the ASQ-3 (p = 0.015), and maternal tertiary education with increased cognitive scores on the BSID-III (p = 0.013). However, PE and GH exposure were not associated with clinically significant risks of delayed infant neurodevelopment in this study. Larger, multicentre studies are required to further clarify early childhood neurodevelopmental outcomes following hypertensive pregnancies.

Res Gestae 34.3 (‘auctoritate omnibus praestiti’) is conventionally taken to reflect Augustus' conception of the fundamental nature of his rule, and a great deal of attention has consequently been given to the word auctoritas. But no other source repeats this idea or gives weight to auctoritas. The passage is best understood as alluding to a specific event, probably Octavian's becoming princeps senatus in 28 b.c.

The Genesis 12–19 (G1219) Study is an ongoing longitudinal study of a sample of UK twin pairs, non-twin sibling pairs, and their parents. G1219 was initially designed to examine the role of gene–environment interplay in adolescent depression. However, since then data have continued to be collected from both parents and their offspring into young adulthood. This has allowed for longitudinal analyses of depression and has enabled researchers to investigate multiple phenotypes and to ask questions about intermediate mechanisms. The study has primarily focused on emotional development, particularly depression and anxiety, which have been assessed at multiple levels of analysis (symptoms, cognitions, and relevant environmental experiences). G1219 has also included assessment of a broader range of psychological phenotypes ranging from antisocial behaviors and substance use to sleep difficulties, in addition to multiple aspects of the environment. DNA has also been collected. The first wave of data collection began in the year 1999 and the fifth wave of data collection will be complete before the end of 2012. In this article, we describe the sample, data collection, and measures used. We also summarize some of the key findings to date.

Psychrotrophs, particularly Pseudomonas spp. are known to be the main determinants of the shelf-life of pasteurized milk and refrigerated raw milk. It is presumed that they mainly cause spoilage through the elaboration of proteinase and lipase enzymes. At the time of this research, under the relevant European Directive, one of the means of determining the quality of pasteurized milk was the pre-incubated count, which involves incubating the milk sample for 5 d at 6°C followed by a plate count. Examination of numerous pre-incubated counts revealed a bimodal rather than a normal distribution indicating that the types of contaminants in pasteurized milk may be as important as their initial concentration. Pseudomonads that gave particularly high (>5×106 cfu/ml) and low (<103 cfu/ml) pre-incubated counts were isolated (high and low count isolates respectively). After the organisms had been subjected to a cold shock no consistent trend between the groups of isolates was detected with respect to lag phase duration. However, the high count isolates consistently had a faster exponential growth rate. Unexpectedly, with the exception of one isolate, the low count isolates produced detectable proteinase and lipase earlier. In addition, with one exception, maximal proteinase and lipase production was observed with the low count isolates. These findings indicate that there is no causal relationship between selective growth advantage and ability to produce proteinase and lipase. It also indicates that the spoilage of pasteurized milk is a complex phenomenon and is worthy of further research.

Nine organisms were isolated from separate pasteurized milk samples after they had been incubated at 6 °C for 5 d (European Union preincubated count, PIC), four from high count samples (> 5 x 106 cfu/ml) and five from low count samples (< 103 cfu/ml). When the organisms were harvested without overt stress being applied and subjected to a simulated PIC using UHT whole milk, all except one isolate gave comparatively high (> 106 cfu/ml) counts. The imposition of a heat stress at 50 °C prior to a simulated PIC resulted in a segregation of the isolates into those giving high and those giving low counts, which reflected the PIC values of the milk samples from which they were originally isolated. When the isolates were subjected to a cold stress (25 to 4 °C) and inoculated into nutrient broth at 4 °C, the high count isolates were found to have significantly (P < 0·05) shorter lag phases than the low count isolates.