magpie trial

Natural selection penalizes individuals that provide costly parental care to non-relatives. However, feedings to brood-parasitic fledglings by individuals other than their foster parents, although anecdotic, have been commonly observed, also in the great spotted cuckoo (Clamator glandarius)--magpie (Pica pica) system, but this behaviour has never been studied in depth. In a first experiment, we here show that great spotted cuckoo fledglings that were translocated to a distant territory managed to survive. This implies that obtaining food from foreign magpies is a frequent and efficient strategy used by great spotted cuckoo fledglings...

Anti-predator behaviour of magpies was investigated, using five species of model predators, at times of raising offspring. We predicted differences in mobbing strategies for each predator presented and also that raising juveniles would affect intensity of the mobbing event. Fourteen permanent resident family groups were tested using 5 different types of predator (avian and reptilian) known to be of varying degrees of risk to magpies and common in their habitat. In all, 210 trials were conducted (across three different stages of juvenile development)...

OBJECTIVE: to provide insight into pregnant women's experiences of participating in a large multi-centre randomised trial. DESIGN: qualitative semi-structured interviews. SETTING: six UK maternity units. PARTICIPANTS: women recruited to the Magpie Trial. The Magpie Trial was a trial of prophylactic anticonvulsants for women with severe pre-eclampsia. MEASUREMENTS FINDINGS: a number of major but related themes emerged regarding influences on the women's decision-making: unpredictability of pre-eclampsia; quality of information received; role of others in the decision-making process; perceived personal benefit from trial participation; and perception of voluntariness of joining...

BACKGROUND: Hypospadias is a challenging field of urogenital reconstructive surgery, with different techniques currently being used. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate international trends in hypospadias surgery. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Paediatric urologists, paediatric surgeons, urologists, and plastic surgeons worldwide were invited to participate an anonymous online questionnaire (https://www.hypospadias-center.info). MEASUREMENTS: General epidemiologic data, preferred technique in the correction of hypospadias, and preferred technique in the correction of penile curvature were gathered...

This review concentrates on the best evidence emerging in recent years on cerebral palsy prevention by administration of magnesium sulfate in mothers at risk of pre-term birth before 33-34 weeks' gestation. It was shown in the Cochrane database and in 3 meta-analyses of 5 randomized trials (Magpie Trial [neuroprotection of the pre-eclamptic mother], MagNet [neuroprotection/other intent: tocolysis], ActoMgSO(4) [neuroprotection], PreMag [neuroprotection], and Beam [neuroprotection]) that prenatal low-dose magnesium sulfate given to mothers at risk of pre-term birth has no severe deleterious effects in mothers and does not increase pediatric mortality in very pre-term infants...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the challenges associated with the diagnosis, management, and prevention of hypertensive disease during pregnancy in low-income countries, following the success of the Magpie Trial. METHODS: Descriptive review of the literature from 1990 to 2009 on the diagnosis, management, and prevention of hypertensive disease in pregnancy. RESULTS: In the absence of credible measures to predict and prevent hypertension in pregnancy, diagnosis and treatment remain the only viable options, although they are still associated with important challenges in low-income countries...

BACKGROUND: The Magpie Trial compared magnesium sulfate with placebo for women with preeclampsia. The objective of this study was to explore women's views and experiences of participating in the Magpie Trial in the United Kingdom. METHODS: Postal questionnaires were sent to 771 women participants in the Magpie Trial to assess long-term health of UK women and children. The questionnaire included three questions exploring women's experience of participating in the trial: (a) If time suddenly went backward, and you had to do it all over again, would you agree to participate in the Magpie Trial? (b) Please tell us if there was anything about the Magpie Trial that you think could have been done better; and (c) Please tell us if there was anything about the Magpie Trial, or your experience of joining the trial, that you think was particularly good...

BACKGROUND: The Magpie Trial, a randomised trial comparing magnesium sulphate with placebo for women with pre-eclampsia. This paper describes methods used for follow up in the UK, and presents additional data collected. METHODS: In the UK 774 women and their 827 children were included; excluded were women discharged without a surviving child and families who opted out. General practitioners were sent a questionnaire when the child was around 18 months old. When the child was two years, or older, questionnaires asking about the health of the women and children were posted to families...

Some animals have been shown to be able to remember which type of food they hoarded or encountered in which location and how long ago (what-where-when memory). In this study, we test whether magpies (Pica pica) also show evidence of remembering these different aspects of a past episode. Magpies hid red- and blue-dyed pellets of scrambled eggs in a large tray containing wood shavings. They were allowed to make as many caches as they wanted. The birds were then returned either the same day or the next day to retrieve the pellets...

AIM: To evaluate performance of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (full ASQ), and a shortened version (short ASQ), in detecting children with severe neurosensory disability in the Magpie Trial follow-up study. METHODS: All children, born to women in the Magpie Trial and selected for follow-up, with a completed full 30 items and/or short 9-items ASQ were included in this analysis. Sensitivity and specificity, corrected for verification bias, were computed to assess detection ability...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the long-term effects of in utero exposure to magnesium sulphate for children whose mothers had pre-eclampsia. DESIGN: Assessment at 18 months of age for children whose mothers were recruited to the Magpie Trial (recruitment 1998-2001 ISRCTN 86938761), which compared magnesium sulphate with placebo. SETTING: Follow-up of children born at 125 centres in 19 countries across five continents. POPULATION: A total of 6922 children were born to women randomised before delivery at follow-up centres...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess long-term effects for women following the use of magnesium sulphate for pre-eclampsia. DESIGN: Assessment at 2-3 years after delivery for women recruited to the Magpie Trial (recruitment in 1998-2001, ISRCTN 86938761), which compared magnesium sulphate with placebo for pre-eclampsia. SETTING: Follow up after discharge from hospital at 125 centres in 19 countries across five continents. POPULATION: A total of 7927 women were randomised at the follow-up centres...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the cost-effectiveness of using magnesium sulphate for pre-eclampsia to prevent eclampsia. DESIGN: Multinational trial-based economic evaluation. SETTING: Thirty-three countries participating in the Magnesium Sulphate for Prevention of Eclampsia (Magpie) Trial. POPULATION: Women (9996) with pre-eclampsia from the Magpie Trial. METHODS: Outcome and hospital resource use data were available for the trial period from the Magpie Trial...

BACKGROUND: The conventional view that participants in randomised controlled trials sacrifice themselves for the good of future patients is challenged by increasing evidence to suggest that individual patients benefit from participation in trials. OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that trial participants receive higher quality care and, as a consequence, have better outcomes than patients receiving guideline driven routine care. METHODS: Retrospective comparative study of 408 women with pre-eclampsia all managed according to a strict protocol...

BACKGROUND: The Magpie Trial compared magnesium sulphate with placebo for women with pre-eclampsia. 10,141 women were recruited, 8804 before delivery. Overall, 9024 children were included in the analysis of outcome at discharge from hospital. Magnesium sulphate more than halved the risk of eclampsia, and probably reduced the risk of maternal death. There did not appear to be any substantive harmful effects on the baby, in the short term. It is now important to assess whether these benefits persist, and to provide adequate reassurance about longer term safety...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Preeclampsia is a common complication of pregnancy and a significant cause of fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this review is to highlight and discuss aspects of some of the more recent clinical management papers published in the field of preeclampsia and eclampsia. The title explains the clinical nature of this paper and a detailed review of the basic science literature is beyond the scope of this article. RECENT FINDINGS: Several controversial areas still exist in the current management of severe preeclampsia/eclampsia...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Anticonvulsants are used for pre-eclampsia in the belief they prevent eclamptic convulsions, and so improve outcome. Evidence supported magnesium sulphate as the drug to evaluate. METHODS: Eligible women (n=10141) had not given birth or were 24 h or less postpartum; blood pressure of 140/90 mm Hg or more, and proteinuria of 1+ (30 mg/dL) or more; and there was clinical uncertainty about magnesium sulphate. Women were randomised in 33 countries to either magnesium sulphate (n=5071) or placebo (n=5070)...

Pre-eclampsia is a multisystem disorder of pregnancy usually associated with raised blood pressure (BP) and proteinuria. The pathogenesis is not understood despite decades of research. Abnormal placentation related to immune mechanisms and maladaptation of the placenta may be the first step in the development of the disease. Although there are a number of risk factors and new innovatory tests (e.g., uterine artery Doppler) which can be used to predict pre-eclampsia, none fulfils standard diagnostic criteria...