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Context. The prevalence of maternal obesity has been increasing dramatically in the recent years (body mass index ≧ 30 kg/m2). Maternal obesity is associated with an unequivocal increase in maternal and fetal complications of pregnancy and more than that, these complications also extend beyond fetal life in childhood and adulthood. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate maternal and neonatal complications at birth associated with maternal obesity. Materials and methods. The study included all women who gave birth between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012 at Bucharest University Emergency Hospital. Collected data included information about maternal health (the degree of obesity, associated complications of birth, anemia, and type of birth) and neonatal status (birth weight, gestational age, associated diseases and Apgar score). Results. A higher incidence of IUGR, as well as an increased frequency of infants who needed intensive care after birth, a higher rate cf cesarean surgery and a higher frequency of thromboembolic complications were observed in patients with associated obesity. Conclusions. Complications grow both in number and seventy with increasing obesity. Diagnosis of the fetuses with IUGR is important for the monitoring and management of the pregnancy associated with obesity and it involves a close collaboration between obstetrician, family physician and neonatologist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study was undertaken in order to determine if antibiotic prophylaxis is mandatory, after the insertion of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system in order to decrease the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease. Materials and methods: We prospectively evaluated 44 patients, admitted in the Bucharest Emergency Hospital between the 1st of February 2012 and the 1st of October 2012, in whom the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system was inserted. The patients enrolled were divided into two groups. In group A, a number of 22 patients, received, after the insertion of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system, 875mg Amoxicillin Trihydrate + 125 mg Potassium Clavulanate, a dose every 12 hours for 5 days. Group B was represented by the other 22 patients who did not receive antibiotic prophylaxis. All patients were reevaluated at 4 and 12 weeks after the insertion of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system. Results: During the first 4 weeks after the insertion of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system only two patients, one from group A and one from group B were diagnosed with pelvic inflammatory disease. At a second follow up visit - 12 weeks after the insertion of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system, no other patient was diagnosed with pelvic inflammatory disease. Conclusion: Antibiotic prophylaxis is not mandatory, after the insertion of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system in order to decrease the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important causes of perinatal mortality and morbidity complicating significant percentage pregnancies is intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Fetal growth restriction is the main cause of intrauterine fetal death and the second leading cause of death in the neonatal period. Numerous studies in different populations reveal an association between intrauterine growth restriction and perinatal and postnatal developments, which differ according to the sex of newborns with intrauterine growth restriction. However, the mechanisms of intrauterine programming, the critical time necessary to cause injury and involvement of other factors are unclear and although several authors' opinions differ, it seems that females are more likely to develop intrauterine growth restriction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results on the development and testing of a novel magnetic sensor based on the detection of the magneto-impedance variation due to changes in the permeability of an amorphous wire are reported. The proposed application is the quasi-noncontact monitoring of the breathing frequency and heart rate for diagnosing sleep disorders. Patient discomfort is significantly decreased by transversally placing the sensitive element onto the surface of a flexible mattress in order to detect its deformation associated with cardiorespiratory activity and body movements. The developed sensor has a great application potential in monitoring the vital signs during sleep, with special advantages for children sleep monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the film deposition of Poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) particle systems by matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) technique. PLGA+polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), PLGA+PVA+ bovine serum albumin (BSA) and PLGA+PVA+chitosan (CH) nanoparticles were prepared by an oil-in-water emulsion-diffusion-evaporation method. The average diameter of PLGA particles was between 180-250 nm. The coatings were obtained by laser evaporation of frozen targets prepared by mixing appropriate PLGA aqueous suspensions and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in three ratios. Depending on the DMSO content, we deposited PLGA particles embedded into polymeric layer mainly obtained due to the entirely or partially dissolving of nanoparticles into the initial solution. In vitro results showed that the distribution and morphology of osteoblast-like SaOs-2 cells on some PLGA particle coatings were similar with that of the positive control. The purpose of this study was to develop layers of PLGA particles for local controlled drug delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: With more children receiving cochlear implants during infancy, there is a need for validated assessments of pre-verbal and early verbal auditory skills. The LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire is presented here as the first module of the LittlEARS® test battery. The LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire was developed and piloted to assess the auditory behaviour of normal hearing children and hearing impaired children who receive a cochlear implant or hearing aid prior to 24 months of age. This paper presents results from two studies: one validating the LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire on children with normal hearing who are German speaking and a second validating the norm curves found after adaptation and administration of the questionnaire to children with normal hearing in 15 different languages. Methods: Scores from a group of 218 German and Austrian children with normal hearing between 5 days and 24 months of age were used to create a norm curve. The questionnaire was adapted from the German original into English and then 15 other languages to date. Regression curves were found based on parental responses from 3309 normal hearing infants and toddlers. Curves for each language were compared to the original German validation curve. Results: The results of the first study were a norm curve which reflects the age-dependence of auditory behaviour, reliability and homogeneity as a measure of auditory behaviour, and calculations of expected and critical values as a function of age. Results of the second study show that the regression curves found for all the adapted languages are essentially equal to the German norm curve, as no statistically significant differences were found. Conclusions: The LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire is a valid, language-independent tool for assessing the early auditory behaviour of infants and toddlers with normal hearing. The results of this study suggest that the LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire could also be very useful for documenting children''s progress with their current amplification, providing evidence of the need for implantation, or highlighting the need for follow-up in other developmental areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Detailed tests and analysis of ageing effects of high irradiation dose on Multi-Strip Multi-Gap Resistive Plate Counters (MSMGRPC) based on low resistivity glass electrodes, foreseen to be used for the most forward polar angles covered by the Time-of Flight (ToF) sub-detector of the Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at Facility for Antiprotons and Ion Research (FAIR) — Darmstadt are reported. The tests were performed at a multi-purpose irradiation facility of IFIN-HH based on 60Co source. MSMGRPC efficiency, cluster size, surface and volume resistivity of the glass electrodes after irradiation are measured and compared with their values before irradiation. The results of a comprehensive analysis of the composition and properties of the deposited layers on the glass electrodes, based on different methods, i.e. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), foil Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA), Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Terahertz Time Domain Spectroscopy (THz-TDS), are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulse oximeters may delay displaying the correct oxygen saturation during the onset of hypoxia. We investigated the desaturation response times of pulse oximeter sensors (forehead, ear and finger) during vasoconstriction due to mild hypothermia and vasodilation caused by glyceryl trinitrate. Ten healthy male volunteers were given three hypoxic challenges of 3 min duration under differing experimental conditions. Mild hypothermia increased the mean response time of finger oximeters from 130 to 215 s. Glyceryl trinitrate partly offset this effect by reducing the response time from 215 to 187 s. In contrast, the response times of the forehead and ear oximeters were unaffected by mild hypothermia, but the difference between head and finger oximeters was highly significant (p < 0.0001). The results suggest that the head oximeters provide a better monitoring site for pulse oximeters during mild hypothermia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]