Flame Resistance of Hand Made Wool Carpets

Handmade wool carpet production in Albania constitutes an important outcome for local producers. In order to guarantee the continuity of production, the quality of the products should be assured. Apart from various physical and mechanical properties necessary for the production line and long-life usage, the fire resistance of the carpet, in particular concerning flammability, is an important property mentioned in EU regulations. Hence, this paper focuses on testing the flammability of handmade carpets used primarily for floor coverings. In this research project five different handmade carpets, randomly chosen and consisting of sheep and goat fibers, are considered. Samples were tested according to ISO 6941:2003. Based on the obtained results, the tested products demonstrate very good behavior in terms of fire resistance and appear to meet the EU standard regarding the flammability of floor coverings

Neonatal Morbidity in Late Preterm Infants Associated with Intrauterine Growth Restriction

AIM: This study aims to compare the neonatal morbidity of Intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) Late Preterm (LP) babies, to those born Late Preterm but evaluated as Appropriate for Gestational Age (AGA). METHODS: The study is a 2-year prospective one that used data from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) charts of LP neonates born in our tertiary maternity hospital “Koço Gliozheni†in Tirana. Congenital anomalies and genetical syndromes are excluded. Neonatal morbidity of IUGR Late Preterm is compared to those born Late Preterm but evaluated as AGA. OR and CI, 95% is calculated. RESULTS: Out of 336 LP babies treated in NICU, 88 resulted with IUGR and 206 AGA used as a control group. We found significantly higher morbidity in the IUGR group for hypoglycemia, polycythemia, feeding intolerance, birth asphyxia and seizures, secondary sepsis have higher morbidity but the difference is not significant. No differences were found for hyperbilirubinemia in both groups. No neonatal deaths were observed in both groups. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that late preterm IUGR has a significantly higher risk for neonatal morbidity when compared to late preterm AGA babies

Efficacy of an IgM preparation in the treatment of patients with sepsis: a double-blind randomized clinical trial in a pediatric intensive care unit

Aim: Additional treatments for sepsis to be administered alongside the standard therapy recommended by the Surviving Sepsis Campaign have recently undergone evaluation. Due to its anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, intravenous polyvalent immunoglobulin M (IgM)–enriched immunoglobulins (IgM preparation) has been investigated as one of these potentially valid adjunctive therapies. The aim of this trial was to assess the efficacy of an IgM preparation as adjuvant therapy in the treatment of pediatric patients with sepsis. Methods: In our study, 78 septic patients admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at the University Hospital Center “Mother Teresa” in Tirana, Albania, were randomized into two groups (intervention and control). All patients were treated according to standard PICU sepsis guidelines. Additionally, patients in the intervention group received the IgM preparation Pentaglobin® while patients in the control group received standard sepsis therapy, but no immunoglobulin  administration. Results: The survival rate was higher in the intervention group (87%, N=34) than in the control group (64%, N=25), and this difference was statistically significant  (P=0.03). Length of stay (LOS) was also significantly shorter in the intervention group. Conclusion: In this study conducted in Albania, use of an IgM preparation, in addition to standard sepsis therapy, led to a significant increase in the survival rate as well as a significant reduction in LOS compared with placebo, when administered in PICU patients with sepsis

Trends in Mortality in Children Hospitalized with Meningococcal Infections in Albania from 2006 to 2014

Background: Lack of vaccination and modern health care facilities in many countries including Albania let meningococcemia to remain as a serious challenging disorder especially among children and in spite of improved diagnosis and earlier treatment its prognosis is still dismal. Patients expected to develop life-threatening complications in acute meningococcal infections require early recognition and appropriate monitoring. Different prognostic scoring systems have been developed. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate mortality in children hospitalized with meningococcal infections in Albania, including scoring systems in prognosticating mortality rate. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study, performed on 40 patients with definite diagnosis of meningococcal infection admitted to PICU in UHC “Mother Teresa”, Tirana, Albania, between 2006 and 2014. There were 40 patients, 22(55%) males, and 18(45%) females, from 2 months to 10 years old. We evaluated all the patients based on Stiehm and Damrosch and Glasgow meningococcal septicemia prognostic score. Data were collected by filling checklists. SSPS software was applied to analyze the data using chi-square test. Results: Overall mortality was 42%. According to the GMSPS(3) prognostic score of meningococcemia: 28 (70%) patients had a score <8 points and were recorded four deaths representing a mortality rate of 14.2%; the mortality rate of 12(45%) patients with a score ≥8 points resulted in 100% mortality. The sensitivity was 100%, specificity was 100%, the positive predictive value was 100% and the negative predictive value was 100% for a GMSPS score ≥8. According to the Stiehm and Damrosch criteria (2): 22(55%) patients had two or fewer factors present and was recorded three deaths representing a mortality rate of 13.6%; the mortality rate of 18(45%) patients with three or more factors present the mortality rate was 72.2%. The sensitivity was 90%, specificity was 80%, the positive predictive value was 75% and negative predictive value was 92.3% for the criterion ≥3 of the Stiehm and Damrosch criteria. Conclusions: Meningococci are still killers, they affect men more than women. The Stiehm and Damrosch and Glasgow meningococcal septicemia prognostic score can rapidly identify children with the fulminant meningococcal disease and poor prognosis and help us starting prompt administration of suitable antibiotics, critical care, and special therapeutic measures.Keywords: Meningococcal disease, meningococcemia, meningitis, children, scoring system

Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Neuropathic and Mixed Pain in Children and Adolescents: Results of a Survey Study amongst Practitioners

Validated diagnostic tools to diagnose chronic neuropathic and mixed pain in children are missing. Therapeutic options are often derived from therapeutics for adults. To investigate the international practice amongst practitioners for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic, neuropathic pain in children and adolescents, we performed a survey study among members of learned societies or groups whose members are known to treat pediatric pain. The survey included questions concerning practitioners and practice characteristics, assessment and diagnosis, treatment and medication. We analyzed 117 returned questionnaires, of which 41 (35%) were fully completed and 76 (65%) were partially completed. Most respondents based the diagnosis of neuropathic pain on physical examination (68 (58.1%)), patient history (67 (57.3%)), and underlying disease (59 (50.4%)) combined. Gabapentin, amitriptyline, and pregabalin were the first-choice treatments for moderate neuropathic pain. Tramadol, ibuprofen, amitriptyline, and paracetamol were the first-choice treatments for moderate mixed pain. Consensus on the diagnostic process of neuropathic pain in children and adolescents is lacking. Drug treatment varies widely for moderate, severe neuropathic, and mixed pain. Hence, diagnostic tools and therapy need to be harmonized and validated for use in children

Trends of attempted suicide in Albanian children and adolescents

Summary Background. Attempted suicides and suicides are becoming pertinent social phenomena in Albania, with increasing trend in the last years, exceeding the road traffic accident numbers. Our objective was to examine suicide attempts trends among Albanian children and adolescents. Methods. We conducted a retrospective analysis of standardized suicide attempts rates in Statistic Department at University Hospital Center "Mother Theresa"; epidemiology data for the period spanning from 2006 to 2012. We analyzed the data by age, sex and by suicide attempts method over time for two age groups: 10-14 year old (children) and 15-19 year old (adolescents). Results. We found an average annual increase of the suicide attempts rate for children and adolescents (p<0.001), but stratification by age and sex showed significant variation. By comparing the two age groups it came out that the suicidal phenomena is more present at adolescence age (p<0.001). According to the statistic data and by analyzing the cases on yearly bases it resulted that female gender is more attempt to commit suicide that male gender, with a significant statistical variation of (p<0.001). From the study it was noted that the suicidal attempt methods, in the most of cases, were drug overdose (97.6%) and 2.4% hang themselves (suffocation) or cut their vein. Conclusions. The increasing cases of suicidal tendency among children and adolescents necessitate further studies to identify the causes and risk factors, and to develop suitable preventive programs

Third phase structure of heat treatment monofilaments and bending behaviour

In this paper a detailed analysis of morphological structure of monofilaments of LLDPE. after heat treatment, is presented. The most discussed property for long standing is resilience of monofilaments. Therefore the pa/ter it will be focused on the behaviour of monofilaments. The production line of monofilaments was similar to the industrial one. For a detailed sti/ctural analysis are employed three different methods of morphological investigation: DSC, X-ray and Raman. For long term behaviour of monofilaments the dynamic bending test is performed. Based on the obtained results the behaviour of heat treatment samples ivac improved. This was explained by the increase of the amount of Gauche and Trans structure on the third phase

Influence of Heat Treatment on the Bending Behaviour of LLDPE Monofilaments

It is known that artificial turf surfaces based on LLDPE monofilaments have the potential to replace natural turf surfaces used for several sport surfaces. Even though the production parameters have a strong influence on the behaviour of monofilaments and indirectly on the final product, the effect of heat treatment at different stages of the production lines is not studied in detail. Therefore, the influence of heat treatment during the production of monofilaments was investigated. This investigation includes a study of the mechanical properties such as tensile testing and bending behaviour and morphological analyses by employing DSC measurements. The results show that the applied heat treatment has a strong influence on the bending behaviour even though the classical studied morphology structures do not show significant changes. Heat treatment influences quite importantly the characteristics of the non-crystalline part of the monofilaments and results in better long-term properties, such as resilience, deformation recovery and fibrillation resistance

Influence of heat treatment on the behaviour of LLDPE monofilaments

It is known that artificial turf surfaces based on LLDPE monofilaments have the potential to replace natural turf surfaces used for several sport surfaces. Even though the production parameters have a strong influence on the behaviour of monofilaments and indirectly on the final product, the effect of heat treatment at different stages of the production lines is not studied in detail. Therefore, the influence of heat treatment during the production of monofilaments was investigated. This investigation includes a study of the mechanical properties such as tensile testing and bending behaviour and morphological analyses by employing DSC measurements. The results show that the applied heat treatment has a strong influence on the bending behaviour even though the classical studied morphology structures do not show significant changes. Heat treatment influences quite importantly the characteristics of the non-crystalline part of the monofilaments and results in better long-term properties, such as resilience, deformation recovery and fibrillation resistance