66 research outputs found

    Blood pressure changes during the first 24 hours of life and the association with the persistence of a patent ductus arteriosus and occurrence of intraventricular haemorrhage

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    Very low birthweight (VLBW) infants are at risk of intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) and delayed closure of ductus arteriosus. We investigated mean arterially recorded blood pressure (MAP) changes during the first day of life in VLBW infants as potential risk factors for a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and IVH. This retrospective cohort study exploring MAP changes during adaption and risk factors for a PDA and IVH comprised 844 VLBW infants admitted to the Helsinki University Children's Hospital during 2005-2013. For each infant, we investigated 600 time-points of MAP recorded 4-24 hours after birth. Based on blood pressure patterns revealed by a data-driven method, we divided the infants into two groups. Group 1 (n = 327, mean birthweight = 1019 g, mean gestational age = 28 + (1/7) weeks) consisted of infants whose mean MAP was lower at 18-24 hours than at 4-10 hours after birth. Group 2 (n = 517, mean birthweight = 1070 g, mean gestational age = 28 + (5/7) weeks) included infants with a higher mean MAP at 18-24 hours than at 4-10 hours after birth. We used the group assignments, MAP, gestational age at birth, relative size for gestational age, surfactant administration, inotrope usage, invasive ventilation, presence of respiratory distress syndrome or sepsis, fluid intake, and administration of antenatal steroids to predict the occurrence of IVH and use of pharmacological or surgical therapy for a PDA before 42 weeks of gestational age. Infants whose mean MAP is lower at 18-24 hours than at 4-10 hours after birth are more likely to undergo surgical ligation of a PDA (odds ratio = 2.1; CI 1.14-3.89; p = 0.018) and to suffer from IVH (odds ratio = 1.83; CI 1.23-2.72; p = 0.003).Peer reviewe

    A triple-chamber parenteral nutrition solution was associated with improved protein intake in very low birthweight infants

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    Aim We evaluated the nutrient intakes of very low birthweight (VLBW) infants weighing less than 1500 g and tested the hypothesis that using a triple-chamber parenteral nutrition (PN) solution, containing lipids, glucose and amino acids, would improve protein intake. Methods This retrospective cohort study comprised 953 VLBW infants born in 2005-2013 at a gestational age of less than 32 + 0/7 weeks and admitted to the neonatal care unit at Helsinki Children's Hospital, Finland. The infants were divided into four groups according their birth year and PN regime. Nutrient intakes were obtained from computerised medication administration records. Results In 2012-2013, when a triple-chamber PN solution was used, infants were more likely to reach the target parenteral protein intake of 3.5 g/kg/d, and reach it 3-7 days earlier, compared with infants who received individual PN or standard two-in-one PN solutions in 2005-2011. In addition, infants in the triple-chamber group had the highest median energy intake (90 kcal/kg/d) during the first week. They also had higher median protein intakes in weeks one, two and three (3.1, 3.4 and 3.7 g/kg/d) than infants born in 2005-2011 (P <.05). Conclusion Using a triple-chamber PN solution was associated with improved protein intake, and the protein target was more likely to be achieved.Peer reviewe

    Quantum-mechanical model of the Kerr-Newman black hole

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    We consider a Hamiltonian quantum theory of stationary spacetimes containing a Kerr-Newman black hole. The physical phase space of such spacetimes is just six-dimensional, and it is spanned by the mass MM, the electric charge QQ and angular momentum JJ of the hole, together with the corresponding canonical momenta. In this six-dimensional phase space we perform a canonical transformation such that the resulting configuration variables describe the dynamical properties of Kerr-Newman black holes in a natural manner. The classical Hamiltonian written in terms of these variables and their conjugate momenta is replaced by the corresponding self-adjoint Hamiltonian operator and an eigenvalue equation for the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner (ADM) mass of the hole, from the point of view of a distant observer at rest, is obtained. In a certain very restricted sense, this eigenvalue equation may be viewed as a sort of "Schr\"odinger equation of black holes". Our "Schr\"odinger equation" implies that the ADM mass, electric charge and angular momentum spectra of black holes are discrete, and the mass spectrum is bounded from below. Moreover, the spectrum of the quantity M2−Q2−a2M^2-Q^2-a^2, where aa is the angular momentum per unit mass of the hole, is strictly positive when an appropriate self-adjoint extension is chosen. The WKB analysis yields the result that the large eigenvalues of MM, QQ and aa are of the form 2n\sqrt{2n}, where nn is an integer. It turns out that this result is closely related to Bekenstein's proposal on the discrete horizon area spectrum of black holes.Comment: 30 pages, 3 figures, RevTe

    Why and how does shared language affect subsidiary knowledge inflows? A social identity perspective

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    We draw on social identity theory to conceptualize a moderated mediation model that examines the relationship between shared language among subsidiary and HQ managers, and subsidiaries’ knowledge inflows from HQ. Specifically, we study (1) whether this relationship is mediated by the extent to which subsidiary managers share HQ goals and vision, and the extent to which HR decisions are centralized; and (2) whether subsidiary type moderates these mediated relationships. Building on a sample of 817 subsidiaries in nine countries/regions, we find support for our model. Implications for research on HQ-subsidiary knowledge flows, social identity theory and international HRM are discussed

    Molecular understanding of sulphuric acid-amine particle nucleation in the atmosphere

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    4 pages 359-363 in the print version, additional 7 pages online.Peer reviewe

    Patient‐centered digital biomarkers for allergic respiratory diseases and asthma: The ARIA‐EAACI approach – ARIA‐EAACI Task Force Report

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    Biomarkers for the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of patients with rhinitis and/ or asthma are urgently needed. Although some biologic biomarkers exist in specialist care for asthma, they cannot be largely used in primary care. There are no validated biomarkers in rhinitis or allergen immunotherapy (AIT) that can be used in clinical practice. The digital transformation of health and health care (including mHealth) places the patient at the center of the health system and is likely to optimize the practice of allergy. Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) and EAACI (European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology) developed a Task Force aimed at proposing patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) as digital biomarkers that can be easily used for different purposes in rhinitis and asthma. It first defined control digital biomarkers that should make a bridge between clinical practice, randomized controlled trials, observational real-life studies and allergen challenges. Using the MASK-air app as a model, a daily electronic combined symptom-medication score for allergic diseases (CSMS) or for asthma (e-DASTHMA), combined with a monthly control questionnaire, was embedded in a strategy similar to the diabetes approach for disease control. To mimic real-life, it secondly proposed quality-of- life digital biomarkers including daily EQ-5D visual analogue scales and the bi-weekly RhinAsthma Patient Perspective (RAAP). The potential implications for the management of allergic respiratory diseases were proposed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Rhinitis associated with asthma is distinct from rhinitis alone: TARIA‐MeDALL hypothesis

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    Asthma, rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis (AD) are interrelated clinical phenotypes that partly overlap in the human interactome. The concept of “one-airway-one-disease,” coined over 20 years ago, is a simplistic approach of the links between upper- and lower-airway allergic diseases. With new data, it is time to reassess the concept. This article reviews (i) the clinical observations that led to Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA), (ii) new insights into polysensitization and multimorbidity, (iii) advances in mHealth for novel phenotype definitions, (iv) confirmation in canonical epidemiologic studies, (v) genomic findings, (vi) treatment approaches, and (vii) novel concepts on the onset of rhinitis and multimorbidity. One recent concept, bringing together upper- and lower-airway allergic diseases with skin, gut, and neuropsychiatric multimorbidities, is the “Epithelial Barrier Hypothesis.” This review determined that the “one-airway-one-disease” concept does not always hold true and that several phenotypes of disease can be defined. These phenotypes include an extreme “allergic” (asthma) phenotype combining asthma, rhinitis, and conjunctivitis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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