Antenatal Corticosteroids and Neonatal Outcomes in Twins : A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Acknowledgements: Peter Socha is supported by a graduate training award from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé. Rui Wang is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Emerging Leadership Investigator Grant (2009767). Presented at the Annual Meeting of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Scottish Trainees (AMOnGST) Conference, November 26, 2021 (online) and to be presented at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists World Congress, June 13-15, 2022, in London, UK. Financial Disclosure Sohinee Bhattacharya reports money was paid to their institution from Tenovus Scotland, Medical Research Scotland, and MRC. They are a collaborator on the Co-Opt project funded by Wellcome trust and led by the University of Edinburgh. This project aims to look at the effects of antenatal corticosteroids on neonatal outcomes using IPD meta-analysis. The other authors did not report any potential conflicts of interest.Peer reviewedPostprin

Thyroid shields and neck exposures in cephalometric radiography

BACKGROUND: The thyroid is among the more radiosensitive organs in the body. The goal of this study was twofold: (1) to evaluate age-related changes in what is exposed to ionizing radiation in the neck area, and (2) to assess thyroid shield presence in cephalometric radiographs METHODS: Cephalometric radiographs at one academic setting were sampled and neck exposure was related to calendar year and patient's gender and age. RESULTS: In the absence of shields, children have more vertebrae exposed than adults (p < 0.0001) and females have more neck tissue exposed inferior to the hyoid bone than males (p < 0.0001). The hyoid bone-porion distance increased with age (p <0.01). Thyroid shields were visible in 19% of the radiographs and depended strongly on the calendar year during which patient was seen (p-value <0.0001). Compared to adults, children were less likely to wear thyroid shields, particularly between 1973 and 1990 (1.8% versus 7.3% – p-value < 0.05) and between 2001 and 2003 (7.1% versus 42.9% – p-value < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In the absence of a thyroid shield, children have more neck structure exposed to radiation than adults. In agreement with other reports, thyroid shield utilization in this study was low, particularly in children

Inadvertent arterial insertion of a central venous catheter: delayed recognition with abrupt changes in pressure waveform during surgery -A case report-

We present a case of inadvertent arterial insertion of a central venous catheter, identified during a pericardiectomy procedure after observing abrupt changes in pressure waveform and confirmed via arterial blood gas analysis and transesophageal echocardiography. Central venous pressure measurement was initially 20 mmHg in supine, and then elevated to 30-40 mmHg in right lateral decubitus, presumably resulting from constrictive physiology of pericarditis. The pressure waveforms, however, abruptly changed from a venous to an arterial waveform during surgery. When visual discrimination between arterial and venous blood regurgitation is unreliable, anesthesiologists should confirm that using all the available methods one has on the scene, especially after at least two unsuccessful attempts or in patients with advanced age or clinical conditions resulting in jugular venous dilation. To prevent arterial catheterization, one should limit the leftward rotation of the head by <40° and consider using ultrasound-guided method after more than two unsuccessful attempts

“If You Build It, They Will Come”: Relationship between Attraction Features and Intention to Visit

The purpose of this study is to find out what themes and features of a tourist attraction are considered important by tourists, and whether or not these features influence their likelihood of visiting different types of attractions. First, for potential travelers to a rural destination, their likelihood of visiting different types of built tourist attractions was measured. Second, five attraction features (i.e., Experience, Cultural Value, Site Accessibility, Marketing, Leadership) were used to identify potential travelers’ preference. Finally, this study explored whether attraction features influenced potential travelers’ likelihood to visit different types of built attractions. The findings of this study can provide direction for the planning of cultural and heritage tourism

Successful removal of kinked J-guide wire under fluoroscopic guidance during central venous catheterization -A case report-

Guidewire-associated complications that occur during the process of central venous catheterization include its kinking, looping, knotting and breakage. The removal of a looped or knotted guidewire is problematic because it can cause vessel damage, major hemorrhage, or embolization of a fractured guidewire. We report a case of guidewire kinking and its successful removal under fluoroscopic guidance

“Those songs were the ones that made me, nobody asked me this question before”: Music Elicitation with ex-gang involved men about their experiences of childhood domestic violence and abuse

This article describes the use of music and music videos as an elicitation tool within life-story narrative interviews. The study focused on the lives of men who had experienced domestic violence and abuse in childhood and become involved on road and/or with gangs. Music elicitation was used as participants were asked to select three music tracks that aided them telling their life stories, with particular reference to their experiences of domestic violence in childhood and their involvement on road and in gangs. The music tracks and in many cases the accompanying music videos were viewed in the interview space by both the researcher and participant together. In this case, music elicitation was found to be a very valuable element to the interviews and enhanced the experience for both the participant and researcher. Music elicitation operated in three main ways. Firstly, music often had been used as a personal coping mechanism, and this was recalled in the interview, acting as an anchor to the memory. Secondly, at points, both the music lyrics and their accompanying music videos were used as tools for communication by the participant, through them being used as metaphors, or as illustrations of the past. Lastly, the music was used by the participants as a narrative tool to structure and pace the interviews, giving them greater control over the interview space. This article shows promising results in using music as an elicitation tool for research with this participant group discussing sensitive issues

Cost-Effective Roadway Drainage Design Using Economic Analysis

DTFH61-84-C-00082A practical method for determining the road surface drainage system design with the theoretic Lowest Total Economic Cost (LTEC) is developed. The LTEC design determines the design rain which, when used in a rational-based design context, will yield the most economic choices of gutters, inlets, and laterals considering both construction costs and risk costs. The data needed to find the LTEC design rain are: the number of rains per year, the design gutter flow, duration of average rainfall, runoff coefficient, drainage area, inlet and lateral costs, capital recovery factor, and a traffic loss coefficient. A nomograph and data selection guidance are provided as design aids. Three case studies are presented in an appendix. The method, based on minimizing traffic delay costs, applies to freeways, arterials, and major collectors; local streets with low traffic may be excluded

Infrared Dark Clouds in the Small Magellanic Cloud?

We have applied the unsharp-masking technique to the 24 $\mu$m image of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope, to search for high-extinction regions. This technique has been used to locate very dense and cold interstellar clouds in the Galaxy, particularly infrared dark clouds (IRDCs). Fifty five candidate regions of high-extinction, namely high-contrast regions (HCRs), have been identified from the generated decremental contrast image of the SMC. Most HCRs are located in the southern bar region and mainly distributed in the outskirts of CO clouds, but most likely contain a significant amount of H2. HCRs have a peak-contrast at 24 $\mu$m of 2 - 2.5 % and a size of 8 - 14 pc. This corresponds to the size of typical and large Galactic IRDCs, but Galactic IRDCs are 2 - 3 times darker at 24 $\mu$m than our HCRs. To constrain the physical properties of the HCRs, we have performed NH3, N2H+, HNC, HCO+, and HCN observations toward one of the HCRs, HCR LIRS36-EAST, using the Australia Telescope Compact Array and the Mopra single-dish radio telescope. We did not detect any molecular line emission, however, our upper limits to the column densities of molecular species suggest that HCRs are most likely moderately dense with n ~ 10^{3} cm-3. This volume density is in agreement with predictions for the cool atomic phase in low metallicity environments. We suggest that HCRs may be tracing clouds at the transition from atomic to molecule-dominated medium, and could be a powerful way to study early stages of gas condensation in low metallicity galaxies. Alternatively, if made up of dense molecular clumps < 0.5 pc in size, HCRs could be counterparts of Galactic IRDCs, and/or regions with highly unusual abundance of very small dust grains.Comment: accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa