Newborn of mothers affected by autoimmune thyroiditis: the importance of thyroid function monitoring in the first months of life

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>evaluation of thyroid function in neonates born from mothers affected by autoimmune thyroiditis in order to define if a precise follow-up is necessary for these children. The influence of maternal thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) and L-thyroxine therapy during pregnancy on neonatal thyroid function was also investigated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>129 neonates were tested for thyroid function by measurement of free thyroxine (FT4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in 3^thday, 15^thday and at one month of life. TPOAb were measured in all patients; periodical control of thyroid function were performed until 6 months of life if Ab were positive. Data concerning etiology of maternal hypothyroidism and maternal replacement therapy with L-thyroxine during pregnancy were retrospectively collected.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>28% neonates showed at least a mild increase of TSH value at the different determinations. In the majority of them, a spontaneous completely normalisation of TSH value was observed within the first month life. L-thyroxine replacement therapy was started in 3 neonates. TPOAb titer and maternal L-thyroxine replacement therapy were not related to alteration of thyroid hormone function in our study population.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>transient mild elevation of serum TSH above the normal reference value for age is frequently observed in the first month of life in infants born from mothers affected by autoimmune thyroiditis. Persistent hyperthyrotropinemia requiring replacement therapy is observed in 2.2% of these neonates. According to our experience, follow-up is recommended in these newborns; the most accurate and not invasive way to carefully monitor these infants after neonatal screening for CH seems to be serum-testing TSH between 2^ndand 4^thweek of life.</p

Influence of a Reef Flat on Beach Profiles Along the Atlantic Coast of Morocco

The North Atlantic coast of Morocco is characterised by a flat rocky outcrop in the south (Asilah Beach) and a sandy beach free of rocky outcrops in the north (Charf el-Akab). These natural beaches were monitored for a period of two years (April 2005-January 2007) and two different profiles (one for each beach) were analysed based on differences in the substrate. Topographic data were analysed using statistics and empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) to determine beach slope and volumetric changes over time. Several morphologic phenomena were identified (accretion/erosion and seasonal tilting of beach profiles around different hinge points), attesting to their importance in explaining variability in the data. Periods of accretion were similar in both profiles, but the volumetric rate of change was faster in the sand-rich (SR) profile than in the reef flat (RF) profile. Moreover, the erosion rate for the SR profile was greater than the RF profile (135.18 m(3)/year vs. 55.39 m(3)/year). Therefore, the RF acted as a geological control on the evolution of its profile because of wave energy attenuation. Thus, special attention should be given to the RF profile, which has larger slopes, less amounts of mobilised sand, and slower erosion/accretion rates than the SR profile

The effect of turbulence modelling on the assessment of platelet activation

Pathological platelet activation by abnormal shear stresses is regarded as a main clinical complication in recipients of cardiovascular mechanical devices. In order to improve their performance computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are used to evaluate flow fields and related shear stresses. CFD models are coupled with mathematical models that describe the relation between fluid dynamics variables, and in particular shear stresses, and the platelet activation state (PAS). These models typically use a Lagrangian approach to compute the shear stresses along possible platelet trajectories. However, in the case of turbulent flow, the choice of the proper turbulence closure is still debated for both concerning its effect on shear stress calculation and Lagrangian statistics. In this study different numerical simulations of the flow through a mechanical heart valve were performed and then compared in terms of Eulerian and Lagrangian quantities: a direct numerical simulation (DNS), a large eddy simulation (LES), two Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations (SST k-ω and RSM) and a "laminar" (no turbulence modelling) simulation. Results exhibit a large variability in the PAS assessment depending on the turbulence model adopted. "Laminar" and RSM estimates of platelet activation are about 60% below DNS, while LES is 16% less. Surprisingly, PAS estimated from the SST k- ω velocity field is only 8% less than from DNS data. This appears more artificial than physical as can be inferred after comparing frequency distributions of PAS and of the different Lagrangian variables of the mechano-biological model of platelet activation. Our study indicates how much turbulence closures may affect platelet activation estimates, in comparison to an accurate DNS, when assessing blood damage in blood contacting devices

La navigazione per il trasporto delle merci in Italia

Flussi potenziali di merci per il sistema padano-veneto. Analisi dei costi di esercizio dei mezzi navali. Costi di trasporto per i due scenari alternativi

Una nuova via d'acqua per il centro Europa: da Trieste a Bratislava.

Confronto tra varianti infrastrutturali. Galleria. Canale a cielo aperto. Costi di costruzione e di gestione

La rete idroviaria europea per il trasporto delle merci

Fiumi e canali navigabili. I mezzi di trasporto per la navigazione intern

Absence of Inelastic Collapse for a 1D Gas of Grains with an Internal Degree of Freedom

In a cooling gas of rigid particles interacting with a constant coefficient of restitution, groups of particles within the gas may experience an infinite number of collisions in a finite time. This singularity, named inelastic collapse, is a shortcoming of the mathematical model, and it hampers the efforts of simulating a freely evolving, cooling granular system. After a brief review of previous works addressing the problem, we propose a one-dimensional model where a grain is seen as a pair of point masses joined by a massless, dissipative spring. We show that binary interactions of such grains are described as impacts with a constant restitution coefficient, whose expression is given in terms of the spring parameters. However, the impact is not instantaneous, but it requires a finite time. We show that in situations that would lead to inelastic collapse, multiple interactions among grains transfer kinetic energy into potential energy associated with the deformation of the springs, rather than dissipate it. This effectively avoids the collapse. Finally, we discuss the results of the simulations of a cooling granular system in comparison with other models

Ipotesi di completamento del sistema idroviario italiano

Scenario A: idrovia Cremona-mantova e raccordo bertonico-Pizzighettone. Scenario B: la sitemazione multifunzionale del Po: Cremona-foce Mincio. Alternative di costo di realizzazione e di gestione