Haemolytic and nonhaemolytic neonatal jaundice have different risk factor profiles.

AIM: This study examined maternal and pregnancy risk factors for haemolytic and nonhaemolytic neonatal jaundice in a large population-based cohort study. METHODS: We conducted a cohort study of 1 019 220 singleton live births from the Swedish medical birth register from 1987 to 2002, using information on neonatal jaundice and maternal and pregnancy characteristics. Diagnoses of gestational hypertensive disorders were obtained by linkage to the national inpatient register. Multivariate logistic regression analysis provided odds ratios for the risk factors of both forms of jaundice. RESULTS: A total of 6057 (0.6%) births were affected by haemolytic jaundice and 36 869 (3.6%) by nonhaemolytic jaundice. The strongest risk factors for haemolytic jaundice were maternal alloimmunisation, blood group O and neonatal jaundice in older siblings. For nonhaemolytic jaundice, the strongest risk factors were preterm birth, neonatal jaundice in older siblings, maternal origin from East or South-East Asia and maternal obesity. We estimated that 13% of haemolytic jaundice was attributable to alloimmunisation and 39% of nonhaemolytic jaundice was attributable to preterm birth. CONCLUSION: Haemolytic and nonhaemolytic neonatal jaundice had different risk factor profiles. Interventions to reduce maternal alloimmunisation, preterm birth and maternal obesity may lower the prevalence of neonatal jaundice and the risk of consequent neurological complications.

Low-Concentration NOx Gas Analysis Using Single Bimodular ZnO Nanorod Sensor.

Quantitative measurement of the nitrogen oxide mixture (NOx, usually of NO and NO2) usually relies on sophisticated, space-consuming, and expensive spectroscopy techniques such as gas chromatography (GC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and chemi-luminescence detection (CLD). The direct and portable measurement solutions are lacking in this regard. In this work, by utilizing the bimodular sensing strategy, we successfully demonstrated the differential measurement of NOx with errors smaller than 8.3%, by correlating the sensor electrical and electrochemical responses. The effective detection is successfully displayed in the low-concentration ranges of 1-10 ppm for NO and 100 ppb-1 ppm for NO2, where weak competitive gas co-adsorption mitigated the cross-sensitivities compared to the higher-concentration range. Based on the electron occupation with negligible competitive adsorption, the accurate theoretic prediction of the mixture responses versus component concentration relieves the reliance on repeated calibration and empirical functions. With the miniaturized size and simplified electrical feedthrough, the single bimodular nanorod sensor provides a promising solution for direct and portable NOx analysis at low concentrations.

The mechanism of resistance-reducing/anti-adhesion and its application on biomimetic disc furrow opener.

The black soil of Northeast China is sticky and agglomerates easily, which often adheres to the surface of a traditional furrow opener during the furrowing process. In this paper, biomimetic design principles in resistance-reducing, anti-adhesion and resistance-reducing mechanism of biomimetic disc furrow opener were studied. Nine kinds of singular convex hull, nine kinds of singular wedge and nine kinds of mixed convex hull and wedge structural biomimetic disc furrow opener were designed, and the furrowing process with the soil simulated by finite element method (FEM).Three types of biomimetic disc furrow opener with less resistance were manufactured by laser processing for comparative test in soil bin based on the simulation results. The test results showed that the resistance of the biomimetic disc furrow opener was less than that of the ordinary disc. The soil-disc stress, influence of biomimetic structures, moisture content and furrow speeds on resistance were discussed. The resistance-reducing rate of D-BC-3 reached the maximum value 15.36% at the furrow speed of 0.6 m/s and the soil moisture content of 20%. It is believed that the biomimetic design principles can provide the significant inspirations for the future design of disc furrow opener with drag reduction.

[Clinical value of 64-slice CT angiography in detecting coronary artery anomalies].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical value of 64-slice computed tomography angiography (CTA) in the diagnosis of coronary artery anomalies. METHODS: The coronary artery imaging data of 852 patients who underwent 64-slice CTA from July 2006 to May 2007 were retrieved. The imaging features of coronary artery anomalies confirmed by selective coronary angiography were reviewed. RESULTS: Eight (0.9%) coronary artery anomalies were found in the patients, which included 3 cases of anomalous aortic origin of coronary arteries, 3 cases of anomalous origin of the left main coronary artery from pulmonary artery, 1 case of coronary fistula from the right coronary artery to right atrium, and 1 case of coronary aneurysm. CONCLUSION: The 64-slice CTA can detect coronary anomalies and delineate the anatomic relationships among the peripheral structures, which can be considered as an early screening for coronary anomalies.