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“Hearing screening programmes aim to detect hearing loss in the neonate. The Health Service Executive (HSE) South was the first phase of a national roll-out of a neonatal hearing screening programme in Ireland, BAY 57-1293 going live on 28 April 2011.

Over 11,738 babies have been screened for permanent childhood hearing impairment (PCHI) during the first 12 months. The percentage of eligible babies offered hearing screening was 99.2 %. Only 0.2 % (n = 25) of those offered

screening declined. 493 (4 %) were referred for immediate diagnostic audiological assessment. The average time between screen and diagnostic audiology appointment was 2 weeks. 15 (1.3/1,000) babies have been identified with a PCHI over the 12-month period. 946 (4 %) babies screened were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for > 48 h. The prevalance of PCHI is 7.3/1,000 in the NICU population compared to 0.6/1000 in the well baby population. 214 (1.8 % of total babies screened) had a clear response in the screening programmes, but were deemed to be at risk of an acquired childhood hearing impairment. These babies will be reassessed with a diagnostic audiology appointment at 8-9 months of age. To date, there is one case of acquired hearing impairment through this targeted see more follow-up screen. Of the 15 cases of PCHI identified, 8

(53 %) of these had one or more risk factors for hearing loss and 7 (37 %) were admitted to the NICU for > 48 h. Four babies were referred for assessment at the National Cochlear Implant Centre.”
“Cold plasmas have recently received great attention. In this paper, optical

and electrical diagnostics are carried out on a reliable and user-friendly GS-9973 mw plasma plume. A simple electrical model is used to simulate the electrical characteristics of the device. The plasma is represented by a resistor connected in parallel with a capacitor, an inductor, and another resistor, which are connected in series. The simulated current-voltage waveforms have very good agreement with experimental measurements. Besides, the emission spectra of the plasma are also studied. It shows that, when Ar is used as working gas, there is strong OH (hydroxyl radical) emission and the emission intensities of the N-2 emission bands are more than three times higher than that of He. On the contrary, when He is used as working gas, the emission intensities of N-2(+) band are much stronger. Detail analyses on these observations are presented.”
“Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease which involves the skin, as well as several internal organs. Most therapies available in this disease are symptomatic. Authors present a case of diffuse SSc with progressive disease not responding to currently available treatments. Therefore a 12-month protocol of repeated plasmapheresis and high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin treatment was administered with good clinical efficacy.