This study aimed to gather nurses’ experiences and perspectives regarding the amplitude-integrated electroencephalogram (aEEG) monitoring system in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and to ...explore potential avenues for future improvements.
This study employed a descriptive qualitative design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 nurses from the level-III NICU of a Dutch medical center. The collected interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
Seven main themes emerged: training in aEEG monitoring, proficiency in aEEG electrode placement and pattern interpretation, usual practices of using aEEG, neonatologist-nurse cooperation on aEEG, the performance of the automated seizure detection software, the usefulness of aEEG monitoring in the NICU, and feedback about the current aEEG monitoring system.
Nurses confirmed that aEEG is a valuable tool for cerebral function monitoring in the NICU; however, improvements are necessary. For better utilization of aEEG in the NICU, it is recommended to enhance nurses’ aEEG knowledge and skills and apply state-of-art techniques to improve the monitoring system.
To enhance the aEEG knowledge of NICU nurses, we suggest introducing structured training programs, conducting routine case-centered discussions, and creating readily available reference resources. To optimize the aEEG monitoring system, it is essential to incorporate innovative electrodes, provide remote accessibility, integrate advanced algorithms, and develop an intuitive graphical user interface.
The direct supply of light olefins from CO2 hydrogenation has led to a tremendous interest in its important roles in reducing CO2 emissions. We study here a significantly effective, reliable and ...multifunctional catalyst, NiCu/CeO2-SAPO-34, capable of directly converting CO2 to light olefins with selectivity up to 76.6% (C2H4 = 22.7%, C3H6 = 35.5%, and C4H8 = 18.4%), while only 2.1% CH4 with CO2 conversion of 15.3% at H2/CO2 of 3, 12 L.gcat−1 h−1, 375 °C and 20 bar. Under optimum reaction conditions, the CO selectivity is lower than 65%. Physiochemical characterization of the catalyst was performed using BET, NH3-TPD, H2-TPR, XRD, TEM, and SEM techniques. Compared to the XRD patterns of SAPO-34 and NiCu/CeO2, the composite showed all characteristic XRD peaks of both samples. In addition, our designed hybrid catalyst also has beneficial catalytic stability, which can operate for 90 h without loss of apparent activity.
A hybrid catalyst composed of NiCu/CeO2 and SAPO–34 zeolites was employed for CO2 hydrogenation to light olefins. Under optimal conditions, the selectivity for light olefins was up to 76.6%. Display omitted
•Light olefin production is a novel route for the effective use of H2 and CO2.•NiCu/CeO2-SAPO-34 catalyst was used for direct CO2 hydrogenation to light olefins.•A selectivity for olefin was up to 76.6% with 2.1% CH4 and 64.3% CO.•The impact of the three factors for CO2 conversion into lower olefins was analyzed.
Background: The NICU environment, especially the noise and light environment, is considered invasive for low birth weight infants, and there are concerns that it may affect their future development ...and growth. Environmental standards have been set to require that they are raised in a quiet environment.Purpose: To investigate the source of noise and its occurrence time for a better sound environment in the NICU.Subject and method: Sound pressure and frequency over a 24 hour period were continuously measured and recorded for 7 days in the NICU of facility A. From the recorded data, we listened to sounds with a high sound pressure of 65 to 80 dB. Since alarm sounds occur at all times of the day, we counted the types of alarms, their duration, and the number of times they occurred, and calculated the total energy.Result Sounds with a high sound pressure of 65 to 80 dB were alarm sounds, medical work sounds, babies crying, and people talking. The most frequent sound was alarm sounds, which occurred throughout the 24 hours, and also occurred for the longest time. It was found that when the alarm sound was turned off, the sound pressure decreased by 1.5 dB to 49.5 dB. It was also found that the alarm sounds were on for about 4 hours per 24 hours, or 17％ of the time.Conclusion: The alarm sounds occurred approximately once every six minutes over a 24 hour period.Noise inside the facility is largely influenced by people’s voices, medical work sounds, and alarm sounds.It was suggested that improvements could be made by increasing the awareness of the staff.
In this work, the NiCu solid solutions with different Ni/Cu molar ratios were prepared and then doped into MgH2 through ball milling to modify its hydrogen sorption properties. The experimental ...results show that the Ni–25%Cu and Ni–50%Cu exhibit the superior catalytic effect over pure Ni, pure Cu and Ni–75%Cu on the dehydrogenation of MgH2. Among them, the 5h-milled MgH2/Ni–50%Cu system starts to desorb hydrogen at 205.8 °C, which is about 96.9 °C lower than that of as-milled pristine MgH2. Moreover, the MgH2/Ni-50% Cu system can release 5.14 wt% hydrogen at 300 °C within 15 min, while MgH2 can only release 2.92 wt% hydrogen under the same condition. More importantly, the dehydrogenated MgH2/Ni–50%Cu can reabsorb 4.37 wt% hydrogen even at 250 °C for 30 min. The enhanced hydrogen sorption kinetics of MgH2/Ni–50%Cu mainly attributes to the “hydrogen spillover” effect of in-situ formed Mg2Ni(Cu) phases. Further theoretical calculations reveal that the strong interactions between H and Ni/Cu result in the weakened stability of MgH2, decreased bond strength of Mg–H and enhanced dehydrogenation properties of MgH2. This research provides an important guidance for design multiple transition metals catalysts to improve efficiently hydrogen storage properties of magnesium-based and other metal-based hydrides.
•Influence of NiCu solid solutions on hydrogen storage properties of MgH2 are studied.•The Ni–50%Cu exhibits the superior catalytic effect on hydrogen sorption of MgH2.•The in-situ formed Mg2Ni(Cu) phases play “hydrogen spillover” effect on Mg/MgH2.•The doping of Ni/Cu weakens stability of MgH2 and decreased bond strength of Mg–H.
Preterm birth is a stressful event for families. In particular, the unexpectedly early delivery may cause negative feelings in mothers and fathers. The aim of this study was to examine the ...relationship between preterm birth, parental stress and negative feelings, and the environmental setting of NICU. 21 mothers (age = 36.00 ± 6.85) and 19 fathers (age = 34.92 ± 4.58) of preterm infants (GA = 30.96 ± 2.97) and 20 mothers (age = 40.08 ± 4.76) and 20 fathers (age = 40.32 ± 6.77) of full-term infants (GA = 39.19 ± 1.42) were involved. All parents filled out the Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the Impact of Event Scale Revised, Profile of Mood States, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and the Post-Partum Bonding Questionnaire. Our data showed differences in emotional reactions between preterm and full-term parents. Results also revealed significant differences between mothers and fathers' responses to preterm birth in terms of stress, negative feelings, and perceptions of social support. A correlation between negative conditions at birth (e.g., birth weight and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit stay) and higher scores in some scales of Impact of Event Scale Revised, Profile of Mood States and Post-Partum Bonding Questionnaire were found. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit may be a stressful place both for mothers and fathers. It might be useful to plan, as soon as possible, interventions to help parents through the experience of the premature birth of their child and to begin an immediately adaptive mode of care.
Neonatal sepsis is a nuisance to clinicians and medical microbiologists, particularly those cases caused by
. Thus, we aimed at investigating the profile and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and ...the clonal relationships between
isolated from neonates at the largest tertiary care hospital's neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Minia, Egypt.
This study comprised 156 neonates diagnosed with culture-proven sepsis from February 2019 to September 2019, at a major NICU of Minia City. All
isolates were collected and characterized by antimicrobial profile, resistance genotype, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis typing.
Twenty-four
isolates (15.3%) were collected out of the 156 sepsis diagnosed neonates. These samples showed extensive drug resistance (XDR) to most of the tested antimicrobials, except fluoroquinolones. All the
isolates possessed
and
carbapenemase genes, while
gene was detected in 95.8%. Considering extended-spectrum β-lactamases genes,
was found in all the isolates and
gene in 75% of them. The plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance gene
S, was predominantly found among our isolates in comparison to
B or
A. A moderate degree of clonal relatedness was observed between the isolates.
To the best of our knowledge, this the first report of an alarming occurrence of XDR among
isolates recovered from neonatal sepsis in Egypt. Our data necessitate proper antimicrobial stewardship as the choices will be very limited.
Cycled light provides physiological, psychological, and growth and development benefits for neonates in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Limited research is available on neonatal intensive ...care nurses' awareness and use of cycled light in Saudi Arabia.
To assess the awareness and use of cycled light by neonatal intensive care nurses in Saudi Arabia.
This study used a cross-sectional online survey on the use and awareness of NICU nurses about cycled light. Data were gathered from 132 NICU nurses working in private and public hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The SurveyMonkey platform was used to collect the data.
Continuous near darkness was used for light protection of term and preterm neonates (100%). Cycled light was not used in any unit, and there were no policies or guidelines for cycled light use in any unit. Sixty-one percent of the participants read or heard about the use and benefits of cycled light for neonates. The awareness level of the NICU nurses regarding cycled light and its benefits was moderate (Mean = 3.5 out of 5, SD = 0.9).
Cycled light is not used by the NICU nurses who participated in this study. Interventional programs and policies are needed to move the evidence into practice related to cycled light in Saudi Arabian NICUs.
There is a need to move the evidence into practice about cycled light in Saudi NICUs. Decision-makers should create and implement a policy/protocol for using the cycled light. This policy should include the definition, instructions, age group, and the nurse's competency and responsibility.
We sought to describe changes in the incidence and mortality of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and associated surgical management strategies for very low birth weight (VLBW) infants.
Data were ...prospectively collected on VLBW infants (≤1500 g or < 29 weeks) born 2006 to 2017 and admitted to 820 U.S. centers. NEC was defined by the presence of at least one clinical and one radiographic finding. Trends analyses were performed to assess changes in incidence and mortality over time.
Of 473,895 VLBW infants, 36,130 (7.6%) were diagnosed with NEC, of which 21,051 (58.3%) had medical NEC and 15,079 (41.7%) had surgical NEC. Medical NEC decreased from 5.3% to 3.0% (p < 0.0001). Surgical NEC decreased from 3.4% to 3.1% (p = 0.06). Medical NEC mortality decreased from 20.7% to 16.8% (p = 0.003), while surgical NEC mortality decreased from 36.6% to 31.6% (p < 0.0001). In the surgical cohort, the use of primary peritoneal drainage (PPD) versus initial laparotomy rose from 23.2% to 46.8%.
The incidence and mortality of both medical and surgical NEC have decreased over time. Changes in surgical management during this time period included the increased utilization of primary peritoneal drainage.
Prognosis study.
Level II.
In this work, dendritelike and rodlike NiCu alloys were prepared by a one-pot hydrothermal process at various reaction temperatures (120, 140, and 160 °C). The structure and morphology were analyzed ...by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy, which that demonstrate NiCu alloys have core–shell heterostructures with Ni as the shell and Cu as the core. The formation mechanism of the core–shell structures was also discussed. The uniform and perfect dendritelike NiCu alloy obtained at 140 °C shows outstanding electromagnetic-wave absorption properties. The lowest reflection loss (RL) of −31.13 dB was observed at 14.3 GHz, and the effective absorption (below −10 dB, 90% attenuation) bandwidth can be adjusted between 4.4 and 18 GHz with a thin absorber thickness in the range of 1.2–4.0 mm. The outstanding electromagnetic-wave-absorbing properties are ascribed to space-charge polarization arising from the heterogeneous structure of the NiCu alloy, interfacial polarization between the alloy and paraffin, and continuous micronetworks and vibrating microcurrent dissipation originating from the uniform and perfect dendritelike shape of NiCu prepared at 140 °C.
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