Births and male:female birth ratio in Scandinavia and the United Kingdom after the Windscale fire of October 1957.

Aims: The Windscale (UK) fire of 1957 carried radioactive fallout according to the then prevailing wind patterns, in a North-Easterly direction across the Nordic countries, toward Norway. The male:female ratio at birth (M/F) is known to be increased after parental exposure to ionising radiation due to foetal losses that affect female more than male pregnancies. This study was carried out in order to ascertain whether the Windscale fire had any effects on M/F and birth rates in the United Kingdom and Scandinavia.

Off-label and unlicensed paediatric prescribing in a community setting: a prospective longitudinal cohort study in Malta.

Background: In children, the incidence of off-label prescriptions in primary care varies between 10.5% and 22.7%, whilst the incidence of unlicensed prescriptions in primary care varies between 0.

Declining male births in Germany before and after reunification.

Male births occur 3% in excess of female births in mammals in a ratio (M/F) of 0.515. Many factors have been shown to influence this, including socioeconomic deprivation.

Secular trends and latitude gradients in the male-female ratio at birth in Yugoslavia and the ex-Yugoslavian States.

Background: Latitude gradients and secular trends in Europe and North America have been found in the male-female ratio at birth (M/F: male births divided by total births) which approximates 0.515.

Methods: Annual national data for Yugoslavia and the post-Yugoslavia States for male and female live births were obtained from the World Health Organisation and analysed with contingency tables.

Secular trends in sex ratios at birth in South America over the second half of the 20(th) century.

Objectives: Latitude gradients have been found in the male-female ratio at birth (M/F: male divided by total births), which is anticipated to be 0.515.

Methods: Annual national male and female live births by country were obtained for South America from the World Health Organization (WHO) and analysed with contingency tables.

Secular trends and latitude gradients in sex ratio at birth in Asia during the past 60 years.

Background: Latitude gradients and secular trends in Europe and North America have been found in the male-female ratio at birth (M/F: male births divided by total births), which is anticipated to approximate 0.515.

Methods: Annual national data for Asian countries for male and female live births were obtained from the World Health Organization and analyzed with contingency tables.

Secular trends and latitude gradients in sex ratios at birth in Czechoslovakia and the post-Czechoslovakian states.

Latitude gradients and secular trends in Europe and North America have been found in the male-female ratio at birth (M/F: male births divided by total births) which is expected to be 0.515. Annual national data for Czechoslovakia and the post-Czechoslovakian (Czech Republic and Slovakia) countries for male and female live births were obtained from the World Health Organisation and analysed with contingency tables.

Secular trends and latitude gradients in sex ratios at birth in the former Soviet Republics.

Background: The male-female ratio at birth (M/F: male births divided by total births), which is anticipated to approximate 0.515, has been shown to exhibit latitude gradients and secular trends.

Methods: Annual national data for male and female live births for the 15 countries that comprise the former Soviet Union were obtained from the World Health Organisation for the period 1980-2009 (115,167,569 total live births) and analysed with contingency tables.

Sex ratios at birth in the British Isles over the past sixty years.

Unlabelled: The male-female ratio at birth (M/F: male births divided by total births) is anticipated to approximate 0.515. This has been shown to be declining in industrialised countries and to be displaying a latitude gradient in Europe, with more males born in warmer, southern climates.

Sex ratios at birth in Scandinavia over the past sixty years.

Background: The gender ratio at birth (M/F: male births divided by total births) is expected to approximate 0.515. This has shown to be declining in industrialised countries and to display a latitude gradient in Europe, with more males born in southern climates.

Creating a novel mock clinical examination for the Membership of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in Malta.

Clinical medical examinations are difficult. Courses that attempt to instil such clinical examination skills are expensive, and this is even more so for Maltese graduates who must perforce travel by air from the island of Malta to such venues. This year (2012) was a landmark year with a record seven Maltese candidates planning to take the MRCPCH examination, and it was therefore decided to set up a mock clinical exam under true examination conditions in Malta.

An analysis of multisource feedback within the foundation programme.

Introduction: Multisource feedback (MSF) is a mandatory assessment in the foundation programme. The current tool that is used is the validated Team Assessment of Behaviour (TAB). This assesses doctors on four domains: maintaining trust and professional relations; verbal communication skills; teamworking; and accessibility.

The effect of cigarette smoking on allergic conditions in Maltese children (ISAAC).

Maltese children are frequently exposed to tobacco smoke through passive and personal smoking. In the phase 3 ISAAC study questionnaire, we enquired about passive smoking to the parents of 3816 (80% response rate) 5- to 8-yr-old children and about passive and personal smoking to 4139 (90% response rate) 13- to 15-yr-old participating children. Thirty-one percent of 5- to 8-yr olds were passive smokers with their father more likely to be the smoker (p < 0.

Nurse staffing levels on the NPICU in the island of Malta.

. Nurse staffing levels in neonatal paediatric intensive care units (NPICU) are often inadequate. Malta is a small Island in the centre of the Mediterranean (total population around 400,000) with a birth rate of just under 4000/annum, with one NPICU.

A comparison between dual axis rotational coronary angiography and conventional coronary angiography.

Background: Coronary angiography remains the gold standard for the investigation of coronary artery disease, and is carried out in multiple, predefined stationary views, at different angulations around the patient, for both left and right coronary arteries. Dual axis rotational coronary angiography (DARA) is an alternative technique wherein the c-arm rotates around the patient in a preprogrammed single acquisition, exposing the entire coronary artery at different angulations. The DARA system has been recently installed in the Cardiac Catheterisation Suite at Mater Dei Hospital, Malta, where a monoplane and a biplane machine are available.

A time and motion study of patients presenting at the accident and emergency department at Mater Dei Hospital.

Background: To carry out a time and motion study of patients presenting at the Emergency Department (ED) by measuring waiting times at the ED dept throughout the day. The objectives were:• to determine whether waiting times are prolonged, and• if prolonged, at which station(s) bottlenecks occur most often in terms of duration and frequency.Results will be compared to the United Kingdom guidelines of stay at the emergency department.

Patent arterial duct occlusion with two Amplatzer Duct Occluder devices.

It is accepted practice to close large patent arterial ducts (PDA) with Amplatzer duct occluder devices, with extremely low rates of residual PDA. We report a child who required device closure of PDA with two Amplatzer PDA devices on two separate occasions, despite the first device deployment being a standard placement of an appropriately sized Amplatzer device in the usual position.