Sustained inflations during delivery suite stabilisation in prematurely-born infants - A randomised trial.

Background: Sustained inflations at initial stabilisation in the delivery suite may reduce the need for intubation and result in a shorter duration of initial ventilation, but have not been compared to routine UK practice.

Aims: To compare the early efficacy of sustained inflation during stabilisation after delivery to UK practice.

Study Design: A randomised trial was performed of a fifteen second sustained inflation compared to five inflations lasting 2 to 3 s, each intervention could be repeated once if no chest rise was apparent.

Radioactivity in building materials in Iraq.

Activity concentrations of (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K in 45 samples of different building materials used in Iraq were measured using gamma-spectroscopy system based on high-purity germanium detector with an efficiency of 40 %. Radium equivalent activity, air-absorbed dose rate, annual effective dose, external and internal hazard indices and alpha index due to radon inhalation originating from building materials were measured to assess the potential radiological hazard associated with these building materials. The activity concentrations of the natural radionuclides (226)Ra, (232)Th and 40K were found to range from below detection limit (BDL) to 223.