Irish journal of medical science
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The proportion of abstracts presented at medical conferences that are subsequently published is a potentially useful surrogate for the quality of the material presented. The mean publication percentage for paediatric conference abstracts reported in the literature is 39%. The publication of abstracts presented at the Irish Paediatric Association's (IPA) annual conference have not previously been explored. ⋯ The percentage of IPA abstracts that were published was low when compared internationally. Further analysis is required to explore the reasons underpinning this.
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Historical Article
Malignant but not maleficent: acute leukaemia as a possible explanation of disease and death in vampire victims.
A considerable amount of research has been put into the explanation of the origin of the vampire myth by focussing on possible symptoms of the vampire; however, very little attention has been given to the victims. ⋯ Victims in the gothic vampire novels from the nineteenth century could very likely be inspired by real-life acute leukaemia patients.
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The weight of the delivered placenta gives a useful representation of placental function in utero. In the absence of Irish data, many pathologists rely on data from other populations, many of which are now 15 to 30 years old. The development of a population-specific nomogram would aid in the examination of placentas after delivery, allowing pathologists and medical scientists to more easily distinguish between placental physiological changes and pathology. ⋯ The weight of the placenta is one of several measurements that are easy to acquire, and when recorded in a systematic fashion, provide information not just on an individual, but also on a population basis. Birth weights have increased over the last century, and this study provides national data helping distinction between placental physiology and pathology.