Using a 3.5-MHz duplex Doppler system, 45 normal-growth and 45 growth-retarded fetuses were studied between 30-41 weeks' gestation. Velocity recordings were obtained from the middle cerebral artery and umbilical artery to calculate the ratio between the two pulsatility indexes. The cerebral-umbilical Doppler ratio is usually constant during the last 10 weeks of gestation. Therefore, a single cutoff value (1.08) was used, above which velocimetry was considered normal and below which it was considered abnormal. The cerebral-umbilical Doppler ratio provided a better predictor of small for gestational age newborns and adverse perinatal outcome than either the middle cerebral artery or umbilical artery alone. In fact, in predicting those newborns who were small for gestational age, the cerebral-umbilical ratio had a 70% diagnostic accuracy [(true positive + true negative)/total number of cases], compared with 54.4% for the middle cerebral artery and 65.5% for the umbilical artery. The results were more encouraging for prediction of adverse perinatal outcome; diagnostic accuracy for the cerebral-umbilical ratio was 90%, compared with 78.8% for the middle cerebral artery and 83.3% for the umbilical artery.

Background: The association between traumatic experiences, different forms of emotion dysregulation and problematic technology uses is well established. However, little is known about the role of childhood traumatic experiences and reflective functioning in the onset and maintenance of mobile phone addiction symptoms among adolescents. Methods: Self-reported measures on childhood traumatic experiences, reflective functioning, and Problematic Mobile Phone Use (PMPU) were administered to 466 high school students (47.1% females) aged 13-19 years old. Participants also reported the number of hours per day spent on using a mobile phone. Results: Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that increased time spent on the mobile phone, low reflective functioning scores and high childhood trauma scores predicted PMPU scores in the sample. Moreover, two gender-specific pathways were found. Among males, PMPU was positively related to time spent on mobile phone and childhood traumatic experiences and negatively related to reflective functioning. Among females, PMPU was negatively associated with time spent on mobile phone for video gaming and with reflective functioning. Conclusion: These results might have relevant clinical implications in highlighting the importance of planning gender-tailored interventions for adolescents who report mobile phone addiction symptoms.

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Pulsed‐Doppler ultrasound assessment of blood flow was performed simultaneously in the fetal middle cerebral artery, umbilical artery, and uteroplacental vessels to verify the incidence of velocimetric abnormalities, as well as their predictive value towards adverse perinatal outcome. Eighteen normal pregnancies and 32 complicated pregnancies (intrauterine growth retardation, pregnancy‐induced hypertension, chronic hypertension and pre‐eclampsia) have been examined between 30th and 40th week of gestation. Waveform abnormalities were detected even in the control group, more frequently in the cerebral artery (11.1%) and umbilical artery (5.5%) than in uteroplacental arteries. Umbilical artery abnormalities were found in intrauterine growth retardation, pregnancy‐induced hypertension, and preeclampsia; while the highest number of anomalous Doppler waveforms in the middle cerebral artery was seen in 71.4% of patients with pregnancy‐induced hypertension. Pathological umbilical artery patterns have shown a diagnostic accuracy of 62% in identifying adverse perinatal outcome. Both middle cerebral artery and uteroplacental vessels demonstrated a diagnostic accuracy of 58%. The false positive rate is 6% for the umbilical artery, 8% for the middle cerebral artery, and 0% for uteroplacental vessels, contrary to current methods of fetal surveillance (such as nonstress test, contraction stress test and biophysical profile), which have a false‐positive rate ranging from 30% to 70%.