INTRODUCTION The aim was to compare contraceptive use in the Nordic countries and to assess compliance with recommendations from the European Medicines Agency regarding the use of combined oral contraception containing low-dose estrogen and levonorgestrel, norethisterone or norgestimate. MATERIAL AND METHODS Data on hormonal contraceptive prescriptions and sales figures for copper intrauterin...

BACKGROUND Use of the intrauterine device (IUD) in the United States has recently increased. New evidence for women with employer-sponsored health insurance permits analysis of variation and trends in such use. STUDY DESIGN A retrospective analysis of annual IUD insertion rates between 2002 and 2008 was conducted by evaluating claims from the MarketScan® Commercial Research Databases for US w...

OBJECTIVE To present follow-up data for patients fitted with a copper intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) or the levonorgestrel intrauterine system (IUS) during cesarean delivery. METHODS Between March 2006 and December 2011, a prospective study was undertaken of women who were scheduled to have a repeat cesarean for a singleton pregnancy and had chosen to undergo intraoperative fitting ...

Digital microfluidics (DMF) is a popular alternative to traditional in-channel microfluidics, which allows precise control of individual droplets. Most commonly used droplet manipulation methods for DMF are electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) and magnetic actuation. Both methods require high surface hydrophobicity to facilitate droplet movement, and often superhydrophobic surfaces are used to f...

Alginate is used extensively in microfluidic devices to produce discrete beads or fibres at the microscale. Such structures may be used to encapsulate sensitive cargoes such as cells and biomolecules. On chip gelation of alginate represents a significant challenge since gelling kinetics or physicochemical conditions are not biocompatible. Here we present a new method that offers a hitherto unpr...

Cervical smears from 293 users of intrauterine contraceptive devices attending family planning clinics in East Fife, Dundee, and Angus were stained by Papanicolaou and Gram's methods and examined for actinomyces-like organisms. Of the 128 women using plastic devices, 40 gave smears positive for these organisms. In contrast only two positive smears were obtained from the 165 women using devices ...

Microfluidic devices offer automation and high-throughput screening, and operate at low volumes of consumables. Although microfluidics has the potential to reduce turnaround times and costs for analytical devices, particularly in medical, veterinary, and environmental sciences, this enabling technology has had limited diffusion into consumer products. This article analyzes the microfluidics mar...

We present a set of techniques and materials we are currently developing which enable very broadband and highly effective optical devices in the spectral region from 20 GHz to 20 THz. Many of these devices have already been employed in terrestrial, airborne and space based telescope systems.