It has been suggested that a birthweight limit of 2.5 kg should not be regarded as valid for all populations as the cut-off point of low-weight births because of demographic, genetic and environmental differences. Countries often choose alternative cut-off values for low birthweight for clinical purposes. Bangladesh also needs to choose a convenient cut-off value for low birthweight. A total of 770 live singleton full-term normal newborns were included in this study by stratified sampling; birthweight was measured using the Detecto-type baby weight machine. Newborns were followed up to the end of their first week of life. For data collection a pretested structured questionnaire and an Apgar Score estimating checklist were used. Chi-square test was applied to assess the association of different birthweight strata and neonatal health outcomes. Multiple logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify the independent effects of different levels of birthweight on early neonatal health. The neonates having birthweight < or = 2 kg had a significantly higher risk of early neonatal mortality and morbidity than the higher level birthweight group. Birth asphyxia was the commonest cause of early neonatal mortality and morbidity. Borderline birthweight (>2 to <2.5 kg) neonates experienced the same mortality and morbidity rates as the normal birthweight neonates during their early neonatal life. Birthweight < or = 2 kg may be one of the criteria for admission to a neonatal intensive care unit whereas more than 2 kg may not require admission unless otherwise necessary.
In this article, a rectangular dielectric resonator antenna (RDRA) with circularly polarized (CP) response is presented for 5G NR (New Radio) Sub-6 GHz band applications. A uniquely shaped conformal metal feeding strip is proposed to excite the RDRA in higher-order mode for high gain utilization. By using the proposed feeding mechanism, the degenerate mode pair of the first higher-order, i.e., TEδ13x at 4.13 GHz and TE1δ3y, at 4.52 GHz is excited to achieve a circularly polarized response. A circular polarization over a bandwidth of ~10%, in conjunction with a wide impedance matching over a bandwidth of ~17%, were attained by the antenna. The CP antenna proposed offers a useful gain of ~6.2 dBic. The achieved CP bandwidth of the RDRA is good enough to cover the targeted 5G NR bands around 4.4−4.8 GHz, such as n79. The proposed antenna configuration is modelled and optimized using computer simulation technology (CST). A prototype was built to confirm (validate) the performance estimated through simulation. A good agreement was observed between simulated and measured results.