Cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal and behavioral effects of intravenous lidocaine in healthy, conscious horses and evaluation of the relationship with lidocaine and monoethylglycinexylidide serum concentrations

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the serum concentrations of lidocaine/ monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) and their effects on several systems in horses. Five healthy, conscious horses received a two-hour placebo intravenous infusion followed by a two-hour lidocaine infusion (bolus of 1.3 mg/kg over ten minutes followed by a continuous rate infusion of 0.05 mg/kg/min). Lidocaine and MEGX serum concentrations were sampled every ten to fifteen minutes during the experiment, and the presence of muscle fasciculations and loss of balance as well as the respiratory, digestive and cardiovascular systems of the five horses were evaluated by means of different non-invasive methods. During the lidocaine infusion, the mean (f SD) lidocaine and MEGX concentrations were respectively 768.88 +/- 93.32ng/ml and 163.08 +/- 108.98 ng/ml. The infusion of lidocaine significantly influenced the presence of fasciculations, caused a statistically but non-clinically significant decrease of systolic and diastolic blood pressures, which were both correlated with lidocaine and MEGX serum concentrations, and it increased the duodenal contractions frequency, which was correlated with the serum lidocaine concentration. In this study, mild hypotensive and prokinetic effects of short-term lidocaine infusion were observed

A comparison of methodological frameworks for digital learning game design

Methodological frameworks guide the design of digital learning game based on well founded learning theories and instructional strategies. This study presents a comparison of five methodological frameworks for digital learning game design, highlighting their similarities and differences. The objective is to support the choice of an adequate framework, aiming to promote them as a way to foster principled digital learning games design. This paper concludes that: (i) interactivity, engagement and increasing complexity of challenges are fundamental factors to digital learning game design; (ii) the pedagogical base, the target, the possibility of doing game assessment and the presence of practical guidelines are the selection criteria that influence most the choice of a methodological framework, and (iii) the development of digital learning games - preferably by different research teams - is needed to provide empirical evidence of the utility of framework-based design

Game play in vocational training and engineering education

Educational games may create a new and improved learning culture by drawing advantage of the new knowledge and skills of today’s students obtained from extensive use of interactive game software. This paper presents a design basis and online learning resources taking advantage of game-related features like a high degree of interactivity, attractive graphics, a dynamical virtual universe, and an incentive system to promote prolonged and more advanced use. The educational resources, denoted PIDstop, are targeted towards the engineering domain. Feedback from over 2000 users clearly indicates that PIDstop has a positive learning effect. Training packages for vocational training of Automation Technicians is emphasized in this paper. Such learning resources must have a limited mathematical complexity; hence, the representation should be rather descriptive. Evaluation of learning resources to assess the actual learning effect is important, and a two-step procedure based on formative and summative evaluation is proposed for this purpose

Solar quiet current response in the African sector due to a 2009 sudden stratospheric warming event

We present solar quiet (Sq) variation of the horizontal (H) magnetic field intensity deduced from Magnetic Data Acquisition System (MAGDAS) records over Africa during an unusual strong and prolonged 2009 sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event. A reduction in the SqH magnitude that enveloped the geomagnetic latitudes between 21.13°N (Fayum FYM) in Egypt and 39.51°S (Durban DRB) in South Africa was observed, while the stratospheric polar temperature was increasing and got strengthened when the stratospheric temperature reached its maximum. Another novel feature associated with the hemispheric reduction is the reversal in the north-south asymmetry of the SqH, which is indicative of higher SqH magnitude in the Northern Hemisphere compared to the Southern Hemisphere during SSW peak phase. The reversal of the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) or the counter electrojet (CEJ) was observed after the polar stratospheric temperature reached its maximum. The effect of additional currents associated with CEJ was observed in the Southern Hemisphere at middle latitude. Similar changes were observed in the EEJ at the South America, Pacific Ocean, and Central Asia sectors. The effect of the SSW is largest in the South American sector and smallest in the Central Asian sector

Middle and low latitude ionosphere response to 2015 St. Patrick's Day geomagnetic storm

International audienceThis paper presents a study of the St Patrick's Day storm of 2015, with its ionospheric response at middle and low latitudes. The effects of the storm in each longitudinal sector (Asian, African, American, and Pacific) are characterized using global and regional electron content. At the beginning of the storm, one or two ionospheric positive storm effects are observed depending on the longitudinal zones. After the main phase of the storm, a strong decrease in ionization is observed at all longitudes, lasting several days. The American region exhibits the most remarkable increase in vertical total electron content (vTEC), while in the Asian sector, the largest decrease in vTEC is observed. At low latitudes, using spectral analysis, we were able to separate the effects of the prompt penetration of the magnetospheric convection electric field (PPEF) and of the disturbance dynamo electric field (DDEF) on the basis of ground magnetic data. Concerning the PPEF, Earth's magnetic field oscillations occur simultaneously in the Asian, African, and American sectors, during southward magnetization of the B z component of the interplanetary magnetic field. Concerning the DDEF, diurnal magnetic oscillations in the horizontal component H of the Earth's magnetic field exhibit a behavior that is opposed to the regular one. These diurnal oscillations are recognized to last several days in all longitudinal sectors. The observational data obtained by all sensors used in the present paper can be interpreted on the basis of existing theoretical models

Cellular and humoral immune responses and protection against schistosomes induced by a radiation-attenuated vaccine in chimpanzees

The radiation-attenuated Schistosoma mansoni vaccine is highly effective in rodents and primates but has never been tested in humans, primarily for safety reasons. To strengthen its status as a paradigm for a human recombinant antigen vaccine, we have undertaken a small-scale vaccination and challenge experiment in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Immunological, clinical, and parasitological parameters were measured in three animals after multiple vaccinations, together with three controls, during the acute and chronic stages of challenge infection up to chemotherapeutic cure. Vaccination induced a strong in vitro proliferative response and early gamma interferon production, but type 2 cytokines were dominant by the time of challenge. The controls showed little response to challenge infection before the acute stage of the disease, initiated by egg deposition. In contrast, the responses of vaccinated animals were muted throughout the challenge period. Vaccination also induced parasite-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG, which reached high levels at the time of challenge, while in control animals levels did not rise markedly before egg deposition. The protective effects of vaccination were manifested as an amelioration of acute disease and overall morbidity, revealed by differences in gamma-glutamyl transferase level, leukocytosis, eosinophilia, and hematocrit. Moreover, vaccinated chimpanzees had a 46% lower level of circulating cathodic antigen and a 38% reduction in fecal egg output, compared to controls, during the chronic phase of infection

Yoga for carers of addicted patients: a carer’s self-report

Caring for those addicted to drugs and/or alcohol can adversely affect carers and this can manifest as stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, substance misuse and a range of physical health problems. In most health care settings, be it primary care or secondary care, more often than not carers’ needs go undetected and hence untreated. In the case report below we illustrate how weekly yoga classes helped a carer (of an addict) cope better. In light of the numerous benefits of yoga to carers of addicts (as described below) we call on drug and alcohol services to incorporate this simple and inexpensive intervention into their treatment programmes.KEY WORDS: Yoga; Carers; Drug addictio

Detection of the A189G mtDNA heteroplasmic mutation in relation to age in modern and ancient bones.

International audienceThe aim of this study was to demonstrate the presence of the A189G age-related point mutation on DNA extracted from bone. For this, a peptide nucleic acid (PNA)/DNA sequencing method which can determine an age threshold for the appearance of the mutation was used. Initially, work was done in muscle tissue in order to evaluate the sensitivity of the technique and afterwards in bone samples from the same individuals. This method was also applied to ancient bones from six well-preserved skeletal remains. The mutation was invariably found in muscle, and at a rate of up to 20% in individuals over 60 years old. In modern bones, the mutation was detected in individuals aged 38 years old or more, at a rate of up to 1%, but its occurrence was not systematic (only four out of ten of the individuals over 50 years old carried the heteroplasmy). For ancient bones, the mutation was also found in the oldest individuals according to osteologic markers. The study of this type of age-related mutation and a more complete understanding of its manifestation has potentially useful applications. Combined with traditional age markers, it could improve identification accuracy in forensic cases or in anthropological studies of ancient populations