CrossTalk opposing view: Guyton's venous return curves should not be taught

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/101776/1/jphysiol.2013.260034.pd

The political economy of universal health coverage. Background paper for the global symposium on health systems research

This paper is one of several in a series commissioned by the World Health Organization for the First Global Symposium on Health Systems Research, held 16-19 November, 2010, in Montreux, Switzerland. The goal of these papers is to initiate a dialogue on the critical issues in health systems research. The opinions expressed in these papers are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the symposium organizers. This paper has financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation; the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research; and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (GTZ)

Assessing the potential outcomes of achieving the World Health Organization global non-communicable diseases targets for risk factors by 2025: is there also an economic dividend?

International audienceOBJECTIVES:This study assesses the change in premature mortality and in morbidity under the scenario of meeting the World Health Organization (WHO) global targets for non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors (RFs) by 2025 in France. It also estimates medical expenditure savings because of the reduction of NCD burden.STUDY DESIGN:A microsimulation model is used to predict the future health and economic outcomes in France.METHODS:A 'RF targets' scenario, assuming the achievement of the six targets on RFs by 2025, is compared to a counterfactual scenario with respect to disability-adjusted life years and healthcare costs differences.RESULTS:The achievement of the RFs targets by 2025 would save about 25,300 (and 75,500) life years in good health in the population aged 25-64 (respectively 65+) years on average every year and would help to reduce healthcare costs by about €660 million on average per year, which represents 0.35% of the current annual healthcare spending in France. Such a reduction in RFs (net of the natural decreasing trend in mortality) would contribute to achieving about half of the 2030 NCD premature mortality target in France.CONCLUSIONS:The achievement of the RF targets would lead France to save life years and life years in good health in both working-age and retired people and would modestly reduce healthcare expenditures. To achieve RFs targets and to curb the growing burden of NCDs, France has to strengthen existing and implement new policy interventions

A supraomohyoidal plexus block designed to avoid complications

Interscalene blocks of the brachial plexus are used for surgery of the shoulder and are frequently associated with complications such as temporary phrenic block, Horner syndrome or hematoma. To minimize the risk of these complications, we developed an approach that avoids medially directed needle advancement and favors spread to lateral regions only: the supraomohyoidal block. We tested this procedure in 11 cadavers fixed by Thiel's method. The insertion site is at the lateral margin of the sternocleidomastoid muscle at the level of the cricoid cartilage. The needle is inserted in the axis of the plexus with an angle of approximately 35° to the skin, and advanced in lateral and caudal direction. Distribution of solution was determined in ten cadavers after bilateral injection of colored solution (20 and 30ml) and followed by dissection. In an eleventh cadaver, computerized tomography and 3D reconstruction after radio contrast injection was performed. In additional five cadavers we performed Winnie's technique with bilateral injection (20 and 30ml).Concerning the supraomohyoidal block the injection mass reached the infraclavicular region surrounded all trunks of the brachial plexus in the supraclavicular region and the suprascapular nerve in all cases. The solution did not spread medially beyond the lateral margin of the anterior scalene muscle into the scalenovertebral triangle. Therefore, phrenic nerve, stellate ganglion, laryngeal nerve nor the vertebral artery were exposed to the injected solution. Distribution was comparable with the use of 20 and 30ml of solution. Injections on five cadavers performing the interscalene block of Winnie resulted in an extended spread medially to the anterior scalene muscle.We conclude that our method may be a preferred approach due to its safety, because no structures out of interest were reached. Solution of 20ml is suggested to be enough for a successful bloc

The effects of leaching from alkaline red mud on soil biota: modelling the conditions after the Hungarian red mud disaster

A soil column experiment was set up to investigate the effect of red mud from Ajka (Hungary) on a typical soil profile from the concerned area. The chemical changes caused by the leachate of the red mud and the effects of these changes on living organisms were assessed. Ecotoxicological tests with Vibrio fischeri, Sinapis alba and Folsomia candida were performed and the number of aerobic heterotrophic microorganisms was determined. The total, plant available, exchangeable and water soluble fractions of Na, Mo, Cu, and Cr increased in the soil mostly due to their leaching from the red mud layer and partly to the increase of the pH and DOC concentration. The chemical changes had significant effects on the test organisms only in the 0 – 30 cm soil layer except for F. candida that had a lower survival rate also in the 30 – 50 cm soil layer. There were no severe toxic effects detected on the test organisms. Furthermore in case of the aerobic heterotrophic cell number and S. alba germination a stimulating effect was revealed. However, the red mud itself was toxic, therefore the performed ecotoxicology tests have justified the removal of red mud from the soil surface after the disaster

The electroretinogram:a useful tool for evaluating age-related macular disease?

With an ageing population, the number of age-related macular disease (ARMD) cases will inevitably rise. This gives greater impetus for the need to identify the disease earlier and assess treatments to slow disease progression. Differing electroretinogram (ERG) modalities have been reviewed in relation to the objective assessment of retinal function in ARMD and for monitoring the effectiveness of clinical interventions. Conflicting results have been found with regard to the efficacy of ERG findings in the investigation of ARMD in previous years. The newer multifocal ERG paradigm provides spatial topographical information about retinal function in ARMD. It has shown promising results in monitoring effectiveness of clinical interventions and studies are continuing in this area. Better knowledge of retinal function in ARMD may lead to enhanced treatments at each phase of the disease

https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2017.00219 Decreasing Sedentary Behavior: Effects on Academic Performance, Meta-Cognition, and Sleep

There is growing interest in using activity workstations as a method of increasing light physical activity in normally sedentary environments. The current study (N = 117) compared the effects of studying in college students while slowly pedaling a stationary bike with a desktop with studying at traditional desks across 10 weeks in an academic semester. The students were assigned to study either on the stationary bike or at a traditional desk located in the campus library for a minimum of 2 h a week. During the 10 weeks, the students studied for tests or worked on other required academic activities while working at their assigned desk. In addition, the participants completed a pre survey, weekly surveys, and a post survey. We found that although students studying at the traditional desks reported more ease of studying and more effective studying than those using the stationary bikes, the two groups performed equally well on tests in an introductory psychology course. Moreover, the students using the traditional desks reported a decrease in sleep quality later in the semester while those using the activity workstation reported stable levels of sleep quality. The current results indicate that activity workstations could be implemented in university settings to encourage light physical activity without negatively affecting academic performance while providing possible long-term health and well-being benefits. Furthermore, the results suggests that activity workstations could be a means of combating sedentary behavior in environments where individuals are expected to sit either while waiting (e.g., doctor\u27s waiting rooms, airports) or when completing a necessary task (e.g., the workplace, educational settings)

Planar Superconducting Resonators with Internal Quality Factors above One Million

We describe the fabrication and measurement of microwave coplanar waveguide resonators with internal quality factors above 10 million at high microwave powers and over 1 million at low powers, with the best low power results approaching 2 million, corresponding to ~1 photon in the resonator. These quality factors are achieved by controllably producing very smooth and clean interfaces between the resonators' aluminum metallization and the underlying single crystal sapphire substrate. Additionally, we describe a method for analyzing the resonator microwave response, with which we can directly determine the internal quality factor and frequency of a resonator embedded in an imperfect measurement circuit.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Human Female Genital Tract Infection by the Obligate Intracellular Bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis Elicits Robust Type 2 Immunity

While Chlamydia trachomatis infections are frequently asymptomatic, mechanisms that regulate host response to this intracellular Gram-negative bacterium remain undefined. This investigation thus used peripheral blood mononuclear cells and endometrial tissue from women with or without Chlamydia genital tract infection to better define this response. Initial genome-wide microarray analysis revealed highly elevated expression of matrix metalloproteinase 10 and other molecules characteristic of Type 2 immunity (e.g., fibrosis and wound repair) in Chlamydia-infected tissue. This result was corroborated in flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry studies that showed extant upper genital tract Chlamydia infection was associated with increased co-expression of CD200 receptor and CD206 (markers of alternative macrophage activation) by endometrial macrophages as well as increased expression of GATA-3 (the transcription factor regulating TH2 differentiation) by endometrial CD4+ T cells. Also among women with genital tract Chlamydia infection, peripheral CD3+ CD4+ and CD3+ CD4- cells that proliferated in response to ex vivo stimulation with inactivated chlamydial antigen secreted significantly more interleukin (IL)-4 than tumor necrosis factor, interferon-γ, or IL-17; findings that repeated in T cells isolated from these same women 1 and 4 months after infection had been eradicated. Our results thus newly reveal that genital infection by an obligate intracellular bacterium induces polarization towards Type 2 immunity, including Chlamydia-specific TH2 development. Based on these findings, we now speculate that Type 2 immunity was selected by evolution as the host response to C. trachomatis in the human female genital tract to control infection and minimize immunopathological damage to vital reproductive structures. © 2013 Vicetti Miguel et al