Preoperative paracetamol infusion reduces sevoflurane consumption during thyroidectomy under general anesthesia with spectral entropy monitoring

AbstractBackgroundIntravenous (IV) paracetamol has a significant opioid-sparing effect. We investigated the effect of paracetamol infusion on sevoflurane consumption during entropy monitored general anesthesia.MethodsSixty-two ASA I and II patients undergoing thyroidectomy under general anesthesia were included in a prospective, randomized, double-blind and placebo controlled study. The patients were randomized to receive a slow infusion of either 1g paracetamol (paracetamol group, n=31) or saline (control group, n=31) just before induction of anesthesia. Sevoflurane concentration was titrated to keep the state entropy value between 40 and 50. End-tidal sevoflurane concentration, sevoflurane consumption, recovery characteristics, time to first analgesic request and meperidine consumption during the first 6 postoperative hours were recorded.ResultsThe mean±SD estimated sevoflurane consumption was significantly lower in the paracetamol treated patients (36.2±15 vs 44.9±13.9ml, in the control group; p=0.021). Patients receiving paracetamol had a faster post-anesthetic recovery profile (extubation time, time to eye opening to command and time to state name and mention his/her home address) than the other group (p<0.05). Mean±SD time to first analgesic request was significantly prolonged in paracetamol group compared to control group (48.4±14.0 vs 40.7±11.5min, respectively; p=0.021). Meperidine consumption was higher in control group than in paracetamol group (28.7±10.2 vs 23.1±9.0mg, respectively; p=0.025).ConclusionPreoperative IV paracetamol infusion improved consumption and emergence from entropy monitored sevoflurane anesthesia with enhancement of the early postoperative analgesia

Approximate Analytical Technique to Design Reflectarray Antenna

This paper presents an analysis and design for a reflectarray antenna composed of an array of rectangular patches printed on a grounded dielectric slab. A simple analytical technique based on equivalent surface impedance is used to determine the reflection of the elements in reflectarray antenna. This equivalent surface impedance is obtained analytically in a closed form. The effect of the angle of incidence on each element in the reflectarray is included in calculations. To author’s knowledge, this property has not been included in previous analysis techniques of reflectarray antenna

Efficacy and safety of misoprostol for intrauterine device insertion in women with no previous vaginal delivery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Introduction: The efficacy of misoprostol use for cervical priming before intrauterine device insertion (IUD) is controversial. This review aims to evaluate the evidence from published randomized controlled trials about the efficacy and safety of misoprostol before IUD insertion for pain relief in women with no previous vaginal delivery. Materials and methods: We searched the following electronic databases: Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL, SCOPUS, and PubMed for relevant studies using the following Mesh terms: (misoprostol) AND (intrauterine device OR IUD). The primary outcome was the mean pain score during insertion. Secondary outcomes included the ease of insertion score, the rate of successful IUD insertion, the rate of IUD insertion failure, and the adverse effects. Results: Ten randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (misoprostol: n=698 and placebo: n=689) were pooled in the analysis. The overall Standardized Mean Difference (SMD) of pain score did not favor either of the two groups (SMD= -0.09, 95%CI [-0.50, 0.33], p=0.007). Pooled results were highly heterogeneous (I2=93%, P<0.001). The total MD of the ease of insertion score favored the misoprostol group (MD= -1.36, 95% CI [-2.20, -0.52], p =0.002). The overall risk ratio (RR) of the number of failed insertions showed that misoprostol is associated with less IUD insertion failures compared to placebo (RR=0.55, 95% CI [0.38, 0.81], p=0.002). Finally, the overall risk showed that misoprostol is associated with more shivering, diarrhea and pelvic pain. Conclusions: Misoprostol facilitates IUD insertion in women with no previous vaginal delivery, and is associated with 50% less chance for IUD insertion failure despite inducing mild adverse effect

Relevance of PNPLA3, TM6SF2, HSD17B13, and GCKR Variants to MASLD Severity in an Egyptian Population

\ua9 2024 by the authors.Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), formerly known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is a frequent clinical condition globally. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with NAFLD have been proposed in the literature and based on bioinformatic screening. The association between NAFLD and genetic variants in Egyptians is still unclear. Hence, we sought to investigate the association of some genetic variants with NAFLD in Egyptians. Egyptians have been categorized into either the MASLD group (n = 205) or the healthy control group (n = 187). The severity of hepatic steatosis and liver fibrosis was assessed by a Fibroscan device. TaqMan-based genotyping assays were employed to explore the association of selected SNPs with MASLD. PNPLA3 rs738409 C&gt;G variant is associated with the presence of MASLD with liver fibrosis, the severity of both hepatic steatosis and liver fibrosis, increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure and increased alanine aminotransferase (all p &lt; 0.05), while the TM6SF2 rs58542926 C&gt;T, HSD17B13 rs9992651 G&gt;A, and GCKR rs1260326 T&gt;C variants were not (all p &gt; 0.05). The TM6SF2 rs58542926 T allele is associated with increased fasting blood glucose and a decreased waist circumference. The GCKR rs1260326 C allele is associated with decreased aspartate transaminase and diastolic blood pressure (all p &lt; 0.05). Only after adjusting for the risk factors (age, sex, BMI, WC, HDL, TG, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension) F2 liver fibrosis score is negatively correlated with the HSD17B13 rs9992651 GA genotype. This study offers evidence for the association of the PNPLA3 rs738409 C&gt;G variant with MASLD among Egyptians and for the association of the PNPLA3 rs738409 G allele, the TM6SF2 rs58542926 T allele, and the GCKR rs1260326 C allele with some parameters of cardiometabolic criteria

An in vitro evaluation of the inhibitory effects of an aqueous extract of Acacia nilotica on Eimeria tenella.

Eimeria tenella is one of the most important species of Eimeria that infect domestic fowl, causing coccidiosis in the poultry industry associated with drastic economic loss. Alternative treatment options are often necessary since anticoccidial drugs are prohibitively expensive, have serious side effects, or develop resistance. The role that herbal therapy plays in basic healthcare has been rediscovered worldwide. Consequently, our research assessed the in vitro inhibitory effect of escalated concentrations (6.25 mg, 12.5 mg, 25 mg, 50 mg, and 100 mg/ml) of Acacia nilotica aqueous extract (ANAE) on Eimeria tenella sporulation. Statistical analysis revealed that ANAE decreased the percentage of oocyst sporulation in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, ANAE showed abnormal sporulation and morphological deterioration of E. tenella oocytes. Area Under the Curve (AUC) calculation was used to determine the efficacy of ANAE and revealed that ANAE concentrations significantly reduced the coccidial score index. At 100 mg/ml, ANAE completely suppressed the sporulation of E. tenella oocysts, with obvious changes to their morphology and size. The phytochemical analysis of ANAE has shown that ANAE contains several active principles that possess anthelmintic activities. These compounds include tannins, saponins, flavonoids, terpenoids, and alkaloids, which can be attributed to the anticoccidial activity of ANAE. Considering our findings, we recommend that ANAE be used to prevent and control Eimeria

Results of SemTab 2022

SemTab 2022 was the fourth edition of the Semantic Web Challenge on Tabular Data to Knowledge Graph Matching, successfully collocated with the 21st International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC) and the 17th Ontology Matching (OM) Workshop. SemTab provides a common framework to conduct a systematic evaluation of state-of-the-art systems. In this paper, we give an overview of the 2022’s edition of the challenge and summarize the results

FOXM1 drives proximal tubule proliferation during repair from acute ischemic kidney injury

The proximal tubule has a remarkable capacity for repair after acute injury, but the cellular lineage and molecular mechanisms underlying this repair response are incompletely understood. Here, we developed a Kim1-GFPCreERt2 knockin mouse line (Kim1-GCE) in order to perform genetic lineage tracing of dedifferentiated cells while measuring the cellular transcriptome of proximal tubule during repair. Acutely injured genetically labeled clones coexpressed KIM1, VIMENTIN, SOX9, and KI67, indicating a dedifferentiated and proliferative state. Clonal analysis revealed clonal expansion of Kim1+ cells, indicating that acutely injured, dedifferentiated proximal tubule cells, rather than fixed tubular progenitor cells, account for repair. Translational profiling during injury and repair revealed signatures of both successful and unsuccessful maladaptive repair. The transcription factor Foxm1 was induced early in injury, was required for epithelial proliferation in vitro, and was dependent on epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) stimulation. In conclusion, dedifferentiated proximal tubule cells effect proximal tubule repair, and we reveal an EGFR/FOXM1-dependent signaling pathway that drives proliferative repair after injury

Results of SemTab 2021

SemTab 2021 was the third edition of the Semantic Web Challenge on Tabular Data to Knowledge Graph Matching, successfully collocated with the 20th International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC) and the 16th Ontology Matching (OM) Workshop. SemTab provides a common framework to conduct a systematic evaluation of state-of-the-art systems