Effect of intraoperative constant rate infusion of lidocaine on short-term survival of dogs with septic peritonitis: 75 cases (2007-2011)

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether intraoperative administration of a lidocaine infusion to dogs with septic peritonitis was associated with short-term (48 hours) survival after surgery. DESIGN Retrospective case series. ANIMALS 75 dogs with septic peritonitis. PROCEDURES Medical records of dogs with septic peritonitis that underwent laparotomy between January 2007 and December 2011 at the Royal Veterinary College were reviewed. Select variables during the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative periods and short-term survival after surgery were compared between dogs that received an opioid only (group O; n = 33) and dogs that received lidocaine (50 \u3bcg/kg/min [22.7 \u3bcg/kg/min], IV; group L; 42) in addition to an opioid during surgery. RESULTS The proportion of dogs that survived for 48 hours after surgery was significantly greater for group L (35/42) than for group O (20/33). Intraoperative infusion of lidocaine increased the odds of short-term survival (OR, 8.77; 95% CI, 1.94 to 39.57). No significant differences were observed between the 2 treatment groups for variables assessed during the preoperative and postoperative periods. During the intraoperative period, more dogs in group L received an IV bolus of a synthetic colloid than did dogs in group O, but the number of IV boluses administered was not associated with short-term survival. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results indicated that IV infusion of lidocaine might improve the short-term survival of dogs with septic peritonitis. Prospective clinical trials are necessary to determine the efficacy of lidocaine as a supportive treatment for dogs with septic peritonitis

Spectroscopic Studies on \u3cem\u3eArabidopsis\u3c/em\u3e ETHE1, a Glyoxalase II-like Protein

ETHE1 (ethylmalonic encephalopathy protein 1) is a β-lactamase fold-containing protein that is essential for the survival of a range of organisms. In spite of the apparent importance of this enzyme, very little is known about its function or biochemical properties. In this study Arabidopsis ETHE1 was over-expressed and purified and shown to bind tightly to 1.2 ± 0.2 equivalents of iron. 1H NMR and EPR studies demonstrate that the predominant oxidation state of Fe in ETHE1 is Fe(II), and NMR studies confirm that two histidines are bound to Fe(II). EPR studies show that there is no antiferromagnetically coupled Fe(III)Fe(II) center in ETHE1. Gel filtration studies reveal that ETHE1 is a dimer in solution, which is consistent with previous crystallographic studies. Although very similar in terms of amino acid sequence to glyoxalase II, ETHE1 exhibits no thioester hydrolase activity, and activity screening assays reveal that ETHE1 exhibits low level esterase activity. Taken together, ETHE1 is a novel, mononuclear Fe(II)-containing member of the β-lactamase fold superfamily

Towards a wave--extraction method for numerical relativity: III. Analytical examples for the Beetle--Burko radiation scalar

Beetle and Burko recently introduced a background--independent scalar curvature invariant for general relativity that carries information only about the gravitational radiation in generic spacetimes, in cases where such radiation is incontrovertibly defined. In this paper we adopt a formalism that only uses spatial data as they are used in numerical relativity and compute the Beetle--Burko radiation scalar for a number of analytical examples, specifically linearized Einstein--Rosen cylindrical waves, linearized quadrupole waves, the Kerr spacetime, Bowen--York initial data, and the Kasner spacetime. These examples illustrate how the Beetle--Burko radiation scalar can be used to examine the gravitational wave content of numerically generated spacetimes, and how it may provide a useful diagnostic for initial data sets.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures; We changed the convention used, corrected typos, and expanded the discussio

Reduced Retinal Microvascular Density, Improved Forepaw Reach, Comparative Microarray and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis with c-jun Targeting DNA Enzyme

Retinal neovascularization is a critical component in the pathogenesis of common ocular disorders that cause blindness, and treatment options are limited. We evaluated the therapeutic effect of a DNA enzyme targeting c-jun mRNA in mice with pre-existing retinal neovascularization. A single injection of Dz13 in a lipid formulation containing N-[1-(2,3-dioleoyloxy)propyl]-N,N,N-trimethylammonium methyl-sulfate and 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine inhibited c-Jun expression and reduced retinal microvascular density. The DNAzyme inhibited retinal microvascular density as effectively as VEGF-A antibodies. Comparative microarray and gene expression analysis determined that Dz13 suppressed not only c-jun but a range of growth factors and matrix-degrading enzymes. Dz13 in this formulation inhibited microvascular endothelial cell proliferation, migration and tubule formation in vitro. Moreover, animals treated with Dz13 sensed the top of the cage in a modified forepaw reach model, unlike mice given a DNAzyme with scrambled RNA-binding arms that did not affect c-Jun expression. These findings demonstrate reduction of microvascular density and improvement in forepaw reach in mice administered catalytic DNA.This work was supported by grants from Cancer Institute NSW and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript