The effect of anesthesia type on stress hormone response: Comparison of general versus epidural anesthesia

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different types of anesthesia on stress hormones.Materials and Methods: The study was included 60 ASAI-II cases scheduled for major lower extremity surgery. The cases were randomized into 2  groups: The EA group was administered epidural anesthesia and the GA group was administered standard general anesthesia. In order to evaluate the surgical trauma - related stress response, CRP, TSH, cortisol, and fasting blood sugar(FBS) levels were measured preoperatively, 30 min after surgical incision, and 24 h post surgery.Results: Between-group comparisons; Preoperative values were not  significantly different between the groups.(P > 0,05) Pulse rate and cortisol values significantly higher in general group at 30 min. (P < 0,05), and the FBS values were significantly higher in the epidural group at 24 h.(P < 0,05) There were not found differences for other parameters at evaluation times.Conclusion: No differences were observed between the two anesthesia methods, in terms of minimizing the stress response due to surgical trauma during major low extremity surgery.Key words: Epidural anesthesia, general anesthesia, stress hormone

Rough sets based Ordinal Priority Approach to evaluate sustainable development goals (SDGs) for sustainable mining

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been adopted by countries and companies, including mining companies around the world. The aim of this study is to investigate the degree of importance of the seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs) on sustainable mining using a rough sets based decision making approach. This novel approach consists of three consecutive stages, namely a questionnaire (survey), data analyses, and SDGs classification. Firstly, a survey is conducted to receive a response from internationally experts across different countries. Each participant is asked to evaluate the importance of each SDG. Secondly, the analyses are carried out to make a distinction among groups of participants who respond similarly and discover viewpoints from the industry, academia, and non-governmental organizations. Finally, the degree of importance of each SDG for sustainable mining is found using a novel decision making approach including Ordinal Priority Approach (OPA) based on rough sets. The survey of the results indicated that for all the participants of the survey, independently of their background, the most important SDG for sustainable mining was “SDG8: Decent work and economic growth”, while the one perceived as the least important was “SDG14: Life below water”. The main objective of SDG8 is to promote economic growth through job opportunities and decent work for all. This in turn leads to a more sustainable, long-term economic growth. While all SDGs play an important role, the proposed rough sets based decision making method provided a rational and objective evaluation performance of their perceived priority in the mining sector

A content-linking-context model for “notice-and-takedown” procedures

The US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 adopted a notice-and-take-down procedure to help tackle alleged online infringements through online service providers’ actions. The European Directive 2000/31/EC (e-Commerce Directive) introduced similar liability exemptions, but did not specify any take-down procedure. Many intermediary (host, and online search engine) service providers even in Europe have followed this notice-and-take-down procedure to enable copyright owners to issue notices to take down allegedly infringing Web resources. However, the accuracy of take-down is not known, and notice receivers do not reveal clear information about how they check the legitimacy of these requests, about whether and how they check the lawfulness of allegedly infringing content, or what criteria they use for these actions. In this paper, we use Google’s Transparency Report as the benchmark to investigate the information content of take-down notices and the accuracy of the resulting take-downs of allegedly infringing Web resources. The analysis of copyright infringement is limited to the five scenarios most frequently encountered in our study of Web resources. Based on our investigation, we propose a Content-Linking-Context (CLC) model of the criteria to be considered by intermediary service providers to achieve more accurate take-down

STATUS OF WILD BOAR (Sus scrofa L.) ON THE ISLAND KRK

Divlja svinja u Republici Hrvatskoj autohtona je vrsta. Zakonski spada u krupnu, lovostajem zaštićenu vrstu divljači. Krajem prošlog stoljeća tjerana nagonom za širenjem svoje vrste plivanjem dolazi na otok. Krk je danas veoma kvalitetno stanište za život krupne divljači. Obilje hrane, vode, gusta vegetacija, raznolikost staništa, mir u lovištu, kvalitetno tlo, zapuštanje poljoprivrednih površina koje se pretvaraju u šikaru, rezultira stalnim prirastom postojeće divljači kao i zauzimanje prostora od nove pristigle divljači. Nekada je otok izgledao bitno drugačije nego kako izgleda danas. Obrađivao se svaki komadić zemlje, a danas se većina prepušta sukcesiji. Nova situacija u staništu uvjetuje i pojavu novih životinjskih vrsta. Upravo ovakva situacija pogoduje krupnoj, a ne odgovara sitnoj divljači. Divlje svinje nalaze se i u nelovnim površinama, gdje dolaze zbog hrane i mira, budući se tu zbog zakonskih propisa ne vrši lov. Nelovne površine služe kao rezervat iz kojeg nastanjuju najkvalitetnija staništa. «Crna divljač» na otoku Krku smatra se nepoželjnom vrstom divljači, te se sukladno naredbama ministarstva lovi cijele godine, bez obzira na spol i dob. Zbog odstrjela krmača vodilja, kvalitetnog staništa i velikog odstrjela bucanje i prašenje traje tijekom cijele lovne godine. Divljač pokušava opstati koristeći svoje prirodne mehanizme za očuvanje svoje vrste. U devet lovnih godina s otoka je izlučeno 3.602 grla divljih svinja. Kvalitetu staništa potvrđuje i snaga trofeja odstreljenih veprova, koja zbog nepravilnog odstrjela opada. Želja za potpunim izlučenjem divlje svinje s otoka Krka borba je sa prirodom, a za sada priroda uvijek pobjeđuje. Da li će tako biti i ovoga puta pokazati će budućnostThe wild boar is a native species in the Republic of Croatia. This large game animal is protected by law in closed season. At the end of the last century, driven by instinct to expand its species, it swam from the mainland to the island of Krk. Today Krk provides an excellent habitat for large game animals. Due to an abundance of food, water, dense vegetation, habitat diversity, peaceful hunting ground, fertile ground, abandoned farming areas which have been turning into thick underbrush, the existing game is on a constant increase while new arrivals crowd the existing habitat. The island has changed much and the landscape is not what it was once. Each parcel of land was once cultivated, while today it is left to succession. The new situation in the habitat has caused the emergence of new animal species. It is exactly this type of situation that suits the large and not the small game animals. Wild boars are found in areas not designated for hunting where they come to feed in a peaceful environment since by law hunting is prohibited there. Areas not designated for hunting serve as a game refuge and as such are considered to be habitats of the highest quality. The “black game” on the island of Krk is considered an undesirable type of game animal and pursuant to regulations may be hunted throughout the year, regardless of its sex or age. Due to the eradication of dominant female wild boars, excellent habitat and the large number of killings, mating lasts throughout the entire hunting season. The wild boar tries to survive using its natural mechanisms to preserve its species. In the nine years of hunting 3,602 head of wild boars were eradicated. The quality of the habitat is measured by the number of male boars that were killed as trophies, this being on the decline due to irregular killings. The desire to completely eradicate the wild boar from the island of Krk is a battle against nature and nature is winning, for now. Will this be the case now, only the future will tell

Integrated method for quantitative morphometry and oxygen transport modelling in striated muscle

Identifying structural limitations in O2 transport is primarily restricted by current methods employed to characterise the nature of physiological remodelling. Inadequate resolution or breadth of available data has impaired development of routine diagnostic protocols and effective therapeutic strategies. Understanding O2 transport within striated muscle faces major challenges, most notably in quantifying how well individual fibres are supplied by the microcirculation, which has necessitated exploring tissue O2 supply using theoretical modelling of diffusive exchange. Having identified capillary domains as a suitable model for the description of local O2 supply, and requiring less computation than numerically calculating the trapping regions that are supplied by each capillary via biophysical transport models, we sought to design a high throughput method for histological analysis. We present an integrated package that identifies optimal protocols for identification of important input elements, processing of digitised images with semi-automated routines, and incorporation of these data into a mathematical modelling framework with computed output visualised as the tissue partial pressure of O2 (PO2) distribution across a biopsy sample. Worked examples are provided using muscle samples from experiments involving rats and humans

IL-6 mediated JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway in cancer patients with cachexia

CONCLUSION: STAT3 may be considered as a therapeutic target for cachectic patients with gastric, lung and breast cancer. Furthermore, IL-6 mediates STAT3 activation in cachectic gastric and breast cancer patients (Tab. 5, Fig. 2, Ref. 62)

Tissue Harvester with Functional Valve (THFV): Shidham's device for reproducibly higher specimen yield by fine needle aspiration biopsy with easy to perform steps

BACKGROUND: Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) cytology has been a highly effective methodology for tissue diagnosis and for various ancillary studies including molecular tests. In addition to other benefits, FNAB predominantly retrieves the diagnostic loosely cohesive cells in the lesion as compared to the adjacent supporting stroma with relatively higher cohesiveness. However, FNAB procedure performed with currently available resources is highly skill dependent with inter-performer variability, which compromises its full potential as a diagnostic tool. In this study we report a device overcoming these limitations. METHODS: 'Tissue Harvester with Functional Valve' (THFV) was evaluated as part of a phase 1 National Institute of Health (NIH) research grant under Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program. Working prototypes of the device were prepared. Each of the four cytopathologists with previous cytopathology fellowship training and experience in performing FNAB evaluated 5 THFV and 5 hypodermic needles resulting in 40 specimens (20 with THFV, 20 with hypodermic needles). A piece of fresh cattle liver stuffed in latex glove was used as the specimen. Based on these results a finished design was finalized. RESULTS: The smears and cell blocks prepared from the specimens obtained by THFV were superior in terms of cellularity to specimens obtained with hypodermic needles. The tissuecrit of specimens obtained with THFV ranged from 70 to 100 μl (mean 87, SD 10), compared to 17 to 30 μl (mean 24, SD 4) with conventional hypodermic needles (p < .0001, Student t-test). The technical ease [on a scale of 1 (easy) to 5 (difficult)] with THFV ranged from 1 to 2 as compared to 2 to 3 with hypodermic needles. CONCLUSION: The specimen yield with the new THFV was significantly higher when compared to hypodermic needles. Also, the FNAB procedure with THFV was relatively easier in comparison with hypodermic needles. The final version of Shidham's THFV device would improve the FNAB specimen yield by eliminating the skill factor. The increased specimen yield by this device would also facilitate wider application of FNAB specimens for various ancillary tests, including molecular tests

Properties and controlled release of chitosan microencapsulated limonene oil

Chitosan microcapsules containing limonene essential oil as active ingredient were prepared by coacervation using three different concentrations of NaOH (0.50, 1.00, 1.45 wt%) and fixed concentrations of chitosan and surfactant of 0.50 wt%. The produced microcapsules were fully characterized in their morphology and chemical composition, and the kinetic release analysis of the active ingredient was evaluated after deposition in a non-woven cellulose fabric. The concentration of 1.00 and 1.45 wt% clearly show the best results in terms of dimension and shape of the microcapsules as well as in the volatility results. However, at the concentration of 1 wt% a higher number of microcapsules were produced as confirmed by FTIR and EDS analysis. Free microcapsules are spherical in size with disperse diameters between 2 and 12 μm. Immobilized microcapsules showed sizes from 4 to 7 μm, a rough surface and loss of spherical shape with pore formation in the chitosan walls. SEM analysis confirms that at higher NaOH concentrations, the larger the size of the microcapsules. This technique shows that by tuning NaOH concentration it is possible to efficiently control the release rate of encapsulated active agents demonstrating great potential as insect repellent for textiles.JMS and ALC acknowledge CAPES Foundation, the Ministry of Education of Brazil, Proc. no 8976/13-9 e Proc. No 1071/13-0, respectively, and the Department of Textile Engineering of the University of Minho, Portugal. J. Molina is grateful to the Conselleria d'Educacio, Formacio i Ocupacio (Generalitat Valenciana) for the Programa VALi+D Postdoctoral Fellowship. AZ (C2011-UMINHO-2C2T-01) acknowledges funding from Programa Compromisso para a Ciencia 2008, Portugal. Shafagh Dinparast Tohidi would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology for providing the PhD grant SFRH/BD/94759/2013