Comparative Evaluation of the Biochemical Effects of Ketamine plus Ketoprofen and Midazolam in the Premedication of Pigeons

The present study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effects of premedication with ketoprofen and midazolam in birds. A total of 24 male pigeons with an approximate weight of 300 g were divided into four equal groups. The control group (Group I) was injected with ketamine alone. Groups II-IV were injected with ketoprofen alone, ketoprofen+ketamine, and midazolam+ketamine, respectively. The biochemical changes in the four groups were evaluated after intramuscular drug injections at different anesthetic levels. A record of biochemical changes was maintained for each group. Blood samples were taken before and after the administration of the medications in order to measure the levels of serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), oxaloacetate transaminase (OT), prothrombin time (PT), glucose (GLU), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), albumin (Alb), total protein (TP), and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGTF). The results showed significant differences in the mean levels of ALP, OT, PT, GLU, LDH, Alb, and TP after anesthesia, compared to that before anesthesia. Therefore, ketoprofen+ketamine can be used for the induction of anesthesia in birds.The present study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effects of premedication with ketoprofen and midazolam in birds. A total of 24 male pigeons with an approximate weight of 300 g were divided into four equal groups. The control group (Group I) was injected with ketamine alone. Groups II-IV were injected with ketoprofen alone, ketoprofen+ketamine, and midazolam+ketamine, respectively. The biochemical changes in the four groups were evaluated after intramuscular drug injections at different anesthetic levels. A record of biochemical changes was maintained for each group. Blood samples were taken before and after the administration of the medications in order to measure the levels of serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), oxaloacetate transaminase (OT), prothrombin time (PT), glucose (GLU), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), albumin (Alb), total protein (TP), and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGTF). The results showed significant differences in the mean levels of ALP, OT, PT, GLU, LDH, Alb, and TP after anesthesia, compared to that before anesthesia. Therefore, ketoprofen+ketamine can be used for the induction of anesthesia in birds

A stochastic programming approach for chemotherapy appointment scheduling

Chemotherapy appointment scheduling is a challenging problem due to the uncertainty in pre-medication and infusion durations. In this paper, we formulate a two-stage stochastic mixed integer programming model for the chemotherapy appointment scheduling problem under limited availability and number of nurses and infusion chairs. The objective is to minimize the expected weighted sum of nurse overtime, chair idle time, and patient waiting time. The computational burden to solve real-life instances of this problem to optimality is significantly high, even in the deterministic case. To overcome this burden, we incorporate valid bounds and symmetry breaking constraints. Progressive hedging algorithm is implemented in order to solve the improved formulation heuristically. We enhance the algorithm through a penalty update method, cycle detection and variable fixing mechanisms, and a linear approximation of the objective function. Using numerical experiments based on real data from a major oncology hospital, we compare our solution approach with several scheduling heuristics from the relevant literature, generate managerial insights related to the impact of the number of nurses and chairs on appointment schedules, and estimate the value of stochastic solution to assess the significance of considering uncertainty

Hydroethanolic Allium sativum extract accelerates excision wound healing: evidence for roles of mast-cell infiltration and intracytoplasmic carbohydrate ratio

ABSTRACT The present study was designed to evaluate the in vivo effect of Allium sativum (garlic) hydroalcoholic extract on wound healing in rats. For this purpose, 72 mature Wistar rats were divided into four groups (n=18/each) to receive no treatment, placebo, Cicalfate(r), or 2% Allium sativum (AS) extract, administered topically to the wound area, for 21 days. Following the experimental period, tissue samples were dissected out and underwent to histopathological analyses. Fibroblasts, fibrocytes, mast cells, intra-cytoplasmic carbohydrate ratio, neovascularization, collagen deposition, and re-epithelialization were analyzed in all groups. Animals in the treated groups showed significant enhancement in fibroblast, fibrocyte, and mast-cell distribution. Significantly higher neovascularization was observed on day 3 after wound induction in AS-treated animals versus those in the placebo, Cicalfate, and untreated groups (P<0.05). A dose-dependent, significantly higher intra-cytoplasmic carbohydrate storage was observed in treated animals. Our data show that AS promotes wound healing due to its preliminary impact on mast-cell distribution, which enhanced collagen synthesis and upregulated angiogenesis, and shortened the healing process by enhancing the intra-cytoplasmic carbohydrate ratio

Can houseplants improve indoor air quality by removing CO2 and increasing relative humidity?

High indoor CO2 concentrations and low relative humidity (RH) create an array of well-documented human health issues. Therefore, assessing houseplants’ potential as a low-cost approach to CO2 removal and increasing RH is important. We investigated how environmental factors such as ’dry’ ( 0.30 m3 m-3) growing substrates, and indoor light levels (‘low’ 10 µmol m-2 s-1, ‘high’ 50 µmol m-2 s-1 and ‘very high’ 300 µmol m-2 s-1), influence the plants’ net CO2 assimilation (‘A’) and water-vapour loss. Seven common houseplant taxa – representing a variety of leaf types, metabolisms and sizes – were studied for their ability to assimilate CO2 across a range of indoor light levels. Additionally, to assess the plants’ potential contribution to RH increase, the plants’ evapo-transpiration (ET) was measured. At typical ‘low’ indoor light levels ‘A’ rates were generally low (< 3.9 mg hr-1). Differences between ‘dry’ and ’wet’ plants at typical indoor light levels were negligible in terms of room-level impact. Light compensation points (i.e. light levels at which plants have positive ‘A’) were in the typical indoor light range (1-50 µmol m-2 s-1) only for two studied Spathiphyllum wallisii cultivars and Hedera helix; these plants would thus provide the best CO2 removal indoors. Additionally, increasing indoor light levels to 300 µmol m-2 s-1 would, in most species, significantly increase their potential to assimilate CO2. Species which assimilated the most CO2 also contributed most to increasing RH

Overview paper: New insights into aerosol and climate in the Arctic

Motivated by the need to predict how the Arctic atmosphere will change in a warming world, this article summarizes recent advances made by the research consortium NETCARE (Network on Climate and Aerosols: Addressing Key Uncertainties in Remote Canadian Environments) that contribute to our fundamental understanding of Arctic aerosol particles as they relate to climate forcing. The overall goal of NETCARE research has been to use an interdisciplinary approach encompassing extensive field observations and a range of chemical transport, earth system, and biogeochemical models. Several major findings and advances have emerged from NETCARE since its formation in 2013. (1) Unexpectedly high summertime dimethyl sulfide (DMS) levels were identified in ocean water (up to 75&thinsp;nM) and the overlying atmosphere (up to 1&thinsp;ppbv) in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA). Furthermore, melt ponds, which are widely prevalent, were identified as an important DMS source (with DMS concentrations of up to 6&thinsp;nM and a potential contribution to atmospheric DMS of 20&thinsp;% in the study area). (2) Evidence of widespread particle nucleation and growth in the marine boundary layer was found in the CAA in the summertime, with these events observed on 41&thinsp;% of days in a 2016 cruise. As well, at Alert, Nunavut, particles that are newly formed and grown under conditions of minimal anthropogenic influence during the months of July and August are estimated to contribute 20&thinsp;% to 80&thinsp;% of the 30–50&thinsp;nm particle number density. DMS-oxidation-driven nucleation is facilitated by the presence of atmospheric ammonia arising from seabird-colony emissions, and potentially also from coastal regions, tundra, and biomass burning. Via accumulation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA), a significant fraction of the new particles grow to sizes that are active in cloud droplet formation. Although the gaseous precursors to Arctic marine SOA remain poorly defined, the measured levels of common continental SOA precursors (isoprene and monoterpenes) were low, whereas elevated mixing ratios of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) were inferred to arise via processes involving the sea surface microlayer. (3) The variability in the vertical distribution of black carbon (BC) under both springtime Arctic haze and more pristine summertime aerosol conditions was observed. Measured particle size distributions and mixing states were used to constrain, for the first time, calculations of aerosol–climate interactions under Arctic conditions. Aircraft- and ground-based measurements were used to better establish the BC source regions that supply the Arctic via long-range transport mechanisms, with evidence for a dominant springtime contribution from eastern and southern Asia to the middle troposphere, and a major contribution from northern Asia to the surface. (4) Measurements of ice nucleating particles (INPs) in the Arctic indicate that a major source of these particles is mineral dust, likely derived from local sources in the summer and long-range transport in the spring. In addition, INPs are abundant in the sea surface microlayer in the Arctic, and possibly play a role in ice nucleation in the atmosphere when mineral dust concentrations are low. (5) Amongst multiple aerosol components, BC was observed to have the smallest effective deposition velocities to high Arctic snow (0.03&thinsp;cm&thinsp;s−1).</p

Tactical and operational models for scheduling chemotherapy appointments

Improving hospital scheduling for outpatient chemotherap