The effect of epidural administration of dexamethasone on postoperative pain: a randomized controlled study in radical subtotal gastrectomy

BACKGROUND: Epidurally administered dexamethasone may reduce the incidence and severity of postoperative pain. We investigated whether postoperative pain could be alleviated by preoperative or postoperative epidural dexamethasone administration in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery. METHODS: Ninety patients (age 30-77 with American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I and II) undergoing radical subtotal gastrectomy were randomly allocated to three groups using computer generated randomization. In all groups, 10 ml of 0.25% ropivacaine was injected epidurally before the start and at the end of the operation. In Group I, a bolus ropivacaine epidural without dexamethasone was administered. In Group II, dexamethasone (5 mg) was added to the ropivacaine bolus epidural before the start of operation. In Group III, the same amount of dexamethasone was given with the ropivacaine epidural at the end of operation. Effort and resting VAS, the use of rescue analgesics and any complications noted during the procedure were evaluated. RESULTS: VAS and requirements of rescue analgesics were significantly lower in Groups II and III when compared to Group I. There were no difference in the incidence of nausea and vomiting between groups, but an itching sensation was frequent in Group III. CONCLUSIONS: The administration of 5 mg of dexamethasone epidurallly, before or after operation, could reduce the pain and analgesic requirement after radical subtotal gastrectomy.ope

Organizational Structure and Tax Avoidance: Multinational Evidence from Business Group Affiliation

We investigate whether business group affiliation affects tax avoidance in a global setting. While the business group structure could facilitate tax avoidance by allowing the ultimate owner to transfer resources and income across group firms, such activities likely incur nontax costs, such as minority shareholder protection, agency costs, and political costs. We find that, overall, business group firms exhibit greater tax avoidance than standalone firms, but the effect is restricted to firms in countries with developed economies where the nontax costs are lower. In contrast, we find that business group firms exhibit lower tax avoidance in emerging market countries, where the nontax costs are higher. This suggests that the nontax costs in emerging markets are sufficiently high to overcome the tax avoidance advantage provided by the business group structure. Our results therefore indicate that the business group structure enables group firms to reduce their tax liability, but that this ability is limited by the associated nontax costs

Orbital-selective confinement effect of Ru 4d4d orbitals in SrRuO3_3 ultrathin film

The electronic structure of SrRuO$_3$ thin film with thickness from 50 to 1 unit cell (u.c.) is investigated via the resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) technique at the O K-edge to unravel the intriguing interplay of orbital and charge degrees of freedom. We found that orbital-selective quantum confinement effect (QCE) induces the splitting of Ru $4d$ orbitals. At the same time, we observed a clear suppression of the electron-hole continuum across the metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) occurring at the 4 u.c. sample. From these two clear observations we conclude that QCE gives rise to a Mott insulating phase in ultrathin SrRuO$_3$ films. Our interpretation of the RIXS spectra is supported by the configuration interaction calculations of RuO$_6$ clusters.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Biosynthesis of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (P(HB-co-HHx)) from butyrate using engineered Ralstonia eutropha

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a promising family of bio-based polymers, are considered to be alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics. Copolymers like poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (P(HB-co-HHx)) have been shown to exhibit favorable physical and mechanical properties, due to decreased crystallinity resulting from the presence of medium-chain-length 3-hydroxyhexanoate (3HHx) monomers. In this study, we produced P(HB-co-HHx) using engineered Ralstonia eutropha strains containing deletions of the acetoacetyl-CoA reductase (phaB) genes and replacing the native PHA synthase with phaC2 from Rhodococcus aetherivorans I24 and by using butyrate, a short-chain organic acid, as the carbon source. Although the wild-type R. eutropha did not produce P(HB-co-HHx) when grown on mixed acids or on butyrate as the sole carbon source, we are able to produce polymer containing up to 40 wt% 3HHx monomer with the aforementioned engineered R. eutropha strains using various concentrations of just butyrate as the sole carbon source. This is the first report for the production of P(HB-co-HHx) copolymer in R. eutropha using butyrate.Korea Polar Research Institute. Polar Academic Program (PAP, PD13010)Korea (South). Rural Development Administration (Project No. 010205022014

A STUDY ON THE TWO-ROW EFFECT IN THE SLOSHING PHENOMENON

In this study, changes in fluid impact loads inside a tank were examined according to a two-row tank arrangement in an LNG-FPSO (Liquefied Natural Gas-Floating Production Storage Offloading) vessel. The motion RAO (Response Amplitude Operator) of the LNG-FPSO, coupled with the sloshing phenomenon inside the tank, was calculated by using HydroStar by Bureau Veritas. The motion simulation in the tank was conducted under filling ratios of 30%H, 60%H, and 80%H. The RAO in each condition was calculated according to the one-row and the two-row tank arrangement. The motion response spectrum using the calculated RAO and the JONSWAP (Joint North Sea Wave Analysis Project) spectrum were computed by implementing irregular motion according to each filling ratio and tank arrangement. The sloshing phenomenon inside the tank was implemented by using a 6-DOF (Degree Of Freedom) sloshing motion platform; impact pressure on the walls of the tank was measured with pressure sensors installed inside the tank. The sloshing experiment was conducted under the three filling ratios in the one-row and the two-row tank arrangement and impact loads were compared under each filling ratio according to the one-row and the two-row tank arrangement