Intraperitoneal aerosolization of bupivacaine is a safe and effective method in controlling postoperative pain in laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

INTRODUCTION: Obesity is a worldwide problem and has grown in severity in the last few decades making bariatric surgery and, in particular, laparoscopic banding and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass efficacious and cost-effective procedures. The laparoscopic approach has been shown to offer significant healthcare benefits, of particular interests are reports of decreased postoperative pain resulting in a shorter hospital stay and an earlier return to normal activity. However, many patients still experience significant pain, including shoulder tip pain, that require strong analgesia including opiates during their early recovery period. The aims of this study were to establish the safe use of the aerosolization technique in bariatric surgery and to investigate the possible benefits in reducing postoperative pain. METHODS: In this study, fifty patients undergoing laparoscopic gastric bypass were recruited and divided into two groups; control (n = 25) and therapeutic (n = 25). The control group received intraperitoneal aerosolization of 10 mL of 0.9% normal saline while the therapeutic group received 10 mL of 0.5% bupivacaine. All the patients had standard preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care. Pain scores were carried out by the nursing staff in recovery and 6 h, 12 h and 24 h postoperatively using a standard 0-10 pain scoring scale. In addition, opiate consumption via patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) was recorded. RESULTS: Aerosolized bupivacaine reduced postoperative pain in comparison to normal saline (p < 0.05). However, PCA usage showed no statistically significant change from the control group. CONCLUSION: The aims of this study were achieved and we were able to establish the safe use of the aerosolization technique in bariatric surgery and its benefits in reducing postoperative pain

Fluvoxamine for aripiprazole-associated akathisia in patients with schizophrenia: a potential role of sigma-1 receptors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Second-generation antipsychotic drugs have been reported to cause fewer incidences of extrapyramidal side effects (EPSs) than typical antipsychotic drugs, but adverse events such as akathisia have been observed even with atypical antipsychotic drugs. Although understanding of the pathophysiology of akathisia remains limited, it seems that a complex interplay of several neurotransmitter systems might play a role in its pathophysiology. The endoplasmic reticulum protein sigma-1 receptors are shown to regulate a number of neurotransmitter systems in the brain.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We report on two cases in which monotherapy of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and sigma-1 receptor agonist fluvoxamine was effective in ameliorating the akathisia of patients with schizophrenia treated with the antipsychotic drug aripiprazole.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The global score on the Barnes Akathisia Scale in the two patients with schizophrenia treated with aripiprazole decreased after fluvoxamine monotherapy.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Doctors may wish to consider fluvoxamine as an alternative approach in treating akathisia associated with antipsychotic drugs such as aripiprazole.</p

Triboson interpretations of the ATLAS diboson excess

The ATLAS excess in fat jet pair production is kinematically compatible with the decay of a heavy resonance into two gauge bosons plus an extra particle. This hypothesis would explain the absence of such a large excess in the analogous CMS analysis of fat dijet final states, as well as the negative results of diboson resonance searches in the semi-leptonic decay modes. If the extra particle is the Higgs boson, this hypothesis might also explain -statistical fluctuations aside- why the CMS search for WH resonances in the semi-leptonic channel finds some excess while in the fully hadronic one it does not have a significant deviation.Comment: LaTeX 17 pages. v2: Enlarged discussion to address CMS WH excess. v3: Added discussion of diboson helicities. Final version to appear in JHE

Design and optimization of electrochemical microreactors for continuous electrosynthesis

The study focuses on the design and construction, as well as the theoretical and experimental optimization of electrochemical filter press microreactors for the electrosynthesis of molecules with a high added value. The main characteristics of these devices are firstly a high-specific electrochemical area to increase conversion and selectivity, and secondly the shape and size of themicrochannels designed for a uniform residence time distribution of the fluid. A heat exchanger is integrated into the microstructured electrode to rapidly remove (or supply) the heat required in exo- or endothermic reactions. The microreactors designed are used to perform-specific electrosynthesis reactions such as thermodynamically unfavorable reactions (continuous NADH regeneration), or reactions with high enthalpy changes

Once-monthly paliperidone palmitate in recently diagnosed and chronic non-acute patients with schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE: To explore the treatment response, tolerability and safety of once-monthly paliperidone palmitate (PP1M) in non-acute patients switched to oral antipsychotics stratified by time since diagnosis as recently diagnosed (3 years). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Post-hoc analysis of a prospective, interventional, single-arm, multicentre, open-label, 6-month study performed in 233 recently diagnosed and 360 chronic patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The proportion achieving treatment response (defined as >/=20% improvement in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale [PANSS] total score from baseline to endpoint) and maintained efficacy (defined as non-inferiority in the change in PANSS total score at endpoint [Schuirmann's test]). RESULTS: 71.4% of recently diagnosed and 59.2% of chronic patients showed a >/=20% decrease in PANSS total score (p=0.0028 between groups). Changes in PANSS Marder factors, PANSS subscales, and the proportion of patients with a Personal and Social Performance scale (PSP) total score of 71-100 were significantly greater in recently diagnosed compared with chronic patients. PP1M was well tolerated, presenting no new safety signals. CONCLUSION: These data show that recently diagnosed patients treated with PP1M had a significantly higher treatment response and improved functioning, as assessed by the PSP total score, than chronic patients

R-parity violating resonant stop production at the Large Hadron Collider

We have investigated the resonant production of a stop at the Large Hadron Collider, driven by baryon number violating interactions in supersymmetry. We work in the framework of minimal supergravity models with the lightest neutralino being the lightest supersymmetric particle which decays within the detector. We look at various dilepton and trilepton final states, with or without b-tags. A detailed background simulation is performed, and all possible decay modes of the lighter stop are taken into account. We find that higher stop masses are sometimes easier to probe, through the decay of the stop into the third or fourth neutralino and their subsequent cascades. We also comment on the detectability of such signals during the 7 TeV run, where, as expected, only relatively light stops can be probed. Our conclusion is that the resonant process may be probed, at both 10 and 14 TeV, with the R-parity violating coupling {\lambda}"_{312} as low as 0.05, for a stop mass of about 1 TeV. The possibility of distinguishing between resonant stop production and pair-production is also discussed.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, 6 tables; Version accepted by JHE

Electrical detection of 31P spin quantum states

In recent years, a variety of solid-state qubits has been realized, including quantum dots, superconducting tunnel junctions and point defects. Due to its potential compatibility with existing microelectronics, the proposal by Kane based on phosphorus donors in Si has also been pursued intensively. A key issue of this concept is the readout of the P quantum state. While electrical measurements of magnetic resonance have been performed on single spins, the statistical nature of these experiments based on random telegraph noise measurements has impeded the readout of single spin states. In this letter, we demonstrate the measurement of the spin state of P donor electrons in silicon and the observation of Rabi flops by purely electric means, accomplished by coherent manipulation of spin-dependent charge carrier recombination between the P donor and paramagnetic localized states at the Si/SiO2 interface via pulsed electrically detected magnetic resonance. The electron spin information is shown to be coupled through the hyperfine interaction with the P nucleus, which demonstrates the feasibility of a recombination-based readout of nuclear spins