Transversus abdominis plane block reduces remifentanil and propofol consumption, evaluated by closed-loop titration guided by bispectral index.

The present prospective, randomized, double-blind study aimed to determine the impact of transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block on propofol and remifentanil consumption, when administered by closed-loop titration guided by processed electroencephalography, i.e., bispectral index (BIS) values. Following institutional review board approval, 60 patients were scheduled for laparoscopic colectomy under general anesthesia. Patients were randomly assigned to receive bilateral TAP block with 20 ml 0.375% ropivacaine (TAP group) or 20 ml 0.9% saline [control (CON) group]. General anesthesia was maintained with propofol and remifentanil administration using closed-loop titration guided by BIS values. The primary outcome was perioperative propofol and remifentanil consumption. The secondary outcomes were hypertensive or hypotensive events requiring treatment, recovery time in PACU and time to first rescue analgesia following surgery. A total of 58 patients participated in the present study. At similar depths of anesthesia, as measured by BIS during the maintenance phase (45-55), patients who received TAP blocks required less propofol (4.2±1.3 vs. 5.5±1.6 mg/kg/h; P<0.001) and remifentanil (0.16±0.05 vs. 0.21±0.05 µg/kg/min; P<0.001). Time to extubation was significantly shorter in the TAP group (9.8±3.2 min) than in the CON group (14.2±4.9 min) (P<0.05). The requirement to treat hemodynamic change was also significantly lower (P<0.05). Pain score at 2 h after surgery was also significantly reduced in the TAP group compared with the CON group (P<0.05), whereas the time to first rescue analgesia was delayed in patients who received TAP block (P<0.05). Postoperative nausea and vomiting occurred at comparable rates in each group (P>0.05). In conclusion, TAP block combined with general anesthesia reduced propofol and remifentanil consumption, shortened time to tracheal extubation and promoted hemodynamic stability in laparoscopic colectomy

catena-Poly[silver(I)-μ-acridine-9-carboxyl­ato-κ3 N:O,O′]

In the title coordination polymer, [Ag(C14H8NO2)]n, the AgI cation is coordinated by two O atoms and one N atom from two symmetry-related acridine-9-carboxyl­ate ligands in a distorted trigonal-planar geometry. The metal atoms are connected by the ligands to form chains running parallel to the b axis. π–π stacking inter­actions [centroid-to-centroid distances 3.757 (2)–3.820 (2) Å] and weak Ag⋯O inter­actions further link the chains to form a layer network parallel to the ab plane. The AgI cation is disordered over two positions, with refined site-occupancy factors of 0.73 (3):0.27 (3)

Targeted association mapping demonstrating the complex molecular genetics of fatty acid formation in soybean

Palmitic acid bi-alleles of Map-6064 in three subpopulations. (TIFF 1235 kb

Testing and Data Reduction of the Chinese Small Telescope Array (CSTAR) for Dome A, Antarctica

The Chinese Small Telescope ARray (hereinafter CSTAR) is the first Chinese astronomical instrument on the Antarctic ice cap. The low temperature and low pressure testing of the data acquisition system was carried out in a laboratory refrigerator and on the 4500m Pamirs high plateau, respectively. The results from the final four nights of test observations demonstrated that CSTAR was ready for operation at Dome A, Antarctica. In this paper we present a description of CSTAR and the performance derived from the test observations.Comment: Accepted Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics (RAA) 1 Latex file and 20 figure