Opioid analgesia and the somatosensory memory of neonatal surgical injury in the adult rat

Background Nociceptive input during early development can produce somatosensory memory that influences future pain response. Hind-paw incision during the 1st postnatal week in the rat enhances re-incision hyperalgesia in adulthood. We now evaluate its modulation by neonatal analgesia. Methods Neonatal rats [Postnatal Day 3 (P3)] received saline, intrathecal morphine 0.1 mg kg−1 (IT), subcutaneous morphine 1 mg kg−1 (SC), or sciatic levobupivacaine block (LA) before and after plantar hind-paw incision (three×2 hourly injections). Six weeks later, behavioural thresholds and electromyography (EMG) measures of re-incision hyperalgesia were compared with an age-matched adult-only incision (IN) group. Morphine effects on spontaneous (conditioned place preference) and evoked (EMG sensitivity) pain after adult incision were compared with prior neonatal incision and saline or morphine groups. The acute neonatal effects of incision and analgesia on behavioural hyperalgesia at P3 were also evaluated. Results Adult re-incision hyperalgesia was not prevented by neonatal peri-incision morphine (saline, IT, and SC groups > IN; P<0.05–0.01). Neonatal sciatic block, but not morphine, prevented the enhanced re-incision reflex sensitivity in adulthood (LA < saline and morphine groups, P<0.01; LA vs IN, not significant). Morphine efficacy in adulthood was altered after morphine alone in the neonatal period, but not when administered with neonatal incision. Morphine prevented the acute incision-induced hyperalgesia in neonatal rats, but only sciatic block had a preventive analgesic effect at 24 h. Conclusions Long-term effects after neonatal injury highlight the need for preventive strategies. Despite effective analgesia at the time of neonatal incision, morphine as a sole analgesic did not alter the somatosensory memory of early-life surgical injury

Retesting in Selection: A Meta-Analysis of Practice Effects for Tests of Cognitive Ability

Previous studies indicate that as many as 25-50% of applicants in organizational and educational settings are retested with measures of cognitive ability. Researchers have shown that practice effects are found across measurement occasions such that scores improve when these applicants retest. This study uses meta-analysis to summarize the results of 50 studies of practice effects for tests of cognitive ability. Results from 107 samples and 134,436 participants revealed an adjusted overall effect size of .26. Moderator analyses indicated that effects were larger when practice was accompanied by test coaching, and when identical forms were used. Additional research is needed to understand the impact of retesting on the validity inferences drawn from test scores

Interaction of gentamicin sulfate with alginate and consequences on the physico-chemical properties of alginate-containing biofilms

BACKGROUND: Alginate is one of the main extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in biofilms of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients suffering from pulmonary infections. Gentamicin sulfate (GS) can strongly bind to alginate resulting in loss of pharmacological activity; however neither the mechanism nor its repercussion is fully understood. In this study, we investigated how GS modifies the alginate macromolecular network and its microenvironment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Alginate gels of two different compositions (either enriched in guluronate units (G) or enriched in mannuronate units (M)) were crosslinked with Ca and exposed to GS at varying times and concentrations. The complexes formed were characterized via turbidimetry, mechanical tests, swelling assay, calorimetry techniques, nuclear magnetic resonance, Ca displacement, macromolecular probe diffusion and pH alteration. RESULTS: In presence of GS, the alginate network and its environment undergo a tremendous reorganization in terms of gel density, stiffness, diffusion property, presence and state of the water molecules. We noted that the intensity of those alterations is directly dependent on the polysaccharide motif composition (ratio M/G). CONCLUSION: Our results underline the importance of alginate as biofilm component, its pernicious role during antibiotherapy and could represent a potential macromolecular target to improve anti-infectious therapies

The Discovery and Broad-band Follow-up of the Transient Afterglow of GRB 980703

We report on the discovery of the radio, infrared and optical transient coincident with an X-ray transient proposed to be the afterglow of GRB 980703. At later times when the transient has faded below detection, we see an underlying galaxy with R=22.6; this galaxy is the brightest host galaxy (by nearly 2 magnitudes) of any cosmological GRB thus far. In keeping with an established trend, the GRB is not significantly offset from the host galaxy. Interpreting the multi-wavelength data in the framework of the popular fireball model requires that the synchrotron cooling break was between the optical and X-ray bands on July 8.5 UT and that the intrinsic extinction of the transient is Av=0.9. This is somewhat higher than the extinction for the galaxy as a whole, as estimated from spectroscopy.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, and 2 tables. Submitted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters on 27 August 199

Development of Free Vortex Wake Method for Yaw Misalignment Effect on the Thrust Vector and Generated Power

Wind power is currently one of the most reliable new energy sources serving as an alternative to fossil fuel generated electricity and is known as a widely distributed clean and renewable source of energy. It is now the world's fastest growing energy source and has also become one of the most rapidly expanding industries. The aerodynamics of a wind turbine is governed by the flow around the rotor, where the prediction of air loads on rotor blades in different operational conditions and their relation to rotor structural dynamics is crucial for design purposes. One of the challenges in wind turbine aerodynamics is the yaw condition where the undisturbed upstream flow is not perpendicular to the rotor plane, giving a non-uniform blade load which is contrary to the axisymmetric flow assumption in the BEM (Blade Element Momentum) method. However, there are some engineering methods modifying the BEMmethod for yaw misalignment situations,1 where they often calculate the skewed axial induction factor as an average value over the rotor disk which is insensitive to the blade rotation direction. On the other hand, experiments show that the thrust vector for a positive yaw misalignment differs from that for a negative yaw misalignment. A free vortex wake method, based on the potential, inviscid and irrotational flow, is developed to study the deviation of thrust vector relative to rotor shaft. The results are compared with the BEM method2 and experimental data. A two-bladed variable speed wind turbine, the Hönö wind turbine,3 is used for this study

Infections associated with mesh repairs of abdominal wall hernias : Are antimicrobial biomaterials the longed-for solution?

The incidence of mesh-related infection after abdominal wall hernia repair is low, generally between 1 and 4%; however, worldwide, this corresponds to tens of thousands of difficult cases to treat annually. Adopting best practices in prevention is one of the keys to reduce the incidence of mesh-related infection. Once the infection is established, however, only a limited number of options are available that provides an efficient and successful treatment outcome. Over the past few years, there has been a tremendous amount of research dedicated to the functionalization of prosthetic meshes with antimicrobial properties, with some receiving regulatory approval and are currently available for clinical use. In this context, it is important to review the clinical importance of mesh infection, its risk factors, prophylaxis and pathogenicity. In addition, we give an overview of the main functionalization approaches that have been applied on meshes to confer anti-bacterial protection, the respective benefits and limitations, and finally some relevant future directions. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe