Kinetics of Chromic Acid Oxidation of Thioglycollic, Thiolactic & Thiomalic Acids

1082-108

Solvation dynamics in biological systems and organized assemblies

Solvation dynamics of a polar probe in many biological systems and organized assemblies displays a surprising ultraslow component. The origin of this anomalous ultraslow component is investigated using experiments, theory and computer simulations. We first summarize some recent experimental results on solvation dynamics, e.g., temperature dependence, site dependence at active site of an enzyme and red edge excitation shift (REES). Then we propose two new theoretical models to explain the ultraslow component. The first one involves the motion of the 'buried water' molecules (both translation and rotation) accompanied by cooperative relaxation ('local melting') of several surfactant chains. An estimate of the time is obtained by using an effective Rouse chain model of chain dynamics, coupled with a mean first passage time calculation. The second explanation invokes self-diffusion of the (di)polar probe (created by optical excitation) itself from a less polar to a more polar region. This may also involve cooperative motion of the surfactant chains in the hydrophobic core, if the probe has a sizeable distribution inside the core prior to excitation. It may also involve escape of the probe to the bulk from the surface of the self assembly. The second mechanism should result in the narrowing of the full width of the emission spectrum with time, which has indeed been observed in recent experiments. It is argued that both the two mechanisms may give rise to an ultraslow time constant and may be applicable to different experimental situations. The effectiveness of solvation as a dynamical probe in such complex systems has been discussed. Finally, we give a brief overview of recent results on computer simulations on dynamics of water molecules around a protein and a micelle

Excited-state proton transfer from pyranine to acetate in methanol

Excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) of pyranine (8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulphonate, HPTS) to acetate in methanol has been studied by steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The rate constant of direct proton transfer from pyranine to acetate (k1) is calculated to be ~1 × 109 M-1 s-1. This is slower by about two orders of magnitude than that in bulk water (8 × 1010 M-1 s-1) at 4 M acetate

The development and validation of a scoring tool to predict the operative duration of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background: The ability to accurately predict operative duration has the potential to optimise theatre efficiency and utilisation, thus reducing costs and increasing staff and patient satisfaction. With laparoscopic cholecystectomy being one of the most commonly performed procedures worldwide, a tool to predict operative duration could be extremely beneficial to healthcare organisations. Methods: Data collected from the CholeS study on patients undergoing cholecystectomy in UK and Irish hospitals between 04/2014 and 05/2014 were used to study operative duration. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was produced in order to identify significant independent predictors of long (> 90 min) operations. The resulting model was converted to a risk score, which was subsequently validated on second cohort of patients using ROC curves. Results: After exclusions, data were available for 7227 patients in the derivation (CholeS) cohort. The median operative duration was 60 min (interquartile range 45–85), with 17.7% of operations lasting longer than 90 min. Ten factors were found to be significant independent predictors of operative durations > 90 min, including ASA, age, previous surgical admissions, BMI, gallbladder wall thickness and CBD diameter. A risk score was then produced from these factors, and applied to a cohort of 2405 patients from a tertiary centre for external validation. This returned an area under the ROC curve of 0.708 (SE = 0.013, p  90 min increasing more than eightfold from 5.1 to 41.8% in the extremes of the score. Conclusion: The scoring tool produced in this study was found to be significantly predictive of long operative durations on validation in an external cohort. As such, the tool may have the potential to enable organisations to better organise theatre lists and deliver greater efficiencies in care

Embryology

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) was first noted in the 1940's when more and more oxygen was being administered to premature infants. This disease was called retrolental fibroplasia by Terry in 1941 1. The term retinopathy of prematurity was coined by Heath i