Comparison of Analgesic Effect Between Gabapentin and Diclofenac on Post-Operative Pain in Patients Undergoing Tonsillectomy

Background: Tonsillectomy is a common procedure causing considerable postoperative pain. Postoperative pain intensity of 60 - 70 in the scale of visual analog scale (VAS) has been reported up to 3 - 4 days which could continue until 11 days after the surgery. Objectives: The current study aimed to compare the analgesic effect of gabapentin and diclofenac on pain after tonsillectomy with the control group. Patients and Methods: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 90 patients aged 10-25 years, ASA classes I and II were randomly selected to receive 20 mg/kg oral gabapentin (n = 30), 1.0 mg / kg rectal diclofenac (n = 30) or placebo (n = 30) preoperatively. Pain was evaluated postoperatively on a visual analogue scale at 2, 6, 12 and 24 h. Opioid consumption in the first 24 h after surgery and the side effects were also recorded. Results: There was no significant difference in terms of age, sex, and time of surgery in the three groups. Patients in the gabapentin and diclofenac groups had significantly lower pain scores at all-time intervals than those in the placebo group. The total meperidine consumed in the gabapentin (14.16 ± 6.97 P = 0.001) and diclofenac (16.66 ± 8.95, P = 0.004) groups was significantly less than that of the placebo (33.4 ± 13.97) group. The frequency of side effects such as vomiting, dizziness, and headache was not significantly different among the groups. Conclusions: It can be concluded that gabapentin and diclofenac reduced postoperative pain and opioid consumption without obvious side effects

SPITZER observations of dust destruction in the Puppis A supernova remnant

The interaction of the Puppis A supernova remnant (SNR) with a neighboring molecular cloud provides a unique opportunity to measure the amount of grain destruction in an SNR shock. Spitzer Space Telescope MIPS imaging of the entire SNR at 24, 70, and 160 μm shows an extremely good correlation with X-ray emission, indicating that the SNR’s IR radiation is dominated by the thermal emission of swept-up interstellar dust, collisionally heated by the hot shocked gas. Spitzer IRS spectral observations targeted both the Bright Eastern Knot (BEK) of the SNR where a small cloud has been engulfed by the supernova blast wave and outlying portions of the associated molecular cloud that are yet to be hit by the shock front. Modeling the spectra from both regions reveals the composition and the grain size distribution of the interstellar dust, both in front of and behind the SNR shock front. The comparison shows that the ubiquitous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of the interstellar medium are destroyed within the BEK, along with nearly 25% of the mass of graphite and silicate dust grains

Dust in a Type Ia Supernova Progenitor: Spitzer Spectroscopy of Kepler's Supernova Remnant

Characterization of the relatively poorly-understood progenitor systems of Type Ia supernovae is of great importance in astrophysics, particularly given the important cosmological role that these supernovae play. Kepler's Supernova Remnant, the result of a Type Ia supernova, shows evidence for an interaction with a dense circumstellar medium (CSM), suggesting a single-degenerate progenitor system. We present 7.5-38 $\mu$m infrared (IR) spectra of the remnant, obtained with the {\it Spitzer Space Telescope}, dominated by emission from warm dust. Broad spectral features at 10 and 18 $\mu$m, consistent with various silicate particles, are seen throughout. These silicates were likely formed in the stellar outflow from the progenitor system during the AGB stage of evolution, and imply an oxygen-rich chemistry. In addition to silicate dust, a second component, possibly carbonaceous dust, is necessary to account for the short-wavelength IRS and IRAC data. This could imply a mixed chemistry in the atmosphere of the progenitor system. However, non-spherical metallic iron inclusions within silicate grains provide an alternative solution. Models of collisionally-heated dust emission from fast shocks ($>$ 1000 km s$^{-1}$) propagating into the CSM can reproduce the majority of the emission associated with non-radiative filaments, where dust temperatures are $\sim 80-100$ K, but fail to account for the highest temperatures detected, in excess of 150 K. We find that slower shocks (a few hundred km s$^{-1}$) into moderate density material ($n_{0} \sim 50-250$ cm$^{-3}$) are the only viable source of heating for this hottest dust. We confirm the finding of an overall density gradient, with densities in the north being an order of magnitude greater than those in the south.Comment: Accepted by ApJ. 11 pages, 5 figures, 1 table. Produced using emulateapj forma

Socio-economic and Demographic factors associated with injecting drug use among drug users in Karachi, Pakistan

Objective: To identify the socio-economic and demographic factors associated with injecting drug users (IDUs) in Karachi. Methods: We recruited 242 IDUs (taking drugs through sub-dermal routes) and 231 non-IDUs (taking drugs other than sub-dermal routes) from February through June 1996. IDUs were interviewed regarding sociodemographic factors, economic condition, and social network (marital status, living with spouse). In addition, information regarding location of drug users within the city (districts of Karachi) and current history of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) were gathered. Moreover, blood samples were also obtained for HIV testing .Results: Multivariate analysis showed that the income generation via illegal modes [AOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.0-2.6], non-sharing of income with family [AOR 1.7, 95% CI 1.1-2.7] and presence of suicidal thoughts [AOR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1-3.8] were associated with the use of drugs through injections. Further, drug users from districts West, East and Central were more likely to use drug through injection as compared to drug users from district South. The history of genital herpes was also found to be associated with injecting drug use. One IDU was found seropositive for HIV. Conclusion: The high-risk behaviors, such as illegal modes of earning and presence of suicidal thoughts, among IDUs suggest that the group needs rehabilitation programme. Moreover, non-sharing of income suggest that IDUs are isolated from social network, therefore primary prevention activities with focus on improving socioeconomic conditions and social networking can reduce drug use through injections. Focused interventions on target districts would be helpful in reducing IDU (JPMA 53:511;2003)

The First Reported Infrared Emission from the SN 1006 Remnant

We report results of infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of the SN 1006 remnant, carried out with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The 24 micron image from MIPS clearly shows faint filamentary emission along the northwest rim of the remnant shell, nearly coincident with the Balmer filaments that delineate the present position of the expanding shock. The 24 micron emission traces the Balmer filaments almost perfectly, but lies a few arcsec within, indicating an origin in interstellar dust heated by the shock. Subsequent decline in the IR behind the shock is presumably due largely to grain destruction through sputtering. The emission drops far more rapidly than current models predict, however, even for a higher proportion of small grains than would be found closer to the Galactic plane. The rapid drop may result in part from a grain density that has always been lower -- a relic effect from an earlier epoch when the shock was encountering a lower density -- but higher grain destruction rates still seem to be required. Spectra from three positions along the NW filament from the IRS instrument all show only a featureless continuum, consistent with thermal emission from warm dust. The dust-to-gas mass ratio in the pre-shock interstellar medium is lower than that expected for the Galactic ISM -- as has also been observed in the analysis of IR emission from other SNRs but whose cause remains unclear. As with other SN Ia remnants, SN 1006 shows no evidence for dust grain formation in the supernova ejecta.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figure

Molecular rulers for measuring RNA structure: sites of crosslinking in chlorambucilyl-phenylalanyl-tRNA^(Phe) (yeast) and chlorambucilyl-pentadecaprolyl-phenylalanyl-tRNA^(Phe) (yeast) intramolecularly crosslinked in aqueous solution

Intramolecular crosslinking of yeast phenylalanine tRNA in aqueous solution with rigid, variable-length crosslinking reagents, which we call "molecular rulers," has given results in reasonable agreement with the crystal structure. Chlorambucilyl-[^(3)H]phenylalanyl-tRNA^(Phe) crosslinked intramolecularly at G-71 and A-73, whereas chlorambucilyl-pentadecaprolyl-[^(3)H]phenylalanyl-tRNA^(Phe) crosslinked at G-20 and Y-37. The pentadecaprolyl reagent was predicted to be 62 Å long, including chlorambucil and phenylalanine; the sites that it reached are 60 Å distant from the 3' OH (in the case of G-20) or 80 Å distant (in the case of Y-37) in the crystal structure of tRNA^(Phe). The close agreement between the length of the reagent and the distance of G-20 from the 3' OH in the crystal structure illustrates the rigidity of the tRNA^(Phe) molecule in the dihydrouridine loop region at the corner of the molecule. The apparent ability of the 62-Å-long reagent to crosslink to a site, Y-37, that is 80 Å distant from the 3' OH in the crystal structure appears to illustrate the flexibility of both the 3' A-C-C-A terminus and the anticodon stem and loop, with respect to the tRNA molecule. These observations demonstrate the utility of oligoproline-based crosslinking reagents as rigid, variable-length molecular rulers for biological macromolecules in solution

Chandra ACIS Survey of M33 (ChASeM33): X-ray Imaging Spectroscopy of M33SNR21, the Brightest X-ray Supernova Remnant in M33

We present and interpret new X-ray data for M33SNR21, the brightest X-ray supernova remnant (SNR) in M33. The SNR is in seen projection against (and appears to be interacting with) the bright HII region NGC592. Data for this source were obtained as part of the Chandra ACIS Survey of M33 (ChASeM33) Very Large Project. The nearly on-axis Chandra data resolve the SNR into a ~5" diameter (20 pc at our assumed M33 distance of 817+/-58 kpc) slightly elliptical shell. The shell is brighter in the east, which suggests that it is encountering higher density material in that direction. The optical emission is coextensive with the X-ray shell in the north, but extends well beyond the X-ray rim in the southwest. Modeling the X-ray spectrum with an absorbed sedov model yields a shock temperature of 0.46(+0.01,-0.02) keV, an ionization timescale of n_e t = $2.1 (+0.2,-0.3) \times 10^{12}$ cm$^{-3}$ s, and half-solar abundances (0.45 (+0.12, -0.09)). Assuming Sedov dynamics gives an average preshock H density of 1.7 +/- 0.3 cm$^{-3}$. The dynamical age estimate is 6500 +/- 600 yr, while the best fit $n_e t$ value and derived $n_e$ gives 8200 +/- 1700 yr; the weighted mean of the age estimates is 7600 +/- 600 yr. We estimate an X-ray luminosity (0.25-4.5 keV) of (1.2 +/- 0.2) times $10^{37}$ ergs s$^{-1}$ (absorbed), and (1.7 +/- 0.3) times $10^{37}$ ergs s$^{-1}$ (unabsorbed), in good agreement with the recent XMM-Newton determination. No significant excess hard emission was detected; the luminosity $\le 1.2\times 10^{35}$ ergs s$^{-1}$ (2-8 keV) for any hard point source.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures (3 color). ApJ (in press