Bupivacaine versus lidocaine analgesia for neonatal circumcision

BACKGROUND: Analgesia for neonatal circumcision was recently advocated for every male infant, and its use is considered essential by the American Academy of Pediatrics. We compared the post-operative analgesic quality of bupivacaine to that of lidocaine for achieving dorsal penile nerve block (DPNB) when performing neonatal circumcision. METHODS: Data were obtained from 38 neonates following neonatal circumcision. The infants had received DPNB analgesia with either lidocaine or bupivacaine. The outcome variable was the administration by the parents of acetaminophen during the ensuing 24 hours. RESULTS: Seventeen infants received lidocaine and 19 received bupivacaine DPNB. Ten infants in the lidocaine group (59%) were given acetaminophen following circumcision compared to only 3 (16%) in the bupivacaine group (P < 0.01). Regression analysis showed that the only significant variable associated with the need for acetaminophen was the use of lidocaine (R(2 )= 20.6; P = 0.006). CONCLUSION: DPNB with bupivacaine for neonatal circumcision apparently confers better analgesia than lidocaine as judged by the requirement of acetaminophen over the ensuing 24-hour period

Optical Imaging of Bacterial Infections

The rise in multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria has become a global crisis. Rapid and accurate diagnosis of infection will facilitate antibiotic stewardship and preserve our ability to treat and cure patients from bacterial infection. Direct in situ imaging of bacteria offers the prospect of accurately diagnosing disease and monitoring patient outcomes and response to treatment in real-time. There have been many recent advances in the field of optical imaging of infection; namely in specific probe and fluorophore design. This combined with the advances in imaging device technology render direct optical imaging of infection a feasible approach for accurate diagnosis in the clinic. Despite this, there are currently no licensed molecular probes for clinical optical imaging of infection. Here we report some of the most promising and interesting probes and approaches under development for this purpose, which have been evaluated in in vivo models within the laboratory setting

Photo-induced charge transfer in molecular materials based on Prussian blue analogs: A photoacoustic study

Photoacoustic spectra of molecular materials based on the assembling of the [Fe(CN)$_6$] molecular block were recorded and evaluated. An intense absorption band around 600 nm was observed for compounds where the valence of the involved metals allows charge transfer through the CN ligand (inner photo-induced redox reactions). In the absence of this transition, only the signal corresponding to d-d transitions within the metal was observed, which falls below 450 nm. This suggests that photoacoustic spectroscopy provides a fast and reliable method to explore the existence of tunable photo-induced charge transfer in molecular materials

Effects of mesquite gum-candelilla wax based edible coatings on the quality of guava fruit (Psidium guajava L.)

The ability of composite edible coatings to preserve the quality of guava fruit (Psidium guajava L.) at 20ºC was studied for a period of 15 days. The edible coatings were formulated with candelilla wax blended with white mineral oil as the lipid phase and mesquite gum as the structural material. The use of edible coatings prolonged the shelf life of treated fruits by retarding ethylene emission and enhancing texture as compared to control samples. At the sixth day, the ethylene produced by the control samples was fivefold higher than the ethylene produced by the coated samples. In addition, the physiological weight loss of coated fruits was nearly 30% lower than the control samples

Determination of the Thermal Diffusivity of Calcium Salts of Saturated Carboxylic Acids1

Calcium soaps are materials that serve a wide range of industrial applications such as softeners, detergents, plasticizers, greases, lubricants, cosmetics, and medicines. In addition, calcium salts of saturated carboxylic acids are of interest because of their presence in the staple food of Mexicans and other Central American people: the corn tortilla. Because of their wide use in industry, a knowledge of the thermal properties of the alkaline metal soaps is of great importance. In the present work, the thermal diffusivity of butyric-Ca, valeric-Ca, caprilic-Ca, undecanoic-Ca, palmitic-Ca, and stearic-Ca salts has been determined by photoacoustics. The thermal diffusivity of these salts shows a linear dependence on the number of carbons in the aliphatic chain, and was found within the range 2.60×10−3 to 1.38×10−2 cm2 · s−1, with the highest and lowest values corresponding to butyric-Ca and stearic-Ca, respectively

Photoinduced Charge Transfer in Molecular Materials Studied

Photoacoustic spectra of molecular materials based on the assembling of the [Fe(CN)6] molecular block were recorded and evaluated. Those compositions where the valence of the involved metals allows a charge transfer (an inner photoinduced redox reaction) through the CN ligand shown an intense photoacous tic signal around 600 nm; when this transition is unable only the signal corresponding to metal to ligand and d–d transitions within the metal were observed. This suggests that this technique provides a fast and reliable method to explore the existence of tunable photoinduced charge transfer in molecular materials

Optical properties of rhodamine 6G-doped TiO2_2 sol-gel films

The optical properties of titania (TiO$_2$) thin films prepared by the sol-gel process and doped with rhodamine 6G were studied by Photoacoustic Spectroscopy. Rhodamine 6G-doping was achieved by adding 0.01%, 0.02%, 0.05% y 0.1% mol rhodamine to a solution that contained titanium isopropoxide as precursor. Two absorption regions were distinguished in the absorption spectrum of a typical rhodamine 6G-doped TiO$_2$ film. A shift of these bands occured as a function of rhodamine 6G-doping concentration. In addition, the optical absorption and band gap energy for rutile-phase TiO$_2$ films were calculated employing the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method. A comparison of these calculations with experimental data of TiO$_2$ films prepared by sol-gel at room temperature was performed