Pridinol for cancer-related myofascial pain

Myofascial pain is an important yet under recognised component of cancer pain. It has a prevalence of between 11.9 and 44.8% in cancer patients. Treatments for myofascial pain reduce the prevalence of myofascial trigger points therefore decreasing pain and improving range of motion. Pridinol is a nonbenzodiazepine antispasmodic licenced for the treatment of central and peripheral muscle spasms in adults. This paper describes two case histories where patients with myofascial pain were successfully treated with pridinol. These cases highlight the importance of treating myofascial pain and the potential of pridinol to treat cancer-related myofascial pain

Discrete-time velocity-based multiple model networks

The velocity-based local model (LM) network is a novel modelling approach that overcomes the lack of interpretability associated with the conventional LM network technique. The global dynamics of the nonlinear network are directly related to the underlying sub-model dynamics. Thus, the velocity-based network is ideally suited to the development of local controller (LC) networks. Furthermore, the local models are continuous-time, velocity-based and linear, providing continuity with established linear theory. To date, research has focused on the continuous-time version of the velocity-based network. The application of digital computer is widely popular in the field of control and, therefore, this paper develops a discrete-time velocity-based multiple model representation. A complex nonlinear process, in the form of a simulated continuous stirred tank reactor, is used to examine the modelling capabilities of the proposed discrete-time technique

Optimisation of Urine Sample Preparation for Headspace-Solid Phase Microextraction Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry: Altering Sample pH, Sulphuric Acid Concentration and Phase Ratio

Headspace-solid phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) can be used to measure volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in human urine. However, there is no widely adopted standardised protocol for the preparation of urine samples for analysis resulting in an inability to compare studies reliably between laboratories. This paper investigated the effect of altering urine sample pH, volume, and vial size for optimising detection of VOCs when using HS-SPME-GC-MS. This is the first, direct comparison of H2SO4, HCl, and NaOH as treatment techniques prior to HS-SPME-GC-MS analysis. Altering urine sample pH indicates that H2SO4 is more effective at optimising detection of VOCs than HCl or NaOH. H2SO4 resulted in a significantly larger mean number of VOCs being identified per sample (on average, 33.5 VOCs to 24.3 in HCl or 12.2 in NaOH treated urine) and more unique VOCs, produced a more diverse range of classes of VOCs, and led to less HS-SPME-GC-MS degradation. We propose that adding 0.2 mL of 2.5 M H2SO4 to 1 mL of urine within a 10 mL headspace vial is the optimal sample preparation prior to HS-SPME-GC-MS analysis. We hope the use of our optimised method for urinary HS-SPME-GC-MS analysis will enhance our understanding of human disease and bolster metabolic biomarker identification

Improved analgesia by correction of hypomagnesaemia?

The role of magnesium as an analgesic in patients is unclear. Hypomagnesaemia is a common electrolyte abnormality, in the chronic state symptoms are insidious and often non-specific. It is often undiagnosed and thus untreated. There is evidence from animal studies that magnesium is involved in pain control including an animal model of hyperalgesia induced by hypomagnesaemia. We report two cases of patients admitted for pain control which improved when hypomagnesaemia was treated. Each case had metastatic cancer. Both were found on admission to have asymptomatic hypomagnesaemia and were treated with intravenous magnesium. Treatment for hypomagnesaemia resulted in an improvement in pain control such that analgesia was decreased. The incidence of hypomagnesaemia in palliative patients is unknown although it is thought to be common. These cases suggest that treating hypomagnesaemia may improve pain control.</jats:p

On stability of affine blending systems

This paper presents a novel approach to stability analysis of affine blending systems. The analysis is based on Quadratic Lyapunov functions. The approach considers the nonlinear offset term in affine blending systems as non-vanishing perturbations added to the corresponding nominal linear blending systems. The affine blending systems will be bounded if the corresponding linear blending system is exponentially stable. The bound is determined by an ultimate limit, which is proportional to the maximum of the offset terms of each affine system

Discrete-time velocity-based multiple model networks

The velocity-based local model (LM) network is a novel modelling approach that overcomes the lack of interpretability associated with the conventional LM network technique. The global dynamics of the nonlinear network are directly related to the underlying sub-model dynamics. Thus, the velocity-based network is ideally suited to the development of local controller (LC) networks. Furthermore, the local models are continuous-time, velocity-based and linear, providing continuity with established linear theory. To date, research has focused on the continuous-time version of the velocity-based network. The application of digital computer is widely popular in the field of control and, therefore, this paper develops a discrete-time velocity-based multiple model representation. A complex nonlinear process, in the form of a simulated continuous stirred tank reactor, is used to examine the modelling capabilities of the proposed discrete-time technique

mdrl Ribozyme mediated reversal of the multi-drug resistant phenotype in human lung cell lines

An mdrl hammerhead was introduced into two adriamycin-selected multi-drug resistant human lung cell lines both of which over-express p-glycoprotein. Expression of the ribozyme resulted in a decrease in mdrl mRNA expression and an increase in drug sensitivity in both cell lines. This would suggest that the use of specific ribozymes may represent an effective and specific approach in order to restore cellular sensitivity towards anti-cancer drugs