Specific down-regulation of spinal μ-opioid receptor and reduced analgesic effects of morphine in mice with postherpetic pain

The analgesic effects of opioid agonists and the expression of μ-and κ-opioid receptors were compared between mice with herpetic pain and those with postherpetic pain induced by herpetic virus inoculation. Morphine inhibited herpetic pain more effectively than postherpetic pain. Intrathecal injection reduced the analgesic effects of morphine on postherpetic pain, but intracerebroventricular injection did not. The κ-opioid receptor agonist nalfurafine suppressed herpetic and postherpetic pain to similar degrees. μ-Opioid receptor-like immunoreactivities in the lumbar dorsal horn were markedly decreased at the postherpetic, but not herpetic, stage of pain. In the dorsal root ganglia, the expression of μ-opioid receptor mRNA was significantly decreased in mice with postherpetic pain, whereas the κ-opioid receptor mRNA level was not altered. These results suggest that specific down-regulation of the μ-opioid receptor in the primary sensory neurons is responsible for the reduced analgesic action of morphine on postherpetic pain. The κ-opioid receptor may be a useful target for the analgesic treatment of postherpetic neuralgia

Effect of amino acids and amino acid derivatives on crystallization of hemoglobin and ribonuclease A

The effect of the addition of amino acids and amino acid derivatives on the crystallization of hemoglobin and ribonuclease A has been evaluated. The results showed that certain types of additives expand the concentration conditions in which crystals are formed

Serum Concentration of Myosin Light Chain I and Left Ventricular Shortening Fraction in Neonates

We compared the serum concentrations of myosin light chain I (MLC-I) and left ventricular shortening fraction (LVSF) measured by echocardiography of 13 normal neonates with those of 38 neonates with fetal distress, neonatal asphyxia, or cardiovascular/respiratory diseases not associated with structural abnormalities. The diseased group included 9 neonates with elevated MLC-I concentrations and 18 with low LVSF. Elevated MLC-I concentrations were frequently noted in neonates with transient myocardial ischemia and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn, suggesting a high specificity of MLC-I elevation in these diseases. Although echocardiographically determined LVSF identifies the affected sections of the myocardium, it did not allow rating of the severity of the disorder. There was no correlation between MLC-I and LVSF probably due to therapeutic interventions and pulmonary hypertension. Our results suggest that MLC-I is a useful marker of neonatal myocardial diseases

Derivation and validation of an equation to determine the optimal ventilator setting in children undergoing intracranial revascularization surgery: A single-center retrospective study

Background: It can be difficult to determine the appropriate ventilator settings to maintain normocapnia in children undergoing general anesthesia for surgery for moyamoya disease, especially immediately following anesthesia induction. Aim: We conducted this study to attempt to derive an equation to predict the appropriate ventilator settings and subsequently validated the accuracy of the equation. Methods: A retrospective study of 91 pediatric patients less than 18 years of age who underwent cerebral revascularization for moyamoya disease at our institution. Fifty‐eight patients were used to derive the equation, and the subsequent 33 patients were used to validate the equation. We calculated the required respiratory rate to attain normocapnia based on the median of all values of the minute volume during normocapnia (estimated partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide of 38‐42 mm Hg) and the assumption that the tidal volume was 8 mL/kg body weight. We derived the regression equation from the derivation data set where the required respiratory rate to attain normocapnia was represented by age. We simplified the equation by rounding coefficients to the nearest integer. The level of agreement between the respiratory rate predicted from the equation and the actual required respiratory rate was assessed in the validation group using Bland‐Altman analysis. Results: The derived equation is tidal volume = 8 mL/kg body weight, respiratory rate = 24‐age/min. Bland‐Altman analysis in the validation group revealed that the mean bias between the predicted and actual respiratory rate was 0.29 (standard deviation, 3.67). The percentage of cases where the predicted rate was within ± 10% and ± 20% of the actual rate was 42.4% and 66.7%, respectively. Conclusions: We derived and validated a simple and easily applicable equation to predict the ventilator settings required to attain normocapnia during general anesthesia in children with moyamoya disease

Validation of the Radford Nomogram to Estimate the Minute Volume Required to Attain Normocapnia in Patients Undergoing General Anesthesia: A Single-Center Retrospective Study

Objective: The Radford nomogram, an old mathematical chart device to estimate the required ventilation for maintaining normocapnia, remains unvalidated in patients undergoing modern, balanced anesthesia. This study aims to investigate the performance of the Radford nomogram in patients undergoing general anesthesia and derive a simple equation to estimate the minute volume required to attain normocapnia (MVnorm). Methods: This single-center retrospective study enrolled 78 patients (age ≥ 18 years) undergoing cerebral revascularization for Moyamoya disease. We defi ned MVnorm as the median of all values of the minute volume during normocapnia (estimated PaCO2: 38–42 mmHg). We examined the agreement level between the estimated minute volume using the Radford nomogram and MVnorm using the Bland–Altman analysis. Furthermore, we developed and validated a simple equation predicting MVnorm based on gender and a multiple of body weight, using a split-sample validation technique. Result: The Radford nomogram tended to overestimate MVnorm with a mean bias of 560 mL/min (95% limits of agreement, -848–1, 968 mL/min). The equation developed using data from the development group (n = 52): required minute volume (mL/min) = 85 × body weight (kg) in male patients and 70 × body weight (kg) in female patients. In the validation group (n = 26), the mean bias of this simple equation was 224 mL/min (95% limits of agreement, -1, 264–1, 712 mL/min). Conclusion: The Radford nomogram overestimates MVnorm in modern, balanced anesthesia. The simple equation using gender and a multiple of body weight yields similar predictive performance to the Radford nomogram

Myocardial sympathetic denervation prevents chamber-specific alteration of beta-adrenergic transmembrane signaling in rabbits with heart failure

Objectives.The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of myocardial sympathetic denervation on the chamber-specific alteration of beta-adrenergic signaling in left ventricular failure in rabbits.Background.Local abnormalities in sympathetic nerve terminals, including the neuronal reuptake of norepinephrine, are thought to be responsible for the chamber-specific regulation of beta-adrenergic signaling in heart failure.Methods.Sixteen rabbits were given 6-hydroxydopamine, 25 mg/kg body weight intravenously on days 1 and 2 and 50 mg/kg intravenously on days 7 and 8. Another 16 rabbits received vehicle. Aortic regurgitation was induced in eight of the 6-hydroxydopamine—treated and eight of the vehicle-treated rabbits on day 14. Another eight of the 6-hydroxydopamine—treated and eight of the vehicletreated rabbits underwent a sham operation. The hearts were excised for biochemical analysis on day 21.Results.Hemodynamic characteristics on day 21 showed left ventricular failure in both the aortic regurgitation groups. The plasma norepinephrine concentration on day 21 was higher in both the aortic regurgitation groups than in the sham groups. The beta-adrenoceptor densities and isoproterenol plus 5′guanylylimidodiphosphate-, 5′-guanylylimidodiphosphate- and sodium fluoride-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activities were decreased only in the failing left ventricle of the vehicle-pretreated aortic regurgitation group, but in both ventricles of the 6-hydroxydopamine-pretreated aortic regurgitation group. The basal and forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activities were similar in both the aortic regurgitation groups and in the sham groups.Conclusions.Sympathetic denervation prevented chamberspecific alterations in beta-adrenergic signaling in acute left ventricular failure. Local loss of sympathetic nerve endings, and especially the defective neuronal norepinephrine reuptake, are likely to be responsible for the chamber-specific alteration of the beta-adrenoceptor-G protein-adenylyl cyclase system in heart failure in rabbits

Room temperature multiplexed gas sensing using chemical-sensitive 3.5-nm-thin silicon transistors

There is great interest in developing a low-power gas sensing technology that can sensitively and selectively quantify the chemical composition of a target atmosphere. Nanomaterials have emerged as extremely promising candidates for this technology due to their inherent low-dimensional nature and high surface-to-volume ratio. Among these, nanoscale silicon is of great interest because pristine silicon is largely inert on its own in the context of gas sensing, unless functionalized with an appropriate gas-sensitive material. We report a chemical-sensitive field-effect transistor (CS-FET) platform based on 3.5-nm-thin silicon channel transistors. Using industry compatible processing techniques, the conventional electrically active gate stack is replaced by an ultrathin chemical-sensitive layer that is electrically conconducting and coupled to the 3.5-nm-thin silicon channel. We demonstrate a low-power, sensitive, and selective multiplexed gas sensing technology using this platform by detecting H_2S, H_2, and NO_2 at room temperature for environment, health, and safety in the oil and gas industry, offering significant advantages over existing technology. Moreover, the system described here can be readily integrated with mobile electronics for distributed sensor networks in environmental pollution mapping and personal air-quality monitors

Fully integrated wearable sensor arrays for multiplexed in situ perspiration analysis

Wearable sensor technologies are essential to the realization of personalized medicine through continuously monitoring an individual’s state of health. Sampling human sweat, which is rich in physiological information, could enable non-invasive monitoring. Previously reported sweat-based and other non-invasive biosensors either can only monitor a single analyte at a time or lack on-site signal processing circuitry and sensor calibration mechanisms for accurate analysis of the physiological state. Given the complexity of sweat secretion, simultaneous and multiplexed screening of target biomarkers is critical and requires full system integration to ensure the accuracy of measurements. Here we present a mechanically flexible and fully integrated (that is, no external analysis is needed) sensor array for multiplexed in situ perspiration analysis, which simultaneously and selectively measures sweat metabolites (such as glucose and lactate) and electrolytes (such as sodium and potassium ions), as well as the skin temperature (to calibrate the response of the sensors). Our work bridges the technological gap between signal transduction, conditioning (amplification and filtering), processing and wireless transmission in wearable biosensors by merging plastic-based sensors that interface with the skin with silicon integrated circuits consolidated on a flexible circuit board for complex signal processing. This application could not have been realized using either of these technologies alone owing to their respective inherent limitations. The wearable system is used to measure the detailed sweat profile of human subjects engaged in prolonged indoor and outdoor physical activities, and to make a real-time assessment of the physiological state of the subjects. This platform enables a wide range of personalized diagnostic and physiological monitoring applications

Quality of life of children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic : a 1-year follow-up study

This study aimed to reveal changes in the quality of life (QOL) of children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their parents, and the interaction between their QOL and parental mental state during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Eighty-nine school-aged children and parents participated in surveys in May 2020 (T1) and May 2021 (T2). The parents completed questionnaires that assessed their QOL, depression, parenting stress, and living conditions. Children's temporary mood status was evaluated using the self-reported visual analog scale (VAS). Children's QOL and VAS at T2 were higher than their QOL at T1. Parents' QOL at T2 was lower than their QOL at T1. Severe parental depression at T1 had a synergistic effect on severe parenting stress and severe depressive state at T2. Additionally, children's high QOL at T1 had a synergistic effect on low parenting stress and children's high QOL at T2. Furthermore, children's low VAS scores and parents' low QOL at T2 were associated with deterioration of family economic status. Children and parents' QOL changed during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Improvement in children's QOL was influenced by reduced maternal depressive symptoms. Public support for parental mental health is important to avoid decreasing QOL.Peer reviewe