The Impact of Caesarean Delivery on Paracetamol and Ketorolac Pharmacokinetics: A Paired Analysis

Pharmacokinetics is a first, but essential step to improve population-tailored postoperative analgesia, also after Caesarean delivery. We therefore aimed to quantify the impact of caesarean delivery on the pharmacokinetics of intravenous (iv) paracetamol (2 g, single dose) and iv ketorolac tromethamine (30 mg, single dose) in 2 cohorts eachof 8 women at caesarean delivery and to compare these findings with postpartum to quantify intrapatient changes. We documented a higher median paracetamol clearance at delivery when compared to 10–15 weeks postpartum (11.7 to 6.4 L/h·m2, P < 0.01), even after correction for weight-related changes. Similar conclusions were drawn for ketorolac: median clearance was higher at delivery with a subsequent decrease (2.03 to 1.43 L/h·m2, P < 0.05) in postpartum (17–23 weeks). These differences likely reflect pregnancy- and caesarean-delivery-related changes in drug disposition. Moreover, postpartum paracetamol clearance was significantly lower when compared to estimates published in healthy young volunteers (6.4  versus  9.6 L/h·m2), while this was not the case for ketorolac (1.43  versus  1.48 L/h·m2). This suggests that postpartum is another specific status in young women that merits focused, compound-specific pharmacokinetic evaluation

Effects of Various Doses of Selenite on Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica L.)

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of selenium (Se) on the growth, accumulation and possible mechanisms of Se transport in certain parts (roots, leaves, stamp and apex) of nettle (Urtica dioica L.) plants. Se was supplemented by one-shot and two repeated doses to the soil (2.0 and 4.0 mg Se per kg of substrate). Selenium content in roots increased linearly with dose and was significantly higher compared to other plant parts of interest. However, growth of the above-ground parts of plant as well as roots was slightly inhibited with increasing selenium concentration in comparison to the untreated plants. The content of phytochelatin2, a low molecular mass peptide containing a sulfhydryl group, correlated well with the Se content. This suggests a possible stimulation of synthesis of this plant peptide by Se

Impact of donor lung quality on post-transplant recipient outcome in the Lung Allocation Score era in Eurotransplant - a historical prospective study

The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is an impact of donation rates on the quality of lungs used for transplantation and whether donor lung quality affects post-transplant outcome in the current LAS era. All consecutive adult LTx performed in Eurotransplant (ET) between January 2012 and December 2016 were included (N=3053). Donors used for LTx in countries with high donation rate were younger (42% vs. 33% ≤ 45 years, p<0.0001), were less often smokers (35% vs. 46%, p<0.0001), had more often clear chest X-rays (82% vs. 72%, p<0.0001), had better donor oxygenation ratio's (20% vs. 26% with PaO /FiO ≤ 300 mmHg, p<0.0001) and had better lung donor score values (LDS) (28% vs. 17% with LDS=6, p<0.0001) compared to donors used for LTx in countries with low donation rate. Survival rates for the groups LDS =6 and ≥7 at 5 years were 69.7% and 60.9% (p=0.007). Lung donor quality significantly impacts on long-term patient survival. Countries with a low donation rate are more oriented to using donor lungs with a lesser quality compared to countries with a high donation rate. Instead of further stretching donor eligibility criteria, the full potential of the donor pool should be realized

Impact of donor lung quality on post-transplant recipient outcome in the Lung Allocation Score era in Eurotransplant – a historical prospective study

The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is an impact of donation rates on the quality of lungs used for transplantation and whether donor lung quality affects post-transplant outcome in the current Lung Allocation Score era. All consecutive adult LTx performed in Eurotransplant (ET) between January 2012 and December 2016 were included (N = 3053). Donors used for LTx in countries with high donation rate were younger (42% vs. 33% ≤45 years, P < 0.0001), were less often smokers (35% vs. 46%, P < 0.0001), had more often clear chest X-rays (82% vs. 72%, P < 0.0001), had better donor oxygenation ratios (20% vs. 26% with PaO2/FiO2 ≤ 300 mmHg, P < 0.0001), and had better lung donor score values (LDS; 28% vs. 17% with LDS = 6, P < 0.0001) compared with donors used for LTx in countries with low donation rate. Survival rates for the groups LDS = 6 and ≥7 at 5 years were 69.7% and 60.9% (P = 0.007). Lung donor quality significantly impacts on long-term patient survival. Countries with a low donation rate are more oriented to using donor lungs with a lesser quality compared to countries with a high donation rate. Instead of further stretching donor eligibility criteria, the full potential of the donor pool should be realized

Lung allocation score: The Eurotransplant model versus the revised US model - a cross-sectional study

Both Eurotransplant (ET) and the US use the lung allocation score (LAS) to allocate donor lungs. In 2015, the US implemented a new algorithm for calculating the score while ET has fine-tuned the original model using business rules. A comparison of both models in a contemporary patient cohort was performed. The rank positions and the correlation between both scores were calculated for all patients on the active waiting list in ET. On February 6th 2017, 581 patients were actively listed on the lung transplant waiting list. The median LAS values were 32.56 and 32.70 in ET and the US, respectively. The overall correlation coefficient between both scores was 0.71. Forty-three per cent of the patients had a < 2 point change in their LAS. US LAS was more than two points lower for 41% and more than two points higher for 16% of the patients. Median ranks and the 90th percentiles for all diagnosis groups did not differ between both scores. Implementing the 2015 US LAS model would not significantly alter the current waiting list in ET

FIDDLE. Simultaneous Indexing and Structure Solution from Powder Diffraction Data using a Genetic Algorithm and Correlation Functions

A method for the determination of crystal structures from powder diffraction data is presented that circumvents the difficulties associated with separate indexing. For the simultaneous optimization of the parameters that describe a crystal structure a genetic algorithm is used together with a pattern matching technique based on auto and cross correlation functions.<br /

Evaluation of various sets of acoustic cues for the perception of prevocalic stop consonants. I. Perception experiment

The purpose of the study presented in this paper and the accompanying paper [Smits et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 100, 3865–3881 (1996)] is to evaluate whether detailed or gross time-frequency structures are more relevant for the perception of place of articulation of prevocalic stop consonants. To this end, first a perception experiment is carried out with ``burst-spliced'' stop-vowel utterances, containing the Dutch stops /b,d,p,t/ and /k/. From the utterances burst-only, burstless, and cross-spliced stimuli were created and presented to listeners. The results of the experiment show that the relative importance of burst and transitions for the perception of place of articulation to a great extent depends on place and voicing of the stop consonant and on the vowel context. Velar bursts are generally more effective in cueing place of articulation than other bursts. There is no significant difference in the effectiveness of /p/, /t/, and /k/ transitions, while /b/ transitions are more effective than /d/ transitions. The release burst dominates the perception of place of articulation in front-vowel contexts, while the formant transitions are generally dominant in nonfront vowel contexts. The bursts of unvoiced stops are perceptually more important than the bursts of voiced stops

Evaluation of various sets of acoustic cues for the perception of prevocalic stop consonants. II. Modeling and evaluation

The purpose of the study presented in this paper and the accompanying paper [Smits et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 100, 3852–3864 (1996)] is to evaluate whether detailed or gross time-frequency structures are more relevant for the perception of prevocalic stop consonants. To this end, first a perception experiment was carried out with ``burst-spliced'' stop-vowel utterances. This experiment is described in the accompanying paper. The present paper describes the second part of the investigation, i.e., the simulation of the behavior of the listeners in the perception experiment. First, a number of detailed and gross cues are measured on the stimuli. Next, these cues are mapped onto the observed perceptual data using a formal model of human classification behavior. The results show that in all cases the detailed cues, such as formant transitions, give a better account of the perceptual data than the gross cues, such as the global spectral tilt and its initial change. The best-performing models are interpreted in terms of the acoustic boundaries which are associated with the perceived linguistic contrasts. These boundaries are highly interpretable linear functions of five or six acoustic cues, which give a quantitative description of the often-discussed ``trade-off'' relation between the various cues for perception of place of articulation in stop consonant