Upper respiratory tract infections and general anaesthesia in children

Conflicting reports regarding the hazards of anaesthesia in children presenting for surgery with an upper respiratory tract infection have appeared in the literature. In the present study 130 children undergoing general anaesthesia with face mask for myringotomy and grommet insertion were graded as having either an acute or recent upper respiratory tract infection or were asymptomatic according to predetermined clinical symptoms and signs. The severity of respiratory and related complications were scored during induction, emergence and recovery. The peripheral oxygen saturation was recorded during induction, emergence, transfer to the recovery ward and in the recovery ward itself. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in the complication scores between the three groups of children. However, the incidence of hypoxaemia (oxygen saturation ± 93%) was significantly greater during transfer in the acute infection group (p = 0.001) and the recent infection group (p = 0.02), as well as during recovery in the acute group (p = 0.03) compared with asymptomatic children.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75689/1/j.1365-2044.1992.tb02389.x.pd

Effect of Vehicle on the Nasal Absorption of Epinephrine During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90174/1/j.1875-9114.1996.tb03030.x.pd

Hemodynamic alterations and regional myocardial blood flow during supraceliac aortic occlusion in dogs with a critical coronary stenosis

The hemodynamic consequences and myocardial blood flow alterations associated with cross-clamping of the thoracic aorta were studied during pentobarbital (control), halothane (1 MAC), and isoflurane (1 MAC) anesthesia in dogs with a critical stenosis of the left circumflex coronary artery. Aortic clamping at the level of the diaphragm resulted in significant and equivalent increases in mean aortic pressure and left atrial pressure during the control clamp, halothane clamp, and isoflurane clamp periods. Likewise, aortic clamping resulted in a significant and equivalent decrease in cardiac output during control-clamp, halothane clamp, and isoflurane clamp. Myocardial contractility as assessed by dP/dt was depressed during halothane and isoflurane anesthesia when compared with control, but no further change in contractility was associated with aortic clamping. No signifcant alterations in regional or transmural myocardial bloc flow were found with halothane or isoflurane anesthesia, c with aortic clamping during halothane or isoflurane anesthesia. It is concluded that there are significant hemodynami consequences associated with aortic clamping, that neithe halothane nor isoflurane anesthesia alters these consequences when compared with pentobarbital anesthesia alone and that the deterioration in myocardial function observe during aortic clamping with halothane and isoflurane anesthesia cannot be attributed to any maldistribution of myocardh blood flow.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/29461/1/0000544.pd

The Income Tax Compliance Cost of Big Business

A survey of 1,329 of the largest corporations m the United States reveals that the average annual cost of compliance with federal and subfederal corporation income taxes is approximately $1.565 million, implying an aggregate annual compliance cost of over$2 billion. As a fraction of revenue raised, these compliance costs are lower than estimates that have been made for the individual income tax. The cost-to-revenue ratio is higher for state corporate tax systems than it is for the federal tax system, presumably reflecting the nonuniformity of state tax systems There is near unanimity among senior corporate tax officers that the Tax Reform Act of 1986 added complexity to the tax system, resulting in a combination of higher compliance costs and less accurate information transmission. They point to, in particular, the alternative minimum tax, inventory capitalization rules, and the taxation of foreign-source income as growing sources of complexity.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69154/2/10.1177_109114219602400401.pd

The evolutionary dynamics of variant antigen genes in Babesia reveal a history of genomic innovation underlying host-parasite interaction

Babesia spp. are tick-borne, intraerythrocytic hemoparasites that use antigenic variation to resist host immunity, through sequential modification of the parasite-derived variant erythrocyte surface antigen (VESA) expressed on the infected red blood cell surface. We identified the genomic processes driving antigenic diversity in genes encoding VESA (ves1) through comparative analysis within and between three Babesia species, (B. bigemina, B. divergens and B. bovis). Ves1 structure diverges rapidly after speciation, notably through the evolution of shortened forms (ves2) from 5′ ends of canonical ves1 genes. Phylogenetic analyses show that ves1 genes are transposed between loci routinely, whereas ves2 genes are not. Similarly, analysis of sequence mosaicism shows that recombination drives variation in ves1 sequences, but less so for ves2, indicating the adoption of different mechanisms for variation of the two families. Proteomic analysis of the B. bigemina PR isolate shows that two dominant VESA1 proteins are expressed in the population, whereas numerous VESA2 proteins are co-expressed, consistent with differential transcriptional regulation of each family. Hence, VESA2 proteins are abundant and previously unrecognized elements of Babesia biology, with evolutionary dynamics consistently different to those of VESA1, suggesting that their functions are distinct

Contribution of Hepatic Cytochrome P450 3A4 Metabolic Activity to the Phenomenon of Clopidogrel Resistance

Background— Interindividual variability of platelet inhibition after aspirin or clopidogrel administration has been described. Additionally, aspirin resistance and clopidogrel resistance occur in some individuals. Because the prodrug clopidogrel is activated by hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4, we hypothesized that interindividual variability in clopidogrel efficacy might be related to interindividual differences in CYP3A4 metabolic activity. Methods and Results— Platelet aggregation was measured before and after clopidogrel treatment in 32 patients undergoing coronary artery stent implantation and in 35 healthy volunteers. The erythromycin breath test was used to measure CYP3A4 activity in vivo in 25 of the healthy volunteers. Individual platelet aggregation was studied in 10 healthy volunteers after the coadministration of clopidogrel and rifampin (a CYP3A4 inducer). Clopidogrel nonresponders, low responders, and responders were defined by a relative inhibition of adenosine diphosphate (20 μmol/L)–induced platelet aggregation of less than 10%, 10% to 29%, and ≥30%, respectively. Among patients, 22% were clopidogrel nonresponders, 32% were low responders, and 47% were responders. Among volunteers, 16% were nonresponders, 12% were low responders, and 72% were responders. Percent platelet aggregation after clopidogrel inversely correlated with CYP3A4 activity (r=−0.6, P=0.003). Improved platelet inhibition in volunteers resistant to clopidogrel was observed with the coadministration of clopidogrel and rifampin. Conclusions— Clopidogrel administration results in interindividual variability in platelet inhibition, which correlates with CYP3A4 metabolic activity. Measurement of antiplatelet drug efficacy with a point-of-care device and alternative antithrombotic strategies for aspirin or clopidogrel nonresponders and low responders could reduce the incidence of thrombotic events that continue to occur despite oral antiplatelet therapy

Anomalous production of top quarks at CLIC+LHC based gamma p colliders

The single production of top quark due to flavor changing neutral current (FCNC) interaction and its decay to bW are studied at CLIC+LHC based gamma-p colliders. We consider both t-c-gamma and t-u-gamma anomalous couplings. The anomalous charm (up) quark anomalous coupling parameter kappa_gamma^c (kappa_gamma^u) can be probed down to 9.5x10^-3 (8.0x10^-3) at a gamma-p collider with sqrt{s_ep}=6.48 TeV and L_int=100 fb^-1.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, 4 table

Dark sectors 2016 Workshop: community report

This report, based on the Dark Sectors workshop at SLAC in April 2016, summarizes the scientific importance of searches for dark sector dark matter and forces at masses beneath the weak-scale, the status of this broad international field, the important milestones motivating future exploration, and promising experimental opportunities to reach these milestones over the next 5-10 years