From Villa to Bungalow to Jazz Modern: New Zealand Houses between the Two World Wars

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Methoxyflurane: a review with emphasis on its role in dental practice

Methoxyflurane was developed as an anaesthetic agent and introduced into clinical practice in 1960. It soon became evident that it possessed analgesic properties that other drugs did not. Due to toxicity concerns, it lost favour in general anaesthesia and had been largely abandoned by the late 1970's. The manufacturer withdrew it in 1999, and the Food and Drug Administration in the United States did not renew its license in 2005. It has also been withdrawn by the European Union. However, it continues to be used in Australasia, primarily as an inhaled self-administered analgesic by emergency services immediately following trauma. It has become attractive for use in dental practice, likely due to its effectiveness as an analgesic and its additional sedative qualities. Its acceptance is controversial as its use in dentistry is largely elective. Despite its good safety record in analgesic doses, adverse reactions have been recorded. Practitioners should be well aware of risks associated with its use before considering administration, and carefully assess whether or not there are equally good alternative options that do not the carry the same risks. Methoxyflurane is reviewed below with an emphasis on its use in dental practice.Angus Kingon, Tami Yap, Carmelo Bonanno, Paul Sambrook, and Michael McCulloug

WORKPLACE EMPOWERMENT, ROLE AMBIGUITY, AND JOB SATISFACTION AMONG ONTARIO’S ADVANCED PRACTICE NURSES

This study tested a model derived from Kanter\u27s theory of workplace empowerment linking empowerment, role ambiguity, and job satisfaction among advanced practice nurses (APNs) working in acute care hospitals in Ontario, Canada. A descriptive correlational survey design was used (N = 160, return rate 60.2 %). Correlation and regression analysis revealed moderate negative relationships between empowerment and role ambiguity (r= - 0.53,p = 0.01) and between role ambiguity and job satisfaction (r= - 0.52,p = 0.01). Empowerment explained 36.6% of the variance in job satisfaction [R2 = 0.36, F(1, 158) = 91.05,p \u3c 0.01] and when combined with role ambiguity, predicted 42.2% ofjob satisfaction [R2 = 0.42, F(2, 157) = 57.29,p \u3c 0.01]. Findings support the applicability of Kanter’s theory in the APN population

Selective activation of T cells in newly diagnosed insulin-dependent diabetic patients: evidence for heterogeneity of T cell receptor usage.

Cell surface phenotyping of 58 newly diagnosed diabetic children and 25 controls confirmed the presence of activated T cells, expressing HLA class II antigens or receptors for interleukin-2 (IL-2R, CD25) in the majority of the patients. Some of these cells putatively include those involved in islet cell destruction, as reported previously. Monoclonal antibodies recognizing three families of the variable regions of the beta chain (V beta) of the T cell receptor were used to determine the percentage of peripheral blood cells expressing those specific gene segment products. The number of the activated T cells from each V beta family was compared with that of the resting T cells of the same family in the patients and the controls. In 18 out of 58 (31%) of these patients there was evidence of oligoclonal proliferation of activated T cells as judged by marked increases in cells expressing a V beta family in the IL-2R+ T cell pool, compared with the total T cell pool. However, different V beta families were augmented in individual patients, indicating considerable heterogeneity of T cell activation in different patients. These results are in contrast to murine models of autoimmunity, where virtually monoclonal T cell activation, restricted to a single V beta family has been reported

Bariatric surgery to treat severely obese patients with type 2 diabetes: A consensus statement

Paul Zimmet, Lesley Campbell, Robyn Toomath, Stephen Twigg, Gary Wittert, Joe Proiett