The conditioning of medical gases with hot water humidifiers

During invasive mechanical ventilation due to the dryness of medical gases is necessary to provide an adequate level of conditioning. The hot water humidifiers (HWH) heat the water, thus allowing the water vapor to heat and humidify the medical gases. In the common HWH there is a contact between the medical gases and the sterile water, thus increasing the risk of patient’s colonization and infection. Recently to avoid the condensation in the inspiratory limb of the ventilator circuit, new heated ventilator circuits have been developed. In this in vitro study we evaluated the efficiency (absolute/relative humidity) of three HWH: (1) a common HWH without a heated ventilator circuit (MR 730, Fisher&Paykel, New Zeland), (2) the same HWH with a heated ventilator circuit (Mallinckrodt Dar, Italy) and (3) a new HWH (DAR HC 2000, Mallinkckrodt Dar, Italy) with a heated ventilator circuit in which the water vapor reaches the medical gases through a gorotex membrane, avoiding any direct contact between the water and gases. At a temperature of 35°C and 37°C the HWH and heated tube were evaluated. The absolute humidity (AH) and relative humidity (RH) were measured by a psychometric method. The minute ventilation, tidal volume respiratory rate and oxygen fraction were: 5.8 ± 0.1 l/min, 740 ± 258 ml, 7.5 ± 2.6 bpm and 100%, respectively. Ventilator P2 Use of a bougie during percutaneous tracheostom

Immunohistochemical Distribution of Serotonin Transporter (SERT) in the Optic Lobe of the Honeybee, Apis mellifera

Visual information is processed in the optic lobes, which consist of three retinotopic neuropils. These are the lamina, the medulla and the lobula. Biogenic amines play a crucial role in the control of insect responsiveness, and serotonin is clearly related to aggressiveness in invertebrates. Previous studies suggest that serotonin modulates aggression-related behaviours, possibly via alterations in optic lobe activity. The aim of this investigation was to immunohistochemically localize the distribution of serotonin transporter (SERT) in the optic lobe of moderate, docile and aggressive worker honeybees. SERT-immunoreactive fibres showed a wide distribution in the lamina, medulla and lobula; interestingly, the highest percentage of SERT immunoreactivity was observed across all the visual neuropils of the docile group. Although future research is needed to determine the relationship between the distribution of serotonin fibres in the honeybee brain and aggressive behaviours, our immunohistochemical study provides an anatomical basis supporting the role of serotonin in aggressive behaviour in the honeybee

A patient with limb girdle muscular dystrophy carries a TRIM32 deletion, detected by a novel CGH array, in compound heterozygosis with a nonsense mutation

n/

Harvesting the promise of AOPs: An assessment and recommendations

The Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) concept is a knowledge assembly and communication tool to facilitate the transparent translation of mechanistic information into outcomes meaningful to the regulatory assessment of chemicals. The AOP framework and associated knowledgebases (KBs) have received significant attention and use in the regulatory toxicology community. However, it is increasingly apparent that the potential stakeholder community for the AOP concept and AOP KBs is broader than scientists and regulators directly involved in chemical safety assessment. In this paper we identify and describe those stakeholders who currently—or in the future—could benefit from the application of the AOP framework and knowledge to specific problems. We also summarize the challenges faced in implementing pathway-based approaches such as the AOP framework in biological sciences, and provide a series of recommendations to meet critical needs to ensure further progression of the framework as a useful, sustainable and dependable tool supporting assessments of both human health and the environment. Although the AOP concept has the potential to significantly impact the organization and interpretation of biological information in a variety of disciplines/applications, this promise can only be fully realized through the active engagement of, and input from multiple stakeholders, requiring multi-pronged substantive long-term planning an d strategies

Distribution of α-transducin and α-gustducin immunoreactive cells in the chicken (Gallus domesticus) gastrointestinal tract

The expression and distribution patterns of the taste signaling molecules, α-gustducin (Gαgust) and α-transducin (Gαtran) G-protein subunits, were studied in the gastrointestinal tract of the chicken (Gallus domesticus) using the immunohistochemical method. Gαgust and Gαtran immunoreactive (-IR) cells were observed in the mucosal layer of all examined segments, except the esophagus, crop, and the saccus cranialis of the gizzard. The highest numbers of Gαgust and Gαtran-IR cells were found in the proventriculus glands and along the villi of the pyloric, duodenum, and rectal mucosa. Gαgust and Gαtran-IR cells located in the villi of the jejunum, ileum, and cloaca were much less numerous, while only a few Gαgust and Gαtran-IR cells were detected in the mucosa of the proventriculus and cecum. In the crypts, IR cells were observed in the small and large intestine as well as in the cloaca. Gαgust and Gαtran-IR cells displayed elongated ("bottle-" or "pear-like") or rounded shape. The demonstration of Gαgust and Gαtran expression provides evidence for taste receptor mediated mucosal chemosensitivity in the chicken gastrointestinal tract

Regulation during the second year: Executive function and emotion regulation links to joint attention, temperament, and social vulnerability in a Latin American sample

© 2019 Gago Galvagno, De Grandis, Clerici, Mustaca, Miller and Elgier. Although a growing body of work has established developing regulatory abilities during the second year of life, more work is needed to better understand factors that influence this emerging control. The purpose of the present study was to examine regulation capacities in executive functions (i.e., EF or cognitive control) and emotion regulation (i.e., ER or control focused on modulating negative and sustaining positive emotions) in a Latin American sample, with a focus on how joint attention, social vulnerability, and temperament contribute to performance. Sixty Latin American dyads of mothers and children aged 18 to 24 months completed several EF tasks, a Still-Face Paradigm (SFP) to examine ER (Weinberg et al., 2008), and the Early Social Communication Scale to measure joint attention (Mundy et al., 2003). Parents completed the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire Very Short Form to measure temperament (ECBQ-VS, Putnam et al., 2010) and the Social Economic Level Scale (SES) from INDEC (2000). Results revealed the typical responses expected for toddlers of this age in these EF tasks and in the SFP. Also, we found associations between EF and ER and between non-verbal communication related to monitoring infants\u27 attention to objects (i.e., responding to joint attention) and initiation of pointing (e.g., pointing and showing of an object while the child alternates his gaze to an adult) with EF. Regarding social factors, family differences and type of housing contribute to regulation. For temperament, effortful control was associated with both regulatory capacities. Finally, only age predicted EF. These results suggest that many patterns regarding the development of these abilities are duplicated in the first months of life in a Latin American sample while further highlighting the importance of considering how the environment and the individual characteristics of infants may associate to these regulatory abilities, which is particularly relevant to developing public policies to promote their optimal development

Inteligencia emocional y calidad de vida en período de aislamiento social, preventivo y obligatorio durante la pandemia por COVID-19

Our goal is to describe the levels of the variables Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Quality of Life (QoL) in subjects affected by the context of Social, Preventive and Mandatory Isolation decreed on March 20 in Argentina during the COVID-19 pandemic, evaluate if there are significant relationships between them and analyze if they present differences based on sociodemographic variables such as: age and gender. We worked with a sample made up of 923 female and male people over 18 years of age from the general population. An ad-hoc sociodemographic questionnaire, the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24) instrument, and the Multicultural Quality of Life Index (MQLI) were used for data collection. The sample was contacted online from March 29 to July 6, 2020. The results showed that the correlation between the variable IE and CV was significant. The dimensions of these variables presented weak relationship strength with each other except Emotional Attention that only significantly correlated with a strong link strength with the variables Spiritual Fullness and Social Support as well as with Interpersonal Functioning, this time with moderate link strength. The levels of the CV variable are described as good in most of the subjects in the sample. EI levels are described as adequate for both genders in almost all subscales, presenting a difference for the gender in Emotional Clarity, resulting little for the male and adequate for the female, thus corroborating the hypotheses raised. Regarding the link between the EI and QOL variables based on the sociodemographic variables, significant differences were obtained in groups, being those between 71 and 80 years old, who do not consume psychoactive substances underwritten by a professional, and those who have a recreational containment network who obtained higher scores. In conclusion the results suggest that, although associations were found, longitudinal studies are necessary to consider the different phases of quarantineSe propuso describir los niveles de las variables inteligencia emocional (IE) y calidad de vida (CV) en sujetos afectados por el contexto del aislamiento social, preventivo y obligatorio en Argentina a raíz de la pandemia por COVID-19, evaluar si existen relaciones significativas entre ellas y analizar si presentan diferencias en función de variables sociodemográficas. Se trabajó con una muestra conformada por 923 personas de géneros femenino y masculino, mayores de 18 años, de población general. Para el relevamiento de datos se utilizó un cuestionario sociodemográfico confeccionado ad hoc, la Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24) —una escala para evaluar la inteligencia emocional percibida— y el Multicultural Quality of Life Index (MQLI), o índice multicultural de calidad de vida. La muestra fue contactada virtualmente entre el 29 de marzo y el 6 de julio de 2020. Los resultados arrojaron que la correlación entre las variables IE y CV fue significativa. Las dimensiones de dichas variables presentaron una fuerza de relación débil entre sí, exceptuando atención emocional, que correlacionó con una fuerza de vínculo fuerte con plenitud espiritual y apoyo social-emocional, y moderadamente con funcionamiento interpersonal. Los niveles de la variable CV se describen como buenos para la mayoría de los sujetos de la muestra. Los niveles de IE se describen como adecuados para ambos géneros en casi todas las subescalas exceptuando la dimensión claridad emocional, resultando poca para el masculino y adecuada para el femenino. Respecto al vínculo de IE y CV en función de variables sociodemográficas, se obtuvieron diferencias significativas entre grupos; y el grupo etario 71-80 años, quienes no consumen sustancias psicoactivas suscriptas por un profesional y los que poseen una red de contención recreativa obtuvieron mayores puntuaciones. En conclusión, si bien se encontraron asociaciones, los resultados sugieren la necesidad de estudios longitudinales que contemplen las diferentes fases de la cuarenten

A Feasibility Study of an Integral PWR for Space Applications

Fission space power systems are well suited to provide safe, reliable, economic and robust energy sources, in the order of 100 KWe. A preliminary feasibility study of a nuclear fission reactor is here presented with the following requirements: i) high reliability, ii) R&D program of moderate cost, iii) to be deployed within a reasonable period of time (e.g. 2015), iv) to be operated and controlled for a long time (10 years) without human intervention, v) possibly to be also used as a byproduct for some particular terrestrial application (or at least to share common technologies), vi) to start with stationary application. The driving idea is to extend as much as possible the PWR technology, by recurring to an integral type reactor. Two options are evaluated for the electricity production: a Rankine steam cycle and a Rankine organic fluid cycle. The neutronics calculation is based on WIMS code benchmarked with MCNP code. The reactivity control is envisaged by changing the core geometry. The resulting system appears viable and of reasonable size, well fit to the present space vector capabilities. Finally, a set of R&D needs has been identified: cold well, small steam turbines, fluid leakage control, pumps, shielding, steam generator in low-gravity conditions, self pressurizer, control system. A R&D program of reasonable extent may yield the needed answers, and some demanding researches are of interest for the new generation Light Water Reactors