Prevention of peri-interventional hypothermia during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography using a forced-air heating system.

Perioperative hypothermia is associated with significant complications and can be prevented with forced-air heating systems (FAHS). Whether hypothermia occurs during prolonged endoscopic sedation is unclear and prevention measures are not addressed in endoscopic sedation guidelines. We hypothesized that hypothermia also occurs in a significant proportion of patients undergoing endoscopic interventions associated with longer sedation times such as endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography (ERCP), and that FAHS may prevent it.

Volatile organic compounds in the breath of oral candidiasis patients: a pilot study.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate whether specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be detected in oral candidiasis patients using breath analysis in order to develop a point-of-care diagnostic tool.

Patients/methods: Breath samples of 10 diseased patients and 10 subjects carrying no Candida spp. were analyzed using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.

Photo- and thermal-degradation studies of select eccrine fingerprint constituents.

Photo- and thermal-degradation studies on eccrine fingerprint components are presented herein. Dilute distinct solutions of urea, lactic acid, and seven amino acids were deposited on steel coupons and Teflon disks, exposed to artificial sunlight or heat, extracted, and analyzed. This aim of this study was to determine whether the investigated eccrine components, previously determined to be Raman active for a parallel study, experienced photo- or thermally induced degradation, and if so, to determine the rate and identify any detectable products.

GABA(C) receptors modulate the rod-driven ERG b-wave of the skate retina.

Studies characterizing the types of GABA receptors present on cells isolated from the skate retina have allowed us to develop a working model of possible GABA interactions at the level of the outer plexiform layer (OPL). Earlier studies have shown an electrogenic GABA transport mechanism in horizontal cells presents a source of GABA in the OPL which could modulate feedback onto photoreceptors. GABA(A) receptors on Müller cells, or GABA(A) and/or GABA(C) receptors on bipolar cells.

Responses of small- and large-field bipolar cells to GABA and glycine.

Morphologically distinct subtypes of retinal bipolar cells transmit information along parallel pathways to convey different aspects of the visual scene, but the synaptic mechanisms that regulate signal transmission are largely unknown. The all-rod retina of skate provides a comparatively simple system in which to correlate bipolar cell morphology with responses to the inhibitory neurotransmitters GABA and glycine. Two subtypes of bipolar cells can be identified when isolated in culture: large-field bipolar cells with extensive dendritic arbors, and small-field bipolar cells with one or two dendritic branches.

Excitatory amino acids and serotonin uptake blockers reveal two physiologically distinct serotonin systems in the retina of the skate, Raja erinacea.

The retina of the skate (Raja erinacea) contains at least 2 types of cell (amacrines and bipolars) that can be visualized with an antiserum against serotonin. We have employed serotonin immunocytochemistry in combination with pharmacological manipulation of retinal tissue to analyze physiological properties of serotonergic amacrine cells and serotonin-accumulating bipolar cells. Excitatory amino acids (NMDA, aspartate) had no detectable effects on serotonin-immunoreactivity in bipolar cells but decreased staining in amacrine cells.