Eyedealistic Vision: Optimizing Oxygenation to Reduce Severe Retinopathy of Prematurity in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Background: Rates of severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) continue to rise globally despite advances in healthcare. Differences in practices related to optimizing oxygenation is among key factors that increase the risk of severe ROP. A recent increase in severe ROP rates at 2 local neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) prompted further investigation into potential preventative practices.

Holding the line against workplace violence.

As caregivers, nurses often dismiss violent patient interactions as "just part of the job." This article addresses this misconception, differentiates between two types of violence present in healthcare settings, and stresses the importance of reporting and evaluating violent acts to plan mitigation strategies.

A survey of stress, burnout and well-being in UK dentists.

Introduction: It is well established that dentistry is a stressful profession, primarily due to the nature and working conditions in the dental surgery. With dramatic changes taking place in the profession in recent years it is important to establish the impact this has on dentists' well-being.

Aims: To determine the levels of stress and burnout in UK dentists and how this relates to well-being and identify the sources of work-related stress dentists report in different fields of practice.

Patient preferences for types of community-based cardiac rehabilitation programme.

Introduction: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) improves mortality, morbidity and quality of life of cardiovascular patients. However, its uptake is poor especially in the hospitals due to long travel distances and office hours constraints. Community-based CR is a possible solution.

Effects of Acupuncture in Anesthesia for Craniotomy: A Meta-Analysis.

Background: Acupuncture treatment has been used in China for >2500 years, and at present it is used worldwide as a form of analgesia in patients with acute and chronic pain. Furthermore, acupuncture is regularly used not only as a single anesthetic technique but also as a supplement or in addition to general anesthesia (GA).

Objectives: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the level of evidence for the clinical use of acupuncture in addition to GA in patients undergoing craniotomy.

Optimal management of the critically ill: anaesthesia, monitoring, data capture, and point-of-care technological practices in ovine models of critical care.

Animal models of critical illness are vital in biomedical research. They provide possibilities for the investigation of pathophysiological processes that may not otherwise be possible in humans. In order to be clinically applicable, the model should simulate the critical care situation realistically, including anaesthesia, monitoring, sampling, utilising appropriate personnel skill mix, and therapeutic interventions.

Children with burn injuries--assessment of trauma, neglect, violence and abuse.

Burns are an important cause of injury to young children, being the third most frequent cause of injury resulting in death behind motor vehicle accidents and drowning. Burn injuries account for the greatest length of stay of all hospital admissions for injuries and costs associated with care are substantial. The majority of burn injuries in children are scald injuries resulting from hot liquids, occurring most commonly in children aged 0-4 years.

Management of acute smoke inhalation injury.

Pulmonary injury from smoke inhalation is common in burn victims, significantly contributing to the morbidity and mortality of fire-related injuries. The impacts of improvement in other aspects of burn care have not been mirrored in treatment of smoke inhalation. Smoke is heterogeneous and unique to each fire; it comprises particulates, respiratory irritants and systemic toxins as well as heat, all contributing to the pathological insult.

Antibiotic desensitization in adults with cystic fibrosis.

Objective: Allergic reactions to antibiotics occur in up to 30% of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Repeated antibiotic exposure and immune hyper-responsiveness increase the risk of allergic reactions and may limit antibiotic choice. Desensitization may allow the successful administration of an antibiotic despite previous allergy.

Permeability and reflection coefficients of urea and small amides in the human red cell.

Measurement of the transport parameters that govern the passage of urea and amides across the red cell membrane leads to important questions about transport of water. It had initially been thought that small protein channels, permeable to water and small solutes, traversed the membrane (see Solomon, 1987). Recently, however, very strong evidence has been presented that the 28 kDa protein, CHIP28, found in the red cell membrane, is the locus of the water channel (see Agre et al.

Inhibition of red cell urea flux by anion exchange inhibitors.

When they studied the chemical properties of red cell anion exchange inhibitors such as DIDS (4,4'-diisothiocyanate-2,2'-stilbene disulfonate), Barzilay et al. (1979) Membr. Biochem.

Interaction between red cell membrane band 3 and cytosolic carbonic anhydrase.

We have previously proposed that a membrane transport complex, centered on the human red cell anion transport protein, band 3, links the transport of anions, cations and glucose. Since band 3 is specialized for HCO3-/Cl- exchange, we thought there might also be a linkage with carbonic anhydrase (CA) which hydrates CO2 to HCO3-. CA is a cytosolic enzyme which is not present in the red cell membrane.

Transport parameters in the human red cell membrane: solute-membrane interactions of amides and ureas.

We have studied the permeability of a series of hydrophilic amides and ureas through the red cell membrane by determining the three phenomenological coefficients which describe solute-membrane interaction: the hydraulic permeability (Lp), the phenomenological permeability coefficient (omega i) and the reflection coefficient (sigma i). In 55 experiments on nine solutes, we have determined that the reflection coefficient (after a small correction for solute permeation by membrane dissolution) is significantly less than 1.0 (P less than 0.

Transport parameters in the human red cell membrane: solute-membrane interactions of hydrophilic alcohols and their effect on permeation.

A systematic study has been made of the three coefficients that describe the human red cell membrane transport of a series of short straight-chain hydrophilic alcohols: the permeability coefficient, omega i, the reflection coefficient, sigma i, and the hydraulic conductivity, Lp. Ethylene glycol transport is saturable with Km = 220 +/- 50 mM; there is a second, low-affinity, ethylene glycol site which inhibits water transport (K = 570 +/- 140 mM, max. inhib.

Is an intact cytoskeleton required for red cell urea and water transport?

In order to determine the membrane protein(s) responsible for urea and water transport across the human red cell membrane, we planned to reconstitute purified membrane proteins into phosphatidylcholine vesicles. In preparatory experiments, we reconstituted a mixture of all of the red cell integral membrane proteins into phosphatidylcholine vesicles, but found that p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonate (pCMBS), which normally inhibits osmotic water permeability by approximately 90%, has no effect on this preparation. The preparation was also unable to transport urea at the high rates found in red cells, though glucose transport was normal.

Modulation of water transport in human red cells: effect of urea.

We have studied the effect of urea on water flux in the human red cell and have found that 500 mosmolal urea inhibits osmotic water transport by 39%. The Ki for urea inhibition of water flux is 550 +/- 80 mosmolal, higher than, but comparable with, the Km of urea transport into the red cell of 220-330 mM given by Mayrand and Levitt (J. Gen.

Interrelation of ethylene glycol, urea and water transport in the red cell.

The reflection coefficient, sigma j, which measures the coupling between the jth solute and water transport across a semipermeable membrane, varies between 0 and 1.0. Values of sigma j significantly less than 1.

Modulation of water and urea transport in human red cells: effects of pH and phloretin.

It has previously been shown by Macey and Farmer (Biochim. Biophys. Acta 211:104-106, 1970) that phloretin inhibits urea transport across the human red cell membrane yet has no effect on water transport.

Control of red cell urea and water permeability by sulfhydryl reagents.

The binding constant for pCMBS (p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonate) inhibition of human red cell water transport has been determined to be 160 +/- 30 microM and that for urea transport inhibition to be 0.09 +/- 0.06 microM, indicating that there are separate sites for the two inhibition processes.

Osmotic properties of human red cells.

When an osmotic pressure gradient is applied to human red cells, the volume changes anomalously, as if there were a significant fraction of "nonosmotic water" which could not serve as solvent for the cell solutes, a finding which has been discussed widely in the literature. In 1968, Gary-Bobo and Solomon (J. Gen.

Relation between red cell anion exchange and urea transport.

The new distilbene compound, DCMBT (4,4'-dichloromercuric-2,2,2',2'-bistilbene tetrasulfonic acid) synthesized by Yoon et al. (Biochim. Biophys.

Binding of DTNB to band 3 in the human red cell membrane.

Inhibition of red cell water transport by the sulfhydryl reagent 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) has been reported by Naccache and Sha'afi ((1974) J. Cell Physiol. 84, 449-456) but other investigators have not been able to confirm this observation.