Pharmacokinetics of Methadone in Adult Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery With Cardiopulmonary Bypass.

Background: Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) induces profound physiological changes that may alter the pharmacokinetics of methadone. We aimed to describe the pharmacokinetics of an intravenous bolus of methadone racemate in adult patients undergoing heart surgery with CPB.

Methods: We prospectively studied 29 patients aged 45 to 75 years scheduled for cardiac surgery with CPB who received methadone 0.

Shear Stress Solutions for Curved Beams: A Structural Analysis Approach.

The shear stress on isotropic curved beams with compact sections and variable thickness is investigated. Two new solutions, based on Cook's proposal and the mechanics of materials approach, were developed and validated using computational finite element models (FEM) for four typical cross-sections (rectangular, circular, elliptical, and triangular) used in civil and mechanical structures, constituting a novel approach to predicting shear stresses in curved beams. They predict better results than other reported equations, are simpler and easier for engineers to use quickly, and join the group of equations found using the theory of elasticity, thereby expanding the field of knowledge.

The resonant behavior of airborne standing-wave acoustic levitators based on arrays of ultrasonic transducers.

Recently airborne standing-wave acoustic levitation has seen great advances, and its applicability has been broadened due to the development of cavities constructed with arrays of compact ultrasonic sources. Yet, the numerical methods employed to study and predict the pressure distributions inside these cavities do not consider the effect of multiple reflections on the boundaries, hiding their resonant effects. This work presents an analytical, numerical, and experimental study of the effect of multiple reflections inside ultrasonic cavities based on arrays of transducers exhibiting their influence on the pressure amplitudes of focused standing waves.

Simulation-Based Training Program for Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter Placement: Randomized Comparative Study of in-Person Training With Synchronous Feedback Versus Distance Training With Asynchronous Feedback.

Introduction: Simulation training that includes deliberate practice is effective for procedural skill training. Delivering feedback remotely and asynchronously has been examined for more cost-efficient training. This prospective randomized study aimed to compare 2 feedback techniques for simulation training: synchronous direct feedback versus asynchronous distance feedback (ASYNC).

Chemoproteomic discovery of a covalent allosteric inhibitor of WRN helicase.

WRN helicase is a promising target for treatment of cancers with microsatellite instability (MSI) due to its essential role in resolving deleterious non-canonical DNA structures that accumulate in cells with faulty mismatch repair mechanisms. Currently there are no approved drugs directly targeting human DNA or RNA helicases, in part owing to the challenging nature of developing potent and selective compounds to this class of proteins. Here we describe the chemoproteomics-enabled discovery of a clinical-stage, covalent allosteric inhibitor of WRN, VVD-133214.

Enhanced standing-wave acoustic levitation using high-order transverse modes in phased array ultrasonic cavities.

Airborne acoustic trapping by ultrasonic phased arrays has seen great advances in recent years, and yet the manipulation of objects with different shapes and sizes or heavy particles remains challenging. Here, we demonstrate that the manipulation capabilities of a standing-wave acoustic levitator can be extended by introducing intracavity high-order transverse (HOT) modes in the azimuthal direction, enabling the simultaneous trapping of several objects within a wide range of shapes and sizes with positional and rotational stability, including objects with sizes larger than one wavelength and weights in the scale of millinewtons. The conditions to generate different HOT modes are theoretically analyzed and experimentally implemented.

Adjusting single-axis acoustic levitators in real time using rainbow schlieren deflectometry.

Acoustic levitation uses focused high-intensity airborne ultrasound to hold particles in mid-air. It is becoming an important tool for experiments in spectrometry, lab-on-a-droplet, and display technologies. Nowadays, arrays of multiple small transducers can be used to build acoustic levitators; however, their performance depends on the optimal alignment.

Sequential Collinear Photofragmentation and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy for Online Laser Monitoring of Triatomic Metal Species.

Industrial chemical processes are struggling with adverse effects, such as corrosion and deposition, caused by gaseous alkali and heavy metal species. Mitigation of these problems requires novel monitoring concepts that provide information on gas-phase chemistry. However, selective optical online monitoring of the most problematic diatomic and triatomic species is challenging due to overlapping spectral features.

Incorporating the Patient Voice Into Practice Improvement: A Role for Medical Trainees.

Background And Objectives: Many primary care clinics rely on providers and staff to generate quality improvement (QI) ideas without explicitly including patients. However, without understanding patient perspectives, clinics may miss areas for improvement. We identified practice improvement opportunities using a medical student-driven pilot of QI design that incorporates the patient voice and explored provider/staff perceptions of patient perspectives.

Propofol pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile and its electroencephalographic interaction with remifentanil in children.

Background: Propofol and remifentanil are commonly combined during total intravenous anesthesia. The impact of remifentanil in this relationship is poorly quantified in children. Derivation of an integrated pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic propofol model, containing remifentanil pharmacodynamic interaction information, enables propofol effect-site target-controlled infusion in children with a better prediction of its hypnotic effect when both drugs are combined.

Chemical elemental analysis of single acoustic-levitated water droplets by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy is presented for trace element detection of liquid samples by analyzing a single droplet levitated by ultrasonic waves. A single liquid droplet is placed in the node of a standing acoustic wave produced by a uniaxial levitator for further chemical analysis. The acoustic levitator consists of a commercial Langevin-type transducer, attached to a concave mechanical amplifier, and a concave reflector.

[Thrombotic and haemorrhagic complications in patients with cerebral aneurysms treated by endovascular approach and their association with the use of antiplatelet agents: Descriptive evaluation].

Objective: The protocol for optimal antiplatelet therapy to prevent thrombotic complications following brain aneurysm embolisation is not clear. Our objective is to describe the characteristics of patients presenting with thrombotic or haemorrhagic complications secondary to endovascular treatment.

Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was performed, which included all patients that required endovascular treatment for brain aneurysm at San Ignacio University Hospital from November 2007 to January 2016.

Growth arrest and morphological changes triggered by emodin on Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes cultivated in axenic medium.

Emodin is an anthraquinone obtained from Rheum palmatum rootstocks. Here we tested the cytotoxic effects of emodin on Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes, as well as the morphological changes that were induced by this compound in the parasite. Emodin was permeable and blocked in vitro cell division of T.

Enhanced self-mixing interferometry based on volume Bragg gratings and laser diodes emitting at 405-nm wavelengths.

Self-mixing interferometry (SMI) represents a robust, self-aligned technique for metrology applications. Recently, it has been shown that the detection of the frequency-modulated (FM) signal enhances the conventional SMI signal based on the amplitude modulation. Here, an all-optical, simple and effective alternative approach to detect the FM self-mixing signal is presented.

Recently differentiated epimastigotes from Trypanosoma cruzi are infective to the mammalian host.

Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, has a complex life cycle in which four distinct developmental forms alternate between the insect vector and the mammalian host. It is assumed that replicating epimastigotes present in the insect gut are not infective to mammalian host, a paradigm corroborated by the widely acknowledged fact that only this stage is susceptible to the complement system. In the present work, we establish a T.

Detection of single microparticles in airflows by edge-filter enhanced self-mixing interferometry.

A laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) sensor using the edge-filter enhanced self-mixing interferometry (ESMI) is presented based on speed measurements of single microparticles. The ESMI detection utilizes an acetylene edge-filter that maps the frequency modulation of a semiconductor laser into an intensity modulation as the laser wavelength is tuned to the steep edge of the absorption profile. In this work, the ESMI signal was analyzed for aerosol particles of different sizes from 1 μm to 10 μm at a distance of 2.

Edge filter enhanced self-mixing interferometry.

Self-mixing interferometry (SMI) represents a simple, robust, and self-aligned technique for metrology applications. Still, its applicability on diffuse targets is limited to distances up to few meters. We present an enhanced approach based on the detection of the frequency-modulated (FM) self-mixing signal.

Synthesis and Pharmacological Characterization of Two Novel, Brain Penetrating P2X7 Antagonists.

The synthesis and preclinical characterization of two novel, brain penetrating P2X7 compounds will be described. Both compounds are shown to be high potency P2X7 antagonists in human, rat, and mouse cell lines and both were shown to have high brain concentrations and robust receptor occupancy in rat. Compound 7 is of particular interest as a probe compound for the preclinical assessment of P2X7 blockade in animal models of neuro-inflammation.

Fast and environmentally friendly quantitative analysis of active agents in anti-diabetic tablets by an alternative laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) method and comparison to a validated reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is evaluated as a potential analytic technique for rapid screening and quality control of anti-diabetic tablets. This paper proposes a simple LIBS-based method for the quantitative analysis of two active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs): metformin (Met) and glybenclamide (Gly). In order to quantify both APIs, chlorine (Cl) concentration was estimated by employing the Cl/Br optical emission ratio, where Br was introduced as internal standard.