BioMed research international
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Evaluation of the morphology of the suprascapular notch region is important from a clinical point of view because it is the most common site of suprascapular nerve compression and injury. A group of 120 patients underwent ultrasound examination of the suprascapular notch region according to our original four-stage "step-by-step" protocol. The notches were classified based on their morphology and measurements like maximal depth (MD) and superior transverse diameter (STD) as follows: type I-MD is longer than STD, type II-MD and STD are equal, type III-STD is longer than MD, and in type IV/V-notches only the bony margin was visualized without depression. ⋯ The suprascapular vein was visible in 176 notches and the suprascapular nerve in 150. Notches containing both suprascapular nerve and vein were significantly wider and shallower than average. As the suprascapular artery is the most easily recognised structure in the area, it may serve as a useful landmark of the suprascapular notch.
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Although itch and pain are distinct experiences, both are unpleasant, may demand attention, and interfere with daily activities. Research investigating the role of attention in tonic itch and pain stimuli, particularly whether attention is drawn to the stimulus location, is scarce. ⋯ In contrast with our hypotheses, no indications were found for spatial attention allocation towards the somatosensory stimuli. This may relate to dynamic shifts in attention over the time course of the tonic sensations. Our secondary finding that itch and pain interfere with task performance is in-line with attention theories of bodily perception.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate whether plasma pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) and homocysteine were dependent on or independent of each other in order to be associated with inflammatory markers in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) or those receiving hemodialysis treatment. This was a cross-sectional study. Sixty-eight stage 2-5 CKD patients and 68 hemodialysis patients had one time fasting blood drawn for measurements of plasma PLP, pyridoxal (PL), homocysteine, and several inflammatory markers. ⋯ Plasma PLP significantly correlated with CRP levels (partial r s = -0.21, p < 0.05) and plasma PL significantly correlated with IL-10 levels (partial r s = -0.24, p < 0.01), while plasma PLP plus PL significantly correlated with both CRP levels (partial r s = -0.20, p < 0.05) and interleukin-1β (partial r s = 0.22, p < 0.05) levels after adjusting for plasma homocysteine and other potential confounders. Plasma homocysteine displayed no significant correlations with any inflammatory markers. Vitamin B-6 status, rather than homocysteine, appeared to be a significant factor in relation to inflammatory responses for CKD and hemodialysis patients.
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According to the European Resuscitation Council guidelines, the use of mechanical chest compression devices is a reasonable alternative in situations where manual chest compression is impractical or compromises provider safety. The aim of this study is to compare the performance of a recently developed chest compression device (Corpuls CPR) with an established system (LUCAS II) in a pig model. Methods. ⋯ Animals treated with Corpuls CPR had significantly higher mean arterial pressures during resuscitation, along with a detectable trend of greater carotid blood flow and organ perfusion. Conclusion. Chest compressions with the Corpuls CPR device generated significantly higher mean arterial pressures than compressions performed with the LUCAS II device.
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Paraquat (PQ) is a widely used herbicide with extremely high poisoning mortality mostly from acute lung injury (ALI) or progressive pulmonary fibrosis. Toxicity mechanisms remain unclear, but a redox cycling process that generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) is involved, as are inflammation and cell apoptosis. We established an ALI mouse model by intraperitoneal injection of PQ (28 mg/kg) and then investigated the effects of a potent liver X receptor (LXR) agonist, TO901317 (5 or 20 mg/kg), injected intraperitoneally 30 min after PQ administration. ⋯ PQ exposure induced upregulation of the proapoptotic gene Bax and downregulation of the antiapoptotic gene Bcl-2, leading to marked cell apoptosis in the lung tissues. TO901317 treatment reversed all these effects through inhibition of PQ-induced nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and JNK/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation. The LXR agonist TO901317 had potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic effects against PQ-induced ALI.