Fundamental

Intravenous N-acetylcysteine (IV-NAC) is usually regarded as a safe antidote to acetaminophen overdose. However, during infusion of the loading dose, adverse drug reactions such as a headache may occur. The objectives of this study were to investigate the prevalence of headache in patients presenting to hospital after acetaminophen overdose and to determine which clinical findings are most predictive of headache among these patients. This is a retrospective cohort study of hospital admissions for acute acetaminophen overdose that was conducted over a period of 4 years from January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2008. Demographic data, clinical characteristics, and predictors of headache were analyzed. spss 15 was used for data analysis. Two-hundred and fifty-five patients were studied; their mean age was 23.1 ± 1.6; 83.9% of them were women and 14.9% had a headache during hospitalization. Headache among patients was significantly associated with IV-NAC administration (P = 0.001), intentional ingestion of drug (P = 0.04), acetaminophen concentration above ‘possible toxicity’ treatment line (P = 0.04), a high acetaminophen concentration (P = 0.04), and a long hospital stay (P = 0.03). Multiple logistic regression showed a significant risk factor for headache in patients administered IV-NAC (P = 0.04). We recorded a high frequency of headache in patients with acute acetaminophen overdose in our geographical area. This study suggests that among those patients, the use of IV-NAC is associated with an increased risk of headache.

Argues that, globally, only a minority of workers benefit from free and fair representation of their rights, needs and interests. Focuses on the regulatory environment provided by the State, whilst underlining that this does not constitute the public dimension of a fundamentally private negotiating relationship, but that rather the ILO has a crucial role to play at this interface.

Single-electron transistor (SET) can offer lower power consumption and faster operating speed in the era of nanotechnology. It operates in single electronics regime where only one electron can tunnel from source to drain via island. Thus single electron tunneling is the ...

Felipe Crescêncio Limaa, Dieniffer Peixoto-Nevesa, Maria Diana Moreira Gomesa, Andrelina Noronha Coelho-de-Souzaa, Crystianne Calado Limaa, Walter Arau´jo Zinb, Pedro Jorge Caldas Magalha˜esc, Lahlou Saada, José Henrique Leal-Cardosoa* aElectrophysiology ...

The manipulation of cold atoms with optical fields is a very promising technique for a variety of applications ranging from laser cooling and trapping to coherent atom transport and matter wave interferometry. Optical fields have also been proposed as interesting tools for quantum information processing with cold atoms. In this paper, we present a theoretical study of the dynamics of a cold 87Rb atomic cloud falling in the gravity field in the presence of two crossing dipole guides. The cloud is either deflected or split between the two branches of this guide. We explore the possibilities of optimization of this device and present preliminary results obtained in the case of zero-temperature dilute Bose-Einstein condensates.

A variety of biologically active compounds with pharmacological applications has been reported to occur in marine sponges. The present study was undertaken to provide a set of data about an extract from Aplysina caissara, a Brazilian marine sponge. The antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects were investigated against different experimental models in mice. When evaluated against writhing test intraperitoneally (60 and 90 mg/kg), the extract significantly inhibited abdominal constriction by 33.7% and 41.4% respectively. In the formalin test (60 and 90 mg/kg), the extract of sponge inhibited 43.6% and 51.6% in the first phase and 98.2% and 97.2% in the second phase respectively. When evaluated against the hot plate test, both doses demonstrated activity. An increase in the hot plate latency was observed after 60 min. The anti-inflammatory effect was evaluated by formalin-induced mice paw edema. Extract from A. caissara (60 and 90 mg/kg) significantly reduced hind paw swelling. Mortality increased with increasing doses, with LD50 of 212.2 mg/kg for intraperitoneal administration. These results demonstrated that the extract of the marine sponge A. caissara possesses antinociceptive and anti-edematogenic effects.

Earlier studies have implicated reactive oxygen species and transitional metals in the pathogenesis of gastric lesions. In this study, we have evaluated the effect of 2,3-dimercaptopropanol (DMP), a thiol compound and metal chelator, on chemically induced gastroduodenal ulcers in rats. Acid secretion studies were undertaken using pylorus-ligated rats pretreated with DMP (3–100 mg/kg, i.p.). The effect of orally administered DMP on cysteamine-induced duodenal ulcers and ethanol-induced gastric ulcers was also tested. The level of nonprotein sulfhydryls (NP-SH) and gastric wall mucus was measured in the glandular stomach of rats treated with ethanol. None of the dose of DMP affected the volume or acidity of gastric secretion. Low doses of DMP (3 and 10 mg/kg) significantly reduced cysteamine-induced duodenal ulcers, whereas the high doses (30 and 100 mg/kg) were ineffective in this model. All the doses of DMP significantly and dose dependently attenuated ethanol-induced gastric lesions. The adverse effects of ethanol on gastric wall mucus and NP-SH were significantly and dose dependently reversed by DMP. In conclusion, the protective effects of DMP appear to be independent of gastric acid secretion and may be associated with counteracting the oxidative stress by replenishing glutathione and reducing the pool of transition metals.

The antioxidant, antinociceptive and hepatoprotective effects of H2 receptor blockers were examined with different experimental models. Antioxidant activities were determined by employing various in vitro assay systems such as 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity assays, reducing power determination assays, nitric oxide-scavenging activity assays and hydrogen peroxide-scavenging activity assays. Antinociceptive effects were determined using the hot plate test in mice. The hepatoprotective effects of cimetidine, ranitidine and famotidine against hepatotoxicity induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) were determined by measuring the levels of serum enzymes alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities in mice. We found that the IC50 values of cimetidine, ranitidine and famotidine on DPPH radical-scavenging activity were 671 ± 28, 538 ± 21 and 955 ± 43 μg/mL, respectively. Famotidine showed very strong nitric oxide-scavenging activity. All three compounds showed very weak hydrogen peroxide-scavenging activity. Moreover, the compounds did not exhibit any reducing power activity until concentrations of 1.6 mg/mL. All compounds also showed a dose-dependent and marked analgesic activity in mice relative to controls. Pretreatment of mice with cimetidine, ranitidine or famotidine for three consecutive days reduced CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in mice. Treatment with 200 mg/kg ranitidine reduced AST, AST and ALP serum levels, while 200 and 40 mg/kg of cimetidine and famotidine, respectively, reduced AST and ALP serum levels. H2 blockers exhibited varying levels of antioxidant activities in various assays. Our results indicate that the antioxidant activities of H2 blockers have an analgesic activity and protective effect on CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in mice. These effects were greater with ranitidine than with the other compounds.

Putusan Pengadilan Agama yang berkaitan dengan perceraian merupakan produk hukum yang menjadi landasan bagi pihak yang berperkara untuk dilaksanakan dan dipatuhi. Namun terkadang, ada beberapa putusan yang tidak mencerminkan keadilan bagi sebagian pihak. Untuk itulah, peneliti mencoba menganalisis putusan Nomor 603/Pdt.G/2019/PA.Bm. terkait dengan perkara perceraian. Dalam analisis ini tentu didasarkan pada peraturan yang berlaku dan akan penulis komparasikan dengan hukum syariat (pendapat para ulama) terkait dengan permasalahan yang dalam putusan tersebut. Jenis Penelitian yang penulis gunakan adalah penelitian hukum Yuridis/Normatif dengan menggunakan pendekatan perundang-undangan. Pengumpulan dilakukan dengan menggunakan kepustakaan atau tulisan-tulisan yang relevan. Ada 4 hal yang menjadi materi gugatan rekonvensinya yaitu Nafkah Madiyah, nafkah Iddah, Nafkah Mut`ah dan harta bersama. Berdasarkan pada hasil analisis putusan tersebut, penulis menarik kesimpulan bahwa putusan Peng...

Abstract The fundamental constants of nature, as presented by modern science, can be conceived as natural measures of the universe. In comparison, the standards of the International System of Units, including the kilogram and the meter, are mind-made and hand-crafted to meet the demands of human life. In this paper, the gap between the natural and the conventional is squeezed from two directions. In the first place, we come to understand why the metric measures were originally conceived, by the best of scientists, as being “taken from nature” and “in no way arbitrary”. The kilogram of yesteryear was anchored in yesteryear's science and is reasonably considered natural with respect to that science. We also review a contemporary debate amongst physicists that questions whether any quantity, being necessarily written with units, can be truly fundamental. Modern notions of a fundamental constant are put under the spotlight; the kilogram emerges as bound up with contemporary science today as ever it was. In the picture being painted here, our measures are drawn as dynamic entities, epistemic tools that develop hand-in-hand with the rest of science, and whose significance goes much further than a metal artefact dangled from an abstract number line.

Summary - A total of 73 rice accessions belonging to the two species of cultivated rice, Oryza sativa and O. glaberrima, and one wild species, O. breviligulata, were screened in pot experiments for resistance to a Congolese population of the cyst nema­ tode Heterodera sacchari. All 43 accessions of 0. sativa were susceptible, although they were presumably genetically different as they came from various parts of the world. In contrast, fifteen of the 21 accessions of O. glaberrima and seven of the nine acces­ sions of O. breviligulata were resistant whereas the others were susceptible. All of these 30 accessions originated from Africa, as did the parasite itself. These results were verified with two other populations of the parasite from Chad and Senegal. These results are analysed and their possible use is discussed. © Orstom/Elsevier, Paris Resume - Criblage pour la resistance a Heterodera sacchari des deux especes de riz cultive, Oryza sativa et O. glaberrima. - Un total de 73 acc...

Putusan Pengadilan Agama yang berkaitan dengan perceraian merupakan produk hukum yang menjadi landasan bagi pihak yang berperkara untuk dilaksanakan dan dipatuhi. Namun terkadang, ada beberapa putusan yang tidak mencerminkan keadilan bagi sebagian pihak. Untuk itulah, peneliti mencoba menganalisis putusan Nomor 603/Pdt.G/2019/PA.Bm. terkait dengan perkara perceraian. Dalam analisis ini tentu didasarkan pada peraturan yang berlaku dan akan penulis komparasikan dengan hukum syariat (pendapat para ulama) terkait dengan permasalahan yang dalam putusan tersebut. Jenis Penelitian yang penulis gunakan adalah penelitian hukum Yuridis/Normatif dengan menggunakan pendekatan perundang-undangan. Pengumpulan dilakukan dengan menggunakan kepustakaan atau tulisan-tulisan yang relevan. Ada 4 hal yang menjadi materi gugatan rekonvensinya yaitu Nafkah Madiyah, nafkah Iddah, Nafkah Mut`ah dan harta bersama. Berdasarkan pada hasil analisis putusan tersebut, penulis menarik kesimpulan bahwa putusan Peng...

Endogenous opioids have nitric oxide (NO)-dependent cardiovascular actions. In the light of biological evidence of accumulation of endogenous opioids in cholestasis and also existence of NO-dependent bradycardia in cholestatic subjects, this study was carried out to evaluate the role of endogenous opioids in the generation of bradycardia in a rat model of cholestasis. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were used to induce cholestasis by surgical ligation of the bile duct, with sham-operated animals serving as a control. The animals were divided into six groups which received naltrexone [20 mg/kg/day, subcutaneously (s.c.)], N(G)-L-nitro-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 3 mg/kg/day, s.c.), aminoguanidine (200 mg/kg/day, s.c.), L-arginine (200 mg/kg/day, s.c.), naltrexone + L-NAME (20 and 3 mg/kg/day, s.c) or saline. One week after the operation, a lead II electrocardiogram (ECG) was recorded and the spontaneously beating atria of the animals were then isolated and the chronotropic responses to epinephrine evaluated. The plasma L-nitro-tyrosine level and alanine amino transferase and alkaline phosphatase activities were also measured. The heart rate of cholestatic animals was significantly lower than that of control rats in vivo and this bradycardia was corrected with daily adminstration of naltrexone or L-NAME. The basal spontaneous beating rate of atria in cholestatic animals was not significantly different from that of sham-operated animals in vitro. Cholestasis induced a significant decrease in the chronotropic effect of epinephrine. This effect was corrected by daily injection of naltrexone or L-NAME, or concurrent administration of naltrexone + L-NAME, and was not corrected by aminoguanidine. L-arginine had an equivalent effect to L-NAME and increased the chronotropic effect of epinephrine in cholestatic rats but not in control animals. Bile duct ligation increased the plasma activity of liver enzymes as well as the level of L-nitro-tyrosine. L-arginine and naltrexone treatment significantly decreased the elevation of liver enzymes in bile duct-ligated rats. Pretreatment of cholestatic animals with naltrexone or L-NAME decreased the plasma L-nitro-tyrosine level. The results suggest that either prevention of NO overproduction or protection against liver damage is responsible for recovery of bradycardia after naltrexone administration.

The aim of this study was to investigate which principal human cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes are affected by artemisinin and to what degree the artemisinin derivatives differ with respect to their respective induction and inhibition capacity. Seventy-five healthy adults were randomized to receive therapeutic oral doses of artemisinin, dihydroartemisinin, arteether, artemether or artesunate for 5 days (days 1–5). A six-drug cocktail consisting of caffeine, coumarin, mephenytoin, metoprolol, chlorzoxazone and midazolam was administered orally on days −6, 1, 5 and 10 to assess the activities of CYP1A2, CYP2A6, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP2E1 and CYP3A, respectively. Four-hour plasma concentrations of parent drugs and corresponding metabolites and 7-hydroxycoumarin urine concentrations were quantified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The 1-hydroxymidazolam/midazolam 4-h plasma concentration ratio (CYP3A) was increased on day 5 by artemisinin [2.66-fold (98.75% CI: 2.10–3.36)], artemether [1.54 (1.14–2.09)] and dihydroartemisinin [1.25 (1.06–1.47)] compared with day −6. The S-4′-hydroxymephenytoin/S-mephenytoin ratio (CYP2C19) was increased on day 5 by artemisinin [1.69 (1.47–1.94)] and arteether [1.33 (1.15–1.55)] compared with day −6. The paraxanthine/caffeine ratio (CYP1A2) was decreased on day 1 after administration of artemisinin [0.27 (0.18–0.39)], arteether [0.70 (0.55–0.89)] and dihydroartemisinin [0.73 (0.59–0.90)] compared with day −6. The α-hydroxymetoprolol/metoprolol ratio (CYP2D6) was lower on day 1 compared with day −6 in the artemisinin [0.82 (0.70–0.96)] and dihydroartemisinin [0.83 (0.71–0.96)] groups, respectively. In the artemisinin-treated subjects this decrease was followed by a 1.34-fold (1.14–1.58) increase from day 1 to day 5. These results show that intake of artemisinin antimalarials affect the activities of several principal human drug metabolizing CYP450 enzymes. Even though not significant in all treatment groups, changes in the individual metrics were of the same direction for all the artemisinin drugs, suggesting a class effect that needs to be considered in the development of new artemisinin derivatives and combination treatments of malaria.

The application of methods based on in situ hybridization to centromeric regions to cytokinesis-blocked cells provides a convenient way for the analysis of chromosome segregation in interphase cells. In this way, the reciprocal segregation patterns in daughter nuclei can be visualized and most of the problems related to the artefactual loss or gain of chromosomes which flaw other methods are avoided. In this work, the methodology has been applied to human lymphocytes to investigate the influence of donor age on spontaneous malsegregation rates, the occurrence of multiple malsegregation events, and the effect of the cytokinesis-blocking agent cytochalasin B (Cyt B) on spontaneous and induced chromosome malsegregation. The results obtained with 14 male donors, aged 22-57 years, demonstrated a significant (p < 0.001) increase in the frequency of micronuclei and X chromosome missegregation (both non-disjunction and chromosome loss) with the increasing age of the donors. Moreover, a s...