Effects of prone and supine position on oxygenation and inflammatory mediator in a hydrochloric acid-induced lung dysfunction in rats

PURPOSE: To compare the effectiveness of mechanical ventilation of supine versus prone position in hydrochloric acid (HCl)-induced lung dysfunction. METHODS: Twenty, adult, male, Wistar-EPM-1 rats were anesthetized and randomly grouped (n=5 animals per group) as follows: CS-MV (mechanical ventilation in supine position); CP-MV (mechanical ventilation in prone position); bilateral instillation of HCl and mechanical ventilation in supine position (HCl+S); and bilateral instillation of HCl and mechanical ventilation in prone position (HCl+P). All groups were ventilated for 180 minutes. The blood partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide were measured in the time points 0 (zero; 10 minutes before lung injury for stabilization), and at the end of times acid injury, 60, 120 and 180 minutes of mechanical ventilation. At the end of experiment the animals were euthanized, and bronchoalveolar lavages (BALs) were taken to determine the contents of total proteins, inflammatory mediators, and lungs wet-to-dry ratios. RESULTS: In the HCl+P group the partial pressure of oxygen increased when compared with HCl+S (128.0±2.9 mmHg and 111.0±6.7 mmHg, respectively) within 60 minutes. TNF-α levels in BAL do not differ significantly in the HCl+P group (516.0±5.9 pg/mL), and the HCl+S (513.0±10.6 pg/mL). CONCLUSION: The use of prone position improved oxygenation, but did not reduce TNF-α in BAL upon lung dysfunction induced by HCl.

Kinematics of galaxies in compact groups Studying the B-band Tully-Fischer relation

We obtained new Fabry-Perot data cubes and derived velocity fields, monochromatic, and velocity dispersion maps for 28 galaxies in the Hickson compact groups 37, 40, 47, 49, 54, 56, 68, 79, and 93. We also derived rotation curves for 9 of the studied galaxies, 6 of which are strongly asymmetric. Combining these new data with previously published 2D kinematic maps of compact group galaxies, we investigated the differences between the kinematic and morphological position angles for a sample of 46 galaxies. We find that one third of the unbarred compact group galaxies have position angle misalignments between the stellar and gaseous components. This and the asymmetric rotation curves are clear signatures of kinematic perturbations, probably because of interactions among compact group galaxies. A comparison between the B-band Tully-Fisher relation for compact group galaxies and for the GHASP field-galaxy sample shows that, despite the high fraction of compact group galaxies with asymmetric rotation curves, these lay on the TF relation defined by galaxies in less dense environments, although with more scatter. This agrees with previous results, but now confirmed for a larger sample of 41 galaxies. We confirm the tendency for compact group galaxies at the low-mass end of the Tully-Fisher relation (HCG 49b, 89d, 96c, 96d, and 100c) to have either a magnitude that is too bright for its mass (suggesting brightening by star formation) and/or a low maximum rotational velocity for its luminosity (suggesting tidal stripping). These galaxies are outside the Tully Fisher relation at the 1 sigma level, even when the minimum acceptable values of inclinations are used to compute their maximum velocities. Including such galaxies with nu < 100 km s(-1) in the determination of the zero point and slope of the compact group B-band Tully-Fisher relation would strongly change the fit, making it different from the relation for field galaxies, which has to be kept in mind when studying scaling relations of interacting galaxies, especially at high redshifts.

A chemometric study on the analgesic activity of cannabinoid compounds using SDA, KNN and SIMCA methods

The supervised pattern recognition methods K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), stepwise discriminant analysis (SDA), and soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) were employed in this work with the aim to investigate the relationship between the molecular structure of 27 cannabinoid compounds and their analgesic activity. Previous analyses using two unsupervised pattern recognition methods (PCA-principal component analysis and HCA-hierarchical cluster analysis) were performed and five descriptors were selected as the most relevants for the analgesic activity of the compounds studied: R (3) (charge density on substituent at position C(3)), Q (1) (charge on atom C(1)), A (surface area), log P (logarithm of the partition coefficient) and MR (molecular refractivity). The supervised pattern recognition methods (SDA, KNN, and SIMCA) were employed in order to construct a reliable model that can be able to predict the analgesic activity of new cannabinoid compounds and to validate our previous study. The results obtained using the SDA, KNN, and SIMCA methods agree perfectly with our previous model. Comparing the SDA, KNN, and SIMCA results with the PCA and HCA ones we could notice that all multivariate statistical methods classified the cannabinoid compounds studied in three groups exactly in the same way: active, moderately active, and inactive.

Participation in recreational physical activity: Why do socioeconomic groups differ?

This qualitative study explored how influences on recreational physical activity (RPA) were patterned by socioeconomic position. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 10 males and 10 females in three socioeconomic groups (N = 60). Influences salient across all groups included previous opportunities, physical health, social assistance, safety, environmental aesthetics and urban design, physical and health benefits, and barriers of self-consciousness, low skill, and weather/time of year. Influences more salient to the high socioeconomic group included social benefits, achieving a balanced lifestyle, and the barrier of an unpredictable lifestyle. Influences more salient to the high and mid socioeconomic groups included efficacy, perceived need, activity demands, affiliation, emotional benefits, and the barrier of competing demands. Influences more salient to the low socioeconomic group included poor health and barriers of inconvenient access and low personal functioning. Data suggest that efforts to increase RPA in the population should include both general and socioeconomically targeted strategies.

Prone position prevents regional alveolar hyperinflation and mechanical stress and strain in mild experimental acute lung injury

Prone position may delay the development of ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI), but the mechanisms require better elucidation. In experimental mild acute lung injury (ALI), arterial oxygen partial pressure (Pa(O2)), lung mechanics and histology, inflammatory markers [interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1 beta], and type III procollagen (PCIII) mRNA expressions were analysed in supine and prone position. Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups. In controls, saline was intraperitoneally injected while ALI was induced by paraquat. After 24-h, the animals were mechanically ventilated for 1-h in supine or prone positions. In ALI, prone position led to a better blood flow/tissue ratio both in ventral and dorsal regions and was associated with a more homogeneous distribution of alveolar aeration/tissue ratio reducing lung static elastance and viscoelastic pressure, and increasing end-expiratory lung volume and Pa(O2). PCIII expression was higher in the ventral than dorsal region in supine position, with no regional changes in inflammatory markers. In conclusion, prone position may protect the lungs against VILI, thus reducing pulmonary stress and strain. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cephalometric evaluation of facial pattern and hyoid bone position in children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Objectives: To assess the development of face and hyoid bone in children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) through lateral cephalometries. Materials and methods: Children aged 7-10 years with mixed dentition and with no previous otorhinolaryngologic, orthodontic or speech therapy treatments were studied. Twenty nasal breathers were compared to 20 mouth breathing children diagnosed as OSAS patients. All children underwent otorhinolaryngologic evaluation and cephalometries; children with OSAS also underwent nocturnal polysomnography in a sleep laboratory. Results: Children with OSAS presented increase in total and lower anterior heights of the face when compared to nasal breathers. In addition, children with OSAS presented a significantly more anterior and inferior position of the hyoid bone than nasal breathers. No significant differences in upper, anterior or posterior heights of the face were observed between groups. Conclusion: The results suggest that there are evident and early changes in facial growth and development among children with OSAS, characterized by increased total and inferior anterior heights of the face, as well as more anterior and inferior position of the hyoid bone. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recurrent gains and losses of large (84-109 bp) repeats in the rDNA internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of rhipicephaline ticks

We studied the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) in twenty-two spp. of ticks from the subfamily Rhipicephalinae. A 104-109 base pair (bp) region was Imperfectly repeated In most ticks studied. Mapping the number of repeat copies on to a phylogeny from the ITS2 showed that there have been many Independent gains and losses of repeats. Comparison of the sequences of the repeat copies Indicated that in most taxa concerted evolution had played little if any role in the evolution of these regions, as the copies clustered by sequence position rather than species, In our putative secondary structure, each repeat copy can fold into a distinct and almost identical stem-loop complex; a gain or loss of a repeat copy apparently does not impair the function of the ITS2 in these ticks.

Low intraspecific variation in the rRNA internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of the Australian paralysis tick, Ixodes holocyclus

Ixodes holocyclus has a narrow, discontinuous distribution along the east coast of Australia. We studied ticks from 17 localities throughout the geographic range of this tick. The ITS2 of I. holocyclus is 793 bp long. We found nucleotide variation at eight of the 588 nucleotide positions (1.4%) that were compared for all ticks. There were eight different nucleotide sequences. Most sequences were not restricted to a particular geographic region. However, sequences F, G and H, which had an adenine at position 197, were found only in the far north of Queensland - all other ticks had a guanine at this position. The low level of intraspecific variation in this tick (0.7%) contrasts with the sequence divergence between L holocyclus and its close relative, I. cornuatus (13.1 %). These data indicate that L holocyclus does not contain cryptic species despite possible geographic isolation of some populations. We conclude that variation in the ITS2 is likely to be informative about the phylogeny of the group.

Synonymy of Perkinsus olseni Lester & Davis, 1981 and Perkinsus atlanticus Azevedo, 1989 and an update on the phylogenetic position of the genus Perkinsus

Sequences of the rRNA nontranscribed spacer (NTS) were determined for six isolates of Perkinsus olseni, seven isolates of Perkinsus sp. from Anadara trapezia and one isolate of Perkinsus sp. from Austrovenus stutchburyi. These sequences were compared with previously published NTS sequences for R atlanticus, P. marinus and P. andrewsi. Consensus sequences for Perkinsus olseni, the Perkinsus isolates and P. atlanticus were approximately 98-99% similar to each other but only 65-79% similar to P. marinus and P. andrewsi sequences. Some individual P. olseni sequences were less similar to each other (97.4%) than they were to P. atlanticus sequences (97.8-98.2%), therefore NTS provides further evidence that P. atlanticus, P. olseni, Perkinsus sp. from Anadara trapezia and Perkinsus sp. from Austrovenus stutchburyi are conspecific. We propose that P. atlanticus be synonymised with P. olseni Lester & Davis, 1981 which has taxonomic priority, and that Perkinsus sp. from Anadara trapezia and Perkinsus sp. from Austrovenus stutchburyi belong to R olseni sensu lato as well. A phylogenetic analysis of SSU rDNA, incorporating recently published Perkinsus sequences, supports the placement of the Perkinsus species with Parvilucifera infectans within the Dinoflagellata.

A study of five cervicocephalic relocation tests in three different subject groups

Objective: To compare head relocation accuracy in traumatic ( whiplash), insidious onset neck pain patients and asymptomatic subjects when targeting a natural head posture (NHP) and complex predetermined positions. Design: A case-control study. Setting: University-based musculoskeletal research clinic. Participants: Sixty-three volunteers divided into three groups of similar gender and age: Group 1 (n=21) an asymptomatic group; group 2 (n=20) insidious onset neck pain; group 3 (n=22) a history of whiplash injury. Intervention: Five randomly ordered tests designed to detect relocation accuracy of the head. Outcome measures: A 3-Space Fastrak system measured the mean absolute relocation error of three trials of each relocation test. Results: A significant difference was found between groups in one of the tests targeting the NHP (p=0.001). Post-hoc pairwise comparisons revealed a significant difference (pless than or equal to0.05) between the asymptomatic group and each symptomatic group. The difference between the symptomatic groups just failed to reach significance (p=0.07). None of the other four tests revealed significant differences. Conclusion: The test of targeting the NHP indicates that relocation inaccuracy exists in patients with neck pain with a trend to suggest that the deficit may be greater in whiplash patients. Tests employing unfamiliar postures or more complex movement were not successful in differentiating subject groups.

Relations between high and low power groups: The importance of legitimacy

Using a social identity perspective, two experiments examined the effects of power and the legitimacy of power differentials on intergroup bias. In Experiment 1, 125 math-science students were led to believe that they had high or low representation in a university decision-making body relative to social-science students and that this power position was either legitimate or illegitimate. Power did not have an independent effect on bias; rather, members of both high and low power groups showed more bias when the power hierarchy was illegitimate than when it was legitimate. This effect was replicated in Experiment 2 (N =105). In addition, Experiment 2 showed that groups located within an unfair power hierarchy expected the superordinate power body to be more discriminatory than did those who had legitimately high or low power. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for group relations.

Evaluation of intermolecular interactions in thioxanthone derivatives: substituent effect on crystal diversity

A family of 9H-thioxanthen-9-one derivatives and two precursors, 2-[(4-bromophenyl) sulfanyl]-5-nitrobenzoic acid and 2-[(4-aminophenyl) sulfanyl]-5-nitrobenzoic acid, were synthesized and studied in order to assess the role of the different substituent groups in determining the supramolecular motifs. From our results we can conclude that Etter's rules are obeyed: whenever present the -COOH head to head strong hydrogen bonding dimer, R-2(2)(8) synthon, prevails as the dominant interaction. As for -NH2, the best donor when present also follows the expected hierarchy, an NH center dot center dot center dot O(COOH) was formed in the acid precursor (2) and an NH center dot center dot center dot O(C=O) in the thioxanthone (4). The main role played by weaker hydrogen bonds such as CH center dot center dot center dot O, and other intermolecular interactions, pi-pi and Br center dot center dot center dot O, as well as the geometric restraints of packing patterns shows the energetic interplay governing crystal packing. A common feature is the relation between the p-p stacking and the unit cell dimensions. A new synthon notation, R`, introduced in this paper, refers to the possibility of accounting for intra- and intermolecular interactions into recognizable and recurring aggregate patterns.

Habitat differentiation between groups of Risso's dolphins as evidence of coastal nursery areas

26th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, Galway, Ireland 26-28 March 2012.

Research needs in allergy: an EAACI position paper, in collaboration with EFA.

In less than half a century, allergy, originally perceived as a rare disease, has become a major public health threat, today affecting the lives of more than 60 million people in Europe, and probably close to one billion worldwide, thereby heavily impacting the budgets of public health systems. More disturbingly, its prevalence and impact are on the rise, a development that has been associated with environmental and lifestyle changes accompanying the continuous process of urbanization and globalization. Therefore, there is an urgent need to prioritize and concert research efforts in the field of allergy, in order to achieve sustainable results on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of this most prevalent chronic disease of the 21st century.The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is the leading professional organization in the field of allergy, promoting excellence in clinical care, education, training and basic and translational research, all with the ultimate goal of improving the health of allergic patients. The European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients' Associations (EFA) is a non-profit network of allergy, asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) patients' organizations. In support of their missions, the present EAACI Position Paper, in collaboration with EFA, highlights the most important research needs in the field of allergy to serve as key recommendations for future research funding at the national and European levels.Although allergies may involve almost every organ of the body and an array of diverse external factors act as triggers, there are several common themes that need to be prioritized in research efforts. As in many other chronic diseases, effective prevention, curative treatment and accurate, rapid diagnosis represent major unmet needs. Detailed phenotyping/endotyping stands out as widely required in order to arrange or re-categorize clinical syndromes into more coherent, uniform and treatment-responsive groups. Research efforts to unveil the basic pathophysiologic pathways and mechanisms, thus leading to the comprehension and resolution of the pathophysiologic complexity of allergies will allow for the design of novel patient-oriented diagnostic and treatment protocols. Several allergic diseases require well-controlled epidemiological description and surveillance, using disease registries, pharmacoeconomic evaluation, as well as large biobanks. Additionally, there is a need for extensive studies to bring promising new biotechnological innovations, such as biological agents, vaccines of modified allergen molecules and engineered components for allergy diagnosis, closer to clinical practice. Finally, particular attention should be paid to the difficult-to-manage, precarious and costly severe disease forms and/or exacerbations. Nonetheless, currently arising treatments, mainly in the fields of immunotherapy and biologicals, hold great promise for targeted and causal management of allergic conditions. Active involvement of all stakeholders, including Patient Organizations and policy makers are necessary to achieve the aims emphasized herein.