Estimation of teeth-to-vallecula distance for prediction of optimal oropharyngeal airway length in young children

BACKGROUND

Estimation of teeth-to-vallecula distance would facilitate the selection of properly sized oropharyngeal airways in young children. The aims of the present study were to measure the teeth-to-vallecula distance and to create an algorithm to predict this distance based on anatomical landmarks and patient characteristics in children.

METHODS

Two hundred children, aged 1-9 yr, undergoing elective surgery were investigated. After induction of general anaesthesia, the distance from the teeth to the vallecula was measured using a laryngoscope with a straight blade. After intubation, the distances from the mouth angle to the mandible angle and the tragus of the ear were measured with a tape measure.

RESULTS

The teeth-to-vallecula distance was significantly correlated with the age, weight, height, and external measurements (P<0.001). By stepwise multiple linear regression analysis, a formula was obtained for the teeth-to-vallecula distance (cm) = 3.998 + 0.017 × age (months)+the mouth-to-mandible distance × 0.286 with a high coefficient of determination (r²=0.764).

CONCLUSIONS

The teeth-to-vallecula distance can be predicted using the age and the mouth-to-mandible distance in young children.

Intravenous Lidocaine for Effective Pain Relief after Inguinal Herniorrhaphy: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study

This prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluated the effectiveness of intravenous lidocaine to reduce post-operative pain in 64 inguinal herniorrhaphy patients. Intravenous bolus injection of 1.5 mg/kg lidocaine followed by a continuous lidocaine infusion of 2 mg/kg per h was randomly assigned to 32 patients (lidocaine group) and intravenous normal saline bolus injection followed by infusion of normal saline was assigned to 32 other patients (control group). Visual analogue scale pain scores, fentanyl consumption and the frequency at which analgesia was administered from a patient-controlled analgesia device (measured by number of button pushes) were significantly lower in the lidocaine group than in the control group until 12 h after surgery. Total fentanyl consumption (patient-controlled plus investigator-controlled rescue administration) and the total number of button pushes were significantly lower in the lidocaine group than in the control group. It is concluded that intravenous lidocaine injection reduced post-operative pain after inguinal herniorrhaphy, is easy to administer and may have potential to become routine practice for this type of surgery.

Search for effects beyond the born approximation in polarization transfer observables in e(over→)p elastic scattering

Intensive theoretical and experimental efforts over the past decade have aimed at explaining the discrepancy between data for the proton electric to magnetic form factor ratio, G(E)/G(M), obtained separately from cross section and polarization transfer measurements. One possible explanation for this difference is a two-photon-exchange contribution. In an effort to search for effects beyond the one-photon-exchange or Born approximation, we report measurements of polarization transfer observables in the elastic H(e[over →],e(')p[over →]) reaction for three different beam energies at a Q(2)=2.5  GeV(2), spanning a wide range of the kinematic parameter ε. The ratio R, which equals μ(p)G(E)/G(M) in the Born approximation, is found to be independent of ε at the 1.5% level. The ε dependence of the longitudinal polarization transfer component P(ℓ) shows an enhancement of (2.3±0.6)% relative to the Born approximation at large ε.

The 3Ns chromosome of Psathyrostachys huashanica carries the gene(s) underlying wheat stripe rust resistance

Stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis tritici (Pst)) is one of the most destructive diseases of wheat in the world. Exploiting and utilizing stripe rust resistance genes of wild species has become an essential strategy for resistance breeding. Psathyrostachyshuashanica Keng ex Kuo is a wild species in Triticeae that has been used for wheat improvement because of its high resistance or immunity to stripe rust. In this study, 9 wheat-P. huashanica addition lines were characterized by Giemsa C-banding, genomic in situ hybridization (GISH), and disease resistance evaluation. Giemsa C-banding and GISH demonstrated that lines 163-5, 165-1, 183-5, 240-3, and 240-4 are P. huashanica 3Ns chromosome monosomic addition lines; lines 183-1 and 183-20 are P. huashanica 3Ns chromosome disomic addition lines; line 165-20 is a P. huashanica 3Ns and 4Ns chromosomes double disomic addition line, and line 219-1 is a P. huashanica 1Ns and 3Ns/5A chromosomes double disomic addition-substitution line. All these addition lines with P. huashanica 3Ns chromosome(s) expressed high resistance or immunity to stripe rust. By comparing the series of wheat-P. huashanica chromosome addition lines, we concluded that the P. huashanica 3Ns chromosome carries the gene(s) for resistance or immunity to stripe rust. These addition lines can be used as a donor source of novel stripe rust resistance to wheat breeding programs.

Intraperitoneal Ropivacaine for Effective Pain Relief after Laparoscopic Appendectomy: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study

This prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluated the effectiveness of intraperitoneal instillation of ropivacaine in the relief of pain in patients undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy. Patients in group C (placebo control group; n = 33) received normal saline and those in group I (instillation group; n = 30) received an instillation of 2 mg/kg ropivacaine at the initiation of the pneumoperitoneum. Visual analogue scale pain scores, fentanyl consumption and the frequency at which patients pushed the button (FPB) of a patient-controlled analgesia system during the post-operative period were significantly lower in group I compared with group C, and decreased gradually with time in both groups. The total amount of fentanyl consumed and the total FPB were significantly lower in group I compared with group C. Thus, intraperitoneal ropivacaine instillation reduced pain during the post-operative period after laparoscopic appendectomy. In addition, this drug was easy to administer and had no adverse effects at the dose used.

Structure effects in angle-resolved high-order above-threshold ionization of molecules

We present energy-resolved angular distributions of photoelectrons generated in above-threshold ionization (ATI) of nonaligned diatomic molecules N2 and O2 in high-intensity short laser pulses, with emphasis on the most energetic part of the spectra. The angular distribution for photoelectrons with energy of 10U(p) (U(p): ponderomotive energy), i.e., the plateau cutoff in ATI spectra, is found to be broader in O2 than in N2. Resorting to the analyses from both an S-matrix theory and an intuitive semiclassical model, we attribute the observation to the effect of the ground state molecular orbital structure on high-energy electron emission in strong-field molecular ionization.