Effect of BL-10 (tianzhu), BL-11 (dazhu) and GB-34 (yanglinquan) acuplaster for prevention of vomiting after strabismus surgery in children

BACKGROUND

Stimulation of P6 (Neiguan) acupoint can prevent nausea and vomiting in adults. However, there is no antiemetic effect in children undergoing strabismus surgery. The effect of P6 may act only on hollow organs; in contrast, BL-10 (Tianzhu), BL-11 (Dazhu) and GB-34 (Yanglinquan) are more related to the meridians of the eye. Therefore these three more relevant acupoints, BL-10, BL-11 and GB-34 were stimulated to evaluate the antiemetic effect in children undergoing strabismus surgery.

METHODS

Sixty-five children, ASA physical status I, between 3 and 14 years of age, were randomly divided into two groups as follows: placebo group (n = 31) and acuplaster group (n = 34). Bilateral acupressure using the Vital Point Needleless Acuplaster (Koa, Japan) was applied to BL-10, BL-11 and GB-34 points the night before surgery. Anesthesia was induced and maintained with halothane and nitrous oxide in oxygen. Postoperative emesis was assessed at early (at PACU) and late (at ward) phases, and was recorded by an investigator blind to the treatment characteristics.

RESULTS

In the early emesis phase, the incidence of vomiting was 35.5% for placebo group, compared with 14.7% for acuplaster group. In the late emesis phase, acuplaster patients had a significantly lower incidence of vomiting (23.5% vs. 58.1% in placebo patients, p < 0.05). The overall postoperative vomiting incidence in the acuplaster patients in a 24 h period which was significantly decreased was 29.4% as opposed 64.5% in the placebo group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The results demonstrated that prophylactic use of bilateral noninvasive acuplaster on the BL-10, BL-11, and GB-34 acupoints significantly reduces vomiting after strabismus correction. The mechanism may be dispersal of these three acupoints, thus diminishing the parasympathetic stimulation resulting from surgical traction of eye muscles.

Image contrast in polarization microscopy of magneto-optical disk data-storage media through birefringent plastic substrates

Using polarized-light microscopy, we have investigated the magnetic domains of perpendicularly magnetized media under several different conditions, including direct observation of the thin-film magnetic layer and observations through the glass or plastic substrates on which the magnetic film was deposited. The results show that the image contrast is reduced with an increasing numerical aperture of the objective lens. They also indicate that the polarization rotation caused by differences between the reflectivity-transmissivity of the p and s components of polarization deteriorate the magnetic image contrast. Furthermore, by comparing the image quality using the same objective lens on samples having different substrates, we found that the images obtained through plastic substrates are worse than those obtained through glass substrates. Birefringence of the plastic substrate is shown to be responsible for the additional degradation of the image contrast.

EMLA cream and lidocaine local injection in the treatment of extravenous thiopental injection--a case report

Thiopental extravasation which would cause tissue edema and necrosis in rapid progression by chemical reaction and vascular spasm is a potentially serious complication in anesthesia. Early diagnosis and treatment may bear a favorable outcome. A patient who sustained thiopental extravasation and received local injection of lidocaine and local application of EMLA (Eutectic Mixture of Local Anesthetics) for treatment with excellent results is presented hereunder.

Measurement of the thermal coefficients of nonreversible phase-change optical recording films

We have developed a procedure to obtain the critical temperature for the amorphous-to-crystalline phase transition as well as the thermal conductivity and the specific heat of the phase-change media of optical recording. The procedure involves estimating the thermal conductivity from the data obtained by measuring the threshold cw laser power required for inducing phase transition. Then, from the data obtained in short-pulse measurements, we estimate the specific heat. In principle this method can yield the thermal parameters of any number of layers, so long as one of the layers is made of a phase-change material having a well-defined transition temperature.

Acquired long QT syndrome in a child undergoing craniotomy: a case report

The long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a rare disorder of cardiac conduction in children. It may lead to severe arrhythmia, syncope or sudden death. Electrolyte disturbance and the use of procainamide are closely related to the acquired LQTS. This report concerns a fatality of acquired LQTS in a boy undergoing craniotomy. After induction of anesthesia, his electrocardiogram displayed a frequent torsade de pointes type of ventricular tachycardia with prolonged QT interval. Therefore, congenital LQTS was impressed. However, the arrhythmia was aggravated by intravenous propranolol. Isoproterenol infusion was given under the diagnosis of acquired LQTS. The arrhythmia was successfully abolished and a stable hemodynamic status was maintained. However, the child could not tolerate the anesthesia which lasted for 30 hours, and eventually succumbed, despite aggressive treatment and resuscitation attempts. Differential diagnosis between the types of LQTS should be made promptly. This may be of paramount importance in the outcome since prognosis depends upon proper treatment. This case report discusses the etiology and management of this rare abnormality.

Cognitive capacity in female adolescent substance abusers

Female adolescents who qualified for a DSM-III-R diagnosis of psychoactive substance use disorder (n = 106) were compared to normal controls (n = 74) on a battery of cognitive, intellectual and achievement tests. It was found that the substance abuse group performed deficiently on tests requiring language skills, sustained attention and perceptual efficiency and scored lower than controls on standardized tests of intelligence and academic achievement. No relationship between magnitude of cognitive deficit and severity of substance abuse was observed. The implications of these findings are discussed with respect to the etiology and maintenance of drug use.

Restoring the apoptosis suppression response to IL-5 confers on erythroleukemic cells a phenotype of IL-5-dependent growth

We have established a human IL-5 (hIL-5) dependent cell line, JYTF-1, derived from TF-1 parental human erythroleukemic cells by long-term cultivation in the presence of hIL-5. The ED50 values of hIL-5 for both TF-1 and JYTF-1 cell lines remained similar. However, when cells were grown in an optimal concentration of IL-5, some TF-1 cells but not JYTF-1 cells died via apoptosis. Although the rates of DNA synthesis were similar for TF-1 and JYTF-1 cells grown in IL-5, [3-H]thymidine releasing of pulse-labeled DNA analysis indicated that the viable TF-1 cells in IL-5 were more apoptosis-prone than were JYTF-1 cells. Therefore, in the JYTF-1 variant, the ability to suppress apoptosis has apparently been restored. The following findings suggest that overexpression of the hIL-5 receptor alpha-chain may be responsible for restoring the apoptosis suppression ability of IL-5: 1) the growth of JYTF-1 cells remained cytokine-dependent; 2) the proliferation of JYTF-1 cells in IL-5 was not mediated by autocrine secretion; 3) JYTF-1 and TF-1 cells responded similarly to other cytokines such as human erythropoietin; 4) Northern blot analysis revealed that JYTF-1 cells expressed approximately eightfold more IL-5 receptor alpha-chain mRNA than did TF-1. To our knowledge, JYTF-1 represents the first example in which coupling of mitogenesis stimulation and apoptosis suppression from otherwise uncoupled parental cells confers a phenotype of IL-5-dependent growth.

Restoring the apoptosis suppression response to IL-5 confers on erythroleukemic cells a phenotype of IL-5-dependent growth

We have established a human IL-5 (hIL-5) dependent cell line, JYTF-1, derived from TF-1 parental human erythroleukemic cells by long-term cultivation in the presence of hIL-5. The ED50 values of hIL-5 for both TF-1 and JYTF-1 cell lines remained similar. However, when cells were grown in an optimal concentration of IL-5, some TF-1 cells but not JYTF-1 cells died via apoptosis. Although the rates of DNA synthesis were similar for TF-1 and JYTF-1 cells grown in IL-5, [3-H]thymidine releasing of pulse-labeled DNA analysis indicated that the viable TF-1 cells in IL-5 were more apoptosis-prone than were JYTF-1 cells. Therefore, in the JYTF-1 variant, the ability to suppress apoptosis has apparently been restored. The following findings suggest that overexpression of the hIL-5 receptor alpha-chain may be responsible for restoring the apoptosis suppression ability of IL-5: 1) the growth of JYTF-1 cells remained cytokine-dependent; 2) the proliferation of JYTF-1 cells in IL-5 was not mediated by autocrine secretion; 3) JYTF-1 and TF-1 cells responded similarly to other cytokines such as human erythropoietin; 4) Northern blot analysis revealed that JYTF-1 cells expressed approximately eightfold more IL-5 receptor alpha-chain mRNA than did TF-1. To our knowledge, JYTF-1 represents the first example in which coupling of mitogenesis stimulation and apoptosis suppression from otherwise uncoupled parental cells confers a phenotype of IL-5-dependent growth.

Coping capacity in female adolescent substance abusers

Female adolescents who qualified for a DSM-III-R diagnosis of Psychoactive Substance Use Disorder were not distinguishable from depressed and conduct disorder subjects on measures of coping but were differentiable from normal controls. Age of onset of substance use, interval between age of first use and age of diagnosis of abuse, and severity of substance use involvement did not correlate with coping capacity. These findings indicate that deficient coping is not specifically related to drug abuse but rather, where present, is concomitant to comorbid psychopathology among females who have a substance abuse disorder.

A novel method for measuring the vertical birefringence of optical disk substrates

We describe a simple method of measuring vertical birefringence over the entire surface of an optical disk substrate.Our design consists of a linearly polarized He-Ne laser (1-2 mW) and a CCD camera interfaced to a computer. The measurement is non-intrusive, easy to set up, and needs only a few seconds to collect the data and plot a map of vertical birefringence over the surface area of the disk. The system described here is potentially useful as a qualitycontrol tool in substrate manufacturing environments.

Functional analysis of the 14 kDa protein of insertion sequence 2

The IS2 sequence encodes five open reading frames (ORF1 to ORF5) that are greater than 150 nucleotides each. Only one protein of 14 kDa was detected when the expression of IS2 genes was examined in minicells. This 14 kDa protein was referred to as InsA in this study and was determined to be encoded by ORF1. A sixfold decrease in IS2 transposition frequency was observed when insA was overexpressed. DNA footprinting results indicated that InsA binds to the sequence 5'-TAAATAA-3' located at IS2 nucleotide numbers 1286 to 1292. (The IS2 right terminal repeat spans nucleotides 1290 to 1331.) This InsA binding sequence is situated 4 bp upstream from the putative "-10" sequence of the insA promoter that overlaps the right terminal repeat of IS2. The presence of a promoter located in this region was demonstrated by the ability of a DNA fragment containing the right terminal repeat to drive the expression of a promoterless lacZ gene. The transcription of insA was determined to start at the A residue located at nucleotide number 1268. With the same insA promoter-lacZ fusion construct, overexpression of insA in the same cell was found to decrease the beta-galactosidase activity. The results of this study suggest that InsA affects IS2 transposition by regulating the transcription of IS2 genes.

Mutational specificity of chromium(VI) compounds in the hprt locus of Chinese hamster ovary-K1 cells

Chromium(VI) compounds exert their genotoxicity and mutagenicity by complex metabolic reducing pathways that generate a variety of reactive forms of chromium and free radicals. To investigate the molecular nature of chromium-induced mutations, we characterized the entire coding region of the hypoxanthine (guanine) phosphoribosyltransferase (hprt) gene of 27 independent mutants derived from chromium(VI) oxide (CrO3)-treated Chinese hamster ovary-K1 cells, by direct sequencing of PCR-amplified cDNA. Among these mutants, 10 consisted of single base substitutions, five contained two base substitutions, one had four base substitutions, six were splicing mutations, and five exhibited single base pair insertions or deletions. All of the base substitutions and most of the frameshift mutations observed were located at A/T-rich sequences. More than 90% of the base substitutions (22/24) occurred in A.T base pairs. Among them, T-->A and T-->G transversions (18/22) predominated. The mutational hotspots for single and double base substitutions were the 3' thymidine of 5'PuT and thymidines of 5'ATTT sequences respectively. This mutational specificity was also observed in CHO-K1 cells treated with two other chromium(VI) compounds, namely K2Cr2O7 and PbCrO4. Strand bias was noticed in chromium mutagenicity, since 77% of T base substitutions occurred on the non-transcribed strand. This highly sequence-specific mutation spectrum suggests that a particular form of chromium may directly interact with DNA at these hotspot sequences.

A new method for measurement of respiratory resistance

A new method for measuring the resistance of the total respiratory system is presented. The method uses a device comprising a solenoid valve, a multiperforated plate, and a pneumotachograph. The multiperforated plate serves as a constant resistor (Rk) that is used to partially occlude the airway opening, thus rapidly and briefly reducing airflow during natural expiration. If it is assumed that the driving pressure remains constant during the very short period the airway is partially occluded, the respiratory flow immediately preceding the addition of Rk (V) and the flow reduction during partial occlusion (delta V) allow calculation of the resistance of the total respiratory system. The resistance of 14 normal subjects and 18 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was measured with this new method as well as with the body plethysmographic method: 90% of the interrupter values fell within +/- 0.6 cmH2O . l-1.s of the plethysmographic values, and all fell within +/- 0.8 cmH2O . l-1.s.