Plos One
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The predictors of postoperative pain and analgesic consumption were previously found to include preoperative pain, anxiety, age, type of surgery, and genotype, but remaining unclear was whether intraoperative factors could predict postoperative pain. In the present study, we investigated the time-course of fentanyl consumption using intravenous patient-controlled analgesia records from patients who underwent orthognathic surgery for mandibular prognathism and analyzed the influence of anesthesia methods and surgical methods together with sex on the time course. A significant difference in the time course of fentanyl administration was found (P<0.001). ⋯ Total postoperative 24 h consumption associated with the bimaxillary procedure was significantly higher than with BSSRO (P = 0.008). The present results indicate that administration patterns and total 24 h consumption were different among the three groups of anesthesia methods and between the two groups of surgical methods, respectively. Although more research on patient-controlled analgesia patterns and consumption is necessary, the present study will contribute to adequately relieving individual patients from postoperative pain.
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Understanding the genetic variations among Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains with differential ability to transmit would be a major step forward in preventing transmission. ⋯ Our finding that the distribution of CPP scores was unequal across four different phylogenetic lineages supports the notion that host-related factors should be controlled for to attain comparability in measuring the different phylogenetic lineages' ability to propagate. Although Euro-American strains were more likely to be in clusters in an unadjusted analysis, no significant differences among the four lineages persisted after we controlled for host factors.
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Experimental and epidemiological studies have reported associations between air pollution exposure, in particular related to vehicle exhaust, and cardiovascular disease. A potential pathophysiological pathway is pollution-induced pulmonary oxidative stress, with secondary systemic inflammation. Genetic polymorphisms in genes implicated in oxidative stress, such as GSTP1, GSTT1 and GSTCD, may contribute to determining individual susceptibility to air pollution as a promoter of coronary vulnerability. ⋯ Air pollution exposure entails an increased risk of AMI, and this risk differed over genotype strata for variants in the GSTP1, GSTT1 and GSTCD genes, albeit not statistically-significantly.
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Hyperkalemia, a condition in which serum potassium ions (K+) exceed 5.0 mmol/L, is a common electrolyte disorder associated with substantial morbidity. Current methods of managing hyperkalemia, including organic polymer resins such as sodium polystyrene sulfonate (SPS), are poorly tolerated and/or not effective. Sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (ZS-9) is under clinical development as an orally administered, non-absorbed, novel, inorganic microporous zirconium silicate compound that selectively removes excess K+ in vivo. ⋯ The effect of pH on the KEC of ZS-9 was tested in different media buffered to mimic different portions of the human gastrointestinal tract. Rapid K+ uptake was observed within 5 minutes - mainly in the simulated small intestinal and large intestinal fluids, an effect that was sustained for up to 1 hour. If approved, ZS-9 will represent a novel, first-in-class therapy for hyperkalemia with improved capacity, selectivity, and speed for entrapping K+ when compared to currently available options.
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Migration to Europe - and in particular the UK - has risen dramatically in the past decades, with implications for public health services. Migrants have increased vulnerability to infectious diseases (70% of TB cases and 60% HIV cases are in migrants) and face multiple barriers to healthcare. There is currently considerable debate as to the optimum approach to infectious disease screening in this often hard-to-reach group, and an urgent need for innovative approaches. ⋯ Awareness raising about the benefits of screening within new migrant communities is critical. One innovative approach proposed by participants is a community-based package of health screening combining all key diseases into one general health check-up, to lessen the associated stigma. Further research is needed to develop evidence-based community-focused screening models - drawing on models of best practice from other countries receiving high numbers of migrants.