Sodium nitroprusside: pharmacology, toxicology and therapeutics

Sodium nitroprusside is a potent, effective, and readily reversible direct vasodilating agent. It is broken down by hemoglobin into cyanide, which is in part detoxified by liver and kidney to thiocyanate. Some cyanide, especially in nitroprusside- "resistant" individuals who need large amounts of the drug, appears to remain free to cause cyanide poisoning. Patients requiring inordinate amounts probably should not continue to receive the drug, although maximum dosage limits for long-term therapy are not established. Blood thiocyanate levels do not indicate the extent to which free cyanide is limiting oxygen utilization in essential tissue, nor do blood cyanide levels. Metabolic acidosis, elevated lactate levels, elevated lactate/pyruvate ratios, and elevated mixed venous blood oxygen content are at present the best indications of the presence of cyanide poisoning during nitroprusside administration. Nitroprusside appears useful for induction of hypotension during surgery, and for treatment of hypertensive emergencies from all causes, although continuance for more than a few days is probably unwise. The reductions of cardiac afterload and ventricular filling pressure by nitroprusside appear useful in treatment of severe myocardial failure or infarction, but studies of myocardial cyanide toxicity are needed before complete acceptance of this therapy is warranted. Initial dose rates between 0.5 and 1.5 mug/kg/min are recommended only as starting points for very careful titration. Total projected intra-operative dosage should be calculated as quickly as possible and should not exceed 3-3.5 mg/kg. It is hoped that future studies will reveal the maximum dose of nitroprusside that can safely be metabolized in a 24-hour period, and may indicate that cofactors of rhodanase such as thiosulfate, or cobalamins such as hydroxocobalamin, can be administered with nitroprusside to prevent cyanide poisoning.     

萧邦“红地毯系列”高级珠宝亮相中国

近来，国际珠宝品牌萧邦在香港、北京、上海三地展出了50多件极其珍贵的“红地毯系列”高级珠宝。该系列珠宝都是该品牌历年来为戛纳电影节红毯秀量身定做的尊贵珍品，总价值高达3．2亿元人民币。     

Exploration of radiative heat on magnetohydrodynamic rotating fluid flow through a vertical sheet

An analysis is built up for the exploration of radiative heat transport on the magnetohydrodynamic flow of rotating fluid over a vertical sheet. The inclusion of thermal radiation in conjunction with the reacting species enhances the energy as well as the solutal profiles respectively. In an advance, external heat source and applied magnetic field effects are considered for further improvement. As the magnetic Reynolds number is low, the influence of the induced magnetic field is neglected. The transformation of governing nonlinear partial differential equations into coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations is attained with a proper supposition of similarity variables. Moreover, the solution of these transformed equations is scheduled using the “Runge–Kutta fourth-order” method numerically in association with the “shooting technique.” The simulation or various illustrating parameters affecting the flow phenomena are obtained and displayed through graphs and for numerical validation with earlier published work shows the convergence process of the methodology applied. The main findings of the study are; the Dufour number is favorable to enhance the fluid temperature throughout the domain and the destructive chemical reaction also encourages the solutal profile significantly.     

Influence of a dual-species biofilm on the corrosion of mild steel

The effect of a dual-species biofilm on the corrosion of carbon steel was examined using two bacterial species: the iron-reducer, Shewanella oneidensis (MR-1), and the sulfate-reducer, Desulfovibrio desulfuricans (G20). These experiments exploit the fact that the products of their metabolism (ferrous iron or sulfide) affect the corrosion rate of carbon steel in opposite ways. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) shows that over a short time period, co-cultures of MR-1 and G20 protect steel from corrosion. The fact that an iron-reducing bacterium can inhibit corrosion when a corrosion-enhancing bacterium is present warrants future study with respect to its potential applicability to the design of biological corrosion-control measures.     

2-Fluoro-4-pyridinylmethyl analogues of linopirdine as orally active acetylcholine release-enhancing agents with good efficacy and duration of action

In an effort to improve the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of the cognition-enhancer linopirdine (DuP 996), a number of core structure analogues were prepared in which the 4-pyridyl pendant group was systematically replaced with 2-fluoro-4-pyridyl. This strategy resulted in the discovery of several compounds with improved activity in acetylcholine (ACh) release-enhancing assays, in vitro and in vivo. The most effective compound resulting from these studies, 10, 10-bis[(2-fluoro-4-pyridinyl)methyl]-9(10H)-anthracenone (9), is between 10 and 20 times more potent than linopirdine in increasing extracellular hippocampal ACh levels in the rat with a minimum effective dose of 1 mg/kg. In addition to superior potency, 9 possesses an improved pharmacokinetic profile compared to that of linopirdine. The half-life of 9 (2 h) in rats is 4-fold greater than that of linopirdine (0.5 h), and it showed a 6-fold improvement in brain-plasma distribution over linopirdine. On the basis of its pharmacologic, pharmacokinetic, absorption, and distribution properties, 9 (DMP543) has been advanced for clinical evaluation as a potential palliative therapeutic for treatment of Alzheimer's disease.     

Motivations for weight loss and behavior change strategies associated with natural recovery from obesity.

Untreated adults (n?=?21) with lengthy weight problem histories who had maintained stable weight loss for a mean of 4.5 years were interviewed and completed questionnaires about their motivations for and behavioral strategies used during weight loss. Currently obese, untreated adults (n?=?20) served as controls. Successful natural recovery was associated with behavior changes like those emphasized in behavioral weight management programs (e.g., healthier food choices, eating more slowly, regular exercise). Motivations for weight loss were largely negative and reflected appearance and psychosocial concerns. Demographic, weight history, and health variables generally did not distinguish the groups. Obesity treatment was widely available but was viewed negatively. These findings reveal natural processes involved in sustained weight loss, highlight the potential importance of separating influences on behavior change from influences on help-seeking, and suggest ways that obesity treatments could be improved to increase their appeal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance of an OR-parallel logic programming system

The research focus in parallel logic programming is shifting rapidly from theoretical considerations and simulation on uniprocessors to implementation on true multiprocessors. This report presents performance figures from such a system,Boplog, for OR-parallel Horn clause logic programs on the BBN Butterfly Parallel Processor. Boplog is designed expressly for a large scale shared memory multiprocessor with an Omega interconnect. The target machine and underlying execution model are described briefly. The primary focus of the paper is on detailed statistics taken from the execution of benchmark programs to assess the performance of the model and clarify the impact of design and architecture decisions. They show that while speedup of this implementation on highly OR-parallel problems is very good, overall performance is poor. Despite its speed drawback, many aspcts of the implementation and its performance can prove useful in designing future systems for similar machines. A binding model that prohibits constant time access to bindings, and the inability of the machine to support an ambitious use of machine memory appear to be most damaging factors.This work was carried out at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. It was supported by a University of Utah Graduate Research Fellowship, the National Science Foundation under Grant DCR-856000, and by an unrestricted gift from L. M. Ericsson Telefon AB, Stockholm, Sweden, Production of the document was supported by the Rockwell International Science Center.     

Clinical and economic analysis of allogeneic peripheral blood progenitor cell transplants: a Canadian perspective

Allogeneic peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) transplants are an alternative to BMT, although G-CSF mobilization dose, timing of pheresis and risk of GVHD are not well defined. We compared harvest characteristics, donor and recipient outcomes and costs of two PBPC transplant strategies with historical controls who received BMT. Twenty donors mobilized with four daily s.c. G-CSF doses (5 microg/kg/day) (group 1) and 20 mobilized with 10 microg/kg/day G-CSF (group 2) were compared with 20 BM controls (group 3). G-CSF and phereses were well tolerated. Four of 40 PBPC donors required femoral catheter placement. At least 2.5 x 10(6) CD34+/kg recipient weight were collected with two phereses in 19/20 donors (group 1) and 18/20 donors (group 2). Time to neutrophil (18 vs 20 vs 22 days, P = 0.02) and platelet (21 vs 24 vs 27 days, P = 0.005) engraftment was shorter in the PBPC groups (group 2 vs group 1 vs group 3) but secondary engraftment outcomes were not different. The incidence of grade 2-4 aGVHD was higher in the low-dose G-CSF group (group 1) but there was no difference in cGVHD, 100-day or 1-year survival. The mean PBPC transplant cost (group 1) at first hospital discharge was less than BM (group 3) ($34,643 vs $37,354) but the mean overall cost for both groups was similar at 100 days ($46,334 vs $46,083). Allogeneic PBPC transplant with short course, low-dose G-CSF mobilization is safe, feasible and cost equivalent to allogeneic BMT.