Time to reconsider our approach to echogenic intracardiac focus and choroid plexus cysts

Ultrasound soft markers are commonly reported at mid-trimester ultrasounds. Soft markers frequently arouse anxiety in the patient, her family, and the referring clinician. Recent publications have raised concerns that this anxiety may be unfounded. The significance of an echogenic intracardiac focus or choroid plexus cyst in particular is no longer certain. It may be time to discard these two markers; especially if they are reported in isolation and in a patient who is otherwise at low risk for aneuploidy.     

Why Do Supportive Birth Attendants Become Directive of Maternal Bearing-Down Efforts in Second-Stage Labor?

A supportive approach to care for women during the second stage of labor that primarily relies on the laboring woman's involuntary expulsive urges has been advocated. We aimed to learn about the clinical circumstances surrounding the caregiver shift from being primarily supportive to directing women regarding their bearing-down efforts. This research analyzed the communications of 10 birth attendants and women during the expulsive phase of labor using videotapes recorded from two studies carried out between 1986 and the present. The occasions when a birth attendant shifted verbalizations were identified, and categories of the rationales that may have influenced the modification in caregiver behavior were developed. Birth attendants most frequently provided directions to help the woman push effectively, that is, to focus the woman's bearing-down efforts during maternal distress, fatigue, fear, and pain to expedite the labor process (38% of the occasions of caregiver change in verbalizations). The next most frequent clinical situations when caregivers offered directions about "pushing" were diminished urge to bear-down with epidural analgesia (10%), routine arbitrary practices (9% caregiver and 6% by supportive companion), and fetal distress (<1%). A category of "supportive direction" (20%) was identified. This care strategy has not been previously reported. It combined direction with support in a way that was supportive rather than overriding the woman's involuntary efforts.     

复方二氯苯醚菊脂的杀虫试验及毒性试验

复方二氯苯醚菊脂灭蚊剂由二氯苯醚菊脂、巴沙等组成.复方二氯苯醚菊脂剂对蚊、蝇的杀灭效果较好,对人畜毒性较小,是值得推广的一种杀虫剂.     

肺癌“传舍”之“传”与“合”

癌毒是肺癌“传舍”的根本,具有易伤正气、其性沉伏、发病猛烈、其性善行、易与痰瘀凝结等特性,也是肺癌传变的主要原因.癌毒通过本经顺传、借他经传、借他经逆传、五行相生相克、气-水之道等途径发生转移.另外,癌毒所舍之处必为虚处,癌毒久舍,则正气愈虚,“传舍”趋势愈盛,形成恶性循环.     

Task‐related preparatory modulations multiply with acoustic processing in monkey auditory cortex

We characterised task‐related top‐down signals in monkey auditory cortex cells by comparing single‐unit activity during passive sound exposure with neuronal activity during a predictable and unpredictable reaction‐time task for a variety of spectral‐temporally modulated broadband sounds. Although animals were not trained to attend to particular spectral or temporal sound modulations, their reaction times demonstrated clear acoustic spectral‐temporal sensitivity for unpredictable modulation onsets. Interestingly, this sensitivity was absent for predictable trials with fast manual responses, but re‐emerged for the slower reactions in these trials. Our analysis of neural activity patterns revealed a task‐related dynamic modulation of auditory cortex neurons that was locked to the animal's reaction time, but invariant to the spectral and temporal acoustic modulations. This finding suggests dissociation between acoustic and behavioral signals at the single‐unit level. We further demonstrated that single‐unit activity during task execution can be described by a multiplicative gain modulation of acoustic‐evoked activity and a task‐related top‐down signal, rather than by linear summation of these signals.     

In-situ hydrogen in metal determination using a minimum neutron source strength and exposure time

Water is frequently present in the environment and is a source of hydrogen that can interact with many materials. Because of its small atomic size, a hydrogen atom can easily diffuse into a host metal, and though the metal may appear unchanged for a time, the metal will eventually abruptly lose its strength and ductility. Thus, measuring the hydrogen content in metals is important in many fields, such as in the nuclear industry, in automotive and aircraft fabrication, and particularly, in offshore oil and gas fields. It has been demonstrated that the use of nuclear methods to measure the hydrogen content in metals can achieve sensitivity levels on the order of parts per million. However, the use of nuclear methods in the field has not been conducted for two reasons. The first reason is due to exposure limitations. The second reason is due to the hi-tech instruments required for better accuracy. In this work, a new method using a low-strength portable neutron source is explored in conjunction with detectors based on plastic nuclear detection films. The following are the in-situ requirements: simplicity in setup, high reliability, minimal exposure dose, and acceptable accuracy at an acceptable cost. A computer model of the experimental setup is used to reproduce the results of a proof-of-concept experiment and to predict the sensitivity levels under optimised experimental conditions.     

Functional role of Calcium-stimulated adenylyl cyclase 8 in adaptations to psychological stressors in the mouse: implications for mood disorders

The Ca²⁺/calmodulin stimulated adenylyl cylcase 8 (AC8) is a pure Ca²⁺ sensor, catalyzing the conversion of ATP to cAMP, with a critical role in neuronal plasticity. A role for AC8 in modulating complex behavioral outcomes has been demonstrated in AC8 knock out (KO) mouse models in which anxiety-like responses were differentially modulated following repeated stress experiences, suggesting an involvement of AC8 in stress adaptation and mood disorders. To further investigate the role of this enzyme in phenotypes relevant for psychiatric conditions, AC8 KO mice were assessed for baseline behavioral and hormonal parameters, responses to repeated restraint stress experience, and long-term effects of chronic social defeat stress. The lack of AC8 conferred a hyperactive-phenotype both in home-cage behaviors and the forced swim test response as well as lower leptin plasma levels and adrenal hypertrophy. AC8 KO mice showed baseline “anxiety” levels similar to wild type littermates in a variety of procedures, but displayed decreased anxiety-like responses following repeated restraint stress. This increased stress resilience was not seen during the chronic social defeat procedure. AC8 KO did not differ from wild type mice in response to social stress; similar alterations in body weight, food intake and increased social avoidance were found in all defeated subjects. Altogether these results support a complex role of cAMP signaling pathways confirming the involvement of AC8 in the modulation of stress responses. Furthermore, the hyperactivity and the increased risk taking behavior observed in AC8 KO mice could be related to a manic-like behavioral phenotype that warrants further investigation.     

硫化氢供体对Apo E基因敲除小鼠动脉粥样硬化的调节作用

目的探讨硫化氢(H2S)供体对Apo E基因敲除小鼠(Apo E-/-)动脉粥样硬化的调节作用。方法6wk龄正常C57BL/6J和Apo E-/-小鼠分为正常对照组、ApoE-/-组和Apo E-/-+硫氢化钠(NaHS)组,每组各8只,普通饮食饲养至16wk龄。分别观察各组小鼠血清中总胆固醇(TCHO)、低密度脂蛋白(LDL-C)和高密度脂蛋白(HDL-C)含量及主动脉根部斑块面积的变化;用硫电极法测定血清中H2S的含量。结果与对照组相比,Apo E-/-小鼠血清中TCHO[(12.59±3.11vs2.32±0.40)μmol·L-1]和LDL-C[(1.33±0.43vs0.13±0.03)μmol·L-1]水平明显升高,而HDL-C水平[(0.45±0.13vs1.49±0.21)μmol·L-1]明显降低,血清中H2S的含量[(44.64±4.52)μmol·L-1]较对照组[(57.69±7.03)μmol·L-1]明显下降,主动脉根部明显出现斑块[(139316.6±30362.93vs0)μm2];给予NaHS后,Apo E-/-小鼠血清中TCHO、LDL-C和HDL-C水平无明显变化,而血清中H2S的含量明显升高[(52.21±7.24vs44.64±4.52)μmol·L-1],主动脉根部动脉粥样硬化斑块明显缩小[(85927.84±1922.73vs139316.6±30362.93)μm2]。结论新型气体信号分子H2S可以延缓动脉粥样硬化的进程,缩小动脉粥样硬化斑块形成。