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Objectives The objective of this experiment was to investigate spinal anaesthetic effects of pramoxine and its comparison with bupivacaine, a long-lasting local anaesthetic. Methods After intrathecal injection, three neurobehavioural assessments, which consisted of nociceptive, proprioceptive and motor block, were constructed in rats. The effects of bupivacaine and pramoxine (four doses of each drug) in a dose-related manner were conducted to obtain the ED50 (50% effective dose). Pramoxine potency and duration at provoking spinal nociceptive, proprioceptive and motor block were compared with those of bupivacaine. Key findings We manifested that pramoxine provoked dose-relatedly spinal blockades of nociception, proprioception and motor function. Based on the ED50, the rank potency at producing spinal nociceptive, proprioceptive and motor block was bupivacaine (0.90 (0.82–1.02), 1.00 (0.92–1.08) and 1.16 (1.02–1.34) μmol/kg) greater (P < 0.01 for the differences) than pramoxine (15.47 (14.04–17.05), 16.46 (15.06–17.99), and 17.77 (16.48–19.15) μmol/kg). The spinal block duration created by bupivacaine was not predominantly different (P > 0.05 for the differences) from that created by pramoxine at the equipotent doses (ED75, ED50 and ED25). Conclusions Our preclinical experiment indicated that pramoxine elicited a dose-related spinal block, was less potent than bupivacaine and had a similar duration of spinal block compared with bupivacaine.

The goal of the experimental design was to assess the cutaneous analgesic effect of mexiletine by co-injection with clonidine. The effect of nociceptive block was evaluated according to the inhibition of the cutaneous trunci muscle reflex (CTMR) in response to skin pinpricks in rats. The dose-related analgesic effect of mexiletine alone or mexiletine co-administrated with clonidine was constructed after subcutaneous injection. Subcutaneous injections of mexiletine elicited dose-related cutaneous analgesia. Compared with mexiletine (1.8 μmol), adding clonidine to mexiletine (1.8 μmol) solutions for skin nociceptive block potentiated and prolonged the action ( p 0.01). Mexiletine (6 μmol) combined with clonidine extended the duration of cutaneous analgesia when compared with mexiletine (6 μmol) alone ( p 0.01). Co-administration of clonidine increases the potency and extends the duration of cutaneous analgesia by mexiletine, and the minimal dose of clonidine to intensify the analgesic effect is 0.06 μmol.

The incidence and mortality of site-specific cancers in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on maintenance dialysis have been rarely studied for Asian populations. We tapped Taiwan`s National Health Insurance Research Database to identify and recruit patients starting maintenance dialysis between 1999 and 2004. They were followed from initiation of dialysis until death, discontinuation of dialysis, or the end of 2008. We calculated the survival rate and mortality risk of dialysis patients with cancer. Of 40,833 dialysis patients, 2352 (5.8%) had been newly diagnosed with cancer. Being older, being male, and having chronic liver disease were factors associated with a higher risk for new cancer in ESRD dialysis patients. In men, liver cancer (20.63%) was the most frequent, followed by cancers of the bladder (16.88%) and kidney (11.61%). In women, bladder cancer (25.57%) was the most frequent, followed by cancers of the kidney (16.31%) and breast (11.20%). The 5-year survival rates for kidney and bladder cancer were higher than for other cancers; the survival rates for lung, stomach, and liver cancer were lower. In conclusion, the distribution of site-specific cancer was different between men and women in patients with ESRD on dialysis. More attention should be paid to teaching dialysis patients how to avoid the well-known cancer risks and carcinogens and individualized regular cancer screenings.

The hole transporting materials for perovskite solar cells to increase power conversion efficiency ( PCE ) and improve the stability have been studied in recent years. In this paper, a novel asymmetric 2,9,16-triphenoxy-23-nitrophthalocyaninatocobalt (CoPcNO 2 -OPh) is synthesized, which can be employed as a promising hole transporting material in solid state perovskite solar cells. The three phenoxy groups introduced into phthalocyanine complex improved the solubility and inhibit the aggregation effectively. This material shows strong absorption and high thermal stability. The density functional theory (DFT) method of frontier molecular orbitals shows that the introduction of phenoxy and nitro can adjust the energy levels of highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) to −5.14 eV and −3.05 eV respectively, indicating that CoPcNO 2 -OPh can be used as an hole transporting material. The optimized devices achieved a high open-circuit voltage of 1.04 V with a maximum power conversion efficiency of 8.24% under AM1.5 G standard conditions. The introduction of this new HTM offers a new and effective tool towards engineering the stability for large-scale applications.

The comprehensive impacts of series resonance type fault current limiter (FCL) on power system need further investigation and verification. With regard to switching on 500kV EHV no-load transmission line, the instantaneous peak value, the free component oscillation frequency, the fundamental component amplitude and free component amplitude of terminal overvoltage waveform are simulated with and without installation of FCL considering different switching times. The relationship curves of free component oscillation period, the fundamental component amplitude and free component amplitude are gotten respectively by simulation results. The law of the influence of different fault current limiting reactance on terminal voltage of switching on no-load line is also summarized. The analysis results show that the installation of FCL is benefit for switching on no-load line.

Background Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a significant pathogen of mink and the cause of haemorrhagic pneumonia, an acute fatal disease in farmed mink . Results Among 90 P. aeruginosa isolates from haemorrhagic pneumonia in mink from 16 farms in Shandong province, China, 43 genotypes were identified by enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR (ERIC-PCR), with a diversity index of 0.96. The most prevalent ERIC-PCR types were type 18, found in 16 isolates, and type 39, found in 15 isolates. Four serotypes were detected, with serotype G (55.6 per cent) being the most frequent. Conclusions These results showed that there was a high degree of clonal diversity among mink P. aeruginosa clinical isolates in this study.