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The article discusses the safety and transparency of healthcare provided by independent sector hospitals in the UK. The independent sector delivers a significant amount of NHS care, and the number of patients seeking treatment in these hospitals is likely to increase due to NHS waiting list delays. The article highlights the lack of transparency in the independent sector, with low response rates to surveys and a lack of electronic patient records. It also raises questions about the safety of peri-operative cardiac arrest care in the independent sector compared to the NHS. The authors recommend measures to improve transparency, critical care access, and participation in quality improvement projects in the independent sector. [Extracted from the article]

Acoustic communication occurs in all major groups of terrestrial vertebrates, having evolved independently in early clades of mammals, birds, geckos, crocodilians and frogs, about 100–200 MYA. There is little doubt that acoustic communication was used by ancestral therian mammals, but it is ambiguous whether the reconstruction of the root of the mammalian acoustic evolutionary tree includes basal prototherian monotremes. We present here five first‐hand accounts of dove‐like cooing sounds and analyse the acoustics of three vocalization recordings for two observations of wild short‐beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) to quantitatively confirm acoustic communication by this species. The 'cooing' tones were quite distinctive from exhalations, wheezes and grunts, being ~0.044 s down‐sweeps from ~320 to 190 Hz, peaking at ~260 Hz, with at least one harmonic overtone. Tones occurred singly or as doublets, triplets (most common), quadruplets and quintuplets, with the leading tone typically the strongest and most broadband. We conclude that echidnas do produce vocalizations, but they are infrequent and acoustic communication is not their primary mode of communication. This unequivocal evidence for vocalization by short‐beaked echidnas resolves a long‐standing debate concerning the occurrence of acoustic communication by echidnas, which together with well‐documented vocalizations by platypus, support a very early evolution of acoustic communication amongst mammals, pre‐dating at least the common ancestor of monotremes and therian mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The room-temperature velocity-field characteristics for n-type gallium nitride and AlGaN/GaN heterostructures, grown epitaxially on sapphire, were determined experimentally. A pulsed voltage input and four-point measurements were used on special geometry samples to determine the electron drift velocity as a function of applied electric field in the basal plane. These measurements show apparent saturation velocities near 2.5×107 cm/s at 180 kV/cm for the n-type gallium nitride and 3.1×107 cm/s at 140 kV/cm for the AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. A comparison of these studies shows that the experimental velocities are close to previously published simulations based upon Monte Carlo techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the study related to decision-making focused on respiratory veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation which is the part of a treatment for selected patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). It states that bed capacity and resource limitations influence decisions, as they are superseded by clinical factors.

The early divergence of monotremes and therian mammals has resulted in considerable interest in the comparative physiology of the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), the most common and widespread living monotreme. However, there are many and varied interpretations of its physiology, reflecting the many and varied studies, limitations and uncertainties of aspects of some previous studies, and potential differences between the various subspecies. Consequently, we thoroughly examine here the standardized physiology of the most widely distributed subspecies of short-beaked echidna (T. aculeatus acanthion) over a wide range of ambient temperatures to definitively assess its physiology in a comparative context. We conclude that the low and variable body temperature of the short-beaked echidna is physiologically "primitive," but it also reflects adaptation to its myrmecophagous niche. Other aspects of its physiology are more typically mammalian. A low metabolic rate reflects its low body temperature, and ventilatory variables are matched to accommodate a modest gas exchange requirement. Thermal conductance is typical for a mammal of equivalent mass. In contrast to previous studies, we demonstrate that short-beaked echidnas can enhance evaporative water loss above thermoneutrality, like other mammals, with a similar capacity for evaporative heat loss. Cooling of their nasal blood sinus with nasal mucous may contribute to this enhanced evaporative cooling. Their capacity to evaporatively cool explains how their distribution can include habitats where ambient temperature, even in shelters, exceeds their supposed critical thermal limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In adulthood, both alcohol (ethanol) and stress are known to suppress hippocampal neurogenesis in male rats. Similarly, most studies report that prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) reduces cell proliferation and/or cell survival in the hippocampus of adult males. Furthermore, PAE is known to have marked effects on behavioral and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) responsiveness to stressors. However, no studies have examined the modulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis by stress in PAE animals. We hypothesized that, in accordance with previous data, PAE would suppress basal levels of adult hippocampal neurogenesis, and further that stress acting on a sensitized HPA axis would have greater adverse effects on adult hippocampal neurogenesis in PAE than in control rats. Adult male offspring from PAE, pair-fed (PF) control, and ad libitum-fed control (C) groups were subjected to restraint stress (9 days, 1 h/day) or left undisturbed. Rats were then injected with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) on day 10, perfused 24 h (proliferation) or 3 weeks (survival) later, and brains processed for BrdU immunohistochemistry. We found that (1) under non-stressed conditions, PAE rats had a small but statistically significant suppressive effect on levels of hippocampal neurogenesis and (2) unexpectedly, repeated restraint stress significantly reduced neurogenesis in C and PF, but not PAE rats. We speculate that the failure of PAE males to mount an appropriate (i.e. suppressive) neurogenic response to stressors, implies reduced plasticity and adaptability or resilience, which could impact negatively on hippocampal structure and function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undiagnosed mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) often leads to poor patient management and significant morbidity. The lack of an efficient screening tool is especially apparent in the athletic setting, where repetitive injuries can lead to prolonged disability. We have developed the Display Enhanced Testing for Concussions and mTBI system (DETECT™), in order to create a portable immersive environment that could eliminate visual and audio distractions. Neuropsychological tests sensitive to mTBI were modified for use with the system and allow rapid neurological assessment independent of the environment or trained personnel. We evaluated the immersive qualities of the DETECT™ system in 42 uninjured controls. The system was successful in blocking out external audiovisual stimuli. The neuropsychological test results obtained in a stimulus rich environment were equivalent to those obtained in a controlled quiet environment. The immersive environment, portability, and brevity of the DETECT™ system allow for real-time cognitive testing in situations previously deemed impractical or unavailable for mTBI patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postnatal hippocampal neurogenesis in wild mammals may play an essential role in spatial memory. We compared two species that differ in their reliance on memory to locate stored food. Yellow-pine chipmunks use a single cache to store winter food; eastern gray squirrels use multiple storage sites. Gray squirrels had three times the density of proliferating cells in the dentate gyrus (determined by Ki-67 immunostaining) than that found in chipmunks, but similar density of young neurons (determined by doublecortin immunostaining). Three explanations may account for these results. First, the larger population of young cells in squirrels may increase the flexibility of the spatial memory system by providing a larger pool of cells from which new neurons can be recruited. Second, squirrels may have a more rapid cell turnover rate. Third, many young cells in the squirrels may mature into glia rather than neurons. The densities of young neurons were higher in juveniles than in adults of both species. The relationship between adult age and cell density was more complex than that has been found in captive populations. In adult squirrels, the density of proliferating cells decreased exponentially with age, whereas in adult chipmunks the density of young neurons decreased exponentially with age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on the impact of social environment on neuroinflammation, neuronal death and corticosteroid concentrations after global ischemia. The study involved housing mice either individually or in groups of five for two weeks before inducing cardiac arrest (CA), followed by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Results revealed an increase in neuronal degeneration and dentate gyrus among mice that were socially isolated as compared to socially housed and control mice.

Presents a modification of Codman Co.'s Microsensor Skull Bolt Kit used to monitor intracranial pressure in treating head injuries. Elongation of the minimum depth where the grub screw is not mounted on the cutting portion of the drill; Improved safety in the use of the equipment by non-neurosurgeons; Relevance to anesthetic practice in the field of intensive care.

The article presents abstracts on medical topics which include the audit of local atrial fibrillation prophylaxis and treatment guidelines and the difference between epidural and paravertebral analgesia for pneumonectomy.

We have grown GaN and AlGaN nanowires on Si (111) substrates with gas-source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). No metal catalysts were used. The nanowires displayed a number of interesting materials properties, including room-temperature luminescence intensity greater than that of free-standing HVPE-grown GaN, relaxed lattice parameters, and the tendency of nanowires dispersed in solvents to align in response to electric fields. The wires were well separated, 50-250 nm in diameter, and grew to lengths ranging from 2 µm to 7 µm. Transmission electron microscopy indicated that the wires were free of defects, unlike the surrounding matrix layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a letter to the editor about the difficulty of removing a flanged tracheostomy tube.