Intra‐arterial blood pressure reading in intensive care unit patients in the lateral position

Background. Routine lateral turning of patients has become an accepted standard of care to prevent complications of immobility. The haemodynamic and oxygenation effects for patients in both lateral positions (45°) are still a matter of debate. We aimed to study the effect of these positions on blood pressure, heart rate and oxygenation in a general intensive care population. Design. Observational study. Method. Twenty stable intensive care unit patients had intra‐arterial blood pressure recordings in the supine and lateral positions with the correction of hydrostatic height compared with a fixed reference point (phlebostatic level). A multilevel model was used to analyse the data. Results. Mean arterial pressure readings in the lateral positions were, on average, 5 mmHg higher than in the supine position (p < 0·001). There were no significant differences between mean arterial pressure recordings in the left and right lateral position (p = 1·0). No important differences in oxygenation and heart rate were observed. After correction for covariates, the effects persisted. Conclusion. Our study demonstrated an increase, albeit small, in blood pressure in the lateral positions. No major differences between the left and right lateral position were found. No important differences in oxygenation and heart rate were observed. Relevance to clinical practice. Turning haemodynamically stable patients in the intensive care unit has no important effects on blood pressure measurements when continuous hydrostatic height correction is applied.     

How Gaming May Become a Problem: A Qualitative Analysis of the Role of Gaming Related Experiences and Cognitions in the Development of Problematic Game Behavior

This study focuses on the role of gaming expectancies, motives and the experiences of gamers in the development of video game behavior, from normal to problematic behavior. Qualitative interviews were conducted among 21 male gamers between 17 and 28 years of age, to get more of an insight into their excessive gaming patterns. Participants were recruited in several ways such as by distributing flyers and posting messages on gaming websites. Participants were included if they were between 14 and 26 years of age and if they had experienced game related behavior problems at the time of the study or in the past. Two processes emerged from the results that seem to contribute to the transition to an excessive gaming pattern. First, the duration of each single game session may become longer. Second, a game session may be started up more and more frequently. Gamers have several motives and expectancies that play a role in this process of increasing gaming time. Is seems that a combination of these gaming motives can lead to an increase in gaming time. Especially online role playing games were related to excessive gaming and the social mechanisms in these games seem to work as an intensifier for other motives.     

Rapid radiosynthesis of [11C] and [14C]azelaic,suberic, and sebacic acids for in vivo mechanistic studies of systemic acquired resistance in plants

A recent report that the aliphatic dicarboxylic acid, azelaic acid (1,9‐nonanedioic acid) but not related acids, suberic acid (1,8‐octanedioic acid) or sebacic (1,10‐decanedioic acid) acid induces systemic acquired resistance to invading pathogens in plants stimulated the development of a rapid method for labeling these dicarboxylic acids with ¹¹C and ¹⁴C for in vivo mechanistic studies in whole plants. ¹¹C‐labeling was performed by reaction of ammonium [¹¹C]cyanide with the corresponding bromonitrile precursor followed by hydrolysis with aqueous sodium hydroxide solution. Total synthesis time was 60 min. Median decay‐corrected radiochemical yield for [¹¹C]azelaic acid was 40% relative to trapped [¹¹C]cyanide, and specific activity was 15 GBq/µmol. Yields for [¹¹C]suberic and sebacic acids were similar. The ¹⁴C‐labeled version of azelaic acid was prepared from potassium [¹⁴C]cyanide in 45% overall radiochemical yield. Radiolabeling procedures were verified using ¹³C‐labeling coupled with ¹³C‐NMR and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis. The ¹¹C and ¹⁴C‐labeled azelaic acid and related dicarboxylic acids are expected to be of value in understanding the mode‐of‐action, transport, and fate of this putative signaling molecule in plants. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Poor sleep quality as a risk factor for lapse following a cannabis quit attempt

Treatments for cannabis dependence are associated with high rates of lapse/relapse, underscoring the importance of identifying malleable risk factors that are associated with quit failure. Whereas research has demonstrated that poor sleep quality following cannabis discontinuation is related to subsequent use, there has yet to be an examination of whether poor sleep quality prior to a quit attempt results in a similar pattern of lapse. The present study addressed this gap by examining the role of pre-quit sleep quality on early lapse to cannabis use following a self-guided quit attempt, among 55 cannabis dependent military veterans. Results indicated that participants who experienced poor pre-quit sleep quality had greater risk for lapse within the first 2 days (out of 7) following their quit attempt. Findings are discussed in terms of improving treatments for individuals who report poor sleep quality prior to a cannabis quit attempt.