Therapeutic Evaluation of Florets of Musa acuminate in the Management of Rumen Lactacidosis in Goats

Background: The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Musa acuminate flower floret (MAFF) extract/chopped in goats with moderate rumen lactacidosis. Methods: Goats affected with moderate rumen lactacidosis (MRLA) were divided into three groups. TC (Control): Eight goats with moderate rumen lactacidosis were administered with magnesium oxide (@ 1g/kg PO) through stomach tube, T1: Twenty four goats with MRLA were administered with aqueous extract of MAFF (either @ 1 ml/kg, 2 ml/kg or 4 ml/kg - PO) and T2: Twenty four goats with MRLA were administered with chopped MAFF (either @1 g/kg, 2 g/kg or 4 g/kg - PO) continuously for 5 days. Proximate, mineral and phytochemical compositions of MAFF were assessed by using standard protocol. Rumen fluid examination, consisting of pH, total protozoal count and bacterial count was assessed in addition to haematology and serum biochemical examination before and after administration of MAFF. Result: Goats with MRLA treated using chopped MAFF orally @ 4 gm/kg body weight or crude extract of the MAFF orally @ 2 ml/kg, 4 ml/kg body weight continuously for 5 days had restoration of (P less than 0.05) packed cell volume, increase in haemoglobin level, total protozoal count, gram negative bacterial count and rumen fluid pH and in serum PCO2 level (P less than 0.05) to the levels comparable to healthy animals.

Myasthenic crisis treated in a Chinese neurological intensive care unit: clinical features, mortality, outcomes, and predictors of survival

Background: Myasthenic crisis (MC) often requires admission to an intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: We retrospectively investigated 113 consecutive patients with first MC admitted to the neurological ICU. Patients’ demographic, clinical and other characteristics were examined, as well as therapeutic interventions, mortality and functional outcome. Results: MC patients at first onset admitted to neurological ICU had a mortality rate of 18.6%. PCO2 level before intubation and score on Myasthenia Gravis–Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) scale at MC onset correlated with duration of ventilation and length of ICU stay. Compared with patients with good functional outcome, patients with intermediate or poor functional outcome were older at first MC onset, had lower pH and PO2, and had higher PCO2 before intubation. Multivariate logistic analysis identified pre-intubation PCO2 level as an independent predictor of survival. Cox regression showed that age at first MC onset requiring ICU management was the factor which significantly influenced the mortality. Conclusions: Our results suggest that PCO2 before intubation and MG-ADL score at MC onset may be useful indicators of more severe disease likely to require extensive respiratory support and ICU management. Higher pre-intubation PCO2 indicates chronic respiratory acidosis that can increase risk of severe disability and death, especially in patients with older age at first MC onset.

Myasthenic crisis treated in a Chinese neurological intensive care unit: clinical features, mortality, outcomes, and predictors of survival

Background Myasthenic crisis (MC) often requires admission to an intensive care unit (ICU). Methods We retrospectively investigated 115 consecutive patients with first MC admitted to the neurological ICU. Patients’ demographic, clinical and other characteristics were examined, as well as therapeutic interventions; mortality and functional outcome. Results MC patients admitted to neurological ICU had a mortality rate of 24.34%. PCO2 level before intubation and score on Myasthenia Gravis–Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) scale at MC onset correlated with duration of ventilation and length of ICU stay. Compared with patients with good functional outcome, patients with intermediate or poor functional outcome were older at first MC onset, had lower pH and PO2, and had higher PCO2 before intubation. Multivariate logistic analysis identified pre-intubation PCO2 level as an independent predictor of survival. Cox regression showed that age at first MC onset requiring ICU management was the factor which significantly influenced the mortality. Conclusions: Our results suggest that PCO2 before intubation and MG-ADL score at MC onset may be useful indicators of more severe disease likely to require extensive respiratory support and ICU management. Higher pre-intubation PCO2 indicates chronic respiratory acidosis that can increase risk of severe disability and death, especially in patients with older age at first MC onset.

Myasthenic crisis treated in a neurological intensive care unit: clinical features, mortality, outcomes, and predictors of survival

Background Myasthenic crisis (MC) often requires admission to an intensive care unit (ICU). Methods We retrospectively investigated 115 consecutive patients with first MC admitted to the neurological ICU. Patients’ demographic, clinical and other characteristics were examined, as well as therapeutic interventions; mortality and functional outcome. Results MC patients admitted to neurological ICU had a mortality rate of 24.34%. PCO2 level before intubation and score on Myasthenia Gravis–Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) scale at MC onset correlated with duration of ventilation and length of ICU stay. Compared with patients with good functional outcome, patients with intermediate or poor functional outcome were older at first MC onset, had lower pH and PO2, and had higher PCO2 before intubation. Multivariate logistic analysis identified pre-intubation PCO2 level as an independent predictor of survival. Cox regression showed that age at first MC onset requiring ICU management was the factor which significantly influenced the mortality. Conclusions: Our results suggest that PCO2 before intubation and MG-ADL score at MC onset may be useful indicators of more severe disease likely to require extensive respiratory support and ICU management. Higher pre-intubation PCO2 indicates chronic respiratory acidosis that can increase risk of severe disability and death, especially in patients with older age at first MC onset.

Myasthenic Crisis Treated in a Neurological Intensive Care Unit: Clinical Features, Mortality, Outcomes, and Predictors of Survival

Background: Myasthenic crisis (MC) often requires admission to an intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: We retrospectively investigated 115 consecutive patients with first MC admitted to the neurological ICU. Patients’ demographic, clinical and other characteristics were examined, as well as therapeutic interventions; mortality and functional outcome. Results: MC patients admitted to neurological ICU had a mortality rate of 24.34%. PCO2 level before intubation and score on Myasthenia Gravis–Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) scale at MC onset correlated with duration of ventilation and length of ICU stay. Compared with patients with good functional outcome, patients with intermediate or poor functional outcome were older at first MC onset, had lower pH and PO2, and had higher PCO2 before intubation. Multivariate logistic analysis identified pre-intubation PCO2 level as an independent predictor of survival. Cox regression showed that age at first MC onset requiring ICU management was the factor which significantly influenced the mortality. Conclusions: Our results suggest that PCO2 before intubation and MG-ADL score at MC onset may be useful indicators of more severe disease likely to require extensive respiratory support and ICU management. Higher pre-intubation PCO2 indicates chronic respiratory acidosis that can increase risk of severe disability and death, especially in patients with older age at first MC onset.

Physiological response of a golden tide alga (<i>Sargassum muticum</i>) to the interaction of ocean acidification and phosphorus enrichment

The evolvement of golden tides would be influenced by global change factors, such as ocean acidification and eutrophication, but the related studies are very scarce. In this study, we cultured a golden tide alga, Sargasssum muticum, at two levels of pCO2 (400, 1000 µatm) and phosphate (0.5 µM, 40 µM) conditions to investigate the interactive effects of elevated pCO2 and phosphate on physiological properties of the thalli. The higher pCO2 level and phosphate (P) level alone increased the relative growth rate by 40.82 % and 47.78 %, net photosynthetic rate by 46.34 % and 55.16 %, soluble carbohydrates by 32.78 % and 61.83 % respectively whilst the combination of these two levels did not promote growth or soluble carbohydrates further. The higher levels of pCO2 and P alone also enhanced the nitrate uptake rate by 68.27 % and 35.89 %, nitrate reductase activity by 89.08 % and 39.31 %, and soluble protein by 19.05 % and 15.13 % respectively. The nitrate uptake rate and soluble protein was further enhanced although the nitrate reductase activity was reduced when the higher levels of pCO2 and P worked together. The higher pCO2 level and higher P level alone did not affect the dark respiration rate of thalli but they together increased it by 32.30 % compared to the condition of the lower pCO2 and lower P. The mute effect of the higher level of pCO2 and higher P on growth, soluble carbohydrates, combined with the promoting effect of it on soluble protein and dark respiration, suggests more energy was drawn from carbon assimilation to nitrogen assimilation at the condition of higher pCO2 and higher P, probably to act against the higher pCO2 caused acid-base perturbation via synthesizing H+ transport-related protein. Our results indicate ocean acidification and eutrophication may not boost the gold tides events synergistically although each of them alone has a promoting effect.

Ocean warming and elevated carbon dioxide: multiple stressor impacts on juvenile mussels from southern Chile

The combined effect of increased ocean warming and elevated carbon dioxide in seawater is expected to have significant physiological and ecological consequences at many organizational levels of the marine ecosystem. In the present study, juvenile mussels Mytilus chilensis were reared for 80 d in a factorial combination of two temperatures (12 and 16°C) and three pCO2 levels (380, 700, and 1000 µatm). We investigated the combined effects of increasing seawater temperature and pCO2 on the physiological performance (i.e. feeding, metabolism, and growth). Lower clearance rate (CR) occurred at the highest pCO2 concentration (1000 µatm) compared with the control (380 µatm) and with the intermediate concentration of pCO2 (700 µatm). Conversely, CR was significantly higher at 16°C than at 12°C. Significant lower values of oxygen uptake were observed in mussels exposed to 1000 µatm pCO2 level compared with those exposed to 380 µatm pCO2. Scope for growth (SFG) was significantly lower at the highest pCO2 concentration compared with the control. Mussels exposed to 700 µatm pCO2 did not show significantly different SFG from the other two pCO2 treatments. SFG was significantly higher at 16°C than at 12°C. This might be explained because the experimental mussels were exposed to temperatures experienced in their natural environment, which are within the range of thermal tolerance of the species. Our results suggest that the temperature rise within the natural range experienced by M. chilensis generates a positive effect on the processes related with energy gain (i.e. feeding and absorption) to be allocated to growth. In turn, the increase in the pCO2 level of 1000 µatm, independent of temperature, adversely affects this species, with significantly reduced energy allocated to growth (SFG) compared with the control treatment.