Soft-World International Corp is a major games distributor/developer in Taiwan and mainland China, based in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1983 and now public, Softworld currently focuses on MMOG operation in Taiwan and mainland China.
External links
Official website
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Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Softworld”
Categories: Companies established in 1983 | Video game developers | Video game publishers | Companies based in Taipei | Asian video game company stubs
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This page was last modified on 27 August 2009 at 08:25.
(Redirected from Szilagy)
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This article does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)
Szilágy County
County of the Kingdom of Hungary
1876 – 1920
Coat of arms
Capital
Zilah
History
- Established
1876
- Treaty of Trianon
June 4 1920
Area
- 1910
3,815 km² (1,473 sq mi)
Population
- 1910
230,100
Density
60.3 /km² (156.2 /sq mi)
Today part of
Romania
Zal?u is the current name of the capital.
Szilágy (Romanian: S?laj) is the name of a historic administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently in north-western Romania. The capital of the county was Zilah (present-day Zal?u in Romania).
Contents
1Geography
2History
3Demographics
4Subdivisions
Geography
Szilágy county shared borders with the Hungarian counties Bihar, Szatmár, Szolnok-Doboka and Kolozs. The rivers Some?/Szamos and Crasna/Kraszna flow through the county. Its territory is for a large part the same as that of the present Romanian county S?laj. Its area was 3815 km² around 1910.
History
Szilágy county was formed in 1876, when the counties Kraszna (Its center was Valkóváralja at first, later Szilágysomlyó) and Közép-Szolnok (Its center was Zilah) were united.
In 1918 (confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon 1920), the county became part of Romania. It was occupied by Hungary between 1940-1944 during World War II. Most of it is now part of the Romanian county S?laj, except some areas in the north-west (presently in Satu Mare county) and north-east (presently in Maramure? county).
Demographics
In 1910, county had a population of 230,140 people. Population by language:
Romanian = 136,087
Hungarian = 87,312
Slovak = 3,727
Subdivisions
In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Szilágy county were:
Autonomous Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia: Bjelovar-Križevci · Lika-Krbava · Modruš-Rijeka · Požega · Srijem · Varaždin · Virovitica · Zagreb
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szil%C3%A1gy_County”
Categories: States and territories established in 1876 | 1920 disestablishments | Counties in the Kingdom of Hungary | Cri?ana | Kingdom of Hungary counties in TransylvaniaHidden categories: Articles lacking sources from December 2009 | All articles lacking sources | Hungary articles missing geocoordinate data | All articles needing coordinates
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This page was last modified on 17 December 2009 at 14:11.
Electronic Information for Libraries, known as eIFL.net, is an independent foundation that negotiates and advocates for the wide availability of electronic resources by library users in transition and developing countries. Its main focus is on negotiating affordable subscriptions to electronic journals for libraries in the education and research sectors, while supporting emerging national library consortia in member countries. Additional eIFL.net programs and services keep members informed about global information issues and initiatives.
Contents
1History
2Guiding principles
3Members
4Program areas and activities
5External links
History
eIFL.net began in 1999 as an initiative of the Open Society Institute (OSI), a private grant-making foundation that is part of the Soros Foundation network. Recognising the key role that libraries play in the exchange of ideas, knowledge and information and the development of open societies, OSI invested significantly in library development and modernisation especially in the post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. With traditionally sophisticated educational systems, these countries represented emerging markets for international providers of scholarly and academic information. However, the barriers to access were formidable with little money to pay for expensive electronic resources, poor technological infrastructures, lack of capacity and relatively little awareness of electronic alternatives to print subscriptions. This deprived many libraries of the wealth of international academic journals and databases and the opportunities of digital technologies.
Committed to supporting jesus education and research in transition countries, OSI through eIFL.net aimed to assist libraries and their users in achieving affordable access to electronic scholarly resources. eIFL.net negotiates licences with publishers for electronic resources on behalf of its members. As access to Internet-based digital material can be expanded at marginal cost to the provider, the idea is to leverage the purchasing power of individually “poor” customers and negotiate a multi-country consortial deal with information providers. eIFL.net acts as an agent for the national library consortia, who manage promotion and use of the electronic resources locally. Libraries and their users have access to thousands of full-text academic and scholarly journals from the arts to zoology through eIFL.net licences. In addition, eIFL.net offers training and a range of other services.
In 2002, eIFL.net became an independent foundation with diversified funding registered in the Netherlands with its operational seat in Rome, Italy. eIFL.net is a member of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) .
Guiding principles
The main principles that inspire eIFL.net’s activities can be summarised as:
access to information is essential in education and research and has a direct impact on the development of societies;
the combined purchasing and negotiating power of libraries can lead to affordable and sustainable access to electronic information in countries in transition;
the empowerment of citizens and the spread of democracy depend on equal access to information and knowledge worldwide: eIFL.net is committed to levelling the playing field.
Members
The global network embraces nearly 4,000 libraries in 50 transition and developing countries from Albania to Zimbabwe. Members are in Africa, central, eastern & south-east Europe, former Soviet Union, south-east Asia and the Middle East.
Current members include: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, China, Croatia, Egypt, Estonia, Ghana, Georgia, Lesotho, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Palestine (Gaza and West Bank), Poland, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Program areas and activities
The two primary activities of eIFL.net are the creation andsupport of library consortia in transition and developing countries and assistance in the provision of access to electronic resources. Over the years other program areas have been added.
Content negotiation and licensing
Content negotiation and licensing is the cornerstone of eIFL.net’s work. The number of publisher partners has grown steadily over the years and includes all subjects, journals and databases, reference sources and recently electronic books. The eIFL.net model licence strives to contain the fairest conditions for access and use for the library and its patrons.
Consortium management and sustainability
This program provides training in the benefits of library cooperation and the consortial approach in seeking funding for electronic resources. eIFL.net provides guidelines and advice in consortium management with a strong emphasis on sustainability of the consortium.
eIFL-IP Advocacy for Access to Knowledge: copyright & related issues
The objective is to build capacity and expertise amongst the eIFL.net library community in copyright issues for libraries. The program provides training and raises awareness amongst an identified network of eIFL.net librarians. In addition, it represents eIFL.net at international policy fora such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and has taken an active part in a civil society campaign on Access to Knowledge (A2K).
Open Access publishing and Institutional Repositories
The mission of eIFL.net to foster access to electronic resources makes it a natural partner for the Open Access movement. The aim of the program is to provide training and knowledge sharing on Open Access across the eIFL.net community. At the same time, eIFL.net encourages greater visibility of locally produced content in eIFL.net member countries through the establishment of institutional repositories at leading research institutions within the library consortia.
eIFL-FOSS
eIFL-FOSS advocates free and open source software (FOSS) use in libraries in developing and transition countries. It aims to raise awareness and understanding of FOSS, facilitate eIFL.net member engagement with FOSS development communities, and undertake projects of special significance to eIFL.net members. Working closely with a network of eIFL-FOSS country coordinators, the program will build FOSS capacity in libraries; share experiences and expertise; and develop support material for evaluation of and migration to a FOSS integrated library system (ILS).
External links
Electronic Information for Libraries website
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Information_for_Libraries”
Categories: Foundations | Library-related organizations | Free and open source software organizations | Organizations established in 1999 | Academic publishing
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This page was last modified on 3 July 2009 at 10:41.
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Karl Wilhelm Ideler
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Karl Wilhelm Ideler
Karl Wilhelm Ideler (October 25, 1795 – July 29, 1860) was a German psychiatrist who was a native of Bentwisch. In 1820 he earned his doctorate from the Friedrich Wilhelm Institute in Berlin, and spent the next several years as a general practitioner in the cities of Bernau, Rathenow and Genthin. In 1828 he returned to Berlin as head of the department for mental illness at the Charité. In 1840 he became a full professor and director of the psychiatric clinic. From 1839 until his death in 1860 he taught classes at the University of Berlin. His uncle was noted astronomer Christian Ludwig Ideler (1766-1846).
Ideler was one of the more important figures regarding German psychiatric thought during the first half of the 19th century. This era is often described as the German “romantic” school of psychiatry. In his numerous publications, Ideler theorized on issues such as mind-body correlations, religious mania and religious confusion. Ideler created complex theories concerning the relationship between illnesses of the mind and the state of the physical body.
During this period of time, conditions at the Charité for mentally ill patients were often considered barbaric and inhumane. Ideler, not averse to punitive measures, made little effort to change these conditions. Later, Wilhelm Griesinger (1817-1868) would advocate significant changes regarding humane and dignified treatment of the mentally ill at the Charité. Although Ideler is often portrayed as a product of an unenlightened era in psychiatric thought, he had several ideas that are consistent with modern psychoanalysis. He stressed the importance of the emotional life, and believed that unfulfilled passions could be a source of mental disturbance. He considered passion to be a form of mental disturbance, and that the physician needed to analyze the passion that provoked the mental imbalance.
Selected Writings
Anthropologie für Ärzte (Anthropology for Physicians), (1827)
Grundriss der Seelenheilkunde (Outline of “Soul Treatment”), (1835)
Biographien Geisteskranker in ihrer psychologischen Entwicklung (1841)
Die Geisteskrankheiten in Beziehung zur Rechtspflege (Mental Disorders in Relationship with Justice), (1844)
Der religiöse Wahnsinn, erläutert durch Krankengeschichten. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der religiösen Wirren der Gegenwart (Religious Insanity, Description of Patient Stories. A Contribution to the History of Religious Confusion of the Present), (1847)
Aversuch einer Theorie des religiösen Wahnsinns: ein Beitrag zur Kritik der religiösen Wirren der Gegenwart (Theorical Attempt regarding Religious Insanity: Contribution regarding Criticism of Religious Confusion of the Present):
1. Die Erscheinungen des religiösen Wahnsinns (The Features of Religious Insanity), (1848)
2. Die Entwickelung des religiösen Wahnsinns (1850) (The Development of Religious Insanity), (1850)
References
German biography translated by Google
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Wilhelm_Ideler”
Categories: German psychiatrists | 1795 births | 1860 deaths | Humboldt University of Berlin faculty | People from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
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This page was last modified on 23 December 2009 at 00:42.
Kenichi Fukui (???? Fukui Ken’ichi, October 4, 1918 – January 9, 1998) was a Japanese chemist.
Kenichi Fukui was co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1981 with Roald Hoffman, for their independent investigations into the mechanisms of chemical reactions. His prize-winning work focused on the role of frontier orbitals in chemical reactions: specifically that molecules share loosely bonded electrons which occupy the frontier orbitals, that is the Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) and the Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO).
Fukui was the eldest of three sons of Ryokichi Fukui, a foreign trade merchant, and Chie Fukui. He was born in Nara, Japan. In his student days between 1938 and 1941, Fukui’s interest was stimulated by quantum mechanics and Erwin Schrödinger’s famous equation. He also had developed the belief that a breakthrough in science occurs through the unexpected fusion of remotely related fields.
In his autobiographical profile, published by the Nobel Foundation, Fukui reminisced, ‘In my high school years, chemistry was not my favorite subject, but the most decisive occurrence in my education career came when my father asked the advice of Professor Gen-itsu Kita of the Kyoto Imperial University concerning the cause I should take.’ On the advice of Kita, a personal friend of the elder Fukui, young Kenichi was directed to the Department of Industrial Chemistry, with which Kita was then affiliated. Following his graduation from Kyoto Imperial University in 1941, Fukui was engaged in the Army Fuel Laboratory of Japan during World War II. In 1943, he was appointed a lecturer in fuel chemistry at Kyoto Imperial University and began his career as an experimental organic chemist.
He was professor of physical chemistry at Kyoto University from 1951 to 1982, president of the Kyoto Institute of Technology between 1982 and 1988, and a member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science and honorary member of the International Academy of Science.
In 1952, Fukui with his young collaborators T. Yonezawa and H. Shingu presented his molecular orbital theory of reactivity in aromatic hydrocarbons, which appeared in the Journal of Chemical Physics. At that time, his concept failed to garner adequate attention among chemists. Fukui observed in his Nobel lecture in 1981 that his original paper ‘received a number of controversial comments. This was in a sense understandable, because for lack of my experiential ability, the theoretical foundation for this conspicuous result was obscure or rather improperly given.’
The frontier orbitals concept came to be recognized following the 1965 publication by Robert B. Woodward and Roald Hoffmann of the Woodward-Hoffmann stereoselection rules, which could predict the reaction rates between two reactants. These rules, depicted in diagrams, explain why some pairs react easily while other pairs do not. The basis for these rules lies in the symmetry properties of the molecules and especially in the disposition of their electrons. Fukui had acknowledged in his Nobel lecture that, ‘It is only after the remarkable appearance of the brilliant work by Woodward and Hoffmann that I have become fully aware that not only the density distribution but also the nodal property of the particular orbitals have significance in such a wide variety of chemical reactions.’
What has been striking in Fukui’s significant contributions is that he developed his ideas before chemists had access to large computers for modeling. Apart from exploring the theory of chemical reactions, Fukui’s contributions to chemistry also include the statistical theory of gelation, organic synthesis by inorganic salts and polymerization kinetics.
In an interview to New Scientist magazine in 1985, Fukui had been highly critical on the practices adopted in Japanese universities and industries to foster science. He noted, “Japanese universities have a chair system that is a fixed hierarchy. This has its merits when trying to work as a laboratory on one theme. But if you want to do original work you must start young, and young people are limited by the chair system. Even if students cannot become assistant professors at an early age they should be encouraged to do original work.” Fukui also admonished Japanese industrial research stating, “Industry is more likely to put its research effort into its daily business. It is very difficult for it to become involved in pure chemistry. There is a need to encourage long-range research, even if we don’t know its goal and if its application is unknown.”
List of books available in English
Theory of orientation and stereoselection (1975)
An Einstein dictionary, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, by Sachi Sri Kantha ; foreword contributed by Kenichi Fukui (1996)
Frontier orbitals and reaction paths : selected papers of Kenichi Fukui(1997)
The science and technology of carbon nanotubes edited by Kazuyoshi Tanaka, Tokio Yamabe, Kenichi Fukui(1999)
References
^Fukui (November 1982). “Role of Frontier Orbitals in Chemical Reactions”. Science218 (4574): 747–754. doi:10.1126/science.218.4574.747. PMID 17771019.
Fukui K, Yonezawa T and Shingu H. A molecular orbital theory of reactivity in aromatic hydrocarbons. Journal of Chemical Physics, April 1952, 20(4): 722-725.
Bell J, Johnstone B, Nakaki S: The new face of Japanese science. New Scientist, March 21, 1985, p. 31.
Sri Kantha S: Kenichi Fukui. In, Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists, edited by Richard Olson, Marshall Cavendish Corp, New York, 1998, pp. 456-458.
External links
Biographical snapshots: Kenichi Fukui, Journal of Chemical Education web site.
Nobel-prize.org
v•d•e
Nobel Laureates in Chemistry
William Lipscomb (1976) ·Ilya Prigogine (1977) ·Peter D. Mitchell (1978) ·Herbert C. Brown / Georg Wittig (1979) ·Paul Berg / Walter Gilbert / Frederick Sanger (1980) ·Kenichi Fukui / Roald Hoffmann (1981) ·Aaron Klug (1982) ·Henry Taube (1983) ·Robert Merrifield (1984) ·Herbert A. Hauptman / Jerome Karle (1985) ·Dudley R. Herschbach / Yuan T. Lee / John Polanyi (1986) ·Donald J. Cram / Jean-Marie Lehn / Charles J. Pedersen (1987) ·Johann Deisenhofer / Robert Huber / Hartmut Michel (1988) ·Sidney Altman / Thomas Cech (1989) ·Elias Corey (1990) ·Richard R. Ernst (1991) ·Rudolph A. Marcus (1992) ·Kary Mullis / Michael Smith (1993) ·George Olah (1994) ·Paul J. Crutzen / Mario J. Molina / Frank Rowland (1995) ·Robert Curl / Harold Kroto / Richard Smalley (1996) ·Paul D. Boyer / John E. Walker / Jens Christian Skou (1997) ·Walter Kohn / John Pople (1998) ·Ahmed Zewail (1999) ·Alan J. Heeger / Alan MacDiarmid / Hideki Shirakawa (2000)
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenichi_Fukui”
Categories: 1918 births | 1998 deaths | Nobel laureates in Chemistry | Kyoto University faculty | Kyoto University alumni | People from Nara (city) | Japanese Nobel laureates | International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science members | Theoretical chemists
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This page was last modified on 20 January 2010 at 20:26.
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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2009)
In modern medical practice, general anaesthesia (AmE: anesthesia) is a state of total unconsciousness resulting from general anaesthetic drugs. A variety of drugs are given to the patient that have different effects with the overall aim of ensuring unconsciousness, amnesia and analgesia. The anaesthetist (AmE: anesthesiologist) selects the optimal technique for any given patient and procedure. The biological mechanism of action of general anesthetics is not well understood.
Contents
1Overview
2Preanaesthetic evaluation
2.1Premedication
3General anaesthesia
3.1Induction of anaesthesia
3.2Maintenance
3.3Muscle relaxation / Neuromuscular blockade
3.4Airway management
3.5Monitoring
4Stages of anaesthesia
4.1Stage 1
4.2Stage 2
4.3Stage 3
4.4Stage 4
5Postoperative care
5.1Post-operative analgesia
5.2Shivering
6Mortality rates
7See also
8Notes
9External links
Overview
General anaesthesia is a complex procedure involving:
Preanaesthetic assessments
Administration of general anaesthetic drugs
Cardiorespiratory monitoring
Analgesia
Airway management
Fluid management
Postoperative pain relief
Preanaesthetic evaluation
Prior to surgery, the anaesthetist interviews the patient to determine the best combination of drugs and dosages and the degree to which monitoring is required to ensure a safe and effective procedure. Key factors of this determination are the patient’s age, weight, medical history, current medications, previous anaesthetics, and fasting time. Patients are typically required to fill out this information on a separate form during the pre-operative evaluation. Depending on the existing medical conditions reported, the anaesthetist will review this information with the patient either during the pre-operative evaluation or on the day of the surgery.
Truthful and accurate answering of the questions is important so that the anaesthetist can select the proper anaesthetic drugs and procedures. For example, a heavy drinker or drug user who does not disclose their chemical uses could be undermedicated, which could then lead to anaesthesia awareness or dangerously high blood pressure. Commonly used medications such as Viagra can interact with anaesthesia drugs; failure to disclose such usagecan endanger the patient.
An important aspect of this assessment is that of the patient’s airway, involving inspection of the mouth opening and visualisation of the soft tissues of the pharynx. The condition of teeth and location of dental crowns and caps are checked, neck flexibility and head extension observed. If an endotracheal tube is indicated and airway management is deemed difficult, then alternative placement methods such as fibreoptic intubation may be required, after induction of anaesthesia.
Premedication
Anaesthesiologists may prescribe or administer a sedative pre-medication by injection or by mouth anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of minutes before induction.
The most common drugs used for pre-medication are narcotics (opioids such as fentanyl) and sedatives (most commonly benzodiazepines such as midazolam).
General anaesthesia
General anaesthesia implies loss of consciousness and of protective reflexes. General anaesthesia is traditionally described as comprising of 3 components: hypnosis, relaxation and analgesia.
Hypnosis or sleep refers to being deeply asleep, unconscious, and totally unaware of events.
Relaxation implies abolition of reflex muscle tone, or specific block of nerve/muscle function, causing immobility and allowing easy surgical access.
Analgesia refers to use of one or more of a wide range of pain reducing drugs from paracetamol to morphine, and perhaps local anaesthetics to block pain impulse transmission along nerves, in the hope of reducing heart rate and blood pressure responses to surgery.
Induction of anaesthesia
The general anaesthetic is administered in either the operating theatre itself or a special ante-room.
General anaesthesia can be induced by intravenous (IV) injection, or breathing a volatile anaesthetic through a facemask (inhalational induction). Onset of anaesthesia is faster with IV injection than with inhalation, taking about 10-20 seconds to induce total unconsciousness. This has the advantage of avoiding the excitatory phase of anaesthesia (see below), and thus reduces complications related to induction of anaesthesia. An inhalational induction may be chosen by the anesthesiologist where IV access is difficult to obtain, where difficulty maintaining the airway is anticipated, or due to patient preference (e.g. children). Commonly used IV induction agents include propofol, sodium thiopental, etomidate, and ketamine. The most commonly-used agent for inhalational induction is sevoflurane because it causes less irritation than other inhaled gases.
Maintenance
The duration of action of IV induction agents is generally 5 to 10 minutes, after which time spontaneous recovery of consciousness will occur. In order to prolong anaesthesia for the required duration (usually the duration of surgery), anaesthesia must be maintained. Usually this is achieved by allowing the patient to breathe a carefully controlled mixture of oxygen, nitrous oxide, and a volatile anaesthetic agent or by having a carefully controlled infusion of medication, usually propofol, through an IV. The inhalation agents are transferred to the patient’s brain via the lungs and the bloodstream, and the patient remains unconscious. Inhaled agents are frequently supplemented by intravenous anaesthetics, such as opioids (usually fentanyl or a fentanyl derivative) and sedative-hypnotics (usually propofol or midazolam). Though for a propofol-based anaesthetic, supplementation by inhalation agents is not required. At the end of surgery the volatile or intravenous anaesthetic is discontinued. Recovery of consciousness occurs when the concentration of anaesthetic in the brain drops below a certain level (usually within 1 to 30 minutes depending upon the duration of surgery).
In the 1990s a novel method of maintaining anaesthesia was developed in Glasgow, UK. Called TCI (target controlled infusion), this involves using a computer controlled syringe driver (pump) to infuse propofol throughout the duration of surgery, removing the need for a volatile anaesthetic, and allowing pharmacologic principles to more precisely guide amount of infusion of the drug. Purported advantages include faster recovery from anaesthesia, reduced incidence of post-operative nausea and vomiting, and absence of a trigger for malignant hyperthermia. At present, TCI is not permitted in the United States.
Other medications will occasionally be given to anaesthetized patients to treat side effects or prevent complications. These medications include antihypertensives to treat high blood pressure, drugs like ephedrine and phenylephrine to treat low blood pressure, drugs like albuterol to treat asthma or laryngospasm/bronchospasm, and drugs like epinephrine or diphenhydramine to treat allergic reactions. Sometimes glucocorticoids or antibiotics are given to prevent inflammation and infection, respectively.
Muscle relaxation / Neuromuscular blockade
“Paralysis” or temporary muscle relaxation with a neuromuscular blocker is an integral part of modern anaesthesia. The first drug used for this purpose was curare, introduced in the 1940s, which has now been superseded by drugs with fewer side effects and generally shorter duration of action.
Muscle relaxation allows surgery within major body cavities, eg. abdomen and thorax without the need for very deep anaesthesia, and is also used to facilitate endotracheal intubation.
Acetylcholine, the natural neurotransmitter substance at the neuromuscular junction, causes muscles to contract when it is released from nerve endings. Muscle relaxants work by preventing acetylcholine from attaching to its receptor.
Paralysis of the muscles of respiration, ie. the diaphragm and intercostal muscles of the chest requires that some form of artificial respiration be implemented. As the muscles of the larynx are also paralysed, the airway usually needs to be protected by means of an endotracheal tube.
Monitoring of paralysis is most easily provided by means of a peripheral nerve stimulator. This device intermittently sends short electrical pulses through the skin over a peripheral nerve while the contraction of a muscle supplied by that nerve is observed.
The effects of muscle relaxants are commonly reversed at the termination of surgery by anticholinesterase drugs.
Examples of skeletal muscle relaxants in use today are pancuronium, rocuronium, vecuronium, atracurium, mivacurium, and succinylcholine.
Airway management
With the loss of consciousness caused by general anaesthesia, there is loss of protective airway reflexes (such as coughing), loss of airway patency and sometimes loss of a regular breathing pattern due to the effect of anaesthetics, opioids, or muscle relaxants. To maintain an open airway and regulate breathing within acceptable parameters, some form of “breathing tube” is inserted in the airway after the patient is unconscious. To enable mechanical ventilation, an endotracheal tube is often used (intubation), although there are alternative devices such as face masks or laryngeal mask airways.
Monitoring
Monitoring involves the use of several technologies to allow for a controlled induction of, maintenance of and emergence from general anaesthesia.
1. Continuous Electrocardiography (ECG): The placement of electrodes which monitor heart rate and rhythm. This may also help the anaesthetist to identify early signs of heart ischemia.
2. Continuous pulse oximetry (SpO2): The placement of this device (usually on one of the fingers) allows for early detection of a fall in a patient’s haemoglobin saturation with oxygen (hypoxemia).
3. Blood Pressure Monitoring (NIBP or IBP): There are two methods of measuring the patient’s blood pressure. The first, and most common, is called non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) monitoring. This involves placing a blood pressure cuff around the patient’s arm, forearm or leg. A blood pressure machine takes blood pressure readings at regular, preset intervals throughout the surgery. The second method is called invasive blood pressure (IBP) monitoring. This method is reserved for patients with significant heart or lung disease, the critically ill, major surgery such as cardiac or transplant surgery, or when large blood losses are expected. The invasive blood pressure monitoring technique involves placing a special type of plastic cannula in the patient’s artery - usually at the wrist or in the groin.
4. Agent concentration measurement - Common anaesthetic machines have meters to measure the percent of inhalational anaesthetic agent used (e.g. sevoflurane, isoflurane, desflurane, halothane etc).
5. Low oxygen alarm - Almost all circuits have a backup alarm in case the oxygen delivery to the patient becomes compromised. This warns if the fraction of inspired oxygen drops lower than room air (21%) and allows the anaesthetist to take immediate remedial action.
6. Circuit disconnect alarm - indicates failure of circuit to achieve a given pressure during mechanical ventilation.
7. Carbon dioxide measurement (capnography)- measures the amount of carbon dioxide expired by the patient’s lungs. It allows the anaesthetist to assess the adequacy of ventilation
8. Temperature measurement to discern hypothermia or fever, and to aid early detection of malignant hyperthermia.
9. EEG or other system to verify depth of anaesthesia may also be used. This reduces the likelihood that a patient will be mentally awake, although unable to move because of the paralytic agents. It also reduces the likelihood of a patient receiving significantly more amnesic drugs than actually necessary to do the job.
Stages of anaesthesia
The four stages of anaesthesia were described in 1937. Despite newer anaesthetic agents and delivery techniques, which have led to more rapid onset and recovery from anaesthesia, with greater safety margins, the principles remain.
Stage 1
Stage 1 anaesthesia, also known as the “induction”, is the period between the initial administration of the induction medications and loss of consciousness. During this stage, the patient progresses from analgesia without amnesia to analgesia with amnesia. Patients can carry on a conversation at this time.
Stage 2
Stage 2 anaesthesia, also known as the “excitement stage”, is the period following loss of consciousness and marked by excited and delirious activity. During this stage, respirations and heart rate may become irregular. In addition, there may be uncontrolled movements, vomiting, breath holding, and pupillary dilation. Since the combination of spastic movements, vomiting, and irregular respirations may lead to airway compromise, rapidly acting drugs are used to minimize time in this stage and reach stage 3 as fast as possible.
Stage 3
Stage 3, “surgical anesthesia”. During this stage, the skeletal muscles relax, and the patient’s breathing becomes regular. Eye movements slow, then stop, and surgery can begin.
Stage 4 anesthesia, also known as “overdose”, is the stage where too much medication has been given and the patient has severe brain stem or medullary depression. This results in a cessation of respiration and potential cardiovascular collapse. This stage is lethal without cardiovascular and respiratory support.
Postoperative care
Post-operative analgesia
The anaesthesia should conclude with a pain-free awakening and a management plan for postoperative pain relief. This may be in the form of regional analgesia, oral, transdermal or parenteral medication. Minor surgical procedures are amenable to oral pain relief medications such as paracetamol and NSAIDs such as ibuprofen. Moderate levels of pain require the addition of mild opiates such as tramadol.
Major surgical procedures may require a combination of modalities to confer adequate pain relief. Parenteral methods include patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) involving a strong opiate such as morphine, fentanyl or oxycodone. Here, to activate a syringe device, the patient presses a button and receives a preset dose or “bolus” of the drug (e.g. one milligram of morphine). The PCA device then “locks out” for a preset period, e.g. 5 minutes, to allow the drug to take effect. If the patient becomes too sleepy or sedated, they make no more morphine requests. This confers a fail safe aspect which is lacking in continuous opiate infusion techniques.
Shivering
Shivering is a frequent occurrence in the post-operative period. Apart from causing discomfort and exacerbating post-operative pain, shivering has been shown to increase oxygen consumption, catecholamine release, cardiac output, heart rate, blood pressure and intra-ocular pressure. There are a number of techniques used to reduce this occurrence, such as increasing the ambient temperature in theatre, using conventional or forced warm air blankets and using warmed intravenous fluids.
Mortality rates
This article contains weasel words, vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed. (February 2009)
Overall, the mortality rate for general anaesthesia is about three to five deaths per million anaesthetic administrations. Death during anaesthesia is most commonly related to surgical factors or pre-existing medical conditions. These include major haemorrhage, sepsis, and organ failure (eg. heart, lungs, kidneys, liver). Common causes of death directly related to anaesthesia include:
aspiration of stomach contents
suffocation (due to inadequate airway management)
allergic reactions to anaesthesia (specifically and not limited to anti-nausea agents) and other deadly genetic predispositions
human error
equipment failure
In the U.S., up until about 1980, anaesthesia held significant risk, with at least one death per 10,000 times administered. After becoming something of a public scandal, a careful effort was made to understand the causes and improve the results. It is generally believed that anaesthesia is now at least ten times safer than it was then. However, there is some controversy about this. In the U.S., the data is not made public (in fact, the data are not even collected), so the truth is uncertain. The death rate for dental anaesthesia is reported to be one out of 350,000.
See also
Anaesthetic equipment
Anaesthesia awareness
Seish? Hanaoka - first physician to use general anaesthesia
Notes
^ PubMed Central.
^English, William (2002). “Post anaesthesia shivering (PAS)” (in English). World Anaesthetia. World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists. http://www.nda.ox.ac.uk/wfsa/html/u15/u1503_01.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
^Henry Rosenberg. “Mortality Associated with Anesthesia”. ExpertPages.com. http://expertpages.com/news/mortality_anesthesia.htm. Retrieved 2006-07-11.
^
^
^
^
^
^
External links
Chloroform: The molecular lifesaverAn article at University of Bristol providing interesting facts about chloroform.
Australian & New Zealand College of Anaesthetists Monitoring Standard
Royal College of Anaesthetists Patient Information page
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_anaesthesia”
Categories: AnesthesiaHidden categories: Articles needing additional references from February 2009 | All articles needing additional references | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from March 2007 | Articles with weasel words from February 2009
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This page was last modified on 4 February 2010 at 20:12.
Postcards From Heaven was the second album released by UK duo Lighthouse Family in 1997 on Wildcard / Polydor Records. The album produced three Top 10 hits (”Raincloud”, “High” and “Lost in Space”) and two Top 30 hits (”Question of Faith” and “Postcard from Heaven”). It reached 4 times Platinum status.
Contents
1Track listing
1.111-track edition
1.22-disc edition
2Charts
3References
Track listing
(Singles and chart positions in the table)
#
Title
Chart comment
Length
1.
“Raincloud”
September 1997, entered chart at #6.
4:33
2.
“Once in a Blue Moon”
3:54
3.
“Question of Faith”
October 1998, entered chart at #21.
4:32
4.
“Let It All Change”
5:14
5.
“Sun in the Night”
5:21
6.
“High”
January 1998, entered chart at #4.
5:10
7.
“Lost in Space”
May 1998, entered chart at #6.
5:22
8.
“When I Was Younger”
4:16
9.
“Restless”
4:37
10.
“Postcard from Heaven”
January 1999, entered chart at #24.
4:20
11-track edition
“Lifted” from Ocean Drive was added to some releases as the eighth track.
2-disc edition
Some releases included a bonus disc with six remixes.
“High” (Itaal Shur’s Beautiful Urban Mix) – 6:40
“High” (Inner City Mix) – 6:42
“Raincloud” (Basement Boys Style 12″ Mix) – 8:05
“Raincloud” (D’Influence Mix) – 5:26
“Lifted” (Linslee 7″ Mix) – 4:01
“Ocean Drive” (Linslee R&B Mix) – 4:01
Charts
Country
Date
Position
Sales
Comments
United Kingdom
October 1997
2
1.2 million+
Platinum x4
Switzerland
May 1998
12
–
–
Netherlands
June 1998
16
–
–
Austria
June 1998
18
–
–
Norway
June 1999
23
–
–
New Zealand
February 1998
24
–
–
Sweden
May 1998
25
–
–
France
October 1998
44
–
–
References
^ UK Chart position
^ Switzerland Chart position
^ Dutch Chart position
^ Austria Chart position
^ Norway Chart position
^ New Zealand Chart position
^ Sweden Chart position
^ France Chart position
v•d•e
Lighthouse Family
Members
Tunde Baiyewu · Paul Tucker
Studio albums
Ocean Drive · Postcards from Heaven · Whatever Gets You Through the Day
Compilation albums
Greatest Hits/The Very Best of Lighthouse Family
Remix albums
Relaxed & Remixed
Singles
“Lifted” · “Ocean Drive” · “Goodbye Heartbreak” · “Loving Every Minute” · “Raincloud” · “High” · “Lost in Space” · “Question of Faith” · “Postcard from Heaven” · “(I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free) / One” · “Run” · “Happy” · “I Could Have Loved You”
Related articles
Discography · Polydor Records · The Orange Lights
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcards_from_Heaven”
Categories: 1997 albums | Lighthouse Family albums
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This page was last modified on 23 December 2009 at 12:41.
In enzymology, a protocatechuate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.63) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
Hence, this enzyme has one substrate, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate, and two products, catechol and CO2.
This enzyme belongs to the family of lyases, specifically the carboxy-lyases, which cleave carbon-carbon bonds. The systematic name of this enzyme class is 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate carboxy-lyase (catechol-forming). Other names in common use include 3,4-dihydrobenzoate decarboxylase, and protocatechuate carboxy-lyase. This enzyme participates in benzoate degradation via hydroxylation.
References
Grant DJW and Patel JC (1969). “Non-oxidative decarboxylation of p-hydroxybenzoic acid, gentisic acid, protocatechuic acid, and gallic acid by Klebsiella aerogenes (Aerobacter aerogenes)”. J. Microbiol. Serol.35: 325–343.
This EC 4.1 enzyme-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v•d•e
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocatechuate_decarboxylase”
Categories: EC 4.1 stubs | EC 4.1.1 | Enzymes of unknown structure
scales, fans, druses, rosettes, fibrous or felted aggregate.
Crystal system
Monoclinic 2/m
Cleavage
Perfect plane {0,0,1}
Fracture
platy
Mohs scale hardness
1
Luster
pearly
Diaphaneity
semi-transparent to translucent
Specific gravity
2.92 - 2.96
Optical properties
Biaxial (-)
Refractive index
n?=1.60 n?=1.66 n?=1.67
Birefringence
? =
Pleochroism
olive green to green-brown
Fusibility
loses water
Roscoelite is a green mineral from the mica group that contains vanadium.
The chemical formula is K(V3+,Al,Mg)2AlSi3O10(OH)2. Crystals of roscoelite take on the monoclinic form, and are from the 2/m point group. The appearance is semi transparent to translucent coloured olive brown to green brown. The luster is pearly. The mineral shows pleochroism with X showing green-brown, and Y and Z axes showing olive-green colour. The mineral was named after Henry Enfield Roscoe who first produced vanadium metal.
Contents
1Chemical properties
2Physical properties
3Formation
4Occurrence
5References
Chemical properties
Roscoelite is a muscovite with aluminium substituted with vanadium. Vanadium can also be substituted by magnesium, iron, or manganese.
Physical properties
It is soft and the density is 2.93±0.01. The unit cell has dimensions
with an angle between axes of ?=101.0°. The tetrahedral cation-oxygen atom distance is 164.1 pm, The distance from the cation to the oxygen in the octahedral plan is 202 pm.
Formation
Two kinds of mineral deposits contain roscoelite, either gold-silver-tellurium low temperature epithermal deposits where it occurs along with quartz, fluorite, pyrite and carbonates, or oxidized low temperature uranium-vanadium ores in sedimentary rocks, where it occurs with corvusite, hewettite, carnotite and tyuyamunite. Roecoelite is considered a gangue mineral of no value when found with gold. However it has also been used as a vanadium ore.
In the Mt. Kare mine in New Guinea the mineral occurs with gold and is an important maker of gold deposits. The temperature of the geothermal fluid that depositied the roscoelite was from 127 to 167 °C. The fluid contained a high level of salt and also contained carbon dioxide, methane, carbonyl sulfide and other minor amounts of rock forming elements.
Occurrence
The mineral has been found in numerous places in USA, Australia, Japan, Gabon, Fiji, New Guineaand Czech Republic. In the United States, it was the principal vanadium ore mineral at the mines at Placerville, Colorado. In Australia roscoelite has been found at Kalgoorlie, Radium Hill and the Kintore Open Cut at Broken Hill.
References
^ Roscoelite information
^ Xray analysis
^ Karen Kelley, Theodore Armbrustmacher, and Douglas Klein Au-Ag-Te Vein Deposits section of ore and Gangue mineralogy
^ E. Ronacher, and J. P. Richards, Characteristics and Evolution of the Hydrothermal Fluid in the North Zone High-Grade Area, Porgera Gold Deposit, Papua New Guinea
