The clinical features of this rare vascular condition are discussed as a possible

cause of magnetic resonance (diffusion weighted imaging) negative vertebro-basilar transient ischemic attack.”
“Objectives: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is considered to be one of the most effective treatments in psychiatry. Currently, three medications for anesthesia are used routinely during ECT: propofol, etomidate, and thiopental. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the anesthetics used in ECT on seizure threshold and duration, hemodynamics, recovery from ECT, and immediate side effects.

Methods: Our study is a retrospective cohort study, in which a comparison was made between three groups of patients who underwent ECT

and were anesthetized with propofol, etomidate, or thiopental. The main effect compared was treatment dose and seizure duration. HSP inhibitor All patients were chosen as responders to ECT.

Results: Data were gathered about 91 patients (39 were anesthetized with thiopental, 29 with etomidate, and 23 with propofol). Patients in the thiopental group received a lower electrical dose compared to the propofol and etomidate group (mean of 459 mC compared to 807 mC and 701 mC, respectively, P<0.001). Motor seizure duration was longer in the thiopental group compared to propofol and etomidate (mean of 40 seconds compared to 21 seconds and 23 seconds, Etomoxir solubility dmso respectively, P=0.018). Seizure duration recorded by electroencephalography was similar in the thiopental and etomidate groups and lower in the propofol group

(mean of 57 AZ 628 datasheet seconds in both groups compared to 45 seconds, respectively, P=0.038).

Conclusion: Patients who were anesthetized with thiopental received a lower electrical treatment dose without an unwanted decrease in seizure duration. Thiopental might be the anesthetic of choice when it is congruent with other medical considerations.”
“Landfarm soil is used to bioremediate oil wastes from petrochemical industries. We developed a simplified protocol for microbial DNA extraction of tropical landfarm soil using only direct lysis of macerated material. Two samples of tropical landfarm soil from a Brazilian refinery were analyzed by this protocol (one consisted of crude oil-contaminated soil; the other was continuously enriched for nine months with petroleum). The soil samples were lysed by maceration with liquid nitrogen, eliminating the need for detergents, organic solvents and enzymatic cell lysis. Then, the DNA from the lysed soil sample was extracted using phenol-chloroform-isoamyl alcohol or guanidium isothiocyanate, giving high DNA yields (more than 1 mu g DNA/g soil) from both soil types. This protocol compared favorably with an established method of DNA template preparation that included mechanical, chemical and enzymatic treatment for cell lysis.