BACKGROUND Swallowing difficulties are common, and dysphagia occurs frequently in intensive care unit (ICU) patients after extubation. Yet, no guidelines on postextubation swallowing assessment exist. We aimed to investigate the safety and effectiveness of nurse-performed screening (NPS) for postextubation dysphagia in the medical ICU. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study of mech...

In the lattice structure considered here, crack propagation is caused by feeding waves, carrying energy to the crack front, and accompanied by dissipative waves carrying a part of this energy away from the front (the di4erence is spent on the bond disintegration). The feeding waves di4er by their wavenumber. A zero feeding wavenumber corresponds to a macrolevel-associated solution with the clas...

1. Rhythmic fictive feeding was recorded from the motoneurones of the buccal ganglia of Lymnaea stagnalis. The times of the action potentials were recorded by microcomputer and the lengths of the three phases (Nl, N2 and N3) making up each feeding cycle were determined. 2. During spontaneous rhythmic fictive feeding in Lymnaea stagnalis the cycle period varied randomly. 3. Most of the variation...

The oppossum sphincter of Oddi (SO) exhibits peristaltic spike bursts with accompanying contraction waves that originate proximally in the sphincter of Oddi and propagate toward the duodenum. In this study we recorded myoelectrical activity of the opossum SO and upper gastrointestinal tract in six conscious animals using chronically implanted electrodes. Biopolar electrodes were implanted in th...

Anticipatory physiological regulation is an adaptive strategy that enables animals to respond faster to physiologic and metabolic challenges. The cephalic phase responses are anticipatory responses that prepare animals to digest, absorb, and metabolize nutrients. They enable the sensory aspects of the food to interact with the metabolic state of the animal to influence feeding behavior. The ant...

Female Amblyomma hebraeum ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) increase their weight ∼10-fold during a 'slow phase of engorgement' (7-9 days), and a further 10-fold during the 'rapid phase' (12-24h). During the rapid phase, the cuticle thins by half, with a plastic (permanent) deformation of greater than 40% in two orthogonal directions. A stress of 2.5 MPa or higher is required to achieve this degree of de...

Proper nutritional status is critical for optimal production efficiency in the beef cow herd. However, beef producers often take a “one size fits all” approach to feeding the cows in the cow herd. This singular approach to nutrient supply for the cow herd can have serious nutritional and economic ramifications. It should be obvious that not all cows have the same nutrient requirements. Nutritio...

Chagas disease (infection by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi) is a major parasitic disease of the Americas and one of the main neglected tropical diseases. Although various routes of transmission sre recognized, the risk for transmission of the infection through breast-feeding has not clearly been established. We reviewed the literature on transmission of T. cruzi through breast-feeding to prov...

We study effects of active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback outflows on multiphase inter stellar medium (ISM) of the host galaxy. We argue that supermassive black hole (SMBH) growth is dominated by accretion of dense cold clumps and filaments. AGN feedback outflows overtake the cold medium, compress it, and trigger a powerful starburst – a positive AGN feedback. This predicts a statistical corre...

Thanks to Mike Lyons and Robyn Hayes for their timely and insightful paper, "Student Perceptions of Persons With Psychiatric and Other Disorders," which appeared in the June 1993 AJOT I have been practicing in mental health as an occupational therapist for 15 years and have been troubled by the declining numbers of occupational therapists entering this practice area. I commend the authors for t...