One of the main characters used in acoel taxonomy is the male copulatory organ. Despite this, ultrastructural studies of this structure are scarce. We studied the ultrastructure of the copulatory organ in eight species of acoels belonging to the taxon Childia. Members of Childia possess a well-developed conical or cylindrical stylet-like structure composed of needles. Immunogold cytochemistry o...

Glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca coagulata (Say), is an efficient vector of Xylella fastidiosa (Xf), the causal bacterium of Pierce's disease, and leaf scorch in almond and oleander. Acquisition and inoculation of Xf occur sometime during the process of stylet penetration into the plant. That process is most rigorously studied via electrical penetration graph (EPG) monitoring of insect f...

I read with puzzlement the “Communication to the Editor” by Dean P. Sandifer, MD, FCCP,1 in regard to the article by Trottier et al,2 pertaining to percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) using the PDT kit manufactured by Smith Industries (Keene, NH). Dr. Sandifer justifiably criticized the high rate of complications that occurred in the 24 PDT cases studied. But then Dr. Sandifer stated, ...

BACKGROUND This study was designed to evaluate emergency physician success and satisfaction using a video-assisted semi-rigid fiberoptic stylet, the Clarus Video System (CVS), during a simulated difficult airway scenario. FINDINGS Emergency physicians (EPs) of all levels were first shown a brief slide show and three example videos, and then given 20 min to practice intubating a mannequin usin...

The laryngeal mask airway (LMA) was invented by Dr. Archie Brain at the London Hospital, Whitechapel, in 1981. Dr. Brain's main objective for the LMA was that it would provide a better method of maintaining a patient's airway than by face mask. Also, the LMA would be less hemodynamically stressful than with insertion of an endotracheal tube. The LMA consists of a silicone rubber tube connected ...

INTRODUCTION Vocal fold injection medialization is a safe and effective method to treat glottic insufficiency. Two methods of injection are most widely used: transorally via suspension laryngoscopy under general anesthesia, and percutaneously or transorally via flexible laryngoscopy in the office under local anesthesia. Although an office procedure can be advantageous due to procedure cost, the...

OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of modifying the GlideScope (GVL) blade on the intubation time. METHODS This prospective study was conducted at the Department of Anesthesia, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between June 2011 and October 2011. Sixty patients requiring endotracheal tube (ETT) intubation for elective surgery in whom airway was anticipated normal were ra...

PURPOSE Difficult intubation is a major problem in anesthesia. In case of limited mouth opening only a few intubating devices are available. Our study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a modified transillumination technique for nasotracheal intubation (NTI). METHODS One hundred twenty-three patients needing NTI were studied, 76 in group A: NTI with no expected intubatio...

Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) is a widely used and accepted method for long-term ventilation of critically ill patients in many intensive care units (ICUs). However, serious complications related to PDT have been reported, including several cases of intraoperative loss of airway with fatal consequences. (1) Generally, this is the result of the required delicate position of the en...

BACKGROUND Rocuronium has an onset of action more rapid than other non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agents, but it is unclear whether it and succinylcholine give equivalent intubating conditions during rapid-sequence induction of anaesthesia. We performed this study to answer the question--are there clinically relevant differences between the use of rocuronium and succinylcholine to secu...