In general, the anesthesia in neonates involves high risk. Although hypothermic anesthesia is recommended in rats up to the age of 7 days, neonatal anesthesia for later periods has not been standardized. The present study investigated the pharmacological properties of conventional anesthetic protocols in 10-day-old SD rats. The rats were anesthetized with four anesthetics: a combination of ketamine and xylazine (K/X); a combination of medetomidine, midazolam, and butorphanol (M/M/B); isoflurane; and sevoflurane. Anesthetic depth was scored by reflex response to noxious stimuli. Induction and recovery times were recorded. Vital signs and mortality rate were evaluated for safety assessment. All rats died after administration of K/X at a dose of 60/6 mg/kg, whereas K/X at 40/4 mg/kg resulted in insufficient anesthetic depth, indicating inappropriate for neonatal anesthesia. Although M/M/B at the adult rat dose (0.15/2/2.5 mg/kg) did not provide surgical anesthetic depth, the mouse dose (0.3/4/5 mg/kg) showed sufficient anesthetic depth with relatively stable vital signs. Isoflurane required a long induction period, and caused remarkable respiratory depression and hypothermia, resulted in a 25% mortality rate. In contrast, sevoflurane provided consistent surgical anesthetic depth with rapid induction. Although respiratory rate decrease was markedly observed, all rats survived. Among the anesthetic protocols investigated in the present study, sevoflurane and M/M/B at the mouse dose were recommended for the neonatal anesthesia. Compared with adult rats, the required dose of both anesthetics in neonates was higher, possibly associated with their lower anesthetic sensitivity.

Parks are an important aspect of an ideal city. In the "neighborhood development" concept, the public park is the core of a neighborhood block, which is one of the basic components of the city. Using the neighborhood parks in Kitakyushu, Japan, as a case study, this research proposes an evaluation system for parks in urban area. First, the study uses GIS to identify each neighborhood park and define the neighborhood community. It then classifies neighborhood parks according to the land-use pattern of their communities. Next, the study develops an assessment index and used it for principal component analysis. Finally, based on the results of the analysis, the study comprehensively evaluates the community and park system in Kitakyushu city, Japan. The findings suggest that comparative evaluation between the different parks can help in understanding the characteristics and problems of existing information.