A multilayered coil antenna for ingestible capsule : near field magnetic induction link

A compact multilayered stacked ingestible coil antenna is investigated for medical systems. The inductive link, comprising a 5-layer transmitter coil antenna and a 3-turn receiver spiral coil, is modeled through a tissue-simulating liquid modeling the human body. The diameter and the thickness of the transmitter coil are respectively equal to 1 cm and 5 mm, while the dimensions of the receiver coil are equal to 7 × 8 cm 2 . The variations of the position and the orientation of the capsule antenna are taken into account to evaluate the coupling response between the two magnetically coupled coils. We found that the inductive link presents an attractive option for improving the lifetime of ingestible capsules

Effects of gamma irradiation on the biomechanical properties of peroneus tendons

PURPOSE: This study was designed to investigate the biomechanical properties of nonirradiated (NI) and irradiated (IR) peroneus tendons to determine if they would be suitable allografts, in regards to biomechanical properties, for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction after a dose of 1.5–2.5 Mrad. METHODS: Seven pairs of peroneus longus (PL) and ten pairs of peroneus brevis (PB) tendons were procured from human cadavers. The diameter of each allograft was measured. The left side of each allograft was IR at 1.5–2.5 Mrad, whereas the right side was kept aseptic and NI. The allografts were thawed, kept wet with saline, and attached in a single-strand fashion to custom freeze grips using liquid nitrogen. A preload of 10 N was then applied and, after it had reached steady state, the allografts were pulled at 4 cm/sec. The parameters recorded were the displacement and force. RESULTS: The elongation at the peak load was 10.3±2.3 mm for the PB NI side and 13.5±3.3 mm for the PB IR side. The elongation at the peak load was 17.4±5.3 mm for the PL NI side and 16.3±2.0 mm for the PL IR side. For PL, the ultimate load was 2,091.6±148.7 N for NI and 2,122.8±380.0 N for IR. The ultimate load for the PB tendons was 1,485.7±209.3 N for NI and 1,318.4±296.9 N for the IR group. The ultimate stress calculations for PL were 90.3±11.3 MPa for NI and 94.8±21.0 MPa for IR. For the PB, the ultimate stress was 82.4±19.0 MPa for NI and 72.5±16.6 MPa for the IR group. The structural stiffness was 216.1±59.0 N/mm for the NI PL and 195.7±51.4 N/mm for the IR side. None of these measures were significantly different between the NI and IR groups. The structural stiffness was 232.1±45.7 N/mm for the NI PB and 161.9±74.0 N/mm for the IR side, and this was the only statistically significant difference found in this study (P=0.034). CONCLUSION: Our statistical comparisons found no significant differences in terms of elongation, ultimate load, or ultimate stress between IR and NI PB and PL tendons. Only the PB structural stiffness was affected by irradiation. Thus, sterilizing allografts at 1.5–2.5 Mrad of gamma irradiation does not cause major alterations in the tendons’ biomechanical properties while still providing a suitable amount of sterilization for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Detecting range and coupling coefficient tradeoff with a multiple loops reader antenna for small size RFID LF tags

International audienceThis paper summarizes some tests with Low Frequency (LF, 125 kHz) RFID tags of two types: Card and Token. These tests were done in order to evaluate the feasibility of an identification/traceability of tags which size is constrained and supposed to be detected inside a delimited volume of 40×40×10 cm 3 . As the size of the antenna tag is supposed to be very small, we improve the detection range and volume of definition by designing different reader antennas. Reader antennas presented are of two types whether they are based on single (SL) or multiple loops (ML). Detection range was evaluated for planar antennas (3 SL and one ML). Volume of definition for the detection was estimated by designing two-level prototypes of ML antennas. Results are discussed about the optimization possibility of detection range and volume thanks to ML

EPITOME-2: An open-label study assessing the transition to a new formulation of intravenous epoprostenol in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Background Continuous infusion of epoprostenol is the treatment of choice in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension in functional classes III to IV. However, this treatment's limitations include instability at room temperature. A new epoprostenol formulation offers improved storage conditions and patient convenience. Methods The EPITOME-2 trial was an open-label, prospective, multicenter, single-arm, phase IIIb study. Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension on long-term, stable epoprostenol therapy were transitioned from epoprostenol with glycine and mannitol excipients (Flolan; GlaxoSmithKline, Durham, NC) to epoprostenol with arginine and sucrose excipients (Veletri; Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Allschwil, Switzerland). Patients were followed up for 3 months, and dose adjustments were recorded. Efficacy measures included the 6-minute walk distance, hemodynamics assessed by right heart catheterization, and New York Heart Association functional class. Safety and tolerability of the transition were also evaluated. Quality of life was assessed using the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication. Results Forty-two patients enrolled in the study, and 1 patient withdrew consent before treatment; thus, 41 patients received treatment and completed the study. Six patients required dose adjustments. There were no clinically relevant changes from baseline to month 3 in any of the efficacy end points. Adverse events were those previously described with intravenous prostacyclin therapy. Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication scores showed an improvement from baseline to month 3 in the domain of treatment convenience. Conclusions Transition from epoprostenol with glycine and mannitol excipients to epoprostenol with arginine and sucrose excipients did not affect treatment efficacy, raised no new safety or tolerability concerns, and provided patients with an increased sense of treatment convenience

Oral anticoagulants (NOAC and VKA) in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension

EXPERT was an international, multicenter, prospective, uncontrolled, non-interventional cohort study in patients with pulmonary hypertension treated with riociguat. Patients were followed for 1-4 years, and the primary outcomes were adverse events (AEs) and serious AEs (SAEs), including embolic/thrombotic and hemorrhagic events. Here we report data on patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) receiving a vitamin K antagonist (VKA; n = 683) or a non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC; n = 198) at baseline. AEs and SAEs were reported in 438 patients (64.1%) and 257 patients (37.6%), respectively, in the VKA group, and in 135 patients (68.2%) and 74 patients (37.4%) in the NOAC group. Exposure-adjusted hemorrhagic event rates were similar in the two groups, while exposure-adjusted embolic and/or thrombotic event rates were higher in the NOAC group, although the numbers of events were small. Further studies are required to determine the long-term effects of anticoagulation strategies in CTEPH

Analysis of Neptune's 2017 Bright Equatorial Storm

We report the discovery of a large ($\sim$8500 km diameter) infrared-bright storm at Neptune's equator in June 2017. We tracked the storm over a period of 7 months with high-cadence infrared snapshot imaging, carried out on 14 nights at the 10 meter Keck II telescope and 17 nights at the Shane 120 inch reflector at Lick Observatory. The cloud feature was larger and more persistent than any equatorial clouds seen before on Neptune, remaining intermittently active from at least 10 June to 31 December 2017. Our Keck and Lick observations were augmented by very high-cadence images from the amateur community, which permitted the determination of accurate drift rates for the cloud feature. Its zonal drift speed was variable from 10 June to at least 25 July, but remained a constant $237.4 \pm 0.2$ m s$^{-1}$ from 30 September until at least 15 November. The pressure of the cloud top was determined from radiative transfer calculations to be 0.3-0.6 bar; this value remained constant over the course of the observations. Multiple cloud break-up events, in which a bright cloud band wrapped around Neptune's equator, were observed over the course of our observations. No "dark spot" vortices were seen near the equator in HST imaging on 6 and 7 October. The size and pressure of the storm are consistent with moist convection or a planetary-scale wave as the energy source of convective upwelling, but more modeling is required to determine the driver of this equatorial disturbance as well as the triggers for and dynamics of the observed cloud break-up events.Comment: 42 pages, 14 figures, 6 tables; Accepted to Icaru

Sex-specific differences in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Results from the European CTEPH registry

BACKGROUND Women are more susceptible than men to several forms of pulmonary hypertension, but have better survival. Sparse data are available on chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). METHODS We investigated sex-specific differences in the clinical presentation of CTEPH, performance of pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA), and survival. RESULTS Women constituted one-half of the study population of the European CTEPH registry (N = 679) and were characterized by a lower prevalence of some cardiovascular risk factors, including prior acute coronary syndrome, smoking habit, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but more prevalent obesity, cancer, and thyroid diseases. The median age was 62 (interquartile ratio, 50-73) years in women and 63 (interquartile ratio, 53-70) in men. Women underwent PEA less often than men (54% vs 65%), especially at low-volume centers (48% vs 61%), and were exposed to fewer additional cardiac procedures, notably coronary artery bypass graft surgery (0.5% vs 9.5%). The prevalence of specific reasons for not being operated, including patient's refusal and the proportion of proximal vs distal lesions, did not differ between sexes. A total of 57 (17.0%) deaths in women and 70 (20.7%) in men were recorded over long-term follow-up. Female sex was positively associated with long-term survival (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% confidence interval, 0.46-0.94). Short-term mortality was identical in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS Women with CTEPH underwent PEA less frequently than men, especially at low-volume centers. Furthermore, they had a lower prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and were less often exposed to additional cardiac surgery procedures. Women had better long-term survival