Photobioreactor Design and Fluid Dynamics

Photobioreactor design is a subject of great relevance for the attainment of a sustained development in modern technology,and has also considerable interest from the basic scientific and technologic point of view.The aim of the present review paper is presenting and comparing some of the recent attempts by the authors of modelling photosynthesis in reactors.A short inspection of the kinetic models proposed for photobioreactor design is done,and some examples of the integration of such kinetic models and bioreactor fluid dynamics in the modelling of photobioreactors are presented

Acceptability and Feasibility of Community-Based, Lay Navigator-Facilitated At-Home Self-Collection for Human Papillomavirus Testing in Underscreened Women

Objective: Women without regular health care providers or a medical home routinely fail to complete recommended cervical cancer screening. At-home self-collection of samples to test for high-risk strains of human papillomavirus (hrHPV) can improve screening rates. This study documents acceptability and feasibility of community lay navigator (LN)-facilitated at-home self-collection for underscreened women in Appalachian Virginia. Materials and Methods: This study used mixed methods in three phases. Phase I involved focus groups of LNs to ensure cultural acceptability of self-collection, and to enhance recruitment of medically underserved women. An environmental scan of community resources and climate was created in Phase II. During Phase III, underscreened women in Appalachian Virginia (the far southwest corner of Virginia) were recruited to complete hrHPV testing using LN-provided self-collection kits. Results: LN-facilitated at-home self-collection for HPV testing was deemed culturally acceptable and feasible to participants in this community-based pilot study. Self-kit training included 64 LNs, of which 35 engaged in the study and were provided 77 kits and instructions. A total of 59 self-kits were returned, of which 42 were correctly completed with valid HPV results, yielding a 16.6% hrHPV rate. Conclusions: Over a quarter of the women LNs recruited had no medical home, indicating this delivery model may have potential to reach women at increased risk of being underscreened for cervical cancer. Research is needed to identify optimal approaches to increase LN participation in outreach self-collection interventions

Primary Angioplasty in a Catastrophic Presentation: Acute Left Main Coronary Total Occlusion—The ATOLMA Registry

Objectives. To determine the outcome predictors of in-hospital mortality in acute total occlusion of the left main coronary artery (ATOLMA) patients referred to emergent angioplasty and to describe the clinical presentation and the long-term outcome of these patients.Background. ATOLMA is an uncommon angiographic finding that usually leads to a catastrophic presentation. Limited and inconsistent data have been previously reported regarding true ATOLMA, yet comprehensive knowledge remains scarce.Methods. This is a multicenter retrospective cohort that includes patients presenting with myocardial infarction due to a confirmed ATOLMA who underwent emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).Results. In the period of the study, 7930 emergent PCI were performed in the five participating centers, and 46 of them had a true ATOLMA (0.58%). At admission, cardiogenic shock was present in 89% of patients, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation was required in 67.4%. All the patients had right dominance. Angiographic success was achieved in 80.4% of the procedures, 13 patients (28.2%) died during the catheterization, and the in-hospital mortality rate was 58.6% (27/46). At one-year and at the final follow-up, 18 patients (39%) were alive, including four cases successfully transplanted. Multivariate analysis showed that postprocedural TIMI flow was the only independent predictor of in-hospital mortality (OR 0.23, (95% CI 0.1-0.36),p<0.001).Conclusions. Our study confirms that the clinical presentation of ATOLMA is catastrophic, presenting a high in-hospital mortality rate; nevertheless, primary angioplasty in this setting is feasible. Postprocedural TIMI flow resulted as the only independent predictor of in-hospital mortality. In-hospital survivors presented an encouraging outcome. ATOLMA and left dominance could be incompatible with life

APTUS - the Experience of an Institution

Introdução: O Endoleak tipo I (EL1) é frequentemente associado a um risco aumentado de expansão aneurismática com consequente rotura secundária. O Heli-FX EndoAnchor system (Aptus Endosystems®) surgiu como uma alternativa para o tratamento do EL1, cujo mecanismo consiste em “ancorar com parafusos” a prótese à parede aórtica, de forma a obter uma melhor selagem/aposição. Objetivos: O principal objectivo deste estudo foi analisar a experiência clínica inicial da utilização de Endoanchors numa instituição terciária e avaliar a segurança e eficácia do seu uso. Métodos: Foram seleccionados todos os casos em que foram utilizados Endoanchors desde que esta tecnologia foi disponibilizada na nossa Instituição e analisadas as suas principais indicações e os resultados da sua utilização. Resultados: Entre Março de 2017 e Março de 2019 (24 meses), 12 doentes foram submetidos a fixação com Endoanchors. Em 8 casos (66%) o uso foi primário (procedimento inicial de EVAR) e em 4 casos (33%) foi secundário (complicações pós EVAR). Relativamente à utilização primária de Endoanchors, em 5 casos (62.5%) a indicação foi profilática devido à anatomia desfavorável do colo aórtico e em 3 casos (37.5%) por EL1 precoce, (75% casos electivos e 25% urgentes). Foram utilizados Endoanchors em procedimentos secundários em 4 doentes, sendo que em 3 casos (75%) a indicação foi EL1 tardio e em 1 caso (25%) foi por REVAR, (50% casos electivos e 50% urgentes). Em todos os casos, a nossa instituição apresentou 100% de sucesso técnico e 0% morbimortalidade em 30 dias. Não se verificaram EL1 na angiografia final dos procedimentos. Durante um follow-up médio de 16.0 ± 7.7 meses, não se realizaram procedimentos secundários, não se verificaram mortes relacionadas com a patologia aneurismática ou roturas de aneurismas. Conclusão: Na experiência inicial da nossa instituição, os Endoanchors foram utilizados profilaticamente em EVAR nos casos com anatomia do colo aórtico desfavorável e para tratamento de EL1, com e sem rotura associada, com resultados promissores.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effect of fecal microbiota transplant for initial Clostridium difficile infection in intestinal microbiome

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of fecal donor-unrelated donor mix (FMT-FURM) transplantation as first-line therapy for C. difficile infection (CDI) in intestinal microbiome. Methods We designed an open, two-arm pilot study with oral vancomycin (250mg every 6 h for 10–14 days) or FMT-FURM as treatments for the first CDI episode in hospitalized adult patients in Hospital Universitario “Dr. Jose Eleuterio Gonzalez”. Patients were randomized by a closed envelope method in a 1: 1 ratio to either oral vancomycin or FMT-FURM. CDI resolution was considered when there was a reduction on the Bristol scale of at least 2 points, a reduction of at least 50% in the number of bowel movements, absence of fever, and resolution of abdominal pain (at least two criteria). From each patient, a fecal sample was obtained at days 0, 3, and 7 after treatment. Specimens were cultured to isolate C. difficile, and isolates were characterized by PCR. Susceptibility testing of isolates was performed using the agar dilution method. Fecal samples and FMT-FURM were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Results We included 19 patients; 10 in the vancomycin arm and 9 in the FMT-FURM arm. However, one of the patients in the vancomycin arm and two patients in the FMT-FURM arm were eliminated. Symptoms resolved in 8/9 patients (88.9%) in the vancomycin group, while symptoms resolved in 4/7 patients (57.1%) after the first FMT-FURM dose (P = 0.26) and in 5/7 patients (71.4%) after the second dose (P = 0.55). During the study, no adverse effects attributable to FMT-FURM were observed in patients. Twelve isolates were recovered, most isolates carried tcdB, tcdA, cdtA, and cdtB, with an 18-bp deletion in tcdC. All isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin but susceptible to metronidazole, linezolid, fidaxomicin, and tetracycline. In the FMT-FURM group, the bacterial composition was dominated by Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria at all-time points and the microbiota were remarkably stable over time. The vancomycin group showed a very different pattern of the microbial composition when comparing to the FMT-FURM group over time. Conclusion The results of this preliminary study showed that FMT-FURM for initial CDI is associated with specific bacterial communities that do not resemble the donors’ sample.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Influence of highway 3D coordination on drivers' perception of horizontal curvature and available sight distance

"This paper is a preprint of a paper submitted to [journal] and is subject to Institution of Engineering and Technology Copyright. If accepted, the copy of record will be available at IET Digital Library"Drivers' road perception is an important human factor of comfort and safety on driving. Available sight distance of crest vertical curves superimposed on horizontal curves can be geometrically optimised by applying 3D coordination criteria. However, drivers might not perceive available sight distance improvements. Two approaches were used to investigate the effect of geometrical optimised design on perceived sharpness and visibility of isolated crest vertical curves overlapped with horizontal curves. A survey-based approach was used to evaluate subjective perception of 100 drivers. Three-dimensional renderings were displayed to subjects; who were asked to rank the curves by sharpness and sight distance. Moreover, 50 of those drivers previously participated on a driving simulation experiment involving the same curves, so objective driving data were collected too. Drivers' survey results indicate that driver's curve perception depends on the algebraic difference of grades while coordination of vertical and horizontal curves does not appear to affect this perception. On the other hand, the operating speeds on different curves were not statistically different from each other. Surprisingly, the operating speeds on a flat curve tended to be lower than on the vertical crest curves superimposed on the same horizontal curve. Likely causes are discussed in the paper.Moreno Chou, AT.; García García, A.; Camacho Torregrosa, FJ.; Llorca Garcia, C. (2013). Influence of highway 3D coordination on drivers' perception of horizontal curvature and available sight distance. IET Intelligent Transport Systems. 7(2):244-250. doi:10.1049/iet-its.2012.0146S24425072Hassan, Y., & Easa, S. M. (2000). Modeling of Required Preview Sight Distance. Journal of Transportation Engineering, 126(1), 13-20. doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-947x(2000)126:1(13)García, A. (2004). Discussion of «Optimal Vertical Alignment Analysis for Highway Design» by T. F. Fwa, W. T. Chan, and Y. P. Sim. Journal of Transportation Engineering, 130(1), 138-138. doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-947x(2004)130:1(138)Bidulka, S., Sayed, T., & Hassan, Y. (2002). Influence of Vertical Alignment on Horizontal Curve Perception: Phase I: Examining the Hypothesis. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1796(1), 12-23. doi:10.3141/1796-02Hassan, Y., Sayed, T., & Bidulka, S. (2002). Influence of Vertical Alignment on Horizontal Curve Perception: Phase II: Modeling Perceived Radius. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1796(1), 24-34. doi:10.3141/1796-03Hasan, M., Sayed, T., & Hassan, Y. (2005). Influence of vertical alignment on horizontal curve perception: effect of spirals and position of vertical curve. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 32(1), 204-212. doi:10.1139/l04-090Wang, F., & Easa, S. M. (2009). Validation of Perspective-View Concept for Estimating Road Horizontal Curvature. Journal of Transportation Engineering, 135(2), 74-80. doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-947x(2009)135:2(74)Bella, F. (2007). Parameters for Evaluation of Speed Differential. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2023(1), 37-43. doi:10.3141/2023-05Ben-Bassat, T., & Shinar, D. (2011). Effect of shoulder width, guardrail and roadway geometry on driver perception and behavior. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 43(6), 2142-2152. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2011.06.004Jia, L., Wang, J., & Lu, M. (2011). Using real-world data to calibrate a driving simulator measuring lateral driving behaviour. IET Intelligent Transport Systems, 5(1), 21-31. doi:10.1049/iet-its.2009.0094Antonson, H., Mårdh, S., Wiklund, M., & Blomqvist, G. (2009). Effect of surrounding landscape on driving behaviour: A driving simulator study. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29(4), 493-502. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2009.03.005Land, M. F., & Lee, D. N. (1994). Where we look when we steer. Nature, 369(6483), 742-744. doi:10.1038/369742a0Zuriaga, A. M. P., García, A. G., Torregrosa, F. J. C., & D’Attoma, P. (2010). Modeling Operating Speed and Deceleration on Two-Lane Rural Roads with Global Positioning System Data. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2171(1), 11-20. doi:10.3141/2171-02Kweon, B.-S., Ellis, C. D., Lee, S.-W., & Rogers, G. O. (2006). Large-Scale Environmental Knowledge. Environment and Behavior, 38(1), 72-91. doi:10.1177/001391650528009

10 Years of Experience in Ultrasound-Guided Thrombin Injection, a Safe and Effective Technique in Femoral Pseudoaneurysm Treatment

Introdução: O elevado número de procedimentos vasculares percutâneos resulta num aumento das complicações relacionadas com o acesso vascular. A mais frequente é o falso aneurisma (FA), cuja intervenção de primeira linha é atualmente a injeção eco-guiada de trombina humana (IETH). Métodos: Estudo observacional retrospetivo realizado através da consulta de processos clínicos dos doentes submetidos a IETH por FA femoral num hospital terciário no período de 2008 a 2018. O end-point primário foi o sucesso desta modalidade terapêutica (trombose primária e à reavaliação ecográfica). Os end-points secundários foram complicações relacionadas com o procedimento, reintervenções, duração de internamento e sobrevida. Resultados: A amostra incluiu 102 doentes. 97% dos FA tinham etiologia iatrogénica confirmada. 4% foram diagnosticados após intervenção pela Cirurgia Vascular e 85% após intervenção pela Cardiologia, dos quais 80% após cateterismo coronário e 13% após TAVI (transcatheter aortic valve implantation). 58% dos doentes estavam antiagregados e 50% anticoagulados. 80% dos FA ocorreram à direita. 65% afetavam a AFC e 35% a AFS ou AFP. O diâmetro médio dos FA tratados por IETH foi de 36,8mm. 29% apresentavam-se lobulados (FA complexos). Quanto às características do colo do FA, 58% tinham colo longo (≥3mm de comprimento) e 58% tinham colo estreito (<3mm de calibre). O tempo mediano até à IETH após intervenção causal foi de 6 dias. 89% apresentaram trombose primária após IETH, decrescendo para 73% à reavaliação posterior por Eco Doppler. 16% repetiram IETH, 5% mais que uma vez. Não foram documentadas complicações relacionadas com o procedimento. Os falsos aneurismas complexos associaram-se a taxas inferiores de trombose completa à reavaliação ecográfica (p=0,012). O segmento arterial afetado, realização de antitrombóticos, diâmetro do FA e características do colo não apresentaram associação com a taxa de trombose do FA. 6% dos doentes submetidos a IETH foram submetidos a tratamento cirúrgico de FA femoral (a maioria após mais de 2 IETH), num dos casos por via endovascular. O tempo mediano de internamento após 1ª IETH foi de 3 dias, superior nos doentes com etiologia iatrogénica após TAVI comparativamente a após cateterismo coronário (p=0,006). A sobrevida dos doentes submetidos a IETH foi de 97±2% a 1 mês, 86±4% a 1 ano e 60±7% a 5 anos, sem diferença significativa de acordo com etiologia do FA femoral. Conclusão: A IETH é uma alternativa segura e com elevada eficácia para o tratamento de FA pós cateterização vascular. É expectável que 1/6 dos doentes necessite de mais do que uma injeção para obter o sucesso desejado, sendo esse risco mais elevado no caso de FA complexos. Apesar dos bons resultados, alguns doentes continuarão a necessitar de correção cirúrgica.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pleiotropic Effects of Cell Wall Amidase LytA on Streptococcus pneumoniae Sensitivity to the Host Immune Response

The complement system is a key component of the host immune response for the recognition and clearance of Streptococcus pneumoniae. In this study, we demonstrate that the amidase LytA, the main pneumococcal autolysin, inhibits complement-mediated immunity independently of effects on pneumolysin by a complex process of impaired complement activation, increased binding of complement regulators, and direct degradation of complement C3. The use of human sera depleted of either C1q or factor B confirmed that LytA prevented activation of both the classical and alternative pathways, whereas pneumolysin inhibited only the classical pathway. LytA prevented binding of C1q and the acute-phase protein C-reactive protein to S. pneumoniae, thereby reducing activation of the classical pathway on the bacterial surface. In addition, LytA increased recruitment of the complement downregulators C4BP and factor H to the pneumococcal cell wall and directly cleaved C3b and iC3b to generate degradation products. As a consequence, C3b deposition and phagocytosis increased in the absence of LytA and were markedly enhanced for the lytA ply double mutant, confirming that a combination of LytA and Ply is essential for the establishment of pneumococcal pneumonia and sepsis in a murine model of infection. These data demonstrate that LytA has pleiotropic effects on complement activation, a finding which, in combination with the effects of pneumolysin on complement to assist with pneumococcal complement evasion, confirms a major role of both proteins for the full virulence of the microorganism during septicemia

Estimation of current density distribution under electrodes for external defibrillation

BACKGROUND: Transthoracic defibrillation is the most common life-saving technique for the restoration of the heart rhythm of cardiac arrest victims. The procedure requires adequate application of large electrodes on the patient chest, to ensure low-resistance electrical contact. The current density distribution under the electrodes is non-uniform, leading to muscle contraction and pain, or risks of burning. The recent introduction of automatic external defibrillators and even wearable defibrillators, presents new demanding requirements for the structure of electrodes. METHOD AND RESULTS: Using the pseudo-elliptic differential equation of Laplace type with appropriate boundary conditions and applying finite element method modeling, electrodes of various shapes and structure were studied. The non-uniformity of the current density distribution was shown to be moderately improved by adding a low resistivity layer between the metal and tissue and by a ring around the electrode perimeter. The inclusion of openings in long-term wearable electrodes additionally disturbs the current density profile. However, a number of small-size perforations may result in acceptable current density distribution. CONCLUSION: The current density distribution non-uniformity of circular electrodes is about 30% less than that of square-shaped electrodes. The use of an interface layer of intermediate resistivity, comparable to that of the underlying tissues, and a high-resistivity perimeter ring, can further improve the distribution. The inclusion of skin aeration openings disturbs the current paths, but an appropriate selection of number and size provides a reasonable compromise