Consensus must be found on intravenous fluid therapy management in trauma patients

Introduction: Trauma is an important cause of death among young people and 30-40% of this mortality rate is due to hypovolemic shock, intensified by trauma's lethal triad: Hypothermia, Acidosis, and Coagulopathy. Nurses are responsible for managing fluid therapy administration in trauma victims. The purpose of this study is to analyse the reasons why intravenous fluid therapy is recommended for trauma patients' hemodynamic stabilization. Methods: This narrative literature review included published and unpublished studies in English, Spanish or Portuguese between 1994 and January 2019. The search results were analyzed by two independent reviewers. Inclusion criteria encompasses quantitative studies involving trauma victims aged over 18 who underwent fluid therapy in a prehospital assessment context. Results&Discussion: 11 quantitative studies were included. 9 involved the use of fluid therapy for hypotension treatment and 2 of the studies analyzed involved the use of warmed fluid therapy for hypothermia treatment. The analysis performed reveals that the administration of aggressive fluid therapy seems to be responsible for the worsening of the lethal triad. In the presence of traumatic brain injury, permissive hypotension is not allowed due to the negative impact on cerebral perfusion pressure. Used as warming measure, warmed fluid therapy does not seem to have a significant impact on body temperature. Conclusions: There is no consensus regarding the administration of fluid therapy to trauma patients. This conclusion clearly supports the need to develop more randomized controlled trials in order to understand the effectiveness of such measure when it comes to control hypovolemia and hypothermia.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

In situ experiments with synchrotron high-energy x-rays of Ni-Ti alloys produced by powder metallurgy

The structural evolution that takes place during the homogenization heat treatments of powder metallurgical Ni-Ti- alloys was studied by in situ synchrotron diffraction. It is proposed to get a deeper understanding of this phenomenon by using different types of thermal/mechanical cycles

2-Amino-6-[(2,6-dichloro­phen­yl)imino]-3-oxocyclo­hexa-1,4-dienecarbaldehyde

The title compound, C13H8Cl2N2O2, was obtained by the oxidation of diclofenac {systematic name: 2-[2-(2,6-dichloro­phenyl­amino)­phen­yl]acetic acid}, an anti-inflammatory drug, with hydrogen peroxide catalysed by chlorido[5,10,15,20-tetra­kis­(2,6-dichloro­phen­yl)porphyrinato]manganese(III), using ammonium acetate as co-catalyst. The asymmetric unit contains two crystallographically independent mol­ecules of the title compound (Z′ = 2). The close packing of individual mol­ecules is mediated by a series of strong and rather directional N—H⋯Cl and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, plus weak π–π [distance between the individual double bonds of symmetry-related imino­quinone rings = 3.7604 (13) Å] and Cl⋯O inter­actions [3.0287 (18) Å]

Characterization of smart MARFOS NiTi shape memory alloys

In the present study, structural characterization of NiTi smart shape memory al-loys (SMAs), produced by an alternative powder metallurgy approach named mechanically ac-tivated reactive forging (MARFOS), was carried out by means of transmission electron micros-copy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was observed that MARFOS materials had a multiphase nanocrystalline structure. In addition, the transformation behaviour associated with the shape memory effect of the MARFOS aged mate-rials was studied with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Multiple-step martensitic trans-formations could be observed in aged materials

Nonconventional production technologies for NiTi shape memory alloys

The development of new production technologies for NiTi Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) is always challenging. Recently, we introduced two powder metallurgical (PM) processing routes involving mechanical activation of elemental powder mixtures and densification through extrusion or forging. Those processes were named Mechanically Activated Reactive Extrusion Synthesis (MARES) and Mechanically Activated Reactive FOrging Synthesis (MARFOS). Heat treatments were performed in order to adjust the B2-NiTi matrix composition, yielding a microstructure consisting of a homogeneous dispersion of Ni4Ti3 precipitates embedded in nanocrystalline B2-NiTi matrix. In the present study, we demonstrate the viability of those PM processes for producing NiTi SMAs. With insitu X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry it is shown that B2-NiTi matrix undergo a B2« R«B19 two-step phase transformatio

Searching for signatures of selection in the Iberian honey bee (Apis mellifera iberiensis) using allele-environment association approaches

In the current context of a global human-mediated environmental crisis, understanding which genes and mechanisms are responsible for adaptation to different climates will enable predictions on how organisms will respond to a rapidly changing world. This is particularly important for the honey bee, a key-stone species for ecosystem functioning and economy, which is facing increasing pressures from the effects of intensified land use, climate change, and the spread of pests and pathogens. The aim of this work is searching for signatures of selection along the genome of 87 individuals using two different allele-environment association approaches.JC-G and DH are supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) through the scholarships SFRH/BD/68682/2010 and SFRH/BD/84195/2012, respectively. This research was funded by FCT and COMPETE/QREN/EU through the project PTDC/BIABEC/ 099640/2008 and BiodivERsA-FACCE2014-91. Bioinformatic analyses were performed using resources at the Uppsala Multidisciplinary Center for Advanced Computational Science (UPPMAX)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Deterioration modeling of steel moment resisting frames using finite-length plastic hinge force-based beam-column elements

The use of empirically calibrated moment-rotation models that account for strength and stiffness deterioration of steel frame members is paramount in evaluating the performance of steel structures prone to collapse under seismic loading. These deterioration models are typically used as zero-length springs in a concentrated plasticity formulation; however, a calibration procedure is required when they are used to represent the moment-curvature (M−χ) behavior in distributed plasticity formulations because the resulting moment-rotation (M−θ) response depends on the element integration method. A plastic hinge integration method for using deterioration models in force-based elements is developed and validated using flexural stiffness modifications parameters to recover the exact solution for linear problems while ensuring objective softening response. To guarantee accurate results in both the linear and nonlinear range of response, the flexural stiffness modification parameters are computed at the beginning of the analysis as a function of the user-specified plastic hinge length. With this approach, moment-rotation models that account for strength and stiffness deterioration can be applied in conjunction with force-based plastic hinge beam-column elements to support collapse prediction without increased modeling complexity

Mechanical activation of pre-alloyed NiTi2 and elemental Ni for the synthesis of NiTi alloys

ABSTRACT: This work reports on an efficient powder metallurgy method for the synthesis of NiTi alloys, involving mechanical activation of pre-alloyed NiTi2 and elemental Ni powders (NiTi2-Ni) followed by a press-and-sinter step. The idea is to take advantage of the brittle nature of NiTi2 to promote a better efficiency of the mechanical activation process. The conventional mechanical activation route using elemental Ti and Ni powders (Ti-Ni) was also used for comparative purposes. Starting with (NiTi2-Ni) powder mixtures resulted in the formation of a predominant amorphous structure after mechanical activation at 300 rpm for 2 h. A sintered specimen consisting mainly of NiTi phase was obtained after vacuum sintering at 1050 degrees C for 0.5 h. The produced NiTi phase exhibited the martensitic transformation behavior. Using elemental Ti powders instead of pre-alloyed NiTi2 powders, the structural homogenization of the synthesized NiTi alloys was delayed. Performing the mechanical activation at 300 rpm for the (Ti-Ni) powder mixtures gave rise to the formation of composite particles consisting in dense areas of alternate fine layers of Ni and Ti. However, no significant structural modification was observed even after 16 h of mechanical activation. Only after vacuum sintering at 1050 degrees C for 6 h, the NiTi phase was observed to be the predominant phase. The higher reactivity of the mechanically activated (NiTi2-Ni) powder particles can explain the different sintering behavior of those powders compared with the mechanically activated (Ti-Ni) powders. It is demonstrated that this innovative approach allows an effective time reduction in the mechanical activation and of the vacuum sintering step.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Machine learning-assisted optimization of drug combinations in zeolite-based delivery systems for melanoma therapy

Two independent artificial neural network (ANN) models were used to determine the optimal drug combination of zeolite-based delivery systems (ZDS) for cancer therapy. The systems were based on the NaY zeolite using silver (Ag+) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) as antimicrobial and antineoplastic agents. Different ZDS samples were prepared, and their characterization indicates the successful incorporation of both pharmacologically active species without any relevant changes to the zeolite structure. Silver acts as a counterion of the negative framework, and 5-FU retains its molecular integrity. The data from the A375 cell viability assays, involving ZDS samples (solid phase), 5-FU, and Ag+ aqueous solutions (liquid phase), were used to train two independent machine learning (ML) models. Both models exhibited a high level of accuracy in predicting the experimental cell viability results, allowing the development of a novel protocol for virtual cell viability assays. The findings suggest that the incorporation of both Ag and 5-FU into the zeolite structure significantly potentiates their anticancer activity when compared to that of the liquid phase. Additionally, two optimal AgY/5-FU@Y ratios were proposed to achieve the best cell viability outcomes. The ZDS also exhibited significant efficacy against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus); the predicted combination ratio is also effective against S. aureus, underscoring the potential of this approach as a therapeutic option for cancer-associated bacterial infections.FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (UIDB/04469/2020).A.R.B. and V.I. express their gratitude to the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for providing funding through the Ph.D. Grants SFRH/BD/141058/2018 and UI/BD/152219/2021, respectively. This research work has received financial support from national funds provided by FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) under the projects UID/QUI/0686/2020 (CQ-UM), UIDB/04469/2020 (CEB), and UIDP/50026/2020 (ICVS). Additionally, the projects of BioTecNorte (operation NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004 and NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000055) are supported by the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Program (NORTE 2020) under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, cofunded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This work was also supported by the “Contrato Programa” UIDB/04050/2020 funded by national funds through the FCT I.P. The authors also thank Patrícia R. Correia for their contribution to cell viability studies

Application of reliability-based robustness assessment of steel moment resisting frame structures under post-mainshock cascading events

This paper proposes a reliability-based framework for quantifying structural robustness considering the occurrence of a major earthquake (mainshock) and subsequent cascading hazard events, such as aftershocks that are triggered by the mainshock. These events can significantly increase the probability of failure of buildings, especially for structures that are damaged during the mainshock. The application of the proposed framework is exemplified through three numerical case studies. The case studies correspond to three SAC steel moment frame buildings of three, nine, and 20 stories, which were designed to pre-Northridge codes and standards. Two-dimensional nonlinear finite-element models of the buildings are developed with the Open System for Earthquake Engineering Simulation framework (OpenSees), using a finite length plastic hinge beam model and a bilinear constitutive law with deterioration, and are subjected to multiple mainshock-aftershock seismic sequences. For the three buildings analyzed herein, it is shown that the structural reliability under a single seismic event can be significantly different from that under a sequence of seismic events. The reliability based robustness indicator shows that the structural robustness is influenced by the extent to which a structure can distribute damage