Urine sampling and collection system

This specification defines the performance and design requirements for the urine sampling and collection system engineering model and establishes requirements for its design, development, and test. The model shall provide conceptual verification of a system applicable to manned space flight which will automatically provide for collection, volume sensing, and sampling of urine

Automated biowaste sampling system improved feces collection, mass measurement and sampling

The capability of the basic automated Biowaste Sampling System (ABSS) hardware was extended and improved through the design, fabrication and test of breadboard hardware. A preliminary system design effort established the feasibility of integrating the breadboard concepts into the ABSS

Automated biowaste sampling system urine subsystem operating model, part 1

The urine subsystem automatically provides for the collection, volume sensing, and sampling of urine from six subjects during space flight. Verification of the subsystem design was a primary objective of the current effort which was accomplished thru the detail design, fabrication, and verification testing of an operating model of the subsystem

Automated biowaste sampling system, solids subsystem operating model, part 2

The detail design and fabrication of the Solids Subsystem were implemented. The system's capacity for the collection, storage or sampling of feces and vomitus from six subjects was tested and verified

Endovascular stenting of the ascending aorta for type A aortic dissections in patients at high risk for open surgery

Background: Open repair is the gold standard for type A aortic dissection (TAAD). Endovascular option has been proposed in very limited and selected TAAD patients. We report our experience with endovascular TAAD repair. Methods: Inclusion criteria were: (1) entry tear in the ascending aorta; (2) proximal landing zone of at least 2 cm; (3) distance between entry tear and brachio-cephalic trunk of at least 0.5 cm; (4) no signs of cardiac tamponade or severe aortic regurgitation and (5) no signs of aortic branches ischaemia. Patients with cardiac revascularisation from ascending aorta were excluded. Results: From April 2009 to June 2012, 37 patients with TAAD were admitted to our hospital. As many as 28 underwent surgical repair and 9 were considered at high surgical risk in a multidisciplinary meeting. Four met our inclusion criteria for an endovascular approach. Two of them had previous ascending aortic repair for TAAD and one had aortic valve replacement. Technical success was achieved in 100% of the patients. No mortality was registered during a median follow-up of 15 months (range 4-39 months), no migration of the graft and complete false lumen thrombosis of the ascending aorta in three patients. Conclusion: Endovascular treatment of TAAD is challenging but feasible in a selected subset of patients. Further research remains mandatory. © 2013 European Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Continuous two-step anaerobic digestion (TSAD) of organic market waste: rationalising process parameters

Experimental tests on continuous two-stage anaerobic digestion (TSAD) were conducted, to assess its energetic performance, using organic market waste as a substrate. The systems were tested to ascertain the effects of external stressors, which allow the separation into two different microorganism consortia, that is, hydrogen-producing bacteria and hydrogen-consuming bacteria, to be maintained. Two bioreactors were run in series under different operational conditions, including pH, mixing rate, and initial inoculum, and three different decreasing hydraulic retention times were considered, with a fixed ratio of 1:10 in volume between the first bioreactor (hydrogen) and the second one (methane). The performance of the whole system was assessed over > 140 days to monitor the stability of the process, in terms of the reduction of the volatile solids and the energy productivity for each step. Each tested condition was scored using two parameters: efficiency and efficacy. The first corresponds to the fraction of recovered energy of the available (η) and the second (ξ) was used to compare the energy produced by the TSAD with that of one-step anaerobic digestion. The efficiency resulted to be (24–32)%, while the efficacy proved to be around 1.20. The share of energy, under the form of hydrogen, compared to the total energy recovery, was in the (8–12) % range. Finally, the oscillation behaviour of the quasi-steady-state condition was analysed in terms of the Fano factor to establish the most stable conditions

The Gore Hybrid Vascular Graft in renovisceral debranching for complex aortic aneurysm repair

Objective This study reports our initial experience with the Gore Hybrid Vascular Graft (GHVG; W. L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff, Ariz) for staged hybrid open renovisceral debranching and endovascular aneurysm repair in patients affected by thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms and pararenal abdominal aortic aneurysms (PAAAs). Methods Between December 2012 and December 2013, we analyzed outcomes of 13 patients who underwent open surgical debranching of renovisceral vessels for thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm and PAAAs. All patients were considered at high risk for conventional surgery. Inclusion criterion was treatment by open surgical debranching of at least one visceral artery (renal artery, superior mesenteric artery [SMA], or celiac trunk [CT]) using the GHVG. In a second step, the aortic stent graft was implanted to exclude the aneurysm. If required, parallel grafts to the remaining visceral arteries were deployed in the same procedure. One patient had a symptomatic descending thoracic aortic aneurysm and another had a ruptured PAAA. Perioperative measured outcomes were immediate technical success rate, mortality, and morbidity. Median follow-up was 24.8 months (range, 0-15; mean, 8.2; standard deviation, 4 months). Results All open surgical debranching of renovisceral vessels were completed as intended. GHVG was used to revascularize 20 visceral vessels in 13 patients with a mean of 1.54 vessels per patient. Six renal arteries (30%; 2 right and 4 left), 9 SMAs (45%), and 5 CTs (25%) were debranched. In nine of 13 (66%) patients, other renovisceral arteries were addressed with chimney/periscope, Viabahn Open Revascularization Technique, and end-to-side anastomosis. Two of 13 patients (15%) died of bowel ischemia. Neither patient had GHVG revascularization to the SMA or CT. Perioperative complications occurred in three patients (23%; 1 renal hematoma, 1 respiratory insufficiency, and 1 small-bowel ischemia related to a SMA GHVG thrombosis). At 24 months, estimated survival was 85%, and estimated primary and secondary patency were 94% and 100%, respectively. Conclusions This limited series extracted from a more consistent hybrid procedure experience showed a mortality rate similar to most recent reports. Technical feasibility and the short-term patency rate of the GHVG for renovisceral debranching during staged hybrid open and endovascular procedures were satisfactory. Use of GHVGs may represent a useful revascularization adjunct to minimize visceral ischemia in these challenging patients

Laminar Necrosis and Hypoxic Damage of the Placenta: A Case-Control Study

The aim of this study is to verify the role of laminar necrosis (LN) in the diagnosis of hypoxic damage of the placenta. This is a retrospective case-control study in which 50 cases with laminar necrosis were compared with 100 gestational age-matched controls without laminar necrosis in a 1:2 ratio. The parameters analyzed were: the presence of other placental lesions, obstetric characteristics and neonatal outcome. For each of the 50 cases, the area affected by the lesion was detected, and the lesions were classified into three groups based on the morphology and time of onset of the lesion in order to understand whether these characteristics of the lesion had a clinical-pathology. The results showed that including the search for LN among placental lesions generally examined is useful to guide the pathologist in the diagnosis of placental dysfunction of hypoxic origin

Induction therapy and stem cell mobilization in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma

Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is considered the standard therapy for younger patients with newly diagnosed symptomatic multiple myeloma (MM). The introduction into clinical practice of novel agents, such as the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib and the immunomodulatory derivatives (IMiDs) thalidomide and lenalidomide, has significantly contributed to major advances in MM therapy and prognosis. These novel agents are incorporated into induction regimens to enhance the depth of response before ASCT and further improve post-ASCT outcomes. Between January 2000 and November 2011, 65 patients with MM were transplanted in the Department of Biomedical Science and Clinical Oncology at the University of Bari. According to Durie-Salmon, 60 patients had stage III of disease and 5 stage II. Only 7 patients were in stage B (renal failure). Induction regimens that were administered in two or more cycles were VAD (vincristine, adriamycin, and dexamethasone), Thal-Dex (thalidomide, dexamethasone), Len-Dex (lenalidomide, dexamethasone), Vel-Dex (bortezomib, dexamethasone), VTD (bortezomib, thalidomide, and dexamethasone), and PAD (bortezomib, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, and dexamethasone). In mobilization procedure, the patients received cyclophosphamide and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). The number of cells collected through two or more leukapheresess, response after induction, and toxicity were evaluated to define the more adequate up-front induction regimen in transplantation-eligible MM patients. © Copyright 2012 Roberto Ria et al