Non-isothermal drop impact and evaporation on polymer nanofiber mats

The work describes the experimental and theoretical investigation of water drop impact onto electrospun polymer nanofiber mats deposited on heated stainless-steel foils. The measurements encompass water spreading over and inside the mat, as well as the corresponding thermal field. The results show that the presence of polymer nanofiber mats prevents receding motion of drops after their complete spreading and promotes the moisture spreading inside the mat over a large area of the heater, which facilitates a tenfold enhancement of heat removal as the latent heat of drop evaporation

Outcomes of normothermic machine perfusion of liver grafts in repeat liver transplantation (NAPLES initiative).

BACKGROUND Retransplantation candidates are disadvantaged owing to lack of good-quality liver grafts. Strategies that can facilitate transplantation of suboptimal grafts into retransplant candidates require investigation. The aim was to determine whether late liver retransplantation can be performed safely with suboptimal grafts, following normothermic machine perfusion. METHODS A prospectively enrolled group of patients who required liver retransplantation received a suboptimal graft preserved via normothermic machine perfusion. This group was compared with both historical and contemporaneous cohorts of patient who received grafts preserved by cold storage. The primary outcome was 6-month graft and patient survival. RESULTS The normothermic machine perfusion group comprised 26 patients. The historical (cold storage 1) and contemporaneous (cold storage 2) groups comprised 31 and 25 patients respectively. The 6-month graft survival rate did not differ between groups (cold storage 1, 27 of 31, cold storage 2, 22 of 25; normothermic machine perfusion, 22 of 26; P = 0.934). This was despite the normothermic machine perfusion group having significantly more steatotic grafts (8 of 31, 7 of 25, and 14 of 26 respectively; P = 0.006) and grafts previously declined by at least one other transplant centre (5 of 31, 9 of 25, and 21 of 26; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION In liver retransplantation, normothermic machine perfusion can safely expand graft options without compromising short-term outcomes