Bilateral pneumothoraces secondary to latrogenic buffalo chest. An unusual complication of median sternotomy and subclavian vein catheterization.

Pneumothorax following subclavian venipuncture is a well-known risk. Less well recognized is the potential for life-threatening bilateral pneumothoraces occurring at the time of subclavian vein catheterization in patients who have previously undergone median sternotomy. Inadvertent bilateral pleural entry at the time of sternotomy may result in a common pleural space which subsequently places the patient in special jeopardy when the complication of pneumothorax occurs. This report documents the successful management of this important sequence of complications associated with now widely applied therapeutic interventions

Fractional reaction-diffusion equations

In a series of papers, Saxena, Mathai, and Haubold (2002, 2004a, 2004b) derived solutions of a number of fractional kinetic equations in terms of generalized Mittag-Leffler functions which provide the extension of the work of Haubold and Mathai (1995, 2000). The subject of the present paper is to investigate the solution of a fractional reaction-diffusion equation. The results derived are of general nature and include the results reported earlier by many authors, notably by Jespersen, Metzler, and Fogedby (1999) for anomalous diffusion and del-Castillo-Negrete, Carreras, and Lynch (2003) for reaction-diffusion systems with L\'evy flights. The solution has been developed in terms of the H-function in a compact form with the help of Laplace and Fourier transforms. Most of the results obtained are in a form suitable for numerical computation.Comment: LaTeX, 17 pages, corrected typo

Influence of the coorbital resonance on the rotation of the Trojan satellites of Saturn

The Cassini spacecraft collects high resolution images of the saturnian satellites and reveals the surface of these new worlds. The shape and rotation of the satellites can be determined from the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem data, employing limb coordinates and stereogrammetric control points. This is the case for Epimetheus (Tiscareno et al. 2009) that opens elaboration of new rotational models (Tiscareno et al. 2009; Noyelles 2010; Robutel et al. 2011). Especially, Epimetheus is characterized by its horseshoe shape orbit and the presence of the swap is essential to introduce explicitly into rotational models. During its journey in the saturnian system, Cassini spacecraft accumulates the observational data of the other satellites and it will be possible to determine the rotational parameters of several of them. To prepare these future observations, we built rotational models of the coorbital (also called Trojan) satellites Telesto, Calypso, Helene, and Polydeuces, in addition to Janus and Epimetheus. Indeed, Telesto and Calypso orbit around the L_4 and L_5 Lagrange points of Saturn-Tethys while Helene and Polydeuces are coorbital of Dione. The goal of this study is to understand how the departure from the Keplerian motion induced by the perturbations of the coorbital body, influences the rotation of these satellites. To this aim, we introduce explicitly the perturbation in the rotational equations by using the formalism developed by Erdi (1977) to represent the coorbital motions, and so we describe the rotational motion of the coorbitals, Janus and Epimetheus included, in compact form

Optimization of Nafion Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Design and Microfabrication

Nafion is a solid electrolyte polymer that can be used as a sensor membrane in microfabricated electrochemical oxygen sensors. It allows ions to be transported between the sensor electrodes and removes the need for a liquid electrolyte. Here we used a series of small square Nafion test structures, fabricated on a variety of materials using standard thin-film patterning techniques, to optimize the design and processing of Nafion membranes. Measurements showed that the choice of photoresist developer is critical. Use of diluted MF-26A developer provided the most effective and manufacturable process. The underlying material also had an influence on robustness, with silicon dioxide and platinum giving the longest membrane lifetime under simulated conditions of use. Membrane size had no clear effect on lifetime, and under optimal processing conditions there were minimal failures even under continuous mechanical agitation for up to six weeks. We also developed test electrodes covered by Nafion, and showed that they were effective at supporting electrochemical oxygen detection

In vivo validation of a miniaturized electrochemical oxygen sensor for measuring intestinal oxygen tension

Recent advances in the fields of electronics and microfabrication techniques have led to the development of implantable medical devices for use within the field of precision medicine. Monitoring visceral surface tissue O2 tension (ptO2) by means of an implantable sensor is potentially useful in many clinical situations including the peri-operative management of patients undergoing intestinal resection and anastomosis. This concept could provide a means by which treatment could be tailored to individual patients. This study describes the in vivo validation of a novel miniaturised electrochemical O2 sensor to provide real-time data on intestinal ptO2. A single O2 sensor was placed onto the serosal surface of the small intestine of anaesthetised rats that were exposed to ischaemic (superior mesenteric artery occlusion) and hypoxaemic (alterations in inspired fractional O2 concentrations) insults. Control experiments demonstrated that the sensors function and remain stable in an in vivo environment. Intestinal ptO2 decreased following superior mesenteric artery occlusion and with reductions in inspired O2 concentrations. These results were reversible after reinstating blood flow or increasing inspired O2 concentrations. We have successfully developed an anaesthetised rat intestinal ischaemic and hypoxic model for validation of a miniaturised O2 sensor to provide real-time measurement of intestinal ptO2. Our results support further validation of the sensors in physiological conditions using a large animal model to provide evidence of their use in clinical applications where monitoring visceral surface tissue O2 tension is important

High speed single pixel imaging with advanced microLED digital light projector

We demonstrate high speed single pixel imaging using an advanced microLED-on-CMOS array. We show 128x128 pixel image reconstruction at an effective frame rate of 3.8fps and lower resolution reconstructions at over 120fps. The method is demonstrated to be compatible with common compressive imaging techniques

Enhancement of low-mass dileptons in heavy-ion collisions

Using a relativistic transport model for the expansion stage of S+Au collisions at 200 GeV/nucleon, we show that the recently observed enhancement of low-mass dileptons by the CERES collaboration can be explained by the decrease of vector meson masses in hot and dense hadronic matter.Comment: 12 pages, RevTeX, 3 figures available from [email protected]

Test structures for optimizing polymer electrolyte performance in a microfabricated electrochemical oxygen sensor

Test structures were produced for optimizing the design and fabrication of a patterned solid polymer electrolyte in an electrochemical oxygen sensor. Measurements showed that choice of photoresist developer and the underlying insulator material affected durability of the polymer structures. Test electrodes covered by the polymer were effective at supporting electrochemical oxygen detection