Prevention of nasal trauma due to CPAP in a preterm newborn: case report

The administration of continuous positive airway pressure through nasal CPAP has been used in the treatment of neonatal respiratory diseases as a means of providing ventilatory support to preterm infants, producing adequate gas exchange, decreasing the complications induced by invasive mechanical ventilation and reducing bronchopulmonary dysplasia. The nasal prong is the most common device used to connect to the airways with the purpose of providing mechanical ventilation. Nasal prongs are available in different sizes and made of lightweight and flexible material. Despite its advantages, this device can cause trauma to the nose causing nasal discomfort and disfigurement. We report the case of an extremely low birth weight preterm who used a system of nasal CPAP developed by the nurses of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the HCPA to protect the skin, mucosa, and nasal septum. Protection was successful

Resistance exercise load reduction and exercise-induced micro-damage

High volumes of resistance exercise increase muscle hypertrophy, independent of the extent of muscle damage. We compared volume load and markers of muscle damage after resistance exercise using two load reduction strategies versus a constant intensity. Methods: Twenty-seven trained men (age = 23.4±3.5 years, body mass = 74.5±10.7 Kg, height = 174±8 cm, 10 RM = 211±40 Kg) completed one weekly bout of 4 sets of leg press exercise under three loading schemes in a randomized, counterbalanced order over a three-week period. The loading schemes were (a) constant load for all sets (CON), (b) 5% load reduction after each set (LR5), and (c) 10% load reduction after each set (LR10). Volume load, muscle soreness (SOR), and range of motion (ROM) at the knee were assessed after each bout. Results: Volume load was significantly different amongst all conditions (CON = 6799±1583 Kg; LR5 = 8753±1789 Kg; 10896±2262 Kg; F=31,731; p<0.001). ROM and SOR were significantly different among conditions, with LR5 and LR10 producing greater preservations of ROM (p =<0.001) and less SOR (p < 0.001). These data may support the use of load reductions when training for hypertrophy

Insuficiência renal aguda secundária à síndrome compartimental abdominal: relato de quatro casos e revisão da literatura

We report on 4 cases of abdominal compartment syndrome complicated by acute renal failure that were promptly reversed by different abdominal decompression methods. Case 1: A 57-year-old obese woman in the post-operative period after giant incisional hernia correction with an intra-abdominal pressure of 24 mm Hg. She was sedated and curarized, and the intra-abdominal pressure fell to 15 mm Hg. Case 2: A 73-year-old woman with acute inflammatory abdomen was undergoing exploratory laparotomy when a hypertensive pneumoperitoneum was noticed. During the surgery, enhancement of urinary output was observed. Case 3: An 18-year-old man who underwent hepatectomy and developed coagulopathy and hepatic bleeding that required abdominal packing, developed oliguria with a transvesical intra-abdominal pressure of 22 mm Hg. During reoperation, the compresses were removed with a prompt improvement in urinary flow. Case 4: A 46-year-old man with hepatic cirrhosis was admitted after incisional hernia repair with intra-abdominal pressure of 16 mm Hg. After paracentesis, the intra-abdominal pressure fell to 11 mm Hg.Descrevemos quatro casos de síndrome compartimental abdominal complicadas por insuficiência renal aguda e prontamente revertidas por diferentes métodos de descompressão abdominal. Caso 1: paciente obesa de 57 anos no pós-operatório de correção de hérnia incisional gigante com pressão intra-abdominal de 24 mm Hg. Após sedação e curarização, a PIA caiu para 15 mm Hg. Caso 2: paciente de 73 anos com abdômem agudo inflamatório submetida à laparotomia exploradora quando foi diagnosticado pneumoperitôneo hipertensivo. Durante a cirurgia houve melhora da diurese. Caso 3: paciente de 18 anos submetido a hepactetomia apresentou coagulopatia e sangramento hepático necessitando tamponamento com compressas, evoluindo com oligúria e PIA de 22 mm Hg. Na reoperação, após remoção das compressas houve melhora importante do fluxo urinário. Caso 4: paciente de 46 anos com cirrose hepática foi admitido após correção de hérnia incisional com pressão intra-abdominal de 16 mm Hg. Após paracentese, a pressão intra-abdominal caiu para 11 mm Hg

Estratégias para reduzir a mortalidade embrionária em bovinos: II. Protocolo para reduzir a mortalidade embrionária em vacas de leite e em receptoras de embrião.

A mortalidade embrionária precoce é a maior causa de perdas reprodutivas em bovinos e ela relaciona-se, principalmente com os distúrbios do reconhecimento materno da prenhez originados em disfunções do corpo lúteo ovariano. Recentemente, foi desenvolvido na Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste, um protocolo hormonal que melhora a função luteínica e permite aumentar a oportunidade para um reconhecimento materno da prenhez bem sucedido. O protocolo baseia-se na administração de hormônios reprodutivos (GnRH e hCG) em ocasiões estratégicas após a ovulação. Foram realizados dois experimentos, um com vacas leiteiras e outro com receptoras de embrião, para testar e validar o uso desse protocolo. Após a aplicação do tratamento houve aumento nas taxas de prenhez. Os resultados detalhados do uso dessa prática estão descritos no presente Boletim de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento. O protocolo testado traduz-se numa prática pecuária de controle das funções ovariana e uterina que otimiza a eficiência reprodutiva de vacas leiteiras e de receptoras de embrião.bitstream/item/43513/1/Boletim27.pd

Strain sensors based on knocked down carbon nanotubes and bucky papers thin films

Recently, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) thin films have been widely applied in sensing applications due to their piezoresistive response. Furthermore, CNT anisotropic electric properties, due to its alignment, can provide useful information regarding strain direction. We present a comparative study between knocked down vertically aligned CNT based sensor, reported in our previous work [1], and CNT bucky papers (BP) based sensors. For this purpose, commercial multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were dispersed in two different solvents, dimethylformamide (DMF) and ethanol, vacuum filtrated and dried. From these freestanding BP thin films, 10x10 mm squares were cut off and transferred to polyimide (PI) films. The relative electric resistance response and sensitivity of the strained samples was measured and compared with the knocked down CNT/PI based sensor. Moreover, the morphology of the samples was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed a high sensitivity to strain, however knocked down CNT/PI based sensor presented better mechanical performance and an anisotropic behaviour that can be used to infer strain direction.FCT, Programa MIT Portugal, projeto "IAMAT (Introduction of Advanced Materials Technologies into New Product Development for the Mobility Industries

Short-Circuit Impedance of Power Transformers: the Fractional Order Calculus Approach

First IFAC Workshop on Fractional Differentiation and Its Application - 19-21 July 2004, Enseirb, Bordeaux, France - FDA'04This paper reports investigation on the modeling of the short circuit impedance of power transformers, using fractional order calculus, analyzing the influence of the diffusion phenomena in the windings. This aims to better characterize the medium frequency range behavior of leakage inductances of power transformer models, which include terms to represent the magnetic field diffusion in the windings. Calculated and measured values are shown and compared

Gross primary production using related vegetation indices.

Site description; Micrometeorological and flux measurements; Hyperspectral reflectance measurements; Vegetation indexes

Surface photochemistry: benzophenone as a probe for the study of silica and reversed-phase silica surfaces

This work reports the use of benzophenone, a very well characterized probe, to study new hosts: two reversed-phase silicas. Laser-induced room temperature luminescence of argon purged solid powdered samples of benzophenone adsorbed onto the two different reversed-phase silicas, RP-18 and RP-8, revealed the existence of a low energy emission band in contrast with the benzophenone adsorbed on 60 A pore silica, where only triplet benzophenone emits. This low energy emission band was identified as the fluorescence of the ketyl radical of benzophenone, which is formed as the result of a hydrogen atom abstraction reaction of the triplet excited benzophenone from the alkyl groups of the surface of the reversed silicas. Such emission does not exist for benzophenone adsorbed onto 60 A pore silica. Room temperature phosphorescence was obtained in argon purged samples for all the surfaces under use. The decay times of the benzophenone emission vary greatly with the alkylation of the silica surface when compared with "normal" silica surface. A lifetime distributions analysis has shown that the shortest lifetimes for the benzophenone emission exist in the former case. Triplet-triplet absorption of benzophenone was detected in all cases and is the predominant absorption in the case of 60 A pore silica, while benzophenone ketyl radical formation occurs in the case of the reversed silicas. Diffuse reflectance laser. ash photolysis and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques provided complementary information, the former about transient species and the latter regarding the final products formed after laser irradiation, both at 266 nm or 355 nm. Product analysis and identification show that the degradation photoproducts are dependent on the excitation wavelength, the photochemistry being much more rich and complex in the 266 nm excitation case, where an alpha-cleavage reaction occurs. A detailed mechanistic analysis is proposed