The use of vacuum-assisted wound closure to enhance skin graft acceptance in a horse

A 16-year-old horse was admitted to the clinic of the Department of Surgery and Anesthesiology of Domestic Animals of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (Ghent University) for the treatment of a very large, non-healing wound extending over the dorsomedial and dorsolateral aspects of the left metatarsus. Surgical debridement of exuberant granulation tissue and new bone was performed under general anesthesia, followed by standard wound care under a bandage. Once a new bed of healthy granulation had formed, skin grafting was performed using the punch graft method. Due to the presence of a significant amount of wound exudate, cast immobilization was considered to be contraindicated. Instead, vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy was used as a method of securing the skin grafts to the wound bed during the first days post-operatively. After five days of VAC therapy, the wound dressing was removed and an acceptance of nearly 100% of the punch grafts was observed. Complete epithelialization of the wound was evident 42 days after skin grafting. As far as the authors know, this is the first report describing the use of VAC therapy as a method of wound management in combination with punch grafting on the distal limb of a horse

Diàmetre unilateral en digrafs de doble pas

The main objective of this research work is to study the unilateral diameter in the (Delta,D) and (Delta,N) problems for double-step digraphs. A digraph is a network consisting of vertices and directed edges (called arcs). In the case of a graph, edges have no direction. A double-step digraph consists in a set of N vertices and arcs of the forms (i,i+a) and (i,i+b), with and a and b positive integers called "steps", that is, there exist arcs from the vertex i to the vertices i+a and i+b (all the operations are modulo N). This digraph is denoted by G(N;a,b). The diameter of a graph is the shortest path between two of the farthest vertices. In the diameter of a digraph, we must consider that the edges have directions. The unilateral diameter of a digraph is the minimum between the diameter (with directions) of the digraph and the diameter (with directions) of its converse digraph (obtained by changing the directions of all arcs). The (Delta,D) and (Delta,N) problems have been extensively studied for graphs and digraphs, but not in the case of double-step digraphs considering the unilateral diameter. In our context, the first problem is to find the maximum number of vertices N given an unilateral diameter D^* and a degree Delta=2, that is, to find out the two steps of a double-step digraph that maximize the number of vertices for these unilateral diameter and degree. The second problem is to find the minimum unilateral diameter D^* for a double-step digraph given a number of vertices N and a degree Delta=2, namely, to find out the two steps of a double- step digraph that minimize the unilateral diameter D^* for these number of vertices and degree.En termes generals, l'objectiu d'aquest treball és estudiar el diàmetre unilateral en els problemes i per al cas de digrafs de doble pas. Un digraf és una xarxa constituïda per vèrtexs i per arestes amb direcció (anomenades arcs). En el cas de grafs les arestes no tenen direcció. Un digraf de doble pas consta de vèrtexs i un conjunt d'arcs de la forma i , amb i enters positius anomenats "passos'', és a dir, que el vèrtex és adjacent cap als vèrtexs i (les operacions s'han d'entendre sempre mòdul ). Aquest digraf es denota . El diàmetre d'un graf és la mínima distància possible que hi ha entre dos dels vèrtexs més allunyats entre si. En el diàmetre d'un digraf hem de tenir en compte que els arcs tenen direcció. El diàmetre unilateral d'un digraf és el mínim entre el diàmetre (amb direccions) del digraf i el diàmetre (amb direccions) del seu digraf convers (obtingut canviant totes les direccions dels arcs). El problemes i han estat molt estudiats en grafs i en digrafs, però no en el cas dels digrafs de doble pas considerant el diàmetre unilateral. En el nostre context, el primer problema consisteix a trobar el màxim nombre de vèrtexs per a un diàmetre unilateral i el grau donats, és a dir, trobar quins són els dos passos d'un digraf de doble pas que fan que el nombre de vèrtexs sigui màxim per a aquests diàmetre unilateral i grau. El segon problema consisteix a trobar el mínim diàmetre unilateral en digrafs de doble pas per a un nombre de vèrtexs i el grau donats, és a dir, trobar quins són els dos passos d'un digraf de doble pas que fan que el diàmetre unilateral sigui mínim per a aquests nombre de vèrtexs i grau

Quantum computational chemical calculations to estimate the necessary energy for hydrogen storage in the metal hydrides AlH3ScH3 and Al2H6

Hydrogen storage describes the methods of storing H2 for subsequent use. Hydrogen storage is the main issue that needs to be solved before the technology can be implemented into key areas such as transport. The high energy density, good stability and reversibility of metal hydrides make them appealing as hydrogen storage materials. Metal hydrides have the potential for reversible on‐board hydrogen storage and release at low temperatures and pressures. The aim of this thesis is to describe, document and carry out the previous theoretical quantum chemical calculations by density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP level of theory with 6‐311++G(3df,3pd) basis set for aluminium and hydrogen, and a SDD pseudopotential for scandium in order to; first of all, optimize the molecular structures; secondly, predict the vibrational frequencies of the optimized structures and finally estimate the energies needed to absorb and release hydrogen from both metal hydrides AlH3ScH3 and Al2H6. Our calculated results show that the hydrogen absorption energy value for the formation of AlH3ScH3 (‐47,479kcal/mol) is higher than the value for the formation of Al2H6 (‐33,481 kcal/mol). These were not the expected results because the energy has been increased, and thus the operation temperatures are also higher. The transition metal scandium in the hydride does not decrease the hydrogenation energy due to cation matrix that seems to be the responsible for the thermal stability.Outgoin

Printed ozone dosimeter

This project has been focused on to investigate and learn the main characteristics of ozone and its properties to disinfect a close environment, like a chamber, a car… In order to do that, the study has been divided into two main parts: theoretical and experimental. As it is shown along the present document, the theoretical part compiles the theoretical fundaments of ozone, the measurement of ozone, the disinfection of air using and ozone and the ozone sensors and indicators. On the other hand, the experimental part has been focused on to prepare an ozone dosimeter and calibrate its sensitivity using a spectrometer and to print a prepared ozone dosimeter.Outgoin

Pla de gestió i manteniment del parc de Can Gambús

Can Gambús és un parc públic d’uns 100000 m² situat a la zona nord-oest del municipi de Sabadell i ubicat entre una zona agrícola i zona urbana. Es tracta d’un parc de recent creació i sense cap pla de conservació específic assignat fins al moment. L’objectiu del treball és elaborar el pla de gestió i manteniment de la vegetació del parc per obtenir un aspecte paisatgístic adequat respectant les expectatives de disseny realitzades pels arquitectes, les necessitats pròpies de l’evolució dels elements vegetals i les exigències de la població com a parc públic. El pla de gestió fa un anàlisi dels elements vegetals que hi ha al parc i se’ls hi relaciona i es defineixen totes aquelles tasques que es faran per obtenir l’objectiu ornamental desitjat. Per una altra banda, en el pla de manteniment es fan uns calendaris on es veuen les freqüències de totes aquelles tasques ja descrites. Finalment, s’enumeraran unes propostes que serviran per facilitar o millorar alguns aspectes del parc

The use of facial characteristics as engendering strategies in Phoenician-Punic studies

In this paper, we consider four categories of Phoenician-Punic artifacts and how they have been engendered in modern scholarship, specifically with regard to facial characteristics: mold-made musician figurines, bottle-shaped figurines, and masks both of terracotta and painted ostrich eggshell.1 Although we shall not discuss these objects in depth, we contend that it is worthwhile to consider them together in order to draw attention to the strategies used to engender these objects in Phoenician-Punic studies, as they present some common facial characteristics which have been interpreted quite differently by scholars in terms of their relationship to gender

Music, gender and rituals in the ancient Mediterranean. Revisiting the Punic evidence

Music, playing instruments and performing rituals are bodily activities and as such they can be studied stressing their corporeal features. Music and sounds are usually essential elements in rites, and bodies play an essential role in bringing together music and rituals. We explore these issues focusing on Punic terracotta figurines playing musical instruments recovered from the island of Ibiza (fifth to third centuries BC)

Rééducation après une blessure par brûlure: perspectives et expériences propres des patients : travail de Bachelor

Introduction : Les patients brûlés graves nécessitent une prise en charge hospitalière puis ambulatoire longue et complexe. Durant leur rééducation, ces patients passent par différentes étapes, auxquelles correspondent divers types d’expériences marquantes. Objectif : Identifier la nature des expériences vécues par les patients brûlés pendant leur rééducation. Méthode : Revue de la littérature qualitative, analyse des données par la méthode d’analyse thématique. Résultats : L’analyse des résultats des quatre études incluses a fait émerger cinq tendances. Trois thèmes regroupent les expériences vécues durant l’hospitalisation : «plusieurs combats à mener de front», «être actif pour guérir» et «influence des tiers». Les deux autres thèmes regroupent les expériences vécues après le retour à domicile : «ce qui reste malgré tout» et «la perception de la vie a changé». Discussion : La nature des expériences vécues est liée au stade de la rééducation. Les expériences elles-mêmes sont de trois types : les expériences qui constituent un défi, celles qui facilitent ou entravent le processus de rééducation, et cel les qui émergent après avoir traversé ce processus, résultant en une perception de la vie modifiée. Conclusion : Les expériences vécues par les patients brûlés durant leur rééducation sont multiples et leur nature évolue en fonction du contexte temporel. Une meilleure compréhension par les professionnels de la santé des expériences vécues par ces patients peut avoir une influence positive sur l’aspect humain de la prise en charge