Electrochemical and photoelectrochemical micromachining of silicon in HF electroytes

Thesis (Sc. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 1994.Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-228).by Richard Mlcak.Sc.D

Simulation of Three-Dimensional Laminar Flow and Heat Transfer in an Array of Parallel Microchannels

Heat transfer and fluid flow are studied numerically for a repeating microchannel array with water as the circulating fluid. Generalized transport equations are discretized and solved in three dimensions for velocities, pressure, and temperature. The SIMPLE algorithm is used to link pressure and velocity fields, and a thermally repeated boundary condition is applied along the repeating direction to model the repeating nature of the geometry. The computational domain includes solid silicon and fluid regions. The fluid region consists of a microchannel with a hydraulic diameter of 85.58μm. Independent parameters that were varied in this study are channel aspect ratio and Reynolds number. The aspect ratios range from 0.10 to 1.0 and Reynolds number ranges from 50 to 400. A constant heat flux of 90 W/cm2 is applied to the northern face of the computational domain, which simulates thermal energy generation from an integrated circuit. A simplified model is validated against analytical fully developed flow results and a grid independence study is performed for the complete model. The numerical results for apparent friction coefficient and convective thermal resistance at the channel inlet and exit for the 0.317 aspect ratio are compared with the experimental data. The numerical results closely match the experimental data. This close matching lends credibility to this method for predicting flows and temperatures of water and the silicon substrate in microchannels. Apparent friction coefficients linearly increase with Reynolds number, which is explained by increased entry length for higher Reynolds number flows. The mean temperature of water in the microchannels also linearly increases with channel length after a short thermal entry region. Inlet and outlet thermal resistance values monotonically decrease with increasing Reynolds number and increase with increasing aspect ratio. Thermal and friction coefficient results for large aspect ratios (1 and 0.75) do not differ significantly, but results for small aspect ratios (0.1 and 0.25) notably differ from results of other aspect ratios

Regulated Electric Drainage and its Interference with Track Circuits

Electric drainage is a power electronic device used to protect underground metal devices (such as piping) from the corrosive effects of stray currents. Stray currents are usually caused by DC electric traction, such as trams or railways. In places where stray currents leave the underground device and return into rails, they cause significant electrochemical corrosion of buried devices. The principle of electric drainage is based on electrical connection between the underground device and electric traction rails, which ensures that current flows through this connection, instead of flowing into the ground. Nowadays, the most widely used type is regulated electric drainage, where current is regulated by means of Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). Because of this modulation, current flowing through the drainage contains harmonic components with different frequencies. In modern railways, track circuits are often used as an important part of the track security system. For safe operation, it is necessary to ensure that frequencies generated by the drainage do not interfere with track circuits. This paper describes the design of a regulated drainage control system, with regard to its compatibility with track circuits and this paper contains related computer simulations and discussion of the result

Co-administration of vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam is associated with increased renal dysfunction in adult and pediatric burn patients

Background: Burn patients are prone to infections which often necessitate broad antibiotic coverage. Vancomycin is a common antibiotic after burn injury and is administered alone (V), or in combination with imipenem-cilastin (V/IC) or piperacillin-tazobactam (V/PT). Sparse reports indicate that the combination V/PT is associated with increased renal dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term impact of the three antibiotic administration types on renal dysfunction. Methods: All pediatric and adult patients admitted to our centers between 2004 and 2016 with a burn injury were included in this retrospective review if they met the criteria of exposition to either V, V/IC, or V/PT for at least 48 h, had normal baseline creatinine, and no pre-existing renal dysfunction. Creatinine was monitored for 7 days after initial exposure; the absolute and relative increase was calculated, and patient renal outcomes were classified according to the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria depending on creatinine increases and estimated creatinine clearance. Secondary endpoints (demographic and clinical data, incidences of septicemia, and renal replacement therapy) were analyzed. Antibiotic doses were modeled in logistic and linear multivariable regression models to predict categorical KDIGO events and relative creatinine increase. Results: Out of 1449 patients who were screened, 718 met the inclusion criteria, 246 were adults, and 472 were children. Between the study cohorts V, V/IC, and V/PT, patient characteristics at admission were comparable. V/PT administration was associated with a statistically higher serum creatinine, and lower creatinine clearance compared to patients receiving V alone or V/IC in adults and children after burn injury. The incidence of KDIGO stages 1, 2, and 3 was higher after V/PT treatment. In children, the incidence of KDIGO stage 3 following administration of V/PT was greater than after V/IC. In adults, the incidence of renal replacement therapy was higher after V/PT compared with V or V/IC. Multivariate modeling demonstrated that V/PT is an independent predictor of renal dysfunction. Conclusion: Co-administration of vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam is associated with increased renal dysfunction in pediatric and adult burn patients when compared to vancomycin alone or vancomycin plus imipenem-cilastin. The mechanism of this increased nephrotoxicity remains elusive and warrants further scientific evaluation

Long-Term Persistance of the Pathophysiologic Response to Severe Burn Injury

Main contributors to adverse outcomes in severely burned pediatric patients are profound and complex metabolic changes in response to the initial injury. It is currently unknown how long these conditions persist beyond the acute phase post-injury. The aim of the present study was to examine the persistence of abnormalities of various clinical parameters commonly utilized to assess the degree hypermetabolic and inflammatory alterations in severely burned children for up to three years post-burn to identify patient specific therapeutic needs and interventions. Nine-hundred seventy-seven severely burned pediatric patients with burns over 30% of the total body surface admitted to our institution between 1998 and 2008 were enrolled in this study and compared to a cohort non-burned, non-injured children. Demographics and clinical outcomes, hypermetabolism, body composition, organ function, inflammatory and acute phase responses were determined at admission and subsequent regular intervals for up to 36 months post-burn. Statistical analysis was performed using One-way ANOVA, Student's t-test with Bonferroni correction where appropriate with significance accepted at p<0.05. Resting energy expenditure, body composition, metabolic markers, cardiac and organ function clearly demonstrated that burn caused profound alterations for up to three years post-burn demonstrating marked and prolonged hypermetabolism, p<0.05. Along with increased hypermetabolism, significant elevation of cortisol, catecholamines, cytokines, and acute phase proteins indicate that burn patients are in a hyperinflammatory state for up to three years post-burn p<0.05. Severe burn injury leads to a much more profound and prolonged hypermetabolic and hyperinflammatory response than previously shown. Given the tremendous adverse events associated with the hypermetabolic and hyperinflamamtory responses, we now identified treatment needs for severely burned patients for a much more prolonged time