Using Surface Wettability to Impact the Frost Properties and Defrosting Effectiveness of a Metallic Heat Transfer Surface

In this work, the properties of a growing frost layer were analyzed for surfaces of varying wettability to determine the effect that the surface energy has on the frost mass, thickness, and density. Both patterned and non-patterned surfaces were explored. To date, three surfaces have been fabricated and tested— an uncoated, untreated aluminum plate (Sample 1), a plate coated with a super-hydrophobic coating (Sample 2), and a plate containing a triangular surface wettability pattern (Sample 3). For these experiments, the frost layer was grown for a three-hour period inside a Plexiglas environmental test chamber where the relative humidity was held constant during the experiment at either 60% or 80%, and the surface temperature of the plate was fixed using a thermoelectric cooler (TEC). The temperature of the ambient air inside the Plexiglas enclosure was also recorded to ensure that it remained constant for the duration of the experiment. The TEC unit was placed on an electronic balance inside the test chamber which permitted the continuous recording of frost mass during both the frosting and defrosting portions of the experiment. Images of the frost layer were also taken using a CCD camera mounted directly overhead and parallel to the face of the plate. Frost thickness was then determined from these images by pixel counting methods. Our data show that the hydrophobic surface coating on Sample 2 resulted in a decrease of the frost density by nearly 100% as compared to the uncoated, baseline surface (Sample 1). This was largely because the baseline surface accumulated 60-90% more frost mass than the hydrophobic surface during the same allotted time period. The thickness of the frost layer was also slightly smaller on the baseline surface than the hydrophobic surface. The overall aim of this work is to study the effects that micro-structural roughness and surface anisotropy have on a growing frost layer and to better understand the defrosting process on functionalized heat transfer surfaces

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

Evolution in the therapeutic strategy of localized resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is characterized by a high rate of early metastatic relapse. Surgical resection is still recognized as the cornerstone upfront therapy. However, reported 5 years survival rates are inferior to 20-25% even when surgery is followed by chemotherapy. Margins involvement on the surgical specimen (50 to 85%) and lymph node involvement (around 70%) both strongly impact survival. Median survivals are close to those of locally advanced diseases treated by chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy, 15 to 16 months. This review focuses on adverse prognostic factors, post-operative outcomes and their impact on multimodality therapy completion rates and survivals in patients undergoing upfront surgery. Current data and emerging results from neoadjuvant series could lead to a change in the therapeutic strategy

Evolution dans la prise en charge de l'adénocarcinome du pancreas localisé estimé résécable

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is characterized by a high rate of early metastatic relapse. Surgical resection is still recognized as the cornerstone upfront therapy. However, reported 5 years survival rates are inferior to 20-25% even when surgery is followed by chemotherapy. Margins involvement on the surgical specimen (50 to 85%) and lymph node involvement (around 70%) both strongly impact survival. Median survivals are close to those of locally advanced diseases treated by chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy, 15 to 16 months. This review focuses on adverse prognostic factors, post-operative outcomes and their impact on multimodality therapy completion rates and survivals in patients undergoing upfront surgery. Current data and emerging results from neoadjuvant series could lead to a change in the therapeutic strategy.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

A single center experience in resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma :the limitations of the surgery-first approach. Critical review of the literature and proposals for practice update

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: The current standard of care for resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is surgery-first followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. We review our single center experience in a PDAC cohort managed by the surgery-first strategy. We then compare our data to those of Belgian and international literature.SCOPUS: re.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Erratum: WITHDRAWN: A single center experience in resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma :the limitations of the surgery-first approach. Critical review of the literature and proposals for practice update (Acta gastro-enterologica Belgica (2017) 80 4 (451-461))

The article has been withdrawn at the request of the authors and editor because of incorrect authorship, which is considered a form of unethical publication. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.SCOPUS: er.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe