17 research outputs found

    Oesophageal Perforation: A diagnostic and therapeutic challenge in a resource limited setting. A report of three cases

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    Oesophageal perforation is a condition associated with a high mortality. Its management is still controversial with operative treatment being favoured but a shift to conservative management is occurring. Very little exists in medical literature about its management in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the paucity of thoracic surgeons is compounded by limited diagnostic and therapeutic facilities. We report three cases of oesophageal perforation which were all treated conservatively with tube thoracostomy, nil by mouth with feeding gastrostomy, intravenous antibiotics and chest physiotherapy. Two patients achieved oesophageal healing but one died due to severe septicaemia. In a resource restricted setting, conservative management which includes enteral nutrition by feeding gastrostomy, tube thoracostomy to drain inter pleural contaminants, intravenous antibiotics and chest physiotherapy is a safe and effective treatment for oesophageal perforations

    Targeted PEG-poly(glutamic acid) complexes for inhalation protein delivery to the lung

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    Pulmonary delivery is increasingly seen as an attractive, non-invasive route for the delivery of forthcoming protein therapeutics. In this context, here we describe protein complexes with a new ‘complexing excipient’ - vitamin B12-targeted poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(glutamic acid) copolymers. These form complexes in sub-200 nm size with a model protein, suitable for cellular targeting and intracellular delivery. Initially we confirmed expression of vitamin B12-internalization receptor (CD320) by Calu-3 cells of the in vitro lung epithelial model used, and demonstrated enhanced B12 receptor-mediated cellular internalization of B12-targeted complexes, relative to non-targeted counterparts or protein alone. To develop an inhalation formulation, the protein complexes were spray dried adopting a standard protocol into powders with aerodynamic diameter within the suitable range for lower airway deposition. The cellular internalization of targeted complexes from dry powders applied directly to Calu-3 model was found to be 2–3 fold higher compared to non-targeted complexes. The copolymer complexes show no complement activation, and in vivo lung tolerance studies demonstrated that repeated administration of formulated dry powders over a 3 week period in healthy BALB/c mice induced no significant toxicity or indications of lung inflammation, as assessed by cell population count and quantification of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α pro-inflammatory markers. Importantly, the in vivo data appear to suggest that B12-targeted polymer complexes administered as dry powder enhance lung retention of their protein payload, relative to protein alone and non-targeted counterparts. Taken together, our data illustrate the potential developability of novel B12-targeted poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(glutamic acid) copolymers as excipients suitable to be formulated into a dry powder product for the inhalation delivery of proteins, with no significant lung toxicity, and with enhanced protein retention at their in vivo target tissue

    PMm2: R&D on triggerless acquisition for next generation neutrino experiments

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    The next generation of proton decay and neutrino experiments, the post-SuperKamiokande detectors, such as those that will take place in megaton size water tanks, will require very large surfaces of photo-detection and will produce a large volume of data. Even with large hemispherical photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), the expected number of channels should reach hundreds of thousands. An ANR funded R&D program to implement a solution is presented here. The very large surface of photo-detection is segmented in macro pixels consisting of an array (2 × 2 m2) of 16 hemispherical 12-inch PMTs connected to autonomous underwater front-end electronics working in a triggerless data acquisition mode. The array is powered by a common high voltage and only one data cable allows the connection by network to the surface controller. This architecture allows a considerable reduction of the cost and facilitates the industrialization. This paper presents the complete architecture of the prototype system and tests results with 16 8-inch PMTs, validating the whole electronics, the built-in gain adjustment and the calibration principle. © 2011 IOP Publishing Ltd and SISSA.SCOPUS: cp.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe
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