Early recanalisation of middle cerebral artery in thrombolytic therapy of cardiogenic stroke - a case study

Udary niedokrwienne stanowią 85–90% udarów mózgu, większość z nich to rezultat niedrożności tętnic mózgowych lub szyjnych. Wysoka śmiertelność oraz znaczny odsetek chorych obarczonych trwałym inwalidztwem wskazują na konieczność poszukiwania skuteczniejszych form terapii. Tromboliza mózgowa pozwala na istotne zmniejszenie deficytu neurologicznego. W pracy przedstawiono przypadek 54-letniego mężczyzny, u którego zastosowano leczenie trombolityczne w przebiegu kardiogennego ogniska niedokrwiennego mózgu w dorzeczu tętnicy mózgu środkowej. Poprawa stanu neurologicznego (regresja objawów ogniskowych) nastąpiła już w pierwszej godzinie leczenia i.v. rekombinowanym tkankowym aktywatorem plazminogenu (rt-PA). Rekanalizację tętnicy mózgu środkowej potwierdzono badaniem przezczaszkowej ultrasonografii dopplerowskiej.Acute ischaemic stroke constitutes 85–90% of all stroke subtypes. Majority of brain ischaemia results from cerebral or carotid arteries occlusion. High mortality and invalidity due to stroke are still unsatisfactory. Thrombolytic therapy enables recovery improvement and significant reduction of neurological deficits. In this report we present a case of 54-year-old male with ischaemic stroke of cardiogenic origin in territory of middle cerebral artery. Significant neurological recovery was observed during the first hour of i.v. rt-PA infusion. Recanalisation of middle cerebral artrery was confirmed with Transcranial Doppler examination

The rationale for Multilevel Educational and Motivational Intervention in Patients after Myocardial Infarction (MEDMOTION) project is to support multicentre randomized clinical trial Evaluating Safety and Efficacy of Two Ticagrelor-based De-escalation Antiplatelet Strategies in Acute Coronary Syndrome (ELECTRA – SIRIO 2)

The Multilevel Educational and Motivational Intervention in Patients after Myocardial Infarction (MEDMOTION) project will be adopted to support adherence to the study treatment in the Evaluation Safety and Efficacy of Two Ticagrelor-based De-escalation Antiplatelet Strategies in Acute Coronary Syndrome (ELECTRA-SIRIO 2) a randomized clinical trial.A prespecified sub-analysis of the ELECTRA-SIRIO 2 trial will be performed to evaluate the impact of the results of MEDMOTION diagnostic questionnaires on the clinical outcomes.The study population will comprise of 4,500 patients consecutively admitted to the study centres due to acute coronary syndrome. The MEDMOTION project involves the following interventions: patients’ education, motivation, reminding to take medications and to attend consecutive medical appointments. Dedicated questionnaires will be applied to diagnose study participants with regard to their readiness for discharge from the hospital at the end of initial hospitalization, the risk of non-adherence to the medication at the end of 3rd and 12th month of follow up, and the functioning in disease at the end of 3rd and 12th month of follow up. The primary safety composite endpoint of this study is type 2, 3 or 5 bleeding according to the BARC criteria, occurring during the first 12 months after ACS. The primary efficacy endpoint is the composite of death from any cause, the first nonfatal MI, or the first nonfatal stroke. The key secondary endpoint, net clinical effect, was defined as the composite of death from any cause, a nonfatal MI or a nonfatal stroke, and the first occurrence of BARC type 2, 3, or 5 bleeding.Concluding, it is expected that the comprehensive approach designed in the MEDMOTION project, including use of diagnostic questionnaires, will significantly contribute to obtaining a high level of adherence to medication and improving clinical outcomes in the ELECTRA-SIRIO 2 trial

Hydrophobic and Anti-Icing Behavior of UV-Laser-Treated Polyester Resin-Based Gelcoats

Ice accumulation on wind turbine blades due to the impact of supercooled water droplets can be reduced by the application of surfaces with anti-icing properties. Hydrophobic surfaces are considered as a promising solution because of their water repellent behavior. In recent years, short-pulsed laser technologies have been developed as an efficient technique to modify the surface properties of materials. However, the anti-icing properties of such surfaces have not yet been validated. In this work, a hybrid modification of polyester resin-based gelcoats was adopted. Laser patterning (LP) was used to produce periodic surface structures on modified unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) substrates. One of the innovations of this research is the utilization of novel purpose-made chemical modifiers for gelcoats. The implementation of linear polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS) as a building block is a key improvement in terms of durability and functionality of the coating, since there is an option of introducing not only groups bonding in the polyester into one molecule, but also groups that increase hydrophobicity. The other novelty is a successfully conducted experiment combining such chemical modification with laser texturization of the surface. The influence of the laser energy, pattern shape, and spatial periods on the topographical characteristics and hydrophobicity as well as the anti-icing properties of the produced surfaces were investigated. To characterize the surface topography of the produced structures, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and profilometer were utilized. Measurements of the wettability parameters (static contact angle and contact angle hysteresis) on the treated surfaces allowed the identification of the influence of wetting behavior and laser parameters on the investigated materials. Anti-icing properties were characterized by ice adhesion (IA) and freezing delay time (FDT) tests. It was found that hybrid modification of unsaturated polyester resin by chemical modifiers and laser treatment increased the hydrophobic and anti-icing properties of polyester gelcoats

VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL EXTERNALITIES ON THE EXAMPLE OF AN AGRITOURISM FARM

EU agricultural and agrienvironmental policies design is to improve the provision of environmental public goods and positive externalities (or to reduce negative externalities). In turn, the comprehensive identification and analysis of agricultural external economies involve a need for developing a dedicated valuation methodology. The aim of the article is to review methods of valuation of farm agritourism and an attempt to evaluate the farm’s agrotourism value (based on a case study). Considerations were based on a study of scientific literature and own research. The study focuses on presenting valuation methods for external economies, and proposes a methodology for the valuation of some illustrative positive externalities of agricultural production and of natural environmental resources regarded as public goods. The novelty of the analysis concerns its approach – a transition from theoretical considerations to the operationalization of the problem – the article presents a sample of valuation of the agri-tourism value of a farm, defined as the value of a specific location resulting from the natural beauty of the landscape and leisure services produced by environmental assets. Research (surveys among tourists) was carried out in the selected farm located, in a small village by the Baltic Sea, on the outskirts of a National Park. Analysis of the results indicate that landscape features associated with agricultural activities positively influence the demand for rural tourism. The value estimated by the Travel Cost Method (TCM) amounted to PLN 3,767,325 (approx. EUR 876 thousand). The amount shows the importance of externalities generated by the farm

Fabrication of Ceramic-Metal Composites with Percolation of Phases Using GPI

score: 0collation: 57-6

Push-Out Method for Micro Measurements of Interfacial Strength in Aluminium Alloy Matrix Composites

The main goal of this work was the evaluation of the interfacial strength of the carbon fibres/aluminium matrix interface dependently on the utilised composite fabrication method, namely high pressure die casting and gas pressure infiltration. In addition, the influence of a Ni-P coating on the C-fibres was investigated. The proposed measurements of the interfacial strength were carried out by means of the “push-out” method. The interfacial strength of the samples fabricated using the high-pressure infiltration method average between 19.03 MPa and 45.34 MPa

Preparation of Carbon Fibres for Aluminium Composites

score: 0collation: 1487-149

Biocomposites Based on Polyamide 11/Diatoms with Different Sized Frustules

Amorphous diatomite was used as a filler for a thermoplastic polymer of polyamide 11 obtained from natural sources. The diatomite particles of different sizes were previously fractionated by sedimentation to obtain powders with varying particle size distribution, including powders with or without frustule particles, crushed, uncrushed or agglomerated. Biocomposites containing 2.5, 5, 10 and 20% filler were tested for their mechanical properties, including tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength. In addition, a particle size analysis (by Dynamic Light Scattering, DLS) was performed and the dispersion of the filler in the polymer matrix (Scanning Electron Microscopy, SEM), thermal parameters (Differential Scanning Calorimetry, DSC, and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis, DMA) were determined. Testing showed that biocomposites modified with diatomaceous earth have a higher mechanical strength than the reference system, especially with larger amounts of the filler (10 and 20%), e.g., the tensile strength of pure PA11 is about 46 MPa, while 20OB and 20OF 47.5 and 47 MPa, respectively, while an increase in max. flexural strength and flexural modulus is also observed compared to pure PA11 by a maximum of 63 and 54%, respectively Diatomaceous earth can be obtained in various ways—it is commercially available or it is possible to breed diatoms in laboratory conditions, while the use of commercially available diatomite, which contains diatoms of different sizes, eliminates the possibility of controlling mechanical parameters by filling biocomposites with a filler with the desired particle size distribution, and diatom breeding is not possible on an industrial scale. Our proposed biocomposite based on fractionated diatomaceous earth using a sedimentation process addresses the current need to produce biocomposite materials from natural sources, and moreover, the nature of the process, due to its simplicity, can be successfully used on an industrial scale

Hybrid Modification of Unsaturated Polyester Resins to Obtain Hydro- and Icephobic Properties

Ice accumulation is a key and unsolved problem for many composite structures with polymer matrices, e.g., wind turbines and airplanes. One of the solutions to avoid icing is to use anti-icing coatings. In recent years, the influence of hydrophobicity of a surface on its icephobic properties has been studied. This solution is based on the idea that a material with poor wettability maximally reduces the contact time between a cooled drop of water and the surface, consequently prevents the formation of ice, and decreases its adhesion to the surface. In this work, a hybrid modification of a gelcoat based on unsaturated polyester resin with nanosilica and chemical modifiers from the group of triple functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) and double organofunctionalized polysiloxanes (generally called multi-functionalized organosilicon compounds (MFSC)) was applied. The work describes how the change of modifier concentration and its structural structure finally influences the ice phobic properties. The modifiers used in their structure groups lowered the free surface energy and crosslinking groups with the applied resin, lowering the phenomena of migration and removing the modifier from the surface layer of gelcoat. The main studies from the icephobicity point of view were the measurements of ice adhesion forces between modified materials and ice. The tests were based on the measurements of the shear strength between the ice layer and the modified surface and were conducted using a tensile machine. Hydrophobic properties of the obtained nanocomposites were determined by measurement of the contact angle and contact angle hysteresis. As the results of the work, it was found that the modification of gelcoat with nanosilica and multi-functionalized silicone compounds results in the improvement of icephobic properties when compared to unmodified gelcoat while no direct influence of wettability properties was found. Ice adhesion decreased by more than 30%

Role of Surface Topography in the Superhydrophobic Effect—Experimental and Numerical Studies

Within these studies, the effect of surface topography for hydrophobic coatings was studied both numerically and experimentally. Chemically modified polyurethane coating was patterned by application of a laser beam. A set of patterns with variously distant linear peaks and grooves was obtained. The cross section of the pattern showed that the edges of the peaks and grooves were not sharp, instead forming a rounded, rectangle-like shape. For such surfaces, experimental studies were performed, and in particular the static contact angle (SCA), contact angle hysteresis (CAH), and roll-off angle (ROA) were measured. Profilometry was used to create a numerical representation of the surface. Finite volume method was then applied to simulate the behavior of the water droplets. The model developed herewith enabled us to reproduce the experimental results with good accuracy. Based on the verified model, the calculation was extended to study the behavior of the water droplet on the simulated patterns, both spiked and rectangular. These two cases, despite a similar SCA of the water droplet, have shown extremely different ROA. Thus, more detailed studies were dedicated to other geometrical features of such topography, such as the size and distance of the surface elements. Based on the results obtained herewith, the future design of superhydrophobic and/or icephobic topography is discussed