Membrane Gas Absorbers for H2S Removal - Design, Operation and Technology Integration into Existing Odour Treatment Strategies.

A hollow fibre (HF) polypropylene membrane gas absorber was investigated for the removal of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) from gas streams. Gas concentrations between 25-2010 ppmV were fed into the shell side of a membrane module whilst water-NaOH solutions flowed counter-currently in the fibre lumens. The process was effective at removing the H2S (96% at G:L ratios up to 50 and pH 13) from the gas phase in a single pass through the membrane at all the concentrations of H2S investigated. Analysis of the mass transfer process revealed the rate of transfer to be controlled by the gas phase transfer coefficient with a value between 1 and 25Ã 10-4 m.s-1. The possible integration of a membrane absorber system into existing odour treatment strategies was assessed by comparing the membrane system, based on the experimentally determined mass transfer coefficient, with existing full scale biofiltration plants. The membrane system became economically favourable at gas flow rates lower than 1630 m3.h-

Nurses' attitudes toward truthful communication with patients with cancer: A Greek study

The purpose of this study was to examine Greek nurses' attitudes toward truth-telling practices when working with cancer patients and their psychological status regarding the difficulties they face in their day-to- day communication with these patients. A self-administered questionnaire composed of 19 questions, including both multi-item scales and single-item measures, was designed for the study. For this study, 200 nurses were asked to participate, of whom 148 (74%) completed and returned the questionnaire. The questionnaire is self-administered, formulated after a thorough review of the relevant literature. The pretesting was carried out using the alpha model of reliability and the Cochran Chi Square test (Q-test), which was 545.46 (P < .0001) and showed a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.7148. A large percentage of the respondents (75.7%) believe that only some patients with cancer should be told the truth of their diagnosis and prognosis, although a larger percentage (89.1%) believe that the truth should be told to the relatives. Most of the respondents (66.2%) reported that is difficult to engage in open communication with the patients, because their academic education did not sufficiently train them in communication skills. Although 83.78% of the nurse respondents do not reveal that the disease is incurable, 86 (58.1%) believe that only the patient's physician should reveal the truth. These results indicate that although many Greek nurses believe that the patients should be informed and know their condition, lack of training in communication skills is a major obstacle to achieving this. Finally, this self-assessment questionnaire may provide acceptable and valid assessment of Greek nurses' perceptions and attitudes on truth telling

What do Greek physicians know about managing cancer pain?

Background: pain is prevalent in cancer patients. Although the World Health Organization has issued guidelines for treating pain in cancer patients, pain is often not treated optimally. Numerous barriers have been identified that prevent health care professionals from providing effective treatment for pain. The knowledge and attitudes of health care professionals with regard to pain and its impact on the patient are among them. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate knowledge about and attitudes toward cancer pain and its management among Greek oncologists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and general practitioners. Method: knowledge of the principles and methods of cancer pain treatment was assessed by a questionnaire distributed to a representative sample of 1,200 Greek physicians. Results: the study results highlight very substantial knowledge deficits in the treatment of cancer pain by the evaluated physicians. Conclusions: cancer pain management in Greece is still developing, and the latest knowledge is spreading slowly but steadil

Use of TTS fentanyl as a single opioid for cancer pain relief: A safety and efficacy clinical trial in patients naive to mild or strong opioids

Background. Up to now, a transdermal therapeutic system (TTS) of fentanyl has been applied to cancer patients on opioid analgesics previously treated with mild opioids or morphine. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of TTS fentanyl (patch) administration as an analgesic to patients treated with opioid analgesics for moderate-to-severe cancer pain, with immediate-release oral morphine only as rescue medication. The prior analgesic medication of the patients did not include mild or strong opioids. Methods., The study group consisted of 113 patients (54 men and 59 women; age range: 21-87 years, mean +/- SD 61.3 +/- 14.84 years) with undertreated chronic cancer pain. The study period was 42 days. The patients were hospitalized for the first 3 days of the study; thereafter they were transferred to their home for the rest of the study. Daily cards were completed, noting their pain score (0-10 VAS), nausea, vomiting, constipation, skin reactions, dizziness or any other complaints. Vital signs were also recorded. Data assessments were made at baseline, on days 1, 2 and 3 (during hospitalization) and thereafter on days 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 after hospital discharge. The initial TTS fentanyl delivery rate was chosen depending on the patient’s analgesic requirements. All patients were given an oral morphine solution (5-10 mg), every 4-6 h, for the first 12 h, as rescue medication. Results: Baseline pain score was between 6 and 10 (mean SD 7.1 +/- 1.7). The initial TTS fentanyl delivery rate was between 25 and 50 mug/h (mean +/- SD 36.5 +/- 15.7). On day 3, 95 patients (84%) reported a pain score less than or equal to3 (mean +/- SD 0.5 +/- 0.8), 14 patients (12.4%) a pain score of 4 and 4 patients (3.5%) of 5-8. No adverse effects suggesting the discontinuation of the study were reported. From day 7 until the completion of the study, the mean pain score was between 1.3 and 0.16 while the TTS fentanyl delivery rate on day 42 was between 25 and 400 mug/h (mean +/- SD 122.1 +/- 81.2 mug/h). Conclusion: Analgesic treatment with TTS fentanyl used as a single opioid is effective and safe for cancer pain relief, given that is cautiously applied, in patients requiring strong opioid analgesics even if they were naive to strong or mild opioids. Copyright (C) 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel

Abrupt and durable remission of Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis with cyclosporine A

Henoch-Schönlein purpura glomerulonephritis (HSP-GN) is a common form of systemic small vessel vasculitis in children. Although prognosis is usually favourable, the disease is occasionally associated with a risk of renal insufficiency. Various immunosuppressive agents have been used in patients with severe HSP-GN, but none have shown convincing favourable effects. We report a case of biopsy-proven HSP-related GN in a 4-year-old girl that responded remarkably well to cyclosporine A (CsA), following failure to respond to other immunosuppressive agents. At 8 months post-CsA treatment, repeat renal biopsy findings were consistent with histological improvement. We conclude that CsA treatment not only exerts beneficial effects on resistant HSP-related GN but may also arrest progression of the disease. © The Author [2008]. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. All rights reserved

Physical Modeling of the Ancient Greek Wind Musical Instrument Aulos: A Double-Reed Exciter Linked to an Acoustic Resonator

We present a simulation method for the auralization of the ancient Greek double-reed wind instrument Aulos. The implementation is based on Digital Signal Processing and physical modeling techniques for the instrument's two parts: the excitation mechanism and the acoustic resonator with toneholes. Single-reeded instruments are in-depth studied firstly because their excitation mechanism is the one used in a great amount of modern wind-reed instruments and secondly because the physics governing the phenomena is less complicated than the double-reeded instruments. We here provide a detailed model of a system comprised of a double-reed linked to an acoustic resonator with toneholes to sonify Aulos. We validate our results by comparing our method's synthesized signal with recordings from a replica of Aulos of Poseidonia built in our lab. The comparison showed that the fundamental frequencies and the first three odd harmonics of the signals differ 6, 5, 3, and 2 cents on average, respectively, which is below the Just Noticeable Difference threshold. © 2013 IEEE

Cheilitis Glandularis: A clinicopathologic study with emphasis on etiopathogenesis

Objectives: Cheilitis Glandularis (CG) is an uncommon entity of obscure etiology. A cases series is presented with emphasis on etiopathogenesis. Materials and Methods: Fourteen CG cases were analyzed according to their demographic and clinicopathologic characteristics. Results: The mean age of the patients with CG was 68.1 years, while a male-to-female ratio of 1.8:1 was observed. One or more potential causative factors were identified for each patient, including long-term smoking (9 cases), xerostomia (4 cases), cosmetic filler injections (2 cases), and actinic cheilitis (1 case). The lesions were located on the lips, buccal mucosa, or both in 7, 2, and 5 cases, respectively. Multiple submucosal nodules with dilated ductal orifices and mucous or purulent discharge were observed in all cases. Histopathologically, ductal ectasia with metaplasia, intraductal mucin, and chronic or mixed inflammation were noted, as well as pools of hyaluronic acid in 2 cases with a history of cosmetic filler injections. Conclusions: CG etiopathogenesis is probably multifactorial. Reduced salivary flow rate and increased viscosity of saliva, potentially caused by long-term smoking, diabetes mellitus, and drug-induced xerostomia, may participate in the initial pathogenesis, while local irritants, for example, poor oral hygiene and local trauma, may further contribute to the development and aggravation of the condition. © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC