USE OF BETA BLOCKERS IN ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME IN SERBIA IN THE PERIOD 2000 – 2005

The approaches in prevention and therapy of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are different ways of conservative and invasive procedures which have contributed to reduction of mortality of ischemic heart disease (IHD) by 20 %, approximately, in many parts of the world in the recent 20 years. Beta blockers (BB) gave significant contribution to prevention and therapy of ACS, especially their use in ACS and in the first years of secondary prevention of IHD. The aim of the study was the estimation of patients with ACS in Serbia in the period 2000 – 2005, as well as the evaluation of use of BB in ACS and resolving dilemma concerning their prescription.The data about patients were obtained from the National Register for ACS in Serbia. Lately, there has been a marked increase in the number of coronary units (CU) and patients with ACS. In admission diagnoses, there was the largest number of patients with AMI or 69,7 %, with the highest total mortality of 11,7 %. In addition, higher rates of male patients than female ones, as well as an increase of male patients in the age group of 50-59 years, and increase of female patients in the age group of 70-79 years were reported. It is interesting that the rate of female patients is higher than presented in literature. It is noted that the rate of AMI with ST segment elevation (STEMI) is more frequent than AMI without ST elevation (NSTEMI). STEMI is more frequent in younger patients and male ones. Case-fatality of STEMI patients is significantly higher compared with NSTEMI patients (P<0,000). The percentage of patients with ACS treated with BB is still low and it has not been changed significantly in recent years

Structural, Mechanical and Electrical Characteristics of Copper Coatings Obtained by Various Electrodeposition Processes

Mechanical (hardness and adhesion) and electrical (sheet resistance) characteristics of electrolytically produced copper coatings have been investigated. Morphologies of Cu coatings produced galvanostatically at two current densities from the basic sulfate electrolyte and from an electrolyte containing levelling/brightening additives without and with application of ultrasound for the electrolyte stirring were characterized by SEM and AFM techniques. Mechanical characteristics were examined by Vickers microindentation using the Chen-Gao (C-G) composite hardness model, while electrical characteristics were examined by the four-point probe method. Application of ultrasound achieved benefits on both hardness and adhesion of the Cu coatings, thereby the use of both the larger current density and additive-free electrolyte improved these mechanical characteristics. The hardness of Cu coatings calculated according to the C-G model was in the 1.1844-1.2303 GPa range for fine-grained Cu coatings obtained from the sulfate electrolyte and in the 0.8572-1.1507 GPa range for smooth Cu coatings obtained from the electrolyte with additives. Analysis of the electrical characteristics of Cu coatings after an aging period of 4 years showed differences in the sheet resistance between the top and the bottom sides of the coating, which is attributed to the formation of a thin oxide layer on the coating surface area

Solvent effects on structural changes in self-healing epoxy composites

Nowadays, there is a very high importance of composite research and variety of their applications in the modern world. In that sense, we researched hollow glass capillaries filled with dissolved Grubbs catalyst (GC) and dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) were incorporated into a fiber-reinforced epoxy with the aim of improving the flow of healing agents to the crack site. The morphological investigation of the crack site was performed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), showing the difference between the samples depending on the used solvent. The software analysis of sample photographs has been performed by calculating the fractured/healed surface area of the samples, revealing that approximately 20% of the volume was affected by the impact. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed that poly (dicyclopentadiene) (PDCPD) formed at the healed interface. However, the FTIR investigation of catalyst stability in different solvents showed structural changes in GC and partial deactivation. The mechanical tests of the samples showed that a recovery of 60% after 24 h at room temperature could be achieved through the use of a solvent and very low concentration of GC. The performed research results are a good base to develop the model for predicting the processes and morphology, with the goal to design the final mechanical and in the future, thermal, properties in advance. This opens a new direction for future research in the field of composite healing

Protective ventilation with high versus low positive end-expiratory pressure during one-lung ventilation for thoracic surgery (PROTHOR): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC) may result in longer duration of in-hospital stay and even mortality. Both thoracic surgery and intraoperative mechanical ventilation settings add considerably to the risk of PPC. It is unclear if one-lung ventilation (OLV) for thoracic surgery with a strategy of intraoperative high positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and recruitment maneuvers (RM) reduces PPC, compared to low PEEP without RM. Methods: PROTHOR is an international, multicenter, randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded, two-arm trial initiated by investigators of the PROtective VEntilation NETwork. In total, 2378 patients will be randomly assigned to one of two different intraoperative mechanical ventilation strategies. Investigators screen patients aged 18 years or older, scheduled for open thoracic or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery under general anesthesia requiring OLV, with a maximal body mass index of 35 kg/m2, and a planned duration of surgery of more than 60 min. Further, the expected duration of OLV shall be longer than two-lung ventilation, and lung separation is planned with a double lumen tube. Patients will be randomly assigned to PEEP of 10 cmH2O with lung RM, or PEEP of 5 cmH2O without RM. During two-lung ventilation tidal volume is set at 7 mL/kg predicted body weight and, during OLV, it will be decreased to 5 mL/kg. The occurrence of PPC will be recorded as a collapsed composite of single adverse pulmonary events and represents the primary endpoint. Discussion: PROTHOR is the first randomized controlled trial in patients undergoing thoracic surgery with OLV that is adequately powered to compare the effects of intraoperative high PEEP with RM versus low PEEP without RM on PPC. The results of the PROTHOR trial will support anesthesiologists in their decision to set intraoperative PEEP during protective ventilation for OLV in thoracic surgery. Trial registration: The trial was registered in clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02963025) on 15 November 2016