To utilize various types of biomass as raw materials for briquette fuel, the influence of raw material on combustion behavior should be clarified. This study aimed to confirm the influence of biomass ...raw materials on flaming and char combustion, particularly on the duration of combustion. Cypress, bamboo, rice husk, and paper were used as raw materials for the briquettes. Several sizes of briquettes were burned in a hot airflow setup, and the mass loss (for individual samples) and the durations of flaming and char combustion were obtained. It was found that the duration of flaming combustion for each raw material is proportional to the product of the inverse square of the specific surface area and briquette density. It is suggested that these proportional constants are correlated with the mass percentage of holocellulose in the biomass, which is estimated via ultimate analysis. However, the duration of char combustion for each biomass raw material is almost proportional to the product of the inverse square of the specific surface area and the fixed carbon content of the briquette. It is suggested that these proportional constants are correlated with the mass percentage of ash content in the biomass. Thus, in our study, we were able to predict the combustion characteristics of briquettes made from various raw materials individually.
Objectives
The study identified factors affecting anti‐S immunoglobulin G production after vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) in kidney transplant ...recipients.
Methods
Serum samples were prospectively collected from kidney transplant recipients, live kidney donors, and healthy volunteers 1 month after receiving the second dose of SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccine, and anti‐S immunoglobulin G titers were measured. The mycophenolate mofetil dose was reduced before vaccination in some immunologically low‐risk recipients.
Results
A total of 151 kidney transplant recipients, 74 live kidney donors, and 50 healthy volunteers were included. Kidney transplant recipients had significantly lower titers of anti‐S immunoglobulin G than donors and healthy volunteers (1377 ± 246, 8310 ± 932, and 9908 ± 1040 AU/ml, respectively). Only 67.3% of kidney transplant recipients, compared to 100% of donors and healthy volunteers, were positive for anti‐S immunoglobulin G. Among the kidney transplant recipients, the anti‐S titer was higher in younger recipients, those with higher peripheral blood lymphocyte counts and glomerular filtration rates, those without a history of antithymocyte globulin use, and those who had discontinued or received a reduced dose of mycophenolate mofetil. Younger age, higher lymphocyte count, glomerular filtration rate, and mycophenolate reduction were significantly associated with anti‐S immunoglobulin G > 1000 AU/ml in nominal logistic regression analysis. There were no rejection episodes after mycophenolate modification in kidney transplant recipients.
Conclusions
Anti‐S immunoglobulin G production after vaccination was attenuated in kidney transplant recipients. Mycophenolate mofetil cessation or reduction is a modifiable means to enhance anti‐S immunoglobulin G production in immunosuppressed kidney transplant recipients.
Heat transport characteristics of three-dimensional pulsating heat pipe (3D-PHP) have been investigated experimentally. The 3D-PHP consists of 20 tubes and heating block made of copper. The 3D-PHP ...has 2 layers of 5 turn flow paths (10 tubes) and the layers are interconnected. The operational orientation of 3D-PHP was bottom heat. The bottom of heating block was heated by a ceramic heater. Copper tubes that played a role of heat dissipation fin were cooled by air flow. Fluorinert FC-72 was used as the working fluid and filling ratio was 50 % of the channel volume. The 3D-PHP was tested for various air velocity and heat load. Heat load increased by 10 W to 100 W and decreased by 100 W to 10 W. It was found that the thermal resistance at decreased heat load was lower than that at increased heat load for the same heat load when the heat load was lower than the start-up heat load. On the other hand, when heat input was higher than the start-up heat load, the thermal resistance at decreased heat load were approximately as same as that at increased heat load for the same heat load. Those were confirmed for all cooling air velocities within the scope of this study.
It is known that flaming combustion duration of highly densified single cylindrical biomass briquette is proportional to the product of the inverse square of the specific surface area and briquette ...density. It was suggested that the proportional constant Cf can be correlated with the mass percentage of holocellulose in the biomass. On the other hand, the char combustion duration is almost proportional to the product of the inverse square of the specific surface area and the fixed carbon content of the briquette. It was suggested that the proportional constant Cc can be correlated with the mass percentage of the ash content in the biomass. However, the individual influences of cellulose, hemicellulose and ash content on the flaming and char combustion durations, and thus on Cf and Cc, have not been clarified yet. In the present study, to investigate the effects of holocellulose content, ash content in raw materials, and cellulose (hemicellulose) content in holocellulose on Cf and Cc in detail, briquettes made of artificial raw materials adding cellulose, hemicellulose powder, cypress ash or rice husk ash to cypress or rice husk were burned in the hot air flow. It was confirmed that Cf increases with increasing the holocellulose content, however, there is less effect of the cellulose content in holocellulose, in the scope of this study. And it was suggested that low boiling component in briquette affects the Cf value. It was confirmed that increasing the ash content decreases 1/Cc, and the dependence decreases as the ash content increased. And it was confirmed that there is less effect of the holocellulose content, the cellulose content in holocellulose, ash type and low boiling point component on 1/Cc value.
Transurethral ultrasound ablation of the prostate (TULSA) is a novel modality for the treatment of localised prostate cancer. 1–4 TULSA uses linear high-frequency ultrasound to heat the prostatic ...tissue, and the treatment margin is precisely controlled by closed-loop control of ultrasound emission by measuring the temperature of prostatic tissue inside a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) bore in a real-time manner. Changes in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, MRI findings at 6 and 12 months after TULSA, prostatic volume measured by MRI, changes in symptoms and quality of life (QOL) using Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite 5 and SF-12 Health Survey 6 were recorded. CONFLICT OF INTEREST Author M.M. is engaged in medical consultant for Profound Medical Inc. Profound Medical Inc. has no role in the design, practice or analysis of this study.
Purpose
Laparoendoscopic single-site donor nephrectomy (LESSDN) is a feasible and effective procedure because of its non-invasiveness and better cosmetic outcomes. However, there have been few ...multi-institutional studies conducted by multiple surgeons on LESSDN. We retrospectively compared the clinical data and outcomes between LESSDN and conventional laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (LDN) at multiple institutes in Japan.
Materials and methods
From 2009 to 2015, the clinical data of 223 donors who underwent LESSDN and 151 donors who underwent LDN were collected from 10 institutes. All LESSDNs were performed transperitoneally, whereas LDNs were performed transperitoneally (P-LDN) in 75 patients and retroperitoneally (R-LDN) in 76 patients.
Results
In the LESSDN group, the single-incision site was pararectal in 155 (69.5%) patients and umbilical in 65 (29.1%) patients. Multiple surgeons (one to eight per institute) performed the LESSDN. No significant differences were observed between the three groups regarding estimated blood loss and warm ischemic time. The operative time was significantly shorter in the LESSDN group than in the R-LDN group (
p
= 0.018). No significant differences were observed regarding the rates of blood transfusion, open conversion, visceral injuries, and postoperative complications. Furthermore, no significant differences were observed regarding the dose of analgesic and the rate of delayed graft function. One patient required open conversion due to injury to the renal artery. Selection of LESS procedure was not an independent risk factor for the median serum creatinine level of above 1.27 mg/dL in recipients at 1 year after kidney transplantation.
Conclusion
The results showed the technical feasibility of LESSDN compared with the standard LDNs in a multi-institutional and multi-surgeon setting. A few observed non-negligible complications and the significantly higher levels of serum creatinine in patients who underwent LESSDN indicate that this procedure should be employed cautiously when performed by surgeons without ample experience in performing LESS procedures.
Objectives
To evaluate the risk for urological complications after kidney transplantation at a single medical center in Japan.
Methods
In the present study, 408 kidney recipients (255 men, 153 women) ...were enrolled. There were 349 living and 59 deceased donors. The average age of the recipients was 42.5 ± 13.5 years, and the average pretransplant dialysis period was 71.8 ± 88.2 months. Ureteroneocystostomy was carried out on 347 patients, and ureteroureterostomy on 61 patients. We investigated the relationship between pretransplant duration of dialysis and bladder capacity, and examined the risk factors for urological complication. We also evaluated the incidence of vesicoureteral reflux in 191 recipients who underwent ureteroneocystostomy during transplantation.
Results
The preoperative duration of dialysis therapy showed a significant negative correlation with bladder capacity (R2 = 0.33, P < 0.001). The overall urological complication rate was 3.4% (14 patients), including urinary leakage (12 patients) and ureteral stricture (two patients). Univariate analysis showed that atrophic bladder, long‐term dialysis therapy, deceased donor and ureteroureterostomy were associated with a higher incidence of urological complications (odds ratio 8.05, 4.43, 3.42 and 3.35; P < 0.01, P = 0.01, P = 0.04 and P = 0.04, respectively). Furthermore, multivariate analysis showed that atrophic bladder was the only significant factor associated with urological complications (odds ratio 10.37; P = 0.01). Among 191 recipients, vesicoureteral reflux was observed in 32 (16.8%). The incidence of vesicoureteral reflux was significantly higher in patients with atrophic bladder.
Conclusions
Bladder atrophy in renal transplant recipients after long‐term dialysis therapy is associated with a higher risk of urological complications.
Liquid film thickness is an important parameter for predicting phase change heat transfer in pulsating heat pipes (PHPs). This study experimentally evaluated the liquid film thickness formed during ...the oscillation of the liquid column within PHPs. The liquid column was oscillated sinusoidally under various oscillating conditions to simulate the flow phenomena. The average thickness of the liquid film formed during the oscillations was determined by comparing the oscillation amplitudes of the tip of the liquid column with and without the liquid film. It was confirmed that the average thickness of the liquid film varied with the capillary number for each working liquid (water, ethanol, and FC-40). The characteristic velocity of the capillary number was the time-average velocity of the tip of the liquid column, which was derived by assuming that the tip of the liquid column oscillated sinusoidally. Additionally, the average liquid film thicknesses during the liquid column oscillations were evaluated according to the correlations for various flow conditions proposed in previous studies. In this evaluation, the velocity and acceleration values obtained by assuming that the tip of the liquid column oscillated sinusoidally were determined based on the experimental results. This evaluation demonstrated the acceleration effect, thereby indicating that the acceleration made the liquid film thinner when the capillary number was higher than the threshold of the capillary number for each working liquid. Finally, empirical correlations with and without the acceleration effect were proposed for the average liquid film thickness of oscillating flows in terms of capillary and Laplace numbers. It was demonstrated that the proposed correlations could predict the average liquid film thickness within the range of approximately ±15 % accuracy.
Non-invasive, prompt, and proper detection tools for kidney graft injuries (KGIs) are awaited to ensure graft longevity. We screened diagnostic biomarkers for KGIs following kidney transplantation ...using extracellular vesicles (EVs; exosomes and microvesicles) from the urine samples of patients.
One hundred and twenty-seven kidney recipients at 11 Japanese institutions were enrolled in this study; urine samples were obtained prior to protocol/episode biopsies. EVs were isolated from urine samples, and EV RNA markers were assayed using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Diagnostic performance of EV RNA markers and diagnostic formulas comprising these markers were evaluated by comparison with the corresponding pathological diagnoses.
EV CXCL9, CXCL10, and UMOD were elevated in T-cell-mediated rejection samples compared with other KGI samples, while SPNS2 was elevated in chronic antibody-mediated rejection (cABMR) samples. A diagnostic formula developed through Sparse Logistic Regression analysis using EV RNA markers allowed us to accurately (with an area under the receiver operator characteristic curve AUC of 0.875) distinguish cABMR from other KGI samples. EV B4GALT1 and SPNS2 were also elevated in cABMR, and a diagnostic formula using these markers was able to distinguish between cABMR and chronic calcineurin toxicity accurately (AUC 0.886). In interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IFTA) urine samples and those with high Banff chronicity score sums (BChS), POTEM levels may reflect disease severity, and diagnostic formulas using POTEM detected IFTA (AUC 0.830) and high BChS (AUC 0.850).
KGIs could be diagnosed with urinary EV mRNA analysis with relatively high accuracy.
In order to gain a better understanding of the latent heat transfer mechanism in pulsating heat pipes (PHPs), this study experimentally investigated the thickness characteristics of a liquid film ...that forms during oscillations of the liquid column within PHPs. Accordingly, the liquid column was oscillated sinusoidally under different oscillating conditions to simulate the flow phenomena. A circular tube with an inner diameter of 2 mm was used as the test channel; ethanol and FC-40 were used as working liquids. The average thickness of the liquid film formed due to the liquid column oscillations on the channel wall was determined by comparing the oscillation amplitudes of the tip of the liquid column obtained with and without the liquid film. It was confirmed that the average thickness of the liquid film varied based on the average capillary number for each working liquid. The time-average velocity of the tip of the liquid column, which was derived based on the assumption that the tip of the liquid column oscillates sinusoidally, was used as the characteristic velocity to calculate the average capillary number. The experimental results were compared with various correlations proposed in previous studies. The results show that the acceleration of the oscillating liquid column affected the liquid film thickness for a high average capillary number. For this high average capillary number, the rate of increase in liquid film thickness with the average capillary number decreased, and the liquid film thicknesses during the liquid column oscillation approached those under the steady condition. Furthermore, the liquid film thicknesses for the vertical channel were compared with those for the horizontal channel, and it was made clear that the effect of gravity on liquid film thickness is significant. Thus, the thickness characteristics of a liquid film during the liquid column oscillation within PHPs were clarified.
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