Abstract Background As the prevalence of and life expectancy after solid organ transplantation increases, some of these patients will require total hip arthroplasty (THA). Immunosuppressive therapy, ...metabolic disorders, and post-transplant medications may place transplant patients at higher risk of adverse events following surgery. The objective of this study was to compare inpatient complications, mortality, length of stay (LOS), and costs for THA patients with and without solid organ transplant history. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was conducted using 1998-2011 Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Primary THA patients were queried (n = 3,175,456). After exclusions, remaining patients were assigned to transplant (n = 7558) or non-transplant groups (n = 2,772,943). After propensity score matching, adjusted for patient and hospital characteristics, logistic regression and paired t-tests examined the effect of transplant history on outcomes. Results Between 1998 and 2011, THA volume among transplant patients grew approximately 48%. The overall prevalence of one or more complications following THA was greater in the transplant group than in the non-transplant group (32.0% vs 22.1%; P < .001). In-hospital mortality was minimal, with comparable rates (0.1%) in both groups ( P = .93). Unadjusted trends show that transplant patients have greater annual and overall mean LOS (4.47 days) and mean admission costs ($18,402) than non-transplant patients (3.73 days; $16,899; P < .001). After propensity score matching, transplant history was associated with increased complication risk (odds ratio, 1.56) after THA, longer hospital LOS (+0.64 days; P < .001), and increased admission costs (+$887; P = .005). Conclusion Transplant patients exhibited increased odds of inpatient complications, longer LOS, and greater admission costs after THA compared with non-transplant patients.
Plastic pollution in the present scenario has become one of the most critical environmental issues also having adverse impacts on wildlife. In this study we observed plastic bags and pieces of ...styrofoam in the scats of sloth bears. The study area is an eco-tourism site with a high number of visitors throughout the year. Low-priced items like plastics and styrofoam are replaced with eco-friendly dishes that were used by tribes a decade ago. With lack of proper disposable management knowledge, tribal people working at eco-tourism sites tend to throw waste on the forest edges. Wild animals are likely to wander around forest edges for food and water eventually attracted to the waste and unknowingly feeds on plastics. Sloth bears residing in the eco-sensitive zones are dangerously affected by increasing tourism in the area and there is an immediate need to regulate proper disposal methods for the plastic wastes.
High entropy oxides are entropy-stabilised oxides that adopt specific disordered structures due to entropy stabilisation. They are a new class of materials that utilises the high-entropy concept ...first discovered in metallic alloys. They can have interesting properties due to the interactions at the electronic level and can be combined with other materials to make composite structures. The design of new meta-materials that utilise this concept to solve real-world problems may be a possibility but further understanding of how their phase stabilisation is required. In this work, biplots of the composition’s mean electronegativity are plotted against the electron-per-atom ratio of the compounds. The test dataset accuracy in the resulting biplots improves from 78% to 100% when using atomic-number-per-atom Z/a ratios as a biplot parameter. Phase stability maps were constructed using a Voronoi tessellation. This can be of use in determining stability at composite material interfaces.
Develop practical Internet of Things prototypes and applications with Arduino and PythonIn DetailThe future belongs to applications and services that involve connected devices, requiring physical ...components to communicate with web-level applications. Arduino combined with the popular open source software platform Python can be used to develop the next level of advanced Internet of Things (IoT) projects with graphical user interfaces and Internet-connected applications.Starting with designing hardware prototypes using Arduino, this book will then show you everything you need to know to be able to develop complex cloud applications. You will delve into domain-specific topics with incremental complexity, ending with real-world projects. You will quickly learn to develop user interfaces, plots, remote access, messaging protocols, and cloud connectivity. Each successive topic, accompanied by plenty of examples, will help you develop your cutting-edge hardware applications.What You Will LearnDesign and develop your own hardware prototypes using ArduinoInterface Arduino to a computer using the Firmata protocol and PythonAcquire hands-on experience in developing applications for a variety of popular sensorsDevelop graphical user interfaces to control your components and plots to visualize sensor dataAccess your Arduino prototype from the InternetImplement messaging protocols for Arduino communicationConnect your hardware project to cloud-based servicesCreate advanced Internet of Things applications through projects in the book
Bubble measurement has been widely discussed in the literature and comparison studies have been widely performed to validate the results obtained for various forms of bubble size inferences. This ...paper explores three methods used to obtain a bubble size distribution—optical detection, laser diffraction and acoustic inferences—for a bubble cloud. Each of these methods has advantages and disadvantages due to their intrinsic inference methodology or design flaws due to lack of specificity in measurement. It is clearly demonstrated that seeing bubbles and hearing them are substantially and quantitatively different. The main hypothesis being tested is that for a bubble cloud, acoustic methods are able to detect smaller bubbles compared to the other techniques, as acoustic measurements depend on an intrinsic bubble property, whereas photonics and optical methods are unable to “see” a smaller bubble that is behind a larger bubble. Acoustic methods provide a real-time size distribution for a bubble cloud, whereas for other techniques, appropriate adjustments or compromises must be made in order to arrive at robust data. Acoustic bubble spectrometry consistently records smaller bubbles that were not detected by the other techniques. The difference is largest for acoustic methods and optical methods, with size differences ranging from 5–79% in average bubble size. Differences in size between laser diffraction and optical methods ranged from 5–68%. The differences between laser diffraction and acoustic methods are less, and range between 0% (i.e., in agreement) up to 49%. There is a wider difference observed between the optical method, laser diffraction and acoustic methods whilst good agreement between laser diffraction and acoustic methods. The significant disagreement between laser diffraction and acoustic method (35% and 49%) demonstrates the hypothesis, as there is a higher proportion of smaller bubbles in these measurements (i.e., the smaller bubbles ‘hide’ during measurement via laser diffraction). This study, which shows that acoustic bubble spectrometry is able to detect smaller bubbles than laser diffraction and optical techniques. This is supported by heat and mass transfer studies that show enhanced performance due to increased interfacial area of microbubbles, compared to fine bubbles.
Factors affecting bubble size in ionic liquids Taylor, Sarah F R; Brittle, Stuart A; Desai, Pratik ...
Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP,
2017, Letnik:
19, Številka:
22
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
This study reports on understanding the formation of bubbles in ionic liquids (ILs), with a view to utilising ILs more efficiently in gas capture processes. In particular, the impact of the IL ...structure on the bubble sizes obtained has been determined in order to obtain design principles for the ionic liquids utilised. 11 ILs were used in this study with a range of physico-chemical properties in order to determine parametrically the impact on bubble size due to the liquid properties and chemical moieties present. The results suggest the bubble size observed is dictated by the strength of interaction between the cation and anion of the IL and, therefore, the mass transport within the system. This bubble size - ILs structure-physical property relationship has been illustrated using a series of QSPR correlations. A predictive model based only on the sigma profiles of the anions and cations has been developed which shows the best correlation without the need to incorporate the physico-chemical properties of the liquids. Depending on the IL, selected mean bubble sizes observed were between 56.1 and 766.9 μm demonstrating that microbubbles can be produced in the IL allowing the potential for enhanced mass transport and absorption kinetics in these systems.
Desktop fused filament fabrication (FFF) printers (3D printers) are ubiquitous rapid prototyping (RP) and additive manufacturing (AM) devices used by small and large companies as well as by ...hobbyists. Their attractiveness stems from the inexpensive hardware, inexpensive plastic materials, affordable CAD environments, and short training times. This research explores design of resistors created by the FFF printing process using commercially available electrically-conductive carbon black and graphene-based filament. 3D printed resistors are designed, constructed, and characterized. A number of tests are performed resulting in a set of build recommendations. With this novel capability to directly create electrical components integrated into 3D printed physical objects designers can envision and 3D print new and/or improved devices with embedded electronics, which they could not do before.
Microbubbles have several applications in gas-liquid contacting operations. Conventional production of microbubbles is energetically unfavourable since surface energy required to generate the bubbles ...is inversely proportional to the size of the bubble generated. Fluidic oscillators have demonstrated a size decrease for a system with high throughput and low energetics but the achievable bubble size is limited due to coalescence. The hypothesis of this paper is that this limitation can be overcome by modifying bubble formation dynamics mediated by oscillatory flow. Frequency and amplitude are two easily controlled factors in oscillatory flow. The bubble can be formed at the displacement phase of the frequency cycle if the amplitude is sufficient to detach the bubble. If the frequency is too low, the conventional steady flow detachment mechanism occurs instead; if the frequency is too high, the bubbles coalesce. Our hypothesis proposes the existence of a resonant mode or ‘sweet-spot’ condition, via frequency modulation and increase in amplitude, to reduce coalescence and produce smallest bubble size with no additional energy input. This condition is identified for an exemplar system showing relative size changes, and a bubble size reduction from 650 µm for steady flow, to 120 µm for oscillatory-flow, and 60 µm for resonant condition (volume average) and 250 µm for steady-flow, 15 µm for oscillatory-flow, 7 µm for the resonant condition. A 10-fold reduction in bubble size with minimal increase in associated energetics results in a substantial reduction in energy requirements for all processes involving gas-liquid operations. The reduction in the energetic footprint of this method has widespread ramifications in all gas-liquid contacting operations including but not limited to wastewater aeration, desalination, flotation separation operations, and other operations.
Abstract Background Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is functionally important to intimal hyperplasia (IH) development. Statin drugs have beneficial pleiotropic effects, including reduced IH; however, the ...effect of statins on IH in a TSP-1-independent setting is unknown. Hypothesis: Statins will be less effective in attenuating IH after vascular injury in TSP-1 null (Thbs1 -/- ) compared to wild type (WT) mice. Materials and Methods Carotid artery ligation was performed on WT and Thbs1 -/- mice. Each strain was divided into three groups: no statin control or standard chow containing fluvastatin (10 or 40 mg/kg/day). After 28 days, analysis included morphometric analysis and qrtPCR on the arteries and ELISA on plasma (TSP-1 WT; TSP-2 WT and Thbs1 -/- ). Comparisons were made by ANOVA, with p <0.05 considered significant. Results In no statin controls, WT mice had more IH than Thbs1 -/- (0.46±0.09 vs. 0.15±0.04). Fluvastatin reduced IH in the WT (0.46±0.09 vs. 0.23±0.06), but not Thbs1 -/- groups (0.15±0.04 vs. 0.22±0.07). No difference in IH existed between Thbs1 -/- no statin controls, and fluvastatin WT and Thbs1 -/- groups. Statin dose did not affect IH. TSP-1 plasma levels were increased in fluvastatin WT. TSP-2 levels were decreased in fluvastatin WT and elevated in fluvastatin Thbs1 -/- . Fluvastatin had no effect on tissue Thbs1 or Thbs2 gene expression. Conclusions TSP-1 is necessary for robust IH after arterial injury. Since fluvastatin had no effect on IH in Thbs1 -/- , the data suggest the statin effect on IH may be largely TSP-1 dependent. Both statins and the presence of TSP-1 affect TSP-1 and 2 plasma levels.
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