A simple method to create buttonhole cannulation tracks in a busy hemodialysis unit

The preference for fistulae as the hemodialysis access of choice has led to a significant number of accesses that are less than ideal for cannulation. Buttonhole cannulation is ideal for such accesses, but the technique for creation provides major challenges. In 12 patients, buttonhole tunnel tracks were created by leaving the polyurethane catheter of a Clampcath^® hemodialysis needle indwelling for 10 days after the initial cannulation. After each dialysis the catheter was flushed, and dressed with an antibacterial ointment and gauze. Dialysis was carried out via the catheter during that time. After day 10, the catheter was removed, the tunnel track covered with an antibacterial dressing and the tunnel track was cannulated with a dull buttonhole needle at the next dialysis. Successful buttonhole accesses were created in 11 patients after 10 days, the 12th patient required a single sharp needle cannulation before using dull needles. During the first 2 weeks of dull needle cannulation both pain experienced on cannulation and the difficulty cannulating the access were significantly less than in the classical buttonhole technique (P<0.01). Complications during the follow-up period (6 months–1.5 years) included difficulty cannulating with a dull needle (22) and antibacterial agent induced contact dermatitis (4). There was no episode of sepsis or tunnel track infection. Initial cannulation of the fistula using a Clampcath^® hemodialysis needle, leaving the polyurethane catheter indwelling for 10 days, is a simple, safe, and effective technique for the creation of buttonhole tunnel tracks.     

A simple method to estimate gain-bandwidth product and the secondpole of the operational amplifiers

A method for realizing a sine-wave voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with a linear frequency to control voltage characteristics over three decades of frequencies, or more, in one sweep is discussed. The method employed is the conversion of a simple integrated square-wave VCO into a sine-wave VCO by separating the first-harmonic component and providing frequency shifting to achieve the desired output range. The sources of distortion of the output waveform are shown to be higher-order components of the square-wave used and higher-order components produced in the mixer. Possible improvements of the circuit are suggested, including the use of higher-order filters to reduce distortion and the use of a square-wave VCO operating at higher frequencies to provide operation at higher frequencies or over wider sweep ranges     

Patient‐specific phosphorus mobilization clearance during nocturnal and short daily hemodialysis

The kinetics of plasma phosphorus during different hemodialysis (HD) modalities are incompletely understood. We recently demonstrated that a pseudo one‐compartment kinetic model including phosphorus mobilization from various body compartments into extracellular fluids can describe intradialytic and postdialytic rebound kinetics of plasma phosphorus during conventional and short 2‐hour HD treatments. In this model, individual patient differences in phosphorus kinetics were characterized by a single parameter, the phosphorus mobilization clearance (K_M). In this report we determined K_M in patients treated by in‐center nocturnal HD (ICNHD) and short daily HD (SDHD) with low dialyzer phosphate clearance. In the ICNHD study, eight patients underwent 8‐hour HD treatments where intradialytic and postdialytic plasma samples were collected; K_M values were determined by nonlinear regression of plasma concentration as a function of time. In the SDHD study, five patients were studied during 28 treatments for approximately 3 hours. Here, K_M was calculated using only predialytic and postdialytic plasma phosphorus concentrations. Dialyzer phosphate clearances were 134 ± 20 (mean ± SD) and 95 ± 16 mL/min during ICNHD and SDHD, respectively. K_M values for the respective therapies were 124 ± 83 and 103 ± 33 mL/min, comparable to those determined previously during conventional and short HD treatments of 98 ± 44 mL/min. When results from ICNHD, SDHD, and previous HD modalities were combined, K_M was directly correlated with postdialytic body weight (r = 0.38, P = 0.025) and inversely correlated with predialytic phosphorus concentration (r = ?0.47, P = 0.005). These findings suggest that phosphorus kinetics during various HD modalities can be described by a pseudo one‐compartment model.     

A method to estimate local deposition conditions using film profiles in features

A method to estimate the local partial pressures and temperature during low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) proceses using film profile data is demonstrated using the chemistry of blanket tungsten deposition by the hydrogen reduction of tungsten hexafluoride. EVREST, the computer program which performs the estimates, uses EVOLVE, a physically based process simulator for ballistic transport and heterogeneous reactions in features on patterned wafers, to compute film profiles for a given set of deposition conditions. In order to validate the estimation method and to demonstrate EVREST, test calculations are performed using film profiles generated by EVOLVE instead of experimental scanning electron microscopy cross-sections. Calculated films profiles are compared with the generated film profiles (the data) and the simulated deposition conditions are adjusted using an algorithm based on Marquardt's method to minimize the sum of squared differences between points on the calculated and generated profiles. Test calculations confirm that film profiles in more than one feature can be used to improve the reliability of the partial pressure and temperature estimates.     

A simple method to estimate the maximum nontrivial correlation of some sets of sequences

Code division multiple access and many other applications require large families of sequences with good correlation properties. In this paper we show that the moduli of certain character sums can be estimated in an easy way by using a method of Sidelnikov. These results yield a simple method to estimate the maximum nontrivial correlations of several well-known sets of sequences.Supported by the Technology Development Center of Finland, Elektrobit Company, Finnish Air Force, Nokia Mobile Phones Inc. and Nokia Cellular Systems Inc.Partially supported by the Academy of Finland     

A simple method to irradiate blood cells in vitro with radon gas

Surface dose monitoring in patients and physicians during 29 uterine artery embolisation (UAE) procedures was performed using photoluminescence dosemeters and thermo-luminescence dosemeters. Organ or tissue doses were measured with an anthropomorphic phantom using UAE exposure conditions averaged from the 29 cases, and effective doses were estimated for the patient. Entrance surface dose of the patients at the maximum dose position ranged from 121.5 to 1650 mGy. Estimated doses ranged from 3.16 to 43 mGy for the ovary and from 3.8 to 51.8 mGy for the uterus. The effective dose was 1.09-14.8 mSv. Monitored doses on the body surface of physicians were relatively high in the upper arm (5.41+/-1.52 to 163+/-17.25 microGy) and the hand and fingers (0.85+/-1.18 to 222+/-16.4 microGy).     

A simple method to estimate the ratio of the second pole to thegain-bandwidth product of matched operational amplifiers

A simple method is proposed for estimating the ratio of the second pole to the gain-bandwidth product of matched operational amplifiers (OAs). This ratio is an important parameter in deciding the stability of composite OA-based circuits. The theoretical analysis of the method is presented, and experimental results are given     

海洋沉积物DNA提取前的简易脱腐方法研究

针对海洋沉积环境样品DNA提取中的腐殖酸去除难题,采取先脱除腐殖酸再提取DNA的策略,进行了海洋沉积物DNA提取前的简易脱腐方法研究.依据腐殖酸的理化性质, 遴选出由Tris-HCl、EDTA、Na4P2O7、NaCl、PVP、Triton X-100及脱脂奶粉组成脱腐缓冲液,有效地脱除了腐殖酸.之后采用温和的溶菌酶-蛋白酶K-SDS直接裂解法,获取了大片段(分子量21kb以上)可进行rpoB 基因PCR扩增的海洋沉积物DNA,为海洋沉积环境分子生态学研究与海洋生物活性物质开发奠定了基础.     

A method to estimate the circulated composition in refrigeration and heat pump systems using zeotropic refrigerant mixtures

In recent years a number of refrigerant mixtures have appeared on the market. Some of these refrigerant mixtures are zeotropic, e.g. R407C and R417A. When zeotropic refrigerant mixtures are used in a system, the circulated composition may change from the nominal to a different composition. The changes in composition may be due to leakage or hold-ups of liquid or vapour phase, different solubility in the oil by the different components, or the fact that the system has been charged in an incorrect way. For the understanding of performance measurements made on systems, it is important to know the composition of the circulated refrigerant mixture. A promising method to estimate the circulated composition has been developed. The method has been applied and evaluated on a well equipped lab rig at the Department of Energy Technology at the Royal Institute of Technology. The tests show that it is possible to estimate the composition of the circulated refrigerant mixture to within 2%, by measuring only two temperatures and pressures.     

二维自由振动的有限元线法自适应分析新进展

该文建立圆弧形曲梁裂纹的截面损伤缺陷比拟方案,实现裂纹大小(深度)、位置、数目的模拟。引入变截面Euler-Bernoulli梁的h型有限元网格自适应分析方法,求解含裂纹损伤圆弧曲梁弹性屈曲问题,得到优化的网格和满足预设误差限的高精度屈曲荷载和屈曲模态解答。数值算例表明该算法中网格非均匀加密可适应裂纹损伤引起的屈曲模态变化,应用于各类曲梁夹角和裂纹损伤分布工况下的弹性屈曲研究,定量分析了裂纹损伤程度对圆弧曲梁的屈曲荷载和屈曲模态的影响,检验了该文算法的精确性和可靠性。     

A method to estimate mass dispersion in inhomogeneous convective flows

A diffusion-model-based generalizing method for estimating the dispersion of mass in inhomogeneous convective flows is considered. An admissible class of exact solutions, a comparison with which allows one to establish the dispersion coefficient and the error of application of the model in each specific case, has been determined. __________ Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 80, No. 1, pp. 120–123, January–February, 2007.     

A simple method for dynamic scientometrics using lexical analysis

Techniques for studying problematic networks in science and technology are principally derived either from citation analyses or from lexical methods. The former have been the object of many developments and improvements. A considerable range of applications exists within the practical constraint of their being limited to fields covered by the ISI databases. For the latter, the co-word method has a register of applications that up until now have been more specialized in the sociology of science as it is done, but it has in principle no field limitations. An important question is whether we can extend the application range of this analytical method to take in longer periods, and in particular to deal with historiography either on a large scale (at the level of a research field) or on a small scale (at the level of a process of discovery or invention). Here we propose a way of rendering lexical methods dynamic, more particularly through developing a rudimentary but precise technique to aid historiographical analysis. This method ofcritical variations is illustrated in a working example.     

A method to estimate entropies and heat capacities applied to alkali oxides

We present a method that is useful in the estimate and assessment of heat capacity data. The approach is based on an analysis of the logarithmic average of the phonon frequencies. In this quantity, that may be easily derived from experimental data on the vibrational entropy, the influence of atomic masses can be exactly accounted for even in polyatomic solids. Our method is applied to Li₂O, Na₂O, K₂O, Rb₂O, and Cs₂O. In particular, literature data for K₂O are critically examined.     

A simple method to assess detonation temperature without using any experimental data and computer code

Detonation temperature of C(a)H(b)N(c)O(d) explosives can be predicted from a, b, c, d and calculated gas phase heat of formation of explosives without using any assumed detonation products and experimental data. Two new correlations are introduced for calculation of detonation temperature of aromatic and non-aromatic explosive compounds so that it is shown here how simply calculated heat of formation by additivity rule and atomic composition are only necessary data for this simple prediction. Calculated detonation temperatures by the introduced correlations for both pure and explosive formulations show good agreement with respect to measured detonation temperatures and complicated computer codes. The average mean absolute error in detonation temperature is within about 7.0%.     

A simple repair method for GFRP delamination using ultraviolet-curable resin

Fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) composites are widely used in engineering because of their high strength and light weight in comparison to monolithic metal alloys. They are mostly used in laminate form and are stronger within layers than between layers, making them prone to cracking and peeling. This type of structural degradation can be dangerous during operation. For this reason, research on FRP composites with the ability to self-repair has attracted much attention. In this study, we developed a new method to repair glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites by using ultraviolet-(UV) cured resin. As GFRP composites are UV transmissive, the repair process can be carried out externally by exposing the damaged part to UV light. The transmittance of EP GFRP is about 40%. Holes were pre-drilled with wires in order to facilitate the injection of UV resin between the layers of the composite, and this process was accomplished without degrading the mechanical properties of the material. A double cantilever beam (DCB) test was performed on the GFRP composite to induce interlaminar fracturing. UV-curable resin was then injected between the layers of the composite through a series of pre-drilled holes. Following this repair, the DCB test was performed again to evaluate the repair rate. A compressive after impact (CAI) test was also performed on the GFRP composite to induce delamination. Compressive strength before and after the repair was also evaluated.     

A simple optical method for the differentiation of two types of polymeric wear debris in tissue samples

A simple low-cost optical method for differentiating two birefringent plastic materials in tissue sections is described. The method relies on the measurement of the refractive indices of the materials as standard samples, then mounting the specimen containing the mixture of materials in a medium of intermediate refractive index. The optical properties of the materials in this mounting medium permit their separate identification by use of Becke's lines. In the specific example used, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE; refractive indices 1.521 and 1.529) and polyacetal (refractive indices 1.476 and 1.492) were distinguishable from each other by mounting in sandalwood oil (refractive index 1.510). Illustrative results are given for the analysis of the comparative amounts of these two polymers in the tissues adjacent to five knee replacements obtained at revision surgery. In every case there were more UHMWPE particles than polyacetal particles.     

A chronoamperometric method to estimate ionophore loss from ion-selective electrode membranes

A novel chronoamperometric method was developed to estimate the concentration of a neutral ionophore in fixed-site, dioctyl sebacate plasticized, poly(vinyl chloride)-based, ion-selective electrode membranes. The membranes contained between 0.5 and 16 mmol/kg valinomycin. The chronoamperometric technique was used to estimate the valinomycin concentration in freshly prepared membranes and after extraction of some of the ionophore from the membranes using dioctyl sebacate. Replicate measurements indicated a relative standard deviation in the calculated valinomycin concentration of less than 10%, and these values accurately represented the true concentration of valinomycin within 10%. The method permitted an estimate of the valinomycin concentration after valinomycin was leached from a membrane. The results of preliminary experiments using heparinized dog blood suggest that blood protein adsorption does not interfere qualitatively or quantitatively with the analysis.