Coronary artery fistula after cardiac transplantation

A cardiac transplant recipient with multiple coronary artery fistulae draining into the right ventricle is described. These fistulae presumably resulted from repeated endomyocardial biopsies. The diagnosis of coronary artery fistulae was made at the annual coronary arteriography. The magnitude of the shunt remained small over eight years of follow-up.     

Congenital cystic diseases of liver and extrahepatic bile ducts

The paper presents 30-year experience in treating 158 patients with congenital cystic diseases of the liver and bile ducts. Depending on the pattern of hepatobiliary lesions, the diagnostic value of techniques, such as ultrasound, computerized tomography, scintigraphy of the liver duodenoscopy with THCG was defined. Analyzing the late outcomes provided recommendations for the most optimal surgical management: cystic fenestration and tunneling in hepatic polycystosis, pericystectomy in solitary cysts of the liver, different varieties of bile draining operations in choledochal cysts and Caroli's disease.     

ON THE MOMENT COEFFICIENT CALCULATION OF A ROTATING DISK IN A TURBULENT FLUID FLOW

Mixing in co-rotating sinusoidal cavity flows is studied with period, T, and phase shift, a, as parameters. Notice that the main obstacle to uniform mixing is the existence of stable :ower periodic orbits, mixing windows, where uniform mixing takes place, are found in the T— a space u:iing bifurcation analysis. The main advantage of this method is a great saving of the computation time.     

Fabricating Janus membranes via physicochemical selective chemical vapor deposition

Membranes with asymmetric wettability-Janus membranes-have recently received considerable attention for a variety of critical applications. Here, we report on a simple approach to introduce asymmetric wettability into hydrophilic porous domains. Our approach is based on the physicochemical-selective deposition of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) on hydrophilic polymeric substrates. To achieve selective deposition of PTFE, we inhibit the polymerization reaction within the porous domain. We prefill the substrates with glycerol, containing a known amount of free radical inhibitor, and utilize initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) for the polymerization of PTFE. We show that the glycerol/inhibitor mixture hinders the deposition of PTFE within the membrane pores. As a result, the surface of the substrates remains open and porous. The fabricated Janus membranes show stable wetting-resistant properties, evaluated through sessile drop contact angle measurements and direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD).     

Facile synthesis of extremely biocompatible double‐network hydrogels based on chitosan and poly(vinyl alcohol) with enhanced mechanical properties

An easy and ecofriendly method for designing double‐network (DN) hydrogels based on chitosan and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with high mechanical performance is described. When covalent bonds in the networks are used as crosslinking agents in the achievement of a higher mechanical strength, the irreversible deformation of these hydrogels after a large force is applied is still one of the most important obstacles. To overcome this problem, we used physical crosslinking for both networks. The mechanical strength, surface morphology, and cytotoxicity of the films were studied by tensile testing, scanning electron microscopy analysis, and an MTT assay. The synthesized chitosan–PVA DN hydrogels showed a large improvement in the tensile strength to 11.52 MPa with an elongation of 265.6%. The surface morphologies of the films demonstrated the effective interactions between the two networks and a suitable porosity. Also, because of the use of a natural polymer and honey as a plasticizer, the cell culture indicated that the synthesized DN hydrogels had good biocompatibility (with 327.49 ± 11.22% viability) and could be used as capable biomaterials. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 45752.     

Conductive poly(vinylidene fluoride)/polyethylene/graphene blend‐nanocomposites: Relationship between rheology,morphology, and electrical conductivity

Relationship between rheology, morphology, and electrical conductivity of the poly(vinylidene fluoride)/polyethylene/graphene nano‐platelets ternary system (PVDF/PE/GnP) were investigated. All the blend nanocomposites were prepared via a two‐step melt mixing method. GnP (0.75 and 1.5 wt %) was first compounded with PVDF and then the resulted premixtuers were melt mixed with PE to achieve the desired compositions. The corresponding reference nanocomposites and filler‐less blends were also prepared. Effect of an interfacial agent (PEMA; maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene) was also studied in this work. The results of rheological analysis in conjunction with the Raman spectroscopy experiments revealed that GnP had higher affinity to PVDF than PE, which in turn led to creation of conductive networks of GnP (1.5 wt %) in PVDF matrix exhibiting the electrical conductivity of about 10^?2 (S/cm). Double percolated micro‐structure was predicted for the PE/PVDF 40/60 (wt/wt) blend containing low GnP content (0.9 wt %) and confirmed via direct electron microscopy and conductivity analysis. Using 5 wt % of the PEMA reduced the conductivity to 10^?5 (S/cm) and further increase in PEMA content to 10 wt % led to non‐conductive characteristics. The latter was attributed to the migration of GnP from the PVDF phase to PE/PEMA phase and hence disturbance of double percolated micro‐structure. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46333.     

PET block detector calibration using subtractive clustering algorithm and comparison with hough transform algorithm

Detector calibration plays an important role in improving of image quality and increasing performance of positron emission tomography (PET) systems. To achieve this aim, raw data coordinate event-byevent are mapped to the index of the crystal in which the particle is absorbed. We proposed and tested subtractive clustering and Hough transform algorithms to determine crystal peak position and generate an appropriate look-up table. The results show superiority of Hough transform to the subtractive clustering and other methods because this algorithm determines position of all peaks, even in irregular and unclear data. The acquired results can be beneficial for all of the medical imaging instruments such as PET and single-photon emission computed tomography detectors based on pixilated scintillators.     

Nano SiC-Nickel Composite Coatings from a Sulfamat Bath Using Direct Current and Pulsed Direct Current

Composite plating is a method through which the fine particles of metallic or non-metallic compounds are co-deposited in a plated layer to improve surface properties such as lubrication, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance. In this study, nano-sized SiC particles were co-deposited with nickel from sulfamat bath using pulsed and direct currents. Scanning electron microscopy, microhardness, wear, and corrosion tests were carried out to characterize the coating properties. The results showed that microhardness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance of Ni-SiC composite coatings increased compared to those of Ni films.     

DOLOMITIZATION AND ANHYDRITE PRECIPITATION IN PERMO-TRIASSIC CARBONATES AT THE SOUTH PARS GASFIELD, OFFSHORE IRAN: CONTROLS ON RESERVOIR QUALITY

Dolomitization and related anhydrite cementation can complicate the characterization of carbonate reservoirs. Both processes have affected the Permo-Triassic Upper Dalan – Kangan carbonates, the main reservoir at the South Pars gasfield, offshore Iran. The carbonates were deposited in a shallow-marine ramp or epeiric platform and, according to previous studies, underwent intense near-surface diagenesis and minor burial modification. Detailed petrographical and geochemical analyses indicate that dolomitization and anhydrite precipitation can be explained in terms of the sabkha/seepage-reflux models. The early dolomites then re-equilibrated or re-crystallized in a shallow burial setting. Evaluation of poroperm values in different reservoir intervals indicates that replacive dolomitization in the absence of anhydrite precipitation or with only patchy anhydrite has enhanced the reservoir quality. Where anhydrite cement is pervasive and has plugged the rock fabric, poroperm values are significantly decreased. As emphasized in previous studies and confirmed here, dolomitization and anhydrite cementation, together with original facies type, are the major factors controlling reservoir quality in the Dalan – Kangan carbonates at South Pars. When associated with minor anhydrite cementation, replacive dolomitization has enhanced reservoir quality by increasing permeability. However, porosity in fabric-retentive dolomite was apparently inherited from the precursor rock and therefore reflects the original depositional environment. Low-temperature dolomitization is commonly fabric-selective and partially fabric-retentive. Whole rock stable isotope thermometry indicates that fabric-destructive dolomites in the reservoir rocks formed at temperatures above 22°C, whereas fabric-retentive dolomites and associated anhydrites formed in surface and near-surface conditions. Fabric-destructive dolomite or dolomite neomorphism post-date fabric-retentive dolomite and continued to form in deep burial conditions (∼1400m). These observations may explain why fabric-retentive dolomite and anhydrite fabrics are traversed by stylolites.