Experimental-morphological and clinical basis of preventive methods for the intraoperative complications of the amputation of the lower extremity at the thigh level]

Using total quality management principles within a shared governance framework, this case study discusses how to design and implement a plan to achieve independent nursing practice when an employee has unique needs. This experience demonstrates the importance of looking at root causes, separating ability and compliance issues, using all available resources creatively, and planning for success.     

Activation of extracellular matrix metalloproteinases in equine laminitis

Samples of connective tissue obtained from the hoof of six laminitic and eight non-laminitic adult horses were analysed zymographically to investigate whether connective tissue matrix metalloproteinases are activated or induced during laminitis. The activity or matrix metalloproteinases was substantially greater in the tissues from the laminitic horses than in the tissues from the non-laminitic horses. A comparison of the collagenolytic activity in the laminitic and control tissues showed that collagenolytic activities corresponding to the 92 kDa (P < 0.001), 72 kDa (P < 0.01) and 66 kDa (P < 0.01) bands were induced in the laminitic tissues.     

Endoscopic retrograde wire-guided cytology of malignant biliary strictures using a novel scraping brush

A cigarette which heats rather than burns tobacco (Premier) was introduced in 1988, but was unacceptable due to unpleasant taste and low nicotine intake. We examined availability of nicotine from a new version (Eclipse), in the same four subjects as our earlier Premier study. Average blood nicotine boosts of 23.7 and 17.8 ng/ml were obtained from smoking a first and second Eclipse. This substantially exceeds intake from Premier (boost 13 ng/ml) and that obtained by heavy smokers from conventional brands (boost 12-15 ng/ml). Eclipse (or similar product) may be the best option for averting Peto's dire warnings of rising millions of annual smoking deaths in the 2020s, and its potential for large-scale, long-term switching warrants further study.     

Simultaneous determination of granisetron and its 7-hydroxy metabolite in human plasma by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography utilizing fluorescence and electrochemical detection

A highly sensitive and selective high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the determination of granisetron and its active metabolite, 7-hydroxygranisetron (7OH-G) in human plasma. Granisetron is a selective 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor antagonist used in the treatment of cytotoxic drug-induced emesis. The method involves isolation of granisetron, 7OH-G and the internal standards from plasma by solid-phase extraction prior to reversed-phase ion-pair chromatographic separation on an octyl silica column with subsequent quantification of analytes simultaneously either with electrochemical (7OH-G) or fluorescence (granisetron) detectors which are placed in series. The recovery of granisetron and 7OH-G from human plasma was quantitative. Using 1 ml of plasma, the limits of quantification for granisetron and 7OH-G were 0.1 and 0.25 ng/ml, respectively. Linear responses in analyte/internal standard peak-area ratios were observed for analyte concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 50 ng/ml plasma. Precision and accuracy were within 13% across the calibration range for both granisetron and 7OH-G. The method was sufficiently sensitive, accurate and precise to support pharmacokinetic studies for granisetron and 7OH-G, in both normal and patient populations.     

The behavior of small fatigue cracks at notches in corrosive environments

The behavior of small cracks growing out of the roots of blunt notches in compact type specimens of an austenitic steel was characterized under fatigue loading in wet H ₂ plus air environment. The growth rates of cracks in the size range of 0.125 mm to 0.75 mm were up to two orders of magnitude higher than the rates expected for conventional cracks at equal stress intensity range, K. It was also observed that the small cracks grew at these fast rates only in corrosive environments when the loading frequency was 0.02 Hz or less. At a frequency of 10 Hz, the behavior was in agreement with the trend predicted for conventional size cracks.The above observations are rationalized in terms of the breakdown of the concept of a single parameter representation of the crack tip stress and strain field by K or in terms of differences in crack tip environments between small and long cracks for the same bulk environment. A simple engineering model is proposed which adequately represents the observed small crack growth behavior.

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Résumé On a procédé à la caractérisation, sous charges de fatigue en atmosphère humide de H ₂ et d'air, de petites fissures se développant à partir des racines d'entailles arrondies dans des éprouvettes compactes.Les vitesses de croissance des fissures d'une taille allant de 0,125 à 0,750 mm se sont révélé être de deux ordres de grandeur plus grandes que les vitesses prévues dans le cas de fissures conventionnelle, soumises aux mêmes variations de l'intensité de contrainte K. On a également observé que de petites fissures croissaient à ces grandes vitesses seulement dans des atmosphères corrosives, lorsque la fréquence de sollicitation était de 0,02 Hz ou moins. A la fréquence de 10 Hz, le comportement observé s'est trouvé en accord avec les tendances prévues pour des fissures de taille conventionnelle.Les observations ci-dessus sont rationnalisées en un élargissement du concept de représentation monoparamétrique par le facteur K du champ de contraintes et de dilatation à l'extrémité de la fissure, ou en termes des différences rencontrées dans l'environnement local de l'extrémité d'une fissure, selon que celle-ci est longue ou courte, et ce dans un même environnement global.On propose un modèle simple utilisable en pratique, pour représenter de manière adéquate le comportement à la croissance observé pour des petites fissures.

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Metallurgy Department     

Thermal accommodation coefficient of gases on controlled solid surfaces: Argon-tungsten system

The knowledge of the thermal accommodation coefficient for gases on well-controlled surfaces as a function of temperature is imperative to understanding the mechanism of interphase heat transfer on the microscopic level. With this goal in view, a heat transfer column instrument is designed, fabricated, assembled, and tested for the specific case a argon—tungsten system. With 99.9999%, pure argon, six sets of data are taken in the rarefied gas region in the maximum temperature range of 500–1500 K. Four sets of these measurements are in the temperature-jump region and are analyzed by the constant-power method to compute the thermal accommodation coefficient of argon on a controlled tungsten surface. The other two sets are taken under free-molecular flow conditions and are interpreted in accordance with the man-free-path kinetic theory for the low-pressure regime. These data are compared and discussed in the context of reported data in the literature and interpreted in the light of the surface condition and finish of the tungsten wire.Nomenclature A area of the solid surface - C _j constants in Eq. (3); j=0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 - E _i incident energy flux - E _r reflected energy flux - E _s reflected energy flux when the interaction between the gas and the solid atoms is complete - g temperature-jump distance - L half-length of the metal wire - M molecular weight of the gas - P gas pressure - Q _H total thermal energy conducted by the gas per unit time from the hot surface - Q_KT total thermal energy conducted by the gas per unit time if the striking gas molecules were to attain thermal equilibrium with the hot surface - R molar gas constant - r radial coordinate - r _f radius of the hot wire - S sticking coefficient - S_o initial sticking coefficient - T temperature - T _e linearly extrapolated gas temperature on the hot-wire surface - T _g temperature of the impinging gas molecules - T _H temperature of the hot surface - T _i temperature of the incident gas stream - T _r temperature of the gas molecules receding after collision with the solid surface - T _s temperature of the solid surface Greek Symbols thermal accommodation coefficient for the gas—solid surface - resistivity of the metal wire - gas coverage on the solid surface For an explanation of symbols, see Nomenclature.     

Epoxy‐tert‐butyl poly(cyanoarylene ether) blends: Phase morphology,fracture toughness,and mechanical properties

Tert‐butyl hydroquinone–based poly(cyanoarylene ether) (PENT) was synthesized by the nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction of 2,6‐dichlorobenzonitrile with tert‐butyl hydroquinone using N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP) as solvent in the presence of anhydrous potassium carbonate in a nitrogen atmosphere at 200°C. PENT‐toughened diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A epoxy resin (DGEBA) was developed using 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS) as the curing agent. Scanning electron micrographs revealed that all blends had a two‐phase morphology. The morphology changed from dispersed PENT to a cocontinuous structure with an increase in PENT content in the blends from 5 to 15 phr. The viscoelastic properties of the blends were investigated using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. The storage modulus of the blends was less than that of the unmodified resin, whereas the loss modulus of the blends was higher than that of the neat epoxy. The tensile strength of the blends improved slightly, whereas flexural strength remained the same as that of the unmodified resin. Fracture toughness was found to increase with an increase in PENT content in the blends. Toughening mechanisms like local plastic deformation of the matrix, crack path deflection, crack pinning, ductile tearing of thermoplastic, and particle bridging were evident from the scanning electron micrographs of failed specimens from the fracture toughness measurements. The thermal stability of the blends were comparable to that of the neat resin. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 3536–3544, 2006