38 research outputs found
Proposal of a classification of cannulation damage in vascular access grafts based on clinical, ultrasound, and microscopic observations
No full textIntroduction: Arteriovenous grafts (AVGs) serve as an alternative to native arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) in the context of hemodialysis patient life planning. AVGs are more susceptible to developing outflow stenosis (due to intimal hyperplasia), thrombosis, and infections. However, an often overlooked contributor to AVG failure is cannulation damage. The objective of this paper is to assess the impact of cannulations on AVGs. We aim to establish a classification of AVG damage by comparing clinical data and ultrasound images with microscopic morphological findings obtained from explanted grafts. Materials and methods: This study is conducted at a single center. We included all patients who underwent AVG creation between 2011 and 2019. Comprehensive data on clinical history, follow-up, and complications were collected and reviewed. Duplex ultrasound (DUS) characteristics were documented, and all grafts explanted during the analysis period underwent optical microscopy evaluation. Finally, clinical data, along with DUS and microscopic findings, were integrated to derive a damage classification. Results: During the study period, 247 patients underwent 334 early cannulation AVGs. The median follow-up duration was 714 days (IQR 392, 1195). One hundred eleven (33%) grafts were explanted. Clinical data and DUS findings were utilized to formulate a four-grade classification system indicating increasing damage. Conclusion: Cannulation damage alone does not solely account for AVG failure. It results from a biological host-mediated process that promotes the growth of intimal hyperplasia at the cannulation sites. This process is not clinically significant within the initial 2 years after AVG creation
SC14.07 DIFFERENTIABLE OPTIMIZATION OF ELECTRON FLASH RADIOTHERAPY TREATMENT PLANS WITH DEEP LEARNING AND BACKPROPAGATION
No full textDevelopment of an advanced extrusion process for the reduction of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds of recycled HDPE from fuel tanks
No full textPlastic fuel tanks of vehicles are typically made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The easiness of the dismantling procedure from end-of-life vehicles and the intrinsic recyclability of HDPE allow them to be accounted in principle in the “white list” of recyclable components. However, the strong contamination and the odor produced by the volatile (VOCs) and semi-volatile (SVOCs) organic compounds, which have been absorbed during the service life, drastically hinder the use of this end-of-life material. This aspect reduces its actual recyclability, especially in higher-value applications. The aim of this scientific work is the achievement of an innovative extrusion process, specifically designed for the stripping out of these organic contaminants. An in-depth analytic approach is also reported to identify their nature and fraction, as a way for ranking the effect of the different processing conditions which have been tested. The developed extrusion process uses a co-rotating twin-screw extruder with degassing points and the injection of water as medium for desorbing the organic contaminants. The analytic approach is based on headspace (HS) sampling associated with gas chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS). The multivariate approach of the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) is applied on the entire dataset collected in the experiments, including the HS-GC-MS data, the different process parameters and the mechanical and thermal data. As a result, the effect of the process conditions and all the organic contaminants present in the material are identified. The developed extrusion process allows to obtain a material with higher opportunity to be used in applications which require enhanced performance and, therefore, to be considered effectively recyclable, further reducing the environmental impact of the end-of-life vehicles
Development of an advanced extrusion process for the reduction of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds of recycled HDPE from fuel tanks
No full textPlastic fuel tanks of vehicles are typically made of high-density polyethylene
(HDPE). The easiness of the dismantling procedure from end-of-life vehicles
and the intrinsic recyclability of HDPE allow them to be accounted in
principle in the “white list” of recyclable components. However, the strong
contamination and the odor produced by the volatile (VOCs) and semi volatile (SVOCs) organic compounds, which have been absorbed during the
service life, drastically hinder the use of this end-of-life material. This aspect
reduces its actual recyclability, especially in higher-value applications. The
aim of this scientific work is the achievement of an innovative extrusion
process, specifically designed for the stripping out of these organic
contaminants. An in-depth analytic approach is also reported to identify their
nature and fraction, as a way for ranking the effect of the different processing
conditions which have been tested. The developed extrusion process uses a
co-rotating twin-screw extruder with degassing points and the injection of
water as medium for desorbing the organic contaminants. The analytic
approach is based on headspace (HS) sampling associated with gas
chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS). The
multivariate approach of the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) is applied
on the entire dataset collected in the experiments, including the HS-GC-MS
data, the different process parameters and the mechanical and thermal data.
As a result, the effect of the process conditions and all the organic
contaminants present in the material are identified. The developed extrusion
process allows to obtain a material with higher opportunity to be used in
applications which require enhanced performance and, therefore, to be
considered effectively recyclable, further reducing the environmental impact
of the end-of-life vehicles
TIRAMISU : FP7-Project for an integrated toolbox in Humanitarian Demining: focus on Technical Survey and Close-in-Detection
No full textThe TIRAMISU project aims at providing the foundation for a global toolbox that will cover the main mine action activities, from the survey of large areas to the actual disposal of explosive hazards, including mine risk education and training tools. After a short description of some tools, particular emphasis will be given to the topics proposed by the VALLON Workshop, namely the development of performing methodology in Technical survey and/or Close-in-Detectio
Predictors of Stability/Improvement of Forced Vital Capacity in Patients With Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis After One Year of Treatment With Nintedanib
No full textMonocyte chemotactic peptide receptor. Functional characteristics and ligand-induced regulation.
No full text
Hybrid fuzzy modelling using memetic algorithm for hydrocyclone control
No full textThe use of a hybrid fuzzy modeling can act as a good alternative in establishing a hydrocyclone control model in estimating the hydrocyclone parameter, d50c. In most control and engineering applications, the use of fuzzy system as a way to improve the human-computer interaction has becoming popular. The main advantage of this proposed hybrid fuzzy system used for hydrocyclone control is that it only presents a small amount of fuzzy rules. It uses memetic algorithms to optimize the fuzzy parameters of the system to yield in a more accurate hydrocyclone control system
