Vacuum-assisted closure device: a useful tool in the management of severe intrathoracic infections.

Background. This study is an evaluation of the vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy for the treatment of severe intrathoracic infections complicating lung resection, esophageal surgery, viscera perforation, or necrotizing pleuropulmonary infections.Methods. We reviewed the medical records of all patients treated by intrathoracic VAC therapy between January 2005 and December 2008. All patients underwent surgical debridement-decortication and control of the underlying cause of infection such as treatment of bronchus stump insufficiency, resection of necrotic lung, or closure of esophageal or intestinal leaks. Surgery was followed by intrathoracic VAC therapy until the infection was controlled. The VAC dressings were changed under general anesthesia and the chest wall was temporarily closed after each dressing change. All patients received systemic antibiotic therapy.Results. Twenty-seven patients (15 male, median age 64 years) underwent intrathoracic VAC dressings for the management of postresectional empyema (n = 8) with and without bronchopleural fistula, necrotizing infections (n = 7), and intrathoracic gastrointestinal leaks (n = 12). The median length of VAC therapy was 22 days (range 5 to 66) and the median number of VAC changes per patient was 6 (range 2 to 16). In-hospital mortality was 19% (n = 5) and was not related to VAC therapy or intrathoracic infection. Control of intrathoracic infection and closure of the chest cavity was achieved in all surviving patients.Conclusions. Vacuum-assisted closure therapy is an efficient and safe adjunct to treat severe intrathoracic infections and may be a good alternative to the open window thoracostomy in selected patients. Long time intervals in between VAC changes and short course of therapy result in good patient acceptance. (Ann Thorac Surg 2011;91:1582-90) (C) 2011 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

Vacuum assisted venous drainage does not increase trauma to blood cells.

Although gravity drainage has been the standard technique for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), the development of min imally invasive techniques for cardiac surgery has renewed interest in using vacuum assisted venous drainage (VAVD) Dideco (Mirandola, Italy) has modified the D903 Avant oxygenator to apply a vacuum to its venous reservoir. The impact of VAVD on blood damage with this device is analyzed. Six calves (mean body weight, 71.3 +/- 4.1 kg) were con nected to CPB by jugular venous and carotid arterial cannu lation, with a flow rate of 4-4.51 L/min for 6 h. They were assigned to gravity drainage (standard D903 Avant oxygen ator, n = 3) or VAVD (modified D903 Avant oxygenator, n = 3). The animals were allowed to survive for 7 days. A standard battery of blood samples was taken before bypass, throughout bypass, and 24 h, 48 h, and 7 days after bypass. Analysis of variance was used for repeated measurements. Thrombocyte and white blood cell counts, corrected by hematocrit and normalized by prebypass values, were not significantly different between groups throughout all study periods. The same holds true for hemolytic parameters (lactate dehydrogenase [LDH] and plasma hemoglobin). Both peaked at 24 hr in the standard and VAVD groups: LDH, 2,845 +/- 974 IU/L vs. 2,537 +/- 476 IU/L (p = 0.65), respectively; and plasma hemoglobin, 115 +/- 31 mg/L vs. 89 +/- 455 mg/L (p = 0.45), respectively. In this experimental setup with prolonged perfusion time, VAVD does not increase trauma to blood cells in comparison with standard gravity drainage.

Quality assurance mechanisms in agrifood: The case of the Spanish fresh meat sector

The largest fresh meat brand names in Spain are analyzed here to studyhow quality is signaled in agribusiness and how the underlying quality-assurance organizations work. Results show, first, that organizationalform varies according to the specialization of the brand name.Publicly-controlled brand names are grounded on market contracting withindividual producers, providing stronger incentives. In contrast,private brands rely more on hierarchy, taking advantage of itssuperiority in solving specific coordination problems. Second, theseemingly redundant coexistence of several quality indicators for agiven product is explained in efficiency terms. Multiple brands areshown to be complementary, given their specialization in guaranteeingdifferent attributes of the product.

Consumer Advisory Bulletin, Warning: Door-to-Door Meat Scams, August 2004

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Poly-N-acetyl glucosamine fibers are synergistic with vacuum-assisted closure in augmenting the healing response of diabetic mice.

BACKGROUND: Vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) has become the preferred modality to treat many complex wounds but could be further improved by methods that minimize bleeding and facilitate wound epithelialization. Short fiber poly-N-acetyl glucosamine nanofibers (sNAG) are effective hemostatic agents that activate platelets and facilitate wound epithelialization. We hypothesized that sNAG used in combination with the VAC device could be synergistic in promoting wound healing while minimizing the risk of bleeding. METHODS: Membranes consisting entirely of sNAG nanofibers were applied immediately to dorsal excisional wounds of db/db mice followed by application of the VAC device. Wound healing kinetics, angiogenesis, and wound-related growth factor expression were measured. RESULTS: The application of sNAG membranes to wounds 24 hours before application of the VAC device was associated with a significant activation of wounds (expression of PDGF, TGFβ, EGF), superior granulation tissue formation rich in Collagen I as well as superior wound epithelialization (8.6% ± 0.3% vs. 1.8% ± 1.1% of initial wound size) and wound contraction. CONCLUSIONS: The application of sNAG fiber-containing membranes before the application of the polyurethane foam interface of VAC devices leads to superior healing in db/db mice and represents a promising wound healing adjunct that can also reduce the risk of bleeding complications.

Red meat and cancer risk in a network of case-control studies focusing on cooking practices.

BACKGROUND: Consumption of red meat has been related to increased risk of several cancers. Cooking methods could modify the magnitude of this association, as production of chemicals depends on the temperature and duration of cooking. METHODS: We analyzed data from a network of case-control studies conducted in Italy and Switzerland between 1991 and 2009. The studies included 1465 oral and pharyngeal, 198 nasopharyngeal, 851 laryngeal, 505 esophageal, 230 stomach, 1463 colon, 927 rectal, 326 pancreatic, 3034 breast, 454 endometrial, 1031 ovarian, 1294 prostate and 767 renal cancer cases. Controls included 11 656 patients admitted for acute, non-neoplastic conditions. Odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by multiple logistic regression models, adjusted for known confounding factors. RESULTS: Daily intake of red meat was significantly associated with the risk of cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx (OR for increase of 50 g/day = 1.38; 95% CI: 1.26-1.52), nasopharynx (OR = 1.29; 95% CI: 1.04-1.60), larynx (OR = 1.46; 95% CI: 1.30-1.64), esophagus (OR = 1.46; 95% CI: 1.23-1.72), colon (OR = 1.17; 95% CI: 1.08-1.26), rectum (OR = 1.22; 95% CI:1.11-1.33), pancreas (OR = 1.51; 95% CI: 1.25-1.82), breast (OR = 1.12; 95% CI: 1.04-1.19), endometrium (OR = 1.30; 95% CI: 1.10-1.55) and ovary (OR = 1.29; 95% CI: 1.16-1.43). Fried meat was associated with a higher risk of cancer of oral cavity and pharynx (OR = 2.80; 95% CI: 2.02-3.89) and esophagus (OR = 4.52; 95% CI: 2.50-8.18). Risk of prostate cancer increased for meat cooked by roasting/grilling (OR = 1.31; 95% CI: 1.12-1.54). No heterogeneity according to cooking methods emerged for other cancers. Nonetheless, significant associations with boiled/stewed meat also emerged for cancer of the nasopharynx (OR = 1.97; 95% CI: 1.30-3.00) and stomach (OR = 1.86; 95% CI: 1.20-2.87). CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis confirmed red meat consumption as a risk factor for several cancer sites, with a limited impact of cooking methods. These findings, thus, call for a limitation of its consumption in populations of Western countries.

Utilisation of reactive lysine from meat and bone meals of different ash content by growing-finishing pigs

Selostus: Tuhkapitoisuuden vaikutus lihaluujauhon reaktiivisen lysiinin hyväksikäyttöön lihasioilla

Hadronic vacuum polarization and the Lamb shift

Recent improvements in the determination of the running of the fine-structure constant also allow an update of the hadronic vacuum-polarization contribution to the Lamb shift. We find a shift of -3.40(7) kHz to the 1S level of hydrogen. We also comment on the contribution of this effect to the determination by elastic electron scattering of the rms radii of nuclei.

Procedure to characterize microroughness of optical thin films: application to ion-beam-sputtered vacuum-ultraviolet coatings

A method for characterizing the microroughness of samples in optical coating technology is developed. Measurements over different spatial-frequency ranges are composed into a single power spectral density (PSD) covering a large bandwidth. This is followed by the extraction of characteristic parameters through fitting of the PSD to a suitable combination of theoretical models. The method allows us to combine microroughness measurements performed with different techniques, and the fitting procedure can be adapted to any behavior of a combined PSD. The method has been applied to a set of ion-beam-sputtered fluoride vacuum-UV coatings with increasing number of alternative low- and high-index layers. Conclusions about roughness development and microstructural growth are drawn.

Vacuum decay in quantum field theory

We study the contribution to vacuum decay in field theory due to the interaction between the long- and short-wavelength modes of the field. The field model considered consists of a scalar field of mass M with a cubic term in the potential. The dynamics of the long-wavelength modes becomes diffusive in this interaction. The diffusive behavior is described by the reduced Wigner function that characterizes the state of the long-wavelength modes. This function is obtained from the whole Wigner function by integration of the degrees of freedom of the short-wavelength modes. The dynamical equation for the reduced Wigner function becomes a kind of Fokker-Planck equation which is solved with suitable boundary conditions enforcing an initial metastable vacuum state trapped in the potential well. As a result a finite activation rate is found, even at zero temperature, for the formation of true vacuum bubbles of size M-1. This effect makes a substantial contribution to the total decay rate.

Quantum fluctuations on domain walls, strings, and vacuum bubbles

We develop a covariant quantum theory of fluctuations on vacuum domain walls and strings. The fluctuations are described by a scalar field defined on the classical world sheet of the defects. We consider the following cases: straight strings and planar walls in flat space, true vacuum bubbles nucleating in false vacuum, and strings and walls nucleating during inflation. The quantum state for the perturbations is constructed so that it respects the original symmetries of the classical solution. In particular, for the case of vacuum bubbles and nucleating strings and walls, the geometry of the world sheet is that of a lower-dimensional de Sitter space, and the problem reduces to the quantization of a scalar field of tachyonic mass in de Sitter space. In all cases, the root-mean-squared fluctuation is evaluated in detail, and the physical implications are briefly discussed.

Massless minimally coupled fields in de Sitter space: O(4)-symmetric states versus de Sitter invariant vacuum

The issue of de Sitter invariance for a massless minimally coupled scalar field is examined. Formally, it is possible to construct a de Sitterinvariant state for this case provided that the zero mode of the field is quantized properly. Here we take the point of view that this state is physically acceptable, in the sense that physical observables can be computed and have a reasonable interpretation. In particular, we use this vacuum to derive a new result: that the squared difference between the field at two points along a geodesic observers spacetime path grows linearly with the observers proper time for a quantum state that does not break de Sitter invariance. Also, we use the Hadamard formalism to compute the renormalized expectation value of the energy-momentum tensor, both in the O(4)-invariant states introduced by Allen and Follaci, and in the de Sitterinvariant vacuum. We find that the vacuum energy density in the O(4)-invariant case is larger than in the de Sitterinvariant case.

Optimization of preservation conditions of As (III) bioreporter bacteria.

Long-term preservation of bioreporter bacteria is essential for the functioning of cell-based detection devices, particularly when field application, e.g., in developing countries, is intended. We varied the culture conditions (i.e., the NaCl content of the medium), storage protection media, and preservation methods (vacuum drying vs. encapsulation gels remaining hydrated) in order to achieve optimal preservation of the activity of As (III) bioreporter bacteria during up to 12 weeks of storage at 4 degrees C. The presence of 2% sodium chloride during the cultivation improved the response intensity of some bioreporters upon reconstitution, particularly of those that had been dried and stored in the presence of sucrose or trehalose and 10% gelatin. The most satisfying, stable response to arsenite after 12 weeks storage was obtained with cells that had been dried in the presence of 34% trehalose and 1.5% polyvinylpyrrolidone. Amendments of peptone, meat extract, sodium ascorbate, and sodium glutamate preserved the bioreporter activity only for the first 2 weeks, but not during long-term storage. Only short-term stability was also achieved when bioreporter bacteria were encapsulated in gels remaining hydrated during storage.