RESUMO
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia is one of the severe and most dreaded forms of illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. It often progresses to respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) requiring mechanical ventilation. ARDS can lead to multiple complications while on mechanical ventilation due to positive airway pressures in a fibrotic lung, one such complication is the development of alveolopleural fistula. Alveolopleural fistula has high morbidity and mortality. We used endobronchial valve in a patient with COVID-19-related ARDS with persistent air leak (alveolopleural fistula), which allowed us to remove the chest tube and wean the patient successfully off mechanical ventilation.
RESUMO
We present new developments of the laser-induced transient grating spectroscopy (TGS) technique that enable the measurement of large area 2D maps of thermal diffusivity and surface acoustic wave speed. Additional capabilities include targeted measurements and the ability to accommodate samples with increased surface roughness. These new capabilities are demonstrated by recording large TGS maps of deuterium implanted tungsten, linear friction welded aerospace alloys, and high entropy alloys with a range of grain sizes. The results illustrate the ability to view the grain microstructure in elastically anisotropic samples and to detect anomalies in samples, for example, due to irradiation and previous measurements. They also point to the possibility of using TGS to quantify grain size at the surface of polycrystalline materials.
RESUMO
We describe robustly anchored triblock copolymers that adopt loop conformations on surfaces and endow them with unprecedented lubricating and antifouling properties. The triblocks have two end blocks with catechol-anchoring groups and a looping poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) midblock. The loops mediate strong steric repulsion between two mica surfaces. When sheared at constant speeds of â¼2.5 µm/s, the surfaces exhibit an extremely low friction coefficient of â¼0.002-0.004 without any signs of damage up to pressures of â¼2-3 MPa that are close to most biological bearing systems. Moreover, the polymer loops enhance inhibition of cell adhesion and proliferation compared to polymers in the random coil or brush conformations. These results demonstrate that strongly anchored polymer loops are effective for high lubrication and low cell adhesion and represent a promising candidate for the development of specialized high-performance biomedical coatings.
