STUDY OBJECTIVES Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is standard therapy for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. The effective nasal mask pressure may be adversely affected by factors that increase system resistance (eg, long tubing and/or water condensation) and by dynamic variables (breathing frequency [f] and tidal volume [VT]). The present study was conducted in order to assess t...

BACKGROUND At the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, more than 6000 inpatients per year undergo IV saline flushes by prefilled syringe to assess and maintain patency of IV tubing. In studies involving adults, it has been reported that volatile substances may leach from syringe materials into the saline, leading to taste and/or odour disturbances. OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence of t...

L. SMITH Controlling corrosion in production tubing is essential for maintaining production and for preventing loss of well control. Materials for use downhole have to meet criteria for corrosion resistance and also mechanical requirements. The potential corrosion rate can be estimated and the risks of sulphide stress corrosion cracking assessed on the basis of the anticipated environmental con...

This paper demonstrates that a hand-powered egg beater can be modified to serve as a centrifuge for separating plasma from human whole blood. Immunoassays used to diagnose infectious diseases often require plasma from whole blood, and obtaining plasma typically requires electrically-powered centrifuges, which are not widely available in resource-limited settings. Human whole blood was loaded in...

When supplementary oxygen is necessary with nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV), the optimal route by which it should be added to the ventilator circuit is unknown. We investigated the oxygen concentration received when oxygen was supplied at flow rates between 0 and 6 L.min-1 into the proximal ventilator tubing or the nasal mask whilst patients were ventilated with air. El...

INTRODUCTION S. aureus is a Gram positive bacterium which is responsible for a wide range of infections. This pathogen has also the ability to adhere to biotic or abiotic surface such as central venous catheter (CVC) and to produce a biofilm. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (HTAB) and Hexadecylbetainate chloride (HBC) on Staphylococcus aur...

BACKGROUND Commercial closed-suctions drainage systems are commonly used in the United States and many other countries for use in neurosurgical cases. However, in Tanzania and other developing nations with fewer resources, these are not available. This report explores another option for a closed-system drainage system utilizing inexpensive supplies found commonly in hospitals around the world. ...

Voltammetric detection of metals in natural waters suffers from interference by dissolved oxygen. We describe here a deoxygenation method suitable for ̄ow analysis with detection by cathodic stripping voltammetry (FIA-CSV). The apparatus is based on the permeation of oxygen through semi-permeable tubing (silicone, Pore ̄on and others) into an oxygen-free chamber. Two methods of oxygen removal ar...

Introduction Working cell banks (WCB’s) are commonly applied to initiate cell culture manufacturing campaigns for production of recombinant or therapeutic proteins. These campaigns typically begin with inoculation of cells previously cryopreserved in cryovials or ampoules. The baseline process proceeds from thaw of cell bank cryovials to scaling up through the seed train and inoculum train, fol...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Previous reports have described white particulate matter in banked blood components, but no prior public reports describe such matter in blood tubing during the course of routine in-center hemodialysis. This report describes the events, investigations, and preliminary conclusions associated with the spontaneous formation of adherent white thrombus in the venous and art...