BACKGROUND Noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation (NPPV) delivers air at a high flow, which is associated with airway mucosal drying and impaired airway functioning. OBJECTIVES To examine the effects of mechanical ventilation parameters on relative humidity and absolute humidity during NPPV, and to evaluate the effect of a heated passover humidifier on relative humidity, absolute humidity,...

AIM To analyze the neurotoxic potential of synthesized magnetite nanoparticles coated by dextran, hydroxyethyl starch, oxidized hydroxyethyl starch, and chitosan, and magnetic nanoparticles combined with ferritin as a native protein. METHODS The size of nanoparticles was analyzed using photon correlation spectroscopy, their effects on the conductance of planar lipid membrane by planar lipid b...

This thesis details research on the thermal and concentration balancing of a humidification dehumidification desalination system. The system operates similarly to the natural rain cycle. Seawater is heated, sprayed into an airstream to increase the air’s humidity, then pure water is condensed out of the same stream in a separate unit. These systems are typically inefficient due to entropy gener...

The exquisite selectivity and unique transport properties of membrane proteins can be harnessed for a variety of engineering and biomedical applications if suitable membranes can be produced. Amphiphilic block copolymers (BCPs), developed as stable lipid analogs, form membranes that functionally incorporate membrane proteins and are ideal for such applications. While high protein density and pl...

Fusion of phospholipid vesicles with a planar phospholipid bilayer membrane that contains a calcium-binding protein appears to mimic the essential aspects of cytoplasmic-vesicle fusion with plasma membranes (exocytosis) in that (i) there is a low basal rate of fusion in the absence of Ca2+, (ii) this basal rate is enormously increased by micromolar (approximately 10 microM) amounts of Ca2+, and...

The study by Massie et al1 has, for the first time, presented scientific proof that the prophylactic application of a humidifier as an accessory in continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy can improve not only patient compliance and comfort during treatment, but also the results of the treatment. We consider the study to be of particular importance because it shows that we now have to...

The protein machinery controlling membrane fusion (or fission) has been well studied; however, the role of vesicle diffusion near membranes in these critical processes remains unclear. We experimentally and theoretically investigated the dynamics of small vesicles (approximately 50 nm in diameter) that are diffusing near supported planar bilayers acting as "target" membranes. Using total intern...