Retrospective analysis of OCT on MB characteristics and 1-year follow-up of the ISR incidence after the DES implantation in patients with MB

We used optical coherence tomography (OCT) to analyze the "half-moon" like phenomenon and its characteristics and observe 1-year follow-up of the in-stent restenosis (ISR) incidence after the drug eluted stent (DES) implantation in patients with the myocardial bridge (MB). Patients were retrospectively analyzed from January 2013 to December 2019. We used OCT to check 45 patients with MB and found a visible muscle layer (VML) around the vessel adventitia with the same or high density compared to the vessel media layer. There was not any significant difference in maximal thickness, maximal arch, and total length between the half-moon layer and the visible muscle layer groups (p > 0.05). Maximal thickness, arch, and total length of the half-moon layer were significantly positively related to VML, respectively (r = 0.962, 0.985, 0.742, p < 0.01). Of these 626 patients with MB seen by OCT, only 300 could be checked out by coronary angiography (CAG). Besides, the larger the thickness and arch of the VML around the vessel adventitia, the more severe the MB in these patients (p < 0.05). After the OCT use, there was no coronary perforation in these patients with MB covered with DES. After 1-year follow-up, ISR in MB covered with DES showed a notable difference among no MB, mild MB, moderate MB, and severe MB groups (p < 0.05), and ISR in DES aggravated with the MB severity. However, ISR in MB with and without covered with DES had no significant difference among the 4 groups (p > 0.05). OCT could evaluate MB characteristics accurately compared to IVUS and had a higher rate of detecting MB than CAG. Moreover, it is safe and effective to guide DES covering the mild MB segment in patients with severe coronary lesions detected by the OCT.

Analysis of Hydraulic Characteristics and Treatment Efficiency by Filter Media Composition During Backwashing of Filtration-Type Non-Point Pollution Facilities

In this study, the hydraulic characteristics and pollutant treatment efficiency during backwashing were analyzed through laboratory-scale hydraulic model experiments for filtration-type non-point pollution reduction facilities. The filter media used in the experiment were analyzed by calculating the change in head loss for single or complex arrangements of wood chips (WC), sand (SA), and bottom ash (BA). These are commonly used to improve the adsorption mechanism in non-point pollution reduction facilities, from which the pollutant treatment efficiency was derived. The SS treatment efficiency experiments for each filter media layer were conducted with SA+WC (WC 0.3 m in the upper layer, SA 0.3 m in the lower layer) and SA+BA (SA 0.3 m in the upper layer, BA 0.3 m in the lower layer), and the removal efficiency was greater than 80%, indicating good efficiency. In the case of SA+BA, analysis showed a high removal efficiency of 87.4% at a linear velocity of 20 m/hr.

Performance Evaluation of Low-Cost Filter in Field Condition

The parameters require for maintaining the crop's health and the integrity of the irrigation system has a relation with quality of irrigation water. In Micro irrigation appropriate filtration is very much important to prevent clogging. Filtration unit is one of the main components in micro irrigation system that too, Primary filter is more important to be installed along with the unit, when the water source is from open reservoir and other water sources. Though it is essential, the primary filter is not being installed by the farmers due to its high cost. Hence this study is an attempt to fabricate low-cost filter and to evaluate its performance with different filter media layer. A low-cost primary filter for drip irrigation system is fabricated. Different filter media layer like silex sand (fine silex, coarse silex), pebbles with different sizes are selected. The results revealed that the removal efficiency of filter using silex sand and pebbles were 71% in terms of turbidity, 78% in terms of total suspended solids removal at flow rate of 12 m3 /hr. This fabricated low-cost filter will be cost effective for small farm applications.

INTERDEPENDENT PLATFORMS: ONLYFANS AS NSFW SOCIAL MEDIA LAYER

This paper presents an analysis of 200 memes about content subscription platform OnlyFans to discover that the platform imaginary is of heterosexual women posting adult, or Not Safe For Work (NSFW) content. This platform imaginary contrasts with OnlyFans' corporate communication, which insists that OnlyFans is for influencers of all kinds. This challenges the platform imaginary, revealing two main strategies for this emerging platform. First, that it would like to be known as a broader platform than just for NSFW content creators – despite the platform imaginary that sets up an expectation of seeing nude and lewd content. Second, that OnlyFans is not a “home base” or core platform from which to create a profile and make connections. OnlyFans does not act as an independent social media platform, but as one of many layers.

Modeling of the Suspended Solid Removal of a Granular Media Layer in an Upflow Stormwater Runoff Filtration System

Upflow granular media filtration devices are widely used for stormwater runoff treatment. However, the system performance is not well characterized due to the irregular removal of suspended solid (SS) in the pretreatment (sedimentation) chamber and, hence, its irregular input to the media layer. In this regard, the performance of the granular media layer of an upflow filtration system is investigated herein by the use of various models. Due to the significant variation in the SS concentration of the influent and effluent to and from the media layer, the deep bed filtration model, the k-C* model, and the porous media capture model provide limited descriptions of the system performance. By contrast, the performance is well described using the kinetic model, the modified k-C* model using a specific deposit, and the modified porous media capture model using a specific deposit. The parameters of the latter models are shown to be in good correlation with the filtration velocity, SS removal, and specific deposit. The results suggest that modeling using a specific SS deposit can provide an accurate description of the granular media layer performance under a highly variable influent SS concentration.

Carotid wall sublayers and their association with atherosclerosis in hypertensive subjects

Introduction Intimal thickening is a characteristic and initial step of atherosclerosis. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is considered a measure of subclinical atherosclerosis, but it can be influenced by increases not only of intima layer thickness (IT), but also of media layer thickness (MT). Hypertension is a risk factor for atherosclerosis, but may also stimulate media layer hypertrophy by increasing artery wall tension. However, little is known regarding the measures of carotid wall sublayers and their association with atherosclerosis in hypertensive subjects. Purpose To measure carotid IMT, MT and IT and evaluate their relationship with carotid atherosclerotic plaques in hypertensive subjects. Methods This cross-sectional study evaluated clinical and carotid characteristics of 186 hypertensive patients (age = 61±11 years, 43% men, BMI = 30.6±6.2 kg/m2) followed at a university outpatient clinic. High-resolution images of common carotid arteries wall and plaques were obtained by ultrasonography equipped with 10MHz-13MHz transducers. IMT, MT and IT were measured using an image processing software. Results Mean IT, MT and IMT values were 0.267±0.060, 0.475±0.107 and 0.742±0.142 mm, respectively. IMT showed stronger correlation with MT (r=0.92; p&lt;0.001) than with IT (r=0.72; p&lt;0.001). Patients with carotid plaques (n=100; 58% of the sample) had higher age (p&lt;0.001) and carotid diastolic diameter (p=0.002) and a trend toward higher diabetes prevalence (p=0.06) than those without plaques. In logistic regression analysis adjusted for these variables, plaques showed stronger association with IT than with MT and IMT (Figure 1). In addition, IT showed greater area under the ROC curve (0.92; 95% CI 0.88–0.96) than IMT (0.79; 95% CI 0.72–0.85) and MT (0.64; 95% CI 0,56–0,72) to identify plaques. Conclusions MT is the main determinant of carotid IMT in hypertensive subjects. Conversely, IT showed stronger correlation and greater discriminatory value to identify atherosclerotic plaques than MT and IMT. These findings suggest that carotid IT may be a more accurate marker of atherosclerosis that MT or IMT in hypertensive subjects. Figure 1 Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): CNPq

Morphological and histopathological study of autopsied patients with atherosclerosis and HIV

Background: Chronic infection by HIV evolves with a vascular inflammatory action causing endothelial dysfunction. The action of the virus as well as the side effects of antiretroviral drugs contributes to the progression of cardiovascular diseases. The present study aimed to evaluate the percentage of collagen fibers and the density of mast cells, chymase and tryptase, in aortas of patients with and without HIV, and also patients with and without atherosclerosis. Methods: Aortic fragments were obtained from autopsied patients aged 22-69 years, selected regardless of cause of death or underlying disease. The samples were divided into four groups, (1) Group with HIV and with atherosclerosis; (2) Group with HIV and without atherosclerosis; (3) Group without HIV and with atherosclerosis; (4) Group without HIV and without atherosclerosis (Control). The percentage of collagen fibers was analyzed in the intima-media layer and the density of mast cells were analyzed in all aortic layers. Graphpad Prism 5.0® software was used for statistical analysis. Results: There were more collagen fibers in HIV patients, with or without atherosclerosis. The group with HIV and atherosclerosis presented a higher density of chymase and tryptase mast cells. The correlation between collagen fibers and age was negative in the non-HIV group and with atherosclerosis. Conclusion: The inflammatory process resulting from HIV infection may be relevant in the alteration of aortic collagen fibers and in triggering or accelerating atherosclerosis. The study is important because HIV patients have increased risks for the development of cardiovascular diseases, and follow-up is necessary to prevent such diseases.

Design, Performance Evaluation and Investigation of the Dynamic Mechanisms of Earthworm-Microorganisms interactions for wastewater treatment through Vermifiltration technology

The present study points to the relevance of the earthworms-microorganism’s symbiotic and synergistic interactions that drive the wastewater treatment by identifying the most essential mechanisms underlying the removal of contaminants during vermifiltration technology. Previous studies have showed the presence of earthworms improves treatment performance of vermifilter (VF), but earthworm microbial community dynamics, their structure and functional characteristics in VF were not fully investigated. To investigate the effects of earthworms on the inherent microbial community of the VF, the present study envisages the dynamics of the complex symbiosis of earthworms & microorganisms associated to the treatment mechanisms. In this study, the design, operations and performance evaluation and influent, effluent and filter media layer were investigated for microbial diversity inside the earthworm population, along with the antimicrobial activity, enzymatic activity, and protein profiling assays. The results showed that earthworm gut microbial communities were dominated by Gammaproteobacteria, and the percentages arrived to 59–60% of the microbial species detected, while filter media layer showed presence of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. The protein profiling of the microbiota associated with the VF showed that earthworms feeding and earthworm–microorganism interaction were responsible for enhanced treatment performance. The finding provides an insight into the complex earthworm microbial dynamics and mechanisms for wastewater treatment in VF. Furthermore, earthworm predation strongly regulated microbial biomass while improving microbial activity, and is deciphered as the possible mechanisms behind the vermifiltration technology.

Mechanistic evaluation of long-term in-stent restenosis based on models of tissue damage and growth

Development and application of advanced mechanical models of soft tissues and their growth represent one of the main directions in modern mechanics of solids. Such models are increasingly used to deal with complex biomedical problems. Prediction of in-stent restenosis for patients treated with coronary stents remains a highly challenging task. Using a finite element method, this paper presents a mechanistic approach to evaluate the development of in-stent restenosis in an artery following stent implantation. Hyperelastic models with damage, verified with experimental results, are used to describe the level of tissue damage in arterial layers and plaque caused by such intervention. A tissue-growth model, associated with vessel damage, is adopted to describe the growth behaviour of a media layer after stent implantation. Narrowing of lumen diameter with time is used to quantify the development of in-stent restenosis in the vessel after stenting. It is demonstrated that stent designs and materials strongly affect the stenting-induced damage in the media layer and the subsequent development of in-stent restenosis. The larger the artery expansion achieved during balloon inflation, the higher the damage introduced to the media layer, leading to an increased level of in-stent restenosis. In addition, the development of in-stent restenosis is directly correlated with the artery expansion during the stent deployment. The correlation is further used to predict the effect of a complex clinical procedure, such as stent overlapping, on the level of in-stent restenosis developed after percutaneous coronary intervention.