Experimental and Numerical Study on the Influence of Lubrication Conditions on AA6068 Aluminum Alloy Cold Deformation Behavior.

The aim of this manuscript is the experimental and numerical study regarding the influence of friction conditions on plastic deformation behavior by upsetting the A6082 aluminum alloy. The upsetting operation is characteristic of a significant number of metal forming processes: close die forging, open die forging, extrusion, and rolling. The purpose of the experimental tests was to determine: by the ring compression method, the friction coefficient for 3 surface lubrication conditions (dry, mineral oil, graphite in oil) by using the Coulomb friction model; the influence of strains on the friction coefficient; the influence of friction conditions on the formability of the A6082 aluminum alloy upsetted on hammer; study of non-uniformity of strains in upsetting by measuring hardness; change of the tool-sample contact surface and non-uniformity of strains distribution in a material by numerical simulation. Regarding the tribological studies involving numerical simulations on the deformation of metals, they mainly focused on the development of friction models that characterize the friction at the tool-sample interface. The software used for the numerical analysis was Forge@ from Transvalor.

Laboratory diagnosis of infectious diarrhoea syndrome; a three years study in two hospitals of infectious diseases.

Infectious diarrhoea is a syndrome caused by a variety of bacterial, viral and parasitic organisms which represents a major cause of morbidity and mortality all over the world. The wide diversity of etiological agents impairs the surveillance and the diagnosis and affects the correct treatment applied to reduce the long-term complications. Besides well known enteric pathogens such as Salmonella, Shigella and Yersinia, a high number of emergent and re-emergent aetiologies are now recognised to be at the origin of diarrhoea. The lack of a correct diagnostic algorithm and adequate methods of analyses leads to under-evaluation and incertitude in an important number of clinical cases. Our study was designed as a complex analysis of the stool specimens collected from the patients, in the purpose to improve the laboratory diagnostic and to enhance the number of confirmed cases of infectious diarrhoea. A number of 756 samples from inpatients with diarrhoea were tested targeting pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria, viruses and parasites by classical and molecular methods. We documented that, in case of non-Salmonella, non-Shigella, non-Yersinia diarrhoea, the quality of diagnostic was improved by increasing the percentage of positive specimens to 22.49% compared to 11.12% when only bacteria, 5.56% when only viruses and 4.10% when only parasites were investigated. The laboratory data are of great value in evaluating the diarrhoea syndrome offering the documentation for an accurate epidemiological response and an adequate treatment.

Relationship of adiponectin to markers of oxidative stress in type 2 diabetic patients: influence of incipient diabetes-associated kidney disease.

PURPOSE: Adiponectin may be beneficial in incipient chronic kidney disease by antagonizing oxidative stress. We evaluated adiponectin, malondialdehyde (MDA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD), in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients (T2DP) with and without incipient nephropathy. METHODS: T2DP with glomerular filtration rate (GFR) >30 ml/min were compared with 20 healthy controls. Clinical and laboratory evaluations, levels of MDA (fluorimetric thiobarbituric test), SOD (cytochrome reduction method) and adiponectin (ELISA) were obtained. RESULTS: Sixty-four patients (GFR 91.44 ± 38.50 ml/min, urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio [UACR] 20.81 [4.64-72.88 mg/g]) were included. MDA was higher in T2DP than in controls: 3.97 (2.43-4.59) versus 1.35 (1.16-1.81) nmol/ml, p < 0.0001. MDA correlated with glycated hemoglobin (r = 0.40, p = 0.001), adiponectin (r = -0.28, p = 0.03), systolic blood pressure (r = -0.28, p = 0.03) and SOD (r = -0.35, p = 0.005); adiponectin (p = 0.01) and glycated hemoglobin (p = 0.02) remained significant predictors of MDA in multiple regression analysis. SOD was negatively correlated with glycemia (r = -0.71, p < 0.0001) and glycated hemoglobin (r = -0.5, p < 0.0001). When patients were divided according to a ROC-derived adiponectin cutoff of 8.9 µg/ml, patients with higher adiponectin had lower MDA, [2.55 (2.35-3.60) vs. 4.10 (2.89-5.31) nmol/ml, p = 0.005] but similar SOD levels. In T2DP with nephropathy (GFR < 60 ml/min or UACR > 30 mg/g), the correlation of adiponectin with MDA was stronger, (r = -0.51, p = 0.004) confirmed in multiple regression analysis (p = 0.03). Adiponectin was not correlated with MDA, and SOD was inversely related to MDA in patients without nephropathy. CONCLUSION: Adiponectin is a significant predictor of MDA in early diabetic nephropathy, whereas SOD strongly depends only on glycemic control and is not directly related to adiponectin.

[Difficulties in diagnostic of biliary ileus]. / Dificultati de diagnostic în ileusul biliar.

UNLABELLED: Gallstone ileus is a rare disease which can be life-threatening because of misdiagnosis preoperatively. The authors analyze the clinical observations about two women where, because of associated diseases, delayed in presentation to the hospital, volume depleted electrolyte abnormalities and, not in the last place, because of lack in accuracy of paraclinical investigations, the diagnosis was mad only intraoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: The appearance of clinical setting of high intestinal obstruction in associating with extra-kidney azotemy in female patients with gallstone in their history and no previous abdominal operations must we make to thinking about gallstone ileus.

Variation of clinical and laboratory features in chronic dialysis patients treated with high-flux hemodialysis after switching to online hemodiafiltration.

PURPOSE: The study of online hemodiafiltration (HDF) benefits over high-flux hemodialysis (HD) raises great interest. The purpose was to compare clinical and laboratory parameters in patients treated with HD who were switched to HDF. METHODS: Forty-eight HD patients (study group) were switched to HDF, while other 521 patients remained on HD as a control group. During last 6 HD months and during first year of HDF, we determined in both groups the following parameters: monthly-weekly dialysis time, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), interdialytic body weight gain (IBWG), blood flow rate (Qb), weekly erythropoietin-stimulating agents dose (EPO), single-pool Kt/V, calcium, phosphorus (P), hemoglobin and normalized protein catabolic ration (nPCR), plus every 3 months--albumin, parathormone (PTH), ferritin and transferrin saturation (TSAT). In both groups, parameters in the last 6 HD months were compared to those in the first 6 months and, respectively, to those in the first year of HDF. RESULTS: In the study group, albumin and nPCR were significantly higher in the HD period not only compared to the first 6 months of HDF, but also compared to the first year of HDF. IBWG and P were higher with HD compared to the first year of HDF, but not with the first 6 months. PTH, Kt/V, Qb and EPO were higher in both HDF periods. In the control group, albumin was significantly higher in the first 6 months after the switch, but it was significantly lower in the first year. BMI, ferritin, PTH, Kt/V, Qb, TSAT and weekly dialysis time were higher in both HDF periods, while nPCR, EPO, SBP and DBP were lower. IBWG and Hb rose only during the first year after the switch, while P was lower in the first year, but not in the first 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Nutrition, assessed by albumin, nPCR and BMI, was not improved by HDF compared to HD. With HDF, Kt/V and phosphorus control were better, similar results were observed in the control group. A larger EPO dose was needed with HDF for maintaining a similar hemoglobin level.