Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for vasoplegic shock after treprostinil refill of an implanted intravenous pump: a case report.

Introduction: Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a rescue therapy that can stabilize patients with hemodynamic compromise. Indications continue to evolve, including drug overdose. However, the indication merely for vasoplegic shock following drug overdose is controversial. Case summary: We report a case of a 57-year-old male with high-risk idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension treated with upfront triple combination therapy (sildenafil, bosentan, and intravenous treprostinil infusion via subcutaneous abdominal implantable pump). In one of the refills of the drug reservoir, accidental administration of 1 months's supply of treprostinil (200 mg) into the subcutaneous tissue occurred, causing refractory vasoplegic shock. He required urgent VA-ECMO for 96 h, surviving to discharge 28 days later. Discussion: Treprostinil poisoning is rare due to its less frequent use but is life-threatening. ECMO may be considered in vasoplegic shock due to overdose of vasodilatory medication. It allows organ perfusion to be maintained, with the knowledge that recovery is as rapid as drug elimination.

Growth Behavior, Biomass Composition and Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAMEs) Production Potential of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and Chlorella vulgaris Cultures.

The production of biomolecules by microalgae has a wide range of applications in the development of various materials and products, such as biodiesel, food supplements, and cosmetics. Microalgae biomass can be produced using waste and in a smaller space than other types of crops (e.g., soja, corn), which shows microalgae's great potential as a source of biomass. Among the produced biomolecules of greatest interest are carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and fatty acids. In this study, the production of these biomolecules was determined in two strains of microalgae (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella vulgaris) when exposed to different concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Results show a significant microalgal growth (3.69 g L-1) and carbohydrates (163 mg g-1) increase in C. reinhardtii under low nitrogen concentration. Also, higher lipids content was produced under low sulfur concentration (246 mg g-1). It was observed that sulfur variation could affect in a negative way proteins production in C. reinhardtii culture. In the case of C. vulgaris, a higher biomass production was obtained in the standard culture medium (1.37 g L-1), and under a low-phosphorus condition, C. vulgaris produced a higher lipids concentration (248 mg g-1). It was observed that a low concentration of nitrogen had a better effect on the accumulation of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) (C16-C18) in both microalgae. These results lead us to visualize the effects that the variation in macronutrients can have on the growth of microalgae and their possible utility for the production of microalgae-based subproducts.

Characterization of Viscoelastic Poisson's Ratio of Engineering Elastomers via DIC-Based Creep Testing.

New data of creep and viscoelastic Poisson's ratio, ν(t), of five engineering elastomers (Ethylene Propylene-Diene Monomer, Flouroelastomer (Viton®), nitrile butadiene rubber, silicone rubber and neoprene/chloroprene rubber) at different stress (200, 400 and 600 kPa) and temperature (25, 50 and 80 °C) are presented. The ν(t) was characterized through an experimental methodological approach based on creep testing (30 min) and strain (axial and transverse) measurements by digital image correlation. Initially, creep behavior in axial and transverse directions was characterized for each elastomer and condition, and then each creep curve was fitted to a four-element creep model to obtain the corresponding functions. The obtained functions were used to estimate ν(t) for prolonged times (300 h) through a convolution equation. Overall, the characterization was achieved for the five elastomers results exhibiting ν(t) increasing with temperature and time from about 0.3 (for short-term loading) to reach and stabilize at about 0.48 (for long-term loading).

Method for conducting micro-abrasion wear testing of materials in oscillating sliding.

Micro-abrasion is a kind of wear occurring on materials´ surfaces by action of three-body hard particles existing at the sliding interface. It is consistently reproduced by a popular laboratory method well-known as ball cratering test. Characteristically, it consists of wearing off a material sample by loading it against a ball that rotates continuously and unidirectionally under controlled conditions. A slurry containing a certain amount of hard micro-sized particles is dropped uninterruptedly onto the ball to get the particles enters the sliding contact by the ball´s rotary effect. The present method proposes a variant to the classic micro-abrasion methodology. It comprises changing the ball motion from a unidirectional to an oscillating for testing by considering new test parameters such as sliding arc lengths and frequency, which provides more realistic sliding conditions and wear rates for materials to be used in mechanical applications involving reciprocating and oscillating sliding.

Microalgae Biomass as a New Potential Source of Sustainable Green Lubricants.

Lubricants are materials able to reduce friction and/or wear of any type of moving surfaces facilitating smooth operations, maintaining reliable machine functions, and reducing risks of failures while contributing to energy savings. At present, most worldwide used lubricants are derived from crude oil. However, production, usage and disposal of these lubricants have significant impact on environment and health. Hence, there is a growing pressure to reduce demand of this sort of lubricants, which has fostered development and use of green lubricants, as vegetable oil-based lubricants (biolubricants). Despite the ecological benefits of producing/using biolubricants, availability of the required raw materials and agricultural land to create a reliable chain supply is still far from being established. Recently, biomass from some microalgae species has attracted attention due to their capacity to produce high-value lipids/oils for potential lubricants production. Thus, this multidisciplinary work reviews the main chemical-physical characteristics of lubricants and the main attempts and progress on microalgae biomass production for developing oils with pertinent lubricating properties. In addition, potential microalgae strains and chemical modifications to their oils to produce lubricants for different industrial applications are identified. Finally, a guide for microalgae oil selection based on its chemical composition for specific lubricant applications is provided.

Partially Deacetylated and Fibrillated Shrimp Waste-Derived Chitin as Biopolymer Emulsifier for Green Cutting Fluids-Towards a Cleaner Production.

Up to date, most metalworking fluids (MWFs) are emulsions made of petroleum-derived oil bases and sodium petroleum sulphonate emulsifiers. They are not readily biodegradable, and their waste is hazardous for users and the environment. Therefore, green MWFs are required for achieving cleaner production processes. Recently, various MWFs have been developed using vegetable oil bases to meet biodegradability to some extent. However, the emulsifier has been scarcely replaced by a green product. This research aims to produce and evaluate Pickering emulsions made of Jatropha oil (JO) and partially deacetylated and fibrillated chitin (PDFC) as emulsifiers at different concentrations. JO is a non-edible biodegradable oil with remarkable lubricity properties, while PDFC is produced by extracting chitin from waste heads and shells of the shrimp species Litopenaeus vannameii, followed by partial deacetylation and further fibrillation, which improves wettability and stabilization. The prepared emulsions were characterized in terms of creaming index and size of emulsion droplets and evaluated as MWFs in actual turning operations of AISI 1018 steel bars via minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) technique. The findings suggest PDFC as a potential eco-friendly emulsifier to form green MWFs with acceptable stability generating low cutting forces and significant workpiece finishing and chips quality.