Unintended Consequences of Innominate Artery Cannulation in a Pediatric Patient: Infection of Innominate Artery Graft Stump With Subsequent Formation of Right Common Carotid Artery Pseudoaneurysm.

Indirect arterial cannulation techniques, such as cannulation of the innominate artery (IA) using an end-to-side anastomosed vascular graft, are commonly used to establish cardiopulmonary bypass in congenital cardiac surgery. Although rare, unintended consequences, such as graft infection, may occur. We describe a case of IA graft infection with subsequent pseudoaneurysm formation in a 10-year-old child who underwent multiple procedures for Tetralogy of Fallot with absent pulmonary valve syndrome.

Surgical approaches for thymectomy: a narrative review.

Background And Objective: Thymectomy continues to be a standard treatment strategy for patients with thymic neoplasms and myasthenia gravis. The total thymectomies performed has exponentially increased by 69.8% between 2012 and 2019.

NO Deficiency Compromises Inter- and Intrahemispheric Blood Flow Adaptation to Unilateral Carotid Artery Occlusion.

Carotid artery stenosis (CAS) affects approximately 5-7.5% of older adults and is recognized as a significant risk factor for vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). The impact of CAS on cerebral blood flow (CBF) within the ipsilateral hemisphere relies on the adaptive capabilities of the cerebral microcirculation.

Acute type A aortic dissection in adolescents and young adults under 30 years of age: demographics, aetiology and postoperative outcomes of 139 cases.

Objectives: The prevalence and aetiology of acute aortic dissection type A (AADA) in patients ≤30 years is unknown. The aims of this clinical study were to determine the prevalence and potential aetiology of AADA in surgically treated patients ≤30 years and to evaluate the respective postoperative outcomes in this selective group of patients in a large multicentre study.

Methods: Retrospective data collection was performed at 16 participating international aortic institutions.

Multifunctional Quasi-Solid-State Zinc-Sulfur Battery.

The introduction of structural energy storage devices into emerging markets, such as electric vehicles, is predominately hindered by weak energy density, safety concerns, and immaturity of the field in materials. Herein, fabrication and testing of a freeze-resistant, multifunctional quasi-solid-state zinc-sulfur battery (ZnS) are reported. To this end, an electrostatic spray coating technique was used to deposit a thin layer of sulfur on the highly porous, unidirectional activated carbon nanofibers (A-CNFs) as a load-bearing cathode.

Development of a controlled-atmosphere, rapid-cooling cryogenic chamber for tribological and mechanical testing.

Mechanical testing of seals, bearing materials, and mechanisms in cryogenic environments is a rapidly growing field of research, as it promises improvements in equipment performance and reliability for applications such as space exploration, liquid hydrocarbon storage, and superconducting devices. Cooling of test equipment is usually performed within a well-insulated test chamber, via direct or indirect evaporation of liquid cryogen. State-of-the-art equipment is frequently insufficient for rigorous testing, being expensive and cumbersome, cooling slowly, struggling to replicate relevant environmental conditions, and/or failing to reach the temperature of the cryogen.

Impact of Ionic Liquid Additives and Inorganic Fullerene-Like Tungsten Disulfide on Friction and Wear under Aqueous Environments.

Aqueous lubricants are gaining attention due to significant advantages such as being environmentally friendly, tunable, and thermally stable. The oil and gas industry can use such additives to utilize in water-based fluids for applications where small sliding velocities and large lateral forces require enhanced lubrication. This investigation aims to compare the effects of two different additives: (i) inorganic fullerene-like tungsten disulfide (IF-WS) and (ii) an alkanolamine ionic liquid denoted as AA-IL.

Development of Fluorine-Free Tantalum Carbide MXene Hybrid Structure as a Biocompatible Material for Supercapacitor Electrodes.

The application of nontoxic 2D transition-metal carbides (MXenes) has recently gained ground in bioelectronics. In group-4 transition metals, tantalum possesses enhanced biological and physical properties compared to other MXene counterparts. However, the application of tantalum carbide for bioelectrodes has not yet been explored.

Enabling Selectively Tunable Mechanical Properties of Graphene Oxide/Silk Fibroin/Cellulose Nanocrystal Bionanofilms.

Enhancing and manipulating the mechanical properties of graphene oxide (GO)-based structures are challenging because the GO assembly is easily delaminated. We develop nacre-like bionanofilms whose in-plane mechanical properties can be manipulated through water vapor annealing without influencing their mechanical properties in the thickness direction. These bionanofilms are prepared from GO, silk fibroin (SF), and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) via a spin-assisted layer-by-layer assembly.

Outcomes of pericardiectomy for constrictive pericarditis following mediastinal irradiation.

Background: Pericardiectomy for postradiation constrictive pericarditis has been reported to generally have unfavorable outcomes. This study sought to evaluate surgical outcomes in a large cohort of patients undergoing pericardiectomy for radiation-associated pericardial constriction.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of all patients (≥18 years) who underwent pericardiectomy for a diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis with a prior history of mediastinal irradiation from June 2002 to June 2019 was conducted.

Pediatric surgical rib fixation: A collected case series of a rare entity.

Background: Rib fractures are uncommon in children and are markers of extreme traumatic force from high-energy or nonaccidental etiology. Traditional care includes nonoperative management, with analgesia, ventilator support, and pulmonary physiotherapy. Surgical stabilization of rib fractures (SSRFs) has been associated with improved outcomes in adults.

Novel Innovations for Ventricular Assist Device Infection.

Device infection is a major potential complication following ventricular assist device implantation and can lead to devastating consequences. The treatment options are few and often challenging to implement. The most durable option may require device exchange to obtain adequate source control.

Effects of SiO content on the nanomechanical properties of CoCrPt-SiO granular films.

CoCrPt material is used for perpendicular magnetic recording media due to its high magneto-crystalline anisotropy that brings good thermal stability on the media. The addition of SiO between the CoCrPt grains offers benefits including lower noise and better thermal stability. It has been reported that the SiO content has strong effects on the media's recording performance such as coercivity, anisotropy and noise.

Preemptive Extracorporeal Life Support for Surgical Treatment of Severe Constrictive Pericarditis.

Background: Surgical treatment of constrictive pericarditis (CP) is particularly challenging because of the increased risk of right heart failure. The necessity of postoperative extracorporeal life support (ECLS) can result in mortality rates of 100%. Preemptive implantation of ECLS may improve postoperative outcomes; however, no data are currently available on its use.

A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) force-displacement transducer for sub-5 nm nanoindentation and adhesion measurements.

We present a highly sensitive force-displacement transducer capable of performing ultra-shallow nanoindentation and adhesion measurements. The transducer utilizes electrostatic actuation and capacitive sensing combined with microelectromechanical fabrication technologies. Air indentation experiments report a root-mean-square (RMS) force resolution of 1.

Fabrication and Deformation of 3D Multilayered Kirigami Microstructures.

Mechanically guided 3D microassembly with controlled compressive buckling represents a promising emerging route to 3D mesostructures in a broad range of advanced materials, including single-crystalline silicon (Si), of direct relevance to microelectronic devices. During practical applications, the assembled 3D mesostructures and microdevices usually undergo external mechanical loading such as out-of-plane compression, which can induce damage in or failure of the structures/devices. Here, the mechanical responses of a few mechanically assembled 3D kirigami mesostructures under flat-punch compression are studied through combined experiment and finite element analyses.

Fast Self-Healing of Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Nanocoating and Restoration of Super Oxygen Barrier.

A self-healable gas barrier nanocoating, which is fabricated by alternate deposition of polyethyleneimine (PEI) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) polyelectrolytes, is demonstrated in this study. This multilayer film, with high elastic modulus, high glass transition temperature, and small free volume, has been shown to be a super oxygen gas barrier. An 8-bilayer PEI/PAA multilayer assembly (≈700 nm thick) exhibits an oxygen transmission rate (OTR) undetectable to commercial instrumentation (<0.

Influence of Graphene Reduction and Polymer Cross-Linking on Improving the Interfacial Properties of Multilayer Thin Films.

Graphene is a versatile composite reinforcement candidate due to its strong mechanical, tunable electrical and optical properties, and chemical stability. However, one drawback is the weak interfacial bonding, which results in weak adhesion to substrates. This could be overcome by adding polymer layers to have stronger adherence to the substrate and between graphene sheets.

Adaptation of the cerebrocortical circulation to carotid artery occlusion involves blood flow redistribution between cortical regions and is independent of eNOS.

Cerebral circulation is secured by feed-forward and feed-back control pathways to maintain and eventually reestablish the optimal oxygen and nutrient supply of neurons in case of disturbances of the cardiovascular system. Using the high temporal and spatial resolution of laser-speckle imaging we aimed to analyze the pattern of cerebrocortical blood flow (CoBF) changes after unilateral (left) carotid artery occlusion (CAO) in anesthetized mice to evaluate the contribution of macrovascular (circle of Willis) vs. pial collateral vessels as well as that of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) to the cerebrovascular adaptation to CAO.

Nanomechanical Behavior of High Gas Barrier Multilayer Thin Films.

Nanoindentation and nanoscratch experiments were performed on thin multilayer films manufactured using the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique. These films are known to exhibit high gas barrier, but little is known about their durability, which is an important feature for various packaging applications (e.g.

Ultrastrong, Chemically Resistant Reduced Graphene Oxide-based Multilayer Thin Films with Damage Detection Capability.

Multilayer thin films of graphene oxide (GO) and poly(vinylamine) (PVAm) were deposited via layer-by-layer assembly. Poly(vinylamine) pH was used to tailor film thickness and GO layer spacing. Graphene oxide concentration in the films was controlled through simple pH adjustment.

Bacteria repelling on highly-ordered alumina-nanopore structures.

Bacteria introduce diseases and infections to humans by their adherence to biomaterials, such as implants and surgical tools. Cell desorption is an effective step to reduce such damage. Here, we report mechanisms of bacteria desorption.

Dynamic adhesive force measurements under vertical and horizontal motions of interacting rough surfaces.

An instrument to measure dynamic adhesive forces between interacting rough surfaces has been developed. It consists of four parts, namely, main instrument body, vertical positioning system with both micrometer and nanometer positioning accuracies, horizontal positioning system with nanometer positioning accuracy, and custom-built high-resolution, and high dynamic bandwidth capacitive force transducer. The vertical piezoelectric actuator (PZT) controls the vertical (approaching and retracting) motion of the upper specimen, while the horizontal PZT controls the horizontal (reciprocal) motion of the lower specimen.