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At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Shapability, memory, and luminal changes in microcatheters after steam shaping: a comparison of 11 different microcatheters.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the characteristics of shaped microcatheters, including shapability, durability, and luminal changes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eleven brands of steam-shaped microcatheters and one brand of preshaped microcatheter were evaluated. There were 2 nonreinforced and 10 reinforced devices supported by coils. For evaluation of shapability, the tip angle of 6 samples of each brand were measured after steam-shaping for 20 seconds with a shaping mandrel bent at a 90 degrees or 150 degrees angle. The ability to maintain the shaped angle after guidewire insertion stress (durability) was compared by calculation of the change in the tip angle by using 3 samples of each brand. Luminal change after steam shaping was evaluated by calculation of narrowing rate of the smallest diameter and observation of the surface morphology of the mold of each catheter lumen by using a silicone polymer by means of a fluorescent projection method. RESULTS: The nonreinforced microcatheters and the fiber-braided microcatheter showed higher shapability than the others. The degree of distal microcatheter straightening with the microguidewire insertion was less pronounced in the preshaped microcatheter and the fiber-braided microcatheter. Spontaneous recovery to the initial tip angle 5 minutes after the guidewire procedure was observed in 10 brands to various degrees (87%-98%). Irregular luminal surface morphology at the angled portion was found in 6 reinforced brands. One nonreinforced catheter and the fiber-braided catheter showed high narrowing rates >6%. CONCLUSION: There are differences in shapabilty, durability, and luminal changes of steam shaping in 12 brands of microcatheters. These characteristics could be important factors in catheter choice for endovascular procedures.

Catheterization↗
PubMed1990

Evaluation of steam therapy in acute lower respiratory tract infections: a pilot study.

In a prospective controlled evaluation of steam therapy, in severe acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) requiring hospitalization, 16 cases of bronchiolitis and 20 cases of pneumonia were assigned alternately to receive steam therapy in a cloth tent (Study Group); others served as controls. Respiratory status was assessed at the time of admission and subsequently at 6 hourly interval for 48 hours. No advantage of steam therapy could be identified in children with pneumonia. Bronchiolitis patients on steam therapy, as compared to the controls, showed a significant decrease in respiratory distress within first 24 hours after hospitalization and took significantly shorter time for recovery from the distress. The study patients also showed a tendency for rapid improvement in hypoxemia. Further critically controlled studies with a larger sample size are warranted.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Criteria for determining steam sterilization cycles for lubricated and nonlubricated mechanical equipment.

Requirements and procedures for determining steam sterilization cycles for lubricated and nonlubricated, complex, mechanical equipment are established. Factors affecting exposure times are discussed, as are procedures and data needed to determine the penetrability of steam into mechanical equipment, and the effect of lubricating oil in impeding steam penetration to the spore. The total effects of these factors in sterilizing times are presented. Sterilizers with a prevacuum cycle, which can remove air from the equipment efficiently and replace it with saturated steam, are recommended for complex mechanical equipment.

Equipment and Supplies, Hospital↗
PubMed2005

Implementation issues of multivoxel STEAM-localized 1H spectroscopy.

Single-voxel STEAM-localized spectroscopy studies of neuropsychiatric patients yield high-quality data at short echo times, but are often limited to only a few regions of interest due to the linear increase of acquisition time with the number of regions examined. A multivoxel STEAM approach increases the number of regions of interest examined with a less than linear increase in acquisition time. Several implementation issues were considered, especially the signal contribution of outer voxel stimulated echoes (OVSE), which can lead to systematic errors in the quantification of relative metabolite concentrations. The relative signal contribution of OVSEs was found to be as great as 30% in phantoms. Gradient polarity switching completely canceled the contribution of OVSEs. A two-voxel STEAM approach produces phantom and in vivo data quality comparable to single-voxel STEAM in practically half the time. Quantification precision and accuracy are preserved in phantoms and in vivo.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2006

In vivo localized 1H MR spectroscopy of rat testes: stimulated echo acquisition mode (STEAM) combined with short TI inversion recovery (STIR) improves the detection of metabolite signals.

A noninvasive NMR technique for evaluating testicular function was explored in this study. Localized in vivo 1H NMR spectroscopy was performed on rat testes using a stimulated echo acquisition mode (STEAM) sequence with a short echo time (TE). In the 1H spectra, large lipid signals dominated the chemical shift range of 0.89-2.78 ppm, which prevented the observation of metabolite signals in this region. To suppress these lipid signals, short inversion time (TI) inversion recovery (STIR) was combined with STEAM (STIR-STEAM). The optimal TI was typically 320 ms. STIR-STEAM with a TE of 15 ms allowed successful suppression of the lipid signals and the sensitive detection of several new metabolite signals. In normal testes, choline, creatine, glutamate, and glycine signals were identified. In addition to these metabolites, a lactate signal was observed in ischemic testes. To our knowledge, the signals of glutamate, glycine, and lactate have not been previously assigned in 1H MR spectra of testes in vivo. Lipid suppression by STIR aided in the detection of these metabolites, which would otherwise have been masked by the lipid signals.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

In vivo diffusion tensor mapping of the brain of squirrel monkey, rat, and mouse using single-shot STEAM MRI.

The purpose was to assess the potential of half Fourier diffusion-weighted single-shot STEAM MRI for diffusion tensor mapping of animal brain in vivo. A STEAM sequence with image acquisition times of about 500 ms was implemented at 2.35 T using six gradient orientations and b values of 200, 700, and 1200 s mm(-2). The use of half Fourier phase-encoding increased the signal-to-noise ratio by 45% relative to full Fourier acquisitions. Moreover, STEAM-derived maps of the relative anisotropy and main diffusion direction were completely free of susceptibility-induced signal losses and geometric distortions. Within measuring times of 3 h, the achieved resolution varied from 600x700x1000 microm3 for squirrel monkeys to 140x280x720 microm3 for mice. While in monkeys the accessible white matter fiber connections were comparable to those reported for humans, detectable fiber structures in mice focused on the corpus callosum, anterior commissure, and hippocampal fimbria. In conclusion diffusion-weighted single-shot STEAM MRI allows for in vivo diffusion tensor mapping of the brain of squirrel monkeys, rats, and mice without motion artifacts and susceptibility distortions.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Steam vaporizer burn injuries.

Steam vaporizers increase indoor relative humidity by releasing steam into the air. The temperature of the steam is sufficiently high to cause severe burns. We report two cases of children who received partial thickness burns from steam vaporizers. Because of the high risk of burn injury, the manufacturers should be required to label the surface of the boiling chamber of the vaporizer with a warning statement.

Burns↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Steam press hand burns: a serious burn injury.

Steam presses cause full-thickness burns when the operator's extremity is caught between the buck and the head of the steam press. Patients with serious steam press burns should be referred to a regional burn center for excision of the full-thickness burn and coverage by either a split-thickness skin graft or a flap. The safety features in steam presses that could prevent this serious injury include: (1) emergency safety releases, (2) peripheral safety bars, and (3) two-hand operator control.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed2006

Effect of hemicellulose and lignin removal on enzymatic hydrolysis of steam pretreated corn stover.

Ethanol can be produced from lignocellulosic biomass using steam pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. The sugar yields, from both hemicellulose and cellulose are critical parameters for an economically-feasible ethanol production process. This study shows that a near-theoretical glucose yield (96-104%) from acid-catalysed steam pretreated corn stover can be obtained if xylanases are used to supplement cellulases during hydrolysis. Xylanases hydrolyse residual hemicellulose, thereby improving the access of enzymes to cellulose. Under these conditions, xylose yields reached 70-74%. When pre-treatment severity was reduced by using autocatalysis instead of acid-catalysed steam pretreatment, xylose yields were increased to 80-86%. Partial delignification of pretreated material was also evaluated as a way to increase the overall sugar yield. The overall glucose yield increased slightly due to delignification but the overall xylose yield decreased due to hemicellulose loss in the delignification step. The data also demonstrate that steam pretreatment is a robust process: corn stover from Europe and North America showed only minor differences in behaviour.

Hydrolysis↗
PubMed2004

High-performance liquid chromatographic method with quantitative comparisons of whole chromatograms of raw and steamed Panax notoginseng.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method coupled with chromatographic pattern matching was developed to differentiate whole chromatograms of raw and steamed Panax notoginseng objectively and quantitatively. The major peaks differentiating chromatograms of raw and steamed samples were also identified for the first time in this herb. The raw and steamed P. notoginseng roots and its products were successfully differentiated. The quantitative differences between the chromatograms were correlated to the duration of steaming. Chromatographic pattern matching allows rapid, simple, automated, and quantitative comparisons of complex chromatograms. It is a useful tool in ensuring safety and quality of herbal products.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
PubMed2003

Analysis of saponins in raw and steamed Panax notoginseng using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection.

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of six saponins (notoginsenoside R1, ginsenosides Rg1, Re, Rb1, Rc, Rd) in raw and steamed Panax notoginseng. Linearity (r2 > 0.9988), intra- and inter-day precision (RSD < 4%), limit of detection (0.008-0.013 mg/ml), limit of quantification (0.027-0.042 mg/ml) of the saponins were determined. The method was successfully applied to 11 pairs of raw and steamed P. notoginseng products. Three products showed discrepancies between theirlabelled claims (raw or steamed) and the results of analysis. This new, simple and reliable method could be used in the quality control of raw and steamed P. notoginseng.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
PubMed2002

Modeling of polychlorinated biphenyl removal from contaminated soil using steam.

Microwave-generated steam technology shows promise as an effective remediation alternative for removal of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from contaminated soils, based on our laboratory-scale experiments. The overall process can be described by a nonisothermal, unsteady, coupled heat and multicomponent PCB mass-transport model in a multiphase, variably saturated, porous soil medium. In this paper, a multicomponent PCB mass-transport model is presented that assumes evaporation is an important removal mechanism and that is based on first-order mass transfer between the interface of PCB films and the bulk steam. The model was calibrated using the experimental data, and the calibrated model was verified by computational mass-balance checks and comparisons with laboratory-scale column experimental results. From a qualitative point of view, the calibrated model successfully simulated the transport of PCBs in variably saturated soil media. The calculated increase/decrease factors of physicochemical properties of PCBs as a function of temperature in the soil, water, and free phases were consistent with the model hypothesis of an evaporation process. The effects of mass-transfer coefficients and initial PCB concentrations in the soils on PCB removal rates were investigated using the numerical code. It was determined that the PCB removal rates were sensitive to mass-transfer coefficients and initial PCB concentrations. Although the steam:soil mass ratios required to achieve a given percentage removal were lower for lower initial PCB soil concentrations, steam: soil mass ratios required to achieve a given unit mass removal were higherfor lower initial PCB soil concentrations.

Calibration↗
PubMed2004

Enhancing activated carbon adsorption of 2-methylisoborneol: methane and steam treatments.

This research investigated methods for tailoring a commercial, lignite-based granular activated carbon (GAC) to enhance its adsorption of 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) from natural water. Tailoring efforts focused on heat treatments in gas environments comprising steam and/or methane, since these gases can alter GAC pore structure and surface chemistry. Heat treatments that combined methane and steam enhanced MIB adsorption considerably, causing a 4-fold improvement (over untreated GAC) in fixed-bed adsorption performance relative to initial MIB breakthrough. These favorable effects, observed in rapid small-scale column tests, occurred following simultaneous and separate (sequential) applications of methane and steam. Moderately low temperature steam treatments also improved MIB uptake in fixed-bed adsorption tests but to a lesser extent (approximately 1.5-fold). In contrast, methane treatments alone, at various temperatures, led to significant carbon deposition within the GAC pore structure. As a result, total pore volume was reduced and MIB adsorption performance declined.

Adsorption↗
PubMed2004

Inhibition of lipid oxidation in pork bundles processing by superheated steam frying.

The effect of superheated steam treatment on the oxidative stability of lipids in packaged Zousoon (pork bundles) was investigated. The aroma quality of Zousoon samples was evaluated by sensory analysis and chromatographic analysis of volatiles. Results of this study indicated that oxidation of lipids occurred in pan-fried Zousoon after prolonged storage. Significant amounts of highly volatile compounds such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, and hexanal in Zousoon were identified by a modified method of cysteamine derivatization followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Superheated steam was found to be effective in suppressing lipid oxidation in canned Zousoon as compared with Zousoon fried by the conventional method in a frying pan. The superheated steam-fried samples had relatively low thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) and peroxide (POV) values before and after storage, whereas samples prepared by pan frying had relatively high TBARS and POV values before and after storage. Superheated steam-fried Zousoon had superior lipid stability to that prepared by the conventional pan-frying method.

Aldehydes↗
PubMed2005

Microcalorimetric and infrared studies of ethanol and acetaldehyde adsorption to investigate the ethanol steam reforming on supported cobalt catalysts.

Microcalorimetric and infrared studies of ethanol and acetaldehyde adsorption were carried out on fresh and deactivated ZnO-supported cobalt catalysts (Co/ZnO and Co/ZnO(d), respectively) as well as on ZnO support alone. The results were used to analyze the catalytic behavior of these materials for ethanol and acetaldehyde steam-reforming reactions. The Co/ZnO(d) sample contained extensive carbon deposition as shown by Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. On fresh Co/ZnO, the adsorption energetics of ethanol and acetaldehyde (an intermediate in the ethanol reforming reaction) were similar. Under steam-reforming conditions at low conversion values of ethanol, acetaldehyde was selectively yielded. The presence of surface acetate species was shown from IR spectra following acetaldehyde adsorption. Besides that, the Co/ZnO catalyst was active and showed a high selectivity toward the reforming products, H2 and CO2, when the steam reforming of acetaldehyde was carried out at low conversion values. In contrast, on the deactivated sample, the strongest adsorption sites of ethanol have disappeared, and acetaldehyde was adsorbed with higher energy with respect to ethanol, resulting in the blockage of the active sites; a poorer catalytic performance in both ethanol and acetaldehyde steam-reforming reactions is observed. The presence of acetate species after adsorption of acetaldehyde on Co/ZnO(d) was not shown. The polymerization of acetaldehyde over Co/ZnO(d) was related to the decomposition of acetaldehyde under reforming conditions to give CO and CH4.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Development of porosity in a char during reaction with steam or supercritical water.

Two series of activated carbon have been prepared by reaction of a char (from olive stones) with supercritical water (SCW) with the objective of studying the effect of temperature and residence time on the development of porosity. The results have been compared with those obtained using the same char but with classical activation with steam. Both procedures develop porosity, but (i) the reaction rate is critical in the development of porosity for steam but not for SCW activation, and (ii) SCW activation produces a larger development of microporosity at low degrees of burnoff, whereas steam produces more meso- and macroporosity. The differences have been explained by assuming that the mechanism for the carbon-water reaction is common but the transport properties of water in the supercritical state are more favorable to facilitate the access of water to the interior of the char particles. In contrast, when steam is used for the activation of the char, the diffusion of the molecules cannot keep up with the chemical rate and, consequently, the reaction is preferentially taking place at the most accessible surface sites, thus facilitating the development of larger pores and the widening of microporosity.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Chemical transformation of some biologically relevant calcium phosphates in aqueous media during a steam sterilization.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of steam sterilization on some biologically relevant calcium phosphates: CaHPO4 . 2H2O (DCPD), calcium deficient apatite (CDA) and biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP). Suspensions of 0.2 g of each calcium phosphate compound with 5.0 ml of deionized water were prepared and steam sterilized in an autoclave (20 min at 121 degrees C). After sterilization the suspensions were filtered and the dried solids characterized with scanning electron microscopy, IR-spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The pH and calcium concentrations of the filtrates were determined with ion selective electrodes. Similar measurements were made with the same samples which were not sterilized. The sterilization procedure was found to result in the dehydration of DCPD and hydration of calcium oxide incorporated into the BCP. Solution pH was observed to change from 7.3 to 5.5 for the solutions in equilibrium with DCPD and from 8.5 to 10.6 for those in equilibrium with BCP. Minor changes both with the solid and liquid phases were found to occur during the steam sterilization of CDA. These results indicate that steam sterilization may have different effects on different calcium phosphate suspensions: it can result in dehydration of DCPD, fast hydration for CaO in BCP, but no significant effect on CDA.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1993

The accumulation of alpha- and beta-carotene in serum and tissues of preruminant calves fed raw and steamed carrot slurries.

The preruminant calf model was used to evaluate the effects of mild heat treatment on the serum and tissue accumulation of alpha- and beta-carotene from carrots. Twenty-four 1-wk-old Holstein male calves were assigned to one of four groups and fed a milk replacer diet. Negative control animals received no additional supplement. The three remaining groups received an additional 20 mg beta-carotene/d from either water-soluble beadlets, homogenized raw carrots or homogenized steamed carrots. Serum samples were obtained daily, and calves were killed after 7 d and samples of serum, liver and adrenal collected. Tissue and serum alpha- and beta-carotene concentrations were not significantly higher in steamed carrot-fed animals than in raw carrot-fed animals. The molar ratios of beta-carotene to alpha-carotene in both raw carrot-fed and steamed carrot-fed groups were highest in adrenal tissues, intermediate in serum and lowest in the diets. None of these differences were statistically significant. When the serum, liver and adrenal beta-carotene data were pooled, the mean relative accumulation of beta-carotene, expressed as a percentage of the mean response of calves receiving water-soluble beadlets, was 46.8% for calves fed raw carrots and 74.0% for calves fed steamed carrots. These results suggest a small enhancing effect of mild heat treatment of carrots on the serum and tissue accumulation of carotenoids.

Animals↗