All rights reserved.”
“Currently, separation processes used for natural fibres for composite reinforcing textiles cause a significant amount of damage to the fibres. Microscopic analysis showed that industrially processed flax (Linum usitassimium L) fibres contained significantly more defects than green or retted ones and that further mechanical processing did not significantly increase the amount of defects. In this study it has been shown, by analysing the degree of polymerisation of cell wall components indirectly by viscosity measurements, that mechanically induced defects do not significantly cleave

the cell wall polymers. Acid hydrolysis, however, induced more degradation of the cell wall polymers in fibres having a greater degree of damage, indicating that that defects are more susceptible to certain chemical reactions and which in turn might cause problems for example, during chemical modification of fibres clue to heterogeneous MEK162 cell line reactivity. Analogous findings were observed in hemp (Cannabis sativa

L.) fibre damaged in the laboratory under controlled conditions, emphasising the need to develop extraction and separation processes that minimise mechanical damage to the fibres. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Purpose: Although obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common and pneumonia is a frequent cause of acute respiratory failure requiring admission to the intensive care unit, little is known about the effect of OSA on this patient population. This study

SNX-5422 examined outcomes associated with OSA in patients Erastin inhibitor with pneumonia requiring invasive mechanical ventilation. Materials and methods: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was investigated for discharges with a primary diagnosis of pneumonia requiring invasive mechanical ventilation between 2009 and 2011. Persons aged 18 to 75 years with OSA were compared with patients without OSA. Outcomes included in-hospital mortality and nonroutine discharges. Results: Among 74032 hospitalizations, 13.8% (10227) were obese, and 10.3% (7610) had OSA. Obstructive sleep apnea patients had decreased in-hospital mortality (17.0% vs 25.8%; P smaller than .01) and nonroutine discharge (74.4% vs 79.4%; P smaller than .01) when compared with non-OSA patients. In adjusted logistic models, OSA was associated with a 27% decreased risk of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 0.73; 95% confidence interval, 0.68-0.79; P smaller than .01) and a 21% decreased risk of nonroutine discharge (odds ratio, 0.79; 95% confidence interval, 0.74-0.84; P smaller than .01). Conclusions: In mechanically ventilated patients with pneumonia, OSA was associated decreased in-hospital mortality and nonroutine discharge. It is possible that differences in treatment pattern may partially explain improved survival. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.