In this work, zirconia membranes have been prepared by the sol-gel method,

following the colloidal sol route. The microporosity and crystallinity of the ZrO2 material was tested by N2 adsorption and XRD. The derived active zirconia layers were defect-free as seen by SEM. The optimum firing temperature range was set in the range 400-500 degrees C. He, H2, CO2, N2 gas permeation was conducted at temperatures up to 200 degrees C. High permeances were obtained and the microporosity of the zirconia layer was confirmed.”
“Objective: Peritoneal adhesions following surgery are a common, serious pathology with severe complications. Appropriate animal adhesion models are essential for the assessment of adhesion preventing medical devices. This study introduces BIX 01294 a variation of an established rat model in which highest degree adhesions are induced with excellent reproducibility (OPAM = optimized peritoneal adhesion model). Thus, this model seems to be eligible to study effects

of VX-680 adhesion preventing devices. Methods: 24 Lewis male rats were divided into four groups (OPAM, WSFX, sham-OPAM, sham-WSFX). The OPAM technique comprised cecal abrasion, creation of an abdominal wall defect plus approximation of injured areas by a suture, which was compared to a setting of lesions without suture fixation (WSFX). All rats were sacrificed at day 7. Macroscopic and histopathological evaluations were performed. Results were statistically analyzed using ANOVA and Dunnett’s test. Results: In OPAM rats macroscopic analyses revealed a 90% incidence adhesion of cecum to the abdominal wall, all adhesions imposing as complete agglutination. In WSFX animals incidence of adhesions formation was 75%, while in both sham groups there were no adhesions at all. Histology showed the structure of adhesions with merged smooth muscle of colon

and skeletal muscle of abdominal wall in all cases. Conclusion: OPAM technique provides adhesions of injured areas with a better probability than with conventional methods. All OPAM adhesions impressed as highest degree adhesions, i.e. agglutination. Due to high reproducibility in incidence and extend of adhesion formation, the OPAM is recommended for testing of adhesion prevention medical devices.”
“We investigated the influence of a magnetic field on the rheology Proteasome inhibitor of cellulose nanowhisker (CNW) suspension. The morphology of CNWs was analyzed by using polarized optical microscopy (POM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The findings show that the application of the magnetic field leads to an increase in shear viscosity and viscoelastic properties such as the storage and loss moduli. A mesoscale constitutive model was adopted to provide better understanding of the effect of particle concentration on the orientation of CNWs. As the concentration increases, the steric interaction between particles becomes significant and the effect of the applied magnetic field on the internal structure of the CNW suspension was reduced.