Abstract This paper is a technical report on a laboratory experiment on surface tension measurements using the capillary rise method. Samples are deionized water and varying concentrations of NaCl and of HOAc. Calculations are included in the appendix.
From the Paper "Increasing concentrations of HOAc solutions tend to lower surface tension of water, while NaCl solutions increase surface tension of water. The former results to a condition called positive surface concentration, where the solute tend to concentrate slightly in the neighborhood of the surface; the latter is due to negative surface concentration, where the solute molecules become less concentrated in the neighborhood of the surface."
Abstract This paper looks at the different types of blood vessels and relates their structure to their function. The paper defines blood pressure and looks at blood flow dynamics and the function of capillaries.
From the Paper "Capillaries are the smallest and most numerous of the blood vessels and connect the arterioles, which carry blood away from the heart, with the venules, which carry it back towards the heart. They are a continuation of the smallest arterioles but the walls of capillaries consist of only a single layer of endothelial cells overlying a basement membrane. This thin wall permits the exchange of materials between the blood in the capillary and the tissue cells. This is the primary function of the capillaries, an exchange system..."
From the Paper "The surface tension of deionized water and eight solution of n-butanol were determined using the capillary-rise method. The radius of the capillary was determined to be 3.59 x 10-2 + 0.15 cm. The value of the radius of the capillary allowed for the determination of the surface tensions of the eight n-butanol solutions. The surface tensions were then plotted versus the natural logarithm of the concentrations of the n-butanol solutions. The slope of the graph was then used to determine the amount of n-butanol adsorbed. This value was calculated to be 3.52 x 10-10 + 0.71 mol/cm2. This value was converted into 2.12 x 1014 + 0.71 molecules/cm2. The effective cross section area of one molecule of n-butanol was determined to be 4.72 x 10-15 + 0.71 cm2. The value of Avogrado's number was calculated using the value of n2/A and the molar volume of n-butanol. Avogrado's number was determined to be 2.74 x 1024 + 0.71."
Abstract This paper explains that the heart is a pump responsible for maintaining adequate circulation of oxygenated blood around the vascular network of the body. The author points out that the two main coronary arteries, the left and right coronary arteries, lie in sulci running over the surface of the myocardium, covered over by the epicardium, and have many branches that terminate in arterioles, supplying the vast capillary network of the myocardium. The author believes that, while diseases of this system are common, most of the risk factors are related to lifestyle habits and, thus, are modifiable.
From the Paper "Cardiovascular disease includes dysfunctional conditions of the heart, arteries, and veins that supply oxygen to vital life-sustaining areas of the body like the brain, the heart itself, and other vital organs. If oxygen doesn't arrive the tissue or organ will die. Ischemic heart disease is the term for obstruction of blood flow to the heart. This disorder results because excess fat or plaque deposits narrow the veins that supply oxygenated blood to the heart. Excess buildup of fat or plaque is respectively termed arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis. Equally significant would be inadequate oxygen flow to the brain, which causes a stroke."
Abstract This paper provides an overview of hydraulic conductivity, how it is measured, and why it is important for transient storage. A review of current issues in hydraulic conductivity is followed by a summary of the research in the conclusion.
From the Paper " In 2003, Thomas, Valetta, Webster and Mulholland (2003), reported they had developed the Regression Partitioning Method (RPM) for estimating the proportion of reactive solute uptake occurring within transient storage zones of streams. "The RPM is a technique for analyzing solute addition data in which whole stream uptake (mg m−2 d−1) is determined from the longitudinal pattern in plateau tracer concentrations. At one location, a time series of samples are collected that define the 'rising limb' of the solute breakthrough curve" (Thomas et al. 965). These researcher estimated the y-intercept by regressing a measure of reactive tracer availability (e.g., NO3-15N:Cl ratio) as well as the percentage of tracer that has resided within, and returned from, the transient storage zone (i.e. hyporheic zone), which was then used to predict channel-specific NO3 uptake rates. The uptake within the transient storage zone of stream-derived material was calculated by difference."
Abstract The aim of this paper is to determine if the age-old medicinal use of leeches can be used to assist in saving skin flap failure. The paper reviews and discusses the medicinal practice of bloodletting, a practice that has been used since the Stone Age. The objective of this paper is to perform a critical, qualitative review of literature on quantitative research regarding skin flap procedures, the use of leeches in the medical field, and specifically the use of leeches used in conjunction with skin flap procedures. In this way, the paper hopes to prove that leeches can indeed be a valuable tool in saving skin flap failure.
Table of Contents:
Abstract
Introduction
Preliminary Literature Review
Medicinal Leeches Overview
Skin Flap Overview
Medicinal Leeches Used in Skin Flap Procedures
Methodology
Method
Results
Analysis
Discussion
Conclusion
Recommendations
Figures and Tables
Figure 1: Depiction of leeching, by Willem van den Bossche in, Historia Medica (Bruxellae, 1639).
Figure 2: Medicinal Leech Passive Bleeding vs. Mechanical Device
Figure 3: LDF data for the control, outlet and leech groups over the course of Cottler et al.'s research.
Figure 4: Leech treatment
Figure 5: Average Surviving Area of Flaps
Figure 6: Mind Map
Table 1: Identification of Themes for Research Regarding the Use of Leeches in Skin Flap Survival
Table 2a: Summary Grid
Table 2b: Summary Grid
Table 2b: Summary Grid
Table 2c: Summary Grid
From the Paper "The research included the qualitative review of relevant literature. Identification of relevant literature was conducted through the use of electronic and hand searches, for published articles or reports concerning the use of leeches and skin flap procedures. In addition, the author also reviewed table of contents of scholarly medical journals. Scholarly journals as well as Internet sites run by medical organizations or offering articles written by medical professionals were searched. The author used a list of Boolean conditional keyword phrases to perform the literature search. These search terms allowed the author to quickly and easily identify the literature that was most likely to be relevant to the topic at hand. The first portion of the literature review identified all literature regarding these topics, while the second portion focused on research studies that employed quantitative methods in their results. Bibliographies from these identified literature pieces were then hand searched for additional references to appropriate pieces of literature."
Abstract This paper discusses the general properties of blood and then goes on to compare the abundance and safety of the blood supply in the world and the U.S. The paper concludes by discussing which government agency is responsible for ensuring the safety of the American blood supply.
Outline:
Introduction: What is Blood?
What is the Situation as far as a Clean Blood Supply in the World?
In the United States, the Blood Supply "...is Among the Safest in the World,"
Which Government Agency is Responsible for Ensuring the Safety of the American Blood Supply?
From the Paper "Blood is one of the circulating fluids of the body that serves as nutrition, carrying oxygen, nutrients, and metabolic waste. The average adult has about five liters of blood that travels through the heart, arteries, veins, capillaries and cells. The plasma of the blood, according to Gray's Anatomy (pp. 1077-1078) has within it corpuscles, some of which are colored red. There are about four to five million red corpuscles in the average person's blood, and about 12,000 red corpuscles "in each cubic millimeter of blood." In general, the red corpuscles carry oxygen and other nutrients and the white corpuscles fight disease. As a person gets older, and the size of his or her blood vessels change (usually shrinking), the red corpuscles "change their shape...as to adapt themselves to some extent to the size of the vessel," according to Gray's Anatomy."
Abstract This paper explains that the framework of the nephron in the kidney is made up of epithelial cells. The author points out that there are two types of nephrons, cortical and juxtamedullary, and they are named according to the location within the renal parenchyma. The paper relates that epithelial cells that make up the nephron must be able to preserve nutrients and materials required by the body and return them to circulation, while leaving wastes, toxins and excess water to be expelled. The author states that the epithelia are described by the number of layers and the shape of the cells at the edge closest to the exterior environment, thus helping to prevent bacteria and other foreign materials from entering the body. The paper continues that the epithelial cells of the nephron permit the kidney to have particular functions that include controlling blood pressure.
From the Paper "Epithelium lines the surfaces of the body and is positioned on the borders between the exterior and interior environments. Epithelium is a tissue composed of cells, bound tightly together with no intercellular connective tissue. These cells derive their food and oxygen from the tissue fluid that filters through from the capillaries in the underlying connective tissue. The epithelium develops in the embryo from all the three germ layers; ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. The epithelium is derived from mesenchyme cells that mature into connective tissue, bone, cartilage, blood and the lymphatic system."
Abstract This paper explains that the main organ responsible for gas exchange, the lungs, are efficient not only in their anatomic and histological structure but also are physiologically efficient to provide oxygen to tissues and cells such that oxygen extraction can be increased in altered, demanding physiologic states within the bounds of physical laws. The author points out that the oxygen cascade, essentially described as the "diminishing returns" phenomenon, represents a natural barrier to the limits of mammalian and human cellular respiration. The paper concludes that, from uptake of oxygen, to transport of oxygen to the periphery to its delivery to tissues at the cellular level, at the different steps, oxygen tension decreases pathologies at the tissue level, which are heavily dependent on perfusion and are the most vulnerable to hypoxia.
Table of Contents:
Lung Anatomy and Physiology
Oxygen Cascade
Uptake in the Lungs
Carrying Capacity of Blood
Global Delivery from Lungs to Tissue
Regional Distribution of Oxygen Delivery
Diffusion from Capillary to Cell
Cellular Use of Oxygen
Lung Pathophysiology
Oxygen Cascade Pathophysiology and Relevant Disease States
Uptake in the Lungs
Carrying Capacity of Blood
Global Delivery from Lungs to Tissue
Conclusion
From the Paper "Delivery of oxygen to the tissues is heavily dependent on the heart and the vascular system associated with it. This branching, closed-circuit system perfuses all organ systems. In normal individuals, global delivery of oxygen (Do2) is often more than adequate to ensure that all tissues receive enough oxygen to meet their aerobic respiratory needs (Vo2). Do2 is the product of cardiac output (Qt) and oxygen content of blood (Cao2). Cao2 is similarly the product of oxygen saturation (Sao2), hemoglobin content (Hgb), and a constant K (the coefficient for hemoglobin-oxygen binding capacity)."
Tags: hypoxia, natural barrier, uptake closed-circuit, critical care
Abstract This paper briefly examines how pulmonary edema is a serious and often fatal outcome of acute and disease processes, that can be and often are completely disassociated from any kind of lung or heart therapies or conditions. The paper also looks at how pharmacological treatment usually involves high doses of diuretics as well as hypertensive and or possibly blood thinners to allow the blood to accept more fluid and therefore pull fluid from the peripheral space. Nursing interventions, which include physical as well as psychological support for condition and treatment, are also examined.
From the Paper "If pulmonary edema is known and in treatment the individual is likely to be in intensive care, and being treated with oxygen as well as pharmacological intervention, to reduce the fluid levels. The patient is also likely to be intubated to increase oxygenation and decrease patient workload. (Williams & Hopper, 2003, p. 47-50) Nursing involvement includes careful recording of fluid intake (usually NPO, and a reduction of all IV fluids to the lowest possible needed) and output to determine if fluid is escaping the pulmonary extra venous space and any other dependant areas and returning to a normal fluid balance."
