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Eucalyptus grandis (E. grandis) wood and char products derived from pyrolysis of E. grandis wood, were gasified in supercritical water at 450 °C – with and without the use of a homogeneous (K2CO3) and heterogeneous (Ni/Al2O3-SiO2) catalyst. Gas yields and gasification efficiencies were measured experimentally and compared to calculated thermodynamic equilibrium values, specifically considering the effects of the O/C ratio and volatile matter content of the feed material. Thermodynamically, feed material with lower O/C ratios (0.22) typically resulted in higher CH4 yields (30 mol/kgfeed,dry) and gasification efficiencies (188%). However, experimentally, feed material with lower O/C ratios and lower volatile matter resulted in the lowest CH4 yields and gasification efficiencies. Furthermore, a linear relationship between the carbon efficiency (CE) and both the volatile matter content and O/C ratio of the feed material was found to hold true in both catalytic and non-catalytic experiments.

Poster: "RANZCR ASM 2011 / R-0022 / Adult Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: Computed Tomography Pulmonary Findings " by: " P. Wong , C. Murray, J. Louw; Perth/AU"

Improved survival following extreme preterm birth complicated by bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is resulting in an increasing number of affected infants surviving to adulthood. The aim of the present pilot study was to describe the functional and structural pulmonary sequelae of moderate and severe BPD in a population of adult survivors. All babies were cared for at one institution (King Edward Memorial Hospital, Subiaco, Australia). Subjects born between 1980 and 1987 with birthweight

H2, CH4, CO and CO2 yields were measured during supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of primary paper waste sludge (PWS) at 450°C. Comparing these yields with calculated thermodynamic equilibrium values offer an improved understanding of conditions required to produce near-equilibrium yields. Experiments were conducted at different catalyst loads (0-1g/gPWS) and different reaction times (15-120min) in a batch reactor, using either K2CO3 or Ni/Al2O3-SiO2 as catalyst. K2CO3 up to 1g/gPWS increased the H2 yield significantly to 7.5mol/kgPWS. However, these yields and composition were far from equilibrium values, with carbon efficiency (CE) and energy recovery (ER) of only 29% and 20%, respectively. Addition of 0.5-1g/gPWS Ni/Al2O3-SiO2 resulted in high H2 and CH4 yields (6.8 and 14.8mol/kgPWS), CE of 84-90%, ER of 83% and a gas composition relatively close to the equilibrium values (at hold times of 60-120min).

To assess whether there was a difference in HIV seroprevalence between eligible women who declined and those who agreed to participate in a study of voluntary counseling and testing among women entering labor with unknown HIV status in South Africa.Anonymous cord blood specimens were collected-as dried blood spots-from all women approached for participation in a cluster-randomized trial. No patient identifiers were included on the cord blood specimens. The dried blood spots were analyzed for HIV antibody via enzyme immunoassay and western blotting.Of 7238 women screened for study participation, 1041 (14.4%) had undocumented HIV status; of these women, 542 were eligible for inclusion and 343 enrolled. Based on 513 evaluable samples, the overall seroprevalence was 13.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 10.4-16.5), which was similar to the 13.1% (95% CI, 9.7-17.2) seroprevalence among the 343 enrolled women.Seroprevalence among eligible women was similar to that among enrolled women, which indicates that study participation did not select for a group with an HIV seroprevalence substantially different from that among women who declined to enroll.

Background The aim was to assess whether inserting a longer soft silicone short-term dialysis catheter targeting tip placement in the right atrium could improve dialyzer circuit life span compared with inserting a shorter dialysis catheter targeting tip placement in the superior vena cava. Study Design Randomized unblinded controlled study. Setting & Participants A tertiary multidisciplinary intensive care unit enrolling 100 critically ill patients requiring continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). Intervention Placement of longer (20-24 cm) versus shorter dialysis catheters (15-20 cm) within one of the major thoracic veins for initiation of CRRT. Outcomes The primary study outcome was duration of dialysis circuit life span. Secondary outcomes included delivered daily dialysis dose, incidence and cause of CRRT circuit failure, complications potentially related to the position of the short-term dialysis catheter, mortality, and patient length of stay. Results Placing the longer dialysis catheters was associated with an increased average dialyzer life span of 6.5 hours (24 hours [25th-75th percentile, 11-32] vs 17.5 hours [25th-75th percentile, 8-23]; P = 0.001), improved delivered daily dialysis dose (91% [25th-75th percentile, 85%-100%] vs 81% [25th-75th percentile, 72%-97%]; P P = 0.04) or circuits taken down due to vascular access problem (0.19 vs 0.53; P = 0.04) per patient compared with placing shorter dialysis catheters. The incidence of atrial arrhythmias was similar between groups (28% vs 21%; P = 0.6) and the only mechanical complication was the malposition of one dialysis catheter tip in the longer dialysis catheter group. Limitations Single-center study design. Conclusions The use of longer soft silicone short-term dialysis catheters targeting right atrial placement appeared to be safe and could improve dialyzer life span and daily dialysis dose of CRRT delivered compared with the use of shorter catheters targeting superior vena cava placement.

This study aimed to describe the structural pulmonary sequelae of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in adulthood.Fifty-one adult survivors (36 females and 15 males; median age 20 years) of BPD underwent high-resolution inspiratory and expiratory computed tomography of the chest. The scans were evaluated independently by two thoracic radiologists blinded to the patient's clinical details using a standardised scoring system.Abnormal findings were seen in 50 (98%), the most common of which were subpleural triangular opacities (94%), linear opacities (90%), air trapping (65%) and emphysema (47%). The kappa values were derived by simplifying the score for each finding as present or absent. The kappa values for these findings were 0.65, 0.20, 0.58 and 0.54, respectively.Common findings were triangular, linear opacities and gas trapping. Emphysema diagnosis was more prevalent than previous studies, which may have been enhanced by improved technical factors.

To compare the prepartum and postpartum feasibility and acceptance of voluntary counseling and rapid testing (VCT) among women with unknown HIV status in South Africa.Eligible women were randomized according to the calendar week of presentation to receive VCT either while in labor or after delivery.Of 7238 women approached, 542 (7.5%) were eligible, 343 (63%) were enrolled, and 45 (13%) were found to be HIV infected. The proportions of eligible women who accepted VCT were 66.8% (161 of 241) in the intrapartum arm and 60.5% (182 of 301) in the postpartum arm, and the difference of 6.3% (95% CI, -1.8% to 14.5%) was not significant. The median times (44 and 45 minutes) required to conduct VCT were also similar in the 2 arms. In the intrapartum arm, all women in true labor received their test results before delivery and all those found to be HIV positive accepted prophylaxis with nevirapine before delivery.Rapid testing in labor wards for women with an unknown HIV status is feasible and well accepted, and allows for a more timely antiretroviral prophylaxis than postpartum testing.

Summary To determine the prevalence of small lung nodules on low-dose helical computed tomography (CT) in a Western Australian cohort of asymptomatic long-term cigarette smokers and to compare this with a large, similarly derived cohort of North Americans from the Mayo Clinic Lung Cancer Screening Trial. Forty-nine asymptomatic long-term cigarette smokers of minimum age 50 years underwent a low-dose 64-slice helical CT of the lungs. Images were viewed on a soft copy reporting station with thin section axial and coronal images, maximum intensity projection images, and advanced image manipulation tools. The prevalence of all nodules was 39%, significantly lower than the Mayo Clinic cohort prevalence of 51% (P

We studied the effect of aging on gastric acid secretion in 11 physicians who had augmented histamine tests while at medical school in 1962. One of them had a duodenal ulcer at the time. The augmented histamine test was repeated in 1991 and, in addition, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was done to exclude peptic ulcer and to obtain biopsies for histologic analysis and assessment of Helicobacter pylori status. The mean basal acid output decreased from 7.3 to 1.9 mEq/hr during the 30-year period of follow-up (p < 0.001), and the mean maximum acid output decreased from 29.9 to 20.3 mEq/hr (p < 0.01). The maximum acid output data showed a profound decrease in 4 of the 11 participants, a lesser decrease in 4, and a minimal increase in the remaining 3. Histologic analysis suggested a greater likelihood of atrophic gastritis, H. pylori infection, or both in participants showing a pronounced decrease in acid secretion with aging.

PurposeBronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the most significant pulmonary complication of preterm birth. Since survival following extreme preterm birth only became commonplace in the 1980s, the sequelae in adulthood are largely unknown. We sought to determine the prevalence and nature of adult lung disease in a cohort of survivors of moderate and severe BPD.Methods and MaterialsBPD subjects (birthweight < 1500g and oxygen dependence at 36 weeks post-menstrual age) born prior to 1988 were identified and recruited prospectively via the State extreme preterm birth database. All infants were cared for at a single institution with uniform diagnosis and treatment protocols. Surfactant and post-natal corticosteroid treatments were not included in management protocols until 1990 and 1992 respectively. The respiratory history, pulmonary function tests and thin selective inspiratory and expiratory CT thorax were prospectively obtained. The study was approved by institutional ethics committees.Results21 adults (age 18-33, 12 female) with median birthweight 895g (635-1355g) and gestation 27 weeks (24-30) were studied. 15/21 had persistent respiratory symptoms and 2 were smokers. None had received respiratory follow-up. A minority had severe lung function abnormalities (Table). All had abnormal CTs, predominantly emphysema (15/19), but also gas-trapping, architectural distortion and bronchial wall thickening. Low FEV1% predicted worse radiologic emphysema severity (R2=0.40, p