Yanfei Chen¹, Jingjing He^2,*, Hao Chen^2,*, Xin Su², Bin Xie²

Energy Engineering, Vol.119, No.3, pp. 1239-1259, 2022, DOI:10.32604/ee.2022.017847

Abstract 20% n-butanol is blended in diesel by volume (noted as D80B20) and experiment has been carried out to study the effect on the combustion and emission characteristics based on a common rail diesel engine with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system. The results reveal that D80B20 has longer ignition delay, shorter combustion duration and higher maximum in-cylinder temperature than pure diesel (noted as D100). Further, the number concentration and volume concentration of ultrafine particles decrease significantly while NO_X emissions increase a little with the addition of n-butanol. When the exhaust gas is induced into cylinder, NO_X emissions significantly decrease and ultrafine… More >

Pietro Paolo Tamborrino^1,2, Corrado Di Mambro^1,2,*, Cecilia Marcolin^1,2, Walter Vignaroli³, Giulia Cafiero⁴, Gianluca Brancaccio³, Sonia Albanese³, Massimo Stefano Silvetti^1,2, Adriano Carotti³, Fabrizio Drago^1,2

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.16, No.1, pp. 85-94, 2021, DOI:10.32604/CHD.2021.013038

Abstract Introduction: While previous studies only focused on the arrhythmic risk associated with specific correction strategies, this study evaluates this risk in a large cohort of paediatric patients with all phenotypes of PA-IVS after surgical repair. Methods: In this single centre observational cohort study, we retrospectively evaluated 165 patients with a diagnosis of PA-IVS and we excluded those with an exclusively percutaneous treatment, patients lost or with insufficient follow-up and those affected by other arrhythmic syndromes. Surgical history and clinical outcomes were reviewed. Results: 86 patients were included in the study (54 male [62.8%], mean age 16.4 ± 6.1 years), with… More >

Hao Cheng, Guangsheng Du^*, Meng Zhang, Kun Wang, Wenbin Bai

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.16, No.4, pp. 685-698, 2020, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2020.09673

Abstract The determination of the circulation for wind turbine blades is an important problem in engineering. In the present study, we develop a specific approach to evaluate the integral that represents mathematically the circulation. First the potentialities of the method are assessed using a two-dimensional NACA64_A17 airfoil as a testbed and evaluating the influence of different integration paths and angles of attack on the circulation value. Then the method is applied to blades with different relative heights in order to provide useful reference data to be used for the optimization and reverse design of wind turbine blades. As shown by the… More >

Jenny Alenius Dahlqvist¹, Jan Sunnegårdh², Katarina Hanséus³, Eva Strömvall Larsson², Anders Nygren², Magnus Dalén^4,5, Håkan Berggren⁶, Jens Johansson Ramgren⁷, Urban Wiklund⁸, Annika Rydberg¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.14, No.4, pp. 582-589, 2019, DOI:10.1111/chd.12766

Abstract Objective: Fontan surgery is performed in children with univentricular heart defects. Previous data regarding permanent pacemaker implantation frequency and indica‐ tions in Fontan patients are limited and conflicting. We examined the prevalence of and risk factors for pacemaker treatment in a consecutive national cohort of patients after Fontan surgery in Sweden.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all Swedish patients who underwent Fontan surgery from 1982 to 2017 (n = 599).
Results: After a mean follow‐up of 12.2 years, 13% (78/599) of the patients with Fontan circulation had received pacemakers. Patients operated with the extracardiac conduit (EC) type of total cavopulmonary connection… More >

Gruschen R. Veldtman¹, Alexander R. Opotowsky², Samuel G. Wittekind¹, Jack Rychik³, Daniel J. Penny⁴, Mark Fogel³, Bradley S. Marino⁵, Marc Gewillig⁶

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.6, pp. 699-710, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12526

Abstract Although medium-term survival following Fontan operations in the modern era has improved dramatically, late cardiovascular and extracardiac morbidity are common and are associated with impaired quality of life and premature late mortality. This serves as a reminder of the extraordinary adaptations required of the cardiovascular system when the systemic arterial, systemic venous and pulmonary circulations are placed in series coupled to a single ventricular pump. This article reviews the key features and principles that govern interactions between the ventricle, systemic arterial circulation, the systemic venous and pulmonary circulatory compartments, the microcirculation, and lymphatic circulations. The overarching aim is to provide… More >

Shiraz A. Maskatia¹, Christopher J. Petit^2,3, Curtis D. Travers², David J. Goldberg⁴, Lindsay S. Rogers⁴, Andrew C. Glatz⁴, Athar M. Qureshi⁶, Bryan H. Goldstein⁵, Jingning Ao^2,3, Ritu Sachdeva^2,3

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.6, pp. 892-902, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12671

Abstract Background: In patients with pulmonary atresia, intact ventricular septum (PA/IVS) following right ventricular (RV) decompression, RV size and morphology drive clinical outcome. Our objectives were to (1) identify baseline and postdecompression echo‐ cardiographic parameters associated with 2V circulation, (2) identify echocardio‐ graphic parameters associated with RV growth and (3) describe changes in measures of RV size and changes in RV loading conditions.
Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent RV de‐ compression for PA/IVS at four centers. We analyzed echocardiograms at baseline, postdecompression, and at follow up (closest to 1‐year or prior to Glenn circulation).
Results: Eighty‐one… More >

Pablo Marino^1,2, Gabriella de Oliveira Lopes^1,3, Juliana Pereira Borges³, Maria Carolina Terra Cola¹, Daniel Arkader Kopiler¹, Eduardo Tibirica¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.6, pp. 978-987, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12660

Abstract Objective: Adults with congenital heart disease share some features with those with chronic heart failure. Although microvascular endothelial dysfunction has been de‐ scribed in chronic heart failure, evaluation of the microcirculation in adults with con‐ genital heart disease is lacking. The present study aimed to investigate systemic microvascular reactivity in adults with congenital heart disease.
Interventions: The patients initially underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Then, the cutaneous microvascular reactivity was evaluated in these patients using a laser speckle contrast imaging system coupled with skin iontophoresis of endothelial‐de‐ pendent (acetylcholine) or ‐independent (sodium nitroprusside) vasodilators and pos‐ tocclusive reactive hyperemia (PORH) and… More >

Robin H.S. Chen¹, Adolphus K.T. Chau¹, Pak Cheong Chow¹, Tak Cheung Yung¹, Yiu Fai Cheung^1,2, Kin Shing Lun¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.6, pp. 884-891, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12658

Abstract Objective: Transcatheter valve perforation for pulmonary atresia intact ventricular septum is the standard of care for patients with mild right ventricular hypoplasia. However, its role in moderate right ventricular hypoplasia has been less well defined. We sought to report the long‐term outcome of patients with moderate hypoplastic right ventricle who had undergone the procedure.
Design, Settings, and Patients: We performed a retrospective analysis on patients who had undergone transcatheter pulmonary valve perforation from January 1996 to January 2015 at our institution. The procedures would be carried out irrespective of the right ventricular size, as long as there were no absolute… More >

Christopher R. Broda¹, Hamsini Sriraman², Devanshi Wadhwa², YunFei Wang¹, Hari Tunuguntla¹, Ayse Akcan-Arikan^3,4, Peter R. Ermis¹, Jack F. Price¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.4, pp. 602-607, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12617

Abstract Purpose: Elevated central venous pressure (CVP) has deleterious effects on several organ systems in patients with Fontan circulation. However, the relationship between CVP and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) has not been assessed in patients with Fontan circulation.
Methods: Patients with Fontan circulation whose hemodynamics were assessed by catheterization between 1987 and 2015 and had a serum creatinine measured within 72 hours prior to the procedure were included for analysis. Patients with primary kidney disease were excluded. Renal function was calculated by “bedside Schwartz” equation in children (< 18 years) and Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation in adults.… More >

Christina E. Holbein¹, Nicholas D. Fogleman^1,2, Kevin Hommel¹, Silke Apers³, Jessica Rassart³, Philip Moons^3,4, Koen Luyckx³, Maayke A. Sluman⁵, Junko Enomoto⁶, Bengt Johansson⁷, Hsiao-Ling Yang⁸, Mikael Dellborg^4,9, Raghavan Subramanyan¹⁰, Jamie L. Jackson¹¹, Werner Budts^3,12, Adrienne H. Kovacs¹³, Stacey Morrison¹, Martha Tomlin¹, Kathy Gosney¹, Alexandra Soufi¹⁴, Katrine Eriksen¹⁵, Corina Thomet^3,16, Malin Berghammer^4,17, Luis Alday¹⁸, Edward Callus¹⁹, Susan M Fernandes²⁰, Maryanne Caruana²¹, Samuel Menahem²², Stephen C. Cook²³, Gwen R. Rempel²⁴, Kamila White²⁵, Paul Khairy²⁶, Shelby Kutty²⁷, Gruschen Veldtman¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.3, pp. 392-400, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12583

Abstract Objective: First, to compare QOL and illness perceptions between patients with a Fontan circulation and patients with anatomically simple defects (ie, atrial septal defects [ASD] or ventricular septal defects [VSD]). Second, to explore illness perceptions as a mediator of the association between congenital heart disease (CHD) diagnosis and QOL.
Design: Cross-sectional observational study.
Setting: Twenty-four cardiology centers from 15 countries across five continents.
Patients: Four hundred thirty-five adult patients with congenital heart disease (177 Fontan and 258 ASD/VSD) ages 18-83 years.
Outcome Measures: QOL and illness perceptions were assessed by the Satisfaction With Life Scale and the Brief Illness Perceptions… More >