Anastomotic leaks are a serious complication associated with Ivor Lewis esophagectomies. Endoluminal negative pressure vacuum devices create a possible treatment alternative to conventional surgical intervention. Ten pigs had an intrathoracic esophageal anastomosis with a 1-cm defect. The experimental group had the device placed intraoperatively across the defect, whereas the control group did ...

OBJECTIVE To validate an intracochlear piezoelectric sensor for its ability to detect intracochlear pressure and function as a microphone for a fully implantable cochlear implant. METHODS A polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) piezoelectric pressure sensor was inserted into a human fresh cadaveric round window at varying depths. An external sound pressure stimulus was applied to the external audito...

This represents the first report of laserspray ionization vacuum (LSIV) with operation directly from atmospheric pressure for use in mass spectrometry. Two different types of electrospray ionization source inlets were converted to LSIV sources by equipping the entrance of the atmospheric pressure inlet aperture with a customized cone that is sealed with a removable glass plate holding the matri...

Ultrasonic energy was applied to assist the wood vacuum drying process. At a drying temperature of 60°C, the absolute pressure was either 0.05 MPa or 0.08 MPa; the ultrasonic power and frequency were 100 W and 28 kHz, respectively. The results showed that the effective water diffusivity of the specimens dried by the ultrasonic assisted vacuum drying at 0.05 MPa or 0.08 MPa were higher than that...