Use of membrane technology for oil field and refinery produced water treatment—A review

Red blood cells (RBCs) possess a unique capacity for undergoing cellular deformation to navigate across various human microcirculation vessels, enabling them to pass through capillaries that are smaller than their diameter and to carry out their role as gas carriers between blood and tissues. Since there is growing evidence that red blood cell deformability is impaired in some pathological conditions, measurement of RBC deformability has been the focus of numerous studies over the past decades. Nevertheless, reports on healthy and pathological RBCs are currently limited and, in many cases, are not expressed in terms of well-defined cell membrane parameters such as elasticity and viscosity. Hence, it is often difficult to integrate these results into the basic understanding of RBC behaviour, as well as into clinical applications. The aim of this review is to summarize currently available reports on RBC deformability and to highlight its association with various human diseases such as hereditary disorders (e.g., spherocytosis, elliptocytosis, ovalocytosis, and stomatocytosis), metabolic disorders (e.g., diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, obesity), adenosine triphosphate-induced membrane changes, oxidative stress, and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. Microfluidic techniques have been identified as the key to develop state-of-the-art dynamic experimental models for elucidating the significance of RBC membrane alterations in pathological conditions and the role that such alterations play in the microvasculature flow dynamics.

Biomechanical properties of red blood cells in health and disease towards microfluidics.

Abstract The effects of gas composition on gliding arc (glidarc) electrical discharge reactors with pure water have been studied. The glidarc reactors utilized AC electrical discharges with two different electrode configurations. In one case a set of two stainless steel electrodes connected to a single power supply was placed in the gas phase over the liquid surface (power=250–300 W, maximum voltage=12 kV). The second experimental arrangement utilized a reactor with a set of three stainless steel electrodes supplied by two identical high-voltage transformers, where the electrodes were placed over the water surface or with the water sprayed directly in the plasma formed between the electrodes (power=500–600 W, maximum voltage=12 kV). The variation of pH and conductivity and the formation of hydrogen peroxide, ozone, nitrate, and hydrogen were measured. The effects of the type of gas, including pure oxygen, pure nitrogen, and dry air, were determined.

Formation of Reactive Species in Gliding Ark Discharge with Liquid Watet

Non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma processes combine several advantages such as non-thermal operation and high antimicrobial activity and are thus proposed to be a prospective alternative to traditional food preservation methods, which suffer from undesired alterations of food quality and a lack of acceptance by the consumer. This review summarizes the latest research work in the field of food science and technology dealing with the application of plasma processes on solid and liquid foodstuff. Starting with the historical background of plasma, the basic principles of plasma generation and of the complex plasma chemistry are highlighted and insights into plasma–surface and plasma–liquid interactions are given. Important research results in terms of plasma application on foods are presented with emphasis on the impact of the food matrix on microbial inactivation. Furthermore, the results of recent studies about the behavior of food quality-related components and attributes during plasma exposure are presented.

Interactions of Non-Thermal Atmospheric Pressure Plasma with Solid and Liquid Food Systems: A Review

We review new trends of agricultural applications of atmospheric-pressure plasmas for decontaminating agricultural products and enhancing seed germination and growth of plants and beneficial microorganisms. We classify the decontamination techniques into three kinds of treatments, which are gas-phase, in-liquid, and plasma-activated liquid treatments, and introduce recent studies mainly after 2010, discussing the inactivation mechanism of microorganisms in each treatment. Likewise, we categorize the enhancement techniques into the same three kinds of treatments, and introduce the growth enhancements in detail, discussing the mechanisms and future prospects.

Current status and future prospects of agricultural applications using atmospheric-pressure plasma technologies

The objective of the present study is to review hemorheological disorders in diabetes mellitus. Several key hemorheological parameters, such as whole blood viscosity, erythrocyte deformability, and aggregation, are examined in the context of elevated blood glucose level in diabetes. The erythrocyte deformability is reduced, whereas its aggregation increases, both of which make whole blood more viscous compared to healthy individuals. The present paper explains how the increased blood viscosity adversely affects the microcirculation in diabetes, leading to microangiopathy.

/pdf/hemorheological-disorders-in-diabetes-mellitus-4hhzmtdf9g.pdf

Hemorheological Disorders in Diabetes Mellitus

The present review presents basic concepts of blood rheology related to vascular diseases. Blood flow in large arteries is dominated by inertial forces exhibited at high flow velocities, while viscous forces (i.e., blood rheology) play an almost negligible role. When high flow velocity is compromised by sudden deceleration as at a bifurcation, endothelial cell dysfunction can occur along the outer wall of the bifurcation, initiating inflammatory gene expression and, through mechanotransduction, the cascade of events associated with atherosclerosis. In sharp contrast, the flow of blood in microvessels is dominated by viscous shear forces since the inertial forces are negligible due to low flow velocities. Shear stress is a critical parameter in microvascular flow, and a force-balance approach is proposed for determining microvascular shear stress, accounting for the low Reynolds numbers and the dominance of viscous forces over inertial forces. Accordingly, when the attractive forces between erythrocytes (represented by the yield stress of blood) are greater than the shear force produced by microvascular flow, tissue perfusion itself cannot be sustained, leading to capillary loss. The yield stress parameter is presented as a diagnostic candidate for future clinical research, specifically, as a fluid dynamic biomarker for microvascular disorders. The relation between the yield stress and diastolic blood viscosity (DBV) is described using the Casson model for viscosity, from which one may be able determine thresholds of DBV where the risk of microvascular disorders is high.

/pdf/hemorheology-and-microvascular-disorders-4zhvibac43.pdf

Hemorheology and Microvascular Disorders

This review examines the emerging role of endothelial shear stress (ESS) and blood viscosity on the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis in peripheral arterial disease. Among the variables determining ESS, blood viscosity has to date been the most overlooked by clinical researchers. Blood viscosity is a laboratory assessment that is minimally invasive and modifiable using pharmacologic therapy as well as by hemodilution. Monitoring and controlling blood viscosity not only modulates ESS, but also reduces peripheral vascular resistance and increases blood flow to the lower extremities.

Daniel J. Cho

Papers

Hemorheological Disorders in Diabetes Mellitus

Hemorheology and Microvascular Disorders

Endothelial Shear Stress and Blood Viscosity in Peripheral Arterial Disease

Use of plasma gliding arc discharges on the inactivation of E-Coli in water

New fouling prevention method using a plasma gliding arc for produced water treatment