Pack Test Research Articles

Ice Pack Test in Myasthenic Ptosis as an Important Tool for Clinical Practice.

De Moura Campos, Marcelo Henrique; Magno Gonçalves, Marcus Vinicius MD, PhD Author Information

Study of the Level and Structure of Population Immunity to SARS-CoV2 in the Population of the Republic of Tatarstan during the Second Peak of the Spread of COVID-19

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic has become a serious challenge for all of humanity due to the rapid global spread, high frequency of severe forms, increased mortality and required the development of new approaches to managing epidemiological processes. Serological studies are the most important tool for monitoring the infectious process, identifying risk groups, assessing the effect of vaccines used and epidemiological projections.Purpose. Conducting serological monitoring in relation to the modern transferred new coronavirus infection determining the level and structure of population immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in the population of the Republic of Tatarstan; maintaining the period of spread of COVID-19 from August to December 2020.Materials and methods. The study involved 41 444 residents of the Republic of Tatarstan, who filled out questionnaires that included clinical, anamnestic data and an epidemiological history in relation to COVID-19, who were tested for the presence of common antibodies (IgG, IgA and IgM) to the SARS coronavirus. CoV-2 by the method of enhanced chemiluminescence on the VITROS 3600 analyzer using the VITROS Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Total Reagent Pack test systems.Statistical processing was carried out by methods of variation statistics and correlation analysis according to the Pearson method using MS Excel and WinPepi.Results. Seropositivity to SARSCoV-2 in the population of the Republic of Tatarstan averaged 35.8 ± 0.235%. An increase in the level of seropositive persons was noted from 29.95 ± 0.674% in August to 68 ± 9.33% in December. The highest proportion of seropositive individuals was found in was found in the group of the able-bodied population aged 18–59 years. The average geometric titer of antibodies was 4.2 (4.09–4.31), among seropositive – 89.29 (88.13–90.46). In the social and professional structure of the population, the largest proportion of seropositive individuals was found in was found among production workers 40.35 ± 2.177, creative professions – 40 ± 9.798; health care 35.24 ± 0.389; 34.26 ± 1.218 unemployed and 33.06 ± 2.479 civil servants. Among the residents of the Republic of Tatarstan, seropositive to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the proportion of asymptomatic forms of infection was 82.59 ± 0.446%.Сonclusions. There is a positive dynamics of seropositivity among the population of the Republic of Tatarstan. The results of sero-epidemiological monitoring can be used to predict the epidemiological situation, plan measures for specific and non-specific prophylaxis of COVID19.

Myasthenic or cataplectic facies? Ice pack test response in paediatric type 1 narcolepsy

Myasthenic or cataplectic facies? Ice pack test response in paediatric type 1 narcolepsy

Influence of Personal Protective Equipment on Wildland Firefighters' Physiological Response and Performance during the Pack Test.

The Pack Test (PT) is a widely used test to establish readiness for work in wildland firefighting. It is common to perform this test dressed in regular exercise clothing. However, wildland firefighters (WFF) have to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) during their deployments, which increases the physiological strain and reduces their work capacity. This study aimed to analyse the impact of full PPE on PT performance. Nine male professional WFF performed in random order a PT walking at the fastest possible self-pace wearing two different clothing configurations: (i) traditional short sports gear (SG) and (ii) the PPE currently used by Spanish WFF. Heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion and lap time were recorded during the PT. In addition, oxygen uptake (VO2) was estimated through the individual VO2–HR relationship previously obtained during a graded exercise test. There was a significant decrease in the PT performance (i.e., completion time) (~12%, p < 0.05) in PPE. The physiological demands with this configuration were significantly higher (~10%, p < 0.05). WFF spent ~13 min above the anaerobic threshold in PPE vs. ~4 min in SG. A multiple stepwise regression analysis revealed that PT performance variation might be explained by the maximal aerobic velocity (84.5%) in PPE and the VO2max (75.9%) in SG. In conclusion, wearing complete PPE increases WFF’s physiological strain, which translates into a significant PT performance reduction. Performing the test walking at the fastest possible self-pace wearing the PPE would better reflect the high-intensity effort periods reported in real scenarios.

Author Response: Comparison of Ice Pack Test and Single-Fiber EMG Diagnostic Accuracy in Patients Referred for Myasthenic Ptosis.

We thank Dr. Silvestri for the comment on our article1 and agree that a relatively high proportion of patients showed discordant results between the ice pack test and single-fiber electromyography (SF-EMG) because they were observed in 15% of patients with a final diagnosis of ocular myasthenia (OM). Most of discordant cases were related to the negativity of the ice pack test in the presence of an altered SF-EMG result. One explanation could be the lack of repetition of the ice pack test, as we outlined in the discussion. Indeed, a previous study showed that repeated ice pack tests improved sensitivity by 34.6% compared with a single test.2 We also found that the repetition of the ice pack test in some patients increased its sensitivity and, therefore, the number of patients showing concordant results (unpublished data).

Reader Response: Comparison of Ice Pack Test and Single-Fiber EMG Diagnostic Accuracy in Patients Referred for Myasthenic Ptosis.

Giannoccaro et al.1 reported their findings on the sensitivity and specificity of the ice pack test and single-fiber electromyography (SF-EMG) in the diagnosis of ocular myasthenia gravis. It is interesting—and perhaps humbling—that such a straightforward test as cooling muscle with ice has very similar diagnostic accuracy compared with a technically complex and sophisticated test as SF-EMG in patients presenting with eyelid ptosis. These findings are largely in line with previous research evaluating the positive and negative predictive values of the ice pack test in ocular myasthenia gravis.2-5

Editors' Note: Comparison of Ice Pack Test and Single-Fiber EMG Diagnostic Accuracy in Patients Referred for Myasthenic Ptosis

In “Comparison of Ice Pack Test and Single-Fiber EMG Diagnostic Accuracy in Patients Referred for Myasthenic Ptosis,” Giannoccaro et al. compared the diagnostic accuracy of the ice pack test (IPT) with single-fiber EMG (SF-EMG) on the orbicularis oculi muscle in 155 patients, with ptosis being evaluated for ocular myasthenia defined as a positive response to the edrophonium test, presence of acetylcholine-receptor antibodies, a decrement of >10% of the third to fifth compound muscle action potential after repetitive nerve stimulation, or unequivocal response to oral steroids or acetylcholinesterase inhibitors for at least 3 months. They found that the IPT and SF-EMG had similar diagnostic accuracy in this patient population. Silvestri noted interest that (1) the IPT, a simple and cheap bedside assessment, is comparable with a complicated test like the SF-EMG; (2) the results of the IPT and SF-EMG were discordant for 10% of subjects (mostly in the setting of mild or isolated ptosis); and (3) the utility of the IPT was not evaluated in patients with isolated diplopia. Giannoccaro and Liguori responded that the discordance in results generally occurred in the setting of a negative IPT, which may be related to the lack of repetition of the test. They also cited previously published data that the IPT is useful in patients with isolated diplopia, particularly because SF-EMG may be negative in these patients. In “Comparison of Ice Pack Test and Single-Fiber EMG Diagnostic Accuracy in Patients Referred for Myasthenic Ptosis,” Giannoccaro et al. compared the diagnostic accuracy of the ice pack test (IPT) with single-fiber EMG (SF-EMG) on the orbicularis oculi muscle in 155 patients, with ptosis being evaluated for ocular myasthenia defined as a positive response to the edrophonium test, presence of acetylcholine-receptor antibodies, a decrement of >10% of the third to fifth compound muscle action potential after repetitive nerve stimulation, or unequivocal response to oral steroids or acetylcholinesterase inhibitors for at least 3 months. They found that the IPT and SF-EMG had similar diagnostic accuracy in this patient population. Silvestri noted interest that (1) the IPT, a simple and cheap bedside assessment, is comparable with a complicated test like the SF-EMG; (2) the results of the IPT and SF-EMG were discordant for 10% of subjects (mostly in the setting of mild or isolated ptosis); and (3) the utility of the IPT was not evaluated in patients with isolated diplopia. Giannoccaro and Liguori responded that the discordance in results generally occurred in the setting of a negative IPT, which may be related to the lack of repetition of the test. They also cited previously published data that the IPT is useful in patients with isolated diplopia, particularly because SF-EMG may be negative in these patients.

One-Dimensional Convolutional Neural Network with Adaptive Moment Estimation for Modelling of the Sand Retention Test

Stand-alone screens (SASs) are active sand control methods where compatible screens and slot sizes are selected through the sand retention test (SRT) to filter an unacceptable amount of sand produced from oil and gas wells. SRTs have been modelled in the laboratory using computer simulation to replicate experimental conditions and ensure that the selected screens are suitable for selected reservoirs. However, the SRT experimental setups and result analyses are not standardized. A few changes made to the experimental setup can cause a huge variation in results, leading to different plugging performance and sand retention analysis. Besides, conducting many laboratory experiments is expensive and time-consuming. Since the application of CNN in the petroleum industry attained promising results for both classification and regression problems, this method is proposed on SRT to reduce the time, cost, and effort to run the laboratory test by predicting the plugging performance and sand production. The application of deep learning has yet to be imposed in SRT. Therefore, in this study, a deep learning model using a one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN) with adaptive moment estimation is developed to model the SRT with the aim of classifying plugging sign (screen plug, the screen does not plug) as well as to predict sand production and retained permeability using a varying sand distribution, SAS, screen slot size, and sand concentration as inputs. The performance of the proposed 1D-CNN model for the slurry test shows that the prediction of retained permeability and the classification of plugging sign achieved robust accuracy with more than a 90% value of R2, while the prediction of sand production achieved 77% accuracy. In addition, the model for the sand pack test achieved 84% accuracy in predicting sand production. For comparative model performance, gradient boosting (GB), K-nearest neighbor (KNN), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM) were also modelled on the same datasets. The results showed that the proposed 1D-CNN model outperforms the other four machine learning models for both SRT tests in terms of prediction accuracy.

Ice pack test in myasthenia gravis: a cool investigation at the bedside

Ice pack test in myasthenia gravis: a cool investigation at the bedside

PRUEBA DE LA BOLSA DE HIELO: UNA PISTA CLÍNICA PARA MIASTENIA GRAVIS

Femenina de 30 años previamente sana acude por historia de 6 meses de ptosis palpebral derecha, visión borrosa, debilidad de miembros inferiores y posterior desarrollo de disfagia. Se sospechó de un Síndrome Miasténico Generalizado. Se aplicó la Prueba de la Bolsa de Hielo, test económico, confiable y rápido que eleva la probabilidad diagnóstica de Miastenia Gravis con alto nivel de evidencia. La maniobra resultó positiva (LR+ 24,0). Se confirmó el diagnóstico con estudios inmunológicos y neurofisiológicos.

Powder Coating for Healthcare Aluminum Packaging

Restrictive regulations concerning the toxicity of certain compounds and the use and disposal of solvents present in the liquid epoxy protection system have been analyzed in this work to evaluate powder coatings as an alternative in the protection of aerosol aluminum cans, which are employed in cosmetics and pharmaceutical product packaging. In this paper, the chemical resistance of polyester and mixed epoxy-polyester powder coatings is assessed, considering different aggressive environments employed in healthcare commercial products. The samples’ performances are also compared with the currently used liquid organic coatings. The pack test has been used to evaluate the protective system behavior in contact with both the liquid and the gaseous part of the cosmetic product. However, the visual observation, required by the test, enabled the highlight of only very evident degradation phenomena. The chemical resistance of the powder coatings has proved to be appropriate only for less aggressive environment, where the critical compounds are propellants, propane, butane and isobutane. When exposed to other environments containing alcohol, water and dimethyl ether, most samples have been susceptible to layer degradation phenomena. Polyester layers lose their corrosion protection properties. Epoxy systems, instead, result more performant than polyester resins, but they particularly suffer from the contact with dimethyl ether.

The use of nanotechnology to prevent and mitigate fine migration: a comprehensive review

Abstract Fine migration is a serious problem in petroleum reservoir that causes damage to the reservoir and production equipment. One of the methods to solve this problem is using nanotechnology. Nanoparticles can reduce fine migration by various mechanisms such as reducing the zeta potential, changing the total interaction energy between surfaces, pH, and roughness of the particle’s surfaces. This study presents a review of the methods such as sand pack test, core flood test, and proppant test that study the nanoparticles’ influence on fine migration. Also, there are two different scenarios for the use of nanoparticles to mitigate fine migration. One of these scenarios is the co-injection of nanoparticles and particles suspended fluid, and another scenario is the initial injection of nanoparticles into the porous media (pre-flush). The results of the studies have shown that pre-flush of nanoparticles has a better effect on the control of fine migration.

Myasthenia gravis with ptosis, ice pack test in the absence of edrophonium: Two case reports and review of the literature

Background and objectives Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a rare autoimmune disease of the neuromuscular junction. It is characterized by weakness of one or several of the following muscle groups: ocular, bulbar, respiratory and the muscles of the limbs. Edrophonium test brings additional argument to the MG diagnosis. In some hospital settings lacking Edrophonium, ice pack test, a safer and bedside test should be considered in MG with ptosis in addition to other tests. The objective of this study was to highlight the necessity of using all the clinical tools available to diagnose MG with ptosis in pharmacologically limited hospital settings. Contents We report two cases of MG patients with ptosis and a positive ice pack test. Only an Electromyography and a contrast chest CT were available in our hospital and town settings. In this paper, the literature review emphasizes on the specificity and sensitivity of the ice pack test when compared with the Edrophonium test. Conclusion We suggest that, in the absence of available Edrophonium, in addition to other tests, ice pack test should be considered in suspected cases of MG with ptosis.

Relationship between Metal Can Pack Test and Electrochemical Corrosion Test from the View Point of Polarization Resistance

Relationship between Metal Can Pack Test and Electrochemical Corrosion Test from the View Point of Polarization Resistance

Battery Pack Test Safety

A recently introduced regenerative battery pack test system is helping to ensure safe and responsive testing of increasing higher power density, while also meeting industry standards

A Novel Dynamic Performance Analysis and Evaluation Model of Series-Parallel Connected Battery Pack for Electric Vehicles

Due to the low voltage and small capacity of a Li-ion battery cell, large numbers of cells are connected to construct a battery pack to satisfy the voltage and capacity requirement of the power system of an electric vehicle. Focusing on parallel and series connection mode of battery packs, the main contributions include the following. First, in order to increase the utilization rate of cells and enhance the performance of the battery pack, a method that makes the battery pack achieve their maximum initial capacity has been proposed. Second, a dynamic modeling and analysis method for the battery pack based on the equivalent circuit model has also been proposed. The results show that the battery pack in parallel and then in series has a better performance on charge/discharge capacity, efficiency, and utilization rate of cells. Third, the performance analysis and evaluation platform of the battery pack has been built, and the battery pack test results of different groups supported the conclusion of the simulation. The battery packs in parallel and then in series can achieve superior performance and greatly increase capacity and energy utilization.

Metabolic Demand of Hiking in Wildland Firefighting

The objective of this study was to document characteristics of hiking during wildland firefighter (WLFF) training and wildfire suppression. For the first time, the overall physical demands during wildland firefighting were evaluated in the field using global positioning systems coupled with wireless physiological monitoring and load carriage prediction models. Male (n=116) and female (n=15) interagency hotshot crew and type II WLFFs on wildfires volunteered for this direct observation study. Participants' heart rate, internal temperature, speed, and elevation gain were monitored throughout training and during wildfire suppression. The Pandolf and Santee equations were used to predict metabolic rate to estimate oxygen consumption of uphill and downhill hiking. Equipment weight varied by crew type (type II: 24±9 kg and interagency hotshot crew: 28±6 kg; P<0.05). Grade of terrain was steepest during training hikes, and ingress hikes were statistically different from egress and training hikes (ingress: 4±9%, shift: 4±9%, egress: 1±8%, training hikes: 10±9%; P<0.01). Estimated oxygen consumption was highest during ingress hikes and was significantly different from all other hike types on fire assignments (ingress: 22±12, shift: 19±12, egress: 19±12 mL·kg-1·min-1; P=0.01). Oxygen consumption was higher during training hikes (34±14 mL·kg-1·min-1) than during job-related hikes (P<0.01). The greatest metabolic demand during wildfire assignments occurred during ingress hikes. On average, this was close to the estimated metabolic demand of the job qualification arduous pack test. However, greater metabolic demand occurred for periods during both shift (on the job) and training hikes. These data quantify the demands associated with actual wildland performance of WLFFs and can help define future work capacity testing and training procedures.

Cardiorespiratory Responses to the USFS Wildland Firefighter Arduous Pack Test

Cardiorespiratory Responses to the USFS Wildland Firefighter Arduous Pack Test

A new method for mechanical damage characterization in proppant packs using nuclear magnetic resonance measurements

Proppant performance can significantly affect the success of hydraulic fracturing treatments and production in unconventional plays. Performance of proppants can decrease rapidly by mechanical damage. Quantifying the impact of mechanical damage on proppant performance can be challenging either in the laboratory or in-situ condition. This paper introduces a new method based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Transverse relaxation (T2) measurements to characterize pore-size distribution in proppant packs. Quantifying the pore-size distribution in proppant packs enables enhanced evaluation of porosity and conductivity of proppant packs and possible mechanical damage to the packs. The objectives of this paper are (a) to evaluate the performance of this new NMR-based method for characterizing pore structure of the proppant packs, and (b) to isolate and quantify the mechanical damage in proppant packs due to generating of fines in the laboratory using this new NMR-based method.First, we prepared proppant pack test samples in three categories including (a) different types of proppants with different surface relaxivity, (b) mixture of proppants with different sizes, and (c) proppants undergone different levels of mechanical damage. We measured NMR response in proppant packs and quantified the impacts of proppant type, size, and mechanical damage on NMR T2 distribution. Next, we used the fractional packing model to quantify the efficiency of packing of proppant mixture and to quantify the changes in porosity of proppant packs caused by variation in size and fraction of fines. Finally, we used Kozeny-Carman (KC) equation and modified Schlumberger Doll Research (SDR) equation to correlate the variation in T2 distribution to the decrease in proppant pack permeability.Results showed that NMR T2 distribution is sensitive to pore-size distribution in the proppant packs. The variable pore-size distribution was either a consequence of having a mixture of proppants with different sizes or different levels of mechanical damage. The impacts of fines on the pore-size distribution of the proppant packs was measureable, which is promising for the successful application of the introduced method for time-lapse quantification of generated fines. We also observed a measurable sensitivity of T2 distribution to mechanical damage in the proppant packs, which enables quantifying the level of damage in proppants through quantifying pore structure in the proppant packs. The NMR T2 measurements were, however, sensitive to the presence of paramagnetic materials such as iron in proppants. This sensitivity was more significant in cases where paramagnetic materials were distributed on the proppant surface. The proposed method is considered as an indirect measurement of pore structure and could potentially provide a quantitative assessment of the proppant pack conductivity both in the lab-scale and in-situ conditions. Improved assessment of proppant conductivity can help in enhancing the design and execution of fracture treatments for successful development of unconventional plays.

Establishment of Environmental Analysis Using Smart Device and Possibility of Applied Engineering Education-Through the Science of Ise bay Water Analysis

Pack test analysis using colorimetric analysis is easily determination analysis, compared performed coloration of the pack test that with the standard colorings. However, analytical signal strongly depends on the sense of color of the analyst, pack test analysis has a problem of reliability of the analysis result. Smart device (smart phone and tablet) can transmit and receive information and data using a network function of the applications software. On the basis of these characteristics, in this study, through environmental analysis (COD analysis), we examined the effectiveness as the on-site analyzer of the smart device, possibility and problem solution to application to the engineering education for students. In consequence, analysis conditions of pack test using smart device could established. Even, its result showed lower than official COD method, because of oxidation rate of pack test is lower than official COD method. Besides, setting educational theme for accuracy improvement of smart device analysis from the viewpoint of chemistry will be able to cultivate creativity, and be effective for engineering education.