Thick Needles Research Articles

Factors that influence the characteristics of needles and syringes used by people who inject drugs in Tajikistan.

Background“Low dead space” syringes with permanently attached needles retain less fluid, blood, and HIV after use than standard “high dead space” syringes. This reduces the probability of HIV transmission if they are shared by people who inject drugs (PWID). The World Health Organization recently recommended that needle and syringe programs (NSP) offer clients low dead space syringes. The success of this recommendation will depend on PWID switching to low dead space needles and syringes. This paper examines the needles and syringes that PWID in Tajikistan use and factors that influence their choices.MethodsIn May 2014, we conducted six focus groups in Kulob and six in Khorog, Tajikistan, with a total of 100 participants. NSP staff members recruited participants. Focus group topics included the needles and syringes used and factors that influence choice of needles and syringes. Focus groups were conducted in Russian and Tajik, audio recorded, transcribed, and translated into English. The translated files were imported into NVivo 10 for coding and analysis.ResultsAll participants in both cities were male and reported injecting heroin. Everyone also reported using syringes with detachable needles almost exclusively. The most popular syringe sizes were 2 and 5 ml. Needles ranged in gauge from 25 to 21 g. Needle gauge was influenced by the size of the vein, the viscosity of drug solution to be injected, and problems with blood clotting. Needles ranged in length from 12 to 38 mm, with 25 and 32 mm being the most popular. Needle length was influenced by the depth of the vein being used. Many PWID inject volumes of fluid greater than 1 ml into deep veins that require needles at least 25 mm long and 25 g in diameter.ConclusionMost low dead space syringes are 1-ml insulin syringes with 12 mm 28 g permanently attached needles. Findings from this project suggest that these will not be acceptable to PWID who need larger syringes and longer and thicker needles that are detachable. Low dead space detachable needles appear to be an acceptable option that could overcome barriers to the widespread use of low dead space equipment for reducing HIV and HCV transmission.

Approaches to oocyte retrieval for advanced reproductive technology cycles planning to utilize in vitro maturation: a review of the many choices to be made.

To evaluate the minutiae associated with oocyte retrieval for use in human in vitro maturation IVF cycles. Many of the relevant features of oocyte retrieval were identified by the Trounson group in the first publication on successful in vitro maturation using transvaginal oocyte harvesting and these were a major focus of this review. Published human and animal studies, together with topics from mathematics and mechanics, were used to try to understand the importance of different choices that could be made in structuring a transvaginal oocyte retrieval procedure in humans. The published literature suggests that the highest oocyte recovery rate occurs using higher pressures and thicker needles, but this comes at the cost of damaging the cumulus oocyte complex. It is likely that this damage is caused by the sheer stress forces exerted on the cumulus oocyte complex due to parabolic forces associated with laminar flow within the needle and is likely worsened by irregular forces during intervals of turbulent flow occurring with entry into the needle. Larger needles also cause more pain and may be associated with more blood loss. Higher velocity entry into the follicle, needle rotation to prevent premature blockage of the lumen, and carefully timed applications of aspiration pressure theoretically optimize oocyte retrieval technique. Oocyte retrieval for in vitro maturation is effected by the interaction of the many choices that need to be made in planning for the procedure. The most difficult decision involves aspiration pressure or fluid flow rate and needle size.

The Effect of Magnesium and Zinc Ions on the Hydration Kinetics of C3S

Impure tricalcium silicate (C3S) in portland cement may contain various foreign ions. These ions can stabilize different polymorphs of C3S at room temperature and may affect its reactivity. In this paper, the effects of magnesium and zinc on the polymorph type, hydration kinetics, and the hydrate morphology of C3S were investigated. The pure C3S has the T1 structure while magnesium and zinc stabilize polymorphs M3 and T2/T3, respectively. The two elements have distinct effects on the hydration kinetics. Zinc increases the maximum heat released. Magnesium increases the hydration peak width. The C–S–H morphology is modified, leading to longer needles in the presence of zinc and thicker needles in the presence of magnesium. Zinc is incorporated into C–S–H, while magnesium is only incorporated slightly, if at all, but rather seems to inhibit nucleation. Implementing experimentally measured parameters for C–S–H nucleation and growth in the μic hydration model captured well the observed changes in hydration kinetics. This supports C–S–H nucleation and growth to be rate controlling in the hydration of C3S.

832 Development of a Device for Facilitating the Detection of Target Specimens From EUS-FNA Samples in Pancreatic Tumors

A 25-G needle is recommended for EUS-FNA of pancreatic tumors because fine-gauge needles have fewer complications than thicker needles and are equally useful for diagnosis (Madhoun MF, et al. Endoscopy 2013). However, it is often difficult to confirm the presence of the target specimen within a sample, since specimens collected with such fine needles are microscopic and contain blood. The use of rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) during EUS-FNA would be beneficial; however, many healthcare facilities are unable to introduce this technique.

Effects of acupuncture applied to sanyinjiao with different stimuli on uterine contraction and microcirculation in rats with dysmenorrhea of cold coagulation syndrome.

In this study, we try to evaluate the effects of acupuncture stimulation with different amounts at Sanyinjiao (SP6) on uterine contraction and uterus microcirculation in rats with dysmenorrhea of cold coagulation syndrome and to explore whether there is direct relativity between “De qi” and needle stimulus intensity. Diestrus female rats were randomly divided into 4 groups, including saline control group, model control group, “A” stimulus group (with strong stimulus), and “B” stimulus group (with weak stimulus). We found that dysmenorrhea rats of the cold coagulation syndrome present a high intensity in uterine tension and high contraction of microvascular diameter. Acupuncture applied with two different stimuli could relieve the symptoms, but, compared with “B” stimulus, “A” stimulus leads to better outcomes on reducing uterine contraction and increasing diameter of uterine microvascular; moreover, hand manipulation during needling mediates the curative effect on the microvascular diameter. Our finding indicates that using thick needles and deep insertion with hand manipulation are more effective and achieve desired level of “De qi” in dysmenorrhea rats.

On oriented ilmenite needles in garnet porphyroblasts from deep crustal granulites: Implications for fluid evolution and cooling history

Garnet porphyroblasts from a litho-assemblage containing aluminous granulite and quartzofeldspathic gneisses of the Eastern Ghats granulite belt, India contain nanometer- to micrometer-thick ilmenite needles oriented crystallographically. Petrographic and chemical analyses reveal that garnet was formed by dehydration melting reaction(s) of titaniferous biotite in an oxidized condition. Elevated oxygen fugacity might have promoted enrichment of Ti-bearing andradite component of garnet porphyroblasts formed during pre- to peak metamorphic condition in appropriate bulk chemistry. During the post-peak cooling history, Ti-bearing components in garnet decomposed to rhombohedral oxide solid solution (ilmenite–hematite). Detailed transmission electron microscopic study of the host garnet and ilmenite solid solution indicates that though there is an overall parallelism of (011) plane of host garnet and (011) plane of ilmenite, structural coherence between the two phases was progressively lost during growth from thin to thick needles. Appropriate cooling rate from high-temperature peak metamorphic condition arguably promoted growth of ilmenite solid solution through reaction–exsolution process within garnet porphyroblasts.

The needle and the damage done: Clinical and behavioural markers of severe femoral vein damage among groin injectors

Aim To identify factors associated with severe femoral vein (FV) damage among groin injectors (GIs) on oral opioid substitution treatment. Design A cohort study. Setting Drug treatment centres in South East England. Participants GIs attending an ultrasound ‘health-check’ clinic. Measures Femoral ultrasonography and clinical grading of venous disease in each leg. Method Comparison of 67 GIs with severely damaged FV and 86 GIs with minimal/moderate damage. Findings The majority were men (69.3%) and the mean age was 36.2 years with mean duration of injecting drug use (IDU) of 13.3 years. There were no significant between-group differences in age, gender or duration of IDU. Severe FV damage was associated with longer duration of groin injecting (GI; P < 0.005), use of thick needles (blue-hub, 23G; or green-hub, 21G; P < 0.001), benzodiazepine injection ( P < 0.005), history of deep vein thrombosis (DVT, P < 0.001) and recurrent DVT ( P < 0.001), presence of depressed groin scar ( P < 0.001) and chronic venous disease (CVD, P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed needle size ( β 1.2, Wald 4.9, P < 0.05) and DVT ( β 3.3, Wald 38.5, P < 0.001) as the main predictors of severe FV damage. Conclusion Needle and syringe exchange services should consider only supplying appropriate lengths of orange-hub needle (25G) on request from GIs. Early cessation of GI, avoidance of benzodiazepine injection and prompt diagnosis and treatment of DVT might also reduce the prevalence of severe FV damage among GIs and the associated healthcare burden. Routine examination of injecting sites among these patients should include an assessment of severity of venous disease in each leg.

Electric fields and corona currents in needle-to-meshed plate gaps

This paper is aimed at evaluating the electric field, the corona onset voltage and the corona current in negatively stressed needle-to-meshed plate gaps as compared with the case of using a flat plate. The charge simulation method is used for calculating the electric field in the gap. The onset voltage is evaluated based on the calculated field and the criterion for self-recurring single electron-avalanches in the ionization-zone around the needle tip. The corona current–voltage characteristics were measured for thin and thick needles at two gap spacings with meshed and flat plates. The corona currents with meshed plates are lower than those with a flat plate; even the corona onset voltage with the flat plate is higher than that with the meshed plate.

An atraumatic needle for continuous epidural and plexus anesthesia

The needle type introduced by Edward Tuphy for continuous spinal anaesthesia in 1944 is still used as the standard instrument for epidural anaesthesia up to the present day. Puncture of the dura and severance of the epidural catheter are the typical, though fare, complications of this procedure, giving rise to most of the actions brought for damage suffered during obstetric anaesthesia. The cerebral spinal fluid loss caused by thick needles can have serious consequences, including subdural and intracranial haematoma, cranial nerve pareses, labyrinthine hearing impairments and pneumocephalus. Special Sprotte needle for catheter introduction. In spinal anaesthesia and lumbar puncture the Sprotte needle has proven a very suitable instrument for the CSF loss syndrome and, to a large degree, post-spinal headaches. To adapt the atraumatic properties of this needle point for epidural anaesthesia the needle has been equipped with a plastic ramp to direct catheter insertion, and the opening geometry has been slightly modified for epidural application (see Fig. 1). The lateral catheter channel projects into the base of the needle point, which is thus shortened, and the edges of the needle opening are rounded so that the catheters cannot be severed. This needle bears the type designated "Special Sprotte needle" (EP no. 271715, USP no. 4842585). Needle diameter and application fields. The 1.1-mm (19.5 G) needle with 23-G catheter was introduced for epidural anaesthesia and continuous plexus anaesthesia at the Würzburg University Hospital and has proven itself in routine clinical practice. A 20-G version is being tested with a 25-G catheter for continuous spinal anaesthesia at several centers in USA, because finer spinal catheters are not permitted there by the FDA. For continuous spinal anaesthesia this needle has been available without the modified opening geometry since 1989 in sizes 22 G and 24 G and is wide by used in Europe. CSE technique with special and standard Sprotte needles. Spinal analgesia or anaesthesia) can be performed with the special needle and 123-mm-long 27 G or 29 G standard Sprotte needles before placement of the peridural catheter.

Non-equilibrium highly anisometric crystals and whiskers of galena

AbstractUnusual irregular galena crystals and whiskers were found in close proximity in some druse cavities from the Gradishtc hydrothcrmal lead-zinc deposit in the Madan ore district, Bulgaria. The following crystal forms were observed: (1) straight thin [110] whiskers and thicker needles; (2) kinked whiskers; (3) curvilinear whiskers; (4) complex tortuous whiskers composed of segments with varying directions—[110], [100], [211], (5) thicker irregular elongated crystals. Combinations of these forms occur also. The detailed SEM study shows that all these formations are single crystals of extreme anisometricity, bounded by octahedral and cubic faces as well as by stepped surfaces of these forms. Surface structures such as longitudinal grooves, jagged edges, striations, pits, etc., are abundant.It is assumed that these highly non-equilibrium crystals with large surface areas were formed through rapid directed growth from highly supersaturated solutions under a diffusional regime. Such special environments arose in the ore veins as a result of tectonic shocks leading locally to a drastic volume increase and P and T decrease in the solutions.

Delayed Cardiac Tamponade and Hemothorax Induced by an Acupuncture Needle

We report a 52-year-old man who presented with cardiac tamponade a few years after accidental breakage of an acupuncture needle that had not been removed. Thoracotomy showed a hemopericardium with penetration of the pulmonary artery by the very fine needle which was barely detected on the chest roentgenogram. This lesion was not suspected on the basis of roentgenography, two-dimensional echocardiography, or computed tomography, but was detected by the presence of other thick needles in the neck, chest and abdomen. This case showed a possible threat of 'stealthy' and migrating foreign bodies, such as very fine acupuncture needles.

Growth of single crystals of bismuth sulpho iodide in gel

Single crystals of bismuth sulpho iodide have been grown in sodium silicate gel at room temperature by diffusing suitable reactants. In the first batch of experiments 3 to 7 g solution of BiCl3 was diffused into the gel containing 10 to 15% KI. Platelets of dimensions upto 5 mm were obtained in a period of 30 days. When thiourea of concentration 5 to 10% was used as the inner reactant and 2 to 4g of BiI3 dissolved in 50% HI was used as the outer reactant, thin needles of BiSI were obtained. Larger thick needles of BiSI were also obtained when thiourea was used as the inner reactant and solutions of Bi2O3 and BiI3 were used as the outer reactants. Similarly in the next batch of experiments H2S was used as the inner reactant instead of thiourea and the same outer reactants were diffused. Platelets of dimensions 5 to 8 mm in size were obtained. The effects due to gel density, concentration of the reactants and the neutral gel on nucleation are also discussed.

2 - Placental Synthesis

Upper blepharoplasty is one of the most commonly performed esthetic surgeries, but injection pain during local anesthesia often disturbs patients. The objective of this study was to identify the pain levels associated with anesthetizing the upper eyelids in blepharoplasty and determine whether injection with thin needles is associated with less pain and bleeding than injection with thick needles.The study included 50 patients who underwent bilateral upper blepharoplasty. The eyelids were anesthetized using 2% lidocaine with 1:100 ​000 epinephrine. One upper eyelid was randomly injected with a thin needle (26G) and the other with a thick needle (22G). The pain level was scored by patients immediately after the injection of each eyelid using a visual analog scale (VAS) ranging from 0 to 10. The incidence of eyelid hematomas caused by the anesthetic injection was also recorded.The VAS scores in eyelids injected with thin needles were not significantly lower than those in eyelids injected with thick needles (4.0 vs. 4.0, P=0.393). The formation of eyelid bruises caused by thin-needle injection was less frequent than that caused by thick-needle injection (16% vs. 26%), but there was no significant difference between the two groups (P=0.326).Using thin needles for local anesthesia during upper blepharoplasty could not significantly decrease injection pain or hematoma occurrence compared with that associated with using thick needles.

The influence of temperature fluctuations on melt growth of antimony sulfoiodide

The temperature fluctuation method is reported for the growth of SbSI as a single bundle of very closely packed parallel thick needles, the needles being parallel to the axis of the growth vessel. Crystal bundles have also been grown without temperature fluctuations. The growth habits of SbSI crystals grown by these two methods have been compared.

Microchemistry and microstructure of a multiphase aluminosilicate ceramic

The microstructure and microchemistry of a sintered (≈ 1700° C) aluminosilicate ceramic (60 wt % Al2O3-40 wt% SiO2) was investigated by optical, scanning (SEM and EDAX), and analytical electron microscopy (TEM and STEM). The microstructural features of the fired ceramic consisted of unreacted Al2O3, glass, porosity, and equilibrium and metastable mullite phases. Residual Al2O3 agglomerates (≈ 15 to 30 μm in size) were surrounded by a ≈ 6 μm layer of equilibrium mullite (≈ 71.3 to 73.5 wt% Al2O3). The unreacted Al2O3-equilibrium mullite assembly formed islands embedded in a silica rich glass (≈ 4.5 to 14wt% Al2O3) which also contained 2 to 3 μm thick metastable mullite needles (≈ 70 to 77 wt% Al2O3). Phase separation and alumina rich glass compositions (≈ 57 to 59 wt% Al2O3) were also observed in some areas of the microstructure.

Poems Old and New, 1918–1978 by Janet Lewis

86 Western American Literature weariness / and love. I turn / for reassurance. Heart / bumps as we come / together, breathless / almost as this girl / arranging daisies in / my mind. I sleep / heavily, as God sleeps / who dreams us all.” Skelton’s approach to his poems is never programmatic. Sticking to the common tools of good writing, his primary concern appears to be a forthright, honest and direct treatment of his subject. He does not dabble in surrealism, he rarely assumes the public posture of the poet on the stage. There is a richness and a range to Skelton’s poems that is rapidly dis­ appearing in our culture as more and more poets imitate not the great masters of the past, but the current fads of the writing programs and reading circuits. One leaves Skelton’s Collected Shorter Poems feeling that, yes, this is a natural poet who combines a natural gift with a strong sense of discipline. And one hopes for a collected longer poems to follow, and perhaps even for a collected translations. For, as Skelton says in a poem to Robert Graves, “Poetry is studying / how the spirit soars / on learned as on simple / ignor­ ant things.” SAM HAMILL, Port Townsend, Washington Poems Old and New, 1918-1978. By Janet Lewis. (Chicago: Swallow/Ohio University Presses, 1981. 112 pages, $11.00.) While small presses have recently published old and new collections by Janet Lewis, respectively The Indians in the Woods (Matrix) and The Ancient Ones (No Dead Lines), and while Swallow has kept in print Poems 1924/1944, Lewis’s thirty-two-year-old collection, Poems Old and New, 19181978 is the most comprehensive and useful collection available by the Cali­ fornia poet, and consists of ninety-four poems arranged in chronological order and organized in four sections which correlate poems with the author’s residence. The Old in the title of Lewis’s latest book includes some of her finest poems, “Country Burial,” “Lines with a Gift of Herbs,” “The Hangar at Sunnyvale: 1937,” and “Helen Grown Old.” and comprises the first three sections of the volume. The New includes twenty-seven poems, all written between 1971-1978 in Los Altos, and makes up the fourth section. (Lewis includes no poems written between 1945-1970 in the collection.) Of her recent efforts, the most impressive — and likely of most interest to students of western poetry — is a group of seven southwestern poems. Previously pub­ lished in The Ancient Ones, these seven record the poet’s return on horse­ back to Keet Seel and on foot to Betatakin after a half-centurv absence. At these two Arizona sites, the ]x>et contemplates the lives of long-dead Native Americans, as in “The Ancient Ones: Betatakin” : Reviews 87 What words they spoke To echo here, to rise along the walls Of this steep canyon, Are gone; and yet the jay, The warbler speak their notes And the wind blows, whirling the aspen leaves, Brushing the thick short needles of these pines, And by the path The small flowers still are bright — and she realizes, transcendently, Time stays, the canyon stays; Their houses stay, split rock Mortared with clay, and small. And the shards, grey, plain or painted, In the pale roseate dust reveal, conceal The patterns of their days, Speak of the pure form of the shattered pot. Such poetry is impressively simple and complex. (Whose notes do the jay and warbler speak? How may houses split rock? How may clay mortar, in the sense of bombard?) In Forms of Discovery, Yvor Winters half-heartedly objected that selections in his wife’s Poems 1924/1944 were oftened weakened by domestic sentimentality; such sentimentality does not appear in the southwest works in Poems Old and New which, as the volume’s introducer, Helen Trimpi, notes, illustrate Janet Lewis’s return to the theme of American Indian consciousness found in her Ojibway poems of sixty years previous. TOM TRUSKY, Boise State University Ask Me Now. By A1 Young. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980. 294 pages, $11.95.) Is there life after basketball? Durwood “Woody” Knight, recently retired pro-basketball star with the Bay Area Beanstalks, doesn’t actually ask himself this question...

Lung Biopsy: Methods, Value, Complications, Timing, and Indications

Six methods of lung biopsy are discussed on the basis of literature reports: 1. Aspiration biopsy by fine needle, 2. split needle biopsy (Vim-Silverman), 3. cutting needle biopsy (Travenol), 4. trephine biopsy by rotating needle, 5. transbronchial biopsy, 6. open biopsy. Because of the high risk, biopsies with thick needles (methods 2--4) should be abandoned. Transbronchial biopsy is renounced because reliable results are only achieved in sarcoidosis which can be clearly diagnosed in high percentage of cases by other less dangerous procedures. In solitary tumors which could not be diagnosed by any other means aspiration biopsy is indicated because of its low risk and its diagnostic accuracy of more than 80%. In disseminated pulmonary disorders which cannot be diagnosed by any other means open lung biopsy is the most reliable method. The lung specimens can be taken under eye control. They should contain tissue from the transitional zone between diseased and unchanged areas, however. The specimens are usually big enough for additional electron and fluorescence microscopic examinations as well as dust analyses. The pathologist must be aware of all clinical data including X-ray pictures, laboratory findings, case history, and history of occupational and nonoccupational dust exposure. If these conditions are fulfilled and adequate methods are applied, lung biopsy provides diagnosis and prognosis, makes causal therapy possible, and amplifies the medical knowledge of pulmonary diseases.

Hydride formation in Zr-1.15 wt% Cr-0.1 wt% Fe during corrosion in water and steam

AbstractThe precipitation of zirconium hydride in an alloy of nominal composition Zr-1.15 wt%Cr-0.1 wt% Fe during corrosion in both 773K steam and 573K water has been studied using, primarily, thin-foil electron microscopy. In 773K steam a globular form of the f.c.c. δ-hydride is formed which has the following orientation relationship with the a-zirconium matrix.(111)δ//(101¯0)α′[11¯0]δ//[112¯0]α The hydride formed at 573K also has the δ-structure but forms as thick needles or plates. The morphology of the hydride is controlled at 773K by the need to reduce the surface area to a minimum. The hydride in all samples was evenly distributed. This is considered to be indicative of some form of supersaturation which is produced by thermal cycling. Resume La precipitation d'hydrure de zirconium pendant la corrosion D'alliages de ce metal contenant des pourcentages en poids de 1.15% de Cr et 0.1% de Fe a ete etudiee a l'aide du microscope electronique a feuille mince. Pour la corrosion qui se produit dans la vape...

Part 2. Needle characters

Abstract Morphological and anatomical characters of the needles were examined as part of a study of variation in the natural populations of Pinus radiata. Although the species is normally three-needled, trees bearing a proportion of binate fascicles occur in all populations, but cannot easily be defined as a distinct class. There is a relation between needle number and the radius of the fascicle. Compared with those at Monterey, trees in the Cambria population have significantly longer and thicker needles, with more widely spaced stomatal rows and marginal teeth. Needles from Ano Nuevo Point trees are intermediate in all these respects except the spacing of the marginal teeth. Resin canals vary from 0 to 2 per needle in all populations, and the whole range of variation is often found in samples from individual trees. The other anatomical features investigated, namely, the number of vascular bundles, the structure of the hypodermis, and the shape of the stomatal cells, show minor variation in all populations.