Analysis and modeling of green wood milling: Chip production by slabber

During the primary transformation of wood, logs are faced with slabber heads. Chips produced are raw materials for pulp paper and particleboard industries. Efficiency of these industries is partly due to particle size distribution. Command of this distribution is no easy matter because of great dependence on cutting conditions and variability in material. This study aimed a better understanding and predictionof chip fragmentation. It starts with a detailed description of cutting kinematic and interaction between knife and log. This leads to the numerical development of a generic slabber head. Chip fragmentation phenomena were studied through experiments in dynamic conditions. These experiments were carried out thanks to a pendulum (Vc = 400 m/min). It was instrumented with piezoelectric force sensors and high speed camera. Obtained results agreed very well with previous quasi-static experiments

Blood eosinophil count to predict bronchial eosinophilic inflammation in COPD.

No abstract available

The UPLIFT study (Understanding Potential Long-term Impacts on Function with Tiotropium)

peer reviewedThe UPLIFT study (Understanding Potential Long-term Impacts on Function with Tiotropium) was a double-blind, randomised, international, multicentric, placebo-controlled clinical trial, investigating with tiotropium (Spiriva) the change in the annual rate of decline in FEV1 in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Secondary end points included COPD exacerbation rate with or without hospitalisation, lung function, quality of life and mortality. 5.993 patients were randomized. In this article, we briefly describe the most important results of the study. While tiotropium did not alter the annual rate of decline in FEV1 (pre and postbronchodilatation), it improved lung function and quality of life, and reduced exacerbations and hospitalisations by comparison with control for up to 4 years. Tiotropium also reduced respiratory and cardiac morbidity

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Due to Copd

peer reviewedIn this paper we review the current knowledge on pulmonary hypertension (PH) occurring in COPD. PH is defined as a mean pulmonary arterial pressure at rest greater than 20 mmHg measured by right heart catheterisation. PH is usually present during exercise before appearing at rest. PH in COPD increases the risk of hospitalisation and darkens the disease prognosis. Chronic hypoxemia is the major contributor to PH, but remodelling of arterial wall and mechanical factors such as hyperinflation also play a role. Transthoracic echocardiography is the most useful non invasive investigation, but right heart catheterisation is necessary to ascertain the diagnosis. Long term 02 supplementation is the basis of the treatment while vasodilatators may worsen hypoxemia

Corticosteroids: still at the frontline in asthma treatment?

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) have led to improved asthma control and reduced asthma mortality in the Western world. ICS are effective in combating T-helper type 2-driven inflammation featuring mast cell and eosinophilic airway infiltration. Their effect on innate immunity-driven neutrophilic inflammation is poor and their ability to prevent airway remodeling and accelerated lung decline is controversial. Although ICS remain pivotal drugs in asthma management, research is needed to find drugs complementary to the combination ICS/long-acting beta2-agonist in refractory asthma and perhaps a new class of drugs as a first-line treatment in mild to moderate noneosinophilic asthma.Peer reviewe

Pleurisy of unexpected etiology: a foreign body within the pleural cavity

peer reviewedFollowing three brief clinical reports, we review the literature concerning a rare cause of exudative pleural effusion: the presence of a foreign body in the pleural cavity. Frequently iatrogenical, this rare etiology of pleural effusion must be envisaged when this complication develops after any invasive peri-thoracic surgery and must be included in the differential diagnosis of recurrent pleural effusions. These effusions have a favorable prognosis after withdrawal of the foreign body

Bronchial thermoplasty : a new therapeutic option for the treatment of severe, uncontrolled asthma in adults

Bronchial thermoplasty is a young yet promising treatment for severe asthma whose benefit for long-term asthma control outweighs the short-term risk of deterioration and hospitalisation in the days following the treatment. It is an innovative treatment whose clinical efficacy and safety are beginning to be better understood. Since this is a device-based therapy, the overall evaluation of risk-benefit is unlike that of pharmaceutical products; safety aspects, regulatory requirements, study design and effect size assessment may be unfamiliar. The mechanisms of action and optimal patient selection need to be addressed in further rigorous clinical and scientific studies. Bronchial thermoplasty fits in perfectly with the movement to expand personalised medicine in the field of chronic airway disorders. This is a device-based complimentary asthma treatment that must be supported and developed in order to meet the unmet needs of modern severe asthma management. The mechanisms of action and the type of patients that benefit from bronchial thermoplasty are the most important challenges for bronchial thermoplasty in the future

Y a-t-il une place pour les β-bloquants dans les maladies pulmonaires obstructives ?

peer reviewe