Supracostal access above the twelfth rib is relatively safe; however, access above the eleventh rib should be limited to necessity because a higher incidence of pleural complications can be expected. A chest radiograph should be obtained immediately postoperatively for early detection of hydrothorax or pneumothorax.

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Abstract Asymmetric blend membranes of polyethersulfone (PES)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were prepared and developed for ultrafiltration applications. The membranes were prepared by dissolving two polymers in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as a solvent with diethylene glycol (DEG) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as non-solvent and pore former, respectively. The produced membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and the hydrophilicity of membranes was tested by contact angle measurements. The performance of prepared membranes was carried out by an ultrafiltration testing unit, where the efficiency of membranes was determined according to the humic acid separation and treated water permeate flux. The results indicated that using 1 wt.% of PAN in polymer mixture provided a blending membrane with high mechanical properties and high performance; the humic acid rejection reached 92.47% with treated water permeate flux 70 l/m2·h at feed pressure 6 bar.

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In this paper, SiC particle reinforced aluminum metal matrix composite (SiCp/A1 MMC) is welded with high power continuous wave CO, laser. Microstructure of the laser beam welded SiCp/Al MMC is characterized as functions of laser processing parameters (laser power density, welding speed, shielding gas flow direction, etc). Results show that sound weld with few porosity can be produced by laser beam welding, while needle-like aluminum carbide is formed in the weld. The size and volume fraction of aluminum carbide are proportional to the laser power density. Direction of shielding gas flow has significant effect on weld surface quality and weld microstructure.