What Are The Four Stages of Mesothelioma Cancer?

One rare form of cancer is called Mesothelioma, a malignant tumor in the mesothelial tissues of the lungs and the abdomen, arising from the inhalation of asbestos. Its rarity is one of the reasons why a lot of people are not aware of this kind of fatal disease. In fact, many people die of Mesothelioma undiagnosed. Although there is now a growing awareness of the hazards of asbestos to health, still many have not heard of Mesothelioma and thus, have not understood its nature, cause, signs and treatment. Even some physicians find it hard to detect Mesothelioma because its symptoms are akin to other diseases like lung cancer and pneumonia. Furthermore, it takes decades for a patient who was exposed to asbestos to develop Mesothelioma -- fifty years, at most.

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Being unaware of Mesothelioma poses higher risks since it deters diagnosis and treatment. A person undergoing treatment must know the different stages of the cancer or the extent of the disease. Chances of recovering from Mesothelioma and the kind of treatment depend on the stage of the illness. There are basically two staging systems used for Pleural Mesothelioma (lungs): TNM system and Brighan system. These staging systems are also used in other kinds of cancers; however, the first is commonly used. There is no established method in determining the stage of the Peritoneal Mesothelioma cancer (abdominal) so the TNM system is used.

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There are three variables in the TNM system: tumor, lymph nodes and metastasis. In the earliest stage of Mesothelioma, stage I, the malignant Mesothelioma cells start to grow and multiply only one layer of the pleura. The pleura is the membrane that encloses the lungs and lines the wall of the chest cavity. However, there are some instances wherein the pericardium (membrane that covers the heart) and diaphragm cover are already affected. In this case, the cancer patient is still in stage I Mesothelioma.

In the second stage, the two layers of the pleura are already affected by Mesothelioma. Take note, however, that in this stage, only one side of the body is affected. Normally, the pleura produces only small amount of lubricating fluid that allows easy expanding and contracting of the lungs. The excess fluid is absorbed by the blood and the lymph vessels so there's a balance between the amount of fluid produced and removed. During the second stage Mesothelioma, fluid starts to build up between the membrane of the lungs and the membrane of the chest wall, resulting to pleural effusion. The increase in the volume of fluid produced causes shortness of breath and chest pain. Other Mesothelioma cancer patients experience dry and persistent cough. Diagnosis of the pleural effusion is achieved through a chest x-ray.

Stage III Mesothelioma means that the malignant cells have already spread to the chest wall, esophagus and the lymph nodes on one part of the chest. The patient may suffer severe pain near the parts affected. When not treated immediately or when the Mesothelioma patient doesn't respond well to medication, the cancer may advance to the fourth stage. The fourth stage Mesothelioma is formidable since at this stage the Mesothelioma cells have penetrated into the bloodstream and other organs in the body like the liver, the bones and the brain. The lymph nodes on the other side of the chest may also be affected by Mesothelioma in stage IV.

Brighan staging system, on the other hand, determines whether the Mesothelioma can be surgically removed or not and whether the lymph nodes are affected or not. In stage I Mesothelioma, the lymph nodes are not yet affected and the patient can still recover through surgery. In stage II, surgery can still be executed but some lymph nodes have already been infiltrated by the cancer cells. In stage III, the heart and chest wall are already affected; thus, surgery is no longer advisable. The lymph nodes in this stage, however, may or may not be affected. In the final stage, stage IV Mesothelioma, cancer cells have already gone to the bloodstream and other parts of the body like the heart, brain, bone and liver. In most cases, a patient who has reached stage IV Mesothelioma only has four to twenty-four months to live.

What Are The Four Stages of Mesothelioma Cancer?

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The Tile Shower Pan Liner Membrane - Tips For Success

The shower pan liner membrane is usually a vinyl sheet that's installed in the mortar base of the shower. All kinds of liners have been tried in the past, including liners of steel, iron, copper, lead and even tar. None of these materials were completely satisfactory. The currently used liner sheets seem to be the best solution yet.

membrane air dryer

Don't even think about building a masonry tile shower without a liner membrane. Why not? Well, you see, a shower floor is not waterproof. Water seeps right into the grout of the floor and then down into the shower base. The only thing that keeps the shower leak-proof is the liner layer. It's made to catch all the water that seeps into the floor and route it to special drain holes built into the floor.

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Here's what you get for the liner...

The actual liner sheet is made of either chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Either material works. The CPE is more flexible and seems to stay soft better, but it's more expensive and harder to find. Most installers use PVC liners and they seem to work perfectly, even if they are a little harder to fold and bend.

Here's how the liner, PVC or CPE, fits in the floor...

The PVC liner is installed between two mortar layers. The bottom mortar layer is sloped and that's what supports the liner sheet and guarantees that the water moves right to the drain. The liner is run up the wall to produce a water proof layer higher than the water could pool in the shower.

The real key to a leak-proof shower is getting the right shower pan liner membrane and getting it installed properly. Installation is not complicated. There are just a few tricks to make it a sure success.

The Tile Shower Pan Liner Membrane - Tips For Success

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Common Field Failures for Polymer Thick Film Membrane Switches

Membrane switches offer a reliable economical, cosmetically appealing answer for electronic switching applications. They provide a normally open, momentarily closed switch system. Used in a wide variety of applications, they can meet stringent requirements for shock and vibration; water, UV and chemical resistance and longevity. With proper design and choice of materials, membrane switches can provide the performance and durability necessary for the most demanding applications.

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The following discussion covers common failure points that can be mitigated, avoided or eliminated with proper design and materials selection.

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Silver Migration: Silver migration problems will be greatest in applications where moisture, heat and humidity are in prevalent. Silver migration is the ionic movement of silver between two adjacent traces where a voltage potential exists. Over time, silver migration can cause an electric short. Silver migration is commonly enabled by moisture. There are several methods to mitigate silver migration, including adhesive sealing, full perimeter gasketing and other design barriers. The mechanical configuration, bond to the device enclosure and connecting hardware can all contribute to sealing failures.

Dielectric Cross-over's, Jumpers or Bridges: When OEM requirements call for dense circuit layouts to meet the need for a high number of switches in a limited X-Y dimension, most membrane switch manufacturers use printed cross-overs, jumpers or bridges (all referring to a similar method). In its simplest manifestation, a silver trace is printed first, followed by a printed dielectric material, and finished with another printed silver trace over the dielectric. The dielectric insulating layer is the weak point in this construction. Because of the inherent properties of the material and application methods, a common failure is micro shorts that occur between the two overlapping traces as the silver leaches through the porous dielectric. While there are manufacturing and test methods to help mitigate this issue, the best way to avoid this failure is to avoid cross-over or jumpers altogether. Some membrane switch manufacturers can provide a double sided circuit where a layer of polyester provides insulation and completely eliminates the risk.

Graphic Overlay: The graphic overlay gets a surprising amount of stress in areas where switch contacts are made. Improper selection of the overlay materials can result in cracking and delaminating graphic layers. This cracking can occur in just a few hundred actuations. While initially manifesting itself as a "cosmetic issue" it can progress to the point of functionally failing non-tactile switch closure.

Collapsed Switches: A non-tactile membrane switch connection is made when a finger or probe pushes a shorting element against a nested finger circuit layer to momentarily close the circuit. The contact surfaces are often only separated by a few thousandths of an inch. Variations in temperature, air pressure or even multiple actuations can cause air to escape from the contact chambers which create a pressure differential leading to collapsed switches. A proper membrane switch design will mitigate this issue. Sealing, tactile domes and venting are a few methods commonly used to prevent collapsed switches.

Plastic domes can collapse due to extreme operating temperatures (high and low) and should be limited to applications in controlled environments. The actuation force is also influenced by temperature, with high temps producing very low actuation force and operator feedback, and low temperature actuation forces producing high actuation force and a "crunch" sound and feeling to the operator. Design parameters for plastic domes are critical to their performance and durability. There is no recovery for a collapsed plastic dome once its geometry is compromised.

Common causes of collapsed metal domes include, but are not limited to the following. If a metal dome is supported by a plastic injection molded enclosure surface, there can be variances in flatness or even pockets or cups that do not support one or more legs of the metal dome. Another manifestation of an irregular base surface is if the metal dome is placed into the membrane switch assembly with one or more legs supported on top of the adhesive spacer layer. Each of these cases cause premature dome failures. Furthermore, care should be taken to choose a metal dome manufacturer with a history of consistently acceptable production processes and choice of materials.

Cracked traces: It is very common for the dielectric substrate to bend, fold or be twisted as part of the assembly process. Polymer thick film traces printed on the substrate are subject to cracking when repeatedly bent or sharply creased on the outside radius. Proper design with good material selection and trace lay out can eliminate most causes of cracked traces. Manufacturers of double sided polymer circuitry have the best solution by placing circuit tail traces on the back or inside radius of the circuit tail and eliminating cross-overs, bridges, jumpers, etc. which can be fraught with cracked traces from printed stack ups over dielectric and conductive circuit traces.

Poor Tactile Life: Tactile feedback switches, if properly designed and manufactured can last millions of cycles. But improper design, material selection or poor manufacturing methods can create switches that lose their tactile response in a short period of time. Contact pad damage, corrosion, poor ventilation, material incompatibility and poor fabrication methods are some of the common causes for poor tactile life.

Creating a robust membrane switch requires an experienced manufacturer who has expertise in materials, reliability, design and robust manufacturing methods. Each and every new custom design should be thoroughly tested before launching into production. Make sure that the membrane switch manufacturer you select has the experience and technology to handle your requirements.

Common Field Failures for Polymer Thick Film Membrane Switches

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Why Use a Water Purifier and Reverse Osmosis Membrane

Are you aware of the fact that half of the world's hospitalization are due to water related diseases? It is but a heart weakening fact that over 1.4 million deaths of children occur every year due to consumption of unpurified water; in almost every 20 seconds a child dies! One of the dreaded diseases that cause death among children under the age of five globally is diarrhea. Records substantiate the fact that one in five child deaths are due to diarrhea, killing more children than malaria, measles, and AIDS combined. Why take risks or cause danger to your child's and your other family members' health when water purifier solutions are available in the market. If you are still drinking water directly from the tap or any other water source, get a water purification system installed right away. A series of the latest water purifier is available at organized retail outlets and also right at the comfort of your home. Choose a reliable brand and go for it.

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It is a worrisome affair too if you are using a conventional water purification system. This is because such a system cannot effectively remove new age contaminants, micro organisms, and other dissolved particles. It is never too late. Switch your system now.

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Using the right purifier in sync with the water type also matters. It is after getting your water tested that you will know which mechanism you need. If you are recommended to use a reverse osmosis water purification system, there are numerous factors that need to be considered. First is choosing a reliable brand, one that has maintained a rapport for delivering superlative hi-tech systems for years together. Another is taking into account the RO membrane incorporated in the reverse osmosis water purification system. Generally, there are two common types of household RO membranes used - Cellulose Triacetate (CTA) membrane and Thin Film Composite (TFC or TFM) membrane.

The water you receive from your tap may be full of micro organisms, chlorine, and other contaminants. Though both the reverse osmosis membranes effectively purify the water, there is yet a difference between them. This difference is related to chlorine tolerance and filtration ability. The CTA membrane though chlorine tolerant, is more vulnerable to fouling from micro organisms. TFC/TFM membrane is less susceptible to organic fouling and rejects 98% of standard contaminants on an average.

Why Use a Water Purifier and Reverse Osmosis Membrane

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Reverse Osmosis - FAQ

Reverse osmosis water may offer the best combination of cost and quality. However there are several factors to consider if you think reverse osmosis may work for you.

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How Does It Work?

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It's a simple concept based on some serious technology. Water pressure forces water through a very fine mesh filter membrane. Many pollutants can't make it through the filter and are thus excluded from the finished product.

Does It Take Out Minerals?

It gets out virtually all minerals plus many other problems too. Usually included in the finished system are sediment filters plus carbon filters too. That takes care of most chemicals, even drugs, toxic metals, and most microorganisms.

What About Taste?

The basic reverse osmosis membrane won't take out what usually affects taste or odors. For those problems, an included carbon filter solves those issues. Carbon improves taste and eliminates objectionable odors too. Carbon filtration usually comes in easily changed cartridge form.

Is The Finished Product Expensive?

Membranes last a really long time. Especially with sediment pre-filters to keep out the particles like iron and manganese, the main membrane will rarely need changing. Other filters including carbon cartridges will require changing more frequently. Other costs to consider with reverse osmosis are water waste costs. For every gallon of filtered material, 3 or more gallons of water are rejected and wasted. Not only is the waste not used, but it must be dealt with as waste too.

Can Anybody Use One?

Water pressure forces water through the filter. That means you must have about 35-40 psi pressure for a filter to work. That normally is no problem for a municipal system. For rural systems it may mean a booster pump must be added.

Reverse osmosis water excludes most kinds of pollution. It does involve some costs that you may not notice at first glance. Plus it works better with municipal water and waste systems instead of rural systems.

Reverse Osmosis - FAQ

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How to Install the Tile Shower Drain

The tile shower drain is tricky and much of the tricky part is buried in the shower pan. You see the whole shower pan is designed to route all the water to the drain. All the water includes the part that leaks right through the floor. That happens because tile floors are never waterproof. Some water ends up passing right through the floor.

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The drain includes holes that are on two layers. The top layer you can easily see. The lower layer is down in the floor.

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Here's how it works.

Usually the drain is attached to the drain pipe so the drain base sits right on the subfloor. Then you build a very important layer. It's a sloped mortar layer that slopes at about 1/4 inch per foot from the base of the drain up on the shower walls.

Then over that sloped layer is installed the real trick to a shower floor. A waterproof sheet membrane is set over the sloped mortar and then attached right on top of the drain base. That liner is sealed to the base so the water that makes it to the liner is routed right to the lower drain holes.

After the liner is fitted in all the corners, which is tricky, the next layer is installed.

The next layer is another mortar layer that is the base for actually laying the floor tiles.

But wait...

Wouldn't the mortar stop up the lower drain holes? How could you have drain holes that are down inside a "solid" masonry floor?

How to Install the Tile Shower Drain

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Transdermal Drug Delivery, Transdermal Patches

Drug delivery technologies are now receiving considerable attention from pharmaceutical companies. The main purpose of developing alternative drug delivery technologies is to increase efficiency and safety of drug delivery and provide more convenience for the patient. Substantial research conducted during the past several years has lead to the development of technologies that meet the requisite criteria for delivering the drug through a non-invasive route. One of such technologies is transdermal drug delivery.

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Transdermal drug delivery is the non-invasive delivery of medications from the surface of the skin - the largest and most accessible organ of the human body - through its layers, to the circulatory system. Medication delivery is carried out by a patch that is attached to the body surface. Transdermal patch is a medicated adhesive pad that is designed to release the active ingredient at a constant rate over a period of several hours to days after application to the skin. It is also called skin patch. A skin patch uses a special membrane to control the rate at which the drug contained within the patch can pass through the skin and into the bloodstream.

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The first transdermal patch was approved by the FDA in 1979. It was a patch for the treatment of motion sickness. In the mid-1980s, the pharmaceutical companies started the development of a nicotine patch to help smokers quit smoking, and within a few months at the end of 1991 and beginning of 1992 the FDA approved four nicotine patches.

Today drugs administered through skin patches include scopolamine (for motion sickness), estrogen (for menopause and to prevent osteoporosis after menopause), nitroglycerin (for angina), lidocaine to relieve the pain of shingles (herpes zoster). Non-medicated patches include thermal and cold patches, weight loss patches, nutrient patches, skin care patches (therapeutic and cosmetic), aroma patches, and patches that measure sunlight exposure.

Advantages and disadvantages of transdermal drug delivery

Transdermal drug delivery systems offer several important advantages over more traditional approaches, including:
longer duration of action resulting in a reduction in dosing frequency Increased convenience to administer drugs which would otherwise require frequent dosing improved bioavailability more uniform plasma levels reduced side effects and improved therapy due to maintenance of plasma levels up to the end of the dosing interval flexibility of terminating the drug administration by simply removing the patch from the skin Improved patient compliance and comfort via non-invasive, painless and simple application

Some of the greatest disadvantages to transdermal drug delivery are:

possibility that a local irritation at the site of application Erythema, itching, and local edema can be caused by the drug, the adhesive, or other excipients in the patch formulation
The main components of a transdermal patch are:

Transdermal patch may include the following components:

Liner - Protects the patch during storage. The liner is removed prior to use. Drug - Drug solution in direct contact with release liner Adhesive - Serves to adhere the components of the patch together along with adhering the patch to the skin Membrane - Controls the release of the drug from the reservoir and multi-layer patches Backing - Protects the patch from the outer environment
Types of transdermal patches

There are four main types of transdermal patches:

Single-layer Drug-in-Adhesive

In this system the drug is included directly within the skin-contacting adhesive. In this type of patch the adhesive layer is responsible for the releasing of the drug, and serves to adhere the various layers together, along with the entire system to the skin. The adhesive layer is surrounded by a temporary liner and a backing.

Multi-layer Drug-in-Adhesive

The Multi-layer Drug-in-Adhesive is similar to the Single-layer Drug-in-Adhesive in that the drug is incorporated directly into the adhesive. The multi-layer system adds another layer of drug-in-adhesive, usually separated by a membrane. This patch also has a temporary liner-layer and a permanent backing.

Reservoir

The Reservoir transdermal system design includes a liquid compartment containing a drug solution or suspension separated from the release liner by a semi-permeable membrane and adhesive. The adhesive component of the product can either be as a continuous layer between the membrane and the release liner or as a concentric configuration around the membrane.

Matrix

The Matrix system has a drug layer of a semisolid matrix containing a drug solution or suspension, which is in direct contact with the release liner. The adhesive layer in this patch surrounds the drug layer partially overlaying it.

The future of transdermal drug delivery

Transdermal drug delivery is theoretically ideal for many injected and orally delivered drugs, but many drugs cannot pass through the skin because of skin's low permeability. Pharmaceutical companies develop new adhesives, molecular absorption enhancers, and penetration enhancers that will enhance skin permeability and thus greatly expand the range of drugs that can be delivered transdermally.

Two of the better-known technologies that can help achieve significant skin permeation enhancement are iontophoresis and phonophoresis (sonophoresis). Iontophoresis involves passing a direct electrical current between two electrodes on the skin surface. Phonophoresis uses ultrasonic frequencies to help transfer high molecular weight drugs through the skin.

A newer and potentially more promising technology is micro needle-enhanced delivery. These systems use an array of tiny needle-like structures to open pores in the stratum corneum and facilitate drug transport. The structures are small enough that they do not reach the nerve endings, so there is no sensation of pain. These systems have been reported to greatly enhance (up to 100,000 fold) the permeation of macromolecules through skin.

Transdermal Drug Delivery, Transdermal Patches

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