Microwave curing of carbon-epoxy composites: Penetration depth and material characterisation

Microwave heating has several major advantages over conventional conductive heating when used to cure carbon–epoxy composites, especially in speed of processing. Despite this and many other well-known advantages, microwave heating of carbon–epoxy composites has not taken off in industry, or even academia, due to the problems associated with microwave energy distribution, arcing, tool design and (ultimately) part quality and consistency, thus leading to a large scepticism regarding the technique/technology for heating such type of materials. This paper presents some evidence which suggests that with the correct hardware and operating procedure/methodology, consistent and high quality carbon–epoxy laminates can be produced, with the possibility of scaling up the process, as demonstrated by the micro- and macro-scale mechanical test results. Additionally, the author proposes a methodology to practically measure the maximum microwave penetration depth of a carbon–epoxy composite material

Analysis of the fecal and oral microbiota in chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis

Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) is a rare autoinflammatory bone disease for which a lack of bacterial involvement is a key diagnostic feature to distinguish it from other symptomatically related diseases. However, the growing evidence suggesting an involvement of the host-associated microbiota in rheumatic disorders together with the now wide accessibility of modern culture-independent methods warrant a closer examination of CRMO

Exploring the tensile response in small carbon fibre composite bundles

Small composite bundles, AS4 carbon fibre epoxy, with a restricted number of reinforcing fibres, ca. 20, showed a progressive failure when tested in tension. In-situ acoustic emission observations under tensile load reveal that numerous fibres fail before ultimate failure of the small composite bundle, suggesting that isolated and individual fibre failures occur without compromising the integrity of the neighboring fibres or the small composite bundle’s overall mechanical performance. The average strength of the carbon fibres in small composite bundles was 9.6% higher than in standard lab-scale composite specimens using the same fibre type

Response of External Radiotherapy Alone in Stage IIB – IIIC Cervical Cancer Patients : Respon Radioterapi Eksterna Pasien Kanker Serviks Stadium IIB – IIIC

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic response and toxicity in cervical cancer patients with stage IIB-IIIC who undergo external radiation. Methods: This was a retrospective study using the medical records of the Obstetric Oncology and Radiotherapy Department at Prof. Dr. R. D. Kandou Hospital Manado. The research subjects were stage IIB-IIIC cervical cancer patients who underwent external radiation from September 2016 to December 2020. External radiation was administrated using 60Cobalt. The statistical analysis assessments in this study was carried out using descriptive analysis, while the analysis of the relationship was carried out using the Chi-Square method. The toxicity assessments were carried out from first day started external radiation up until 1 month after the therapy was deemed completed. Results : As many as 413 cervical cancer patients underwent external radiation during the study. However, only 192 cervical cancer patients with stage IIB-IIIC met the inclusion criteria in this study. The complete response to the therapy based on the findings was 65.6%, the partial response was 31.8%, the stable response was 1.6%, and the progressive response was 1%. In statistical analysis there was a significant association between cervical cancer stage and Overall Treatment Time with response to external radiotherapy. However, no significant association between tumor size and histopathological type with response to external radiotherapy. There were hematological toxicity (45.8%), skin toxicity (45.3%), gastrointestinal toxicity (6.3%) and urinary tract toxicity (2.6%). Conclusions: External radiotherapy response was a complete response where there was an association between cervical cancer stage and Overall Treatment Time with response to external radiotherapy, whereas there is no significant association found between the tumor size and histopathological type based on this research's findings. Most toxicity were hematology with complaints of anemia and thrombocytopenia Keywords: cervical cancer, external radiation response, toxicity.   Abstrak   Tujuan: Untuk mengetahui respon terapi dan efek samping pasien kanker serviks stadium IIB-IIIC yang menjalani radioterapi eksterna. Metode: Penelitian ini adalah penelitian deskriptif rektrospektif dengan menggunakan rekam medis Poli Onkologi Kandungan dan Instalasi Radioterapi RSUP Prof. Dr. R. D. Kandou Manado. Subyek penelitian adalah pasien kanker serviks stadium IIB-IIIC yang menjalani radiasi eksterna mulai September 2016 sampai Desember 2020. Radiasi eksterna dilakukan dengan sinar 60Cobalt. Penilaian analisis statistika pada penelitian ini menggunakan analisis deskriptif dan analisis hubungan menggunakan metode Chi Square. Penilaian efek samping dilakukan sejak hari pertama pasien memulai radiasi eksterna sampai 1 bulan setelah dinyatakan selesai menjalani radioterapi eksterna. Hasil: Selama periode penelitian didapatkan 413 pasien kanker serviks yang menjalani radiasi eksterna namun hanya 192 pasien kanker serviks stadium IIB-IIIC yang memenuhi kriteria inklusi pada penelitian ini. Respon terapi komplit sebesar 65,6%, respon terapi parsial sebesar 31,8%, respon terapi tidak berubah sebesar 1,6%, dan respon terapi progresif sebesar 1%. Pada analisis statistik terdapat hubungan bermakna stadium kanker serviks dan Overall Treatment Time dengan respon radioterapi eksterna, dan tidak terdapat hubungan bermakna ukuran tumor dan jenis histopatologi dengan respon radioterapi eksterna. Didapatkan efek samping hematologi (45,8%), efek samping kulit (45,3%), efek samping gastrointestinal (6,3%) dan efek samping traktus urinarius (2,6%). Kesimpulan: Respon radioterapi eksterna berupa complete response dimana terdapat hubungan bermakna antara stadium kanker serviks dan Overall Treatment Time dengan respon radioterapi eksterna. Tidak terdapat hubungan bermakna antara ukuran tumor dan jenis histopatologi. Efek samping terbanyak yaitu hematologi dengan keluhan berupa anemia dan trombositopenia. Kata kunci:  efek samping, kanker serviks, respon radiasi eksterna

Using the post‐operative quality recovery scale to evaluate recovery with different neuromuscular blocking reversal agentsin the Portuguese population ‐ interim analysis results: 1AP3‐8

Background and Goal of Study: Post-operative Quality Recovery Scale (PQRS), is the first scale evaluating several domains of postoperative recovery. The objectives of this study were to compare overal and physiologic, cognitive, and functional domains of post-operative recovery af ter elective surgical procedures using neostigmine or sugammadex as neuromuscular blocking (NMB) reversal agents, to validate the use of PQRS in the Portuguese population and to objectively assess muscular strength recovery. Materials and Methods: Prospective multicenter observational study comparing postoperative recovery between 2 cohorts of 50 adult patients submitted to elective surgical procedures with general anesthesia using Nondepolarizing Muscle Relaxants and NMB reversal with neostigmine or sugammadex. Measurements obtained using Portuguese version of PQRS at dif ferent timepoint: baseline,15 minutes (T15), 40 minutes (T40), one and three days af ter surgery. Full recovery defined as return to values identical or higher than those measured at baseline, prior to surgery. Muscular strength measured with KERN- MAP® Dynamometer. Ethics Committees approval was obtained. Statistics used linear T-Test, Qui Square and Fisher exact test, data presented as mean±SD for continuous variables. Interim analysis results presented Results and Discussion: Thirty patients received neostigmine and 21 sugammadex. Age and BMI 50.4±11.8 and 28.6±5.6 in the neostigmine group and 38.2±12.7 and 24.7± 4.5 in the sugammadex group (p< 0,001). Overall response rate at T15 was 86% for neostigmine and 95% for sugammadex (p= 0.22). Dif ferences in favor of sugammadex group noted in nociceptive and emotional domains, 80 vs 100% respectively (p=0.04). Overall response rate at T40 was 80% for neostigmine and 65% for sugammadex (p=0.33), primarily reflecting constraints on activities of daily life. Muscular strength did not dif fer. Improvements in recovery scores from T15 to T40 were observed in both groups, without significant dif ferences . Postoperative assessments were feasible using PQRS at T15 and T40 and seem appropriate for comparisons between postoperative recovery domains and overall recovery . These preliminary results suggest nociceptive and emotional domains recovery at T15 may be faster with sugammadex. Conclusion: The results support the adopted PQRS validation process and the potential of this scale as a tool for the evaluation of post operative recovery evaluation in the Portuguese populatio

Observation of Replica Symmetry Breaking in the 1D Anderson Localization Regime in an Erbium-Doped Random Fiber Laser

The analogue of the paramagnetic to spin-glass phase transition in disordered magnetic systems, leading to the phenomenon of replica symmetry breaking, has been recently demonstrated in a two-dimensional random laser consisting of an organic-based amorphous solid-state thin film. We report here the first demonstration of replica symmetry breaking in a one-dimensional photonic system consisting of an erbium-doped random fiber laser operating in the continuous-wave regime based on a unique random fiber grating system, which plays the role of the random scatterers and operates in the Anderson localization regime. The clear transition from a photonic paramagnetic to a photonic spin glass phase, characterized by the probability distribution function of the Parisi overlap, was verified and characterized. In this unique system, the radiation field interacts only with the gain medium, and the fiber grating, which provides the disordered feedback mechanism, does not interfere with the pump

Communications Biophysics

Contains reports on four research projects.National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 P01 GM-14940-01)Joint Services Electronics Programs (U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force) under Contract DA 28-043-AMC-02536(E)National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NsG-496)National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 TO1 GM-01555-01