Reversible Martensitic Phase Transition in Yttrium-Stabilized ZrO2 Nanopowders by Adsorption of Water

Funding: This work was supported by H2020/MSCA/RISE/SSHARE number 871284 project and the RO-JINR Grant No. 367/2021 item 27 and RO-JINR Projects № 366/2021 items 57, 61, 83, 85. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.The present study was aimed at revealing the influence of the mechanical stress induced by water molecule adsorption on the composition of crystalline phases in the ZrO2 + 3 mol% Y2O3-nanoparticles. Three basic methods were used to determine the phase transition: Neutron diffraction, Raman microspectroscopic scanning, and X-ray diffraction. The fact of reversible phase-structural β → α transformation and the simultaneous presence of two polymorphic structural modifications (β is the phase of the tetragonal syngony and α of monoclinic syngony in nanosized particles (9 nm)) under normal physical conditions was established by these methods. An assumption was made regarding the connection of the physical mechanism of transformation of the extremely nonequilibrium surface of nanoparticles with electronic exchange of the material of the near-surface layer of nanoparticles with the adsorption layer through donor-acceptor interaction. The principal possibility of creating direct-acting hydroelectric converters based on nanoscale YSZ (Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia) systems due to the reversible character of the considered effect was shown.publishersversionpublishe

The thickness effect on the electrical conduction mechanism in titanium oxide thin films

WOS: 000276054200054In this paper we made a study on the effect of films thickness on the electrical conduction properties of nanostructured TiO(2) thin films deposited by d.c. reactive sputtering. The deposition was performed on heated (573 K) glass substrates, using water vapor as reactive gas. The electrical conductivity of the films was investigated in the temperature range 13-320K. The temperature dependence of electrical conductivity between 80 and 320 K indicated that electrical conductivity in the films was controlled by potential barriers caused by depletion of carriers at grain boundaries in the material. Values of grain barrier heights and surface trap density at the grain boundaries were extracted from the high temperature data for the investigated samples. Both the grain barrier heights and surface trap density at the grain boundaries were found to depend significantly on film thickness into the deposition process. The low-temperature (T < 80 K) conductivity of the films was described in terms of variable-range hopping (VRH) conduction. Characteristic parameters describing the low-temperature conductivity, such as the hopping distance, hopping energy and density of states were determined, and their values as a function of film thickness were discussed in the light of variable-range hopping conduction model. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.TUBITAKTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK); ANCSTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [TBAG-U/220 (107T584), 17CB/2008]; BiDEBTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK)One of the authors (D. Mardare) is very indebted to Professor F. Levy from Institute of Applied Physics, Polytechnic Federal School of Lausanne, Switzerland for providing the necessary laboratory facilities to carry out a part of this investigation. The authors would also like to thank N. Cornei and G.I. Rusu from "Al.I.. Cuza" University, Iasi, Romania. This work was supported by TUBITAK and ANCS under project no. TBAG-U/220 (107T584) and 17CB/2008. Abdullah Yildiz acknowledges 2218 coded national research scholarship from BiDEB

The Rectifying Contact of Hydrated Different Size YSZ Nanoparticles for Advanced Electronics

The paper considers the new effects of the nanoscale state of matter, which open up prospects for the development of electronic devices using new physical principles. The contacts of chemically homogeneous nanoparticles of yttrium-stabilized zirconium oxide (ZrO2&mdash;x mol% Y2O3, x = 0, 3, 4, 8; YSZ) with different sizes of 7.5 nm and 9 nm; 7.5 nm and 11 nm; and 7.5 nm and 14 nm, respectively, was studied on direct current using nanostructured objects in the form of compacts obtained by high-hydrostatic pressure (HP-compacts of 300MPa). A unique size effect of the nonlinear (rectifying-type contact) dependence of the electrical properties (in the region U &lt; 2.5 V, I &le; 2.7 mA) of the contact of different-sized YSZ nanoparticles of the same chemical composition is revealed, which indicates the possibility of creating semiconductor structures of a new type (homogeneous electronics). The electronic structure of the near-surface regions of nanoparticles of studied oxide materials and the possibility of obtaining specifically rectifying properties of the contacts were studied theoretically. Models of surface states of the Tamm-type are constructed considering the Coulomb long-range action. The discovered energy variance and its dependence on the curvature of the surface of nanoparticles made it possible to study the conditions for the formation of a contact potential difference in cases of nanoparticles of the same radius (synergistic effect), different radii (doped and undoped variants), as well as to discover the possibility of describing a group of powder particles within the Anderson model. The determined effect makes it possible to solve the problem of diffusion instability of semiconductor heterojunctions and opens up prospects for creating electronic devices with a fundamentally new level of properties for use in various fields of the economy and breakthrough critical technologies

The surgical safety checklist and patient outcomes after surgery: a prospective observational cohort study, systematic review and meta-analysis

© 2017 British Journal of Anaesthesia Background: The surgical safety checklist is widely used to improve the quality of perioperative care. However, clinicians continue to debate the clinical effectiveness of this tool. Methods: Prospective analysis of data from the International Surgical Outcomes Study (ISOS), an international observational study of elective in-patient surgery, accompanied by a systematic review and meta-analysis of published literature. The exposure was surgical safety checklist use. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality and the secondary outcome was postoperative complications. In the ISOS cohort, a multivariable multi-level generalized linear model was used to test associations. To further contextualise these findings, we included the results from the ISOS cohort in a meta-analysis. Results are reported as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals. Results: We included 44 814 patients from 497 hospitals in 27 countries in the ISOS analysis. There were 40 245 (89.8%) patients exposed to the checklist, whilst 7508 (16.8%) sustained ≥1 postoperative complications and 207 (0.5%) died before hospital discharge. Checklist exposure was associated with reduced mortality [odds ratio (OR) 0.49 (0.32–0.77); P\u3c0.01], but no difference in complication rates [OR 1.02 (0.88–1.19); P=0.75]. In a systematic review, we screened 3732 records and identified 11 eligible studies of 453 292 patients including the ISOS cohort. Checklist exposure was associated with both reduced postoperative mortality [OR 0.75 (0.62–0.92); P\u3c0.01; I2=87%] and reduced complication rates [OR 0.73 (0.61–0.88); P\u3c0.01; I2=89%). Conclusions: Patients exposed to a surgical safety checklist experience better postoperative outcomes, but this could simply reflect wider quality of care in hospitals where checklist use is routine

Prospective observational cohort study on grading the severity of postoperative complications in global surgery research

Background The Clavien–Dindo classification is perhaps the most widely used approach for reporting postoperative complications in clinical trials. This system classifies complication severity by the treatment provided. However, it is unclear whether the Clavien–Dindo system can be used internationally in studies across differing healthcare systems in high- (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods This was a secondary analysis of the International Surgical Outcomes Study (ISOS), a prospective observational cohort study of elective surgery in adults. Data collection occurred over a 7-day period. Severity of complications was graded using Clavien–Dindo and the simpler ISOS grading (mild, moderate or severe, based on guided investigator judgement). Severity grading was compared using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Data are presented as frequencies and ICC values (with 95 per cent c.i.). The analysis was stratified by income status of the country, comparing HICs with LMICs. Results A total of 44 814 patients were recruited from 474 hospitals in 27 countries (19 HICs and 8 LMICs). Some 7508 patients (16·8 per cent) experienced at least one postoperative complication, equivalent to 11 664 complications in total. Using the ISOS classification, 5504 of 11 664 complications (47·2 per cent) were graded as mild, 4244 (36·4 per cent) as moderate and 1916 (16·4 per cent) as severe. Using Clavien–Dindo, 6781 of 11 664 complications (58·1 per cent) were graded as I or II, 1740 (14·9 per cent) as III, 2408 (20·6 per cent) as IV and 735 (6·3 per cent) as V. Agreement between classification systems was poor overall (ICC 0·41, 95 per cent c.i. 0·20 to 0·55), and in LMICs (ICC 0·23, 0·05 to 0·38) and HICs (ICC 0·46, 0·25 to 0·59). Conclusion Caution is recommended when using a treatment approach to grade complications in global surgery studies, as this may introduce bias unintentionally

Critical care admission following elective surgery was not associated with survival benefit: prospective analysis of data from 27 countries

This was an investigator initiated study funded by Nestle Health Sciences through an unrestricted research grant, and by a National Institute for Health Research (UK) Professorship held by RP. The study was sponsored by Queen Mary University of London