Tailoring the microstructure and tribological properties in commercially pure aluminium processed by High Pressure Torsion Extrusion

High Pressure Torsion Extrusion (HPTE) as a novel approach in mechanical nanostructuring of metallic materials and alloys has the potential to be utilized in industrial applications due to its unique features in fabricating bulk-nanostructured materials with enhanced mechanical and functional properties. Three different HPTE regimes based on the extrusion speed of the punch (v, mm/min) and rotational speed of the die (ω, rpm) were used in this work: v7w1, v1w1, and v1w3. The grain refinement obtained by this technique was outstanding since the initial grain size of 120 μm in annealed conditions was reduced to the final grain size of 0.7 μm in v1w3 in merely one pass of extrusion; however, each regime showed a different level of grain refinement depending on the imposed strain. Examination of the tribological properties by reciprocal wear testing in dry conditions revealed no significant change in the coefficient of friction; nevertheless, the mechanism of the wear from adhesion shifted to abrasion and the amount of displaced volume decreased. This modification is associated with the improvement of hardness and the reduction of plasticity in materials that confined the plastic shearing. Increasing the induced strain by changing the HPTE regimes decreased the overall displaced volume and reduced the built-up edge around the wear track

Missed opportunities for shared decision making in antimicrobial stewardship: The potential consequences of a lack of patient engagement in secondary care

Background: Within infectious diseases in secondary care, understanding of the potential for behavioural changes arising from patient involvement in antimicrobial decision making is lacking. Shared decision making is becoming part of international policy. The United States have passed it into legislation and the United Kingdom has implemented a number of national interventions across healthcare pathways. This study aims to understand the level of patient involvement in decision making around antimicrobial use in secondary care and the potential consequences associated with it. Methods & Materials: Fourteen members of the public who had received antimicrobials from secondary care in the preceding 12 months were recruited to participate in group interviews. Group interactions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analysed. Results: Participants reported feelings of disempowerment during episodes of infection in secondary care. Information is currently communicated in a unilateral manner with individuals ‘told’ that they have an infection and will receive an antimicrobial (often unnamed), leading to loss of ownership, frustration, anxiety and ultimately distancing them from participation in decision making. This poor communication drives individuals to seek information from alternative sources, including on-line resources, which are associated with concerns over reliability and individualisation. This failure of communication and information provision from clinicians in secondary care influences individual's future ideas about infections and their management. This alters their future actions towards infections and antimicrobials and can drive non-adherence to prescribed antimicrobial regimes and loss-to-follow-up after discharge from secondary care. Conclusion: Current infection management and antimicrobial prescribing practices in secondary care may be failing to engage patients in the decision making process. It is vital that secondary care physicians do not view infection management episodes as discrete events, but as cumulative experiences which have the potential to drive future non-adherence to prescribed antimicrobial regimes and thus poor individual outcomes and antimicrobial resistance. This lesson is transferable to all settings of healthcare, where poor communication and information provision having the potential to influence future health seeking behaviours. We call for the development of clear, pragmatic mechanism to support healthcare professionals and patients engage in infection related decision making during consultations

Patient engagement with infection management in secondary care: a qualitative investigation of current experiences.

OBJECTIVE: To understand patient engagement with decision-making for infection management in secondary care and the consequences associated with current practices. DESIGN: A qualitative investigation using in-depth focus groups. PARTICIPANTS: Fourteen members of the public who had received antimicrobials from secondary care in the preceding 12 months in the UK were identified for recruitment. Ten agreed to participate. All participants had experience of infection management in secondary care pathways across a variety of South-East England healthcare institutes. Study findings were subsequently tested through follow-up focus groups with 20 newly recruited citizens. RESULTS: Participants reported feelings of disempowerment during episodes of infection in secondary care. Information is communicated in a unilateral manner with individuals 'told' that they have an infection and will receive an antimicrobial (often unnamed), leading to loss of ownership, frustration, anxiety and ultimately distancing them from engaging with decision-making. This poor communication drives individuals to seek information from alternative sources, including online, which is associated with concerns over reliability and individualisation. Failures in communication and information provision by clinicians in secondary care influence individuals' future ideas about infections and their management. This alters their future actions towards antimicrobials and can drive prescription non-adherence and loss to follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Current infection management and antimicrobial prescribing practices in secondary care fail to engage patients with the decision-making process. Secondary care physicians must not view infection management episodes as discrete events, but as cumulative experiences which have the potential to shape future patient behaviour and understanding of antimicrobial use

Impact of prematurity and perinatal antibiotics on the developing intestinal microbiota: A functional inference study

The microbial colonization of the neonatal gut provides a critical stimulus for normal maturation and development. This process of early microbiota establishment, known to be affected by several factors, constitutes an important determinant for later health. Methods: We studied the establishment of the microbiota in preterm and full-term infants and the impact of perinatal antibiotics upon this process in premature babies. To this end, 16S rRNA gene sequence-based microbiota assessment was performed at phylum level and functional inference analyses were conducted. Moreover, the levels of the main intestinal microbial metabolites, the short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) acetate, propionate and butyrate, were measured by Gas-Chromatography Flame ionization/Mass spectrometry detection. Results: Prematurity affects microbiota composition at phylum level, leading to increases of Proteobacteria and reduction of other intestinal microorganisms. Perinatal antibiotic use further affected the microbiota of the preterm infant. These changes involved a concomitant alteration in the levels of intestinal SCFA. Moreover, functional inference analyses allowed for identifying metabolic pathways potentially affected by prematurity and perinatal antibiotics use. Conclusion: A deficiency or delay in the establishment of normal microbiota function seems to be present in preterm infants. Perinatal antibiotic use, such as intrapartum prophylaxis, affected the early life microbiota establishment in preterm newborns, which may have consequences for later healt

SSDSS IV MaNGA - Properties of AGN host galaxies

We present here the characterization of the main properties of a sample of 98 AGN host galaxies, both type-II and type-I, in comparison with those of about 2700 non-active galaxies observed by the MaNGA survey. We found that AGN hosts are morphologically early-type or early-spirals. For a given morphology AGN hosts are, in average, more massive, more compact, more central peaked and rather pressurethan rotational-supported systems. We confirm previous results indicating that AGN hosts are located in the intermediate/transition region between star-forming and non-star-forming galaxies (i.e., the so-called green valley), both in the ColorMagnitude and the star formation main sequence diagrams. Taking into account their relative distribution in terms of the stellar metallicity and oxygen gas abundance and a rough estimation of their molecular gas content, we consider that these galaxies are in the process of halting/quenching the star formation, in an actual transition between both groups. The analysis of the radial distributions of the starformation rate, specific star-formation rate, and molecular gas density shows that the quenching happens from inside-out involving both a decrease of the efficiency of the star formation and a deficit of molecular gas. All the intermediate data-products used to derive the results of our analysis are distributed in a database including the spatial distribution and average properties of the stellar populations and ionized gas, published as a Sloan Digital Sky Survey Value Added Catalog being part of the 14th Data Release: http://www.sdss.org/dr14/manga/manga-data/manga-pipe3d-value-added-catalog/Comment: 48 pages, 14 figures, in press in RMxA

Pediatric Parapneumonic Empyema, Spain

Increased incidence is principally due to highly invasive nonvaccine serotypes of pneumococci, especially serotype 1

Binational reflections on pathways to groundwater security in the Mexico-United States borderlands

Shared groundwater resources between Mexico and the United States are facing unprecedented stressors. We reflect on how to improve water security for groundwater systems in the border region. Our reflection begins with the state of groundwater knowledge, and the challenges groundwater resources face from a physical, societal and institutional perspective. We conclude that the extent of ongoing cooperation frameworks, joint and remaining research efforts, from which alternative strategies can emerge, still need to be developed. The way forward offers a variety of cooperation models as the future offers rather complex, shared and multidisciplinary water challenges to the Mexico–US borderlands

Polarisation Patterns and Vectorial Defects in Type II Optical Parametric Oscillators

Previous studies of lasers and nonlinear resonators have revealed that the polarisation degree of freedom allows for the formation of polarisation patterns and novel localized structures, such as vectorial defects. Type II optical parametric oscillators are characterised by the fact that the down-converted beams are emitted in orthogonal polarisations. In this paper we show the results of the study of pattern and defect formation and dynamics in a Type II degenerate optical parametric oscillator for which the pump field is not resonated in the cavity. We find that traveling waves are the predominant solutions and that the defects are vectorial dislocations which appear at the boundaries of the regions where traveling waves of different phase or wave-vector orientation are formed. A dislocation is defined by two topological charges, one associated with the phase and another with the wave-vector orientation. We also show how to stabilize a single defect in a realistic experimental situation. The effects of phase mismatch of nonlinear interaction are finally considered.Comment: 38 pages, including 15 figures, LATeX. Related material, including movies, can be obtained from http://www.imedea.uib.es/Nonlinear/research_topics/OPO