Ultra fast laser machined hydrophobic stainless steel surface for drag reduction in laminar flows

Hydrophobic surfaces have attracted much attention due to their potential in microfluidics, lab on chip devices and as functional surfaces for the automotive and aerospace industry. The combination of a dual scale roughness with an inherent low-surface-energy coating material is the pre-requisite factor for the development of an artificial superhydrophobic surfaces. Ultra short pulse laser (USPL) machining/structuring is a promising technique to obtain the dual scale roughness. Moreover, ultra short laser pulses allow machining without or with limited thermal effects. Flat stainless steel (AISI 304L) were laser machined with ultraviolet laser pulses of 6.7ps, at different laser processing parameters. Next, the samples were coated with a monolayer of\ud perfluorinated octyltrichlorosilane (FOTS) to get a superhydrophobic surface. The degree of hydrophobicity was accessed by static contact angle measurement. Laser patterned surface has longitudinal micro channels. Drag reduction in liquid flow can be obtained due to the shear free boundary condition at air-liquid menisci. The geometry of the patterns was analyzed with optical and scanning electron microscopy. Micro-Particle Image Velocimetry (μPIV) has been employed to measure and visualize the flow over such pattern

The Dutch Working Party on Antibiotic Policy (SWAB) Recommendations for the Diagnosis and Management of Febrile Neutropenia in Patients with Cancer

Introduction This guideline was written by a multidisciplinary committee with mandated members of the Dutch Society for Infectious Diseases, Dutch Society for Hematology, Dutch Society for Medical Oncology, Dutch Association of Hospital Pharmacists, Dutch Society for Medical Microbiology, and Dutch Society for Pediatrics. The guideline is written for adults and pediatric patients. Method The recommendations are based on the answers to nine questions formulated by the guideline committee. To provide evidence-based recommendations we used all relevant clinical guidelines published since 2010 as a source, supplemented with systematic searches and evaluation of the recent literature (2010-2020) and, where necessary, supplemented by expert-based advice. Results For adults the guideline distinguishes between high- and standard-risk neutropenia based on expected duration of neutropenia (> 7 days versus 7 days) and in children with neutropenia, ceftazidime, cefepime, and piperacillin-tazobactam are all first-choice options for empirical antibiotic therapy in case of fever. In adults with standard-risk neutropenia (duration of neutropenia <= 7 days) the MASCC score can be used to assess the individual risk of infectious complications. For patients with a low risk of infectious complications (high MASCC score) oral antibiotic therapy in an outpatient setting is recommended. For patients with a high risk of infectious complications (low MASCC score) antibiotic therapy per protocol sepsis of unknown origin is recommended.Immunogenetics and cellular immunology of bacterial infectious disease