New Perspectives: Postgraduate Symposium for the Humanities - Reflections, Volume 1

This volume features articles written by the postgraduate presenters at Maynooth University's first annual New Perspectives: Postgraduate Symposium on the Humanities (NPPSH), which took place in October 2016. This conference, which coincided with the annual Dean’s Lecture, strove to highlight scholarship conducted by postgraduates in the Arts & Humanities in Ireland. From explorations of 20th century literature, to contributions in Irish music, to the intersection of STEM and the Humanities, the articles in this volume showcase a breadth of scholarship and a diversity of approaches which highlights the multifaceted nature of an Arts & Humanities education

New Perspectives: Postgraduate Symposium for the Humanities - Reflections, Volume 1

This volume features articles written by the postgraduate presenters at Maynooth University's first annual New Perspectives: Postgraduate Symposium on the Humanities (NPPSH), which took place in October 2016. This conference, which coincided with the annual Dean’s Lecture, strove to highlight scholarship conducted by postgraduates in the Arts & Humanities in Ireland. From explorations of 20th century literature, to contributions in Irish music, to the intersection of STEM and the Humanities, the articles in this volume showcase a breadth of scholarship and a diversity of approaches which highlights the multifaceted nature of an Arts & Humanities education

Subdural empyema caused by Peptostreptococcus sp.: a complication of acute pharyngitis

Subdural Empyema (ESD) is the collection of purulent fluid that develops between the exterior “dura mater” layer and the middle “arachnoid mater” layer that covers the brain. ESD can be caused by a primary infection located in the paranasal sinuses. In many aerobic and/or anaerobic bacterial cases, hearing or traumatic processes serve as the causative agent. This report presents pharyngitis in a young girl which later developed into a subdural empyema caused by the bacteria Peptostreptococcus sp. The report emphasizes the correct clinical valuation of pharyngitis as a risk factor for developing subdural empyema in children

Varying CFRP workpiece temperature during slotting : effects on surface metrics, cutting forces and chip geometry

Carbon fibre reinforced thermoset polymer (CFRP) components are typically edge trimmed using a milling process to achieve final part shape. During this process the material is subject to significant heating at the tool-workpiece interface. Damage due to heating is fibre orientation specific; for some orientations it can lead to matrix smearing, potentially hiding defects and for others it can increase pullout. Understanding these relationships is critical to attaining higher throughput by edge milling. For the first time this study focuses on active heating of the CFRP rather than passive measurement, through use of a thermocouple controlled system to heat a CFRP workpiece material from room temperature (RT) up to 110 °C prior to machining. Differences in cutting mechanisms for fibres oriented at 0, 45, 90 and -45° are observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and quantified with using focus variation with an increase of 89.9% Sa reported between RT and 110°C CFRP panel pre-heating. Relationships to cutting forces through dynamometer readings and tool temperature through infra-red (IR) measurements are also made with a novel optical method to measure cut chips presented. Results show an increase in chip length and width for increasing cutting temperature from RT to 110°C (3.39 and 0.79 µm for length and width, respectively). This work improves current understandings of how the cutting mechanism changes with increased temperature and suggests how improved milling throughput can be achieved

Epifluorescent microscopy of edge-trimmed carbon fibre-reinforced polymers : an alternative to computed tomography scanning

X-Ray computed tomography (XCT) can be used to detect edge-milled carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) defects. Significantly this method is able to show subsurface defects that cannot be captured by traditional methods such as stylus-based or more novel areal methods of surface quality measurement. While useful, this method can be prohibitive due to high equipment cost, scanning time and image resolution. XCT can often produce artefacts which falsely predict damage or obscure damage and depending on machine X-ray power often cannot resolve damage to fibre diameter which is critical when observing milled quality of the surface/subsurface. This study utilises epifluorescent (EF) optical microscopy to provide high-quality optical images as an alternative to XCT to observe through-depth damage of CFRP materials. The method of computing the novel damage criteria is presented, as well as the validation of the method which compares EF to XCT. Subsurface damage of fabric and unidirectional (UD) materials in 0°, 45°, 90° and −45° orientations to the cutting edge is observed to demonstrate typical defects. A novel metric resulting from the EF method provides a total area of damage when compared to a theoretically straight cut across the face of the edge-milled CFRP. The method shows that different subsurface damage exists for different fibre orientations to the cutting edge, highlighting the clear need for through-depth analysis of machined edges. In addition, the method is shown to be a suitable alternative to XCT with scope for further development of industrial aerospace and automotive quality control of machined CFRP parts

Effects of tool coating and tool wear on the surface quality and flexural strength of slotted CFRP

Machining of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) is abrasive and causes significant tool wear. The effect of tool wear on static flexural strength is investigated, using edge trimming with uncoated carbide and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond coated burr style tools. Edge rounding (ER) criteria along with flank wear are used to observe tool degradation with ER shown to preferentially wear allowing the tool to become cyclically sharper and duller, corresponding to fluctuating dynamometer readings, a novelty for CFRP machining. Areal surface metrics degraded for an uncoated tool due to changes in cutting mechanism, whilst for up to 16.2 m of linear traverse, the coated tool showed limited changes. Tool wear, caused by edge trimming 7.2 m of CFRP, using an uncoated carbide tool, provided a flexural strength reduction of up to 10.5 %, directly linking tool wear to reduced mechanical strength

Effects of tool coating and tool wear on the surface quality and flexural strength of slotted CFRP

Machining of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) is abrasive and causes significant tool wear. The effect of tool wear on static flexural strength is investigated, using edge trimming with uncoated carbide and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond coated burr style tools. Edge rounding (ER) criteria along with flank wear are used to observe tool degradation with ER shown to preferentially wear allowing the tool to become cyclically sharper and duller, corresponding to fluctuating dynamometer readings, a novelty for CFRP machining. Areal surface metrics degraded for an uncoated tool due to changes in cutting mechanism, whilst for up to 16.2 m of linear traverse, the coated tool showed limited changes. Tool wear, caused by edge trimming 7.2 m of CFRP, using an uncoated carbide tool, provided a flexural strength reduction of up to 10.5 %, directly linking tool wear to reduced mechanical strength

Effects of machine stiffness and cutting tool design on the surface quality and flexural strength of edge trimmed carbon fibre reinforced polymers

A 22 full factorial design of experiment is used to investigate the effects of two machining platforms (5-axis elevated gantry versus 6-axis articulated robotic system) and two cutting tool designs (burr versus herringbone) on surface metrics and flexural strength of a 14 ply T300 2x2 carbon fibre reinforced polymer. A range of areal metrics were considered to characterise the surface with Sal and Stdi best able to represent differences due to the choice of robotic system or overhead gantry. The robotic system produces coupons with flexural strengths up to 26% higher than the overhead gantry. The choice of tool has a less significant effect however machine-tool interactions do play a role in the flexural strength. Analysis using scanning electron microscopy shows that defects may be obscured by smeared matrix which may contribute to overall flexural strength differences

Prognostic model to predict postoperative acute kidney injury in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery based on a national prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Acute illness, existing co-morbidities and surgical stress response can all contribute to postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was prospectively to develop a pragmatic prognostic model to stratify patients according to risk of developing AKI after major gastrointestinal surgery. Methods: This prospective multicentre cohort study included consecutive adults undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection, liver resection or stoma reversal in 2-week blocks over a continuous 3-month period. The primary outcome was the rate of AKI within 7 days of surgery. Bootstrap stability was used to select clinically plausible risk factors into the model. Internal model validation was carried out by bootstrap validation. Results: A total of 4544 patients were included across 173 centres in the UK and Ireland. The overall rate of AKI was 14·2 per cent (646 of 4544) and the 30-day mortality rate was 1·8 per cent (84 of 4544). Stage 1 AKI was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (unadjusted odds ratio 7·61, 95 per cent c.i. 4·49 to 12·90; P < 0·001), with increasing odds of death with each AKI stage. Six variables were selected for inclusion in the prognostic model: age, sex, ASA grade, preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate, planned open surgery and preoperative use of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker. Internal validation demonstrated good model discrimination (c-statistic 0·65). Discussion: Following major gastrointestinal surgery, AKI occurred in one in seven patients. This preoperative prognostic model identified patients at high risk of postoperative AKI. Validation in an independent data set is required to ensure generalizability