In-situ metrology for electrohydrodynamic inkjet printing towards micro/nano scale hybrid manufacturing

This thesis lays the groundwork for a hybrid manufacturing system, combining laser ablation and electrohydrodynamic inkjet (e-jet) printing. A thorough review of laser ablation of polymers is provided. Trends and issues that arise during the process are noted and information essential to the choice of laser and polymer material is provided. In addition, methods were proposed for the in-process measurement of the E-jet printing system. The first method utilized machine vision and image processing to measure micro filament sizes. These filaments could be measured in real time and later converted into a 3D reconstruction. The second measures the resulted pattern prior to removal from the printing platform. Both of these processed allow for in-process measurements to be conducted which can be used for correction or characterization of the E-jet printing process. Currently, there are no such automated processes. Lastly, the use of a simple scalar diffraction setup to measure particle droplets was investigated. The issues which occurred during this investigation are discussed

Linkage and continuity of care after release from prison : an evaluation of Central Registration Points for drug users in Belgium

Purpose This paper aims to report the findings of an evaluation study concerning the Central Registration Points (CRPs) for drug users in Belgian prisons. CRPs support drug users to link with community-based services. Design/methodology/approach The study applied a multi-method approach that involved an exploratory literature review; a secondary analysis of the CRPs' databases; a qualitative study of the perceptions of a diverse sample of stakeholders with regard to the functioning of CRPs; and a prospective registration study. Findings One-third of the clients never attended an outpatient or residential substance abuse service before prison entry. This illustrates that the CRPs managed to reach clients who were not previously reached by (substance abuse) treatment services. All interviewed actors emphasized the added value of the CRPs in terms of informing, contacting, motivating and referring prisoners with a substance abuse problem. Practical implications Based on the research findings, two issues seem to be of paramount importance in the successful practice of CRPs: the confidentiality and specific expertise on (substance abuse) treatment. Given the complex situation of drug users in prison, an independent positioning and categorical assistance with drug-specific expertise seem to be essential. Originality/value CRPs can be considered to be one of the "building blocks" that contribute to high-quality care and continuity of care for drugs users in detention

US Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) exports: boom or bust for the global climate?

Due to surging natural gas production, the United States is now a growing exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to overseas destinations. However, the potential greenhouse gas implications from increased US natural gas remain unclear. Through a hybrid lifecycle energy strategy analysis, we investigate potential greenhouse gas scenarios of US LNG exports to Asia, the largest source of global LNG demand. We find that the climate impacts of US exports to China, Japan, India, and South Korea could vary tremendously. Annual global lifecycle emissions range from -32 to +63 million metric tons CO2e per billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day of exports. Despite this range, emissions are not likely to decrease and may increase significantly due to greater global energy consumption, higher emissions in the US, and methane leakage. However, international climate obligations are a critical uncertainty underlying all emissions estimates. Our results indicate the need for further research into quantifying the climate impacts of LNG exports, and energy exports more generally

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association analyses improve resolution of genes and pathways influencing lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk

Lung-function impairment underlies chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and predicts mortality. In the largest multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of lung function to date, comprising 580,869 participants, we identified 1,020 independent association signals implicating 559 genes supported by ≥2 criteria from a systematic variant-to-gene mapping framework. These genes were enriched in 29 pathways. Individual variants showed heterogeneity across ancestries, age and smoking groups, and collectively as a genetic risk score showed strong association with COPD across ancestry groups. We undertook phenome-wide association studies for selected associated variants as well as trait and pathway-specific genetic risk scores to infer possible consequences of intervening in pathways underlying lung function. We highlight new putative causal variants, genes, proteins and pathways, including those targeted by existing drugs. These findings bring us closer to understanding the mechanisms underlying lung function and COPD, and should inform functional genomics experiments and potentially future COPD therapies

In-situ metrology for electrohydrodynamic inkjet printing towards micro/nano scale hybrid manufacturing

This thesis lays the groundwork for a hybrid manufacturing system, combining laser ablation and electrohydrodynamic inkjet (e-jet) printing. A thorough review of laser ablation of polymers is provided. Trends and issues that arise during the process are noted and information essential to the choice of laser and polymer material is provided. In addition, methods were proposed for the in-process measurement of the E-jet printing system. The first method utilized machine vision and image processing to measure micro filament sizes. These filaments could be measured in real time and later converted into a 3D reconstruction. The second measures the resulted pattern prior to removal from the printing platform. Both of these processed allow for in-process measurements to be conducted which can be used for correction or characterization of the E-jet printing process. Currently, there are no such automated processes. Lastly, the use of a simple scalar diffraction setup to measure particle droplets was investigated. The issues which occurred during this investigation are discussed.</p

Epithelial Cell Cycle Behaviour in the Injured Kidney

Acute kidney injury (AKI), commonly caused by ischemia-reperfusion injury, has far-reaching health consequences. Despite the significant regenerative capacity of proximal tubular epithelium cells (PTCs), repair frequently fails, leading to the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD). In the last decade, it has been repeatedly demonstrated that dysregulation of the cell cycle can cause injured kidneys to progress to CKD. More precisely, severe AKI causes PTCs to arrest in the G1/S or G2/M phase of the cell cycle, leading to maladaptive repair and a fibrotic outcome. The mechanisms causing these arrests are far from known. The arrest might, at least partially, be attributed to DNA damage since activation of the DNA-damage response pathway leads to cell cycle arrest. Alternatively, cytokine signalling via nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-&kappa;&beta;) and p38-mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38-MAPK) pathways, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) can play a role independent of DNA damage. In addition, only a handful of cell cycle regulators (e.g., p53, p21) have been thoroughly studied during renal repair. Still, why and how PTCs decide to arrest their cell cycle and how this arrest can efficiently be overcome remain open and challenging questions. In this review we will discuss the evidence for cell cycle involvement during AKI and development of CKD together with putative therapeutic approaches

Short-term dexamethasone treatment transiently, but not permanently, attenuates fibrosis after acute-to-chronic kidney injury

Figure S4. Original blots of F4/80 and α-SMA protein expression. Dex/Veh Wk3: Animals were euthanized after treatment with dexamethasone/vehicle respectively (3 weeks after UIRI); Dex/Veh Wk6: animals were euthanized 3 weeks after treatment with dexamethasone/vehicle respectively (6 weeks after UIRI); Untreated: animals were euthanized 3 weeks after UIRI; Sham: animals were euthanized 6 weeks after mock-UIRI. A: Original Western Blot of F4/80 macrophage/monocyte and β-actin protein expression. It should be noted that under non-reducing circumstances the molecular weight of F4/80 is 102 kDa. For reducing circumstances (i.e. boiling in 2-mercaptoethanol), as used in our study, Starkey et al. [38] reported that the antigen is cleaved in two fragments of 20 kDa and 80 kDa, the latter of which detected in our analysis. B: Original Western Blot of α-SMA macrophage/monocyte and β-actin protein expression. (JPG 439 kb