Surface enhanced resonance Raman and luminescence on plasmon active nanostructured cavities

Presented here are studies of the impact of excitation angle on surface enhanced Raman and luminescence spectroscopy of dye immobilised on a plasmon active nanocavity array support. Results show that both Raman and luminescence intensities depend on the angle of incidence consistent with the presence of cavity supported plasmon modes. Dependence of scattering or emission intensity with excitation angle occurs over the window of observation

Effective Degassing for Reduced Variability in High-Pressure Die Casting Performance

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

Sendaway capillary NT-proBNP in pulmonary hypertension

\ua9 Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. BACKGROUND: N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a biomarker of cardiac ventricular wall stress that is incorporated into pulmonary hypertension (PH) risk stratification models. Sendaway sampling may enable patients to perform NT-proBNP tests remotely. This UK-wide study aimed to assess the agreement of sendaway NT-proBNP with standard venous NT-proBNP and to assess the effect of delayed processing. METHODS: Reference venous NT-proBNP was collected from PH patients. Samples for capillary and venous sendaway tests were collected contemporaneously, mailed to a reference laboratory and processed at 3 and 7 days using a Roche Cobas e411 device. Differences in paired measurements were analysed with Passing-Bablok regression, percentage difference plots and the % difference in risk strata. RESULTS: 113 patients were included in the study. 13% of day 3 capillary samples were insufficient. Day 3 capillary samples were not equivalent to reference samples (Passing Bablok analysis slope of 0.91 (95% CI 0.88 to 0.93) and intercept of 6.0 (95% CI 0.2 to 15.9)). The relative median difference was -7% and there were acceptable limits of agreement. Day 3 capillary NT-proBNP accurately risk stratified patients in 93.5% of cases. By comparison, day 3 venous results accurately risk stratified patients in 90.1% of cases and were equivalent by Passing-Bablok regression. Delayed sampling of sendaway tests led to an unacceptable level of agreement and systematically underestimated NT-proBNP. CONCLUSIONS: Sendaway NT-proBNP sampling may provide an objective measure of right ventricular strain for virtual PH clinics. Results must be interpreted with caution in cases of delayed sampling

Outcomes of listing for lung and heart–lung transplantation in pulmonary hypertension: comparative experience in France and the UK

\ua9 The authors 2024.Background Lung or heart–lung transplantation (LT/HLT) for severe pulmonary hypertension (PH) as the primary disease indication carries a high risk of waiting list mortality and post-transplant complications. France and the UK both have coordinated PH patient services but with different referral pathways for accessing LT services. Methods We conducted a comparative analysis of adult PH patients listed for LT/HLT in the UK and France. Results We included 211 PH patients in France (2006–2018) and 170 in the UK (2010–2019). Cumulative incidence of transplant, delisting and waiting list death within 3 years were 81%, 4% and 11% in France versus 58%, 10% and 15% in the UK (p<0.001 for transplant and delisting; p=0.1 for death). Median nonpriority waiting time was 45 days in France versus 165 days in the UK (p<0.001). High-priority listing occurred in 54% and 51% of transplanted patients respectively in France and the UK (p=0.8). Factors associated with achieving transplantation related to recipients’ height, male sex, clinical severity and priority listing status. 1-year post-transplant survival was 78% in France and 72% in the UK (p= 0.04). Conclusion Access to transplantation for PH patients is better in France than in the UK where more patients were delisted due to clinical deterioration because of longer waiting time. High rates of priority listing occurred in both countries. Survival for those achieving transplantation was slightly better in France. Ensuring optimal outcomes after transplant listing for PH patients is challenging and may involve early listing of higher risk patients, increasing donor lung utilisation and improving allocation rules for these specific patients

Degassing of Aluminum Alloy Melts by High Shear Melt Conditioning Technology: An Overview

Data Availability Statement: The data presented in this manuscript are available on request from the corresponding author.Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. The search for more efficient methods for degassing aluminum alloy melts has always been of great interest for the metal industry because the presence of hydrogen and oxides in the melts’ prior casting was detrimental to the integrity and properties of the final products. In this work, we present an overview of the progress and key findings from the research and development of an innovative High Shear Melt Conditioning (HSMC) degassing technology during the Liquid Metal Engineering (LiME) Research Hub project. Compared to conventional rotary degassing, this novel technique was capable of working at higher rotor speeds to efficiently break and disperse the naturally occurring oxide bifilms in the melt and to capture and disperse each supplied inert gas bubble into many tiny bubbles throughout the whole melt. This resulted in the elimination of the need to degas fluxes to remove the oxides in the melt, the reduction in the gas flow required to reach the same level of hydrogen removal rate, and the minimization of the regassing effect after processing. The increased process efficiency allowed for reduced melt processing costs and, at the same time, improved the melt quality, which resulted in fewer defects and improved mechanical properties.EPSRC (UK) under grant number EP/N007638/1 (the Future Liquid Metal Engineering Hub and LiME Hub)

Oral Treprostinil is Associated with Improved Survival in FREEDOM-EV and its Open-Label Extension

\ua9 2023, The Author(s).Introduction: In the event-driven FREEDOM-EV trial, oral treprostinil delayed clinical worsening in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Open-label extension studies offer additional data about tolerability, efficacy, and survival, especially for those initially assigned placebo. The aim of the current study was to determine if oral treprostinil changed survival when considering the parent and extension study, if treprostinil provides functional benefits for participants initially assigned to placebo, and if the benefits observed for those treated with treprostinil were durable. Methods: Both active and placebo participants from FREEDOM-EV could enroll in the FREEDOM-EV open-label extension (OLE) study after experiencing an investigator-assessed clinical worsening event or after parent study closure. All participants in the OLE were offered open-label oral treprostinil. Previously assigned placebo participants titrated to maximally tolerated doses; previously assigned treprostinil participants continued dose titration. We repeated assessments including functional class and 6-min walk distance (6MWD) at 12-week intervals and measured N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) at week 48. Survival was estimated by Kaplan–Meier analysis, and we estimated hazard ratio (HR) using Cox proportional hazards. Results: Of 690 FREEDOM-EV participants, 470 enrolled in the OLE; vital status was available for 89% of initial Freedom-EV participants. When considering the combined parent and open-label data, initial assignment to oral treprostinil reduced mortality (HR 0.64, 95% confidence interval 0.46–0.91, p = 0.013); absolute risk reduction was 9%. Participants randomized to placebo who initiated oral treprostinil after clinical worsening and tolerated treatment through week 48 demonstrated favorable shifts in functional class (p < 0.0001), 6MWD improvements of + 84 m (p < 0.0001), and a reduction in NT-proBNP of − 778 pg/mL (p = 0.02), compared to OLE baseline. Modest trends toward benefit were measured for those initially assigned placebo who did not have clinical worsening, and 132/144 (92%) of treprostinil assigned participants without clinical worsening remained on drug at week 48 in the OLE study. Adverse events were consistent with FREEDOM-EV. Conclusion: Initial treprostinil assignment improved survival in the entire data set; those who began treprostinil after a clinical worsening in the placebo arm and tolerated drug to week 48 enjoyed substantial functional gains. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01560637

High-Pressure Die Casting: A Review of Progress from the EPSRC Future LiME Hub

Data Availability Statement: The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. This article provides an overview of high-pressure die casting (HPDC)-related research undertaken at the EPSRC Future LiME Hub between 2015–2022. The project aimed to identify the cause of variability in the tensile ductility of die-cast structures, and to develop novel processing techniques to address this issue. Variability in tensile ductility was related to the size of large pores and non-metallic inclusions. It was proposed that these non-metallic inclusions formed during the pyrolysis of commercial plunger lubricants in the shot sleeve, and that these large pores derived from dilatational strains introduced during semi-solid deformation. Processing parameters and die design were found to significantly influence the microstructure of die-cast products, and the subsequent variability in tensile ductility. To close, recent progress on the application of intensive melt shearing to HPDC is reviewed. Intensive melt shearing was found to induce significant grain refinement in both Al and Mg alloys due to the effective dispersion of native oxide particles, and the use of these particles as heterogeneous nucleation substrates. The presence of native oxide particles also enabled the use of novel heat treatment procedures that avoided conventional issues such as surface blistering and geometrical distortion.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Jaguar Land Rover Ltd. as part of the EPSRC Future Liquid Metal Engineering (LiME) Hub (grant number: 2043200); the APC was funded by Brunel University London