Experimental and MCNP5 based evaluation of neutron and gamma flux in the irradiation ports of the University of Utah research reactor

Neutron and gamma flux environment of various irradiation ports in the University of Utah training, research, isotope production, general atomics reactor were experimentally assessed and fully modeled using the MCNP5 code. The experimental measurements were based on the cadmium ratio in the irradiation ports of the reactor, flux profiling using nickel wire, and gamma dose measurements using thermo luminescence dosimeter. Full 3-D MCNP5 reactor model was developed to obtain the neutron flux distributions of the entire reactor core and to compare it with the measured flux focusing at the irradiation ports. Integration of all these analysis provided the updated comprehensive neutron-gamma flux maps of the existing irradiation facilities of the University of Utah TRIGA reactor

Potential value of a rapid syndromic multiplex PCR for the diagnosis of native and prosthetic joint infections: a real-world evidence study

Introduction: The BIOFIRE Joint Infection (JI) Panel is a diagnostic tool that uses multiplex-PCR testing to detect microorganisms in synovial fluid specimens from patients suspected of having septic arthritis (SA) on native joints or prosthetic joint infections (PJIs). Methods: A study was conducted across 34 clinical sites in 19 European and Middle Eastern countries from March 2021 to June 2022 to assess the effectiveness of the BIOFIRE JI Panel. Results: A total of 1527 samples were collected from patients suspected of SA or PJI, with an overall agreement of 88.4 % and 85 % respectively between the JI Panel and synovial fluid cultures (SFCs). The JI Panel detected more positive samples and microorganisms than SFC, with a notable difference on Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus species, Enterococcus faecalis, Kingella kingae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and anaerobic bacteria. The study found that the BIOFIRE JI Panel has a high utility in the real-world clinical setting for suspected SA and PJI, providing diagnostic results in approximately 1 h. The user experience was positive, implying a potential benefit of rapidity of results' turnover in optimising patient management strategies. Conclusion: The study suggests that the BIOFIRE JI Panel could potentially optimise patient management and antimicrobial therapy, thus highlighting its importance in the clinical setting

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationUnderstanding how ultrathin liquid polymer films spread on the nanoscale is of critical importance to numerous physical phenomena and engineering applications. However, although crucial to the design and application of such ultrathin polymer films, the physical mechanisms that govern spreading on the nanoscale are not well-understood. We use molecular dynamics simulations to shed light on the nanoscale phenomena underlying ultrathin liquid polymer film spreading and show how various environmental and design parameters affect nanoscale spreading. In addition, we investigate the physical mechanisms that drive terraced polymer spreading, quantify the speed at which the edge of a polymer droplet advances on a flat substrate, and study how surface wettability can be altered through modification of a nanoscale substrate texture. We find that the functional end groups of the polymer molecule play a critical role in ultrathin polymer film spreading such that spreading increases with increasing molecule length for polymer molecules with functional end groups but decreases with increasing molecule length for polymer molecules without functional end groups. The presence of functional polymer end groups also determines if layer and terrace formations occur. For both polymer molecules with and without functional end groups, spreading is inhibited by molecule entanglement beyond a critical molecule length, such that spreading becomes independent of polymer functional end groups and molecule weight. The edge of a liquid polymer droplet spreads according to a power law with two distinct regimes, which we iv attribute to competing physical mechanisms: a pressure difference in the liquid droplet and molecule entanglement. For polymer spreading on substrates with a nanoscale texture, we find that texture groove shape is the primary factor that modifies polymer spreading because the texture groove shape determines the minimum potential energy of a substrate and polymer molecules spread along the groove to minimize their energy state

Potential value of a rapid syndromic multiplex PCR for the diagnosis of native and prosthetic joint infections: a real-world evidence study

Introduction: the BIOFIRE Joint Infection (JI) Panel is a diagnostic tool that uses multiplex-PCR testing to detect microorganisms in synovial fluid specimens from patients suspected of having septic arthritis (SA) on native joints or prosthetic joint infections (PJIs).Methods: a study was conducted across 34 clinical sites in 19 European and Middle Eastern countries from March 2021 to June 2022 to assess the effectiveness of the BIOFIRE JI Panel.Results: a total of 1527 samples were collected from patients suspected of SA or PJI, with an overall agreement of 88.4% and 85% respectively between the JI Panel and synovial fluid cultures (SFCs). The JI Panel detected more positive samples and microorganisms than SFC, with a notable difference on Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus species, Enterococcus faecalis, Kingella kingae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and anaerobic bacteria. The study found that the BIOFIRE JI Panel has a high utility in the real-world clinical setting for suspected SA and PJI, providing diagnostic results in approximately 1h. The user experience was positive, implying a potential benefit of rapidity of results' turnover in optimising patient management strategies.Conclusion: the study suggests that the BIOFIRE JI Panel could potentially optimise patient management and antimicrobial therapy, thus highlighting its importance in the clinical setting.</p