Novel reactor technology for chemical-looping combustion

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A tale of two worlds:assessing the vulnerability of enclave shielding runtimes

status: publishe

Asperity level tribological investigation of automotive bore material and coatings

Choosing in-cylinder surfaces is complex. A well-chosen surface has low friction and wear. Conversely, poor oversight often leads to premature failure through wear and scuffing. Typically cylinder bore surfaces are selected experientially. This paper demonstrates the use of Atomic Force Microscopy in LFM mode, characterising typical cylinder bore materials and coatings. The approach uses integrated LFM with continuum contact mechanics. It evaluates the real contact area and effective elastic modulus of the surface, including the effect of any reactive surface film. Surface energy and shear strength, as well as the coefficient of friction in nanoscale interactions are also determined. These properties are measured for 6 cylinder bore materials, including for composite Nickel-Silicon Carbide and DLC, used for high performance engines

Current state and challenges for dynamic metabolic modeling

While the stoichiometry of metabolism is probably the best studied cellular level, the dynamics in metabolism can still not be well described, predicted and, thus, engineered. Unknowns in the metabolic flux behavior arise from kinetic interactions, especially allosteric control mechanisms. While the stoichiometry of enzymes is preserved in vitro, their activity and kinetic behavior differs from the in vivo situation. Next to this challenge, it is infeasible to test the interaction of each enzyme with each intracellular metabolite in vitro exhaustively. As a consequence, the whole interacting metabolome has to be studied in vivo to identify the relevant enzymes properties. In this review we discuss current approaches for in vivo perturbation experiments, that is, stimulus response experiments using different setups and quantitative analytical approaches, including dynamic carbon tracing. Next to reliable and informative data, advanced modeling approaches and computational tools are required to identify kinetic mechanisms and their parameters.The authors EV, AT, KN, IR, MO, DM and AW are part of the ERA-IB funded consortium DYNAMICS (ERA-IB-14-081, NWO 053.80.724)

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely