The development of a lean six sigma and BIM framework for enhancing off-site manufacturing

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Improved Performance of Near infrared Excitation Raman Spectroscopy Using Reflective Thin-film Gold on Glass Substrates for Cytology Samples

Confocal near-infrared Raman spectroscopy has been shown to have applications in the area of clinical biology. A source wavelength in the near infrared is preferred over visible wavelengths for inspecting biological samples due to superior wave number resolution and reduced photo damage. However, these excitation sources have a number of drawbacks when compared to lasers in the visible wavelength region, including the requirement to use expensive highly pure crystal substrates such as Raman grade calcium fluoride as well as long acquisition times due to the lower Raman scattering efficiency. This paper investigates the use of a reflective substrate comprising a low cost 100 nm thin-film gold on glass substrate, as an alternative. Similar to recent work that used stainless steel substrates, it is demonstrated that the thin-film gold coated substrates, which are relatively inexpensive, produce cell spectra with 1.65 times the signal to noise ratio when compared with spectra obtained from calcium fluoride under identical conditions, with no apparent background signal in the fingerprint region. Two prostate cell lines are examined having been deposited on glass, calcium fluoride, and thin-film gold on glass substrates using the Thin Prep standard. Background spectra from, and cell adhesion on, these three substrates are compared. A comparison of the intensities and signal to noise ratios of the resulting spectra, and their viability for classification using principle components analysis is performed, which further demonstrates the benefit of reflective substrates

A study to evaluate the potential contribution of medication use to falls in elderly patients presenting to an acute hospital

Introduction: Falls in elderly patients is a growing burden on healthcare resources globally. 10-15% of presentations in those ≥65 years at acute hospital services is due to falls. Medicines and polypharmacy are modifiable risk factors for falls. Different classes of medicines increase the risk of falling to differing extents. Aims: The aim was to review the role of medicines in falls in elderly at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda (OLOL). The objectives were: 1: Examine polypharmacy. 2: Examine the implication of the top five classes of falls risk increasing drugs (FRIDs) as potential causative factors in falls. 3: Determine is there a difference in medicine profile between those residing at home and in Long Term Care Facilities (LTCFs). 4: Has the Clinical Pharmacist a role in reducing patients’ risk of future falls. Methods: Admission records in OLOL were checked daily for elderly patients admitted due to a fall. When consent was granted data was collected from their records. Results: 94 patients met the inclusion criteria. 53 were recruited, 41 were excluded. Only 1 LTCF resident was recruited for the study, therefore objective 3 could not be examined. The Falls Risk Odds Ratio (FROR) was reduced for benzodiazepines, ACEi’s, ARB’s and diuretics but it was not a statistically significant reduction in FROR (p=0.22). Polypharmacy: Patients on ≥ 5 medicines on admission (41) 77%; Patients on ≥ 5 medicines on review (44) 83%; Polypharmacy by Medicine Class : Antipsychotics 100%; Benzodiazepines 100% ; Sedatives 100% Antidepressants 94%; Antihypertensives 76%. No of patients on ≥1 FRID: 94.3%. FRID prescribing by class: Antihypertensives 79.2%; Antidepressants 30.2%; Benzodiazepines 13.2%; Sedatives 11.3% ; Antipsychotics 1.9%. Clinical Pharmacist Recommendations Actioned Overall 41.7%. Actioned per FRID class: Antihypertensives 57.9%; Benzodiazepines 28.7%. Conclusions: Pharmacists have a role to play in highlighting polypharmacy and the prescribing of FRIDs

Core-shell tin oxide, indium oxide, and indium tin oxide nanoparticles on Si with tunable dispersion: Electrochemical and structural characteristics as a hybrid Li-ion battery anode

Tin oxide (SnO2) is considered a very promising material as a high capacity Li-ion battery anode. Its adoption depends on a solid understanding of factors that affect electrochemical behavior and performance such as size and composition. We demonstrate here, that defined dispersions and structures can improve our understanding of Li-ion battery anode material architecture on alloying and co-intercalation processes of Lithium with Sn from SnO2 on Si. Two different types of well-defined hierarchical Sn@SnO2 core–shell nanoparticle (NP) dispersions were prepared by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on silicon, composed of either amorphous or polycrystalline SnO2 shells. In2O3 and Sn doped In2O3 (ITO) NP dispersions are also demonstrated from MBE NP growth. Lithium alloying with the reduced form of the NPs and co-insertion into the silicon substrate showed reversible charge storage. Through correlation of electrochemical and structural characteristics of the anodes, we detail the link between the composition, areal and volumetric densities, and the effect of electrochemical alloying of Lithium with Sn@SnO2 and related NPs on their structure and, importantly, their dispersion on the electrode. The dispersion also dictates the degree of co-insertion into the Si current collector, which can act as a buffer. The compositional and structural engineering of SnO2 and related materials using highly defined MBE growth as model system allows a detailed examination of the influence of material dispersion or nanoarchitecture on the electrochemical performance of active electrodes and materials

Improved performance of near infrared excitation Raman spectroscopy using reflective thin-film gold on glass substrates for cytology samples

Confocal near-infrared Raman spectroscopy has been shown to have applications in the area of clinical biology. A source wavelength in the near infrared is preferred over visible wavelengths for inspecting biological samples due to superior wavenumber resolution and reduced photodamage. However, these excitation sources have a number of drawbacks when compared to lasers in the visible wavelength region, including the requirement to use expensive highly pure crystal substrates such as Raman grade calcium fluoride as well as long acquisition times due to the lower Raman scattering efficiency. This paper investigates the use of a reflective substrate comprising a low cost 100 nm thin-film gold on glass substrate, as an alternative. Similar to recent work that used stainless steel substrates, it is demonstrated that the thin-film gold coated substrates, which are relatively inexpensive, produce cell spectra with 1.65 times the signal to noise ratio when compared with spectra obtained from calcium fluoride under identical conditions, with no apparent background signal in the fingerprint region. Two prostate cell lines are examined having been deposited on glass, calcium fluoride, and thin-film gold on glass substrates using the ThinPrep standard. Background spectra from, and cell adhesion on, these three substrates are compared. A comparison of the intensities and signal to noise ratios of the resulting spectra, and their viability for classification using principle components analysis is performed, which further demonstrates the benefit of reflective substrates

Rechargeable Li-ion battery anode of indium oxide with visible to infra-red transparency

Unique bimodal distributions of single crystal epitaxially grown In2O3 nanodots on silicon are shown to have excellent IR transparency greater than 87% at 4 μm without sacrificing transparency in the visible region. These broadband antireflective nanodot dispersions are grown using a two-step metal deposition and oxidation by molecular beam epitaxy, and backscattered diffraction confirms a dominant (111) surface orientation. We detail the growth of a bimodal size distribution that facilitates good surface coverage (80%) while allowing a significant reduction in In2O3 refractive index. The (111) surface orientation of the nanodots, when fully ripened, allows minimum lattice mismatch strain between the In2O3 and the Si surface. This helps to circumvent potential interfacial weakening caused by volume contraction due to electrochemical reduction to lithium, or expansion during lithiation. Cycling under potentiodynamic conditions shows that the transparent anode of nanodots reversibly alloys lithium with good Coulombic efficiency, buffered by co-insertion into the silicon substrate. These properties could potentially lead to further development of similarly controlled dispersions of a range of other active materials to give transparent battery electrodes or materials capable of non-destructive in-situ spectroscopic characterization during charging and discharging

Structural and electronic properties of polycrystalline InAs thin films deposited on silicon dioxide and glass at temperatures below 500 °c

Polycrystalline indium arsenide (poly InAs) thin films grown at 475 °C by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) are explored as possible candidates for low-temperature-grown semiconducting materials. Structural and transport properties of the films are reported, with electron mobilities of ~100 cm2/V·s achieved at room temperature, and values reaching 155 cm2/V·s for a heterostructure including the polycrystalline InAs film. Test structures fabricated with an aluminum oxide (Al2O3) top-gate dielectric show that transistor-type behavior is possible when poly InAs films are implemented as the channel material, with maximum ION/IOFF > 250 achieved at −50 °C and ION/IOFF = 90 at room temperature. Factors limiting the ION/IOFF ratio are investigated and recommendations are made for future implementation of this material

Observing the Evolution of the Universe

How did the universe evolve? The fine angular scale (l>1000) temperature and polarization anisotropies in the CMB are a Rosetta stone for understanding the evolution of the universe. Through detailed measurements one may address everything from the physics of the birth of the universe to the history of star formation and the process by which galaxies formed. One may in addition track the evolution of the dark energy and discover the net neutrino mass. We are at the dawn of a new era in which hundreds of square degrees of sky can be mapped with arcminute resolution and sensitivities measured in microKelvin. Acquiring these data requires the use of special purpose telescopes such as the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT), located in Chile, and the South Pole Telescope (SPT). These new telescopes are outfitted with a new generation of custom mm-wave kilo-pixel arrays. Additional instruments are in the planning stages.Comment: Science White Paper submitted to the US Astro2010 Decadal Survey. Full list of 177 author available at http://cmbpol.uchicago.ed

An Analysis of the Cost of the Abatement of Ammonia Emissions in Irish Agriculture to 2030

peer-reviewedThis analysis quantifies the potential to abate national ammonia (NH3) emissions up to 2030. This report is an updated marginal abatement cost curve (MACC) analysis where Teagasc has quantified the abatement potential of a range of ammonia mitigation measures, as well as their associated costs/benefits (see Lanigan et al. 2015 for previous analysis). The objective of this analysis is to quantify the extent and costs associated with meeting future ammonia emission targets that were negotiated as part of the amended Clean Air Policy Package. The requirement to reduce ammonia emissions is urgent, both in terms of compliance with the National Emissions Ceilings Directive (NECD), and as a principal loss pathway for agricultural nitrogen (N). Improvement of N efficiency is a key focus for improving farm efficiency and sustainability as well as reducing the ammonia, nitrate and greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of agriculture. This is particularly relevant in the context of the national strategies on the development of the agri-food sector: Food Wise 2025, Ag-food strategy 2030 and Ag-Climatise (currently under development) and the newly unveiled EU Farm to Fork Strategy, which is a part of the European Green Deal. Under the baseline scenario (S1), agricultural ammonia emissions are projected to increase by 9% (without any mitigation) by 2030 relative to 2005 levels. While these increases are small in comparison to the targeted increase in agricultural output, they will provide a major challenge to meeting emissions targets, particularly as agriculture comprises over 99% of national emissions. The analysis presented in this report seeks to quantify the ammonia mitigation potential under likely uptake pathways. This is not an exhaustive analysis of all mitigation measures, but represents an assessment of best available techniques, based on scientific, peer-reviewed research carried out by Teagasc and associated national and international research partners. Indeed, any future changes in the sector or in the national emission inventory calculations will require further analysis of the applicability of ammonia mitigation techniques, particularly in terms of housing and storage but also in the context of other reactive N1 emissions. It should also be noted that some mitigation measures, particularly those related to nitrogen application to soils, could result in either higher greenhouse gas emissions or higher nitrate leaching. Compared to a future where no mitigation measures are deployed to address emissions, by 2030 the average technical abatement2 potential was estimated to be approximately 15.26 kt NH3 at a net cost of €10.86 million per annum. However, it should be noted that the net cost (€10.86 million) is comprised of 6 measures that are cost negative (-€22.21 million) and 7 measures that are cost positive (€33.07) and that some of the cost negative measures are predicated on efficiency gains driven by best management practice adoption (e.g. liming and clover measures with associate chemical N reductions). Amongst the thirteen mitigation measures selected for this analysis, 80% of the mitigation potential can be achieved by the full implementation of the mitigation pathways for protected urea and low emission slurry spreading (LESS) techniques for bovines. It should be stressed that this is an assessment of the maximum abatement potential and realising this level of abatement in practice will be extremely challenging. Any increase in agricultural activity beyond the baseline scenario will increase absolute emissions. The level of mitigation achievable is based on the draft AgClimatise measures any delay or reduction in the uptake of these measures will reduce the mitigation achieved. It must also be ensured that all mitigation measures should, where possible, be synergistic with reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and N loss to water

X-Ray-Emitting Stars Identified from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

The ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS) was the first imaging X-ray survey of the entire sky. While X-ray source counterparts are known to range from distant quasars to nearby M dwarfs, the RASS data alone are often insufficient to determine the nature of an X-ray source. As a result, large-scale follow-up programs are required to construct samples of known X-ray emitters. We use optical data produced by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to identify 709 stellar X-ray emitters cataloged in the RASS and falling within the SDSS Data Release 1 footprint. Most of these are bright stars with coronal X-ray emission unsuitable for SDSS spectroscopy, which is designed for fainter objects (g > 15 mag). Instead, we use SDSS photometry, correlations with the Two Micron All Sky Survey and other catalogs, and spectroscopy from the Apache Point Observatory 3.5 m telescope to identify these stellar X-ray counterparts. Our sample of 707 X-ray-emitting F, G, K, and M stars is one of the largest X-ray-selected samples of such stars. We derive distances to these stars using photometric parallax relations appropriate for dwarfs on the main sequence, and use these distances to calculate LX. We also identify a previously unknown cataclysmic variable (CV) as a RASS counterpart. Separately, we use correlations of the RASS and the SDSS spectroscopic catalogs of CVs and white dwarfs (WDs) to study the properties of these rarer X-ray-emitting stars. We examine the relationship between (fX/fg) and the equivalent width of the Hbeta emission line for 46 X-ray-emitting CVs and discuss tentative classifications for a subset based on these quantities. We identify 17 new X-ray-emitting DA (hydrogen) WDs, of which three are newly identified WDs. (abridged)Comment: 23 pages, 15 figures, 8 tables; full catalog available online onl