SPITFIRE-1

The purpose of this effort is to develop low-cost rapid forming superplastic aluminum that will be evaluated in pilot production trials for automotive SPF components. The alloy development study conducted under SPITFIRE-1 showed that the addition of CU or Mn to the base 5083 aluminum alloy refined the grain size, leading to enhanced superplastic properties. In SPITFIRE-2, these alloy variants will be further refined and studied to meet the target properties established earlier in the program. Mechanical properties, component forming and post-forming properties will be evaluated. Also, the alloy production process, including thermomechanical processing (TMP) optimization to reduce production cost, will be investigated during SPITFIRE-2. After identifying preferred compositions and production processing, the most promising alloy will be manufactured into production coils for verification during SPITFIRE-3. Components will be produced from these coils in SPITFIRE-4, and the process and component performance will be assessed

Effect of alloying on mechanical properties of as cast ferritic nodular cast irons

The development of low temperature applications for ferritic nodular cast irons calls for improved materials in the as cast state, e.g. for off-shore windmills components. Within this line of work, a series of 68 castings were prepared with the same casting procedure and slight changes in composition. The tensile properties at room temperature, as well as the impact energy for rupture at room temperature, 220 °C and 240 °C, were measured. Outputs from multivariate analysis performed on the data are then discussed and compared to literature results, putting emphasis on the properties of the ferritic matrix

PROJECT PREVENT: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Preoperative Vaginal Metronidazole to Decrease Patient Issues and Infections after Hysterectomy

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate if vaginal metronidazole for 5 days before hysterectomy decreases postoperative infections and patient issues. DESIGN: This randomized trial compared vaginal metronidazole for 5 days before a scheduled hysterectomy to no intervention. Sample size calculation was based on a 20% difference in issues and infection (30% incidence and 10% in the intervention arm) with 80% power and an alpha error of 0.05 and indicated 62 subjects needed in each arm. SETTING: Outpatient gynecology clinics at a single academic institution. PARTICIPANTS: 154 subjects were screened for eligibility between July 2020 and September 2022. 133 underwent hysterectomy including 68 subjects (51.1%) randomized to the metronidazole and 65 (48.9%) controls. Overall, the population was racially and ethnically diverse. There was no significant difference in characteristics between the two groups. INTERVENTIONS: Vaginal metronidazole for 5 days before hysterectomy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Postoperative patient issues and documented postoperative infections at 4-8 weeks after surgery. RESULTS: There was no difference in the composite rate of patient-reported issues and/or documented postoperative infection (53/133 (39.8%) with no difference between groups (29/68 (42.6%) vs 24/65 (36.9%), p=0.50). There was no difference in patient-reported issues which was 51/133 (38.3%) with no difference between groups (28/68 (41.2%) vs 23/65 (33.8%), p=0.49) or in documented infections with a rate of 25/133 (18.8%) with no significant difference between groups (15/68 (22.0%) vs 10/65 (15.4%), p=0.33). In the intervention arm, the compliance rate was 73.5% for all 5 days of vaginal metronidazole, and a per-protocol analysis was performed which resulted in no significant difference between groups. CONCLUSIONS: There is insufficient evidence to suggest a significant benefit of preoperative vaginal metronidazole to prevent surgical site infections and postoperative patient issues in patients undergoing hysterectomy. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04478617