As-Built and Post-treated Microstructures of an Electron Beam Melting (EBM) Produced Nickel-Based Superalloy

The microstructures of an electron beam melted (EBM) nickel-based superalloy (Alloy 718) were comprehensively investigated in as-built and post-treated conditions, with particular focus individually on the contour (outer periphery) and hatch (core) regions of the build. The hatch region exhibited columnar grains with strong 〈001〉 texture in the build direction, while the contour region had a mix of columnar and equiaxed grains, with no preferred crystallographic texture. Both regions exhibited nearly identical hardness and carbide content. However, the contour region showed a higher number density of fine carbides compared to the hatch. The as-built material was subjected to two distinct post-treatments: (1) hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and (2) HIP plus heat treatment (HIP + HT), with the latter carried out as a single cycle inside the HIP vessel. Both post-treatments resulted in nearly an order of magnitude decrease in defect content in hatch and contour regions. HIP + HT led to grain coarsening in the contour, but did not alter the microstructure in the hatch region. Different factors that may be responsible for grain growth, such as grain size, grain orientation, grain boundary curvature and secondary phase particles, are discussed. The differences in carbide sizes in the hatch and contour regions appeared to decrease after post-treatment. After HIP + HT, similar higher hardness was observed in both the hatch and contour regions compared to the as-built material

Psilocybin-assisted therapy and HIV-related shame

As a proposed mediator between stigma-related stressors and negative mental health outcomes, HIV-related shame has been predictive of increased rates of substance use and difficulties adhering to antiretroviral treatment among people with HIV. These downstream manifestations have ultimately impeded progress toward national goals to End the HIV Epidemic, in part due to limited success of conventional psychotherapies in addressing HIV-related shame. In a pilot clinical trial (N = 12), receipt of psilocybin-assisted group therapy was associated with a large pre-post decrease in HIV-related shame as measured by the HIV and Abuse Related Shame Inventory, with a median (IQR) change of - 5.5 (- 6.5, - 3.5) points from baseline to 3-months follow-up (Z = - 2.6, p = 0.009, r = - 0.75). A paradoxical exacerbation of sexual abuse-related shame experienced by two participants following receipt of psilocybin raises critical questions regarding the use of psilocybin therapy among patients with trauma. These preliminary findings carry potential significance for the future of HIV care

A systematic review of income and education reporting in psychedelic clinical trials

Socioeconomic status (SES) substantially influences mental health outcomes and treatment access, yet its reporting in psychedelic-assisted therapy trials remains underexplored. Here we systematically reviewed 98 articles (49 primary trials and 49 secondary analyses) published between 2006 and 2024 examining classic psychedelics and MDMA for mental health conditions. Only 12% of primary trials reported participant income data, and 31% reported educational attainment. In US-based trials, participants showed markedly higher SES than the general population: 93% had some college education (versus 62% nationally), and median incomes in major trials substantially exceeded the national median for all workers. Non-US trials showed variable patterns. This widespread underreporting of SES data and evidence of socioeconomic disparities, particularly in US trials, highlights an urgent need for standardized SES reporting and targeted strategies to improve socioeconomic diversity in psychedelic-assisted therapy research, ensuring broader generalizability and access to these emerging treatments

On minimizing risk and harm in the use of psychedelics

Objective: This article outlines recommendations from 30 psychedelic researchers on how to create a better psychedelic safety net. Methods: A survey of 30 psychedelic researchers asked them to identify key critical research gaps around psychedelic harm and safety. Results: The critical research gaps identified by the authors included defining the main types of psychedelic harm, the predictors of those harms, and the most effective way to treat those harms. They also call for better support for those experiencing post‐psychedelic difficulties, including better online information, peer support groups, affordable therapy, and psychiatric consultation and medication. Finally, the authors call for better funding to create a psychedelic safety net, and suggest psychedelic philanthropists, investors and companies could commit 1% of their investment in psychedelics into supporting safety measures such as research and support services. Conclusions: The authors identify several practical steps to create a better psychedelic safety net and call for more funding to psychedelic safety measures such as research and support services. Relevance to clinical practice: The authors outline important gaps in our knowledge around the safety and risk profile of psychedelic medicines and identify practical steps forward for researchers and clinical practitioners to make this promising field safer

Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure (ACLF): The ‘Kyoto Consensus’-Steps From Asia

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a condition associated with high mortality in the absence of liver transplantation. There have been various definitions proposed worldwide. The first consensus report of the working party of the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) set in 2004 on ACLF was published in 2009, and the APASL ACLF Research Consortium (AARC) was formed in 2012. The AARC database has prospectively collected nearly 10,500 cases of ACLF from various countries in the Asia-Pacific region. This database has been instrumental in developing the AARC score and grade of ACLF, the concept of the \u27Golden Therapeutic Window\u27, the \u27transplant window\u27, and plasmapheresis as a treatment modality. Also, the data has been key to identifying pediatric ACLF. The European Association for the Study of Liver-Chronic Liver Failure (EASL CLIF) and the North American Association for the Study of the End Stage Liver Disease (NACSELD) from the West added the concepts of organ failure and infection as precipitants for the development of ACLF and CLIF-Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) and NACSELD scores for prognostication. The Chinese Group on the Study of Severe Hepatitis B (COSSH) added COSSH-ACLF criteria to manage hepatitis b virus-ACLF with and without cirrhosis. The literature supports these definitions to be equally effective in their respective cohorts in identifying patients with high mortality. To overcome the differences and to develop a global consensus, APASL took the initiative and invited the global stakeholders, including opinion leaders from Asia, EASL and AASLD, and other researchers in the field of ACLF to identify the key issues and develop an evidence-based consensus document. The consensus document was presented in a hybrid format at the APASL annual meeting in Kyoto in March 2024. The \u27Kyoto APASL Consensus\u27 presented below carries the final recommendations along with the relevant background information and areas requiring future studies

Adiabatic Nano-Focusing of Plasmons by Sharp Metallic Wedges

This paper demonstrates the possibility of efficient adiabatic nano-focusing of plasmons by a sharp triangular metal wedge. Geometrical optics approach and the approximation of continuous electrodynamics are used for the analysis. In particular, it is demonstrated that both the phase and group velocities of an incident anti-symmetric (with respect to the magnetic field) plasmon tend to zero at the tip of the wedge, and the plasmon adiabatically slows down, eventually dissipating in the metal. Typically, the amplitude of the plasmon significantly increases near the wedge tip, but this increase is finite even in the absence of dissipation in the metal. The dependence of the local field enhancement near the tip on structural parameters, dissipation in the metal, angle of incidence, etc. is analyzed in this paper. It is also shown that an anti-symmetric film plasmon can effectively be guided by a triangular metal wedge, forming a wedge plasmon mode that is localized near the tip of the wedge and propagates along this tip. A new existence condition for these localized wedge plasmons is derived and discussed

Neutral pion production in p.bar.p annihilations at 2.0 GeV/c

The authors present here preliminary results on pi /sup 0/ production in pp interactions at 2 GeV/c. The results are based on a total of 58.32K events and 24.36K gammas recorded in 60.3K pictures (good frames), which forms a part of 200K pictures taken in the 1.5 m chamber with a built-in track-sensitive hydrogen target (TST) at Rutherford High Energy Laboratory. (9 refs)