Oxygen and nitrogen plasma hydrophilization and hydrophobic recovery of polymers

Plasma hydrophilization and subsequent hydrophobic recovery are studied for ten different polymers of microfabrication interest: polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polymethylmethacrylate, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, epoxy polymer SU-8, hybrid polymer ORMOCOMP, polycaprolactone, and polycaprolactone/D,L-lactide (P(CL/DLLA)). All polymers are treated identically with oxygen and nitrogen plasmas, in order to make comparisons between polymers as easy as possible. The primary measured parameter is the contact angle, which was measured on all polymers for more than 100 days in order to determine the kinetics of the hydrophobic recovery for both dry stored and rewashed samples. Clear differences and trends are observed both between different polymers and between different plasma parameters.Peer reviewe

Key Factors Influencing Economic Relationships and Communication in Finnish Food Chains

The aim of this report is to discuss the role of the relationship type and communication in two Finnish food chains, namely the pig meat-to-sausage (pig meat chain) and the cereal-to-rye bread (rye chain) chains. Furthermore, the objective is to examine those factors influencing the choice of a relationship type and the sustainability of a business relationship. Altogether 1808 questionnaires were sent to producers, processors and retailers operating in these two chains of which 224 usable questionnaires were returned (the response rate being 12.4%). The great majority of the respondents (98.7%) were small businesses employing less than 50 people. Almost 70 per cent of the respondents were farmers. In both chains, formal contracts were stated to be the most important relationship type used with business partners. Although for many businesses written contracts are a common business practice, the essential role of the contracts was the security they provide regarding the demand/supply and quality issues. Relative to the choice of the relationship types, the main difference between the two chains emerged especially with the prevalence of spot markets and financial participation arrangements. The usage of spot markets was significantly more common in the rye chain when compared to the pig meat chain, while, on the other hand, financial participation arrangements were much more common among the businesses in the pig meat chain than in the rye chain. Furthermore, the analysis showed that most of the businesses in the pig meat chain claimed not to be free to choose the relationship type they use. Especially membership in a co-operative and practices of a business partner were mentioned as the reasons limiting this freedom of choice. The main business relations in both chains were described as having a long-term orientation and being based on formal written contracts. Typical for the main business relationships was also that they are not based on the existence of the key persons only; the relationship would remain even if the key people left the business. The quality of these relationships was satisfactory in both chains and across all the stakeholder groups, though the downstream processors and the retailers had a slightly more positive view on their main business partners than the farmers and the upstream processors. The businesses operating in the pig meat chain seemed also to be more dependent on their main business relations when compared to the businesses in the rye chain. Although the communication means were rather similar in both chains (the phone being the most important), there was some variation between the chains concerning the communication frequency necessary to maintain the relationship with the main business partner. In short, the businesses in the pig meat chain seemed to appreciate more frequent communication with their main business partners when compared to the businesses in the rye chain. Personal meetings with the main business partners were quite rare in both chains. All the respondent groups were, however, fairly satisfied with the communication frequency and information quality between them and the main business partner. The business cultures could be argued to be rather hegemonic among the businesses both in the pig meat and rye chains. Avoidance of uncertainty, appreciation of long-term orientation and independence were considered important factors in the business cultures. Furthermore, trust, commitment and satisfaction in business partners were thought to be essential elements of business operations in all the respondent groups. In order to investigate which factors have an effect on the choice of a relationship type, several hypotheses were tested by using binary and multinomial logit analyses. According to these analyses it could be argued that avoidance of uncertainty and risk has a certain effect on the relationship type chosen, i.e. the willingness to avoid uncertainty increases the probability to choose stable relationships, like repeated market transactions and formal written contracts, but not necessary those, which require high financial commitment (like financial participation arrangements). The probability of engaging in financial participation arrangements seemed to increase with long-term orientation. The hypotheses concerning the sustainability of the economic relations were tested by using structural equation model (SEM). In the model, five variables were found to have a positive and statistically significant impact on the sustainable economic relationship construct. Ordered relative to their importance, those factors are: (i) communication quality, (ii) personal bonds, (iii) equal power distribution, (iv) local embeddedness and (v) competition

Durable superhydrophobicity in embossed CYTOP fluoropolymer micro and nanostructures

Peer reviewe

Peri-operative red blood cell transfusion in neonates and infants: NEonate and Children audiT of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe: A prospective European multicentre observational study

BACKGROUND: Little is known about current clinical practice concerning peri-operative red blood cell transfusion in neonates and small infants. Guidelines suggest transfusions based on haemoglobin thresholds ranging from 8.5 to 12 g dl-1, distinguishing between children from birth to day 7 (week 1), from day 8 to day 14 (week 2) or from day 15 (≥week 3) onwards. OBJECTIVE: To observe peri-operative red blood cell transfusion practice according to guidelines in relation to patient outcome. DESIGN: A multicentre observational study. SETTING: The NEonate-Children sTudy of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe (NECTARINE) trial recruited patients up to 60 weeks' postmenstrual age undergoing anaesthesia for surgical or diagnostic procedures from 165 centres in 31 European countries between March 2016 and January 2017. PATIENTS: The data included 5609 patients undergoing 6542 procedures. Inclusion criteria was a peri-operative red blood cell transfusion. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary endpoint was the haemoglobin level triggering a transfusion for neonates in week 1, week 2 and week 3. Secondary endpoints were transfusion volumes, 'delta haemoglobin' (preprocedure - transfusion-triggering) and 30-day and 90-day morbidity and mortality. RESULTS: Peri-operative red blood cell transfusions were recorded during 447 procedures (6.9%). The median haemoglobin levels triggering a transfusion were 9.6 [IQR 8.7 to 10.9] g dl-1 for neonates in week 1, 9.6 [7.7 to 10.4] g dl-1 in week 2 and 8.0 [7.3 to 9.0] g dl-1 in week 3. The median transfusion volume was 17.1 [11.1 to 26.4] ml kg-1 with a median delta haemoglobin of 1.8 [0.0 to 3.6] g dl-1. Thirty-day morbidity was 47.8% with an overall mortality of 11.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate lower transfusion-triggering haemoglobin thresholds in clinical practice than suggested by current guidelines. The high morbidity and mortality of this NECTARINE sub-cohort calls for investigative action and evidence-based guidelines addressing peri-operative red blood cell transfusions strategies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02350348

Key factors influencing economic relationships and communication in European food chains (FOODCOMM) : review of sausage and rye bread chains in Finland

Finnish agri-food chain is going through many structural changes. Incomes of farms have decreased and thus the number of farms has declined. However, the average size of farms and numer of animals have grown. Production of rye has decreased but production of pork meat has increased steadily. Feed, bakery, meat, wholesale and trade sectors are concentrated and mostly national, but the market entry of foreign traders and processors has increased significantly suring last decade. Although large processing companies dominate in the sausage and rye bread markets, the significant majority of companies are small or medium-sized. The Finnish food markets are stable and saturated and the consumption do not increase, but food habits are becoming more uniform with those of other European consumers and health issues as well as organic food have become important factors in consumer choices. Globalisation, the tight competition situation and changes in consumption habits put also pressures on the Finnish agri-food chain. Thus, the Finnish pigmeat sector and bakery sector are relevant cases in point due to their recent structural changes and present market situation. Pork meat to sausage chain in Finland Structural features: The pigmeat chain has undergone significant structural changes in the past decade. The number of pig farms has declined and the trend is predicted to continue. At the same time, the number of sows and fattening pigs sold per farm has increased to achieve greater efficiency. Surplus production is mainly exported, because the pigmeat market in Finland is saturated. The price of pork meat largely corresponds with the EU average. The primary sector is seeking routes through which to achieve greater efficiencies due to problems of profitability. The processing industry and the retail sector are also continually seeking greater efficiency, for example through joint ventures abroad. Economic relationships: Pig producers are generally well organised with strong horizontal and vertical links. They have horizontal organisations, which represent their interests and raise their professional skills at the national and local level. Producers are owners of three dominant Pigmeat processing cooperatives who act as intermediaries for the commercialisation of meat between farmers and processors and processors and the retail trade. Also other private processors and producers have close and deep relations. In general the relationships are stable and confidential and both are eager to have close relationships to predict production and permit better negotiation with the trade. Also considerable development work, collaborations and integration can be found especially in cooperatives. Furthermore, both formal and informal relationships exist in the horizontal and vertical relations. In terms of producers and processors, the relationship includes almost always written and long-term contracts and there is a mutual trust between partners. With processors and retailers, the contracts are also written but with less trust and less balanced negotiation power than in producer – processor relationship. Still, trust is the important element, although the negotiations have become more complex and price dominates negotiations. However, the relationships are stable because of mutual dependency especially between big processors and retailers and quite long-term or at least there is a certainty of continuation. Communication: Written contracts are common in the Finnish pig chain, but personal contacts are appreciated among all partners because of feedback and deep information. The communication is often personal and regular, especially among farmers. Technology is widely used in communication in farms but also in pig houses and business: processors and retailers have electronic data exchange systems and the computer handles many routines especially in big enterprises. Information and communication technology (ICT) will be also part of the efficiency strategy which the Finnish sausage chain needs to stay in business. Influencing factors: The main influencing factors for the Finnish sausage chain are developments towards concentrations in the feed, the processing and the trade sectors. Also structural changes and competitiveness of domestic primary production and reductions of the financial support are very important. However, it is expected that consumers prefer to buy domestic sausage and pig meat in consumer packages from a multiple retail chain also in the future, as sausage is an important part of Finnish cuisine. Rye corn to rye bread chain in Finland Structural features: Rye consumption is the highest in northern growing areas, where rye is used in bread. While rye production in Finland has increased slightly in recent years, it has decreased on the long term. Because of low profitability, rye production is nowadays low compared with consumption of rye bread. The Finnish bakery industry consists of many small local bakeries, few medium-sized and few big bakeries. There are a few nationally known brands or products but people also prefer local products. The processing sector is going through structural changes because of overproduction and efficiency problems. Also the retail sector is suffering from price wars and hard competition, but it has resources to facilitate large horizontal or vertical collaborations. Economic relationships: Horizontal relationships among rye producers are strong. The relationship between producers and processor is also personal and stable and there is a certainty of continuation partly because of lack of actors. The power is not always in balance especially in a spot market situation, where more mistrust exists. Usually rye farmers trade with one or a few malt houses or mills and quite often they have written contracts. Contract relationships are often personal, stable and long-term or there is a certainty of continuation. Also mutual trust and collaborations among producers and between producers and processors are common. The relationships between bakery industry and mills can be characterised as stable, long-term, informal, confidential and personal. This might also be due to the lack of actors or because of habits and long-term personal contacts. Although bakeries and mills have a tendency to maintain stable relationships, the competition situation has put pressure on price negotiations. Two big bakeries dominate more than half of the market, although their power is limited. Horizontal cooperation among bakeries is insignificant. However, the relationship between retailers and processors is strong and strategic, for example there is information exchange regarding sales, trends and consumer behaviour. Retailers have very stable relations with local bakeries because of mutual dependence. Mutual trust and confidence, for example in delivery certainty are seen as important elements of a satisfying relationship. Many relationships are long-term, although contracts are not always long lasting. Because of tough competition, the negotiations between bakeries and retailers are complex, but the situation is hardest among small local bakeries. The retail sector has the highest negotiation power. Communication: Written contracts are common in the Finnish rye bread chain, but personal contacts are still appreciated among all partners because of feedback and deep information, for example in research and development (R&D). Contacts are often personal and regular, especially among farmers and between bakeries and retailers. Compared with the pig chain, the information flow is not as efficient and producers need to be more active in the search for information. Technology is widely used in communication and manufacturing processes. Processors and retail have electronic data exchange systems and computers handle routines especially in big enterprises. Influencing factors: The sustainability of rye production depends on price of rye and on the agricultural support received by farmers. A reduction in support or price will have significant consequences for the mill, malt and bakery industries because then nearly all raw materials have to be imported. Other threats to the rye-bread sector are a) centralisation of trade, b) hard competition between domestic and imported raw materials and products, c) high production costs in Finland, d) high costs of raw materials and e) decrease of consumption. However, consumers are interested in functional products, health issues and pre-cooked products. This coupled with consumers’ predilection for domestic products will be an important competition factor for the Finnish rye bread chain

Durable superhydrophobicity in embossed CYTOP fluoropolymer micro and nanostructures

Peer reviewe

Durable superhydrophobicity in embossed CYTOP fluoropolymer micro and nanostructures Durable Superhydrophobicity in Embossed CYTOP Fluoropolymer Micro and Nanostructures

Abstract: Micropillars, nanopillars and dual scale micro-nanopillars were fabricated out of an inherently hydrophobic amorphous CYTOP fluoropolymer by hot embossing. The resulting pillars were superhydrophobic with high apparent contact angles (θ > 160°) and low rolling angles. Abrasion experiments were performed using a novel rotary abrasive slurry setup. Due to their inherent hydrophobicity, CYTOP micro and nanopillars retained their superhydrophobic properties even after 4 hours of abrasion (900 rpm in 10 % slurry of 30 μm alumina particles), unlike control samples prepared out of fluoropolymer coated silicon

Morbidity and mortality after anaesthesia in early life: results of the European prospective multicentre observational study, neonate and children audit of anaesthesia practice in Europe (NECTARINE)

Background: Neonates and infants requiring anaesthesia are at risk of physiological instability and complications, but triggers for peri-anaesthetic interventions and associations with subsequent outcome are unknown. Methods: This prospective, observational study recruited patients up to 60 weeks' postmenstrual age undergoing anaesthesia for surgical or diagnostic procedures from 165 centres in 31 European countries between March 2016 and January 2017. The primary aim was to identify thresholds of pre-determined physiological variables that triggered a medical intervention. The secondary aims were to evaluate morbidities, mortality at 30 and 90 days, or both, and associations with critical events. Results: Infants (n=5609) born at mean (standard deviation [sd]) 36.2 (4.4) weeks postmenstrual age (35.7% preterm) underwent 6542 procedures within 63 (48) days of birth. Critical event(s) requiring intervention occurred in 35.2% of cases, mainly hypotension (>30% decrease in blood pressure) or reduced oxygenation (SpO2 <85%). Postmenstrual age influenced the incidence and thresholds for intervention. Risk of critical events was increased by prior neonatal medical conditions, congenital anomalies, or both (relative risk [RR]=1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04-1.28) and in those requiring preoperative intensive support (RR=1.27; 95% CI, 1.15-1.41). Additional complications occurred in 16.3% of patients by 30 days, and overall 90-day mortality was 3.2% (95% CI, 2.7-3.7%). Co-occurrence of intraoperative hypotension, hypoxaemia, and anaemia was associated with increased risk of morbidity (RR=3.56; 95% CI, 1.64-7.71) and mortality (RR=19.80; 95% CI, 5.87-66.7). Conclusions: Variability in physiological thresholds that triggered an intervention, and the impact of poor tissue oxygenation on patient's outcome, highlight the need for more standardised perioperative management guidelines for neonates and infants