Surface enhanced resonance Raman and luminescence on plasmon active nanostructured cavities

Presented here are studies of the impact of excitation angle on surface enhanced Raman and luminescence spectroscopy of dye immobilised on a plasmon active nanocavity array support. Results show that both Raman and luminescence intensities depend on the angle of incidence consistent with the presence of cavity supported plasmon modes. Dependence of scattering or emission intensity with excitation angle occurs over the window of observation

Effective Degassing for Reduced Variability in High-Pressure Die Casting Performance

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

Improve mechanical properties of high pressure die cast Al9Si3Cu alloy via dislocation enhanced precipitation

EPSRC UK in the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Liquid Metal Engineering (The EPSRC Centre—LiME)

Numerical simulation of fluid flow, solidification and defects in high pressure die casting (HPDC) process

The high pressure die casting process is extensively used to manufacture light metal parts with high productivity. A major drawback of the process is the relatively high variability in mechanical properties and poor repeatability between casting cycles, limiting the achievement of weight reduction through lighter design. Although it has been established that mechanical properties are adversely affected by casting defects, the origin of the relatively high randomness in the HPDC process is not well understood. Numerical simulation is a powerful and cost-effective tool to address this question, as it gives access to quantities that are difficult to obtain experimentally. A numerical simulation approach based on the finite element casting software ProCAST has been developed. The model was applied to the casting of aluminium tensile test samples, which were used to measure the tensile properties of the alloy. Simulation permitted the study of fluid flow, solidification and defect formation during each stage of the HPDC process: pouring, injection and cooling. Air entrapment and porosity distribution in the cast part were predicted. The results were compared with temperature measurements, porosity observations and solid distribution in the sleeve prior to injection. Although the results are still very preliminary, some trends could be established between the level of turbulence of the melt during injection and reduced elongation.This project is financially supported by EPSRC UK in the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Liquid Metal Engineering (The EPSRC Centre — LiME)

Sendaway capillary NT-proBNP in pulmonary hypertension

\ua9 Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. BACKGROUND: N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a biomarker of cardiac ventricular wall stress that is incorporated into pulmonary hypertension (PH) risk stratification models. Sendaway sampling may enable patients to perform NT-proBNP tests remotely. This UK-wide study aimed to assess the agreement of sendaway NT-proBNP with standard venous NT-proBNP and to assess the effect of delayed processing. METHODS: Reference venous NT-proBNP was collected from PH patients. Samples for capillary and venous sendaway tests were collected contemporaneously, mailed to a reference laboratory and processed at 3 and 7 days using a Roche Cobas e411 device. Differences in paired measurements were analysed with Passing-Bablok regression, percentage difference plots and the % difference in risk strata. RESULTS: 113 patients were included in the study. 13% of day 3 capillary samples were insufficient. Day 3 capillary samples were not equivalent to reference samples (Passing Bablok analysis slope of 0.91 (95% CI 0.88 to 0.93) and intercept of 6.0 (95% CI 0.2 to 15.9)). The relative median difference was -7% and there were acceptable limits of agreement. Day 3 capillary NT-proBNP accurately risk stratified patients in 93.5% of cases. By comparison, day 3 venous results accurately risk stratified patients in 90.1% of cases and were equivalent by Passing-Bablok regression. Delayed sampling of sendaway tests led to an unacceptable level of agreement and systematically underestimated NT-proBNP. CONCLUSIONS: Sendaway NT-proBNP sampling may provide an objective measure of right ventricular strain for virtual PH clinics. Results must be interpreted with caution in cases of delayed sampling

A novel Al-Si-Ni-Fe near-eutectic alloy for elevated temperature applications

Supplementary materials are available online at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S135964622300430X?via%3Dihub#sec0002 .Copyright © 2023 The Authors. A novel near-eutectic Al-15.0Si-4.1Ni-1.9Fe (wt%) alloy with a ternary eutectic reaction of Liquid→α-Al+Si+(Al,Si)5(Fe,Ni) was investigated. Eutectic Si and (Al,Si)5(Fe,Ni) phases exhibit short nanoscale fibrous morphologies with volume fractions of 14.3 ± 1.6% and 15.1 ± 1.9%, respectively. The (Al,Si)5(Fe,Ni) phase has a tetragonal Al2.7FeSi2.3-type crystal structure with excellent thermal stability, which contributes to high mechanical properties at room and elevated temperatures. First-principles density-functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal its chemical composition of tetragonal (Al4.75Si0.25)(Fe0.5Ni0.5) having Si solution at the Al sites with two Fe neighbours contributes to the lowest solution energy. The newly developed alloy has superior mechanical properties at room and elevated temperatures compared with other typical heat-resistant aluminium alloys, which has great potential for industrial applications.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under grant Future Liquid Metal Engineering (LiME) Hub (EP/N007638/1)

Outcomes of listing for lung and heart–lung transplantation in pulmonary hypertension: comparative experience in France and the UK

\ua9 The authors 2024.Background Lung or heart–lung transplantation (LT/HLT) for severe pulmonary hypertension (PH) as the primary disease indication carries a high risk of waiting list mortality and post-transplant complications. France and the UK both have coordinated PH patient services but with different referral pathways for accessing LT services. Methods We conducted a comparative analysis of adult PH patients listed for LT/HLT in the UK and France. Results We included 211 PH patients in France (2006–2018) and 170 in the UK (2010–2019). Cumulative incidence of transplant, delisting and waiting list death within 3 years were 81%, 4% and 11% in France versus 58%, 10% and 15% in the UK (p<0.001 for transplant and delisting; p=0.1 for death). Median nonpriority waiting time was 45 days in France versus 165 days in the UK (p<0.001). High-priority listing occurred in 54% and 51% of transplanted patients respectively in France and the UK (p=0.8). Factors associated with achieving transplantation related to recipients’ height, male sex, clinical severity and priority listing status. 1-year post-transplant survival was 78% in France and 72% in the UK (p= 0.04). Conclusion Access to transplantation for PH patients is better in France than in the UK where more patients were delisted due to clinical deterioration because of longer waiting time. High rates of priority listing occurred in both countries. Survival for those achieving transplantation was slightly better in France. Ensuring optimal outcomes after transplant listing for PH patients is challenging and may involve early listing of higher risk patients, increasing donor lung utilisation and improving allocation rules for these specific patients