8364 research outputs found
Sort by
Surface polishing and modification of Ti-6Al-4V alloy by shear thickening polishing
Get PDFIn this study, a comparison of three newly developed polishing techniques namely, shear thickening polishing (STP), Chemistry enhanced STP (C-STP) and Electrolysis enhanced STP (E-STP) was made to investigate their suitability to Ti-6Al-4V biomaterials polishing and modification, which can produce Beilby layer after polishing and enhance mechanical and biological performance. The surface roughness Sa after STP was about 13.8 nm with a material removal rate of 54.3 nm/min. The C-STP showed the lowest surface roughness of 7.2 nm which was almost half that of STP and the MRR during C-STP was almost 2.1 times that of the conventional STP. The STP did not lead to any change of the surface composition, whereas a 136 nm thick Beilby layer was observed to form during the C-STP which revealed a lower friction coefficient of 0.04 as well as improved osteoblast cell activity. The E-STP showed an intermittent improvement as it provided a surface roughness of 10.2 nm and 1.6 times MRR than that obtained from conventional STP. Due to the dense oxide film of about 60 nm, the E-STP processed surface showed the best wettability and corrosion resistance. Overall, we reveal an important pathway for achieving scalable finishing on Ti-6Al-4V with desirable surface characteristics
Collaborative care model versus usual care for people with musculoskeletal conditions and co-existing anxiety and depression: protocol for a feasibility mixed-methods randomised controlled trial.
Get PDFIn the UK 17.8 million people have musculoskeletal pathophysiology, which becomes universal with age. Levels of discomfort and incapability correlate with symptoms of anxiety and depression. People with sufficient symptoms who seek care can benefit from collaborative diagnosis and treatment of mental and physical health organised by a case manager. This paper presents the protocol for a feasibility trial of collaborative care in an orthopaedic setting. To determine the feasibility and acceptability of providing collaborative care for patients with musculoskeletal conditions and co-existing symptoms of anxiety and depression identified on a screening tool in a physical and occupational therapy out-patient setting. A two-arm parallel-group randomised controlled trial will recruit 40 adult out-patients with at least moderate anxiety and depression, who have been referred for physiotherapy and occupational therapy. Participants will be allocated on a 1:1 ratio to collaborative care or to usual care. Co-primary outcomes will be key feasibility indicators collected at baseline and at 6 months. A qualitative study will be conducted post-intervention to explore the acceptability and potential improvements to the collaborative care model. This study will investigate the use of the collaborative care model for patients with musculoskeletal and co-existing moderate or severe levels of anxiety or depression. The results will provide important evidence to determine a future trial
Keir Starmer’s chance to sparkle: Labour leader finally puts his working class credentials to work for him
Get PDF
Headache features in people with whiplash associated disorders: A scoping review.
Get PDFWhiplash-associated headache (WAH) is one of the most common symptoms after a whiplash injury, leading to high disability. Nevertheless, the clinical characteristics of WAH have not been well described. To synthesise the existing literature on the clinical characteristics of WAH. Scoping review. The protocol for this scoping review was registered in Open Science Framework and the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews tool was used to ensure methodological and reporting quality. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science and Scopus. The search was performed by one author and the screening of articles was conducted by two authors independently. A total of 11363 articles were initially identified and finally 26 studies were included in the review. Headache intensity was the most commonly reported feature. Headache duration, frequency and location were also reported in at least four studies. Few studies reported physical impairments that may be related to the presence of WAH. A differentiation with concussion characteristics was only performed in eight studies. WAH appears to be of mild to moderate intensity, typically with episodes of short duration which is commonly experienced in the occipital region amongst other regions, and with a tendency to reduce in intensity over time. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Origin of the switchable photocurrent direction in BiFeO
Get PDFWe report external bias driven switchable photocurrent (anodic and cathodic) in 2.3 eV indirect band gap perovskite (BiFeO ) photoactive thin films. Depending on the applied bias our BiFeO films exhibit photocurrents more usually found in p- or n-type semiconductor photoelectrodes. In order to understand the anomalous behaviour ambient photoemission spectroscopy and Kelvin-probe techniques have been used to determine the band structure of the BiFeO . We found that the Fermi level ( ) is at -4.96 eV ( . vacuum) with a mid-gap at -4.93 eV ( . vacuum). Our photochemically determined flat band potential ( ) was found to be 0.3 V . NHE (-4.8 V . vacuum). These band positions indicate that is close to mid-gap, and is close to the equilibrium with the electrolyte enabling either cathodic or anodic band bending. We show an ability to control switching from n- to p-type behaviour through the application of external bias to the BiFeO thin film. This ability to control majority carrier dynamics at low applied bias opens a number of applications in novel optoelectronic switches, logic and energy conversion devices
Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives and Decarbonization in the European Food Supply Chain
Get PDFThe European Green Deal is a political milestone aiming to promote a carbon-neutral economy in the European Union.
Decarbonizing the complex food sector requires the unified interaction among effective climate policies, economic instruments,and initiatives involving multiple stakeholders. Despite increasing efforts to highlight the importance of innovations and finance to achieve sustainable food supply chains (FSC), comprehensive information about related opportunities and barriers to mitigating emissions in the food sector is still under-explored. To cover this gap, this paper applies an existing industrial policy framework under the lens of the EU FSC to identify potential strategies that should help achieve the needed financial means and innovation actions, as well as to gauge political alignment across FSC stages. Methodologically, the pillars proposed in the framework are linked to multi-stakeholders' initiatives engaged in achieving net-zero emissions. The paper highlights three main implications of the identified interlinkages. First, political directionality related to the food sector should be more comprehensively tailored to account for the specificities of all stages of the FSC. Second, research and development projects shall likewise cover all stages,instead of emphasizing only food production and agricultural systems. Finally, multiple stakeholders are crucial as promoters of technology and innovation towards a green economy. Nevertheless, initiatives should be integrated into political discussions in order to promote civil awareness, sustainable food and services demand, aligned to political guidelines
One health implications of fur farming
Get PDFFur farming involves the captive-breeding, rearing, and killing of between 85 – 100 million animals annually for their pelts. The purpose of this report is to summarise key areas of significance and concern regarding fur farming, and discuss these matters and their one-health considerations. We conducted primary literature searches using Google Scholar and PubMed that focused on issues of animal welfare, zoonoses and public health, and environmental impacts of fur farming, and examined 280 reports. We identified that at least 15 species are farmed for fur across at least 19 countries. We found 16 categories of animal welfare concern (e.g., deprivation, stress, abnormal behaviours, insanitary conditions, forced obesity, and high morbidity and mortality), 18 reported endemic pathogens and diseases with confirmed or potential zoonotic and cross-species implications (e.g., bacterial n = 6, viral n = 5, and parasitic n = 7), and four main categories of environmental concern (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions, invasive alien species, toxic chemicals, and eutrophication) associated with fur farming. Despite numerous efforts to systematically monitor and control animal welfare at fur farms, practices continue to fail to meet normal scientific principles and models used in other animal welfare situations. In our view, limited available data does not currently indicate that fur farms are major sources of zoonotic epidemics and pandemics. The environmental problems caused by fur farming are significant, and relate mainly to invasive species, toxic chemical release and eutrophication of water bodies. We offer some recommendations for monitoring and controlling particular fur farming practices, in line with many governments and other investigators we conclude that inherent problems are essentially unresolvable and advocate complete prohibitions on the sector
Development of conceptual motivation framework to improve construction labour productivity in the U.K.
No full textMotivation is essential because labour performance depends on motivation. The study presents vital motivation factors influencing labour productivity and the relationship between social compliance, motivation, and productivity for decision-making. The construction industry in the U.K. is to become the largest construction market by 2030. However, construction productivity in the U.K. is low relative to other industries, resulting in a skilled labour shortage and low productivity growth. Hence, the opportunities for research to improve productivity in constructing for the future through motivation by social compliance. The study conducts a critical literature review of 32 significant motivation and productivity articles from construction and other industries in an online database to identify 31 factors. The findings indicate that motivation mediates social compliance and productivity. The study developed a conceptual motivation framework that indicates a positive relationship with motivation, social compliance, and productivity. The next stage is empirically testing the framework on sites