Search

The friction and wear behavior of palladium (Pd)-rich amorphous alloy (Pd43Cu27Ni10P20) against 440C stainless steel under ionic liquids as lubricants, i.e., 1-nonyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[(trifluoromethane)sulfonyl]amide ([C9C1im][NTf2]), were investigated using a ball-on-disc reciprocating tribometer at ambient, 100 and 200 °C with different sliding speeds of 3 and 7 mm/s, whose results were compared to those from crystalline Pd samples. The measured coefficient of friction (COF) and wear were affected by both temperature and sliding speed. The COF of crystalline Pd samples dramatically increased when the temperature increased, whereas the COF of the amorphous Pd alloy samples remained low. As the sliding speed increased, the COF of both Pd samples showed decreasing trends. From the analysis of a 3D surface profilometer and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) data, three types of wear (i.e., delamination, adhesive, and abrasive wear) were observed on the crystalline Pd surfaces, whereas the amorphous Pd alloy surfaces produced abrasive wear only. In addition, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements were performed to study the formation of tribofilm. It was found that the chemical reactivity at the contacting interface increased with temperature and sliding contact speed. The ionic liquids (ILs) were effective as lubricants when the applied temperature and sliding speed were 200 °C and 7 mm/s, respectively.

Abstract Background The phenomenon of restlessness, agitation, or cognitive disturbances experienced by dying patients is well-known in palliative care; more than half of these patients will experience delirium symptoms at end-of-life. When not identified early and effectively managed, delirium symptoms could lead to caregiver and patient distress and harm. Methods Eighty patients with a prognosis of 7 days or less will be recruited for an open-label randomised control trial. The two arms compare oral-transmucosal haloperidol 2.5 mg vs olanzapine 5 mg over 72 h. The severity of agitation, delirium and toxicities of treatments will be compared at the 24th, 48th and 72nd hour after drug administration. Discussion This trial is the first to compare anti-psychotics in the management of delirium at the dying stage in the home hospice setting using the oral transmucosal route. Ethical considerations, as well as recruitment procedures, are discussed. Trial registration This study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov – identifier NCT04750395

Promoting entrepreneurship is important to develop competitive advantages, as it is one of the determinants of a country’s economy and development. Students are the future pillar of society, so stimulating entrepreneurship from education is the best way to shape their entrepreneurial mindset and attitudes. Empirical studies have demonstrated the important relationship between entrepreneurship education and its success among higher education students. However, the impact of technology enablement on perceived entrepreneurial outcomes has received minimal focus. In total, 304 data were collected from universities in the Philippines showing that, among entrepreneurial success factors, technology enablement has the greatest impact. Our results demonstrated that related stakeholders should understand the importance of and need to enhance the use of technology in relation to entrepreneurship.

Neurokinin-1 receptor blocking has been shown to be beneficial against lung injury in polymicrobial sepsis. In this paper, we evaluated the possible mediators and the mechanism involved. Mice were subjected to cecal ligation and puncture (CLP-) induced sepsis or sham surgery. Vehicle or SR140333 [1 mg/kg; subcutaneous (s.c.)] was administered to septic mice either 30 min before or 1 h after the surgery. Lung tissue was collected 8 h after surgery and further analyzed. CLP alone caused a significant increase in the activation of the transcription factors, protein kinase C-α, extracellular signal regulated kinases, neurokinin receptors, and substance P levels in lung when compared to sham-operated mice. SR140333 injected pre- and post surgery significantly attenuated the activation of transcription factors and protein kinase C-α and the plasma levels of substance P compared to CLP-operated mice injected with the vehicle. In addition, GR159897 (0.12 mg/kg; s.c.), a neurokinin-2 receptor antagonist, failed to show beneficial effects. We conclude that substance P acting via neurokinin-1 receptor in sepsis initiated signaling cascade mediated mainly by protein kinase C-α, led to NF-κB and activator protein-1 activation, and further modulated proinflammatory mediators.

A kinetic study of the trimerization of monocyanate ester both in the bulk and in the nanoconfinement of controlled pore glass is performed using differential scanning calorimetry. Both isothermal and dynamic experiments are analyzed. Although the activation energy for the reaction is the same within experimental error for the bulk and nanoconfined samples (approximately 21−23 kcal/mol), the reaction is accelerated under nanoconfinement by approximately 50 times in 13 nm pores compared with bulk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]