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A model is proposed herein to investigate the incipient sliding of contacts in the presence of both friction and adhesion, where the interfacial response is modeled based on traction-separation laws. A Maugis-like parameter is defined to characterize the response in the tangential direction. Subsequently, the model is used to investigate the contact between a smooth cylinder and a flat body, where adhesion-friction interactions are strong. A range of behaviors are observed when a tangential displacement is imposed: When the parameter is low, the contact pressure exhibits a relatively constant profile; when it is high, a pressure spike is observed at the edge of the contact. This difference is caused by a significant interface compliance in the former case, which limits the amount of slip. The results for the mid-range values of the Maugis-like parameter can qualitatively replicate various experiments performed using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) balls.

Dislocation dynamics simulations are performed to investigate the effect of template shape on the nanoimprinting of metal layers. To this end, metal thin films are imprinted by a rigid template made of an array of equispaced indenters of various shapes, i.e., rectangular, wedge, and circular. The geometry of the indenters is chosen such that the contact area is approximately the same at the final imprinting depth. Results show that, for all template shapes, the final patterns strongly depend on the dislocation activity, and that each imprint differs from the neighboring ones. Large material pile ups appear between the imprints, such that polishing of the metal layer is suggested for application of the patterns in electronics. Rectangular indenters require the lowest imprinting force and achieve the deepest retained imprints.

Abstract: Gurtin recently proposed a strain-gradient theory for crystal plasticity in which the gradient effect originates from a defect energy that characterizes energy storage due to the presence of a net Burgers vector. Here we consider a number of different possibilities for this energy: specifically, working within a simple two-dimensional framework, we compare predictions of the theory with results of discrete-dislocation simulations of stress relaxation in thin films. Our objective is to investigate which specific defect energies are capable of capturing the size-dependent response of such systems for different crystal orientations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study aimed to evaluate the bactericidal rates of levofloxacin, gatifloxacin, penicillin, meropenem and rokitamycin against seven isolates of Bacillus anthracis clinically isolated between 1960 and 1970. After determination of MIC and MBC, time-kill experiments were carried out. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated at concentrations equal to 1 x, 2 x, 4 x and 8 x MIC after 0, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h of incubation with the drugs. Bactericidal activity was defined as a decrease in bacterial count of at least 3 log10. All the isolates were susceptible to all the antibiotics, by considering the antistaphylococcal breakpoints. Levofloxacin was bactericidal at 1 x MIC after 24 h and at 4 x MIC after 12 h, and gatifloxacin was bactericidal at 2 x MIC after 24 h and at 8 x MIC after 12 h. Meropenem, rokitamycin and penicillin also showed bactericidal activity at concentrations of 4 x and 8 x MIC, respectively, but only after 24 h incubation; after the same time, meropenem and rokitamycin showed a more marked killing than penicillin at 2 x MIC.

<it>Objectives</it>: The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin alone and in combination with either ceftazidime, cefepime, imipenem, piperacillin–tazobactam or amikacin to select for antibiotic-resistant mutants of <it>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</it> and <it>Acinetobacter</it> spp. <it>Methods</it>: Clinical strains of <it>P. aeruginosa</it> (<it>n</it> = 5) and <it>Acinetobacter</it> spp. (<it>n</it> = 5) susceptible to all the drugs used in the study were assayed. Development of resistance was determined by multi-step and single-step methodologies. For multi-step studies, MICs were determined after five serial passages on antibiotic-gradient plates containing each antibiotic alone or in combination with levofloxacin or ciprofloxacin. Acquisition of resistance was defined as an increase of ≥4-fold from the starting MIC. In single-step studies, the frequency of spontaneous mutations was calculated after a passage on plates containing antibiotics alone and in combinations at concentrations equal to the highest NCCLS breakpoints. <it>Results</it>: Serial passages on medium containing single antibiotics resulted in increased MICs for each antibiotic; MIC increases were limited by antibiotics in combination. A decrease in the number of strains with MICs above the NCCLS breakpoints occurred when fluoroquinolones were combined with a second antibiotic for both <it>P. aeruginosa</it> and <it>Acinetobacter</it> spp. isolates. Frequencies of mutation were higher for antibiotics alone than for combinations. <it>Conclusions</it>: Use of combinations of fluoroquinolones with β-lactams and amikacin reduces the risk for <it>in vitro</it> selection of resistant <it>P. aeruginosa</it> and <it>Acinetobacter</it> spp.

<it>Objective</it>: The <it>in vitro</it> abilities of telithromycin, azithromycin and clarithromycin to select for resistance were compared by testing isolates of <it>Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis</it>, <it>Streptococcus pneumoniae</it> and β-haemolytic streptococci. <it>Methods</it>: Five strains each of β-lactamase-positive and β-lactamase-negative <it>H.</it> <it>influenzae,</it> β-lactamase-positive and β-lactamase-negative <it>M. catarrhalis,</it> <it>S. pneumoniae</it>, β-haemolytic group A, group C and group G streptococci and three strains of β-lactamase-negative ampicillin-resistant <it>H. influenzae</it> were evaluated. Development of resistance was determined by multi-step and single-step methodologies. For multi-step studies, MIC values were determined after five serial passages on antibiotic-gradient plates and after 10 serial passages on antibiotic-free plates. Acquisition of resistance was defined as an increase of ≥4-fold from the starting MIC. In single-step studies, the rate of spontaneous mutations was calculated after a passage on plates containing antibiotics at concentrations equal to the highest NCCLS breakpoints. <it>Results</it>: Azithromycin, clarithromycin and telithromycin gave a ≥4-fold increase in 20, 20 and 10 streptococcus strains, in 4, 5 and 0 <it>H. influenzae</it> strains and in 2, 7 and 4 <it>M. catarrhalis</it> strains, respectively. After 10 passages on antibiotic-free plates, 21/26 strains for azithromycin, 22/32 for clarithromycin and 1/14 for telithromycin maintained high MIC values. In single-step studies, the frequency of mutations was <10–10 for <it>H. influenzae</it> and <it>M. catarrhalis</it> for telithromycin, azithromycin and clarithromycin. Telithromycin induced mutations at a lower rate than azithromycin and clarithromycin in streptococcal strains. <it>Conclusion</it>: Telithromycin showed a very limited ability to select for resistance in respiratory pathogens compared with azithromycin and clarithromycin.

Viscoelasticity and roughness are among the possible causes of the adhesive hysteresis displayed by soft contacts. Viscoelasticity causes an increased effective work of adhesion due to stiffening of the contact, while roughness is responsible for elastic instabilities. Herein, we explore the interplay between viscoelasticity and roughness by simulating in two dimensions the retraction of a rigid cylinder, with wavy surface profile, from a viscoelastic half-space. The wave amplitude and length are varied to induce instabilities in the load–to–area response, while the retraction velocity is increased to promote viscoelasticity. Results show that, in the regime where viscoelasticity is confined to the edges of the wavy contact, the contributions of viscoelasticity and waviness to adhesive hysteresis are nearly independent and additive. At low retraction rates, the instabilities in the load-area curve typical of rough elastic contacts are suppressed by viscoelasticity: the contact stiffens to promote a stable decrease of the contact area with load. This occurs with a minimal change in work of adhesion. However, when the instantaneous limit is met at high retraction rates, mechanical instabilities appear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A number of recent experimental efforts such as electron back scattering technique and three-dimensional X-ray structural microscopy have revealed the intriguing formation of sectors of lattice rotation fields under indentation. In the case of wedge indentation, the in-plane rotation changes sign from one sector to another. Although the lattice rotation fields can be used to compute the geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) densities, it remains unclear how these sectors can be related to the hardness and therefore to the indentation size effects, i.e., the increase of indentation hardness with the decrease of indentation depth. Crystal plasticity simulations in this work reproduce the experimental findings at large indentation depth. On the contrary, discrete dislocation plasticity can only capture the sectors found experimentally when there is a high obstacle density and large obstacle strength. Obstacle density and strength, however, have little effect on the hardness. In other words, there is no one-to-one correspondence between the lattice rotation patterns and the indentation size effects. The presence of obstacles favors the dislocation arrangements that lead to the experimentally found rotation sectors. Using the similarity solutions of indentation fields and the solution of localized deformation fields near a stationary crack, a simple model is developed that explains the dislocation pattern evolution, its relationship to the lattice misorientations, and more importantly its dependence on obstacles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]