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Katy E Trinkley,1– 4 Michael G Kahn,5 Larry A Allen,2,4 Heather Haugen,6 Miranda E Kroehl,7 Chen-Tan Lin,2,3 Daniel C Malone,8 Daniel D Matlock2,4,9 1Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aurora, CO, USA; 2Department of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA; 3Clinical Informatics, University of Colorado Health, Aurora, CO, USA; 4Adult and Child Consortium for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science, Aurora, CO, USA; 5Section of Informatics and Data Science, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA; 6University of Colorado, Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI), Aurora, CO, USA; 7Charter Communications Corporation, Greenwood Village, CO, USA; 8Department of Pharmacotherapy, University of Utah Skaggs College of Pharmacy, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; 9VA Eastern Colorado Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Aurora, CO, USACorrespondence: Katy E TrinkleyUniversity of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 12850 E Montview Blvd., Mail Stop C238, Aurora, CO 80045, USATel +1-303-724-6563Fax +1-303-724-0979Email katy.trinkley@cuanschutz.eduIntroduction: Consideration of patient preferences for guideline-directed medical therapies (GDMT) for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) may help improve major gaps in prescribing and adherence. This study aimed to identify the range and relative priority of factors influencing patients’ decisions to take HFrEF medications.Materials and Methods: This was a convergent mixed methods study of patients with HFrEF. Focus groups were conducted to identify a list of factors followed by individuals rating and ranking the influence of each factor on their decision to take a medication. Using thematic analysis, we summarized preferences into categories.Results: Two focus groups with 13 participants reported 22 factors. Of the factors, “keeping you alive” was most commonly ranked in the top three (seven participants), followed by “communication and understanding” (six participants). Factors were summarized into six categories (listed in order of patient-reported influence): 1) demonstrated improvements in quality of life and longevity, 2) decreased risk of hospitalization, 3) opportunity for shared decision-making and trust in provider, 4) absence of adverse events, 5) affordability, and 6) convenience of taking and absence of interference with daily life.Conclusion: Patients prioritize treatment benefits and being informed more than risks, cost and inconvenience of taking HFrEF medications.Keywords: heart failure, treatment preferences, medication preferences, patient preferences

Ablation of single-crystalline (100) indium phosphide wafer surfaces with single 10 fs Ti:sapphire laser pulses in air has been studied by means of complementary cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, scanning force microscopy, and optical microscopy. A local protrusion of ∼70 nm height is generated within the ablation craters for fluences exceeding 0.78 J/cm2. This morphological feature has been studied in detail, revealing the material structure of the laser-affected zone and its spatial extent. The resolidified layer (60–200 nm thick) consists of polycrystalline grains (5–15 nm diameter) and is covered by an ∼10 nm thick amorphous top layer. Interestingly, the sharp boundary of the solidified layer to the unaffected crystal underneath exhibits a Gaussian-like shape and does not follow the shape of the surface topography. Evidence is presented that the central crater protrusion is formed by near-surface optical breakdown, and that the absorption in the material transiently changes during the femtosecond-laser pulse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we observed the micro- and nanostructures of silicon after irradiation by ∼150 fs duration pulses centered at 800 nm wavelength. Specimens irradiated with a single pulse of 11 J/cm2 fluence and with five pulses, each with a fluence of 1.3 J/cm2, exhibited various structures which included amorphous phases. The amorphous phases were pure silicon, as was revealed by high-resolution TEM imaging, nanobeam diffraction patterns, high-angle annular dark-field images, conventional diffraction images, and energy-dispersive x-ray spectra. Irradiation with a single pulse of 1.5 J/cm2 produced neither amorphous material nor lattice defects. Single-pulse irradiation at a fluence of 33 J/cm2 and irradiation by four pulses at 11 J/cm2 led to substantial subsurface damage around the center of the laser spot. It is concluded that multiple-pulse irradiation produces crystallographic damage more readily than a single pulse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy to study the damage induced below the surface of indium phosphide (InP) samples by single and multiple femtosecond laser pulses with a photon energy lower than the InP band gap. Single-pulse irradiation creates a ∼100 nm deep crater with a resolidified surface layer consisting of quasiamorphous indium phosphide. The resolidified layer has a thickness of ∼60 nm at the center and extends laterally beyond the edge of the crater rim. Exposure to multiple femtosecond pulses of 2050 nm center wavelength results in the formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) with two different periods, one (∼1730 nm) less than but close to the laser wavelength and one (∼470 nm) four times smaller. Segregation beneath both types of ripples leads to the formation of In-rich particles embedded in the resolidified surface layer. Extended defects are detected only below the center of the multiple-pulse crater and their distribution appears to be correlated with the LIPSS modulation. Finally, LIPSS formation is discussed in terms of the observed subsurface microstructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study that demonstrated the application of the elastic recoil detection technique utilizing heavy ions for the analysis of semiconductor samples. Methodology of the study; Results and discussion on the study.

Describes a study which measured the visible photoluminescence from a disordered silicon-carbon interface layer created by helium ion implantation in carbon coated silicon. Transmission electron micrographs of silicon samples; Composition of surface region; Relationship of organic compounds and photoluminescence.

Abstract: In many parts of the world, people access consumer goods mainly via informal economic networks. In this article, I analyse the governance of petty commodity chains through a case study of Chinese fashion jewellery produced for the Ghanaian market. ‘Petty commodity chains’ denotes a particular type of global value chain, where production, trade, and distribution are carried out by small, unregistered businesses, between which personalized relationships and informal infrastructure enable transactions. These chains are neither controlled by lead firms at the production or distribution ends, nor made up of pure market linkages. Weak formal institutions and an intensely competitive commercial environment encourage business actors to establish enduring relationships. Credit relations run through long stretches of the chain and create mutual dependencies. The concept of ‘beholden value chains’ is introduced to describe the co‐dependency between business actors and the coordination of activities in petty commodity chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]