Forced electrostriction by constraining polarization switching enhances the electromechanical strain properties of incipient piezoceramics

Recently developed lead-free incipient piezoceramics are promising candidates for off-resonance actuator applications due to their exceptionally large electromechanical strains. Their commercialization currently faces three critical challenges: the high driving electric field required for delivering the potentially large strains; large strain hysteresis, which is inappropriate for precision devices; and relatively high temperature dependencies. We propose that instead of utilizing incipient piezoelectric strains, harnessing the maximum possible electrostriction would provide a highly effective way to resolve all these challenges. This concept was experimentally demonstrated using textured 0.97Bi(1/2)(Na0.78K0.22) 1/2TiO3-0.03BiAlO(3) as an exemplary incipient piezoceramic, whereby texturing was achieved using a reactive templated grain-growth technique. The manufactured textured ceramic is characterized by S-max/E-max of 995 pm V-1 and an electrostrictive coefficient, Q(33), of 0.049 m(4) C-2. Both these parameters are as large as those of single crystals. The current work presents a significant advancement in the field of lead-free ceramics and can guide future efforts in this direction. In addition, the concept presented here can be easily transferred to other disciplines involving the design of functional properties of various materiaope

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.

The ontogeny of antipredator behavior: age differences in California ground squirrels (Otospermophilus beecheyi) at multiple stages of rattlesnake encounters

Newborn offspring of animals often exhibit fully functional innate antipredator behaviors, but they may also require learning or further development to acquire appropriate responses. Experience allows offspring to modify responses to specific threats and also leaves them vulnerable during the learning period. However, antipredator behaviors used at one stage of a predator encounter may compensate for deficiencies at another stage, a phenomenon that may reduce the overall risk of young that are vulnerable at one or more stages. Few studies have examined age differences in the effectiveness of antipredator behaviors across multiple stages of a predator encounter. In this study, we examined age differences in the antipredator behaviors of California ground squirrels (Otospermophilus beecheyi) during the detection, interaction, and attack stages of Pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus) encounters. Using free-ranging squirrels, we examined the ability to detect free-ranging rattlesnakes, snake-directed behaviors after discovery of a snake, and responses to simulated rattlesnake strikes. We found that age was the most important factor in snake detection, with adults being more likely to detect snakes than pups. We also found that adults performed more tail flagging (a predator-deterrent signal) toward snakes and were more likely to investigate a snake’s refuge when interacting with a hidden snake. In field experiments simulating snake strikes, adults exhibited faster reaction times than pups. Our results show that snake detection improves with age and that pups probably avoid rattlesnakes and minimize time spent in close proximity to them to compensate for their reduced reaction times to strikes

An Embodied Approach in a Cognitive Discipline

Academia can be an uncomfortable place to work. Academics are examples of professionals who have multiple stresses and pressures. Being an academic is often a fundamental part of someone’s identity. Academia can be a cerebral, critical, competitive and judgmental environment. This chapter draws from a study using creative research methods with academics who self-identified as having an embodied practice. There are different definitions of embodiment. I use embodiment to mean both a state of being and a process of learning about the self, and so embodied practices are ways of bringing conscious self-awareness to and about the body. The academics reflected on the meanings they attributed to these embodied practices, tensions with their embodied identity, and how they used them to impact on their wellbeing

Risk management in clinical practice. Part 5. Ethical considerations for dental enhancement procedures

After the demise of the Industrial Age, we currently live in an 'Information Age' fuelled mainly by the Internet, with an ever-increasing medically and dentally literate population. The media has played its role by reporting scientific advances, as well as securitising medical and dental practices. Reality television such as 'Extreme makeovers' has also raised public awareness of body enhancements, with a greater number of people seeking such procedures. To satiate this growing demand, the dental industry has flourished by introducing novel cosmetic products such as bleaching kits, tooth coloured filling materials and a variety of dental ceramics. In addition, one only has to browse through a dental journal to notice innumerable courses and lectures on techniques for providing cosmetic dentistry. The incessant public interest, combined with unrelenting marketing by companies is gradually shifting the balance of dental care from a healing to an enhancement profession. The purpose of this article is to endeavour to answer questions such as, What is aesthetic or cosmetic dentistry? Why do patients seek cosmetic dentistry? Are enhancement procedures a part of dental practice? What, if any, ethical guidelines and constraints apply to elective enhancement procedures? What is the role of the dentist in providing or encouraging this type of 'therapy'? What treatment modalities are available for aesthetic dental treatment