Composite materials are enjoying an increasing use in aircraft structures. As more fleets transition from metal to more composite aircraft, the practice of maintenance is also adjusting. Handling, inspection and repair of aircraft composites following non-visible or barely visible damage are among the areas of concern, due to associated cost and safety implications. A pilot study was performed to explore the level of awareness and understanding of aviation maintenance practitioners around these issues. In addition, this research project sought to identify factors related to the technical/engineering judgement capacity of the personnel working with composites and to gauge the need for specialised education and training. A questionnaire survey was administered to a group of 40 professionals working for an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) organisation. Descriptive statistics in conjunction with analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyse the results. The sources of impact and common areas affected on the aircraft have been identified, with situational awareness suggested as the most important mitigator against impact damage. Over 70% of the participants would refer to their engineering manager for instructions on how to handle composite damage. The need for higher standardisation for composites’ maintenance, repair and handling issues emerged as a common theme across different sections of the survey. Almost all respondents agree on the need for specialised knowledge and training for the handling, repair and inspection of composites.

As rates of obesity, diabetes, and related comorbidities have increased, the consumption of artificial sweeteners (ASs) as sugar substitutes has also risen in popularity as they are perceived as a healthier alternative to sugar sweetened products. However, there is conflicting evidence regarding the impact of AS intake on metabolic and reproductive health. Glucose intolerance during pregnancy due to intake of sugar sweetened foods can result in an increased risk for the development of type 2 diabetes post-pregnancy. However, limited information exists on the impact of AS intake during pregnancy and lactation on the mother’s health in later life. We hypothesised both AS and fructose would impair metabolic health post-partum (PP) following maternal consumption during pregnancy and lactation. Female C57Bl/6 mice received a standard control diet ad libitum with either water (CD), fructose (Fr; 34.7 mm intake), or AS (AS;12.5 mm Acesulfame-K) throughout pregnancy and lactation. Post-weaning, AS and Fr dams were fed the CD diet for the remainder of the experiment. Oral glucose tolerance tests were undertaken 8 weeks PP and dams were humanely killed at 9 weeks PP, with adipose tissue and ovaries collected for analysis. Experimental diets did not influence maternal bodyweight. At 8 weeks PP, increased glucose intolerance was evident in both AS and Fr dams. Adipocyte size was significantly increased in both the AS and Fr groups PP. Further, in the ovary, AS increased expression of genes associated with follicular development and ovulation. Therefore, ASs may not represent beneficial substitutes to fructose during pregnancy, with the potential to increase the risk of T2DM in later life in mothers.

Coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and viral hepatitis is associated with high morbidity and mortality in the absence of clinical management, making identification of these cases crucial. We examined characteristics of HIV and viral hepatitis coinfections by using surveillance data from 15 US states and two cities. Each jurisdiction used an automated deterministic matching method to link surveillance data for persons with reported acute and chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, to persons reported with HIV infection. Of the 504 398 persons living with diagnosed HIV infection at the end of 2014, 2.0% were coinfected with HBV and 6.7% were coinfected with HCV. Of the 269 884 persons ever reported with HBV, 5.2% were reported with HIV. Of the 1 093 050 persons ever reported with HCV, 4.3% were reported with HIV. A greater proportion of persons coinfected with HIV and HBV were males and blacks/African Americans, compared with those with HIV monoinfection. Persons who inject drugs represented a greater proportion of those coinfected with HIV and HCV, compared with those with HIV monoinfection. Matching HIV and viral hepatitis surveillance data highlights epidemiological characteristics of persons coinfected and can be used to routinely monitor health status and guide state and national public health interventions.

A Web-based training course with embedded video clips for reducing central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) was evaluated and shown to improve clinician knowledge and retention of knowledge over time. To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate Web-based CLABSI training as a stand-alone intervention.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2010 in Portland, Oregon, USA, August 1 – August 5, 2010.

In February 2007 an outbreak of Nipah virus (NiV) encephalitis in Thakurgaon District of northwest Bangladesh affected seven people, three of whom died. All subsequent cases developed illness 7–14 days after close physical contact with the index case while he was ill. Cases were more likely than controls to have been in the same room (100% vs. 9·5%, OR undefined, P<0·001) and to have touched him (83% vs. 0%, OR undefined, P<0·001). Although the source of infection for the index case was not identified, 50% of Pteropus bats sampled from near the outbreak area 1 month after the outbreak had antibodies to NiV confirming the presence of the virus in the area. The outbreak was spread by person-to-person transmission. Risk of NiV infection in family caregivers highlights the need for infection control practices to limit transmission of potentially infectious body secretions.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2009 in Richmond, Virginia, USA, July 26 – July 30, 2009

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, August 3 – August 7, 2008

We conducted a seroprevalence study and exposure survey of healthcare workers to assess the risk of nosocomial transmission of Nipah virus during an outbreak in Bangladesh in 2004. No evidence of recent Nipah virus infection was detected despite substantial exposures and minimal use of personal protective equipment.

To evaluate the risk of transmission of SARS coronavirus outside of the health-care setting, close household and community contacts of laboratory-confirmed SARS cases were identified and followed up for clinical and laboratory evidence of SARS infection. Individual- and household-level risk factors for transmission were investigated. Nine persons with serological evidence of SARS infection were identified amongst 212 close contacts of 45 laboratory- confirmed SARS cases (secondary attack rate 4·2%, 95% CI 1·5–7). In this cohort, the average number of secondary infections caused by a single infectious case was 0·2. Two community contacts with laboratory evidence of SARS coronavirus infection had mild or sub-clinical infection, representing 3% (2/65) of Vietnamese SARS cases. There was no evidence of transmission of infection before symptom onset. Physically caring for a symptomatic laboratory-confirmed SARS case was the only independent risk factor for SARS transmission (OR 5·78, 95% CI 1·23–24·24).

A series of PtSi on p-type Si diodes have been characterized in order to establish correlations among processing parameters, metallurgical features and electrical properties. Characterization techniques include analytical (TED, TEM), electrical (current-voltage characteristics), and optical (photoemission and absorption). The fabrication techniques involve e-beam evaporation of platinum layers at UHV levels onto VLSI grade (100) p-type silicon substrates. The silicide layers are formed via sub-eutectic solid state diffusion at 350°C. The main trends with thickness as well as possible interrelationships are described. An unexpected result is the presence of unreacted polycrystalline Pt and Pt2Si at the interface.