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Electromechanical, adhesion, and viscoelastic properties of polymers and polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) are of interest for additive manufacturing (AM) and flexible electronics. Development/optimization of inks for AM is complex, expensive, and substrate/interface dependent. This study investigates properties of free standing films of a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) polymer and an Ag–carbon black (Ag-CB) TPU PNC in a lightly loaded low strain compression contact as a rough measure of their suitability for AM. The TPU exhibited high hysteresis and a large viscoelastic response, and sufficient dwell time was needed for polymer chain relaxation and measurable adhesion. A new discovery is that large enough contact area is needed to allow longer time constant polymer ordering in the contact that led to higher adhesion and better performance/reliability. This has previously unknown implications for interface size relative to polymer chain length in AM design. The standard linear model was found to be a good fit for the viscoelastic behavior of the TPU. The PNC exhibited no adhesion (new result), low electrical resistance, and relatively small viscoelastic response. This implies potential for AM electrical trace as well as switch applications.

Background The Norton Healthcare (NHC) not‐for‐profit system includes five adult hospitals and one children's hospital in Louisville, KY and three hospitals in southern Indiana. We are the largest healthcare system in the region with around than 22,000 employees and over 2,100 employed medical providers. Norton provides care at more than 400 locations including primary, pediatric, and specialty care practices. Though we have a strong memory disorder clinic and one of the busiest anti‐amyloid programs in the country, our clinic sees a relatively small fraction of the total number of NHC patients who are likely to have mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. Participating in the US BHN Program will enable us to develop better protocols for detecting patients at risk and those with mild memory impairment as early as possible and to efficiently and effectively navigate them from primary to specialty care for evaluation and, ultimately, treatment. Method The proposed pilot site of care is the Norton Community Medical Associates—Preston primary care practice, one of 40 primary care clinics in our system. NCMAPreston is located on the borders of Metro City Council Districts 13 and 24. District 13 has a higher proportion of people living in poverty and low‐income households than the city as a whole. It is critically important to test the DAC‐SP BHN Model in a diverse setting with lower social determinants of health. NHC community medical directors offer direct community outreach and also participate in neighborhood educational health programs that address health and racial inequalities in underserved communities. Result We anticipate that group development of the brain health navigator role and processes will yield a more thoroughly considered protocol that is adaptable to the diverse practices across our system. Better navigation will also enable improved coordination of care and utilization of our NNI Resource Center to connect families with needed resources. Conclusion The Brain Health Navigator Model and other resources of DAC‐SP support the implementation of boundary spanning roles across primary and specialty care, designed for a sustainable and scalable timely and accurate diagnostic journey across Norton Healthcare and similar health systems.

The Norton Healthcare (NHC) not-for-profit system includes five adult hospitals and one children's hospital in Louisville, KY and three hospitals in southern Indiana. We are the largest healthcare system in the region with around than 22,000 employees and over 2,100 employed medical providers. Norton provides care at more than 400 locations including primary, pediatric, and specialty care practices. Though we have a strong memory disorder clinic and one of the busiest anti-amyloid programs in the country, our clinic sees a relatively small fraction of the total number of NHC patients who are likely to have mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. Participating in the US BHN Program will enable us to develop better protocols for detecting patients at risk and those with mild memory impairment as early as possible and to efficiently and effectively navigate them from primary to specialty care for evaluation and, ultimately, treatment. The proposed pilot site of care is the Norton Community Medical Associates-Preston primary care practice, one of 40 primary care clinics in our system. NCMAPreston is located on the borders of Metro City Council Districts 13 and 24. District 13 has a higher proportion of people living in poverty and low-income households than the city as a whole. It is critically important to test the DAC-SP BHN Model in a diverse setting with lower social determinants of health. NHC community medical directors offer direct community outreach and also participate in neighborhood educational health programs that address health and racial inequalities in underserved communities. We anticipate that group development of the brain health navigator role and processes will yield a more thoroughly considered protocol that is adaptable to the diverse practices across our system. Better navigation will also enable improved coordination of care and utilization of our NNI Resource Center to connect families with needed resources. The Brain Health Navigator Model and other resources of DAC-SP support the implementation of boundary spanning roles across primary and specialty care, designed for a sustainable and scalable timely and accurate diagnostic journey across Norton Healthcare and similar health systems.

The effect of surface chemistry on the tribological performance and reliability of a MEMS lateral output motor is reported. Relative humidity (RH) and octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) self-assembled monolayer (SAM) coatings were used to change surface chemistry. Electrical and tribological performance of uncoated and OTS-coated motors were found to be dependent on RH. For uncoated motors, excessive wear of sliding contacts and welding (permanent adhesion) of static contacts were observed at 0.1% RH. Degradation of electrostatic force and high static friction (stiction) forces limited dynamic performance and reliability and caused device sticking at and above 70% RH. Around 50% RH, uncoated motors exhibited negligible wear, low adhesion, and a wear life at least three orders of magnitude longer than in the dry environment (experiments were stopped without failure after about one billion cycles). Water vapor behaved as a gas phase replenishable lubricant by providing a protective adsorbed film. The OTS coating broadened the operating envelope to 30–50% RH and reduced stiction, which allowed better dynamic performance at high RH. The OTS coating improved durability at 0.1% RH, but it was still poor. At high RH, stiction problems reoccurred when the OTS coating was worn away. By controlling and balancing surface chemistry (adsorbed water and OTS), excellent performance, low friction and wear, and excellent durability were attained with the lateral output motor.

A lubrication scheme for MEMS electrostatic lateral output motors based on a mixture of bound and mobile lubricant was studied. Lubrication by bound monolayer alone provided some increase in operational life, but after a short time, the film wore away and the device failed in the unlubricated mode. A mobile phase was used to provide lubricant replenishment. Tribological studies were conducted on Si(100) wafers, as well as on MEMS electrostatic lateral output motors, dip-coated with a mixture of bound and mobile phases of Fomblin Zdol. Accelerated screening tests on Si(100) wafers were undertaken using a pin on disk tribometer. However, the optimum balance of bound and mobile phases was determined by studies on the device itself. The fractional surface coverage of lubricant and the ratio of bound to mobile phase was varied through selection of reaction temperature and rinse chemistry. The mobile phase on model surfaces and devices acted as a source of lubricant replenishment, and together with the bound phase provided dramatic improvement in performance. The wide variation seen in the performance of individual devices suggests that dip coating does not provide a uniform coating on the contacting surfaces of these devices.

An advanced ball-on-disk tribometer was developed for in situ studies of friction, wear, and contact condition during sliding. Kinetic friction force, contact resistance (Rc), acoustic emission (AE), ball position perpendicular (⊥) to the plane of the disk (ball and disk wear), and disk surface reflectance (disk wear) were all measured simultaneously during sliding experiments. Metal (440C steel) balls were slid against ceramic (n-doped polysilicon) wafers at light load (10g) and short test duration (2.5min). Significant changes in measured parameters were observed as sliding progressed. These changes are discussed, and when considered together provide new insights into friction and wear mechanisms not readily obtainable from more standard tribometers. The effects of disk run-out (effective surface waviness) on μ and Rc were also investigated. Friction and Rc were periodic with a period equal to the period of disk rotation. The behavior was complex, but generally going up a hill increased μ and decreased Rc, with the opposite behavior going down a hill. We established a critical link between low-frequency friction oscillations (LFFO) and the nature of the contact between sliding surfaces (Rc measurement). The geometric ratchet mechanism was ruled out as a cause of LFFO, as the surface slope was too small to explain the large friction oscillations. Coating the balls and wafers with lower friction materials resulted in negligible LFFO, which makes it unlikely that LFFO were simply a result of an oscillating normal force created by dynamic effects. LFFO likely have their origins in the complex nature of the contact between rubbing surfaces.

Mechanisms of friction and wear between solid surfaces in physical contact and in relative motion have been investigated in this study. An experimental system and test methodology based on principles of magnetic recording was developed which allows an unprecedented ability to look inside of a sliding interface. Using a commercially available Hi-8 video cassette recorder as a magnetic tape transport, magnetometer and tribometer, sliding tests were conducted while measuring friction force, head-to-tape spacing to nanometer vertical resolution and intermittent signal dropouts due to loose wear debris particles passing through the contact interface to sub-$\\mu$s duration. Evolution of friction and wear with repeated sliding, temperature and humidity effects on the sliding interface and origins of friction and wear were investigated with the experimental system. Magnetic tape samples with various constructions which vary composition, surface texture and lubricant thickness, were used in the experiments. Three body abrasion by loose wear debris particles was found to be the primary mechanism governing friction and wear in sliding experiments. Generally, wear starts out from the abrasive action of loose wear debris particles leading to a smoother tape surface which then results in mild adhesive wear. Capillary condensation of meniscus water films between sliding surfaces governed temperature and humidity effects, and introduced meniscus forces which influenced friction force and lubrication mechanisms. In the study of the origins of friction and wear at an asperity level of tapes with a thin metallic magnetic layer, it was found that enough asperities should be present to prevent plastic deformation of high asperities. High friction force was measured with tapes that exhibit plastic deformation, and growth of real area of contact due to shear stress brought on by friction force is the most plausible explanation. Smooth surfaces with high isolated asperities should be avoided to prevent brittle fracture of asperities which results in generation of loose wear debris particles and high friction force. A wear resistant surface was discovered that exhibited elastic deformation of asperities and low friction force. The wear resistant surface has enough asperities to prevent plastic deformation and brittle fracture.

Regarding Olivier Sarkozy and Randal Quarles's \"Private Equity Can Save the Banks\" (June 26): With their $400 billion in idle cash, if private equity really wants to be the banking industry's white knight, rather than asking...

Phenotypic convergence across distantly related taxa can be driven by similar selective pressures from the environment or intrinsic constraints. The roles of these processes on physiological strategies, such as homeothermy, are poorly understood. We studied the evolution of thermal properties of mammalian pelage in a diverse community of rodents inhabiting the Mojave Desert, USA. We used a heat flux device to measure the thermal insulation of museum specimens and determined whether thermal properties were associated with habitat preferences while assessing phylogenetic dependence. Species that prefer arid habitats exhibited lower conductivity and thinner pelage relative to species with other habitat preferences. Despite being thinner, the pelage of arid species exhibited comparable insulation to the pelage of the other species due to its lower conductivity. Thus, arid species have insulative pelage while simultaneously benefitting from thin pelage that promotes convective cooling. We found no evidence of intrinsic constraints or phylogenetic dependence, indicating pelage readily evolves to environmental pressures. Thermoregulatory simulations demonstrated that arid specialists reduced energetic costs required for homeothermy by 14.5% by evolving lower conductivity, providing support for adaptive evolution of pelage. Our study indicates that selection for lower energetic requirements of homeothermy has shaped evolution of pelage thermal properties.

Recent changes in US tax laws on transfer pricing and how they affect Australian companies operating in the US - comparable profit interval - profitability based test - higher degree of analysis on taxpayer - list of potential records which must be maintained is exhaustive - monetary and non- compliance penalties - a change in attitude and strategy is required by Australian companies.