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"Williams, Gareth"
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Energy-Saving Electrospinning with a Concentric Teflon-Core Rod Spinneret to Create Medicated Nanofibers
Although electrospun nanofibers are expanding their potential commercial applications in various fields, the issue of energy savings, which are important for cost reduction and technological feasibility, has received little attention to date. In this study, a concentric spinneret with a solid Teflon-core rod was developed to implement an energy-saving electrospinning process. Ketoprofen and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were used as a model of a poorly water-soluble drug and a filament-forming matrix, respectively, to obtain nanofibrous films via traditional tube-based electrospinning and the proposed solid rod-based electrospinning method. The functional performances of the films were compared through in vitro drug dissolution experiments and ex vivo sublingual drug permeation tests. Results demonstrated that both types of nanofibrous films do not significantly differ in terms of medical applications. However, the new process required only 53.9% of the energy consumed by the traditional method. This achievement was realized by the introduction of several engineering improvements based on applied surface modifications, such as a less energy dispersive air-epoxy resin surface of the spinneret, a free liquid guiding without backward capillary force of the Teflon-core rod, and a smaller fluid–Teflon adhesive force. Other non-conductive materials could be explored to develop new spinnerets offering good engineering control and energy savings to obtain low-cost electrospun polymeric nanofibers.
Journal Article
The Mexican exception : sovereignty, police, and democracy
\"This book examines the question of democracy in post-revolutionary Mexican society. Each chapter recuperates an event or particular historical sequence that sheds light on the relation between culture and sovereign exceptionality. Each moment or sequence stages a relation to language. In these speech scenes there is a disagreement between social actors (for example, disputes between peasants and intellectuals over words such as democracy, equality, freedom, proletariat, worker, revolution etc.). Democracy in this book is not just a type of Constitution or a form of society that politics affirms on a daily basis. It is the assumption and installation of egalitarian language. Democracy is therefore the momentary interruption or suspension of the police order.\"--Provided by publisher.
Book
Full spectrum fluorescence lifetime imaging with 0.5 nm spectral and 50 ps temporal resolution
The use of optical techniques to interrogate wide ranging samples from semiconductors to biological tissue for rapid analysis and diagnostics has gained wide adoption over the past decades. The desire to collect ever more spatially, spectrally and temporally detailed optical signatures for sample characterization has specifically driven a sharp rise in new optical microscopy technologies. Here we present a high-speed optical scanning microscope capable of capturing time resolved images across 512 spectral and 32 time channels in a single acquisition with the potential for ~0.2 frames per second (256 × 256 image pixels). Each pixel in the resulting images contains a detailed data cube for the study of diverse time resolved light driven phenomena. This is enabled by integration of system control electronics and on-chip processing which overcomes the challenges presented by high data volume and low imaging speed, often bottlenecks in previous systems.
High data volumes from multidimensional imaging techniques can lead to slow collection and processing times. Here, the authors implement multispectral fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) that uses time-correlated photon counting technology to reach simultaneously high imaging rates combined with high spectral and temporal resolution.
Journal Article
Coral reef ecosystem services in the Anthropocene
Coral reefs underpin a range of ecosystem goods and services that contribute to the well‐being of millions of people. However, tropical coral reefs in the Anthropocene are likely to be functionally different from reefs in the past. In this perspective piece, we ask, what does the Anthropocene mean for the provision of ecosystem services from coral reefs? First, we provide examples of the provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services underpinned by coral reef ecosystems. We conclude that coral reef ecosystem service research has lagged behind multidisciplinary advances in broader ecosystem services science, such as an explicit recognition that interactions between social and ecological systems underpin ecosystem services. Second, drawing on tools from functional ecology, we outline how these social–ecological relationships can be incorporated into a mechanistic understanding of service provision and how this might be used to anticipate future changes in coral reef ecosystem services. Finally, we explore the emergence of novel reef ecosystem services, for example from tropicalized coastlines, or through changing technological connections to coral reefs. Indeed, when services are conceived as coming from social–ecological system dynamics, novelty in services can emerge from elements of the interactions between people and the ecosystem. This synthesis of the coral reef ecosystem services literature suggests the field is poorly prepared to understand the changing service provision anticipated in the Anthropocene. A new research agenda is needed that better connects reef functional ecology to ecosystem service provision. This research agenda should embrace more holistic approaches to ecosystem service research, recognizing them as co‐produced by ecosystems and society. Importantly, the likelihood of novel ecosystem service configurations requires further conceptualization and empirical assessment. As with current ecosystem services, the loss or gain of services will not affect all people equally and must be understood in the context in which they occur. With the uncertainty surrounding the future of coral reefs in the Anthropocene, research exploring how the benefits to people change will be of great importance. A plain language summary is available for this article. Plain Language Summary
Journal Article
Electrospun Composite Lavandula Angustifolia Mill. Extract/PVP Nanofibers
Background : Lavandula angustifolia Mill. is widely used for its potential health benefits. It has antimicrobial, anti‐inflammatory, and wound‐healing properties due to the presence of both terpenoids and phenolic compounds. Novel formulations for both oral and topical usage could extend the range of applications. Methods : In this study, electrospun nanofibers incorporating dry extract of lavender (at 9.09%, 16.67%, and 24.98% w/w) were prepared using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a polymer matrix, with the aim of creating fast‐dissolving systems. Results : Fibers produced at 10 kV exhibited uniform morphology, with the 9.09% w/w lavender extract ratio showing the optimum morphology (average diameters: 0.70–1.49 µm). The obtained fibers were smooth, uniform, free of beads, and comprised amorphous solid dispersions. All the fiber formulations rapidly disintegrated and accelerated the dissolution of lavender extract. Conclusions : These findings highlight the potential of lavender extract‐loaded nanofibers as fast‐acting delivery systems. This work provides a novel approach for formulating medicinal plant‐loaded nanofibers, especially for active ingredients with low solubility, and offers a potential therapy for wound healing.
Journal Article
Surveying the skies : how astronomers map the universe
Since the time of Galileo, astronomy has been driven by technological innovation. With each major advance has come the opportunity and enthusiasm to survey the sky in a way that was not possible before. It is these surveys of discovery that are the subject of this book. In the first few chapters the author discusses what astronomers learned from visible-light surveys, first with the naked eye, then using telescopes in the seventeenth century, and photography in the nineteenth century. He then moves to the second half of the twentieth century when the skies started to be swept by radio, infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray and gamma ray telescopes, many of which had to be flown in satellites above the Earth's atmosphere. These surveys led to the discovery of pulsars, quasars, molecular clouds, protostars, bursters, and black holes. He then returns to Earth to describe several currently active large-scale projects that methodically collect images, photometry and spectra that are then stored in vast publicly-accessible databases. Dr. Wynn-Williams also describes several recent \"microsurveys\" - detailed studies of small patches of sky that have led to major advances in our understanding of cosmology and exoplanets.
Book
High frequency temperature variability reduces the risk of coral bleaching
Coral bleaching is the detrimental expulsion of algal symbionts from their cnidarian hosts, and predominantly occurs when corals are exposed to thermal stress. The incidence and severity of bleaching is often spatially heterogeneous within reef-scales (<1 km), and is therefore not predictable using conventional remote sensing products. Here, we systematically assess the relationship between in situ measurements of 20 environmental variables, along with seven remotely sensed SST thermal stress metrics, and 81 observed bleaching events at coral reef locations spanning five major reef regions globally. We find that high-frequency temperature variability (i.e., daily temperature range) was the most influential factor in predicting bleaching prevalence and had a mitigating effect, such that a 1 °C increase in daily temperature range would reduce the odds of more severe bleaching by a factor of 33. Our findings suggest that reefs with greater high-frequency temperature variability may represent particularly important opportunities to conserve coral ecosystems against the major threat posed by warming ocean temperatures.
Coral bleaching is often predicted via remote sensing of ocean temperatures at large scales, obscuring important reef-scale drivers and biological responses. Here, the authors use in- situ data to show that bleaching is lower globally at reef habitats with greater diurnal temperature variability.
Journal Article