A radiative cooling structural material.

Reducing human reliance on energy-inefficient cooling methods such as air conditioning would have a large impact on the global energy landscape. By a process of complete delignification and densification of wood, we developed a structural material with a mechanical strength of 404.3 megapascals, more than eight times that of natural wood.

Processing bulk natural wood into a high-performance structural material.

Synthetic structural materials with exceptional mechanical performance suffer from either large weight and adverse environmental impact (for example, steels and alloys) or complex manufacturing processes and thus high cost (for example, polymer-based and biomimetic composites). Natural wood is a low-cost and abundant material and has been used for millennia as a structural material for building and furniture construction. However, the mechanical performance of natural wood (its strength and toughness) is unsatisfactory for many advanced engineering structures and applications.

ANESTHETIC MANAGEMENT OF FEMORAL FRACTURE REPAIR IN A PATIENT WITH CERVICAL MYELOPATHY, AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION, AND DIFFICULT AIRWAY.

Spinal stenosis is a potentially serious condition that can lead to myelopathies and autonomic instability, both of which, as a result, may complicate anesthetic management. Additionally, neuraxial anesthesia appears to increase the risk of worsened neurological outcomes in this population. A 56-year-old female with spinal stenosis, autonomic dysfunction, and known difficult airway who required anesthesia for repair of a femur fracture is presented.

Can serial PEF measurements separate occupational asthma from allergic alveolitis?

Background: Occupational asthma commonly results in work-related changes in serial peak expiratory flow (PEF) measurements. Whether alveolitis can result in similar changes is unknown.

Aims: To identify differences and similarities of serial PEF between workers with occupational alveolitis and asthma seen during an outbreak investigation in a factory with metal-working fluid exposure.

Lumbar punctures in the Acute Medicine Department: indications and evaluation of use.

Aims: Evaluate the use of lumbar puncture (LP) in the Acute Medical Department of a typical urban district general hospital. Increase the proportion performed on appropriate patients.

Methodology: An observational, single-centre, retrospective examination of patients undergoing LP at Solihull Hospital over four consecutive months.