Structure, morphology and surface properties of α-lactose monohydrate in relation to its powder properties.

The particulate properties of α-lactose monohydrate (αLMH), an excipient and carrier for pharmaceuticals, is important for the design, formulation and performance of a wide range of drug products. Here an integrated multi-scale workflow provides a detailed molecular and inter-molecular (synthonic) analysis of its crystal morphology, surface chemistry and surface energy. Predicted morphologies are validated in 3D through X-ray diffraction (XCT) contrast tomography.

An Open-Source 3D-Printed Recording Stage with Customizable Chambers for Ex Vivo Experiments.

Much of what has been discovered concerning neurophysiological mechanisms can be credited to ex vivo biomedical experiments. Beyond these discoveries, ex vivo research techniques have enhanced the global understanding of human physiology and pathology in almost every biomedical specialty. Naturally, ex vivo experiments are among the most desired methods of research, particularly in the field of neuroscience.

Implications of heat exchange for a free-living endangered marsupial determined by non-invasive thermal imaging.

We used thermal imagining and heat balance modelling to examine the thermal ecology of wild mammals, using the diurnal marsupial numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) as a model. Body surface temperature was measured using infra-red thermography at environmental wet and dry bulb temperatures of 11.7-29°C and 16.

Exploration of fs-laser ablation parameter space for 2D/3D imaging of soft and hard materials by tri-beam microscopy.

Tri-beam microscopes comprising a fs-laser beam, a Xe+ plasma focused ion beam (PFIB) and an electron beam all in one chamber open up exciting opportunities for site-specific correlative microscopy. They offer the possibility of rapid ablation and material removal by fs-laser, subsequent polishing by Xe-PFIB milling and electron imaging of the same area. While tri-beam systems are capable of probing large (mm) volumes providing high resolution microscopical characterisation of 2D and 3D images across exceptionally wide range of materials and biomaterials applications, presenting high quality/low damage surfaces to the electron beam can present a significant challenge, especially given the large parameter space for optimisation.

Predicting the Strength of Cohesive and Adhesive Interparticle Interactions for Dry Powder Inhalation Blends of Terbutaline Sulfate with α-Lactose Monohydrate.

Grid-based systematic search methods are used to investigate molecule-molecule, molecule-surface, and surface-surface contributions to interparticle interactions in order to identify the crystal faces that most strongly affect particle behavior during powder blend formulation and delivery processes. The model system comprises terbutaline sulfate (TBS) as an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and α-form lactose monohydrate (LMH). A combination of systematic molecular modeling and X-ray computed tomography (XCT) is used to determine not only the adhesive and cohesive interparticle energies but, also the agglomeration behavior during manufacturing and de-agglomeration behavior during delivery after inhalation.

A quantitative study of confidence among paramedics in assessment of the cardiovascular system.

Background: Patients presenting to the ambulance services with cardiovascular complaints are common, and as such, represent a notable proportion of paramedic clinical practice. Numerous texts refer to a system-based approach to cardiovascular assessment, however the application by paramedics is scarcely researched. As such, this article aims to quantify paramedic confidence levels regarding an examination of a patient with a cardiovascular complaint.

The role of internal defects on anisotropic tensile failure of L-PBF AlSi10Mg alloys.

This paper investigates the effects of defects on tensile failure of additive manufactured AlSi10Mg alloy focusing particularly on the role of large pancake shaped loss of fusion (LOF) defects lying perpendicular to the build direction (BD). Time-lapse in situ synchrotron radiation X-ray micro-computed tomography during straining reveals how, when tested parallel to the BD, the LOF defects extend laterally with straining connecting to other defects and giving rise to low plasticity and an essentially brittle failure mode. When they are aligned edge-on to the straining direction, failure is characterised by a ductile cup-cone failure with significant elongation of the defects axially and extensive necking prior to failure.

Microstructural insight into inhalation powder blends through correlative multi-scale X-ray computed tomography.

Dry powder inhalers (DPI) are important for topical drug delivery to the lungs, but characterising the pre-aerosolised powder microstructure is a key initial step in understanding the post-aerosolised blend performance. In this work, we characterise the pre-aerosolised 3D microstructure of an inhalation blend using correlative multi-scale X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT), identifying lactose and drug-rich phases at multiple length scales on the same sample. The drug-rich phase distribution across the sample is shown to be homogeneous on a bulk scale but heterogeneous on a particulate scale, with individual clusters containing different amounts of drug-rich phase, and different parts of a carrier particle coated with different amounts of drug-rich phase.

Exploring the Interior of Europa with the Europa Clipper.

The Galileo mission to Jupiter revealed that Europa is an ocean world. The Galileo magnetometer experiment in particular provided strong evidence for a salty subsurface ocean beneath the ice shell, likely in contact with the rocky core. Within the ice shell and ocean, a number of tectonic and geodynamic processes may operate today or have operated at some point in the past, including solid ice convection, diapirism, subsumption, and interstitial lake formation.

All taxa biodiversity inventory of the Bois de Bouis estate (Var, France): a 10-year public-private partnership.

Background: This data paper describes the results of a 10-year scientific investigation of a biodiversity-rich private golf estate in south-eastern France in partnership with PatriNat (Office français de la biodiversité/Centre national de la recherche scientifique/Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement). In total, 3,160 species and subspecies, including 1,796 arthropods and 1,049 flora, were inventoried and 65 habitat types were surveyed and mapped. This project is the first All taxa biodiversity inventory (ATBI) in a private property in France with all information available in open data.

Juno's Close Encounter With Ganymede-An Overview.

The Juno spacecraft has been in orbit around Jupiter since 2016. Two flybys of Ganymede were executed in 2021, opportunities realized by evolution of Juno's polar orbit over the intervening 5 years. The geometry of the close flyby just prior to the 34th perijove pass by Jupiter brought the spacecraft inside Ganymede's unique magnetosphere.

Gas exchange patterns for a small, stored-grain insect pest, .

Insects breathe using one or a combination of three gas exchange patterns; continuous, cyclic and discontinuous, which vary in their rates of exchange of oxygen, carbon dioxide and water. In general, there is a trade-off between lowering gas exchange using discontinuous exchange that limits water loss at the cost of lower metabolic rate. These patterns and hypotheses for the evolution of discontinuous exchange have been examined for relatively large insects (>20 mg) over relatively short periods (<4 h), but smaller insects and longer time periods have yet to be examined.

Postural, pilo-erective and evaporative thermal windows of the short-beaked echidna ().

We identify for wild, free-living short-beaked echidnas () a novel evaporative window, along with thermal windows, and demonstrate the insulating properties of the spines, using infrared thermography. The moist tip of their beak, with an underlying blood sinus, functions as a wet bulb globe thermometer, maximizing evaporative heat loss via an evaporative window. The ventral surface and insides of the legs are poorly insulated sites that act as postural thermal windows, while the spines provide flexible insulation (depending on piloerection).

Quantifying multiple stain distributions in bioimaging by hyperspectral X-ray tomography.

Chemical staining of biological specimens is commonly utilised to boost contrast in soft tissue structures, but unambiguous identification of staining location and distribution is difficult without confirmation of the elemental signature, especially for chemicals of similar density contrast. Hyperspectral X-ray computed tomography (XCT) enables the non-destructive identification, segmentation and mapping of elemental composition within a sample. With the availability of hundreds of narrow, high resolution (~ 1 keV) energy channels, the technique allows the simultaneous detection of multiple contrast agents across different tissue structures.

Why Is It So Challenging to Measure Residual Stresses ?

Background: Residual stresses have a "hidden" character because they exist in a material without the presence of any external loads. They cannot easily be added or subtracted in a quantified manner, as is done when measuring applied stresses, and so are much more challenging to measure.

Objective: The objective here is to identify and describe the various features that make residual stress measurement methods challenging and to consider the ways that these challenges can be addressed in practice.

Inhibiting weld cracking in high-strength aluminium alloys.

Cracking from a fine equiaxed zone (FQZ), often just tens of microns across, plagues the welding of 7000 series aluminum alloys. Using a multiscale correlative methodology, from the millimeter scale to the nanoscale, we shed light on the strengthening mechanisms and the resulting intergranular failure at the FQZ. We show that intergranular AlCuMg phases give rise to cracking by micro-void nucleation and subsequent link-up due to the plastic incompatibility between the hard phases and soft (low precipitate density) grain interiors in the FQZ.

Are stakeholders ready to transform phosphorus use in food systems? A transdisciplinary study in a livestock intensive system.

Food systems worldwide are vulnerable to Phosphorus (P) supply disruptions and price fluctuations. Current P use is also highly inefficient, generating large surpluses and pollution. Global food security and aquatic ecosystems are in jeopardy if transformative action is not taken.

Re-evaluating model assumptions suggests that Australian birds are more tolerant of heat and aridity than predicted: a response to Conradie . (2020).

Conradie (2020) recently modelled the vulnerability of Australian arid birds to a changing climate. While the approach used by Conradie (2020) is valuable, we argue that key assumptions in their study are poorly supported and the risks of a changing climate to arid zone avifauna are consequently overstated.

A new direction for tackling phosphorus inefficiency in the UK food system.

The UK food system is reliant on imported phosphorus (P) to meet food production demand, though inefficient use and poor stewardship means P is currently accumulating in agricultural soils, wasted or lost with detrimental impacts on aquatic environments. This study presents the results of a detailed P Substance Flow Analysis for the UK food system in 2018, developed in collaboration with industry and government, with the key objective of highlighting priority areas for system interventions to improve the sustainability and resilience of P use in the UK food system. In 2018 the UK food system imported 174.

Small Alpine Marsupials Regulate Evaporative Water Loss, Suggesting a Thermoregulatory Role Rather than a Water Conservation Role.

AbstractWe show here that evaporative water loss (EWL) is constant over a wide range of ambient relative humidity for two species of small, mesic habitat dasyurid marsupials ( and ) below thermoneutrality (20°C) and within thermoneutrality (30°C). This independence of EWL from the water vapor pressure deficit between the animal and its environment indicates that EWL is physiologically controlled by both species. The magnitude of this control of EWL was similar to that of two other small marsupials from more arid habitats, which combined with the observation that there were no effects of relative humidity on body temperature or metabolic rate, suggests that control of EWL is a consequence of precise thermoregulation to maintain heat balance rather than a water-conserving strategy at low relative humidities.

Tailoring the Microstructure of Lamellar TiCT MXene Aerogel by Compressive Straining.

Aerogels are attracting increasing interest due to their functional properties, such as lightweight and high porosity, which make them promising materials for energy storage and advanced composites. Compressive deformation allows the nano- and microstructure of lamellar freeze-cast aerogels to be tailored toward the aforementioned applications, where a 3D nanostructure of closely spaced, aligned sheets is desired. Quantitatively characterizing their microstructural evolution during compression is needed to allow optimization of manufacturing, understand in-service structural changes, and determine how aerogel structure relates to functional properties.

Checklist of the Pipunculidae (Diptera) of mainland France: further faunistic records and description of a new species.

Since the first faunistic study of the Pipunculidae (Diptera) of mainland France in 2006, new material from 37 natural sites and four private collections has been evaluated by the authors of this article. A total of 5739 specimens of Pipunculidae collected in France were examined, of which 5214 were identified to species by the authors, for a total of 114 species. DNA analyses were also carried out on some specimens to confirm their morphological identifications.

Enhanced hyperspectral tomography for bioimaging by spatiospectral reconstruction.

Here we apply hyperspectral bright field imaging to collect computed tomographic images with excellent energy resolution (~ 1 keV), applying it for the first time to map the distribution of stain in a fixed biological sample through its characteristic K-edge. Conventionally, because the photons detected at each pixel are distributed across as many as 200 energy channels, energy-selective images are characterised by low count-rates and poor signal-to-noise ratio. This means high X-ray exposures, long scan times and high doses are required to image unique spectral markers.