Manchester Metropolitan University

About: Manchester Metropolitan University is a education organization based out in Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 5435 authors who have published 16202 publications receiving 442561 citations. The organization is also known as: Manchester Polytechnic & MMU.

A study of the antimicrobial and tribological properties of TiN/Ag nanocomposite coatings

Abstract: TiN/Ag coatings with varying silver contents have been deposited by pulsed magnetron sputtering. The films were characterised in terms of structure and composition using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The tribological properties of the coatings were assessed by thrust washer wear testing, which showed a marginal reduction in friction coefficient with increasing silver content against a steel counterface. Zones of inhibition were used to determine the extent of silver ion release from the nanocomposite materials, and a NBT (nitro-blue tetrazolium) redox dye was used in an assay to determine the antimicrobial effectiveness of the surfaces following incubation. The microorganisms tested were Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Whilst no zones of inhibition were observed on any of the surfaces, for the NBT assays, after incubation, the silver containing coatings revealed a significant reduction in the number of viable cells of both microorganisms, compared to a ‘pure’ TiN surface.

Anxiety, movement kinematics, and visual attention in elite-level performers.

Abstract: We tested the predictions of Attentional Control Theory (ACT) by examining the effect of anxiety on attention control and the subsequent influence on both performance effectiveness and performance efficiency within a perceptual-motor context. A sample (N = 16) of elite shotgun shooters was tested under counterbalanced low (practice) and high (competition) anxiety conditions. A head-mounted, corneal reflection system allowed point of gaze to be calculated in relation to the scene, while motion of the gun was evaluated using markers placed on the barrel which were captured by two stationary cameras and analyzed using optical tracking software. The quiet eye (QE) duration and onset were analyzed along with gun barrel displacement and variability; performance outcome scores (successful vs. unsuccessful) were also recorded. QE (Vickers, 1996) is defined as the final fixation or tracking gaze that is located on a specific location/object in the visual display for a minimum of 100 ms. Longer QE durations have been linked to successful performance in previous research involving aiming tasks. Participants demonstrated shorter quiet eye durations, and less efficient gun motion, along with a decreased performance outcome (fewer successful trials) under high compared with low anxiety conditions. The data support the predictions of ACT with anxiety disrupting control processes such that goal-directed attention was compromised, leading to a significant impairment in performance effectiveness.