Shear horizontal (SH) ultrasound wave propagation around smooth corners

Shear horizontal (SH) ultrasound guided waves are being used in an increasing number of non-destructive testing (NDT) applications. One advantage SH waves have over some wave types, is their ability to propagate around curved surfaces with little energy loss; to understand the geometries around which they could propagate, the wave reflection must be quantified. A 0.83 mm thick aluminium sheet was placed in a bending machine, and a shallow bend was introduced. Periodically-poled magnet (PPM) electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs), for emission and reception of SH waves, were placed on the same side of the bend, so that reflected waves were received. Additional bending of the sheet demonstrated a clear relationship between bend angles and the reflected signal. Models suggest that the reflection is a linear superposition of the reflections from each bend segment, such that sharp turns lead to a larger peak-to-peak amplitude, in part due to increased phase coherence

Images of Success

Through her work in electronic publishing, Linda Lanier provides a wealth of medical resource material to physicians, health-care students and consumers alike

The Pacific Research Colloquium: Strengthening Skills and Partnerships with Pacific Researchers

For almost a decade the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program (SSGM) at the Australian National University (ANU) has had the privilege of convening the annual Pacific Research Colloquium (PRC). With funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), scholarships are awarded to early career researchers from the Pacific, including Papua and Timor-Leste, to participate in intensive training in social science research methods at the ANU.AusAI

How High School Athlete Student Mentors Impact Elementary/Middle School Students: A Case for Positive Coaching Alliance

While the physical, psychological, and social benefits of physical activity have been touted for decades, few children in the U.S. are sufficiently active physically. We created a cross-age mentoring program to encourage children to not only engage in sports, but to also gain valuable personal and interpersonal skills from program activities. We interviewed 73 individuals from two community recreation centers—53 elementary school participants, 10 high-school student-athlete mentors, and 11 professional staff members—using semi-structured interviews. We found that cross-age mentorship program in sports created positive one-to-one and one-to-many relationships between the high school athlete mentors and the elementary school participants. Our grounded theory research demonstrates the efficacy of high school student-athletes as mentors in sports programs. We also have described in detail a program that is readily scalable because it is easy to implement, is cost-effective, and has benefits for all involved. Organizations such as after-school programs and community centers can design programs that bring these groups together and provide opportunities for learning and fun

Understanding sleep problems in rehabilitation inpatients after stroke

Background and Purpose: Sleep problems are commonly reported by stroke patients. Poor sleep quality can detrimentally impact upon multiple clinical variables, including mood, physical health, cognition and the rehabilitation process itself. However, the relationship between sleep and stroke is complex and not fully understood. Pre-sleep cognitions and pre-sleep arousal have been proposed as contributing factors in sleep disturbance within the general population and this novel study investigates these variables as potential factors associated with sleep post-stroke. Methods: Stroke rehabilitation inpatients (N=21) were classified as good or poor sleepers using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and compared using measures of pre-sleep cognitions and pre-sleep arousal; relevant factors including daytime sleepiness, fatigue, mood and environmental disturbance were also explored. Results: Poor sleepers reported a significantly higher level of pre-sleep cognitions, pre-sleep cognitive arousal, fatigue and mood disturbance than good sleepers. The level of daytime sleepiness and perceptions of environmental disturbance did not differ significantly between groups. Conclusions: This study revealed a high level of poor sleep within the current sample (48%) based on the PSQI and pre-sleep cognitions and cognitive arousal appear potentially important factors in sleep quality post-stroke. Theoretical and practical implications and future directions for research are discussed

The association between hysterectomy and ovarian cancer risk: A population-based record-linkage study

Background: Recent studies have called into question the long-held belief that hysterectomy without oophorectomy protects against ovarian cancer. This population-based longitudinal record-linkage study aimed to explore this relationship, overall and by age at hysterectomy, time period, surgery type, and indication for hysterectomy. Methods: We followed the female adult Western Australian population (837 942 women) across a 27-year period using linked electoral, hospital, births, deaths, and cancer records. Surgery dates were determined from hospital records, and ovarian cancer diagnoses (n¼1640) were ascertained from cancer registry records.We used Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between hysterectomy and ovarian cancer incidence. Results: Hysterectomy without oophorectomy (n¼78 594) was not associated with risk of invasive ovarian cancer overall (HR ¼ 0.98, 95% CI ¼ 0.85 to 1.11) or with the most common serous subtype (HR ¼ 1.05, 95% CI ¼ 0.89 to 1.23). Estimates did not vary statistically significantly by age at procedure, time period, or surgical approach. However, among women with endometriosis (5.8%) or with fibroids (5.7%), hysterectomy was associated with substantially decreased ovarian cancer risk overall (HR ¼ 0.17, 95% CI ¼ 0.12 to 0.24, and HR ¼ 0.27, 95% CI ¼ 0.20 to 0.36, respectively) and across all subtypes. Conclusions: Our results suggest that for most women, having a hysterectomy with ovarian conservation is not likely to substantially alter their risk of developing ovarian cancer. However, our results, if confirmed, suggest that ovarian cancer risk reduction could be considered as a possible benefit of hysterectomy when making decisions about surgical management of endometriosis or fibroids

Use of the ICF to investigate impairment, activity limitation and participation restriction in people using ankle-foot orthoses to manage mobility disabilities

This study investigated differences in impairment, activity limitation, participation restrictions and psychological distress between participants using ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) as recommended, participants who did not use AFOs as recommended and participants who did not know recommendations for use.  Adults (n = 157) fitted with an AFO by an NHS Orthotic Service in Scotland completed a postal questionnaire that measured impairment, activity limitations participation restrictions and psychological distress using scales from the RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0 and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).  41% of participants used their AFOs as recommended, 32% did not use their AFOs as recommended and 27% did not know the recommendations for use. Participants using AFOs as recommended reported lower levels of impairment and activity limitations, indicated by higher energy levels (p = 0.005), higher physical functioning (p = 0.005), lower role-limitations due to emotional problems (p = 0.001) and lower levels of anxiety (p = 0.003) compared to people not using AFOs as recommended.  Health professionals need to ensure whether patients understand the recommendations for use of their AFO. Additionally, the results of the study support the value of evaluating patients' psychological well-being to gain a better understanding of AFO use. Implications for Rehabilitation Participants who reported using AFOs as recommended had significantly lower levels of impairment, activity limitations and anxiety compared to those who did not use their AFO as recommended. In this study, 27% of participants did not know recommendations for use of AFOs. Health professionals should give consideration as to how information, regarding wearing instructions and use of AFOs, is provided to people who are prescribed AFOs. Psychological outcomes in orthotics are rarely assessed. However, this study demonstrates there is a value in measuring psychological outcomes in orthotic management

Temperature contour maps at the strain-induced martensitic transition of a Cu–Zn–Al shape-memory single crystal

We study temperature changes at the reverse strain-induced martensitic transformation in a Cu–Zn–Al single crystal. Infrared thermal imaging reveals a markedly inhomogeneous temperature distribution. The evolution of the contour temperature maps enables information to be extracted on the kinetics of the interface motion