On the experimental testing of fine Nitinol wires for medical devices

Nitinol, a nickel titanium alloy, is widely used as a biocompatible metal with applications in high strain medical devices. The alloy exhibits both superelasticity and thermal shape memory behaviour. Basic mechanical properties can be established and are provided by suppliers; however the true stress–strain response under repeated load is not fully understood. It is essential to know this behaviour in order to design devices where failure by fatigue may be possible. The present work develops an approach for characterising the time varying mechanical properties of fine Nitinol wire and investigates processing factors, asymmetric stress–strain behaviour, temperature dependency, strain rate dependency and the material response to thermal and repeated mechanical loading. Physically realistic and accurately determined mechanical properties are provided in a format suitable for use in finite element analysis for the design of medical devices. Guidance is also given as to the most appropriate experimental set up procedures for gripping and testing thin Nitinol wire

Postcard: People Standing in a Blue Bell Cream Company Factory

This black and white photographic postcard features workers at a creamery. Two men stand at a barrel and three women are behind tables. Dairy containers are in the foreground and windows and a door is in the background. Handwriting is on the back of the card.https://scholars.fhsu.edu/tj_postcards/1996/thumbnail.jp

IGFBP-5 as a biomarker of de-differentiation in hepatocytes

Describes IGFBP-5 as a biomarker of de-differentiation in hepatocytes presented at the 47th Congress of the European-Societies-of-Toxicolog

Enumeration in Alzheimer's disease and other late life psychiatric syndromes

Previous studies suggest that visual enumeration is spared in normal aging but impaired in abnormal aging (late stage Alzheimer's disease, AD), raising the task's potential as a marker of dementia. Experiment 1 compared speeded enumeration of 1–9 random dots in early stage AD, vascular dementia (VAD), depression, and age-matched controls. Previous deficits were replicated but they were not specific to AD, with the rate of counting larger numerosities similarly slowed relative to controls by both AD and VAD. Determination of subitizing span was complicated by the surprisingly slower enumeration of one than of two items, especially in AD patients. Experiment 2 showed that AD patients’ relative difficulty with one item persisted with further practice and extended to the enumeration of targets among distractors. However, it was abolished when pattern recognition was possible (enumerating dots on a die). Although an enumeration test is unlikely to help differentiate early AD from other common dementias, the unexpected pattern of patients’ performance challenges current models of enumeration and requires further investigation

The Re-design of a Systemic Anti-Cancer Course

Staff involved in the administration of systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) must demonstrate knowledge and skills in accordance with the NHS Education for Scotland Education and Training Framework (NES, 2013) and associated SACT competencies (NES, 2014). A challenge exists in educating staff to ensure best practice in SACT administration whilst balancing demands for time away from the clinical area and ensuring staff achieve competence in a timely manner. This presentation outlines how an educational initiative was developed to ensure practitioners are educated regarding best practice in SACT administration and are able to demonstrate the required knowledge and skills within a shorter timeframe

Seeking Asylum—Holding Patterns: The 2020 Ballina Region for Refugees Poetry Prize

Poetry provides valuable and insightful ways to explore and record social and political experiences and engagements. The plight of refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia is well known. Community groups such as the Ballina Region for Refugees provide support to refugees and asylum seekers both in Australia and offshore. To help raise awareness and validate the experience of refugees and asylum seekers, the Ballina Region for Refugees runs an annual Poetry Prize. The 2020 Ballina Region for Refugees Poetry Prize theme was Seeking Asylum—Holding Patterns. This article presents the winning and highly commended poems, along with poems by refugee and asylum seeker poets. Poems from both insider witnesses – refugees and asylum seekers – and outsider witnesses – poets who seek to express an empathy with the plight of refugees and asylum seekers – have contributed to this collection. From haunting statements of human dissolution that should strike fear into anyone’s heart, through glimpses of hope, the poems explore the trails of asylum seeking and the dysfunctionality of the aftermath.

Oxidative stress via hydrogen peroxide and menadione does not induce the secretion of IGFBP-5 in primary rat hepatocytes

Conference abstract describing how oxidative stress via hydrogen peroxide and menadione does not induce the secretion of IGFBP-5 in primary rat hepatocytes. Presented at the 2010 annual congress of the british toxicology societ

An investigation into the relationship between memory problems and our public and private selves

Unawareness of memory problems can be one of the symptoms of dementia and can only partially be attributed to neurocognitive consequences. Research is continuing to elucidate the psychosocial factors which impact on unawareness. Research with other clinical populations has suggested that some unawareness may be due to people wishing to present favourably and therefore masking their awareness. Since awareness depends on the integrity of the same type of memories used to construct identity, unawareness may also have connections with the identity of the person with dementia. This investigation explored the relationships between awareness, identity and social desirability in dementia. Twenty eight participants with dementia and relatives who acted as informants were recruited and completed measures of social desirability, identity and unawareness. Pearson Product Moment Coefficients revealed that the relationship between unawareness and strength of identity failed to reach statistical significance and there was no relationship with whether identity was rated as positive or negative. Unawareness was unrelated to social desirability and only identity direction (positive or negative), not strength per se, was related to social desirability. The study concludes that it was not sufficiently powered to fully explore the relationship between the variables and that future investigation is warranted