Fatigue failure of metal components as a factor in civil aircraft accidents

A review of records maintained by the National Transportation Safety Board showed that 16,054 civil aviation accidents occurred in the United States during the 3-year period ending December 31, 1969. Material failure was an important factor in the cause of 942 of these accidents. Fatigue was identified as the mode of the material failures associated with the cause of 155 accidents and in many other accidents the records indicated that fatigue failures might have been involved. There were 27 fatal accidents and 157 fatalities in accidents in which fatigue failures of metal components were definitely identified. Fatigue failures associated with accidents occurred most frequently in landing-gear components, followed in order by powerplant, propeller, and structural components in fixed-wing aircraft and tail-rotor and main-rotor components in rotorcraft. In a study of 230 laboratory reports on failed components associated with the cause of accidents, fatigue was identified as the mode of failure in more than 60 percent of the failed components. The most frequently identified cause of fatigue, as well as most other types of material failures, was improper maintenance (including inadequate inspection). Fabrication defects, design deficiencies, defective material, and abnormal service damage also caused many fatigue failures. Four case histories of major accidents are included in the paper as illustrations of some of the factors invovled in fatigue failures of aircraft components

E-learning for Critical Thinking: Using Nominal Focus Group Method to Inform Software Content and Design

Background: Undergraduate nursing students are often confused by multiple understandings of critical thinking. In response to this situation, the Critiique for critical thinking (CCT) project was implemented to provide consistent structured guidance about critical thinking. Objectives: This paper introduces Critiique software, describes initial validation of the content of this critical thinking tool and explores wider applications of the Critiique software. Materials and Methods: Critiique is flexible, authorable software that guides students step-by-step through critical appraisal of research papers. The spelling of Critiique was deliberate, so as to acquire a unique web domain name and associated logo. The CCT project involved implementation of a modified nominal focus group process with academic staff working together to establish common understandings of critical thinking. Previous work established a consensus about critical thinking in nursing and provided a starting point for the focus groups. The study was conducted at an Australian university campus with the focus group guided by open ended questions. Results: Focus group data established categories of content that academic staff identified as important for teaching critical thinking. This emerging focus group data was then used to inform modification of Critiique software so that students had access to consistent and structured guidance in relation to critical thinking and critical appraisal. Conclusions: The project succeeded in using focus group data from academics to inform software development while at the same time retaining the benefits of broader philosophical dimensions of critical thinking

Medication supply for people evacuated during disasters.

© 2015 Chinese Cochrane Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.Medication loss is a major problem in disaster settings, and it is crucial for patients to bring their medication and healthcare items with them when they leave their homes during an evacuation. This article is based on a systematic literature review on medication loss, the objectives of which were to identify the extent and implications of medication loss, to identify the burden of prescription refill, and to make recommendations on effective preparedness. The review revealed that medication loss, prescription loss and refills, and the loss of medical aids are a significant burden on the medical relief teams. The medical aids are not limited to drugs, but include routine medications, medical/allergy records, devices for specific care and daily life, and emergency medications. One possible solution is to make a personal emergency pack and for people to carry this with them at all times. To ensure that patients are adequately prepared, stakeholders, especially health professionals, need to be actively involved in the preparation plans. Since our findings have little impact on disaster risk reduction unless shared broadly, we are now taking actions to spread our findings, such as presenting in conferences and via posters, in order to raise awareness among patients and healthcare professionals. As part of these activities, our findings were presented at the Evidence Aid Symposium on 20 September 2014, at Hyderabad, India

Disaster-driven evacuation and medication loss: a systematic literature review

AIM: The aim of this systematic literature review was to identify the extent and implications of medication loss and the burden of prescription refill on medical relief teams following extreme weather events and other natural hazards. METHOD: The search strategy followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Key health journal databases (Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Maternity and Infant Care, and Health Management Information Consortium (HMIC)) were searched via the OvidSP search engine. Search terms were identified by consulting MeSH terms. The inclusion criteria comprised articles published from January 2003 to August 2013, written in English and containing an abstract. The exclusion criteria included abstracts for conferences or dissertations, book chapters and articles written in a language other than English. A total of 70 articles which fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included in this systematic review. RESULTS: All relevant information was collated regarding medication loss, prescription loss and refills, and medical aids loss which indicated a significant burden on the medical relief teams. Data also showed the difficulty in filling prescriptions due to lack of information from the evacuees. People with chronic conditions are most at risk when their medication is not available. This systematic review also showed that medical aids such as eye glasses, hearing aids as well as dental treatment are a high necessity among evacuees. DISCUSSION: This systematic review revealed that a considerable number of patients lose their medication during evacuation, many lose essential medical aids such as insulin pens and many do not bring prescriptions with them when evacuated.. Since medication loss is partly a responsibility of evacuees, understanding the impact of medication loss may lead to raising awareness and better preparations among the patients and health care professionals. People who are not prepared could have worse outcomes and many risk dying when their medication is not available

Biodegradable nano-films for capture and non-invasive release of circulating tumor cells

Selective isolation and purification of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from whole blood is an important capability for both clinical medicine and biological research. Current techniques to perform this task place the isolated cells under excessive stresses that reduce cell viability, and potentially induce phenotype change, therefore losing valuable information about the isolated cells. We present a biodegradable nano-film coating on the surface of a microfluidic chip, which can be used to effectively capture as well as non-invasively release cancer cell lines such as PC-3, LNCaP, DU 145, H1650 and H1975. We have applied layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly to create a library of ultrathin coatings using a broad range of materials through complementary interactions. By developing an LbL nano-film coating with an affinity-based cell-capture surface that is capable of selectively isolating cancer cells from whole blood, and that can be rapidly degraded on command, we are able to gently isolate cancer cells and recover them without compromising cell viability or proliferative potential. Our approach has the capability to overcome practical hurdles and provide viable cancer cells for downstream analyses, such as live cell imaging, single cell genomics, and invitro cell culture of recovered cells. Furthermore, CTCs from cancer patients were also captured, identified, and successfully released using the LbL-modified microchips

Anatomy and physiology for nursing students: is problem-based learning effective?

Questo studio vuole investigare se il metodo del problem-based learning (PBL) può essere utilizzato nell’inse- gnamento della anatomia e fisiologia agli studenti Infermieri visto che spesso hanno difficoltà in queste discipline. E’ importante che gli studenti comprendano e imparino bene i contenuti di queste materie poiché queste sono la base per prendere decisioni cliniche. Il metodo del PBL offre possibili vantaggi nell’insegnamento dell’anatomia e della fisiologia e fornisce agli studenti l’ impulso di come portare alla soluzione dei problemi clinici. Questo studio ha usato uno scenario semplice utilizzando il metodo del PBL per valutare le risposte degli studenti e analizzare come risolvevano i problemi clinici in situazioni simulate di laboratorio, simili alla realtà della corsia. I risultati di questo studio evidenziano che quando viene usato il metodo del PBL nella docenza. Gli studenti imparano meglio, ritengono più informazioni e possono meglio comprendere la teoria per svilupparla nella simulazione della pratica. Il metodo del PBL è stato efficace ma devono essere studiati ed applicati anche altri modelli come il metodo blended, il metodo basato sullo web e i metodi ibridi. Parole chiave: problem-based learning, motivazione di studenti, deep learning, anatomia e fisiologia, infermieristicaThis study investigated whether problem-based learning (PBL) was an effective strategy for nursing students learning anatomy and physiology. Anatomy and physiology are subject areas that have posed long standing difficulty for nursing students. Since anatomy and physiology underpin clinical decision making it is important that nursing students are able to understand and retain this knowledge and apply it to practice. Problem-based learning offers potential advantages for teaching anatomy and physiology as clinical cases can provide the impetus for student problem solving. This project trialled a simple PBL scenario and investigated students' response to the task of problem solving in a laboratory setting adapted to simulate a hospital ward. The study found students learn better, retain the knowledge and merge theory with simulated practice when a PBL teaching mode is used. While PBL was effective, blended, web based and hybrid PBL models warrant investigation

Nurses' job satisfaction: an Italian study

Introduzione Questo studio ha come obiettivo di valutare la soddisfazione professionale di infermieri che lavorano in alcuni ospedali pubblici in Italia, attraverso l’uso combinato di questionari i quali misurano differenti sfaccettature quali la soddisfazione personale, la capacità di coping, lo stress e l’ottimismo/pessimismo. La soddisfazione professionale degli infermieri, così come rivelato anche in letteratura, è fortemente legata all’alto livello di stress, al burn-out, all’esaurimento fisico e mentale, insieme ad alti livelli di carico di lavoro e complessità assistenziale. Vi è interesse crescente sull’argomento, che è attribuibile principalmente a due problemi prioritari per l’infermieristica: il turnover e il basso numero di infermieri. La domanda di ricerca è stata: quali sono i principali fattori di soddisfazione professionale tra gli infermieri italiani? Metodi Lo studio ha utilizzato un campione di convenienza (1304 infermieri) di 15 diversi reparti di ospedali pubblici italiani, in alcune città del nord, del centro e del sud Italia. E’ stata utilizzata una combinazione di questionari, per un totale di 205 ite Risultati I risultati mostrano un basso livello di soddisfazione professionale (IWS= 11.5, JSS=126.4). ma il campione dimostra di essere contento per il lavoro scelto e considera l’autonomia, il salario come importanti aspetti per la soddisfazione personale. Conclusioni La ricerca suggerisce che il livello della soddisfazione professionale è basso, il campione mostra di essere insoddisfatto rispetto ai compiti da svolgere, alle politiche organizzative e all’avanzamento di carriera; il campione non è stressato ed è complessivamente ottimista. Nuove ricerche sull’argomento sarebbero utili per valutare differenti reparti, comparando Nord e Sud Italia e ponendo l’accento anche sulle differenze di genere.background The aim of the work presented was to assess job satisfaction of a number of nurses from different departments working in public hospitals in Italy. The assessment was carried out through the combined use of questionnaires, which measured different aspects of job satisfaction, such as coping abilities, stress level and optimism/pessimism. The literature supports the fact that nurses’ job dissatisfaction is closely connected with high levels of stress, burnout and physical and mental exhaustion, together with high workload levels and the complexity of care. The growing interest in measuring the levels of nurses’ job satisfaction is attributable to a number of problems that have been raised worldwide, two of which are becoming ever so important: turnover and shortage of nurses. The research question is: Which are the main motivating factors of Italian nurses’ job satisfaction/dissatisfaction? Methods The study used a convenience (non probability) sample of 1,304 nurses from 15 different wards working in Italian public hospitals from a number of cities in northern, central and southern Italy. The survey instrument was a questionnaire consisting of 205 items which included 5 different questionnaires combined together. Results The results show a low level of job satisfaction (IWS= 11.5, JSS=126.4). However, the participants were overall happy about their job and considered autonomy and salary important factors for job satisfaction. Conclusion Research has shown that the nurses’ level of satisfaction in Italian hospitals is low. The results revealed dissatisfaction with task requirements, organizational policies and advance in career. Nurses interviewed did not feel stressed and showed to be optimistic overall. New research on the subject should be conducted by focusing on ward differences, North and South of Italy and on gender difference