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Early-stage dielectric characterisation of renal cell carcinoma for positive surgical margin detection
No full textPartial nephrectomy is preferred to total nephrectomy tor clinically localised renal cell carcinoma. In order to minimise the risk of local tumour recurrence after partial nephrectomy, ideally, the surgical margins of the excised sample should be negative for the disease. Currently, the risk of positive margins during partial nephrectomy is minimised with the use of intraoperative ultrasound. In this study, dielectric spectroscopy is proposed for the detection of positive margins during partial nephrectomy. Specifically, the feasibility of using an open-ended coaxial probe operating at microwave frequencies is evaluated for in vivo differentiation between positive and negative surgical margins. Due to the lack of dielectric properties of renal cancerous tissue in the literature, early stage ex viva dielectric measurements were conducted on five human renal samples immediately after excision. A wide range of dielectric measurement results were obtained due to the heterogeneity of renal samples and the different longitudinal location of the cancerous tissue across the samples. This outcome suggests the need to refine the protocol for dielectric characterisation of renal cell carcinoma and highlights the limitations of a coaxial probe at detecting renal tumour margins.The research leading to these results has received funding
from the European Research Council under the European
Union\u27s Horizon 2020 Programme/ ERC Grant Agreement
BioElecPro n. 637780. This work was also supported by
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) (grant number
15/ERCS/3276), and the Hardiman Research Scholarship
from the National University of Ireland Galway. This work
has been developed in the framework of COST Action
MiMed (TD1301) and was supported by the EMERALD
project funded from the European Union’s Horizon 2020
research and innovation programme under the Marie
Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 764479
Fraught with frights or full of fun: perspectives of risky play among six-to-eight-year olds
No full textOutdoor play provides children with unique opportunities to explore and expand their worlds, and to incorporate risk and challenge into play events. However, international research indicates that children are being exposed to fewer opportunities to engage in outdoor, risky play, while few studies have explored risky play among children aged six-to-eight years in differing cultural contexts. This qualitative study explored children’s perspectives and experiences of outdoor risky play in a rural Irish town. Ten children took part in focus groups, drawings, photography, a child-led tour of the local community and a map-making session. Three themes emerged; Risky play and me, my power to play and ‘sometimes it is kind of worth it!’. Findings suggest that risky play categories evolve as children age, and some new categories surfaced, including risky construction and breaking the rules. Further exploration of risky play is warranted to ascertain its characteristics more fully among this age group
Occupational therapy services in school-based practice: a pediatric occupational therapy perspective from Ireland
No full textPurpose. School is a primary setting for pediatric occupational therapy practice, yet little is known about the provision of school-based occupational therapy in many countries internationally. The purpose of this study was to explore current school-based occupational therapy practice for the first time in Ireland to gain insight into current and potential service provision and to identify new directions and potential pathways for development. Methods. This descriptive quantitative study utilized a cross-sectional online survey to gain the perspectives of the population of pediatric occupational therapists working regularly in schools across Ireland. Respondents were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling. Data were analysed through qualitative content analysis and descriptive statistics. Results. The survey elicited 35 responses, yielding a 21.2% estimated response rate. Findings demonstrated that respondents provided therapy services in schools most commonly on a weekly (28.6%) or monthly (34.3%) basis, with only 5.0% working in the same school on a weekly or fortnightly basis. The majority of respondents (54.3%) used a direct therapy approach with a child, rather than coaching or modelling, to primarily address sensory, hand function, or daily living needs. None used a whole class or whole school (universal or tiered) approach. While respondents (54.3%) generally viewed collaborative practice as a strength of school-based practice, they also identified barriers to collaboration in schools. A core barrier is related to how services are constructed across health and education, with differing philosophies of service provision. The majority of respondents (75.0%) reported that they had not received any training to deliver evidence-based practice in therapy provision specific to school-based practice. Implications for Practice. This study indicates that therapists require continual education on evidence-based school practice as it applies in an Irish context. Furthermore, clarification of school therapy roles and service delivery models are required in order to determine how they contrast with traditional clinic roles. This will enable therapists to strengthen the coordination of service delivery between health and educational services to maximize the outcomes of school-based practice
The relationship between rowing related low back pain and rowing biomechanics: a systematic review
No full textBackground Low back pain (LBP) is common in rowers. Understanding rowing biomechanics may help facilitate prevention and improve rehabilitation.
Objectives To define the kinematics and muscle activity of rowers and to compare with rowers with current or LBP history.
Design Systematic review.
Data sources EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Web of Science and Scopus from inception to December 2019. Grey literature was searched.
Study eligibility criteria Experimental and non-experimental designs.
Methods Primary outcomes were kinematics and muscle activity. Modified Quality Index (QI) checklist was used.
Results 22 studies were included (429 participants). Modified QI score had a mean of 16.7/28 points (range: 15–21). Thirteen studies investigated kinematics and nine investigated muscle activity. Rowers without LBP (‘healthy’) have distinct kinematics (neutral or anterior pelvic rotation at the catch, greater hip range of motion, flatter low back spinal position at the finish) and muscle activity (trunk extensor dominant with less flexor activity). Rowers with LBP had relatively greater posterior pelvic rotation at the catch, greater hip extension at the finish and less efficient trunk muscle activity. In both groups fatigue results in increased lumbar spine flexion at the catch, which is greater on the ergometer. There is insufficient evidence to recommend one ergometer type (fixed vs dynamic) over the other to avoid LBP. Trunk asymmetries are not associated with LBP in rowers.
Conclusion Improving clinicians’ and coaches’ understanding of safe and effective rowing biomechanics, particularly of the spine, pelvis and hips may be an important strategy in reducing incidence and burden of LBP
A variable-topology morphing composite cylindrical lattice
No full textMorphing composite structures are of significant interest due to the fact that they exhibit superior mass‐to‐ stiffness ratios and a large degree of tailorability in comparison to traditional materials and structures. One such morphing composite structure is the multistable composite cylindrical lattice. Current work introduces a novel variable‐topology morphing mechanism to it through the use of both permanent magnets and electro-magnets. By replacing a set of mechanical fasteners from the central intersection of the lattice strips with a bespoke variable‐topology mechanism introduces a controllable and replicable semi‐autonomous means for topology morphing. The variable‐topology mechanism allows the structure to transition from being a linear deployment actuator to one that deploys along a curved path, without need for external mechanical input.
The behaviour of both the variable‐topology mechanism and the topology‐changing cylindrical lattice are thoroughly characterised through a combination of mechanical and virtual tests
Alloying germanium nanowire anodes dramatically outperform graphite anodes in full-cell chemistries over a wide temperature range
No full textThe electrochemical performance of Ge, an alloying
anode in the form of directly grown nanowires (NWs), in Li-ion
full cells (vs LiCoO2) was analyzed over a wide temperature range
(−40 to 40 °C). LiCoO2||Ge cells in a standard electrolyte
exhibited specific capacities 30× and 50× those of LiCoO2||C cells
at −20 and −40 °C, respectively. We further show that propylene
carbonate addition further improved the low-temperature perform ance of LiCoO2||Ge cells, achieving a specific capacity of 1091 mA
h g−1 after 400 cycles when charged/discharged at −20 °C. At 40
°C, an additive mixture of ethyl methyl carbonate and lithium bis(oxalato)borate stabilized the capacity fade from 0.22 to 0.07%
cycle−1
. Similar electrolyte additives in LiCoO2||C cells did not allow for any gains in performance. Interestingly, the capacity
retention of LiCoO2||Ge improved at low temperatures due to delayed amorphization of crystalline NWs, suppressing complete
lithiation and high-order Li15Ge4 phase formation. The results show that alloying anodes in suitably configured electrolytes can
deliver high performance at the extremes of temperature ranges where electric vehicles operate, conditions that are currently not
viable for commercial batteries without energy-inefficient temperature regulation
The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care
No full textThis paper presents a preliminary concept for a ‘Mobile Phone App’ providing training in mindful hand hygiene integrated with the WHO hand hygiene protocol. A range of human factors action research methods were used to specify the preliminary concept. This includes stakeholder interviews, workshops, and participatory co-design/evaluation sessions. Mindfulness enables HCW to focus on the correct procedure for HH, along with addressing the need for self-care. The proposed Mobile Phone App enables training in mindful HH, from home. Mindful HH training forms parts of a wider learner journey which includes addressing self-care and training in PPE donning and doffing. Mindfulness is an inexpensive strategy to reduce stress and improve the quality of the working lives of healthcare workers. However, it is not a substitute for professional counselling services
The development and structure of the mesentery
No full textThe position of abdominal organs, and mechanisms by which these are centrally connected, are currently described in peritoneal terms. As part of the peritoneal model of abdominal anatomy, there are multiple mesenteries. Recent findings point to an alternative model in which digestive organs are connected to a single mesentery. Given that direct evidence of this is currently lacking, we investigated the development and shape of the entire mesentery. Here we confirm that, within the abdomen, there is one mesentery in which all abdominal digestive organs develop and remain connected to. We show that all abdominopelvic organs are organised into two, discrete anatomical domains, the mesenteric and non-mesenteric domain. A similar organisation occurs across a range of animal species. The findings clarify the anatomical foundation of the abdomen; at the foundation level, the abdomen comprises a visceral (i.e. mesenteric) and somatic (i.e. musculoskeletal) frame. The organisation at that level is a fundamental order that explains the positional anatomy of all abdominopelvic organs, vasculature and peritoneum. Collectively, the findings provide a novel start point from which to systemically characterise the abdomen and its contents
The Importance of Age in the Prediction of Mortality by a Frailty Index: A Machine Learning Approach in the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing
No full textThe quantification of biological age in humans is an important scientific endeavor in the face of ageing populations. The frailty index (FI) methodology is based on the accumulation of health deficits and captures variations in health status within individuals of the same age. The aims of this study were to assess whether the addition of age to an FI improves its mortality prediction and whether the associations of the individual FI items differ in strength. We utilized data from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing to conduct, by sex, machine learning analyses of the ability of a 32-item FI to predict 8-year mortality in 8174 wave 1 participants aged 50 or more years. By wave 5, 559 men and 492 women had died. In the absence of age, the FI was an acceptable predictor of mortality with AUCs of 0.7. When age was included, AUCs improved to 0.8 in men and 0.9 in women. After age, deficits related to physical function and self-rated health tended to have higher importance scores. Not all FI variables seemed equally relevant to predict mortality, and age was by far the most relevant feature. Chronological age should remain an important consideration when interpreting the prognostic significance of an FI