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Contains fulltext : 247217.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)

Contains fulltext : 290654.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access)

Background\ud To date, no pre-void wearable alarm exists to treat nocturnal enuresis (NE)—night-time bedwetting, and children with NE and their families are disappointed in relation to the post-void moisture alarms and medicine currently available. Development of a safe, comfortable and non-invasive wearable pre-void alarm and associated technology, using advanced mechatronics, is underway (the MyPAD device). Each stage of development includes patient and public involvement (PPI), particularly with respect to human factors, in collaboration with physicians, radiologists, psychologists, nurses, engineers and designers.\ud \ud Objectives\ud The aim of this study was to help us understand the families’ experience of the condition of enuresis, and to provide opinion relating to existing NE alarms, designed to detect moisture, and most importantly, the initial design of the MyPAD wearable technology.\ud \ud Methods\ud A PPI workshop in the form of a focus group, made up of children with enuresis and their parents, was conducted during the early stage of the MyPAD product development. The key research questions (RQs) were: (RQ1) What were the families’ experiences of using existing post-void enuresis alarms? (RQ2) What do families like about the MyPAD prototype? and (RQ3) What do families not like about the MyPAD prototype? A nurse specialised in terms of NE treatment, including post-void alarms, from the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and two MyPAD design engineers were also present, to explain the MyPAD design concept. Braun and Clarke’s six-phase approach to thematic analysis was implemented, which included familiarisation with the data, initial descriptive coding, identifying themes, reviewing themes, defining and labelling themes and producing a report.\ud \ud Results\ud Four common themes were identified from the focus group discussions: the importance of sleep; children do not want to feel different; parents feel frustrated and concerned; resilience and perseverance. These themes applied across the research questions; for example, sleep disruption was highlighted as an issue with existing post-void alarms and as an important requirement for the design of MyPAD. The evaluation of the early version of the MyPAD device has prompted the consideration of changes to some existing facets of the device, including providing multiple alarm types, more options for the design of the garment that houses the device, and the need for clear, age-appropriate and informative instructions relating to how the device should be used, in order to maximise its performance/efficiency and acceptance.\ud \ud Conclusions\ud The qualitative data derived from the focus group discussion was incredibly valuable as it enabled the research and design team to experience the perspectives of the families in terms of the challenges and conflicts of managing the condition and the limited utility of existing post-void alarms. This has improved our understanding of the social and environmental challenges that will need to be considered during the design process.

This paper summarises results of an experimental shaking table test program conducted on a single room steel-framed brick veneer house. The Test House was constructed of full scale components and represents current building practices in New Zealand. The primary objective of the test program was to assess the performance of the brick veneer walls when subjected to out-of-plane earthquake loading, having been previously subjected to in-plane loading which has the potential to weaken the veneer/tie/stud system for subsequent out-of-plane loading. The veneer walls of the Test House incorporated typical geometric features in different directions. The Test House was subjected to varying levels of the El-Centro (ElC) earthquake ranging from moderate Serviceability Limit State (SLS) ground motion to excitation well beyond the design Maximum Considered Earthquake (MCE) for New Zealand. These levels of excitation were selected in order to ascertain the response for specific limit states and compare against minimum performance requirements specified in the New Zealand Earthquake Standard, NZS 1170.5 (2004). Results presented are based on comprehensive measurements including acceleration, drift and differential movements between the structural steel frame and veneer. The Test House performed very well, with no brick loss up to 2.6 times ElC earthquake which is well in excess of all performance requirements. The results from the Test House under the onerous testing program reveal that such form of construction would be expected to exhibit good performance under both serviceability and ultimate conditions in New Zealand.

Brick veneer construction is a very common form for residential structures in Australia and is growing in popularity in New Zealand. The structural frame is made from steel or timber, and non-structural brick walls are attached to the frame via brick ties. Under earthquake loading there is a complex interaction between the frame and veneer walls, particularly in the outof- plane direction, where there is risk of brick wall collapse. While there is a standard component test method for assessing the seismic capacity of brick ties, this method has been developed around brick veneer on timber studs. In order to realistically assess the overall performance of brick veneer construction with steel framing, a full scale one-room test structure 'Test House' was tested on a shaking table. The Test House incorporated veneer walls with different geometries. It was subjected to varying levels of the El-Centro earthquake ranging from moderate serviceability limit state ground motion to well beyond the design maximum considered earthquake for New Zealand. These levels of shaking were selected in order to ascertain the response for specific limit states to the New Zealand Loading Standard and to compare against minimum performance requirements. Comprehensive measurements on the frame and veneer walls were taken, including acceleration, drift and differential movements between the frame and veneer. The Test House performed very well, with no brick loss up to 2.6 times El-Centro earthquake, which is well in excess of all performance requirements. This paper presents a summary of the outcomes from the experimental test program.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a form of life support used when conventional management with mechanical ventilation is failing. Depending on the type of ECMO support utilised, it can provide temporary lung support in neonates and children with respiratory failure (usually veno-venous access) and cardiac support (veno-arterial access) particularly around the time of corrective cardiac surgery. Unlike cardio-pulmonary bypass during cardiac surgery, ECMO support is usually provided for a number of days or even weeks. It is essential that this intense and relatively complex form of life support is free from potentially avoidable adverse incidents. We have developed a course for training in critical incident management during an ECMO ‘run’ using clinical event scenarios and based on a high-fidelity patient simulator. We present the development process and our initial thoughts about its use.