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Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is regarded as the most preventable cause of inpatient death in hospital settings globally. VTE can be prevented through the provision of non-pharmacological and/or pharmacological thromboprophylaxis following individualised risk screening. The Caprini risk assessment model (RAM) offers a validated and well-established approach for VTE risk assessment in medical inpatients. Literature findings describe a trend towards inappropriate and under-prescribing of thromboprophylaxis in this population. Together with concerns regarding clinicians’ perceived importance of VTE risk assessment, the need to clarify these aspects of practice is evident. Objectives: To describe VTE risk assessment and prophylaxis practices of medical practitioners in public sector hospitals in Western Cape Province, South Africa (SA). Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study design was employed in the medical wards of two district hospitals and one regional hospital in the Cape Town metropole, Western Cape. Medical folders of adult medical inpatients admitted between January and July 2020 were reviewed to assess VTE risk using the Caprini RAM. Thromboprophylaxis therapy prescribed and contraindications to chemoprophylaxis were also evaluated. Results: Of 380 patients included in the review, 51.6% were female, and the average age was 52.1 years (range 18 - 96); 21.3% had their weight recorded, while none had their height documented. Infectious disease was the predominant diagnosis (49.2%) detected in the sample. Common VTE risk factors identified included bed rest/restricted mobility for

This paper focuses on a new instructional module for the physical modeling of stress distributions within a layer of sand developed for use with an instructional centrifuge. This study is designed to help undergraduate geotechnical students to develop a deeper understanding of the assumptions behind the analytical solutions for the stress distribution under a square footing. A new centrifuge container was designed with the ability to measure the change in stress at a point within a sand layer due to the application of a static applied load at the surface of the layer. An experimental procedure was developed allowing 3 to 4 tests to be run during a typical 2 hour-long laboratory session. A template for an excel-based laboratory report is presented that can be used by undergraduate students during class to prepare the soil specimen and compare the experimental results with existing analytical solutions. The report also includes observational questions requiring the students to consider the influences of boundary effects and arching in centrifuge modeling. © 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London.

This paper presents the results from a series of centrifuge tests to understand the strain distribution in semi-floating energy foundations in dry Nevada sand during mechanical loading and foundation heating. In addition to the details of the model reinforced-concrete energy foundation, the results from 1-g thermo-mechanical characterization tests are presented. The centrifuge-scale tests involve application of an axial load to the head of the foundation (in load-control conditions) then circulation of a heat exchange fluid through embedded tubing to bring the foundation to a constant temperature. During this time, the axial strains are measured using embedded strain gages, and the soil and foundation temperatures and thermal and thermo-mechanical head displacements are monitored. Loading tests to failure were then performed on the foundations to characterize the impact of temperature on the load-settlement curve. The information from the tests permits definition of soil-structure interaction parameters for dry sands under realistic stress states. Different from previous studies on unsaturated silt, no change in ultimate side shear resistance was observed with increasing temperature. The thermal strains are relatively constant with depth and are close to free expansion. © 2014 Taylor & Francis Group.

A novel Centrifuge Permeameter (CP) system was designed to characterize and model seepage and reactive solute transport through low permeability materials and geological strata. A new CP module for the Broadbent G18 geotechnical centrifuge (2.0 m diameter), provides new capability for hydraulic conductivity (K) and transport testing of materials including drill cores, mine tailings and engineered barriers. By designing centrifuge models that maintain chemical equilibrium, reactive transport of solutes can be assessed within a reasonable experiment time at accelerated gravity. The K of minimally disturbed drill cores or porous materials having a diameter of 65-100 mm and a length of 20-200 mm can be measured using steady state flow, with a K detection limit currently within the order of 10-12 m/s. This paper presents K values as a function of depth below ground for drill core, and K as a function of effective porosity of reconstituted silica flour specimens. © 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London.

The increasing need for energy storage technology has led to a massive interest in novel energy storage methods. The energy geomembrane system is such a novel energy storage method. The concept of the system is briefly introduced, and a holistic numerical model of the system is presented. The model uses advanced finite-element techniques to model the energy storage system using fluid cavity elements. The developed geomembrane energy system is modelled with different constitutive models to represent the soil behaviour: a linear elastic model, a nonlinear Mohr-Coulomb model, and a hypoplastic constitutive model. The consequences of these different models on the results are studied. Hereby, the focus is the first inflation and deflation cycle of the system.