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Introduction: The rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic required systemic change in how healthcare was delivered to minimize virus transmission whilst maintaining safe service delivery. Deemed at ‘moderate-high risk’, maternity patients are an important patient group that require consideration. Public Health England (PHE) issued national guidance on how to adjust these services. Aim: To explore how maternity units in England implemented PHE guidance. Methods: An online survey of 22 items was distributed to individuals that had worked on an England-based maternity unit during the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire was designed and tested by the multidisciplinary research team. Data was collected from November 2020 to July 2021. Findings: Forty-four participants across 33 maternity units responded. Ninety-three percent were able to test all women requiring an overnight stay for COVID-19. Only 27% reported birth partners were tested for COVID-19. Only 73% reported they were able to isolate all COVID-19-positive patients in single rooms. Eighty-four percent stated they were aware of current PHE guidance on personal protective equipment (PPE) and 82% felt ‘confident’ in donning/doffing of PPE. Priorities for the future include rapid testing and a focus on community service provision. Conclusions: PHE COVID-19 guidance was implemented differently in maternity units across England due to the varying resources available at each trust leading to variable ability to test and isolate patients as recommended. More specific, tailored guidance for infection control measures against COVID-19 is needed for maternity settings due to their unique position.

La Trobe University Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering Murray Darling Freshwater Research CentreMDFRC item.This paper reviews research on fluxes of carbon in Australian floodplain rivers. Except where cover is absent, and in-stream gross primary production is >1 gC m–2 day–1 and ratios of production to respiration are >1, riparian sources dominate carbon pools in catchment streams. On floodplains, primary production by river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) forests is ~600 gC m–2 year–1. Total primary production by aquatic macrophytes and biofilms in floodplain wetlands is >2500 gC m–2 year–1 and >620 gC m–2 year–1, respectively. Large pools of particulate organic carbon (POC) exist on floodplains as litter (>500 gC m–2) and coarse woody debris (~6 kgC m–2). Floods may release 50 gDOC m–2 from leaf litter. Export of this DOC (dissolved organic carbon) may be substantial relative to autochthonous production in river channels. Sediments deposited on floodplains during large floods represent a substantial sink of riverine POC (up to 280 gC m–2). Bacteria are responsible for rapid decomposition of DOC and POC in floodplain wetlands (sediment respiration and methanogenesis, both ~1 gC m–2 day–1). Flow and its interaction with geomorphology control carbon fluxes in rivers. Decreased inputs of floodplain carbon, following river regulation and physical disturbances to catchments and floodplains, may have resulted in many Australian rivers being dominated by algal production.

Background: This study aimed to explore the successes and barriers to the implementation of Public Health England (PHE) infection prevention and control guidance in English maternity units during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Qualitative semi-structured interviews with obstetricians, midwives and neonatologists who worked in a maternity unit in England, UK, between March 2020 and July 2021. A thematic analysis was performed. Results: Successes to the implementation of PHE guidance were related to existing infrastructure, training satisfaction, and organisational culture where subthemes considered the importance of a multidisciplinary approach, COVID-19 dedicated roles and hospital-wide communication. Barriers to implementation related to the applicability of the guidance with subthemes highlighting contradictions between updates, specialties and hospitals, undesirable timings and frequency of guidance updates, reductions in staff compliance and delayed implementation. Finally, the layout of some units made it difficult to implement various aspects of the guidance (e.g., social distancing), and many detailed issues related to information technology compatibility, a lack of availability and accessibility to appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), and variations in testing arrangements between units. Conclusions: This research provides information on the experiences of healthcare professionals working on maternity units during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings illustrate the importance of effective hospital-wide communication and the need for consistent, easily understood guidance. These results will be used to inform the content of an expert panel consensus meeting.

Fatigue crack growth tests were conducted on compact, C(T), specimens made of 7249-T76511 aluminium alloy. These tests were conducted to generate crack growth rate data from threshold to near fracture over a wide range of load ratios (R). Four methods were used to generate near threshold data: (1) ASTM E-647 load reduction (LR), (2) compression pre-cracking constant-amplitude (CPCA), (3) compression pre-cracking LR, and (4) constant crack mouth opening displacement LR method. A crack closure analysis was used to develop an effective stress-intensity factor range against rate relation using a constraint factor (α = 1.85). Simulated aircraft wing spectrum tests were conducted on middle crack tension, M(T), specimens using a modified full-scale fatigue test spectrum. The tests were used to develop the constraint-loss regime (plane strain to plane stress; α = 1.85 to 1.15) behaviour. Comparisons were made between the spectrum tests and calculations made with the FASTRAN life prediction code; and the calculated crack growth lives were generally with ±10% of the test results.