Damage tolerance of cold drawn ferritic-austenitic stainless steels wires for prestressed concrete

Damage tolerance of high strength cold-drawn ferritic–austenitic stainless steel wires is assessed by means of tensile fracture tests of cracked wires. The fatigue crack is transversally propagated from the wire surface. The damage tolerance curve of the wires results from the empirical failure load when given as a function of crack depth. As a consequence of cold drawing, the wire microstructure is orientated along its longitudinal axis and anisotropic fracture behaviour is found at macrostructural level at the tensile failure of the cracked specimens. An in situ optical technique known as video image correlation VIC-2D is used to get an insight into this failure mechanism by tensile testing transversally fatigue cracked plane specimens extracted from the cold-drawn wires. Finally, the experimentally obtained damage tolerance curve of the cold-drawn ferritic–austenitic stainless steel wires is compared with that of an elementary plastic collapse model and existing data of two types of high strength eutectoid steel currently used as prestressing steel for concrete

Classical Mitchell's osteotomy in the management of symptomatic hallux vulgus

Background: Hallux vulgus is common deformity of fore foot frequently resulting in pain at first metatarso phalyngeal joint and cosmetic problems. Hallux vulgus is particularly more common in shoe wearing populations. Ours being a sub Himalayan region with harsh and prolonged winters where shoe wearing is a must this condition is very common. Various surgical procedures have been described for its management. These range from soft tissue procedures to arthodesis of first metatarso phalyngeal joint. Distal first metatarsal osteotomy (Mitchell’s osteotomy) is a time tested procedure in its management.Methods: Forty adult patients (56 feet) with symptomatic hallux vulgus, who did not respond to conservative treatment, were managed with Mitchell’s osteotomy.Results: Results were assessed as per American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society grading. More than ninety percent of our patients were fully satisfied with their pain relief and foot cosmetics while others were satisfied with some reservations. There was no major complication or non-union at osteotomy site. Conclusions: Management of hallux vulgus is conservative to begin with, measures like life style modifications, broad toed shoes, toe spacers and physical therapy are tried first. Surgical intervention is indicated if conservative measures fail to relieve symptoms. More than 130 surgical procedures have been described for hallux vulgus ranging from soft tissue procedures like MacBride’s to arthodesis of first metatarso phalyngeal joint. Distal metatarsal osteotomy was first described by Hawkins in 1945 but was named after Mitchell who published his work in 1958. From our study we conclude that this is a time tested procedure for symptomatic cases of Hallux Vulgus not responding to conservative measures

External fixation of “intertrochanteric” fractures

In developing countries, due to limited availability of modern anesthesia and overcrowding of the hospitals with patients who need surgery, high-risk patients with “intertrochanteric” fractures remain unsuita ble for open reduction and internal fixation

A survey of current social network and online communication provision policies to support law enforcement identify offenders

Online forms of harassment, stalking and bullying on social network and communication platforms are now arguably wide-spread and subject to regular media coverage. As these provision continue to attract millions of users, generating significant volumes of traffic, regulating abuse and effectively reprimanding those who are involved in it, is a difficult and sometimes impossible task. This article collates information acquired from 22 popular social network and communication platforms in order to identify current regulatory gaps. Terms of service and privacy policies are reviewed to assess existing practices of data retention to evaluate the feasibility of law enforcement officials tracking those whose actions breach the law. For each provision, account sign-up processes are evaluated and policies for retaining Internet Protocol logs and user account information are assessed along with the availability of account preservation orders. Finally, recommendations are offered for improving current approaches to regulating social network crime and online offender tracking.</p

A numerical investigation on the fire response of a steel girder bridge

The response of bridges subject to fire is an under researched topic despite the number of bridge failures caused by fire. Since available data shows that steel girder bridges are especially vulnerable to fire, this paper delves into their fire response by analyzing with a 3D numerical model the response of a typical bridge of 12.20 m span length. A parametric study is performed considering: (1) two possibilities for the axial restraint of the bridge deck, (2) four types of structural steel for the girders (carbon steel and stainless steel grades 1.4301, 1.4401, and 1.4462), (3) three different constitutive models for carbon steel, (4) four live loads, and (5) two alternative fire loads (the hydrocarbon fire defined by Eurocode 1 and a fire corresponding to a real fire event). Results show that restraint to deck expansion coming from an adjacent span or abutment should be considered in the numerical model. In addition, times to collapse are very small when the bridge girders are built with carbon steel (between 8.5 and 18 min) but they can almost double if stainless steel is used for the girders. Therefore, stainless steel is a material to consider for steel girder bridges in a high fire risk situation, especially if the bridge is located in a corrosive environment and its aesthetics deserves special attention. The methodology developed in this paper and the results obtained are useful for researchers and practitioners interested in developing and applying a performance-based approach for the design of bridges against fire. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Funding for this research has been provided to Dr. Paya-Zaforteza by the Spanish Ministry of Education (contract number EX-2008-0669 of the Program for Postdoctoral Stays), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (research project BIA 2011-27104) and the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (Research and Development Support Program PAID-06-11). Funding has also been provided to Dr. Maria Garlock by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under award number CMMI-1068252. All opinions expressed in this paper are the authors' and do not necessarily reflect the policies and views of the sponsors.Paya-Zaforteza, I.; Garlock, ME. (2012). A numerical investigation on the fire response of a steel girder bridge. Journal of Constructional Steel Research. 75:93-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2012.03.012S931037

REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF LOT IDENTIFIER INFORMATION DATA IN THE VACCINE ADVERSE EVENT REPORTING SYSTEM (VAERS)

Vaccine lot identifier information reporting to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database is important for post-licensure product safety surveillance. VAERS-initial-report data were used to evaluate the extent of missing lot identifier information. Publicly accessible VAERS data for pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) were analyzed for the variables potentially associated with completeness of lot identifier information. Analysis of the data showed lot identifier information was more likely to be included in VAERS reports for PCV, serious adverse events, by publicly funded source of administrators, and by those submitted by sources other than manufacturers. PPV VAERS-initial-reports data suggested that 56.4% of this vaccine was administered to the wrong age group of children (under 2 years old). While VAERS data has many limitations it serves as a valuable tool for vaccine safety surveillance, it is important for reporters to include complete and accurate lot identification information

A case report of suspected malignant hyperthermia where patient survived the episode

Malignant hyperthermia is rare inherited disorder in our part of the world; there are only few cases reported in literature in India who were suspected of having this condition. The overall incidence of malignant hyperthermia during general anesthesia is estimated to range from 1: 5000 to 1: 50,000–100,000 and mortality rate is estimated to be <5% in the presence of standard care. In India, there is no center where in vitro halothane caffeine contraction test is performed to confirm diagnosis in suspected cases. Second, dantrolene drug of choice for this condition is not freely available in market in India and is stored only in some hospitals in few major cities. Among the cases reported of suspected of malignant hyperthermia in India almost 50% have survived the condition despite nonavailability of dantrolene emphasizing role of early detection and aggressive management in these cases