Browsing by Author "Smith, A."
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Item Metadata only 'All they lack is a chain': lean and the new performance management in the British civil service.(Wiley Blackwell, 2011-07) Carter, Bob; Danford, A.; Howcroft, D.; Richardson, H.; Smith, A.; Taylor, P.Item Metadata only Belligerent broadcasting and makeover television: Professional incivility in Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares(Sage, 2012) Higgins, M.; Montgomery, Martin; Smith, A.; Tolson, AndrewItem Open Access Broad Scale & Structure Fabrication of Healthcare Materials for Drug and Emerging Therapies Via Electrohydrodynamic Techniques(Wiley, 2018-09) Mehta, P.; Zaman, A.; Smith, A.; Rasekh, M.; Haj-Ahmad, R.; Arshad, M. S.; van der Merwe, S.; Chang, M-W.; Ahmad, Z.The engineering of advanced healthcare materials provides a platform to address challenges facing interdisciplinary scientists, clinicians, pharmacists, biomaterial scientists and biomedical engineers. Niche and timely developments arising from the synthesis or extraction of more biocompatible materials, new biologically active components, clearer insights into disease mechanisms and novel therapies or strategies provide several timely opportunities. These include enhanced therapies with greater patient compliance, improved disease targeting, better diagnosis and bespoke medications for individuals. Electrohydrodynamic atomisation (EHDA) engineering comprises several processes making use of electric fields (e.g. through an applied voltage) interplaying with several forces (e.g. gravity and surface tension). Coupled to advanced materials (e.g. formulated media) and specifically configured apparatuses (e.g. nozzles, collectors and downstream processes); effective and controlled fabrication of various structures (fibers, particles, bubbles, grids, droplets) on various scales (macro, micro and nano) possessing various dimensions (2D, 3D and 4D) is readily achieved. The processes have distinct advantages compared to established engineering methods (ambient environment engineering, low shear, scalability, compartmentalisation etc.). This detailed review focuses on key concepts and developments in EHDA engineering pertaining to underlying principles, enabling tools and engineered structures specifically for healthcare remits. From initial experiments involving the behaviour of non-formulated liquids on charged amber to recent developments in complex 3D matrix printing; the EHDA route has progressed significantly, most rapidly in the last two decades, and is capable of providing timely platform opportunities to tackle several global healthcare challengesItem Metadata only Controlling Self-Assembling Peptide Hydrogel Properties through Network Topology(ACS Publications, 2017-01-09) Gao, J.; Tang, C.; Elsawy, M.; Smith, A.; Miller, A.; Saiani, A.Self-assembling peptide-based hydrogels have encountered increasing interest in the recent years as scaffolds for 3D cell culture or for controlled drug delivery. One of the main challenges is the fine control of the mechanical properties of these materials. The bulk properties of hydrogels not only depend on the intrinsic properties of the fibers but also on the network topology formed. In this work we show how fiber−fiber interactions can be manipulated by design to control the final hydrogel network topology and therefore control the final properties of the material. This was achieved by exploiting the design features of β-sheet forming peptides based on hydrophobic and hydrophilic residue alternation and exploiting the ability of the arginine’s guanidine side group to interact with itself and with other amino acid side groups. By designing octa-peptides based on phenylalanine, glutamic acid, lysine, and arginine, we have investigated how fiber association and bundling affect the dynamic shear modulus of hydrogels and how it can be controlled by design. This work opens the possibility to fine-tune by design the bulk properties of peptide hydrogels.Item Open Access Modification of β-Sheet Forming Peptide Hydrophobic Face: Effect on Self-Assembly and Gelation(ACS Publications, 2016-04-18) Elsawy, M.; Smith, A.; Hodson, N.; Squires, A.; Miller, A.; Saiani, A.β-Sheet forming peptides have attracted significant interest for the design of hydrogels for biomedical applications. One of the main challenges is the control and understanding of the correlations between peptide molecular structure, the morphology, and topology of the fiber and network formed as well as the macroscopic properties of the hydrogel obtained. In this work, we have investigated the effect that functionalizing these peptides through their hydrophobic face has on their self-assembly and gelation. Our results show that the modification of the hydrophobic face results in a partial loss of the extended β-sheet conformation of the peptide and a significant change in fiber morphology from straight to kinked. As a consequence, the ability of these fibers to associate along their length and form large bundles is reduced. These structural changes (fiber structure and network topology) significantly affect the mechanical properties of the hydrogels (shear modulus and elasticity).Item Metadata only Neonatal tamoxifen treatment of mice leads to adenomyosis but not uterine cancer.(Elsevier, 2005-03) Gray, Douglas T.; Green, A.; White, Ian; Styles, Jerry; Edwards, Richard; Smith, A.; Gant, T.; Greaves, Peter; Al-Azzawi, FarookItem Metadata only Sport and national identity in the post-war world(Routledge, 2004) Porter, Dilwyn; Smith, A.Item Metadata only 'Stressed out of my box': employee experience of lean working and occupational ill-health in clerical work in the UK public sector(Sage, 2013) Carter, Bob; Danford, A.; Howcroft, D.; Richardson, H.; Smith, A.; Taylor, P.