Alganyl: Cooking Sustainable Clothing

In this article, we introduce Alganyl, a biotextile created through the embodied knowledge of cooking. Based on existing Do-It-Yourself (DIY) recipes for bioplastics, Alganyl is made from renewable resources, feels like vinyl, and can be re-used before ultimately being composted. We outline three guiding principles for designing with Alganyl: materiality, accessibility, and sustainability. Our replicable process involves cooking Alganyl in the designer’s kitchen, followed by cutting and heat-sealing to create clothing. We apply these guiding design principles and processes to make three articles of Alganyl clothing including a dress, a shirt, and a skirt. Lastly, we address the life cycle of Alganyl, paying particular attention to the clothing’s end of life, which we approach through re-cooking and biodegradation (60 days to degrade 97%). Through our experiences with Alganyl, we believe that it has the potential to bring a future where clothing is an autonomous form of self-expression that has minimal impact on the environment

Can Playing the Computer Game “Tetris” Reduce the Build-Up of Flashbacks for Trauma? A Proposal from Cognitive Science

Background: Flashbacks are the hallmark symptom of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Although we have successful treatments for full-blown PTSD, early interventions are lacking. We propose the utility of developing a ‘cognitive vaccine ’ to prevent PTSD flashback development following exposure to trauma. Our theory is based on two key findings: 1) Cognitive science suggests that the brain has selective resources with limited capacity; 2) The neurobiology of memory suggests a 6-hr window to disrupt memory consolidation. The rationale for a ‘cognitive vaccine ’ approach is as follows: Trauma flashbacks are sensory-perceptual, visuospatial mental images. Visuospatial cognitive tasks selectively compete for resources required to generate mental images. Thus, a visuospatial computer game (e.g. ‘‘Tetris’’) will interfere with flashbacks. Visuospatial tasks post-trauma, performed within the time window for memory consolidation, will reduce subsequent flashbacks. We predicted that playing ‘‘Tetris’ ’ half an hour after viewing trauma would reduce flashback frequency over 1-week. Methodology/Principal Findings: The Trauma Film paradigm was used as a well-established experimental analog for Posttraumatic Stress. All participants viewed a traumatic film consisting of scenes of real injury and death followed by a 30-min structured break. Participants were then randomly allocated to either a no-task or visuospatial (‘‘Tetris’’) condition which they undertook for 10-min. Flashbacks were monitored for 1-week. Results indicated that compared to the no-tas

Global Incidence of Frailty and Prefrailty Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Importance  Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome of significant public health importance, yet there is limited understanding of the risk of frailty development at a population level.Objective  To estimate the global incidence of frailty and prefrailty among community-dwelling adults 60 years or older.Data Sources  MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL Plus, and AMED (Allied and Complementary Medicine Database) were searched from inception to January 2019 without language restrictions using combinations of the keywords frailty, older adults, and incidence. The reference lists of eligible studies were hand searched.Study Selection  In the systematic review, 2 authors undertook the search, article screening, and study selection. Cohort studies that reported or had sufficient data to compute incidence of frailty or prefrailty among community-dwelling adults 60 years or older at baseline were eligible.Data Extraction and Synthesis  The methodological quality of included studies was assessed using The Joanna Briggs Institute’s Critical Appraisal Checklist for Prevalence and Incidence Studies. Meta-analysis was conducted using a random-effects (DerSimonian and Laird) model.Main Outcomes and Measures  Incidence of frailty (defined as new cases of frailty among robust or prefrail individuals) and incidence of prefrailty (defined as new cases of prefrailty among robust individuals), both over a specified duration.Results  Of 15 176 retrieved references, 46 observational studies involving 120 805 nonfrail (robust or prefrail) participants from 28 countries were included in this systematic review. Among the nonfrail individuals who survived a median follow-up of 3.0 (range, 1.0-11.7) years, 13.6% (13 678 of 100 313) became frail, with the pooled incidence rate being 43.4 (95% CI, 37.3-50.4; I2 = 98.5%) cases per 1000 person-years. The incidence of frailty was significantly higher in prefrail individuals than robust individuals (pooled incidence rates, 62.7 [95% CI, 49.2-79.8; I2 = 97.8%] vs 12.0 [95% CI, 8.2-17.5; I2 = 94.9%] cases per 1000 person-years, respectively; P for difference < .001). Among robust individuals in 21 studies who survived a median follow-up of 2.5 (range, 1.0-10.0) years, 30.9% (9974 of 32 268) became prefrail, with the pooled incidence rate being 150.6 (95% CI, 123.3-184.1; I2 = 98.9%) cases per 1000 person-years. The frailty and prefrailty incidence rates were significantly higher in women than men (frailty: 44.8 [95% CI, 36.7-61.3; I2 = 97.9%] vs 24.3 [95% CI, 19.6-30.1; I2 = 8.94%] cases per 1000 person-years; prefrailty: 173.2 [95% CI, 87.9-341.2; I2 = 99.1%] vs 129.0 [95% CI, 73.8-225.0; I2 = 98.5%] cases per 1000 person-years). The incidence rates varied by diagnostic criteria and country income level. The frailty and prefrailty incidence rates were significantly reduced when accounting for the risk of death.Conclusions and Relevance  Results of this study suggest that community-dwelling older adults are prone to developing frailty. Increased awareness of the factors that confer high risk of frailty in this population subgroup is vital to inform the design of interventions to prevent frailty and to minimize its consequences.</p

Overview of Spirit Microscopic Imager Results

This paper provides an overview of Mars Exploration Rover Spirit Microscopic Imager (MI) operations and the calibration, processing, and analysis of MI data. The focus of this overview is on the last five Earth years (2005-2010) of Spirit's mission in Gusev crater, supplementing the previous overview of the first 450 sols of the Spirit MI investigation. Updates to radiometric calibration using in-flight data and improvements in high-level processing are summarized. Released data products are described, and a table of MI observations, including target/feature names and associated data sets, is appended. The MI observed natural and disturbed exposures of rocks and soils as well as magnets and other rover hardware. These hand-lens-scale observations have provided key constraints on interpretations of the formation and geologic history of features, rocks, and soils examined by Spirit. MI images complement observations by other Spirit instruments, and together show that impact and volcanic processes have dominated the origin and evolution of the rocks in Gusev crater, with aqueous activity indicated by the presence of silica-rich rocks and sulfate-rich soils. The textures of some of the silica-rich rocks are similar to terrestrial hot spring deposits, and observations of subsurface cemented layers indicate recent aqueous mobilization of sulfates in places. Wind action has recently modified soils and abraded many of the rocks imaged by the MI, as observed at other Mars landing sites. Plain Language Summary The Microscopic Imager (MI) on NASA's Spirit rover returned the highest-resolution images of the Martian surface available at the time of the 2004-2010 mission. Designed to survive 90 Mars days (sols) and search for evidence of water in the past, Spirit returned data for 2210 sols, far exceeding all expectations. This paper summarizes the scientific insights gleaned from the thousands of MI images acquired during the last 5years of the mission, supplementing the summary of the first 450 sols of the Spirit MI investigation published previously (Herkenhoff et al., ). Along with data from the other instruments on Spirit, MI images guided the scientific interpretation of the geologic history of the rocks and soils observed in Gusev crater on Mars. We conclude that the geologic history of the area explored by Spirit has been dominated by impacts and volcanism, and that water, perhaps very hot water, was involved in the evolution of some of the rocks and soils. More recently, winds have moved soil particles and abraded rocks, as observed elsewhere on Mars. These results have improved our understanding of Mars' history and informed planning of future missions to Mars.National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationPublic domain articleThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Public Sector Poetry Journal: Telling Stories about Health, Education and Society

A collection of ethnographic poems by public sector workers across the UK, using poetry to articulate their lived experiences within the sector. Issue 2 of the magazine is a collection of 15 selected poems from a submission of 187 poems; all poems will be used as qualitative data and explored using thematic analysis and findings will support recommendations to advocate change and improvement in the sector

The role of specific biomarkers, as predictors of post-operative complications following flexible ureterorenoscopy (FURS), for the treatment of kidney stones: a single-centre observational clinical pilot-study in 37 patients

Abstract: Background: The number of patients diagnosed and subsequently treated for kidney stones is increasing, and as such the number of post-operative complications is likely to increase. At present, little is known about the role of specific biomarkers, following flexible ureterorenoscopy (FURS) for the surgical treatment of kidney stones. The main aim of the study was to evaluate the role of kidney and infection biomarkers, in patients undergoing FURS. Methods: Included were 37 patients (24 males, 13 females), who underwent elective FURS, for the treatment of kidney stones. Venous blood samples were collected from each patient: pre-operatively, and at 30 min, 2 and 4 h post-operatively. Changes to kidney (NGAL, Cystatin-C) and infection (MPO, PCT) biomarkers was quantified by means of ELISA, Biomerieux mini-vidas and Konelab 20 analysers. Results: Four patients developed post-operative complications (3 - UTIs with urinary retention, 1 - urosepsis. NGAL concentration increased significantly following FURS (p = 0.034). Although no significant changes were seen in Cystatin C, MPO and PCT (p ≥ 0.05) some key clinical observation were noted. Limiting factors for this study were the small number of patients recruited and restriction in blood sampling beyond 4 h. Conclusions: Although not confirmative, changes seen to biomarkers such as Cystatin C, NGAL and MPO in our observational clinical pilot-study may warrant further investigation, involving larger cohorts, to fully understand the role of these biomarkers and their potential association with post-operative complications which can develop following FURS

Surface processes recorded by rocks and soils on Meridiani Planum, Mars: Microscopic Imager observations during Opportunity's first three extended missions

The Microscopic Imager (MI) on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has returned images of Mars with higher resolution than any previous camera system, allowing detailed petrographic and sedimentological studies of the rocks and soils at the Meridiani Planum landing site. Designed to simulate a geologist's hand lens, the MI is mounted on Opportunity's instrument arm and can resolve objects 0.1 mm across or larger. This paper provides an overview of MI operations, data calibration, and analysis of MI data returned during the first 900 sols (Mars days) of the Opportunity landed mission. Analyses of Opportunity MI data have helped to resolve major questions about the origin of observed textures and features. These studies support eolian sediment transport, rather than impact surge processes, as the dominant depositional mechanism for Burns formation strata. MI stereo observations of a rock outcrop near the rim of Erebus Crater support the previous interpretation of similar sedimentary structures in Eagle Crater as being formed by surficial flow of liquid water. Well-sorted spherules dominate ripple surfaces on the Meridiani plains, and the size of spherules between ripples decreases by about 1 mm from north to south along Opportunity's traverse between Endurance and Erebus craters

Insights into adherence to medication and lifestyle recommendations in an international cohort of patients with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia

Aims In patients with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), a rare inherited arrhythmia syndrome, arrhythmic events can be prevented by medication and lifestyle recommendations. In patients who experience breakthrough arrhythmic events, non-adherence plays an essential role. We aimed to investigate the incidence and potential reasons for non-adherence to medication and lifestyle recommendations in a large, international cohort of patients with CPVT. Methods and results An online multilingual survey was shared with CPVT patients worldwide by their cardiologists, through peer-recruitment, and on social media from November 2022 until July 2023. Self-reported non-adherence was measured using the validated Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS) and a newly developed questionnaire about lifestyle. Additionally, validated questionnaires were used to assess potential reasons for medication non-adherence. Two-hundred-and-eighteen patients completed the survey, of whom 200 (92%) were prescribed medication [122 (61%) female; median age 33.5 years (interquartile range: 22–50)]. One-hundred-and-three (52%) were prescribed beta-blocker and flecainide, 85 (43%) beta-blocker, and 11 (6%) flecainide. Thirty-four (17%) patients experienced a syncope, aborted cardiac arrest or appropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator shock after diagnosis. Nineteen (13.4%) patients were exercising more than recommended. Thirty (15%) patients were non-adherent to medication. Female sex [odds ratio (OR) 3.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3–12.0, P = 0.019], flecainide monotherapy compared to combination therapy (OR 6.8, 95% CI 1.6–31.0, P = 0.010), and a higher agreement with statements regarding concerns about CPVT medication (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1–1.3, P < 0.001) were independently associated with non-adherence. Conclusion The significant rate of non-adherence associated with concerns regarding CPVT-related medication, emphasizes the potential for improving therapy adherence by targeted patient education