The Use of Art Therapy with the Blind to Impact a Sense of Capability

This study looked at the ways in which the practice of art therapy could potentially help blind individuals cope with the loss of sight, and feel more capable in accomplishment through the use of tactile art materials. While art is primarily considered a visual tool, the physical nature of some materials can provide relief and autonomy for those without sight. The research was conducted by looking at the psychosocial aspects of dealing with blindness, researching the therapeutic benefits of art therapy, and conveying examples of successful case studies that used tactile materials in different ways. Based on several findings and a case study, this study concluded that the intervention of art therapy with tactile mediums did relatively have a positive impact on blind clients’ sense of capability. Overall, art therapy with the visually impaired experiencing mental health and behavioral issues was shown to provide moderate improvement in quality of life, therapeutic relief, a sense of self-accomplishment, and a better understanding of themselves through physical materials

Investigation of Three-Way (TWC), Lean NOx Trap (LNT) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) Catalysts For Control of NOx Emissions from Lean-Burn Engines

Lean-burn gasoline engines are approximately 10% more fuel efficient than conventional, stoichiometric-burn ones. Although relatively modest, if implemented across the entire U.S. automotive fleet, this improvement in fuel economy could have far-reaching implications on the amount of gasoline imported in the country on an annual basis. However, the development of a cost-effective catalytic converter catalyst capable of meeting emission regulations for lean-burn vehicles still represents a major technical challenge. Currently, lean NOX trap (LNT) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts are used for this purpose, but both systems suffer from significant drawbacks. For example, LNT catalysts generally require high platinum group metal (PGM) loadings and are highly susceptible to sulfur poisoning. SCR catalysts require a costly urea-dosing system for delivery of urea as the reducing agent into the exhaust stream, as well as a secondary fuel tank for on-board storage of urea. LNT catalysts are typically favored for smaller gasoline engines and are designed for periodic operation in lean and rich environments. NOX is stored on the LNT system during a longer (e.g., 60 - 120 s) lean period and rapidly reduced during a much shorter (e.g., 1- 5 s) rich period. The mechanism for NOX storage is fairly well understood, but the NOX reduction mechanism is still the subject of considerable debate. Lean/rich cycling monitored by in situ Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the presence of surface isocyanate (NCO) species during reduction. Quantification of the FTIR results confirmed that surface NCO species could account for as much as 30% of the N2 formed during the rich period. Hydrolysis of the NCO species to NH3 in the presence of water vapor could also play a significant role. The effect of the lean/rich cycle timing on NH3 formation over a commercial LNT catalyst was also considered. At low temperatures, both the release and reduction of stored NOX was kinetically limited and longer rich periods favored increased NOX conversion and NH3 formation. At elevated temperatures, the opposite was true and shorter rich periods favored increased NOX conversion and NH3 formation. The effects of cycle timing were most pronounced in the 250 - 400 °C temperature range, where optimization of the cycle timing could potentially decrease the PGM requirements of the LNT, especially in a coupled LNT-SCR system. SCR catalysts are typically favored for heavy-duty applications, but General Motors (GM) recently developed a urea-less, passive-NH3, three way catalyst SCR approach (TWC-SCR) for lean-gasoline vehicles. This TWC-SCR approach also relies on lean/rich cycling, but in this case NH3 is intentionally formed over a TWC during rich periods and stored on a downstream SCR catalyst. The stored NH3 is then used during a subsequent lean period to reduce lean-NOX. NH3 generation over TWCs under steady and cycling conditions was investigated. The temperature, catalytic formulation and reductant concentration all affected NH3 formation. Storage of NH3 on the downstream SCR catalyst was also considered. At low temperatures, the selective reduction of NOX by stored NH3 was favored over a Cu-zeolite SCR catalyst. Above 350 °C, NH3 oxidation was favored over NOX reduction. Recent bench reactor screening using a two-reactor, bench-core reactor configuration demonstrated the viability of the TWC-SCR configuration and NOX conversions exceeding 98% were measured

Sustainable consumption: towards action and impact. : International scientific conference November 6th-8th 2011, Hamburg - European Green Capital 2011, Germany: abstract volume

This volume contains the abstracts of all oral and poster presentations of the international scientific conference „Sustainable Consumption – Towards Action and Impact“ held in Hamburg (Germany) on November 6th-8th 2011. This unique conference aims to promote a comprehensive academic discourse on issues concerning sustainable consumption and brings together scholars from a wide range of academic disciplines. In modern societies, private consumption is a multifaceted and ambivalent phenomenon: it is a ubiquitous social practice and an economic driving force, yet at the same time, its consequences are in conflict with important social and environmental sustainability goals. Finding paths towards “sustainable consumption” has therefore become a major political issue. In order to properly understand the challenge of “sustainable consumption”, identify unsustainable patterns of consumption and bring forward the necessary innovations, a collaborative effort of researchers from different disciplines is needed

Early myocardial damage and microvascular dysfunction in asymptomatic patients with systemic sclerosis: A cardiovascular magnetic resonance study with cold pressor test

Purpose: Cardiac involvement in Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is increasingly recognized as a mayor cause of morbidity and mortality. The aim of present study is to investigate the early stages of cardiac involvement in SSc by Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), combining the non-invasive detection of myocardial inflammation and fibrosis using T2 and T1 mapping techniques and the assessment of microcirculatory impairment through perfusion response to cold pressor test (CPT). Methods: 40 SSc patients (30 females, mean age: 42.1 years) without cardiac symptoms and 10 controls underwent CMR at 1.5 T unit. CMR protocol included: native and contrast-enhanced T1 mapping, T2 mapping, T2-weighted, cineMR and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) imaging. Microvascular function was evaluated by comparing myocardial blood flow (MBF) on perfusion imaging acquired at rest and after CPT. Native myocardial T1 and T2 relaxation times, extracellular volume fraction (ECV), T2 signal intensity ratio, biventricular volumes and LGE were assessed in each patient. Results: SSc patients had significantly higher mean myocardial T1 (1029±32ms vs. 985±18ms, p<0.01), ECV (30.1±4.3% vs. 26.7±2.4%, p<0.05) and T2 (50.1±2.8ms vs. 47±1.5ms, p<0.01) values compared with controls. No significant differences were found between absolute MBF values at rest and after CPT; whereas lower MBF variation after CPT was observed in SSc patients (+33 ± 14% vs. +44 ± 12%, p<0.01). MBF variation had inverse correlation with native T1 values (r: -0.32, p<0.05), but not with ECV. Conclusions: Myocardial involvement in SSc at preclinical stage increases native T1, T2 and ECV values, reflecting inflammation and fibrosis, and reduces vasodilatory response to CPT, as expression of microvascular dysfunction

The use of radio-iodinated toluidine blue for myocardial scintigrams,

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/33788/1/0000043.pd

A longitudinal study of the faecal microbiome and metabolome of periparturient mares

Periparturient mares are at increased risk of colic including large colon volvulus, which has a high mortality rate. Alterations in colonic microbiota related to either physiological or management changes, or both, that occur at this time have been suggested as potential causes for increased colic risk in this population of horses. Although the effect of management changes on the horse faecal microbiota has been investigated, limited work has been conducted to investigate changes in faecal microbiota structure and function in the periparturient period. The objectives of the current study were to investigate temporal stability of the faecal microbiota and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of the faecal metabolome in periparturient mares