Microsoft Word - sencity11-taylor1.doc

Abstract We propose the development and deployment in the wild of a sensor network that will monitor pedestrian traffic rates and congestion. Three types of sensor are envisaged; fixed video cameras, wearable pedometers and GPS devices. The data captured data will facilitate applications such as route planning avoiding congested areas and warning the elderly and infirm of particularly congested areas. Processing of rates of travel and destinations will enable different types of pedestrian to be identified and plotted dynamically such as tourists, shoppers and individuals simply trying to get from A to B quickly. Looking beyond the immediate empirical scope of this workshop, we indicate how such a system could be deployed to take advantage of the benefits afforded by the Personal Smart Space of the EU FP7 PERSIST project and the Community Smart Space of the EU FP7 SOCIETIES project

Pharmacodynamic response to anti-thyroid drugs in Graves’ hyperthyroidism

Objective: Graves' disease is the commonest cause of hyperthyroidism in populations with sufficient dietary iodine intake. Anti-thyroid drugs (ATD) are often used as the initial treatment for Graves' hyperthyroidism, however there is a paucity of data relating the dose of ATD therapy to the effect on thyroid hormone levels, increasing the risk of both over- and under-treatment. We aimed to determine the pharmacodynamic response to the ATD carbimazole. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Participants were patients (n = 441) diagnosed with Graves' disease at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust between 2009 and 2018. The main outcome measure was change in thyroid hormone levels in response to ATD. Results: Baseline thyroid hormone levels were positively associated with TSH receptor antibody titres (P &lt; 0.0001). Baseline free triiodothyronine (fT3) were linearly related to free thyroxine (fT4) levels in the hyperthyroid state (fT3 = fT4*0.97–11), and fell proportionately with carbimazole. The percentage falls in fT4 and fT3 per day were associated with carbimazole dose (P &lt; 0.0001). The magnitude of fall in thyroid hormones after the same dose of carbimazole was lower during follow up than at the initiation visit. The fall in thyroid hormone levels approximated to a linear response if assessed at least 3 weeks after commencement of carbimazole. Following withdrawal of antithyroid drug treatment, the risk of relapse was greater in patients with higher initial fT4, initial TSH receptor antibody titre, males, smokers, and British Caucasian ethnicity. Conclusion: We identify a dose-response relationship for fall in thyroid hormones in response to carbimazole to aid in the selection of dose for Graves' hyperthyroidism.</p

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified