Evaluation of a lift control algorithm for the emergency evacuation of a tall building

This dissertation considers the hypothesis that a suitably designed lift system can be used for the automatic evacuation of tall buildings. It will identify the key features that should be provided to ensure that lifts are controlled efficiently during this task and so ensure that the evacuation time is reduced to a practical minimum. An algorithm is described which has been designed in line with these principles and its performance is evaluated by simulation. The performance is then assessed against a standard control algorithm and also against a theoretical best possible solution. The initial results indicate that a dedicated evacuation algorithm can provide significant benefits above a more generalised control strategy for this particular traffic situation and that it is less susceptible to variations in passenger arrival patterns

Contribution of the region Glu181 to Val200 of the extracellular loop of the human P2X1 receptor to agonist binding and gating revealed using cysteine scanning mutagenesis1

At the majority of mutants in the region Glu181-Val200 incorporating a conserved AsnPheThrΦΦxLys motif cysteine substitution had no effect on sensitivity to ATP, partial agonists, or methanethiosulfonate (MTS) compounds. For the F185C mutant the efficacy of partial agonists was reduced by ∼ 90% but there was no effect on ATP potency or the actions of MTS reagents. At T186C, F188C and K190C mutants ATP potency and partial agonists responses were reduced. The ATP sensitivity of the K190C mutant was rescued towards WT levels by positively charged (2-aminoethyl)methanethiosulfonate hydrobromide and reduced by negatively charged sodium (2-sulfonatoethyl) methanethiosulfonate. Both MTS reagents decreased ATP potency at the T186C mutant, and abolished responses at the F195C mutant. 32P-2-azido ATP binding to the mutants T186C and K190C was sensitive to MTS reagents consistent with an effect on binding, however binding at F195C was unaffected indicating an effect on gating. The accessibility of the introduced cysteines was probed with (2-aminoethyl)methanethiosulfonate hydrobromide-biotin, this showed that the region Thr186-Ser192 is likely to form a beta sheet and that accessibility is blocked by ATP. Taken together these results suggest that Thr186, Phe188 and Lys190 are involved in ATP binding to the receptor and Phe185 and Phe195 contribute to agonist evoked conformational changes

From conflicting to complementing: The formalisation of customary land management systems governing swidden cultivation in Myanmar

Swiddening is a traditional and widespread agricultural system in mountainous regions of Southeast Asia. It is prevalent in Myanmar’s hilly border region. However, economic, political, demographic, social and technological drivers in this region are causing this form of land use to undergo significant transition. This transition is affecting the customary land use rights of swidden farmers. Throughout Myanmar’s tumultuous history, customary land management systems and the state land management system have been poorly integrated. This has led to customary land use rights receiving little formal recognition and left customary right-holders vulnerable to exploitation. Recent political and economic developments within Myanmar have prompted changes to the state land management system. The Myanmar government introduced the Farmland Law 2012 and the Vacant Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law 2012 which significantly altered how agricultural land is managed. However, these laws also contain minimal interaction with customary land management systems. In relation to swidden cultivation, the legislation is unclear how land under customary tenure is identified, how communally-held land is recognised and what swidden practices are legally permitted. The draft National Land Use Policy released in late 2014 reveals progress in addressing these issues. However, greater clarity is needed with regard to how the policy is implemented. Many lessons may also be derived from the experiences of surrounding Southeast Asian countries, such as the Philippines and Cambodia, in the way customary land use rights are incorporated into state legislation. The goal of this thesis is to propose how customary land management systems may be integrated into the state land management system in order for customary land use rights over swidden land to be recognised as comprehensively as possible by the state. The legislative framework should also allow sufficient flexibility for local farmers to adapt to changing circumstances. The identification of swidden land will be considered in the context of producing maps of customary land use, the management of swidden land under collective land-holding structures will be discussed with regard to pressures to individualise land-holding and the use of swidden cultivation practices will be considered in light of proposed development projects. The current political and economic climate in Myanmar indicates some willingness to acknowledge and address these issues. There is hope that customary land management systems and the state land management system will begin to complement, instead of conflict with, each other in order to enable swidden farmers to access their customarily held land into the future

Recommendations of behavioural facilitators for success in a physiotherapy clinical practice module: Successful students’ perspectives

Students struggle to bridge the gap between theory and application thereof in clinical settings. Exploring the behaviours of students who have been shown to be successful in the clinical practice module of physiotherapy could provide an insight into what facilitated their success. Sharing this information with other students could assist with decreasing anxiety and improving student success

The Modular Socket System as Rural Solution in Indonesia

INTRODUCTION: The majority of the people in low-income countries, who need assistive technology do not have access to prosthetic devices [1]. Instead of these people having to make a long journey to one of the few prosthetic workshops, solutions like the Modular Socket System (MSS, Össur®) may be useful, because potentially they could be delivered and manufactured on site, at the location of the person [2]. This could make it suitable for application in a Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) setting.The aim of this study was to evaluate the technical feasibility of the MSS for implementation in a CBR setting in terms of required tools, skills and required production time. METHODS: The study was performed at the Department of Prosthetics & Orthotics of the Jakarta I Polytechnic School of Health Science (JSPO). Four JSPO students received a three days training in manufacturing of the MSS. Lower limb amputees were recruited to participate in this study from the region of Jakarta (n = 5) and Bali (n = 10). A set of standardized instruments including the two minutes’ walking test (2MWT) and Prosthesis Evaluation Questionnaire (PEQ) were used to measure performance and satisfaction with the prosthesis. Production and maintenance logbooks were filled out by the involved prosthetists to evaluate the technical feasibility of the MSS. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Performance (2MWT) and satisfaction (PEQ) scores were comparable to that of similar studies with other lower leg prostheses [3,4]. Both measures did not decrease significantly over time (Figure 1). This suggest that the JSPO students were able to reach sufficient quality.It took the prosthetists 3.5 to 10.5 hours to fit an amputee with a MSS prosthesis. Mean socket production time was 2.0±0.6 hours and mean prosthesis assembly and fitting time was 4.1±2.6 hours. The only non-portable machine needed for the production of the prosthesis was a grinding machine (router). Smaller portable machines used were a cast cutter/jigsaw, Icecast® Compact and resin injection tool. If in the future the grinding machine will be replaced by a handheld tool, production of the MSS could be performed on site, making it suitable for use in a rural setting. Figure 1: The results of the 2MWT at the moment of fitting (t0), at 1-3 months post fitting (t1), and at the end evaluation at 4-6 months post fitting (t2). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who normally have to travel long distances to access prosthetic services were only required to make one visit to the health facility in order to receive a prosthesis. From a technical and quality perspective the method seems feasible, although, high costs remain an issue.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSMaterials and training for the production of all prostheses were sponsored by Össur®. REFERENCES: 1.Borg J, et al. Assistive Technology for Children with Disabilities: Creating Opportunities for Education, Inclusion and Participation - a discussion paper. 20152.Normann E, et al., Prosthetics and orthotics international. 35(1):76-80, 20113.Boonstra AM, et al. Prosthetics and orthotics international. 17(2):78-82, 19934.Zidarov D, et al. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 90(4):634-645, 200

A P2X receptor from the tardigrade species Hypsibius dujardini with fast kinetics and sensitivity to zinc and copper

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Orthologs of the vertebrate ATP gated P2X channels have been identified in <it>Dictyostelium </it>and green algae, demonstrating that the emergence of ionotropic purinergic signalling was an early event in eukaryotic evolution. However, the genomes of a number of animals including <it>Drosophila melanogaster </it>and <it>Caenorhabditis elegans</it>, both members of the Ecdysozoa superphylum, lack P2X-like proteins, whilst other species such as the flatworm <it>Schistosoma mansoni </it>have P2X proteins making it unclear as to what stages in evolution P2X receptors were lost. Here we describe the functional characterisation of a P2X receptor (<it>Hd</it>P2X) from the tardigrade <it>Hypsibius dujardini </it>demonstrating that purinergic signalling is preserved in some ecdysozoa.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>ATP (EC₅₀~44.5 μM) evoked transient inward currents in <it>Hd</it>P2X with millisecond rates of activation and desensitisation. <it>Hd</it>P2X is antagonised by pyridoxal-phosphate-6-azophenyl-2',4' disulfonic acid (IC₅₀15.0 μM) and suramin (IC₅₀22.6 μM) and zinc and copper inhibit ATP-evoked currents with IC₅₀values of 62.8 μM and 19.9 μM respectively. Site-directed mutagenesis showed that unlike vertebrate P2X receptors, extracellular histidines do not play a major role in coordinating metal binding in <it>Hd</it>P2X. However, H306 was identified as playing a minor role in the actions of copper but not zinc. Ivermectin potentiated responses to ATP with no effect on the rates of current activation or decay.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The presence of a P2X receptor in a tardigrade species suggests that both nematodes and arthropods lost their P2X genes independently, as both traditional and molecular phylogenies place the divergence between Nematoda and Arthropoda before their divergence from Tardigrada. The phylogenetic analysis performed in our study also clearly demonstrates that the emergence of the family of seven P2X channels in human and other mammalian species was a relatively recent evolutionary event that occurred subsequent to the split between vertebrates and invertebrates. Furthermore, several characteristics of <it>Hd</it>P2X including fast kinetics with low ATP sensitivity, potentiation by ivermectin in a channel with fast kinetics and distinct copper and zinc binding sites not dependent on histidines make <it>Hd</it>P2X a useful model for comparative structure-function studies allowing a better understanding of P2X receptors in higher organisms.</p

Prevalence of concussion and adherence to return-to-play guidelines amongst male secondary school rugby and hockey players

Concussion injuries are common in contact sports. Young players can suffer lifethreatening complications if concussion is not recognised and managed.To determine the prevalence of concussion amongst secondary school rugby and hockey players and describe players’ knowledge and adherence to return-to-play guidelines.A mixed-method approach included Phase A, which utilised a questionnaire completed by 221 players (n = 139 rugby; n = 82 hockey) between 13 and 18 years of age, and Phase B, which utilised three focus group discussions of 15 participants who had suffered a concussion

Experiences of lower limb prosthetic users in a rural setting in the Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

BACKGROUND: Ambulation with a prosthesis is the ultimate goal of rehabilitation for a person with a major lower limb amputation. Due to challenges with prosthetic service delivery in rural settings, many patients with amputations are not benefitting from prosthetic interventions. Inaccessibility to prosthetic services results in worse functional outcomes and quality of life. Learning from the experiences of current prosthetic users in this setting can assist to improve prosthetic service delivery. OBJECTIVES: To explore the experiences of lower limb prosthetic users and to understand the importance of a lower limb prosthesis to a prosthetic user in a rural area of South Africa. STUDY DESIGN: A generic qualitative approach and an explorative design were utilised in this study. METHODS: A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data from nine prosthetic users in a rural area in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Demographic details and information related to acute in-patient rehabilitation were analysed descriptively. RESULTS: All participants were independent in activities of daily living with their prosthesis and participated actively in their community. Participants reported that their prosthesis was essential to their functioning. High travel cost was highlighted as a barrier to the maintenance of their prosthesis. Patients were dissatisfied with being unemployed. CONCLUSION: Prosthetic intervention positively influences function, independence and community participation. Challenges relating to the accessibility, cost and maintenance of prosthetics should be a priority to ensure continued functional independence for prosthetic users

Regions of the amino terminus of the P2X1 receptor required for modification by phorbol ester and mGluR1α receptors

The potentiation of P2X1 receptor currents by phorbol ester (PMA) treatment and stimulation of mGluR1α receptors was sensitive to inhibition of novel forms of protein kinase C. Potentiation was also reduced by co-expression of an amino terminal P2X1 receptor minigene. Cysteine point mutants of residues Tyr16-Gly30 were expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Peak current amplitudes to ATP for Y16C, T18C and R20C mutants were reduced, however this did not result from a decrease in surface expression of the channels. The majority of the mutants showed changes in the time-course of desensitization of ATP evoked currents indicating the important role of this region in regulation of channel properties. PMA and mGluR1α potentiation was abolished for the mutants Y16C, T18C, R20C, K27C and G30C. Minigenes incorporating either Y16C, K27C, V29C or G30C still inhibited PMA responses. However D17C, T18C or R20C mutant minigenes were no longer effective suggesting that these residues are important for interaction with regulatory factors. These results demonstrate that the conserved YXTXK/R sequence and a region with a conserved glycine residue close to the first transmembrane segment contribute to PMA and GPCR regulation of P2X1 receptors