The DIRECT-MAT Web Database–A Source of Knowledge in Road Recycling

AbstractThis paper describes the DIRECT-MAT web database which gathers European knowledge and practices about the demolition and road-recycling or safe disposal of old road materials. This database has been developed within a three-year coordination and support action under the EC 7th Framework program “Sustainable Surface Transport” for the purpose of supporting the daily work of practitioners, researchers and standardization bodies working in the field of road infrastructures.The database addresses unbound, hydraulically bound and asphalt road materials. It also addresses other materials related to road use but not commonly recycled into road construction. These include tire shreds, sediment from ditches, road reinforcement materials and industrial by-products as long as they come from the demolition of a road into which they were recycled a first time. The database provides on-line access to Best Practice Guides, practical application case studies and international literature reviews elaborated from the review of national documents.There are three different ways for searching the database: 1) Via specific documents – Literature reviews, Case study reports and Best Practice Guides – for each material type; 2) Via quick or advanced search for specific terms; 3) Via a map where case studies are geo-tagged.The DIRECT-MAT database has been developed by some fifty experts from fifteen European countries. This means that national documents, working sites data and research results have now become easily available to road authorities, CEN technical committees and researchers from other countries. This share of national knowledge and practices is expected to boost recycling, thus DIRECT-MAT will contribute to reducing waste disposal associated with roads. Furthermore, the DIRECT-MAT web database is expected to serve as a reference tool for recording and sharing working site data on the demolition and recycling of road materials throughout Europe

In It Together: A Qualitative Evaluation of Participant Experiences of a 10-Week, Group-Based, Workplace HIIT Program for Insufficiently Active Adults.

Using guidance from the reach, efficacy, adoption, implementation, and maintenance evaluation framework, we aimed to qualitatively evaluate the participant experiences of a workplace high-intensity interval training (HIIT) intervention. Twelve previously insufficiently active individuals (four males and eight females) were interviewed once as part of three focus groups. Perceptions of program satisfaction, barriers to and facilitators of adherence, and persistence to exercise were explored. HIIT initiates interest because of its novelty, provides a sense of accomplishment, and overcomes the barriers of perceived lack of time. The feeling of relatedness between the participants can attenuate negative unpleasant responses during the HIIT sessions. HIIT, in this workplace setting, is an acceptable intervention for physically inactive adults. However, participants were reluctant to maintain the same mode of exercise, believing that HIIT sessions were for the very fit

Changes in quality of life 6 months after parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism

OBJECTIVE: The extent of symptoms due to primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) depends on the population being studied. PHPT is mainly discovered incidentally through routine laboratory findings. Less is known about patient-experienced improvement following successful parathyroidectomy. The aim of our study was to assess the changes in the quality of life (QoL) after successful surgery using an SF-36 questionnaire. DESIGN: This is a prospective cohort study based on questionnaires. METHODS: Forty consecutive patients diagnosed with PHPT were prospectively administered an SF-36 questionnaire before and 6 months after successful parathyroidectomy. A subgroup of 18 patients answered the questionnaire at 1 and 3 months after surgery. Successful surgery was based on biochemistry and pathology reports as confirmed by an endocrinologist. Results of each SF-36 subcategory were compared to the results at baseline in order to detect changes in patient-reported QoL after successful surgery. RESULTS: There were significant improvements in six of eight SF-36 subcategories: vitality (P = 0.0001), physical functioning (P = 0.04), general health perception (P = 0.004), physical role functioning (P = 0.04), social role functioning (P = 0.004), and mental health perception (P = 0.0001). Changes appeared within a month after surgery with no further significant changes at later time points. CONCLUSIONS: Parathyroidectomy significantly improves QoL as measured by a decrease in SF-36 scores as early as 1 month after successful parathyroidectomy. The SF-36 QoL questionnaire is suitable for monitoring changes in patient well-being after successful parathyroidectomy