A photobiological approach to biophilic design in extreme climates

This paper proposes the biophilic design approach as a plausible hypothesis for the challenging conditions related to living and working in extreme cold climates. Biophilic design has recently been developed to overcome the adverse effects of the built environment and to improve human well-being by redefining the human-nature relationship. Yet, biophilic design should be adapted to extreme cold climates in order to meet the biological needs of people in northern territories. This issue becomes more important when considering the availability of natural light due to the strong seasonal photoperiod and its effects on human well-being in such regions. The present paper critically reviews biophilic design patterns and identifies their main shortcomings. These shortcomings include the lack of (1) recommendations applicable to extreme cold climates (2) adaptation to the local photoperiods, and (3) a systemic framework integrated into the design process. The paper draws attention to the image-forming and non-image-forming effects of light as a basis of the human-nature design approach. In this regard, photobiological outcomes have been reviewed. Then, the paper discusses the existing lighting standards and guidelines in North America and how they have mainly been developed to fulfil the image-forming demands for light. Further efforts are needed to revise these standards with respect to the non-image-forming effects of light and the biophilic design requirements. Finally, adaptive building envelopes are presented as a hypothetical solution to optimize the biophilic qualities of buildings and address the biological needs of people living and working in extreme cold climates in northern territories

Biophilic, photobiological and energy-efficient design framework of adaptive building façades for Northern Canada

This paper develops an integrated design framework of adaptive building façades (ABFs) to respond to photobiological and thermal needs of occupants, biophilic factors, energy requirements and climatic features in Northern Canada, i.e. near and above 50°N. The paper discusses the importance of biophilic and photobiological factors and ABFs to improve occupants’ health and human-nature relations and deal with the extreme climate in Northern Canada where non-adapted buildings that could negatively affect occupants’ wellbeing. The paper shows that existing ABFs must be further developed for northern applications in terms of (i) the physical structure and configuration of components (ii) the design of solar shading/louver panels to address photobiological and biophilic requirements (iii) the development of lighting adaptation scenarios to respond to biophilic and photobiological needs, local photoperiods and energy issues, and (iv) the overall biophilic quality for accessibility to natural patterns. The ABFs’ framework was developed in three phases including (1) process environmental data (2) produce adaptation scenarios, and (3) operate adaptation scenarios. The research discussed major issues of all phases that must be further studied, especially the development of hourly/daily/seasonally lighting adaptation scenarios. The paper develops a holistic parametric methodology to integrate and optimize major design variables of ABF’s components

Staphylococcus aureus sigma B-dependent emergence of small-colony variants and biofilm production following exposure to Pseudomonas aeruginosa 4-hydroxy-2-heptylquinoline-N-oxide

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>and <it>Pseudomonas aeruginosa </it>are often found together in the airways of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. It was previously shown that the <it>P. aeruginosa </it>exoproduct 4-hydroxy-2-heptylquinoline-<it>N-</it>oxide (HQNO) suppresses the growth of <it>S. aureus </it>and provokes the emergence of small-colony variants (SCVs). The presence of <it>S. aureus </it>SCVs as well as biofilms have both been associated with chronic infections in CF.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We demonstrated that HQNO stimulates <it>S. aureus </it>to form a biofilm in association with the formation of SCVs. The emergence of SCVs and biofilm production under HQNO exposure was shown to be dependent on the activity of the stress- and colonization-related alternative sigma factor B (SigB). Analysis of gene expression revealed that exposure of a prototypical <it>S. aureus </it>strain to HQNO activates SigB, which was leading to an increase in the expression of the fibronectin-binding protein A and the biofilm-associated <it>sarA </it>genes. Conversely, the quorum sensing accessory gene regulator (<it>agr</it>) system and the α-hemolysin gene were repressed by HQNO. Experiments using culture supernatants from <it>P. aeruginosa </it>PAO1 and a double chamber co-culture model confirmed that <it>P. aeruginosa </it>stimulates biofilm formation and activates SigB in a <it>S. aureus </it>strain isolated from a CF patient. Furthermore, the supernatant from <it>P. aeruginosa </it>mutants unable to produce HQNO induced the production of biofilms by <it>S. aureus </it>to a lesser extent than the wild-type strain only in a <it>S. aureus </it>SigB-functional background.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results suggest that <it>S. aureus </it>responds to HQNO from <it>P. aeruginosa </it>by forming SCVs and biofilms through SigB activation, a phenomenon that may contribute to the establishment of chronic infections in CF patients.</p

Deep Markov Random Field for Image Modeling

Markov Random Fields (MRFs), a formulation widely used in generative image modeling, have long been plagued by the lack of expressive power. This issue is primarily due to the fact that conventional MRFs formulations tend to use simplistic factors to capture local patterns. In this paper, we move beyond such limitations, and propose a novel MRF model that uses fully-connected neurons to express the complex interactions among pixels. Through theoretical analysis, we reveal an inherent connection between this model and recurrent neural networks, and thereon derive an approximated feed-forward network that couples multiple RNNs along opposite directions. This formulation combines the expressive power of deep neural networks and the cyclic dependency structure of MRF in a unified model, bringing the modeling capability to a new level. The feed-forward approximation also allows it to be efficiently learned from data. Experimental results on a variety of low-level vision tasks show notable improvement over state-of-the-arts.Comment: Accepted at ECCV 201

Reducing touching eyes, nose and mouth (‘T-zone’) to reduce the spread of infectious disease: A prospective study of motivational, volitional and non-reflective predictors

BACKGROUND: The route into the body for many pathogens is through the eyes, nose and mouth (i.e., the 'T-zone') via inhalation or fomite-based transfer during face touching. It is important to understand factors that are associated with touching the T-zone to inform preventive strategies. PURPOSE: To identify theory-informed predictors of intention to reduce facial 'T-zone' touching and self-reported 'T-zone' touching. METHODS: We conducted a nationally representative prospective questionnaire study of Canadians. Respondents were randomized to answer questions about touching their eyes, nose, or mouth with a questionnaire assessing 11 factors from an augmented Health Action Process Approach at baseline: intention, outcome expectancies, risk perception, individual severity, self-efficacy, action planning, coping planning, social support, automaticity, goal facilitation and stability of context. At 2-week follow-up, we assessed HAPA-based indicators of self-regulatory activities (awareness of standards, effort, self-monitoring) and self-reported behaviour (primary dependent variable). RESULTS: Of 656 Canadian adults recruited, 569 responded to follow-up (87% response rate). Across all areas of the 'T-zone', outcome expectancy was the strongest predictor of intention to reduce facial 'T-zone' touching, while self-efficacy was a significant predictor for only the eyes and mouth. Automaticity was the strongest predictor of behaviour at the 2-week follow-up. No sociodemographic or psychological factors predicted behaviour, with the exception of self-efficacy, which negatively predicted eye touching. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that focusing on reflective processes may increase intention to reduce 'T-zone' touching, while reducing actual 'T-zone' touching may require strategies that address the automatic nature of this behaviour

The variegation of human brain vulnerability to rare genetic disorders and convergence with behaviorally defined disorders

BACKGROUND: Diverse gene dosage disorders (GDDs) increase risk for psychiatric impairment, but characterization of GDD effects on the human brain has so far been piecemeal with few simultaneous analyses of multiple brain features across different GDDs. METHODS: Here, through multimodal neuroimaging of 3 aneuploidy syndromes [XXY (total n = 191, 92 controls), XYY (total n=81, 47 controls) , trisomy 21 (total n=69, 41 controls)], we systematically map the effects of supernumerary X, Y and chromosome 21 dosage across a breadth of 15 different macrostructural, microstructural, and functional imaging derived phenotypes (IDPs). RESULTS: We reveal considerable diversity in cortical changes across GDDs and IDPs. This variegation of IDP change underlines the limitations of studying GDD effects unimodally. Integration across all IDP change maps reveals highly distinct architectures of cortical change in each GDD along with partial coalescence onto a common spatial axis of cortical vulnerability that is evident in all three GDDs. This common axis shows strong alignment with shared cortical changes in behaviorally defined psychiatric disorders and is enriched for specific molecular and cellular signatures. CONCLUSION: Use of multimodal neuroimaging data in three aneuploidies indicates that different GDDs impose unique fingerprints of change in the human brain that differ widely depending on the imaging modality being considered. Embedded in this variegation is a spatial axis of shared multimodal change that aligns with shared brain changes across psychiatric disorders and therefore represents a major high-priority target for future translational research in neuroscience

QUARITE (quality of care, risk management and technology in obstetrics): a cluster-randomized trial of a multifaceted intervention to improve emergency obstetric care in Senegal and Mali

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Maternal and perinatal mortality are major problems for which progress in sub-Saharan Africa has been inadequate, even though childbirth services are available, even in the poorest countries. Reducing them is the aim of two of the main Millennium Development Goals. Many initiatives have been undertaken to remedy this situation, such as the Advances in Labour and Risk Management (ALARM) International Program, whose purpose is to improve the quality of obstetric services in low-income countries. However, few interventions have been evaluated, in this context, using rigorous methods for analyzing effectiveness in terms of health outcomes. The objective of this trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of the ALARM International Program (AIP) in reducing maternal mortality in referral hospitals in Senegal and Mali. Secondary goals include evaluation of the relationships between effectiveness and resource availability, service organization, medical practices, and satisfaction among health personnel.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>This is an international, multi-centre, controlled cluster-randomized trial of a complex intervention. The intervention is based on the concept of evidence-based practice and on a combination of two approaches aimed at improving the performance of health personnel: 1) Educational outreach visits; and 2) the implementation of facility-based maternal death reviews.</p> <p>The unit of intervention is the public health facility equipped with a functional operating room. On the basis of consent provided by hospital authorities, 46 centres out of 49 eligible were selected in Mali and Senegal. Using randomization stratified by country and by level of care, 23 centres will be allocated to the intervention group and 23 to the control group. The intervention will last two years. It will be preceded by a pre-intervention one-year period for baseline data collection. A continuous clinical data collection system has been set up in all participating centres. This, along with the inventory of resources and the satisfaction surveys administered to the health personnel, will allow us to measure results before, during, and after the intervention. The overall rate of maternal mortality measured in hospitals during the post-intervention period (Year 4) is the primary outcome. The evaluation will also include cost-effectiveness.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>The QUARITE trial is registered on the Current Controlled Trials website under the number ISRCTN46950658 <url>http://www.controlled-trials.com/</url>.</p

Author Correction: Transcriptomic and cellular decoding of regional brain vulnerability to neurogenetic disorders

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper

Transcriptomic and cellular decoding of regional brain vulnerability to neurogenetic disorders

Abstract: Neurodevelopmental disorders have a heritable component and are associated with region specific alterations in brain anatomy. However, it is unclear how genetic risks for neurodevelopmental disorders are translated into spatially patterned brain vulnerabilities. Here, we integrated cortical neuroimaging data from patients with neurodevelopmental disorders caused by genomic copy number variations (CNVs) and gene expression data from healthy subjects. For each of the six investigated disorders, we show that spatial patterns of cortical anatomy changes in youth are correlated with cortical spatial expression of CNV genes in neurotypical adults. By transforming normative bulk-tissue cortical expression data into cell-type expression maps, we link anatomical change maps in each analysed disorder to specific cell classes as well as the CNV-region genes they express. Our findings reveal organizing principles that regulate the mapping of genetic risks onto regional brain changes in neurogenetic disorders. Our findings will enable screening for candidate molecular mechanisms from readily available neuroimaging data