Last Island: Exploring Transitions to Sustainable Futures through Play

© 2019 Association for Computing Machinery. A serious game was designed and developed with the goal of exploring potential sustainable futures and the transitions towards them. This computer-assisted board game, Last Island, which incorporates a system dynamics model into a board game's core mechanics, attempts to impart knowledge and understanding on sustainability and how an isolated society may transition to various futures to a non-expert community of players. To this end, this collaborativecompetitive game utilizes the Miniworld model which simulates three variables important for the sustainability of a society: Human population, economic production and the state of the environment. The resulting player interaction offers possibilities to collectively discover and validate potential scenarios for transitioning to a sustainable future, encouraging players to work together to balance the model output while also competing on individual objectives to be the individual winner of the game

Flexible temperature sensor integration into e-textiles using different industrial yarn fabrication processes

Textiles enhanced with thin-film flexible sensors are well-suited for unobtrusive monitoring of skin parameters due to the sensors’ high conformability. These sensors can be damaged if they are attached to the surface of the textile, also affecting the textiles’ aesthetics and feel. We investigate the effect of embedding flexible temperature sensors within textile yarns, which adds a layer of protection to the sensor. Industrial yarn manufacturing techniques including knit braiding, braiding, and double covering were utilised to identify an appropriate incorporation technique. The thermal time constants recorded by all three sensing yarns was <10 s. Simultaneously, effective sensitivity only decreased by a maximum of 14% compared to the uncovered sensor. This is due to the sensor being positioned within the yarn instead of being in direct contact with the measured surface. These sensor yarns were not affected by bending and produced repeatable measurements. The double covering method was observed to have the least impact on the sensors’ performance due to the yarn’s smaller dimensions. Finally, a sensing yarn was incorporated in an armband and used to measure changes in skin temperature. The demonstrated textile integration techniques for flexible sensors using industrial yarn manufacturing processes enable large-scale smart textile fabrication

Correlation between different PBL assessment components and the final mark for MB ChB III at a rural South African university

Background. Problem-based learning (PBL) is now an accepted component of many medical school programmes worldwide. Our university also follows the PBL ‘SPICES’ model for MB ChB III. The assessment modalities used are the modified essay questions (MEQ), objective structured practical examination (OSPE), individualised process assessment (IPA) and tutorial continuous assessment (TUT). This study was done to compare the students’ performances in individual assessment components with the final mark to determine the correlation between these parameters. Materials and methods. The study was retrospective, descriptive and analytical, based on the integrated marks of all the MB ChB III students at Walter Sisulu University (WSU) in 2007. Assessment marks were stratified according to blocks and different types of assessment (MEQ, TUT, OSPE, IPA). Regression analysis was used to compute and scrutinise these vis-à-vis their correspondence with the final marks for each block. Results. Three hundred and seventy-nine block assessment marks of 96 students from 4 blocks of MB ChB III were analysed and the correlation between the assessment components and final mark were compared. Regression analysis showed good correlation when analysing the assessment modality versus the final mark for the MEQs (r=0.93, 0.93, 0.94, 0.96), followed by OSPEs (r=0.71, 0.70, 0.76, 0.77) and IPAs (r=0.62, 0.51, 0.68, 0.77). However, correlation was not significant with the TUT. Conclusion. There was good correlation between the students’ performance in the majority of assessment modalities and the final mark in the different blocks of the MB ChB III examination. There may be a need to make tutorial assessment methods more objective, partly by additional tutor training

Improved Diagnosis and Management of Paediatric Renal Transplant Recipients Using the Banff 2013 Histopathological Classification

Introduction: Since the publication of the 2013 Banff classification, adult studies have shown evidence of improved prognosis using the new histopathological criteria. Our study assesses for the first time the impact of the new classification on the diagnosis of acute antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) in paediatric renal transplant recipients (pRTR). / Methods: This single-centre study is a retrospective evaluation of 56 paediatric post-transplant de novo DSA-positive patients who had a percutaneous renal transplant biopsy due to renal allograft dysfunction from January 2006 to March 2012. Their biopsies were re-scored by a solitary specialist trained in 2013 Banff classification. The results were compared with previous classification as per 2003/2007 Banff criteria with results presented as range (median). / Results: At the time of biopsy, pRTR were aged 1.6 - 17.5 (median 14.9) years old with 412 - 2735 mean fluorescence intensity (MFI; maximal at 713 - 31,625; median 3466 and 4809). Following the 2013 Banff classification, there was a total of 5 cases of acute AMR compared to one confirmed and one suspicious AMR with the 2003/2007 Banff classification (with no change in the remaining 51 patients’ classification). Consequently, 5.3% (3 of 56) patients would have been diagnosed with T-cell mediated rejection with suboptimal treatment. There was an overall 70% (48 - 112%) decrease in the renal allograft function in the 6 months follow-up period after aggressive treatment for acute AMR and 2 of 3 patients had further rejection episodes in the following year. / Conclusion: This research supports the new Banff 2013 classification as a more precise classification in pRTR in the diagnosis of AMR with 5% of patients being correctly diagnosed and managed with improvement in renal allograft function

Open sea OWC motions and mooring loads monitoring at BiMEP

This is the author accepted manuscript.Despite the large number of wave energy converter concepts proposed over the past three decades, only a few field measurement datasets are available in the public domain. The sparse nature of device performance and reliability data coupled with a general lack of design convergence means that technological and economic progress within the sector is fragmented. Fundamental to ensuring device efficiency and survivability is the acquisition of long-term, open sea, device and mooring system response data, combined with comprehensive numerical modelling. With mooring systems representing approximately 10% of marine renewable energy device CAPEX, the evolution of shared mooring systems and the use of novel materials with load reduction capabilities represent clear strategies to achieve more favourable project finances. This paper will report on design of the mooring load monitoring system as well as preliminary analysis of several load cases identified from field data recorded during the winter of the first deployment. Comparisons are made to numerical simulations of the device and mooring system subjected to representative environmental conditions. The measured mooring line tensions also provide operational design criteria (i.e. load capacity and durability requirements) for two elastomeric tethers which will replace the polyester ropes currently used in the seaward catenary lines.The research leading to this paper is part of the OPERA (Open Sea Operating Experience to Reduce Wave Energy Cost) project which is funded from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 654.444

Will all scientists working on snails and the diseases they transmit please stand up?

Copyright © 2012 Adema et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.No abstract available

A phase 1b/2b multicenter study of oral panobinostat plus azacitidine in adults with MDS, CMML or AML with less than or equal to 30% blasts

Treatment with azacitidine (AZA), a demethylating agent, prolonged overall survival (OS) vs conventional care in patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). As median survival with monotherapy is <2 years, novel agents are needed to improve outcomes. This phase 1b/2b trial (n=113) was designed to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) or recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of panobinostat (PAN)+AZA (phase 1b) and evaluate the early efficacy and safety of PAN+AZA vs AZA monotherapy (phase 2b) in patients with higher-risk MDS, chronic myelomonocytic leukemia or oligoblastic acute myeloid leukemia with <30% blasts. The MTD was not reached; the RP2D was PAN 30 mg plus AZA 75 mg/m2. More patients receiving PAN+AZA achieved a composite complete response ([CR)+morphologic CR with incomplete blood count+bone marrow CR (27.5% (95% CI, 14.6–43.9%)) vs AZA (14.3% (5.4–28.5%)). However, no significant difference was observed in the 1-year OS rate (PAN+AZA, 60% (50–80%); AZA, 70% (50–80%)) or time to progression (PAN+AZA, 70% (40–90%); AZA, 70% (40–80%)). More grade 3/4 adverse events (97.4 vs 81.0%) and on-treatment deaths (13.2 vs 4.8%) occurred with PAN+AZA. Further dose or schedule optimization may improve the risk/benefit profile of this regimen

A comparison of host gene expression signatures associated with infection in vitro by the Makona and Ecran (Mayinga) variants of Ebola virus

The Ebola virus (EBOV) variant Makona (which emerged in 2013) was the causative agent of the largest outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease recorded. Differences in virus-host interactions between viral variants have potential consequences for transmission, disease severity and mortality. A detailed profile of the cellular changes induced by the Makona variant compared with other Ebola virus variants was lacking. In this study, A549 cells, a human cell line with a robust innate response, were infected with the Makona variant or with the Ecran variant originating from the 1976 outbreak in Central Africa. The abundance of viral and cellular mRNA transcripts was profiled using RNASeq and differential gene expression analysis performed. Differences in effects of each virus on the expression of interferon-stimulated genes were also investigated in A549 NPro cells where the type 1 interferon response had been attenuated. Cellular transcriptomic changes were compared with those induced by human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV), a virus with a similar genome organisation and replication strategy to EBOV. Pathway and gene ontology analysis revealed differential expression of functionally important genes; including genes involved in the inflammatory response, cell proliferation, leukocyte extravasation and cholesterol biosynthesis. Whilst there was overlap with HRSV, there was unique commonality to the EBOV variants