Understanding changes in the motivation of stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation in hospital

Stroke patient motivation can fluctuate during rehabilitation due to a range of factors. This study reports on qualitative research, consisting of observations of stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation and interviews with patients about the changes in motivation they identified during their time completing rehabilitation in the hospital. We found a range of positive and negative factors which affect motivation. Positive factors include improvements in patient movement and support from other patients and family members. Negative factors include pain and psychological issues such as changes in mood. From this fieldwork, a set of design guidelines has been developed to act as a platform for researchers and designers developing equipment for the rehabilitation of stroke patients

Rapid adaptive responses to climate change in corals

Pivotal to projecting the fate of coral reefs is the capacity of reef-building corals to acclimatize and adapt to climate change. Transgenerational plasticity may enable some marine organisms to acclimatize over several generations and it has been hypothesized that epigenetic processes and microbial associations might facilitate adaptive responses. However, current evidence is equivocal and understanding of the underlying processes is limited. Here, we discuss prospects for observing transgenerational plasticity in corals and the mechanisms that could enable adaptive plasticity in the coral holobiont, including the potential role of epigenetics and coral-associated microbes. Well-designed and strictly controlled experiments are needed to distinguish transgenerational plasticity from other forms of plasticity, and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and their relative importance compared with genetic adaptation