256 research outputs found
The relationship of past and present homerange for elderly residents in low-income housing
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2302933
Technology’s Refuge
An investigation into the use of information communication technologies by refugees during flight, displacement and in settlement, this book examines the impact of Australia’s official policy of mandatory detention on how asylum seekers and refugees maintain links to diasporas and networks of support. Given the restricted contact with the world outside of the immigration detention centre, the book juxtaposes forms and processes of technology-mediated communication between institutionalised detention, with those of displacement and settlement. It finds that while there are obstacles to communication in situations of conflict and dislocation, asylum seekers and refugees are able to ‘make do’ with the technology options available to them in ways which were less constrained than in detention settings. The book also outlines how communication practices during the settlement process focus on learning new technologies, and repairing the disconnections with family members resulting from separation and detention
Uncovering the Equity Impacts of Urban Land Use Planning
A growing number of cities are preparing for climate change impacts by
developing adaptation plans. However, little is known about how these plans
and their implementation affect the vulnerability of the urban poor. We
critically assess initiatives in eight cities worldwide and find that land use
planning for climate adaptation can exacerbate socio-spatial inequalities
across diverse developmental and environmental conditions. We argue that urban
adaptation injustices fall into two categories: acts of commission when
interventions negatively affect or displace poor communities and acts of
omission when they protect and prioritize elite groups at the expense of the
urban poor
A membrane-based process for recovering isoflavones from a waste stream of soy processing
NRC publication: Ye
Clinical and cost-effectiveness of autologous chondrocyte implantation for cartilage defects in knee joints : systematic review and economic evaluation
Objective: To support a review of the guidance issued
by the National Institute for Health and Clinical
Excellence (NICE) in December 2000 by examining the
current clinical and cost-effectiveness evidence on
autologous cartilage transplantation.
Data sources: Electronic databases.
Review methods: Evidence on clinical effectiveness
was obtained from randomised trials, supplemented by
data from selected observational studies for longer
term results, and for the natural history of chondral
lesions. Because of a lack of long-term results on
outcomes such as later osteoarthritis and knee
replacement, only illustrative modelling was done, using
a range of assumptions that seemed reasonable, but
were not evidence based.
Results: Four randomised controlled trials were
included, as well as observational data from case series.
The trials studied a total of 266 patients and the
observational studies up to 101 patients. Two studies
compared autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI)
with mosaicplasty, the third compared ACI with
microfracture, and the fourth compared matrix-guided
ACI (MACI®) with microfracture. Follow-up was 1 year
in one study, and up to 3 years in the remaining three
studies. The first trial of ACI versus mosaicplasty found
that ACI gave better results than mosaicplasty at 1 year.
Overall, 88% had excellent or good results with ACI
versus 69% with mosaicplasty. About half of the
biopsies after ACI showed hyaline cartilage. The second
trial of ACI versus mosaicplasty found little difference in
clinical outcomes at 2 years. Disappointingly, biopsies
from the ACI group showed fibrocartilage rather than
hyaline cartilage. The trial of ACI versus microfracture
also found only small differences in outcomes at
2 years. Finally, the trial of MACI versus microfracture
contained insufficient long-term results at present, but
the study does show the feasibility of doing ACI by the
MACI technique. It also suggested that after ACI, it
takes 2 years for full-thickness cartilage to be
produced. Reliable costs per quality-adjusted life-year
(QALY) could not be calculated owing to the absence
of necessary data. Simple short-term modelling
suggests that the quality of life gain from ACI versus
microfracture would have to be between 70 and 100%
greater over 2 years for it to be more cost-effective
within the £20,000–30,000 per QALY costeffectiveness
thresholds. However, if the quality of life
gains could be maintained for a decade, increments
relative to microfracture would only have to be
10–20% greater to justify additional treatment costs
within the cost-effectiveness band indicated above.
Follow-up from the trials so far has only been up to
2 years, with longer term outcomes being
uncertain.
Conclusions: There is insufficient evidence at present
to say that ACI is cost-effective compared with
microfracture or mosaicplasty. Longer term outcomes
are required. Economic modelling using some
assumptions about long-term outcomes that seem
reasonable suggests that ACI would be cost-effective because it is more likely to produce hyaline cartilage,
which is more likely to be durable and to prevent
osteoarthritis in the longer term (e.g. 20 years).
Further research is needed into earlier methods of
predicting long-term results. Basic science research is
also needed into factors that influence stem cells to
become chondrocytes and to produce high-quality
cartilage, as it may be possible to have more patients
developing hyaline cartilage after microfracture. Study
is also needed into cost-effective methods of
rehabilitation and the effect of early mobilisation on
cartilage growth
ULTRA HIGH FIELD MR CAROTID VESSEL WALL IMAGING: COMPARISON BETWEEN 7T AND 3T
Cardiovascular Aspects of Radiolog
Selective suppression of the α isoform of p38 MAPK rescues late-stage tau pathology
BACKGROUND:
Hyperphosphorylation and aggregation of tau protein are the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies. We previously demonstrated that the microglial activation induces tau hyperphosphorylation and cognitive impairment via activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) in the hTau mouse model of tauopathy that was deficient for microglial fractalkine receptor CX3CR1.
METHOD:
We report an isoform-selective, brain-permeable, and orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of p38α MAPK (MW181) and its effects on tau phosphorylation in vitro and in hTau mice.
RESULTS:
First, pretreatment of mouse primary cortical neurons with MW181 completely blocked inflammation-induced p38α MAPK activation and AT8 (pS199/pS202) site tau phosphorylation, with the maximum effect peaking at 60-90 min after stimulation. Second, treatment of old (~20 months of age) hTau mice with MW181 (1 mg/kg body weight; 14 days via oral gavage) significantly reduced p38α MAPK activation compared with vehicle-administered hTau mice. This also resulted in a significant reduction in AT180 (pT231) site tau phosphorylation and Sarkosyl-insoluble tau aggregates. Third, MW181 treatment significantly increased synaptophysin protein expression and resulted in improved working memory. Fourth, MW181 administration reduced phosphorylated MAPK-activated protein kinase 2 (pMK2) and phosphorylated activating transcription factor 2 (pATF2), which are known substrates of p38α MAPK. Finally, MW181 reduced the expression of interferon-γ and interleukin-1β.
CONCLUSIONS:
Taken together, these studies support p38α MAPK as a valid therapeutic target for the treatment of tauopathies
Coastal Wetland Restoration through the lens of Odum\u27s theory of ecosystem development
Advancing ecological restoration assessments requires a more detailed consideration of species interactions and ecosystem processes. Most restoration projects rely on a few metrics not always directly linked with ecological theory. Here, we used Odum\u27s theory of ecosystem development to assess and compare the ecosystem structure and services of created marshes (4–6 years old) with preexisting, reference marshes in a brackish water region of the Mississippi River Delta. We built ecosystem models for created and reference marshes that integrated large datasets of stomach contents, stable isotopes, and taxa abundances. Despite strong resemblance in community structure, created marshes were at an earlier succession stage compared to the reference marshes, having lower biomass (including exploited species), higher biomass turnover and production, less dependence on detritus, lower material cycling, and less energy flowing through specialist pathways. Although preserving preexisting marshes should be a priority, created marshes may still be an important tool for the restoration of coastal areas and their ecosystem services. In addition, our results show that comparisons of species biodiversity alone may fail to capture essential differences in ecosystem processes between habitats, which reinforces the importance of ecosystem modeling approaches to assess restoration projects
Can biodiversity of preexisting and created salt marshes match across scales? An assessment from microbes to predators
Coastal wetlands are rapidly disappearing worldwide due to a variety of processes, including climate change and flood control. The rate of loss in the Mississippi River Delta is among the highest in the world and billions of dollars have been allocated to build and restore coastal wetlands. A key question guiding assessment is whether created coastal salt marshes have similar biodiversity to preexisting, reference marshes. However, the numerous biodiversity metrics used to make these determinations are typically scale dependent and often conflicting. Here, we applied ecological theory to compare the diversity of different assemblages (surface and below-surface soil microbes, plants, macroinfauna, spiders, and on-marsh and off-marsh nekton) between two created marshes (4–6 years old) and four reference marshes. We also quantified the scale-dependent effects of species abundance distribution, aggregation, and density on richness differences and explored differences in species composition. Total, between-sample, and within-sample diversity (γ, β, and α, respectively) were not consistently lower at created marshes. Richness decomposition varied greatly among assemblages and marshes (e.g., soil microbes showed high equitability and α diversity, but plant diversity was restricted to a few dominant species with high aggregation). However, species abundance distribution, aggregation, and density patterns were not directly associated with differences between created and reference marshes. One exception was considerably lower density for macroinfauna at one of the created marshes, which was drier because of being at a higher elevation and having coarser substrate compared with the other marshes. The community compositions of created marshes were more dissimilar than reference marshes for microbe and macroinfauna assemblages. However, differences were small, particularly for microbes. Together, our results suggest generally similar taxonomic diversity and composition between created and reference marshes. This provides support for the creation of marsh habitat as tools for the maintenance and restoration of coastal biodiversity. However, caution is needed when creating marshes because specific building and restoration plans may lead to different colonization patterns
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