The varieties of vitality: A cross-cultural lexical analysis

Vitality has been underappreciated and underexplored by academia at large. This oversight is potentially explained by the Western-centric nature of most fields, with vitality having been comparatively neglected in the West relative to elsewhere. One explanation for this lacuna is that vitality is not easily pigeonholed within the ontological categories dominant in the West, such as mind and body. This paper therefore aims to learn from cultures that have cultivated a greater understanding of vitality, doing so by engaging with relevant ‘untranslatable’ words (i.e., those without exact equivalent in English), thus enriching our conceptual map of this topic. Over 200 relevant terms were located and analyzed using an adapted form of grounded theory. Three themes were identified, each with four subthemes: spirit (life force, channels, soul, and transcendence); energy (fortitude, channeling, willpower, and recharging); and heart (desire, passion, affection, and satisfaction). The paper thus refines our understanding of this important topic and provides a foundation for future research.

The incidence and body site of skin cancers in the population groups of Astana, Kazakhstan

Background and aims: Data on cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM), squamous cell carcinoma of the skin (SCC), and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in populations consisting of multi‐racial groups in the Commonwealth of Independent States are limited. Here, the main aim was to analyse the incidence and body site of these cancers in the population groups of Astana, Kazakhstan (2007‐2016). Methods: Annual age standardised incidences and body sites of BCC, SCC, and CMM in Astana's population, divided into “Kazakhs and other Turkic/Asian” and “Russian and other European/Caucasian” groups, were calculated from histologically confirmed cases reported to Astana Oncology Centre. Results: During the period January 2007 to October 2016, 647 skin cancers were diagnosed. The age and sex standardised incidence of BCC, SCC, and CMM increased significantly between 2007 to 2011 and 2012 to 2016. Higher incidences occurred in the Russian and other European/Caucasian group compared with the Kazakh and other Turkic/Asian group for the 3 skin cancers. BCC was the most common type of skin tumour, followed by SCC, and then CMM, in both population groups and sexes. The head/neck was the commonest site for BCC and SCC in all groups. For CMM, the most frequent site was the trunk in the Russian group and the head/neck in the Kazakh group. Conclusion: The incidence of skin tumours in Astana rose over the past 10 years. Differences in skin phototypes and sun exposure/ protection behaviours may account for the more frequent occurrence of skin tumours in the Russian population group compared with the Kazakh population group

Coupling a stochastic occupancy model to EnergyPlus to predict hourly thermal demand of a neighbourhood

When designing and managing integrated renewable energy technologies at a community level, prediction of hourly thermal demand is essential. Dynamic thermal modelling, using deterministic occupancy profiles, has been widely used to predict the highresolution temporal thermal demand of individual buildings. Only in recent years has this approach started to be applied to simulate all buildings in a neighbourhood or an entire housing stock of a region. This study explores the potential of predicting hourly thermal demand for a group of dwellings by applying a stochastic occupancy model to dynamic thermal modelling. A case study with 125 new houses demonstrates the approach. The result was a more realistic and representative hourly thermal demand profile, compared to using standard deterministic occupancy profiles

Dynamic modelling of a large scale retrofit programme for the housing stock in the North East of England

Housing stock models have long been employed to estimate the baseline energy demand of the existing housing stock, as well as to predict the effectiveness of applying different retrofit measures and renewable technologies on reducing the energy demand and corresponding CO2 emissions. This research aims to develop a dynamic housing stock model to simulate the hourby-hour energy demands of 1.2 million dwellings in the North East (NE) of England using the 2008-9 English Housing Survey (EHS) data. The model is validated by comparison to a steady-state energy model. Using the model, new results predicting the impact of a large scale retrofit programme for the NE housing stock are generated

Developing a geographically detailed housing stock model for the North East of England

Housing stock models predict long term changes in the stock to inform national policy. They operate with a set of reference dwellings representing the national stock, which are changed in response to different scenarios. However, national level models do not consider geographical variations (urban location/rural surroundings, index of multiple deprivation score, etc.), so cannot aid in targeting improvement measures (eg: insulation, microgeneration, etc.) locally. A geographically varying model can identify which measures are most appropriate in a particular location. In this paper a method has been designed and implemented using information at LSOA level (c. 700 dwellings each) to introduce geographical variation for a model of the North East of England. It has been tested against DECC meter data and over 80% of LSOAs are predicted to within ±25% of DECC’s data. The model allows localised policies and interventions to be tested, and is principally of interest to local government and energy efficiency initiatives

Proteomic Analysis of Pichindé virus

The arenaviruses include a number of important pathogens including Lassa virus and Junin virus. Presently, the only treatment is supportive care and the antiviral Ribavirin. In the event of an epidemic, patient triage may be required to more effectively manage resources; the development of prognostic biomarker signatures, correlating with disease severity, would allow rational triage. Using a pair of arenaviruses, which cause mild or severe disease, we analyzed extracts from infected cells using SELDI mass spectrometry to characterize potential biomarker profiles. EDGE analysis was used to analyze longitudinal expression differences. Extracts from infected guinea pigs revealed protein peaks which could discriminate between mild or severe infection, and between times post-infection. Tandem mass-spectrometry identified several peaks, including the transcriptional regulator prothymosin-α. Further investigation revealed differences in secretion of this peptide. These data show proof of concept that proteomic profiling of host markers could be used as prognostic markers of infectious disease

The flavours of love: A cross-cultural lexical analysis

Linguists have often remarked upon the polysemous nature of love, whereby the term encompasses a wide diversity of emotional relationships. Several typologies have been constructed to account for this diversity. However, these tend to be restricted in scope, and fail to represent the range of experiences signified by the term ‘love’ in discourse. In the interest of generating an expanded typology of love, encompassing its varied forms, an enquiry was conducted into relevant concepts found across the world’s cultures, focusing on so-called untranslatable words. Through a quasi-systematic search of published and internet sources, 609 relevant words were identified. These were organised through a version of grounded theory into 14 categories, representing 14 different types of love. The result is an expanded theoretical treatment of love, allowing us to better appreciate the nuances of this most cherished and yet polysemous of concepts

Email for clinical communication between healthcare professionals

Email is one of the most widely used methods of communication, but its use in healthcare is still uncommon. Where email communication has been utilised in health care, its purposes have included clinical communication between healthcare professionals, but the effects of using email in this way are not well known. We updated a 2012 review of the use of email for two-way clinical communication between healthcare professionals

Heme metabolism genes Downregulated in COPD Cachexia.

IntroductionCachexia contributes to increased mortality and reduced quality of life in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and may be associated with underlying gene expression changes. Our goal was to identify differential gene expression signatures associated with COPD cachexia in current and former smokers.MethodsWe analyzed whole-blood gene expression data from participants with COPD in a discovery cohort (COPDGene, N = 400) and assessed replication (ECLIPSE, N = 114). To approximate the consensus definition using available criteria, cachexia was defined as weight-loss > 5% in the past 12 months or low body mass index (BMI) (< 20 kg/m2) and 1/3 criteria: decreased muscle strength (six-minute walk distance < 350 m), anemia (hemoglobin < 12 g/dl), and low fat-free mass index (FFMI) (< 15 kg/m2 among women and < 17 kg/m2 among men) in COPDGene. In ECLIPSE, cachexia was defined as weight-loss > 5% in the past 12 months or low BMI and 3/5 criteria: decreased muscle strength, anorexia, abnormal biochemistry (anemia or high c-reactive protein (> 5 mg/l)), fatigue, and low FFMI. Differential gene expression was assessed between cachectic and non-cachectic subjects, adjusting for age, sex, white blood cell counts, and technical covariates. Gene set enrichment analysis was performed using MSigDB.ResultsThe prevalence of COPD cachexia was 13.7% in COPDGene and 7.9% in ECLIPSE. Fourteen genes were differentially downregulated in cachectic versus non-cachectic COPD patients in COPDGene (FDR < 0.05) and ECLIPSE (FDR < 0.05).DiscussionSeveral replicated genes regulating heme metabolism were downregulated among participants with COPD cachexia. Impaired heme biosynthesis may contribute to cachexia development through free-iron buildup and oxidative tissue damage