The significance of time in the design of a public landscape Exploring accepted, experimental and relational dimensions of drawing time

This paper revisits a built project to reveal a hidden and experimental ambition for a public space through drawing in time. Behind the project’s initial inception lay the designer’s motivation to challenge, open and expand the consideration of time in the way in which public landscapes are invented, configured and received. As such, the project sought to attend both to the way in which time manifests as a design consideration through drawing and to the way in which time could be conceptually and experientially sustained in the afterlife of the completed work. In the inevitable ebbs and flows of productivity and decision taking that ran through the project, the designer came to realize that the ambitions outlined above stretched beyond their client’s comprehension of what the project could and should be. Instead, an aspiration to design “in time” became subservient to the client and stakeholders’ focus on the material manifestation of the work as a visual object and to the project’s public reception when it was deemed “complete”. For the designer this meant that opportunities to expand design thinking into practices tied to the continuing and relational opportunities of the space remained disappointingly determinate and closed. By revisiting the existing representations and by making new drawings that were more explorative and unburdened by the conditions of project delivery, new liberty was found, revealing a unique bond between drawing in time and the relational opportunities of the work

Assessment of the Usability and Impact of the Idaho Health Data Exchange (IHDE)

Eighty four health care professionals participated in an online survey assessing the usability, and clinical and administrative impact of the Idaho Health Data Exchange’s (IHDE) Virtual Health Record (VHR). The IHDE VHR allows authorized users to use a secure web interface to view lab, radiology and transcribed reports from multiple facilities and view medical histories on patients in the data exchange. Results indicate the usability of the IHDE VHR was almost universally positively rated with the Software Usability Measurement Inventory (SUMI) utilized as the assessment method. Medical providers however had the lowest rating of the exchange, raising concerns about the need for additional training and support. The addition of other Idaho health care organizations to the health data exchange was most widely desired, with the most frequently cited benefit being more comprehensive access to patients’ records. In contrast to other published evaluations of health data exchanges in the U.S., few of the concerns emerged about cost of implementation of the data exchange or trust in the quality of information contained therein

Methylglyoxal, A Metabolite Increased in Diabetes is Associated with Insulin Resistance, Vascular Dysfunction and Neuropathies

The published manuscript is available at EurekaSelect via http://www.eurekaselect.com/openurl/content.php?genre=article&doi=10.2174/1389200217666151222155216 © 2018 Bentham Science PublishersBackground: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a pandemic metabolic disease characterized by a chronically elevated blood glucose concentration (hyperglycemia) due to insulin dysfunction. Approximately 50% of diabetics show diabetes complications by the time they are diagnosed. Vascular dysfunction, nephropathy and neuropathic pain are common diabetes complications. Chronic hyperglycemia contributes to reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation such as methylglyoxal (MGO). Methods: Peer reviewed research papers were studied through bibliographic databases searching focused on review questions and inclusion/exclusion criteria. The reviewed papers were appraised according to the searching focus. The characteristics of screened papers were described, and a deductive qualitative content analysis methodology was applied to the included studies using a conceptual framework to yield this comprehensive systematic review. Results: Sixty-six papers were included in this review. Eleven papers related methylglyoxal generation to carbohydrates metabolism, ten papers related lipid metabolism to methylglyoxal and 5 papers showed the proteolytic pathways that contribute to methylglyoxal generation. Methylglyoxal metabolism was derived from 7 papers. Descriptive figure 1 was drawn to explain methylglyoxal sources and how diabetes increases methylglyoxal generation. Furthermore, twenty-six papers related methylglyoxal to diabetes complications from which 9 papers showed methylglyoxal ability to induce insulin dysfunction, an effect which was described in schematic figure 2. Additionally, fifteen papers revealed methylglyoxal contribution to vascular dysfunction and 3 papers showed methylglyoxal to cause neuropathic pain. Methylglyoxal-induced vascular dysfunction was drawn in a comprehensive figure 3. This review correlated methylglyoxal with diabetes and diabetes complications which were summarised in table 1. Conclusion: The findings of this review suggesting methylglyoxal as an essential therapeutic target for managing diabetes in the future.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Computer Assisted Robotic Therapy for Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury: Can it work in the acute setting?

Problem: Computer assistive robotic therapy is an innovative treatment offering an interactive experience that may benefit individuals with spinal cord injury, however it is not known if such a treatment is feasible in the acute setting. Aims: To assess the experience of individuals and practitioners during the process of implementing computer assisted robotic therapy and to determine the feasibility of using such a therapy during acute rehabilitation. Methods: To accomplish the aims of this study a qualitative feasibility study was carried out, consisting of semi-structured interviews (N=4) with a participant, their partner and the administering practitioners at a public hospital in a metropolitan area of Australia. These interviews were conducted using a guide created to ensure comprehensive and rich responses. These responses were then transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis was completed using NVIVO 11. Established feasibility constructs were then related to the exposed themes. Results: This study provided qualitative findings on the implementation of computer assisted robotic therapy with a patient with cervical spinal cord injury and interrelated these findings with theoretical constructs relating to feasibility. Conclusion: High demand for computer assisted robotic therapy both from patients and practitioners was reported along with many potential benefits especially regarding participant immersion, motivation and engagement. However, the practicality of such a treatment is complicated by prohibitive costs, time constraints and the vulnerable state of patients. Consequently, when considering current protocol, computer assisted robotic therapy may not be feasible in acute spinal cord rehabilitation. More rigorous research is suggested to support this therapy given the context

Maternal Reflections on Working from Home with Children during the Pandemic

Due to widespread work and school closures during the early waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, many mothers were forced to work from home while supervising their children’s remote schooling. The current study examines maternal reflections on this period, focusing on the perceived impact of working in close proximity for both mothers and their children in the United States. Mothers reported that their children learned more about their job responsibilities since the onset of the pandemic compared to before it, which was likely due to children spending more time closer to their mothers while they worked. We used thematic analysis to examine mothers’ open-ended responses. Two overarching themes emerged. The first theme was that greater time together increases children’s understanding of working mothers’ role in the family, workplace, and community. The second theme was that observing one’s mother work from home can inform children’s future career paths. Mothers shared that this experience of learning about their mothers’ career enabled their children to better understand their perspective, which has the potential to be an empathy-building experience. Looking towards the future, this increased respect and empathy have the potential to improve relationship quality and help children view their mothers’ careers more favourably