Computational Study of the Structure and Mechanical Properties of the Molecular Crystal RDX

Molecular crystals constitute a class of materials commonly used as active pharmaceutical ingredients, energetic and high explosive materials. Like simpler crystalline materials, they possess a repeating lattice structure. However, the complexity of the structure - due to having several entire molecules instead of atoms at each lattice site - significantly complicates the relationship between the crystal structure and mechanical properties. Of particular interest to molecular crystals are the mechanically activated processes initiated by large deformations. These include polymorph transitions, slip deformation, cleavage fracture, or the transition to disordered states. Activation of slip systems is generally the preferred mode of deformation in molecular crystals because the long range order of the crystal and its associated properties are maintained. These processes change the crystal structure and affect the physiological absorption of advanced pharmaceutical ingredients and the decomposition of high explosives. This work used molecular dynamics to study the energetic molecule RDX, C3H6N6O6, as a model molecular crystal that is a commonly used military high explosive. Molecular dynamics is used to determine the crystal response to deformation by determination of elastic constants, polymorph transitions, cleavage properties, and energy barriers to slip. The cleavage and the free surface energy are determined through interface decohesion simulations and the attachment energy method. The energy barriers to slip are determined through the generalized stacking fault (GSF) procedure. To account for the steric contributions and elastic shearing due to the presence of flexible molecules, a modified calculation procedure for the GSF energy is proposed that enables the distinction of elastic shear energy from the energy associated with the interfacial displacement discontinuity at the slip plane. The unstable stacking fault energy from the GSF simulations is compared to the free surface energy to differentiate cleavage and slip planes. The results are found to be largely in agreement with available experimental data

Consumer-Ready Insulated Solar Electric Cooker

An insulated solar electric cooker, or ISEC, converts solar energy into electricity to cook food, boil water, provide heat or even help charge batteries. In this project, the focus is an ISEC with a phase change material (PCM) that helps store heat when the solar energy input is minimal, such as after the sun has set. Although a successful ISEC already exists that utilizes PCM, this product can be improved in many ways. The specific revisions investigated in this report are the improvement of the thermal efficiency with the implementation of a vacuum-sealed outer pot, the reduction of the overall manufacturing costs, and a more user-friendly consumer experience. These revisions can help millions worldwide by providing a safe and inexpensive alternative to biomass fuel cooking which is inefficient and unsafe without proper ventilation. The ISEC can alleviate this problem with an environmentally conscious and easy-to-use solar-powered cooker. The final product is thermally efficient, intuitive to use, and low-cost so that it can be easily manufactured and deployed in its final iteration. There are several areas in which the former ISEC was improved, and the group focused on bolstering these functions to create a highly functional and efficient operating system. This Final Design Report documents the team’s efforts towards designing, manufacturing, and testing a new and improved iteration of the Insulated Solar Electric Cooker

\u3cem\u3eAtkins v. Virginia\u3c/em\u3e at Twenty: Still Adaptive Deficits, Still in the Developmental Period

Twenty years ago, in Atkins v. Virginia, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Eighth Amendment prohibited states from executing persons with intellectual disability. While the Court’s decision is laudable and has saved many of the most vulnerable persons from the executioner, its effect has been undermined by recalcitrant states attempting to exploit language in the opinion permitting states to create procedures to implement the (then) new categorical prohibition. In this article, we examine how some states have adopted procedures which are fundamentally inconsistent with the clinical consensus understanding of the disability and how one state, Georgia, has through the use of juries and a crippling burden of proof, rendered Atkins a nullity. Although the Court has intervened to prohibit some of these practices, it has not granted certiorari to consider others, including Georgia’s. And due to limits the Court has put on federal habeas corpus relief, many persons who fall within the Court’s categorical bar prohibiting persons with intellectual disability from being sentenced to death or executed, have no effective state or federal remedy

Partnering with older people as peer researchers

Brendan McCormack - ORCID: 0000-0001-8525-8905 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8525-8905Background: The term peer researcher describes the role of a person who has similar characteristics and can identify with the participant group in a research study. This paper describes the methodological approach and experiences of older people who were peer researchers on a study that explored the lived experience of people with dementia who lived in technology-enriched housing.Methods: Nine people responded to a public recruitment campaign through nongovernment organisations using multiple methods such as seniors' forums, development officers and social media. Mandatory training across 2 days was provided and seven peer researchers successfully completed the training. A total of 22 interviews were undertaken by the seven peer researchers. The data collected from the training feedback proforma (N = 7), interview debrief forms (N = 22) and final evaluation forms (N = 5) were analysed using content analysis and triangulated.Results: Five core themes emerged from the data using a content analysis approach to examine the peer researchers' experience: (1) skill development; (2) recognition of competencies; (3) connection; (4) supplementary information; and (5) the triad dynamic.Conclusions: Considerations to enhance the peer researcher experience emerged including enhanced communication training, consideration of the optimum number of peer researchers to balance workload and identification of the characteristics that enable people to connect as peer researchers. Future research should consider the impact that experiential skill development has on the data collected.Public Contribution: Older people conducted qualitative interviews as peer researchers with people living with dementia to cocreate knowledge.Health and Social Care Research and Development Division Public Health Agency and Atlantic Philanthropies, Grant/Award Number: COM/4955/14https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.1333124pubpub

A systematic review of electronic assistive technology within supporting living environments for people with dementia

Health and social care provision needs to change in order to meet the needs of an increase in the number of people living with dementia. Environmental design, technology and assistive devices have the potential to complement care, help address some of the challenges presented by this growing need and impact on the lived experience of this vulnerable population. This systematic review was undertaken to identify the research on the use of electronic assistive technology within long-term residential care settings. A total of 3229 papers published from the inception of each of the databases up until May 2016 were retrieved from searches in four major databases. Sixty-one were identified to be included in the review. The inclusion criteria were: original peer reviewed journals; an electronic assistive technology intervention; with residents or tenants living with dementia or their family or paid caregivers; in supported living environments or residential care. The data extracted from the included studies focused on the methodology, technology, outcomes and the role of people living with dementia within the research. Overall, an extensive variety of technical interventions were found, with a broad range of methodological heterogeneity to explore their effect. Additionally, wide-spanning outcomes to support the potential of technology solutions and the challenges presented by such intervention were found

Social Desirability and the Celebrity Attitude Scale

The possibility of social desirability bias has often been neglected in the construction and evaluation of attitudinal scales and personality inventories in psychology and related disciplines. The present study aimed to explore the potential influence of such biases on respondents’ self-reported celebrity worship. Specifically, we had a student sample (n = 187) complete a) measures of two different forms of social desirability bias (externally-oriented “Impression management” vs. internally-oriented “self-deceptive positivity”) and b) the Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS). Results showed that neither measure correlated significantly with the CAS. Furthermore, neither gender nor delivery mode (online vs. paper-and-pencil) mediated the non-significant relationships. Our results add to the confidence researchers might have in using this tool to measure attitudes toward one’s favorite celebrity. Other results are generally consistent with previous studies using the CAS

Stakeholder’s experiences of living and caring in technology-rich supported living environments for tenants living with dementia

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2021-12-22, registration 2023-01-12, accepted 2023-01-12, pub-electronic 2023-02-01, online 2023-02-01, collection 2023-12Publication status: PublishedAcknowledgements: Acknowledgements: We would like to acknowledge the wider research team that worked within the TESA-DRI Project. We are grateful to our peer-researchers for their time and commitment to the TESA-DRI project. The project was funded by the Health and Social Care Research and Development Division Public Health Agency and Atlantic Philanthropies (COM/4955/14).Background: Technology innovation provides an opportunity to support the rising number of people living with dementia globally. The present study examines experiences of people who have dementia and live in technology enriched supported care models. Additionally, it explores caregiver’s attitudes towards technology use with the housing scheme. Methods: A qualitative research design was adopted, and eight housing schemes consented to take part in the study. A technology audit was undertaken in addition to participant interviews and caregiver survey. Seven peer researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 people living with dementia. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Informal and formal caregivers were invited to complete a survey to capture their attitudes towards technology use. A total of 20 informal and 31 formal caregiver surveys were returned. All surveys were input into Survey Monkey and downloaded into excel for analysis. Closed questions were analysed using descriptive statistics and open-ended questions were organised into themes and described descriptively. Results: The technology audit identified that technologies were in place from as early as 2002. Technology heterogeneity of, both passive and active devices, was found within the housing schemes. Technologies such as wearable devices were reportedly used according to need, and mobile phone use was widely adopted. The themes that developed out of the tenant interviews were: Attitudes and Engagement with Technology; Technology Enhancing Tenants Sense of Security; Seeking Support and Digital Literacy; and Technology Enabled Connection. A lack of awareness about living alongside technology was a major finding. Technologies enabled a sense of reassurance and facilitated connections with the wider community. The interaction with technology presented challenges, for example, remembering passwords, access to Wi-Fi and the identification of its use in an emergency. The caregiver survey reported a range of facilitators and barriers for the use of technology within care. Both types of caregivers held relatively similar views around the benefits of technology, however their views on issues such as privacy and consent varied. Safety was considered more important than right to privacy by family caregivers. Conclusions: The present study provides new insight into stakeholder’s experiences of living, working and caregiving alongside technology in supported living environments. As the generation of people living with dementia become more tech savvy, harnessing everyday technologies to support care could enable holistic care and support the transition through the care continuum. Advance care planning and technology assessments are at the very core of future technology provision. It is evident that a paternalistic attitudes towards technology use could impact the multitude of benefits technology can play in both health and leisure for people living with dementia and their caregivers.pubpu

Virulence characteristics of hcp (+) Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolates from retail chicken.

BACKGROUND: Recently the Type VI secretion system (T6SS), which can play a significant role in bacterial survival and pathogenesis, was reported in Campylobacter spp., having the hcp gene as a key component. METHODS: Campylobacteriosis is associated with the consumption of infected chicken meat. Our study aimed to explore the presence of T6SS in C. jejuni (n = 59) and C. coli (n = 57) isolates, from retail raw chicken and to investigate their pathogenic potential. The hcp gene was used as an indicator for the T6SS presence. RESULTS: Using multiplex PCR we have identified a significantly higher prevalence of hcp in C. coli isolates (56.1%) than in C. jejuni (28.8%) and AFLP analysis of the isolates showed a high degree of genetic similarity between the isolates carrying the hcp gene. Genome sequencing data showed that 84.3% of the C. coli and 93.7% of the C. jejuni isolates had all 13 T6SS open reading frames. Moreover, the virulence characteristics of hcp + isolates, including motility and the ability to invade human intestinal epithelial cells in vitro, were significantly greater than in the control strain C. jejuni 12502; a human isolate which is hcp positive. CONCLUSION: Overall, it was discovered that hcp (+) C. coli and C. jejuni isolated from retail chicken isolates posses genetic and phenotypic properties associated with enhanced virulence. However, since human infections with C. coli are significantly less frequent than those of C. jejuni, the relationship between virulence factors and pathogenesis requires further study