Sending your research material into the future

A leaflet offering practical guidance for researchers on how to preserve their digital research material/data. This is one of the outputs of the JISC SHARD project, investigating research data preservation for history researchers, and related projects in the 2011-2012 JISC Digital Preservation programme

Recent Developments in Neuroscience and Moral Objectivity

In this short paper I would like to propose the following: human judgments of morality are not, and can not be objective given unavoidable aspects of human neural anatomy. They can be influenced by brain damage, your genetics, or even switched up and down in intensity at will using methods like Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), which I shall later discuss. Therefore any sense of an ability to make objective morality judgments is an illusio

Characterisation of the human α2(I) procollagen promoter-binding proteins

In an attempt to elucidate the transcriptional mechanisms that regulate the expression of the human α2(I) procollagen gene, cis-acting DNA-elements within the proximal promoter were identified and their corresponding trans-acting factors characterised. The fibroblast cell lines used in this study had previously been transformed with either simian virus 40 (SVWI-38) or by γ-radiation (CT-1). The SVWI-38 fibroblasts do not produce any α2(I) collagen chains, whereas the CT-1 cell line produces normal type I collagen. Previous studies suggested that trans-acting factor(s) may be responsible for the inactivation of the α2(I) procollagen gene in SVWI-38 fibroblasts (Parker et. al. (1989) J. Biol. Chem 264, 7147-7152; Parker et. al. (1992) Nucleic Acids Res. 20, 5825-5830). In this study, the SVWI-38 proximal promoter (-350 to +54) was sequenced and shown to be normal, thereby ruling out any possibility that mutations within this region was responsible for inactivation of the gene

The influence of push-off timing in a robotic ankle-foot prosthesis on the energetics and mechanics of walking

Background: Robotic ankle-foot prostheses that provide net positive push-off work can reduce the metabolic rate of walking for individuals with amputation, but benefits might be sensitive to push-off timing. Simple walking models suggest that preemptive push-off reduces center-of-mass work, possibly reducing metabolic rate. Studies with bilateral exoskeletons have found that push-off beginning before leading leg contact minimizes metabolic rate, but timing was not varied independently from push-off work, and the effects of push-off timing on biomechanics were not measured. Most lower-limb amputations are unilateral, which could also affect optimal timing. The goal of this study was to vary the timing of positive prosthesis push-off work in isolation and measure the effects on energetics, mechanics and muscle activity. Methods: We tested 10 able-bodied participants walking on a treadmill at 1.25 m.s(-1). Participants wore a tethered ankle-foot prosthesis emulator on one leg using a rigid boot adapter. We programmed the prosthesis to apply torque bursts that began between 46% and 56% of stride in different conditions. We iteratively adjusted torque magnitude to maintain constant net positive push-off work. Results: When push-off began at or after leading leg contact, metabolic rate was about 10% lower than in a condition with Spring-like prosthesis behavior. When push-off began before leading leg contact, metabolic rate was not different from the Spring-like condition. Early push-off led to increased prosthesis-side vastus medialis and biceps femoris activity during push-off and increased variability in step length and prosthesis loading during push-off. Prosthesis push-off timing had no influence on intact-side leg center-of-mass collision work. Conclusions: Prosthesis push-off timing, isolated from push-off work, strongly affected metabolic rate, with optimal timing at or after intact-side heel contact. Increased thigh muscle activation and increased human variability appear to have caused the lack of reduction in metabolic rate when push-off was provided too early. Optimal timing with respect to opposite heel contact was not different from normal walking, but the trends in metabolic rate and center-of-mass mechanics were not consistent with simple model predictions. Optimal push-off timing should also be characterized for individuals with amputation, since meaningful benefits might be realized with improved timing

The Impact of Risk Factors Reduction Scenarios on Hospital Admissions, Disability-Adjusted Life Years and the Hospitalisation Cost of Cardiovascular Disease in Thailand

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is considered to be one of the leading health issues in Thailand. CVD not only contributes to an increase in the number of hospital admissions year by year but also impacts on the rising health care expenditure for the treatment and long-term care of CVD patients. Therefore, this study is aimed at examining the impacts of risk reduction strategies on the number of CVD hospital admissions, Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) and the costs of hospitalisation. To estimate such impacts a CVD cost-offset model was applied using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The number of the mid-year population was classified by age, gender and the CVD risk factor profiles from the recent Thai National Health Examination Survey (NHES) IV. This survey was chosen as the baseline population. The CVD risk factor profiles included age, gender, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, and smoking status. The Asia-Pacific Collaborative Cohort Study (APCCS) equation was applied to predict the probability of developing CVD over the next eight-year period. Estimates on the following were obtained from the model: 1) the CVD events both fatal and non-fatal; 2) the difference between the projected number of deaths and the actual number of deaths in that population; 3) the number of patients who are expected to live with CVD; 4) the DALYs from the estimated number of fatal and non-fatal events; 5) the cost of hospital admissions. Four CVD risk strategy scenarios were investigated as follows: 1) the do-nothing scenario; 2) the optimistic scenario; 3) achieve the UN millennium development goal; and 4) the worst-case scenario. The findings showed that over the next eight years, there are likely to be 3,297,428 recorded cases of CVD; 5,870,049 cases of DALYs; and, approximately ฿57,000 million, ($1.9 billion), is projected as the total cost of hospital admissions. However, if the current health policy can reduce the levels of risk factors as defined in the optimistic scenario or such policy meets the specifications of the UN millennium development goal, there would be a significant reduction in the number of hospital admissions. These are estimated to be a reduction of 522,179 male and 515,416 female cases. With these results, it is expected that health care costs would save approximately ฿9000 million, ($298.3 million), for CVD and 900,000 million DALYs over the next eight years. However, if there is an upward trend in the risk factors as predicted in the worst-case scenario, then there will be an increase of 428,220 CVD cases; consequently, DALYs cases may rise by 766,029 while the hospitalisation costs may increase by approximately ฿7000 million, ($232.1 million). Based on our findings, reducing the levels of CVD risk factors in the population will drastically reduce: 1) the number of CVD cases; 2) DALYs cases; and 3) health care costs. Therefore it is recommended that the health policy should enhance the primary prevention programs which would be targeted at reducing the CVD risk factors in the population

Health care and hospitalisation costs of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Thailand

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has become a leading cause of death and disability in Thailand due to the unhealthy lifestyle of the populace; triggering high risk of exposure to CVD, increase in the number of hospital admissions year on year. Objectives: The concerns generated by the inflation in the health care expenditure among service providers motivated this study to examine the costs of hospitalisation of inpatients with (CVD) conditions in Thailand, 2009. Methods: Anonymised secondary data of 327,435 CVD inpatients under “Universal Coverage” (UC) health care scheme were obtained from the National Health Security Office (NHSO), Thailand. The data(51.69%- women and 48.31% - men) were classified using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code, of which I20-I25 are Ischemic heart disease (IHD), I60-I69 are stroke and I00- I99areallCVD conditions. Results: Average costs of treatments for all CVD conditions, IHD and stroke were ฿21,921 (£1 = ฿50), ฿32,884 (highest) and ฿25,617.67per patient respectively. Absolute total cost increased with age and the cost of admission of male patients is higher than female. The average (three months) length of stay for stroke patients was found to be the highest. Conclusion: Providers generally spent a total of ฿7,177 million on the treatment of CVD with IHD and stroke taking ฿2,544 million and ฿1,920 million respectivel

Igneous rocks of the Nashoba Block, eastern Massachusetts

Geology of the coastal lowlands, Boston to Kennebunk, Maine: The 76th annual meeting New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference, Danvers, Massachusetts, October 12-14, 1984: Trip A-

Reducing the metabolic cost of walking with an ankle exoskeleton: interaction between actuation timing and power

Background Powered ankle-foot exoskeletons can reduce the metabolic cost of human walking to below normal levels, but optimal assistance properties remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to test the effects of different assistance timing and power characteristics in an experiment with a tethered ankle-foot exoskeleton. Methods Ten healthy female subjects walked on a treadmill with bilateral ankle-foot exoskeletons in 10 different assistance conditions. Artificial pneumatic muscles assisted plantarflexion during ankle push-off using one of four actuation onset timings (36, 42, 48 and 54% of the stride) and three power levels (average positive exoskeleton power over a stride, summed for both legs, of 0.2, 0.4 and 0.5 W∙kg−1). We compared metabolic rate, kinematics and electromyography (EMG) between conditions. Results Optimal assistance was achieved with an onset of 42% stride and average power of 0.4 W∙kg−1, leading to 21% reduction in metabolic cost compared to walking with the exoskeleton deactivated and 12% reduction compared to normal walking without the exoskeleton. With suboptimal timing or power, the exoskeleton still reduced metabolic cost, but substantially less so. The relationship between timing, power and metabolic rate was well-characterized by a two-dimensional quadratic function. The assistive mechanisms leading to these improvements included reducing muscular activity in the ankle plantarflexors and assisting leg swing initiation. Conclusions These results emphasize the importance of optimizing exoskeleton actuation properties when assisting or augmenting human locomotion. Our optimal assistance onset timing and average power levels could be used for other exoskeletons to improve assistance and resulting benefits

The science and management of sex verification in sport

The verification of gender eligibility in sporting competition poses a biological and management challenge for sports science and medicine, as well as for sporting authorities. It has been established that in most sporting events, the strength and power advantage possessed by males as a result of the virilising action of hormones such as testosterone produce significant advantages in performance. For this reason, males and females compete largely in separate gender categories. Controversies arise as a result of intersex conditions, where the classification of individuals into male or female is complex. The present review provides the historical context to the debate, identifying the origins of gender verification as a means to deter cheating. It describes how various testing methods have been attempted, including physical examinations of genitalia, molecular techniques including genetic screening, and complex multidisciplinary approaches including endocrinological, genetic and gynaecological examination. To date, none appear to have provided a satisfactory resolution to the problem, and appear instead to have unfairly discriminated against individuals as a result of inappropriate application of testing results. Sporting authorities have formulated position stands for the management of such cases, but there is not absolute agreement between them and little evidence to support whether intersex individuals should or should not be allowed to compete in female categories