Sustainable Materials in the Creative Industries: A scoping report for the AHRC (Redacted Version)

This report contains the results of a twelve-month scoping study of current sustainable practice around materials across the creative industries. The project team has explored current and immanent sustainable practice around the sourcing, use, disposal, reuse, recycling, and upcycling of materials, to help understand the creative sector's ongoing responses and its current and potential contribution to the development of a circular economy. It provides a snapshot of practice and perceptions around material sustainability in the creative industries, identifying existing trends and showcasing cutting-edge developments, as well as flagging sector-wide and discipline specific barriers that will have to be negotiated or addressed to achieve widespread sustainably orientated practice

GeNECA: Gerechte Nachhaltige Entwicklung auf Basis des Capability-Ansatzes ; Endbericht

Im Projektantrag gab das Konsortium folgende Ziele an: "Die auf Grundlage des Capability-Ansatzes entworfene Konzeption nachhaltiger Entwicklung hat durch die Bezugnahme auf die bedürfnisorientierten Ziele der Brundtland-Definition Integrationskraft und verbindet explizit intragenerationale mit intergenerationaler Gerechtigkeit. Diese Konzeption wird zu einem Indikatorenset nachhaltiger menschlicher Entwicklung operationalisiert, einer quantitativen Analyse unterzogen, empirisch in verschiedenen Governance-Feldern und -Ebenen angewendet und auf ihre verallgemeinerte Verwendbarkeit in Entscheidungsprozessen geprüft und dementsprechend modifiziert." Während der Projektlaufzeit, auch motiviert durch das Gutachtervotum, wurden die wissenschaftsbezogenen Ziele gestärkt und die politikbezogenen Ziele abgeschwächt

Künftige Freiheiten schützen?

Der Capability-Ansatz stellt substanzielle individuelle Freiheiten als Ziel nachhaltiger Entwicklung in den Mittelpunkt der Analyse. Diese konkrete Sichtweise ist nicht ohne Probleme, bietet aber auch Chancen. So relativiert der Ansatz die beliebte Diskussion um die starke oder schwache Nachhaltigkeit

The Efficacy of Exercise in Reducing Depressive Symptoms among Cancer Survivors: A Meta-Analysis

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the efficacy of exercise to reduce depressive symptoms among cancer survivors. In addition, we examined the extent to which exercise dose and clinical characteristics of cancer survivors influence the relationship between exercise and reductions in depressive symptoms. METHODS: We conducted a systematic search identifying randomized controlled trials of exercise interventions among adult cancer survivors, examining depressive symptoms as an outcome. We calculated effect sizes for each study and performed weighted multiple regression moderator analysis. RESULTS: We identified 40 exercise interventions including 2,929 cancer survivors. Diverse groups of cancer survivors were examined in seven exercise interventions; breast cancer survivors were examined in 26; prostate cancer, leukemia, and lymphoma were examined in two; and colorectal cancer in one. Cancer survivors who completed an exercise intervention reduced depression more than controls, d(+) = -0.13 (95% CI: -0.26, -0.01). Increases in weekly volume of aerobic exercise reduced depressive symptoms in dose-response fashion (β = -0.24, p = 0.03), a pattern evident only in higher quality trials. Exercise reduced depressive symptoms most when exercise sessions were supervised (β = -0.26, p = 0.01) and when cancer survivors were between 47-62 yr (β = 0.27, p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Exercise training provides a small overall reduction in depressive symptoms among cancer survivors but one that increased in dose-response fashion with weekly volume of aerobic exercise in high quality trials. Depressive symptoms were reduced to the greatest degree among breast cancer survivors, among cancer survivors aged between 47-62 yr, or when exercise sessions were supervised

T Follicular Helper Cell-Dependent Clearance of a Persistent Virus Infection Requires T Cell Expression of the Histone Demethylase UTX

Epigenetic changes, including histone methylation, control T cell differentiation and memory formation, though the enzymes that mediate these processes are not clear. We show that UTX, a histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27) demethylase, supports T follicular helper (Tfh) cell responses that are essential for B cell antibody generation and the resolution of chronic viral infections. Mice with a T cell-specific UTX deletion had fewer Tfh cells, reduced germinal center responses, lacked virus-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG), and were unable to resolve chronic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infections. UTX-deficient T cells showed decreased expression of interleukin-6 receptor-α and other Tfh cell-related genes that were associated with increased H3K27 methylation. Additionally, Turner Syndrome subjects, who are predisposed to chronic ear infections, had reduced UTX expression in immune cells and decreased circulating CD4(+) CXCR5(+) T cell frequency. Thus, we identify a critical link between UTX in T cells and immunity to infection

Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) Conference and Expo

Meeting Abstracts: Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) Conference and Expo Clearwater Beach, FL, USA. 9-11 June 201

Healthcare Access and Quality Index based on mortality from causes amenable to personal health care in 195 countries and territories, 1990-2015 : a novel analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background National levels of personal health-care access and quality can be approximated by measuring mortality rates from causes that should not be fatal in the presence of effective medical care (ie, amenable mortality). Previous analyses of mortality amenable to health care only focused on high-income countries and faced several methodological challenges. In the present analysis, we use the highly standardised cause of death and risk factor estimates generated through the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) to improve and expand the quantification of personal health-care access and quality for 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2015. Methods We mapped the most widely used list of causes amenable to personal health care developed by Nolte and McKee to 32 GBD causes. We accounted for variations in cause of death certification and misclassifications through the extensive data standardisation processes and redistribution algorithms developed for GBD. To isolate the effects of personal health-care access and quality, we risk-standardised cause-specific mortality rates for each geography-year by removing the joint effects of local environmental and behavioural risks, and adding back the global levels of risk exposure as estimated for GBD 2015. We employed principal component analysis to create a single, interpretable summary measure-the Healthcare Quality and Access (HAQ) Index-on a scale of 0 to 100. The HAQ Index showed strong convergence validity as compared with other health-system indicators, including health expenditure per capita (r= 0.88), an index of 11 universal health coverage interventions (r= 0.83), and human resources for health per 1000 (r= 0.77). We used free disposal hull analysis with bootstrapping to produce a frontier based on the relationship between the HAQ Index and the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a measure of overall development consisting of income per capita, average years of education, and total fertility rates. This frontier allowed us to better quantify the maximum levels of personal health-care access and quality achieved across the development spectrum, and pinpoint geographies where gaps between observed and potential levels have narrowed or widened over time. Findings Between 1990 and 2015, nearly all countries and territories saw their HAQ Index values improve; nonetheless, the difference between the highest and lowest observed HAQ Index was larger in 2015 than in 1990, ranging from 28.6 to 94.6. Of 195 geographies, 167 had statistically significant increases in HAQ Index levels since 1990, with South Korea, Turkey, Peru, China, and the Maldives recording among the largest gains by 2015. Performance on the HAQ Index and individual causes showed distinct patterns by region and level of development, yet substantial heterogeneities emerged for several causes, including cancers in highest-SDI countries; chronic kidney disease, diabetes, diarrhoeal diseases, and lower respiratory infections among middle-SDI countries; and measles and tetanus among lowest-SDI countries. While the global HAQ Index average rose from 40.7 (95% uncertainty interval, 39.0-42.8) in 1990 to 53.7 (52.2-55.4) in 2015, far less progress occurred in narrowing the gap between observed HAQ Index values and maximum levels achieved; at the global level, the difference between the observed and frontier HAQ Index only decreased from 21.2 in 1990 to 20.1 in 2015. If every country and territory had achieved the highest observed HAQ Index by their corresponding level of SDI, the global average would have been 73.8 in 2015. Several countries, particularly in eastern and western sub-Saharan Africa, reached HAQ Index values similar to or beyond their development levels, whereas others, namely in southern sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and south Asia, lagged behind what geographies of similar development attained between 1990 and 2015. Interpretation This novel extension of the GBD Study shows the untapped potential for personal health-care access and quality improvement across the development spectrum. Amid substantive advances in personal health care at the national level, heterogeneous patterns for individual causes in given countries or territories suggest that few places have consistently achieved optimal health-care access and quality across health-system functions and therapeutic areas. This is especially evident in middle-SDI countries, many of which have recently undergone or are currently experiencing epidemiological transitions. The HAQ Index, if paired with other measures of health-systemcharacteristics such as intervention coverage, could provide a robust avenue for tracking progress on universal health coverage and identifying local priorities for strengthening personal health-care quality and access throughout the world. Copyright (C) The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

An Exploration of the Relationship between Theistic and Self-Transcendent Spirituality and Workplace Deviance

This study encompassed a quantitative correlational research design to explore the relationship between spirituality (theism, self-transcendence) and workplace deviance (organizational deviance, interpersonal deviance). Instruments used to conduct the analysis included the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) and a Measure of Workplace Deviance, offered in an online survey form and shared via Facebook, LinkedIn, and email. Responses (N = 154) from the correlational analysis revealed a statistically significant negative relationship between spirituality (theism, self-transcendence) and workplace deviance (organizational deviance, interpersonal deviance). Additional analysis was completed with a one-way ANOVA to examine the differences in workplace deviance (organizational deviance, interpersonal deviance) based on spirituality, theism, and self-transcendence groups. The subsequent findings support the results of the correlational analysis that indicate as spirituality (theism, self-transcendence) increases, workplace deviance (organizational deviance, interpersonal deviance) decreases. Implications of the research and recommendations for future research are included

Inhibition of As(III) Oxidation by Manganese Oxides in the Presence of Fe(II)

High arsenic (As) concentrations can be found in drinking water around the world, the consumption of which can lead to increased incidences of skin cancers, arsenicosis, and cardiovascular disease. The source of arsenic in contaminated regions is geogenic, where its fate and transport is affected by other naturally-occurring mineral constituents within the soil solid phase. Manganese (Mn) oxides within soil profiles are strong oxidants of many metals and metalloids found in soil, including As, where the more mobile and more toxic arsenite [As(III)] form can be oxidized to the less mobile and less toxic arsenate [As(V)]. Within redox transition zones in soil profiles, including the diffusion-limited matrix of soil aggregates, Fe(II) can come into contact with Mn oxides, altering the reactivity of the Mn oxides. This change in reactivity of Mn oxides may therefore alter the impact of Mn oxides on the fate and transport of arsenic in these interfacial zones. In the current study, we quantitatively demonstrate the impact of the formation of a potentially passivating Fe(III)-oxide coat on Mn-oxide mediated contaminant oxidation. By simulating diffusion-limited transport using a Donnan cell reactor, we investigated the oxidation of As(III) by Mn-oxides after exposure to varying concentrations of Fe(II). Our findings show that Fe(II) treatment of birnessite, a poorly-crystalline Mn oxide, leads to the formation a combination of Fe(III) oxides with a range of crystallinities as determined by Fe EXAFS analysis. Concomitant reduction of birnessite leads to formation of hausmannite, a Mn(II, III) oxide. Reaction of the resultant Fe-Mn oxide with As(III) shows decreased rate of As oxidation as compared to systems without Fe. Additionally, increasing Fe(II) concentrations exposed to birnessite by two folds leads to a five fold decreases in As(III) oxidation rate. During As(III) oxidation, hausmannite is rapidly reductively dissolved, resulting in increased aqueous Mn concentrations; continued As(III) oxidation is then mediated by birnessite. Furthermore, our results show that a higher concentration of arsenic partitions into the solid phase at high Fe(II) treatment due to the tendency of arsenic to bind preferentially to Fe oxides as compared to Mn oxides