Product longevity and shared ownership: Sustainable routes to satisfying the world’s growing demand for goods 

It has been estimated that by 2030 the number of people who are wealthy enough to be significant consumers will have tripled. This will have a dramatic impact on the demands for primary materials and energy. It has been estimated that with improvements in design and manufacturing it is possible to maintain the current level of production using 70% of the current primary material consumed. Even with these improvements on the production side, there will still be a doubling of primary material requirements by the end of the century, with accompanying rises in industrial energy demand, if the rise in demand for goods and services is to be met. It is therefore clear that the consumption of products must also be explored. Product longevity and using goods more intensively are two strategies which could reduce the demand for new goods. If products last longer, then manufacturing output can concentrate on emerging markets rather than the market for replacement goods. There are many goods which are infrequently used, these seldom wear out. The total demand for such could be drastically reduced if they we re shared with other people. Sharing of goods has traditionally been conducted between friends or by hiring equipment, but modern communication systems and social media could increase the opportunities to share goods. Sharing goods also increases access to a range of goods for those on low incomes. From a series of workshops it has been found that the principal challenges are sociological rather than technological. This paper contains a discussion of these challenges and explores possible futures where these two strategies have been adopted. In addition, the barriers and opportunities that these strategies offer for 548 AIMS Energy Volume 3, Issue 4, 547-561. consumers and businesses are identified, and areas where government policy could be instigated to bring about change are highlighted

Health equity and quantifying the patient experience: A case study

The COVID-19 pandemic has invigorated efforts to address health inequities disproportionately burdened by racial/ethnic groups and individuals of low socioeconomic status. Measuring and monitoring patient experience is crucial to understanding why the gaps exist and identifying mechanisms necessary to close them. Electronic health records and digital health tools hold much promise in this regard and can lead to change. We present a case study describing the innovative efforts undertaken at Sutter Health, a large integrated health network in Northern California, to quantify gaps in health equity using electronic platforms and visualization modalities. More work is needed to identify and address barriers rooted in social context and structural inequities and ultimately impact health equity. Experience Framework This article is associated with the Policy & Measurement lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework. (https://www.theberylinstitute.org/ExperienceFramework). Access other PXJ articles related to this lens. Access other resources related to this lens

Vection change exacerbates simulator sickness in virtual environments

The optic flow patterns generated by virtual reality (VR) systems typically produce visually induced experiences of self-motion (vection). While this vection can enhance presence in VR, it is often accompanied by a variant of motion sickness called simulator sickness (SS). However, not all vection experiences are the same. In terms of perceived heading and/or speed, visually simulated self-motion can be either steady or changing. It was hypothesized that changing vection would lead to more SS. Participants viewed an optic flow pattern that either steadily expanded or alternately expanded and contracted. In one experiment, SS was measured pretreatment and after 5 min of viewing using the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire. In a second experiment employing the same stimuli, vection onset and magnitude were measured using a computer-interfaced slide indicator. The steadily expandingflow pattern, compared to the expanding and contracting pattern, led to: 1) significantly less SS, 2) lower subscores for nausea, oculomotor, and disorientation symptoms, 3) more overall vection magnitude, and 4) less changing vection. Collectively, these results suggest that changing vection exacerbate SS

Medicinal Properties of Bamboos

Bamboos are described as one of the most important renewable, easily obtained, and valuable of all forest resources. These plants belong to the grasses’ family (Poaceae), which covers about a quarter of the world’s plant population, within the subfamily Bambusoideae. The estimated diversity of bamboos in the world is approximately 1400 species, distributed in 116 genera. Bamboo species have been used in Southeast Asia, as a base material to produce paper, furniture, boats, bicycles, textiles, musical instruments, and food, and their leaves have also been used as a wrapping material to prevent food deterioration since ancient times. These species accumulate biologically active components such as polyphenols and other secondary plant metabolites that might explain the use of bamboo leaves in Asian traditional medicine for the treatment of hypertension, arteriosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, and certain forms of cancer. Besides the usual secondary metabolites, bamboo extracts may contain biologically active peptides and polysaccharides that still need to be further studied for their activity and their synergistic with other metabolites. Most of the studies found in the literature are from Asian bamboo species, and the potential of the Southern American species is yet to be explored

RADIOCIRURGIA ESTEREOTÁXICA NO TRATAMENTO DE METÁSTASES CEREBRAIS: UMA REVISÃO NARRATIVA

INTRODUÇÃO: A Radiocirurgia Estereotáxica (RCE) é uma modalidade de radioterapia, minimamente invasiva e indolor, que utiliza altas doses de radiação em uma única seção para tratamento de lesões intracranianas extereotaxicamente definidas. Por apresentar resultados satisfatórios ou superiores aos obtidos por intervenção cirúrgica ou outros tratamentos, é indicada para o tratamento de patologias como as metástases cerebrais. OBJETIVO: Compreender as aplicações da radiocirurgia no tratamento das metástases cerebrais, apontando as vantagens e desvantagens da sua utilização, enfatizando a efetividade da técnica para este tipo de tratamento. METODOLOGIA: Foi realizada uma revisão narrativa descritiva utilizando os bancos de dados SCIELO, BVS, e LILACS. Obteve-se uma população de 9.687 arquivos em português, sem delimitação temporal. E amostra de 38 artigos que se mostraram pertinentes ao tema. RESULTADOS E DISCUSSÕES: Desde a década de 80 a RCE vem obtendo sucesso, com pouca agressividade ao paciente, no tratamento de lesões metastáticas cerebrais. CONCLUSÃO: A radiocirurgia estereotáxica demonstra ser uma técnica eficiente no tratamento das metástases cerebrais. Tendo como maior vantagem a administração máxima da dose prescrita somente no volume alvo, protegendo assim as regiões ao redor. Porém a técnica possui algumas limitações como baixa aplicabilidade em lesões metastáticas maiores que 3cm, e o fato das respostas ao tratamento não serem imediatas

Remissão sintomática e qualidade de vida em pacientes com depressão maior tratados com antidepressivo:um estudo prospectivo

Este estudo teve como objetivo estimar a Qualidade de Vida (QV) em pacientes com transtorno depressivo maior antes e após tratamento antidepressivo eficaz. Participaram do estudo 26 indivíduos (18 a 65 anos) com episódio agudo de Transtorno Depressivo Maior, segundo critérios do DSM-IV. A duração do estudo foi de 8 semanas. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: escala de avaliação de depressão de Montgomery-Asberg (MADRS) e de Hamilton (HAMD-17). QV foi avaliada através da escala de qualidade de vida e satisfação (Q-LES-Q). Os resultados indicaram que sintomas depressivos e QV melhoraram significantemente com o tratamento (p0,001). Sintomas de depressão e QV são significativamente correlacionados. Antes do tratamento, QV foi positivamente relacionada com o MADRS, mas não com o HAMD-17. Em todas as outras avaliações, a QV positivamente correlacionou-se com ambas as escalas, confirmando que a melhora sintomatológica traduz-se em melhora na qualidade de vida em pacientes com depressão maior

Evaluation of grape stems and grape stem extracts for sulfur dioxide replacement during grape wine production

Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crfs.2023.100453.Sulfur dioxide (SO2), the main preservative in wine, may affect the sensory properties of the wines, as well as cause allergic reactions and headaches in sensitive people. The aim of this work was to evaluate the replacement of SO2 in Tempranillo wines with Mazuelo grape stem products. Five Tempranillo red wines were elaborated: positive control (60 mg/L SO2); negative control with no preservatives; Mazuelo extract (200 mg/L); Mazuelo extract combined with SO2 (100 mg/L + 20 mg/L); and Mazuelo stem (400 mg/L). The oenological parameters, antioxidant capacity, total phenolic (TP), total flavonoids (TF) and total anthocyanins (TA) contents were determined. Additionally, individual phenols were analyzed by HPLC-DAD-FLD. The spectrophotometric analyses showed that the wines had similar antioxidant capacities and concentrations of TP and TF. However, TA was more affected by the lack of SO2 as anthocyanins presented higher concentrations in positive control samples. The concentrations of individual phenols followed a similar path in all samples. Wines containing sulfites were more similar than the other treatments. However, these similarities were not reflected on the sensory analysis performed, as triangle test did not show differences between the wine with extract addition and the positive control wine. Therefore, Mazuelo stem extract could be a possible strategy for SO2 replacement. Nevertheless, further studies are necessary to confirm the potential of grape stem extracts as wine preservative.This study was also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit, and by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Competitiveness factors Operational program – Norte 2020, COMPETE and by National Funds through the FCT - under the project AgriFood XXI (NORTE- 01-0145-FEDER-000041).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio