The effect of urban greenspace on adolescent sleep patterns

We investigated the effects of long-term greenspace deprivation on sleep during adolescence. Using data from a UK birth cohort, we studied deviations from age-recommended sleep duration through Time Use Diaries. Our sample (N = 1370; 53% female) of urban adolescents had been exposed to the same levels of neighbourhood greenspace from birth up to age 14 years when their time use was tracked. We factored in sex and ethnicity, family income, long-term illness, sharing of a bedroom, access to a garden, as well as air pollution and perceived area safety. Even after full adjustment, there was a significant interaction between greenspace availability and income when predicting sleep duration, such that low-income adolescents living in the greyest urban areas were found to sleep more than the 8–10 h recommended for their age group, while the inverse was true for their counterparts living in areas with more greenspace

Patient experience of centralised acute stroke care pathways

Background: In 2010, Greater Manchester (GM) and London centralized acute stroke care services into a reduced number of hyperacute stroke units, with local stroke units providing on‐going care nearer patients’ homes. / Objective: To explore the impact of centralized acute stroke care pathways on the experiences of patients. / Design: Qualitative interview study. Thematic analysis was undertaken, using deductive and inductive approaches. Final data analysis explored themes related to five chronological phases of the centralized stroke care pathway. / Setting and participants: Recruitment from 3 hospitals in GM (15 stroke patients/8 family members) and 4 in London (21 stroke patients/9 family members). / Results: Participants were impressed with emergency services and initial reception at hospital: disquiet about travelling further than a local hospital was allayed by clear explanations. Participants knew who was treating them and were involved in decisions. Difficulties for families visiting hospitals a distance from home were raised. Repatriation to local hospitals was not always timely, but no detrimental effects were reported. Discharge to the community was viewed less positively. / Discussion and conclusions: Patients on the centralized acute stroke care pathways reported many positive aspects of care: the centralization of care pathways can offer patients a good experience. Disadvantages of travelling further were perceived to be outweighed by the opportunity to receive the best quality care. This study highlights the necessity for all staff on a centralized care pathway to provide clear and accessible information to patients, in order to maximize their experience of care

Direct transesterification of microalgae after Pulsed Electric Field ( PEF ) treatment

Background Lipid extraction is a major bottleneck for the commercialization of microalgae due to energy costs involved during solvent recycling. Direct transesterification offers the possibility to bypass the extraction step by immediately converting the lipids to fatty acids methyl esters (FAMEs). In this study, the efficiency of direct transesterification after pulsed electric field (PEF) was evaluated. Freshly harvested Auxenochlorella protothecoides (A. protothecoides), cultivated either autotrophically or mixotrophically, was subjected to PEF. Two treatment energies were tested, 0.25 MJ/kgdw and 1.5 MJ/kgdw and results were compared with conventional two-step transesterification. Results For autotrophically grown A. protothecoides, the percentage of the total FAMEs recovered from untreated biomass and microalgae treated with 0.25 MJ/kgdw was 30% for both cases while for 1.5 MJ/kgdw it was 65%. A 24-h incubation step between PEF-treatment and direct transesterification significantly improved the results. Untreated biomass remained stable with 30% of FAMEs, while with both treatment energies a 97% FAME recovery was achieved. However, for mixotrophic A. protothecoides the process was not as effective. Approximately 30% of FAMEs were recovered for all three conditions immediately after PEF with only a marginal increase after incubation. The reason for this different behavior of the two cultivation modes is unknown and under investigation. Conclusions Overall, the synergy between PEF and direct transesterification was proven to have potential, in particular for autotrophic microalgae. Its implementation and further optimization in a biorefinery therefore merits further attention

Direct transesterification of microalgae after Pulsed Electric Field ( PEF ) treatment

Background Lipid extraction is a major bottleneck for the commercialization of microalgae due to energy costs involved during solvent recycling. Direct transesterification offers the possibility to bypass the extraction step by immediately converting the lipids to fatty acids methyl esters (FAMEs). In this study, the efficiency of direct transesterification after pulsed electric field (PEF) was evaluated. Freshly harvested Auxenochlorella protothecoides (A. protothecoides), cultivated either autotrophically or mixotrophically, was subjected to PEF. Two treatment energies were tested, 0.25 MJ/kgdw and 1.5 MJ/kgdw and results were compared with conventional two-step transesterification. Results For autotrophically grown A. protothecoides, the percentage of the total FAMEs recovered from untreated biomass and microalgae treated with 0.25 MJ/kgdw was 30% for both cases while for 1.5 MJ/kgdw it was 65%. A 24-h incubation step between PEF-treatment and direct transesterification significantly improved the results. Untreated biomass remained stable with 30% of FAMEs, while with both treatment energies a 97% FAME recovery was achieved. However, for mixotrophic A. protothecoides the process was not as effective. Approximately 30% of FAMEs were recovered for all three conditions immediately after PEF with only a marginal increase after incubation. The reason for this different behavior of the two cultivation modes is unknown and under investigation. Conclusions Overall, the synergy between PEF and direct transesterification was proven to have potential, in particular for autotrophic microalgae. Its implementation and further optimization in a biorefinery therefore merits further attention

The ELPAT Living Organ Donor Psychosocial Assessment Tool (EPAT): from 'What' to 'How' of Psychosocial Screening - a Pilot Study

Thorough psychosocial screening of donor candidates is required in order to minimize potential negative consequences and to strive for optimal safety within living donation programmes. We aimed to develop an evidence-based tool to standardize the psychosocial screening process. Key concepts of psychosocial screening were used to structure our tool: motivation and decision-making, personal resources, psychopathology, social resources, ethical and legal factors and information and risk processing. We (i) discussed how each item per concept could be measured, (ii) reviewed and rated available validated tools, (iii) where necessary developed new items, (iv) assessed content validity and (v) pilot-tested the new items. The resulting ELPAT living organ donor Psychosocial Assessment Tool (EPAT) consists of a selection of validated questionnaires (28 items in total), a semi-structured interview (43 questions) and a Red Flag Checklist. We outline optimal procedures and conditions for implementing this tool. The EPAT and user manual are available from the authors. Use of this tool will standardize the psychosocial screening procedure ensuring that no psychosocial issues are overlooked and ensure that comparable selection criteria are used and facilitate generation of comparable psychosocial data on living donor candidates.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The effect of urban greenspace on adolescent sleep patterns

We investigated the effects of long-term greenspace deprivation on sleep during adolescence. Using data from a UK birth cohort, we studied deviations from age-recommended sleep duration through Time Use Diaries. Our sample (N = 1370; 53% female) of urban adolescents had been exposed to the same levels of neighbourhood greenspace from birth up to age 14 years when their time use was tracked. We factored in sex and ethnicity, family income, long-term illness, sharing of a bedroom, access to a garden, as well as air pollution and perceived area safety. Even after full adjustment, there was a significant interaction between greenspace availability and income when predicting sleep duration, such that low-income adolescents living in the greyest urban areas were found to sleep more than the 8–10 h recommended for their age group, while the inverse was true for their counterparts living in areas with more greenspace

Design and Experimental Evaluation of a Haptic Robot-Assisted System for Femur Fracture Surgery

In the face of challenges encountered during femur fracture surgery, such as the high rates of malalignment and X-ray exposure to operating personnel, robot-assisted surgery has emerged as an alternative to conventional state-of-the-art surgical methods. This paper introduces the development of Robossis, a haptic system for robot-assisted femur fracture surgery. Robossis comprises a 7-DOF haptic controller and a 6-DOF surgical robot. A unilateral control architecture is developed to address the kinematic mismatch and the motion transfer between the haptic controller and the Robossis surgical robot. A real-time motion control pipeline is designed to address the motion transfer and evaluated through experimental testing. The analysis illustrates that the Robossis surgical robot can adhere to the desired trajectory from the haptic controller with an average translational error of 0.32 mm and a rotational error of 0.07 deg. Additionally, a haptic rendering pipeline is developed to resolve the kinematic mismatch by constraining the haptic controller (user hand) movement within the permissible joint limits of the Robossis surgical robot. Lastly, in a cadaveric lab test, the Robossis system assisted surgeons during a mock femur fracture surgery. The result shows that Robossis can provide an intuitive solution for surgeons to perform femur fracture surgery.Comment: This paper is to be submitted to an IEEE journa