Promoting stair climbing: Stair-riser banners are better than posters... sometimes

Objective: Stair-riser banners are twice as effective as posters in encouraging stair climbing in shopping centres. This study tested the effectiveness of stair-riser banners in an English train station in 2006-2007. Method: The train station had a 39-step staircase and an adjacent escalator. Baseline observations (3.5 weeks) were followed by 10.5 weeks of a banner intervention supplemented with 3 weeks of a poster intervention. Both poster and banner featured the message ‘Stair climbing burns more calories per minute than jogging. Take the stairs’. Ascending escalator and stair users (N=36,239) were coded for gender. Results: Analyses, controlling for effects of gender and pedestrian traffic volume, revealed no significant change in stair climbing between baseline (40.6%) and the banner intervention (40.9%; p=0.98). Addition of the poster increased stair climbing (44.3%; OR= 1.36, 95% CIs 1.16-1.60, p< 0.001), with the effect reduced at higher pedestrian traffic volumes. Conclusion: While stair-riser banners had no effect, the poster intervention increased stair climbing. The high pedestrian volumes as the wave of disembarking passengers seek to leave the station would have obscured the visibility of the banner for many commuters. Thus stair-riser banners appear unsuitable point-of-choice prompts in stations where pedestrian traffic volume is high

Promoting stair climbing in Barcelona: similarities and differences with interventions in English-speaking populations

This study evaluated the ability of three different messages to encourage stair climbing on the Barcelona underground. Two weeks of baseline were followed by three banner intervention periods with three different messages, each for a 2 week period. Follow-up data was gathered two weeks after removing the messages. Stair climbing increased overall [odds ratio (OR) = 1.45; 95% confidence intervals (CIs) = 1.25–1.68], with no statistical differences between the messages. During follow-up, stair climbing remained elevated (OR = 1.22; 95% CIs = 1.01–1.48). These preliminary data suggest stair climbing interventions, effective in the UK, may prove successful in Catalonia and Spain. Baseline differences, however, outline the magnitude of the task

Preparation of a sepia melanin and poly(ethylene-alt-maleic anhydride) hybrid material as an adsorbent for water purification

Meeting the increasing demand of clean water requires the development of novel efficient adsorbent materials for the removal of organic pollutants. In this context the use of natural, renewable sources is of special relevance and sepia melanin, thanks to its ability to bind a variety of organic and inorganic species, has already attracted interest for water purification. Here we describe the synthesis of a material obtained by the combination of sepia melanin and poly(ethylene-alt-maleic anhydride) (P(E-alt-MA)). Compared to sepia melanin, the resulting hybrid displays a high and fast adsorption efficiency towards methylene blue (a common industrial dye) for a wide pH range (from pH 2 to 12) and under high ionic strength conditions. It is easily recovered after use and can be reused up to three times. Given the wide availability of sepia melanin and P(E-alt-MA), the synthesis of our hybrid is simple and affordable, making it suitable for industrial water purification purposes

Review of the use of phase change materials (PCMs) in buildings with reinforced concrete structures

Phase change materials are capable of storing and releasing energy in the form of heat in determined temperature ranges, so to increase a building"s thermal inertia, stabilize its indoor temperatures and reduce its energetic demand. Therefore, if we used these materials we could have more energetically efficient buildings. Nevertheless, are these materials most appropriate to be used in buildings? Could the incorporation of phase change materials in buildings with concrete structures be generalized? This article aims to carry out a review of these phase change materials from construction professionals" points of view, study their applications for buildings with reinforced concrete structures and the key points for these applications, draw conclusions and provide recommendations useful for all professionals within the sector who are considering the application of these materials.Revisión crítica del uso de materiales de cambio de fase en edificios con estructuras de hormigón armado. Los materiales de cambio de fase son capaces de almacenar y liberar energía en forma de calor en un determinando rango de temperaturas, y así aumentar la inercia térmica de un edificio, estabilizar las temperaturas en el interior y reducir la demanda energética. En consecuencia, si utilizáramos estos materiales podríamos tener un parque de edificios más eficientes energéticamente. No obstante, ¿estos materiales son apropiados para usarse en edificios? ¿Se podría generalizar la incorporación de materiales de cambio de fase en edificios con estructuras de hormigón? Este artículo tiene como objetivos hacer una revisión del estado del arte de estos materiales de cambio de fase desde el punto de vista de los profesionales de la construcción, estudiar las aplicaciones en edificios con estructuras de hormigón armado y los puntos clave para estas aplicaciones, extraer conclusiones y recomendaciones útiles para los profesionales del sector que se planteen la utilización de estos materiales.This research was partially funded by the Spanish government (ENE2011-28269-C03-02). The authors would like to acknowledge the support received from the Concrete Technology Research Group of Barcelona Tech (UPC). The authors would also like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to the research group GREA (2009 SGR 534) and the research group DIOPMA (2009 SGR 645)

Osteocondritis disecante de rótula: A propósito de un caso

Presentamos un caso de Osteocondritis Disecante de inusual localización en rótula, con afectación bilateral y externa, tratado mediante perforaciones sin exéresis del fragmento, no descrito en la literatura previa para esta localización, consiguiendo un excelente resultado tras un seguimiento de 4 años.A case of osteochondritis dissecans at an unusual localization is presented. The lesion affected both patellae, and was externally located. Surgical treatment was indicated by means of bone perforations without removal of the fragment. An excellent result was observed at 4 years follow-up. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time this method has been applied for the described location

Alpha1-acid glycoprotein post-translational modifications: a comparative two dimensional electrophoresis based analysis

Alpha1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) is an immunomodulatory protein expressed by hepatocytes in response to the systemic reaction that follows tissue damage caused by inflammation, infection or trauma. A proteomic approach based on two dimensional electrophoresis, immunoblotting and staining of 2DE gels with dyes specific for post-translational modifications (PTMs) such as glycosylation and phosphorylation has been used to evaluate the differential interspecific protein expression of AGP purified from human, bovine and ovine sera. By means of these techniques, several isoforms have been identified in the investigated species: they have been found to change both with regard to the number of isoforms expressed under physiological condition and with regard to the quality of PTMs (i.e. different oligosaccharidic chains, presence/absence of phosphorilations). In particular, it is suggested that bovine serum AGP may have one of the most complex pattern of PTMs among serum proteins of mammals studied so far

Physical, Emotional, and Sexual Victimization Across Three Generations: a Cross-Sectional Study

Using data gathered from grandparents (G1), parents (G2), and young adults (G3), this study examines the continuity of intergenerational victimization (physical, emotional, and sexual) across three generations. The study included data from 168 participants within three generations: grandparents, G1 (19.2% male, 80.8% female, M = 78.13 years old); parents, G2 (25.5% male, 74.5% female, M = 50.13 years old); and young adults, G3 (40% male, 60% female, M = 21.10 years old). The data is analyzed at two levels: (1) bivariate analyses to address relationships between the variables studied by Spearman’s correlations, and (2) a path model to examine the intergenerational abuse simultaneously considering all variables. Overall, path modeling showed that experienced abuse demonstrated continuity from G1 to G2 and from G2 to G3. Specifically, findings indicated that grandparents’ physical and psychological victimization has a direct effect on parents’ sexual and physical abuse victimization, respectively. Additionally, parents’ physical victimization has a direct effect on young adults’ psychological and sexual victimization, while parents’ psychological victimization has a direct effect on young adults’ physical and sexual victimization. These findings highlight the need for preventive interventions focused on breaking intergenerational cycles of abuse

Circulating and Synovial Pentraxin-3 (PTX3) Expression Levels Correlate With Rheumatoid Arthritis Severity and Tissue Infiltration Independently of Conventional Treatments Response

International audienceAims To determine the relationship between PTX3 systemic and synovial levels and the clinical features of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a cohort of early, treatment naïve patients and to explore the relevance of PTX3 expression in predicting response to conventional-synthetic (cs) Disease-Modifying-Anti-Rheumatic-Drugs (DMARDs) treatment. Methods PTX3 expression was analyzed in 119 baseline serum samples from early naïve RA patients, 95 paired samples obtained 6-months following the initiation of cs-DMARDs treatment and 43 healthy donors. RNA-sequencing analysis and immunohistochemistry for PTX3 were performed on a subpopulation of 79 and 58 synovial samples, respectively, to assess PTX3 gene and protein expression. Immunofluorescence staining was performed to characterize PTX3 expressing cells within the synovium. Results Circulating levels of PTX3 were significantly higher in early RA compared to healthy donors and correlated with disease activity at baseline and with the degree of structural damages at 12-months. Six-months after commencing cs-DMARDs, a high level of PTX3, proportional to the baseline value, was still detectable in the serum of patients, regardless of their response status. RNA-seq analysis confirmed that synovial transcript levels of PTX3 correlated with disease activity and the presence of mediators of inflammation, tissue remodeling and bone destruction at baseline. PTX3 expression in the synovium was strongly linked to the degree of immune cell infiltration, the presence of ectopic lymphoid structures and seropositivity for autoantibodies. Accordingly, PTX3 was found to be expressed by numerous synovial cell types such as plasma cells, fibroblasts, vascular and lymphatic endothelial cells, macrophages, and neutrophils. The percentage of PTX3-positive synovial cells, although significantly reduced at 6-months post-treatment as a result of global decreased cellularity, was similar in cs-DMARDs responders and non-responders. Conclusion This study demonstrates that, early in the disease and prior to treatment modification, the level of circulating PTX3 is a reliable marker of RA activity and predicts a high degree of structural damages at 12-months. In the joint, PTX3 associates with immune cell infiltration and the presence of ectopic lymphoid structures. High synovial and peripheral blood levels of PTX3 are associated with chronic inflammation characteristic of RA. Additional studies to determine the mechanistic link are required