Framework development and application in waste generation prediction

He, R., Sandoval-reyes, M., Scott, I., Semeano, R., Ferrão, P., Matthews, S., & Small, M. J. (2022). Global knowledge base for municipal solid waste management: Framework development and application in waste generation prediction. Journal of Cleaner Production, 377(December), 1-11. [134501]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134501--- This research is supported by the Mao Yisheng Fellowship of Carnegie Mellon University to Rui He, and through the CMU-Portugal project “Bee2Waste Crypto” (IDT-COP 45933). The authors would like to thank other members of the Bee2Waste Crypto project consortium for their support and inputs to this paper.Increasing municipal solid waste (MSW) generation has become not only a major sustainability challenge and a considerable financial burden for municipalities across the globe, but also an opportunity to promote a circular economy, provided adequate information is made available. Data and information on MSW generation, characterization, and management practices are prerequisites to studying and optimizing solid waste management systems (SWMS). However, such data and information are usually dispersed, unsystematized, and suffering from various availability and quality issues. This study aims to assemble and provide access to the current landscape of MSW data by establishing a comprehensive framework for understanding the interconnectedness of various sub-domains of MSW knowledge. Existing databases and governmental reports were reviewed to compile 1720 records of MSW generation, composition, management practices, and socioeconomic contexts for 219 countries and 410 cities. Multivariate linear regression and additive models were built to relate MSW generation, composition, and recovery rates to demographics, economic development, and climate patterns of cities and regions. These models generate new insights into the complex nature of SWMS and provide an evidence-based decision-making tool to future researchers and policy makers. Specifically, economic development (GDP), density factors (population, population density, and household size), sustainability initiatives, education, and regulation are all identified as positive drivers toward the targets of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12.publishersversionpublishersversionpublishersversionepub_ahead_of_prin

A concept analysis of befriending

Aim. To report an analysis of the concept of Befriending. Background. Befriending is an intervention used in a range of nursing, health and social care settings to provide support for individuals who are socially isolated or lack social support. However, in many cases befriending and its impact remains poorly understood and under researched. Concept analysis provides clarification of the concept and basis for further research and development. Design. Concept analysis. Data sources. AMED, Psyc Articles, Psych Info, Medline, MedlinePlus, Social Science Index and CINHAL databases were searched for literature published between 1993–2013 using the search term Befriending. Methods. Walker and Avant’s method of concept analysis was chosen. This combined with insights from Risjord’s work produced a theoretical concept analysis which focused on the concept in peer reviewed academic literature. Results. There are currently several ways the mechanisms of befriending and its effects on individuals and communities are understood. It is possible however to identify key attributes which define the concept and differentiate it from related concepts, such as peer support and mentoring. Key attributes are that it is an organised intervention, involving the creation of an emotionally connected friendlike relationship, where there is a negotiation of power. Conclusion. This concept analysis has clarified current understandings and uses of befriending. It provides the basis for widening the focus of research into the effectiveness and impact of befriending on those who are befriended, those who befriend and the communities where befriending takes place

Integrated multiomics approach identifies calcium and integrin-binding protein-2 as a novel gene for pulse wave velocity

Background: Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an important measure of arterial stiffness, which is an independent predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In this study, we used an integrated genetic, epigenetic and transcriptomics approach to uncover novel molecular mechanisms contributing to PWV. Methods and results: We measured PWV in 1505 healthy twins of European descendent. A genomewide association analysis was performed using standardized residual of the inverse of PWV. We identified one single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs7164338) in the calcium and integrin-binding protein-2 (CIB2) gene on chromosome 15q25.1 associated with PWV [beta = -0.359, standard error (SE) = 0.07, P = 4.8 x 10(-8)]. The same variant was also associated with increased CIB2 expression in leucocytes (beta = 0.034, SE = 0.008, P = 4.95 x 10(-5)) and skin (beta = 0.072, SE = 0.01, P = 2.35 x 10(-9)) and with hypomethylation of the gene promoter (beta = -.899, SE = 0.098, P = 3.63 x 10(-20)). Conclusion: Our data indicate that reduced methylation of the CIB2 promoter in individuals carrying rs7164338 may lead to increased CIB2 expression. Given that CIB2 is thought to regulate intracellular calcium levels, an increase in protein levels may prevent the accumulation of serum calcium and phosphate, ultimately slowing down the process of vascular calcification. This study shows the power of integrating multiple omics to discover novel cardiovascular mechanisms

Early onset of treatment effects with oral risperidone

BACKGROUND: The dogma of a delayed onset of antipsychotic treatment effects has been maintained over the past decades. However, recent studies have challenged this concept. We therefore performed an analysis of the onset of antipsychotic treatment effects in a sample of acutely decompensated patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: In this observational study, 48 inpatients with acutely decompensated schizophrenia were offered antipsychotic treatment with oral risperidone. PANSS-ratings were obtained on day 0, day 1, day 3, day 7 and day 14. RESULTS: Significant effects of treatment were already present on day 1 and continued throughout the study. The PANSS positive subscore and the PANSS total score improved significantly more than the PANSS negative subscore. CONCLUSION: Our results are consistent with the growing number of studies suggesting an early onset of antipsychotic treatment effects. However, non-pharmacological effects of treatment also need to be taken into consideration

Ripk3 signaling regulates HSCs during stress and represses radiation-induced leukemia in mice

Receptor-interacting protein kinase 3 (Ripk3) is one of the critical mediators of inflammatory cytokine-stimulated signaling. Here we show that Ripk3 signaling selectively regulates both the number and the function of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) during stress conditions. Ripk3 signaling is not required for normal homeostatic hematopoiesis. However, in response to serial transplantation, inactivation of Ripk3 signaling prevents stress-induced HSC exhaustion and functional HSC attenuation, while in response to fractionated low doses of ionizing radiation (IR), inactivation of Ripk3 signaling accelerates leukemia/lymphoma development. In both situations, Ripk3 signaling is primarily stimulated by tumor necrosis factor-α. Activated Ripk3 signaling promotes the elimination of HSCs during serial transplantation and pre-leukemia stem cells (pre-LSCs) during fractionated IR by inducing Mlkl-dependent necroptosis. Activated Ripk3 signaling also attenuates HSC functioning and represses a pre-LSC-to-LSC transformation by promoting Mlkl-independent senescence. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Ripk3 signaling induces senescence in HSCs and pre-LSCs by attenuating ISR-mediated mitochondrial quality control

PRISM (Program of Resources, Information and Support for Mothers) Protocol for a community-randomised trial [ISRCTN03464021]

BACKGROUND: In the year after birth one in six women has a depressive illness, and 30% are still depressed, or depressed again, when their child is 2 years old, 94% experience at least one major health problem (e.g. back pain, perineal pain, mastitis, urinary or faecal incontinence), 26% experience sexual problems and almost 20% have relationship problems with partners. Women with depression report less practical and emotional support from partners, less social support overall, more negative life events, and poorer physical health. Their perceptions of factors contributing to depression are lack of support, isolation, exhaustion and physical health problems. Fewer than one in three affected women seek help in primary care despite frequent contacts. METHODS/DESIGN: PRISM aims to reduce depression and physical health problems of recent mothers through primary care strategies to increase practitioners' response to these issues, and through community-based strategies to develop broader family and community supports for recent mothers. Eligible local governments will be recruited and randomised to intervention or comparison arms, after stratification (urban/rural, size, birth numbers, extent of community activity), avoiding contiguous boundaries. Maternal depression and physical health will be measured six months after birth, in a one year cohort of mothers, in intervention and comparison communities. The sample size to detect a 20% relative reduction in depression, adjusting for cluster sampling, and estimating a population response fraction of 67% is 5740 × 2. Analysis of the physical and mental health outcomes, by intention to treat, will adjust for the correlated structure of the data

Intraspecific variation in M1 enamel development in modern humans: implications for human evolution

The timing and sequence of enamel development, as well as enamel thickness, was documented for individual cusps (protoconid, hypoconid,metaconid, entoconid) in 15 unworn permanent lower first molars (M1s) from a sample of modern human juveniles. These data were compared with previously published data for modern and fossil species reported in the literature. Crown formation in all teeth was initiated in the protoconid and completed in the hypoconid. These cusps had significantly longer formation times (2.91 and 2.96 yrs, respectively) than the metaconid and entoconid (2.52 and 2.38 yrs, respectively), as well as thicker enamel, and each represented between 92e95% of the total crown formation time. Rates of enamel secretion in all cusps increased significantly from 2.97 mm in the inner enamel to 4.47 mm in the outer enamel. Two cusps of one individual were studied in more detail and did not follow this typical trajectory. Rather, there was a sharp decrease in the middle of enamel formation and then a slow recovery of secretion rates from the mid to outer enamel. This anomalous trajectory of enamel formation is discussed in the context of other nondental tissue responses to illness. Neither secretion rates nor periodicity differed significantly when compared between the cusps of each molar. Differences in cusp formation times, initiation, and completion suggest a relationship between the rates of enamel formation and enamel thickness. This fits with expectations about the mechanics of the chewing cycle and general lower molar morphology. A comparison with similar data for some nonhuman primates and fossil hominoids suggests this relationship may hold true across several primate taxa. Other aspects of enamel growth differed between this human sample and certain fossil species. The lower molars formed slowly over a longer period of time, which may reflect the extended growth period of modern humans. The methodological approach adopted in this study is discussed in the context of that used in other studies