Trash - Couture – Can textile recycling of pre - consumer waste be made circular?

Background: The textile and garment industry has exponentially grown, with the production of clothing alone having doubled between 2000 and 2015 (WRAP, 2020), yet, the actual use of these garments and more specifically the wear-time has dramatically declined by approximately 36% (EMF, 2017). The United Kingdom (UK) has seen the highest amount of clothing consumption, compared with its European counterparts, thereby consuming an average of 26.7kg per capita (EAC, 2019). This has various consequences, as not only approximately 57% of garments end up in landfill (Common Objective, 2018), but also “hundreds of thousands of tones of fabric are wasted at the design and production stage before clothing reaches the customer” (ibid). To reiterate this further, it is estimated that as much as 15% of fabric is wasted during the pattern cutting stage, with scraps falling onto the shop floor (ibid). These 15% are only part of one stage of the creation process and does not include fabric swatches used to showcase colour or prototypes, not only of garments that may go into production, but also those that never see the shopfloor (Pre-Loved Podcast, 2021). Although the UK imports a lot of its clothing, we have seen an increase of re-locating factories back to the UK – in 2015 this estimated an increase of 7.6% of companies producing textiles in the UK (Bearne, 2018). This increase is partially driven by superfast fashion companies, such as Boohoo or Misguided, who are headquartered in the UK and seek to produce fashion close by to be able to react quickly to market demands (Bearne, 2018; Hammer, 2020). Here is, where some of the challenges emerge – not only are there supply chain issues and a lack of transparency (Duncan, 2020), but also an increase in production implies an increase in waste, which has environmental consequences. The latter aspect is the focus of this paper. Research Gap: Increased pre-consumer textile waste, which is waste that occurs within the supply chain and thus, prior to consumers being involved, is an issue that is further enhanced with more garments being produced. Seeing as the UK has seen an increase in textile and garment manufacturing in the UK and is also one of the countries with highest per capita consumption, there is a need to explore whether there are opportunities to reduce pre-consumer waste and re-distribute in a more circular manner. A key aspect that emerges is that circular solutions cannot be addressed in isolation, but should perhaps be addressed as a stakeholder approach, as such, it is vital to understand how stakeholders, some of which may be competitors, can work together to develop a more circular economy (e.g. Henninger et al., 2016; Koszewska, 2018; Kazancoglu et al., 2020). This research seeks to address this gap, by exploring how pre-consumer waste could be reduced, thereby focusing on stakeholder engagement to develope a more circular approach to textile recycling. In the USA we have seen the emergence of FABSCRAP, a New York based company that is specialized in re-distributing pre-consumer textile waste, thereby diverting waste materials from landfilling. This research explores whether the idea of FABSCRAP would work in a more localized area and how key stakeholders can address the issue of textile recycling and more generally textile waste. In doing this, we address the following research questions: RQ1: What are the biggest sources of pre-consumer textile waste? RQ2: What are the biggest concerns when it comes to discarding pre-consumer waste? RQ3: What are potential opportunities and drawbacks to developing a more circular approach to ‘waste’ distribution? Methodology: This research uses a qualitative approach to explore the major sources of textile waste and what potential solutions could look like that address a more circular approach to textile recycling. A database of key stakeholder was created to identify key players in the textile (recycling) industry, these include fashion retailers and manufacturers, charities, recyclers, local authorities, co-operatives. This is an on-going research project, which seeks to conduct 25 semi-structured interviews with these key stakeholders, which will be analyzed using a grounded approach as suggested by Easterby-Smith et al. (2015). The approach allows for patterns and themes to emerge organically, whilst at the same time can also be guided by theory. Conclusion: As alluded to, this research project is currently on-going, yet there are various key contributions that are expected. In terms of theoretical contributions, this research seeks to foster the debate surrounding stakeholder engagement. Practically, we will explore the potential to facilitate a more circular approach to pre-consumer waste distribution

Silencing Mist1 gene expression is essential for recovery from acute pancreatitis

Acinar cells of the exocrine pancreas are tasked with synthesizing, packaging and secreting vast quantities of pro-digestive enzymes to maintain proper metabolic homeostasis for the organism. Because the synthesis of high levels of hydrolases is potentially dangerous, the pancreas is prone to acute pancreatitis (AP), a disease that targets acinar cells, leading to acinar-ductal metaplasia (ADM), inflammation and fibrosis-events that can transition into the earliest stages of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Despite a wealth of information concerning the broad phenotype associated with pancreatitis, little is understood regarding specific transcriptional regulatory networks that are susceptible to AP and the role these networks play in acinar cell and exocrine pancreas responses. In this study, we examined the importance of the acinar-specific maturation transcription factor MIST1 to AP damage and organ recovery. Analysis of wild-type and Mist1 conditional null mice revealed that Mist1 gene transcription and protein accumulation were dramatically reduced as acinar cells underwent ADM alterations during AP episodes. To test if loss of MIST1 function was primarily responsible for the damaged status of the organ, mice harboring a Cre-inducible Mist1 transgene (iMist1) were utilized to determine if sustained MIST1 activity could alleviate AP damage responses. Unexpectedly, constitutive iMist1 expression during AP led to a dramatic increase in organ damage followed by acinar cell death. We conclude that the transient silencing of Mist1 expression is critical for acinar cells to survive an AP episode, providing cells an opportunity to suppress their secretory function and regenerate damaged cells. The importance of MIST1 to these events suggests that modulating key pancreas transcription networks could ease clinical symptoms in patients diagnosed with pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. © 2015 Karki et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Identification of the Dietary Protein Sources and Their Association with Serum Phosphorus Levels among Patients with Kidney Failure

Background: Major dietary protein sources double as major sources of phosphorus with implications on serum phosphorus in kidney failure (KF) patients. Objectives: To identify the dietary protein sources of kidney failure patients and its association with their serum phosphorus (SP).Methods: Cross-sectional design involving 22 patients with kidney failure ≥ 18 years, recruited from the Renal and Dialysis Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. Sources and amount of protein and phosphorus were determined using quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Serum phosphorus was obtained from patients’ hospital records. Correlation between dietary and serum phosphorus was determined. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 at a 95% CI at p ≤ 0.05.Results: Mean age was 46.2 ± 2.5 years. Sources of protein and phosphorus were cereals, animal protein (AP) and legumes and nuts (L&N). The highest contribution for both protein and phosphorus was from cereals (65.7% and 63.4%) respectively. There was no significant correlation between all sources of phosphorus with SP (AP r2 = 0.120, p = 0.595; L&N r2 = -0.045, p= 0.843; cereals r2 = 0.117, p = 0.604) howbeit, legumes and nuts showed a negative correlation.Conclusion; Main dietary source of both protein and phosphorus was cereals. There was no significant correlation between all sources of phosphorus with serum phosphorus levels. Appropriate medical nutrition therapy by qualified nutritionist/dietitians is recommended for this group to prevent protein energy wasting. Keywords: kidney failure, protein, phosphorous, protein energy wasting, serum phosphorous. DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/12-16-04 Publication date:August 31st 202

Inhibition of CDK9 activity compromises global splicing in prostate cancer cells

Cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) phosphorylates RNA polymerase II to promote productive transcription elongation. Here we show that short-term CDK9 inhibition affects the splicing of thousands of mRNAs. CDK9 inhibition impairs global splicing and there is no evidence for a coordinated response between the alternative splicing and the overall transcriptome. Alternative splicing is a feature of aggressive prostate cancer (CRPC) and enables the generation of the anti-androgen resistant version of the ligand-independent androgen receptor, AR-v7. We show that CDK9 inhibition results in the loss of AR and AR-v7 expression due to the defects in splicing, which sensitizes CRPC cells to androgen deprivation. Finally, we demonstrate that CDK9 expression increases as PC cells develop CRPC-phenotype both in vitro and also in patient samples. To conclude, here we show that CDK9 inhibition compromises splicing in PC cells, which can be capitalized on by targeting the PC-specific addiction androgen receptor.Peer reviewe

Improving the Quality of Dentistry (IQuaD):a cluster factorial randomised controlled trial comparing the effectiveness and cost-benefit of oral hygiene advice and/or periodontal instrumentation with routine care for the prevention and management of periodontal disease in dentate adults attending dental primary care

Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank Mark Forrest and the programming team at CHaRT; Cynthia Fraser, our information specialist, for assistance with referencing; Moira Swan, who was the dental research nurse and part of the OA team in Newcastle upon Tyne; Louise Campbell for secretarial support and data management; our original statistician in the group, Andy Elders; senior IT manager Gladys Macpherson; senior trial administrator at the TCOD Marilyn Laird; Luke Vale for his involvement with the design of the health economic analysis at the inception of the trial; Maria Dimitrova, who assisted the health economists in the collection of unit costs; staff of the Scottish Primary Care Research Network, who assisted with screening eligible patients at dental practices; staff of the North East Commissioning Support Unit who assisted with research payments to dental practices in the north-east; members of the TMC and Periodontal Advisory Group for their ongoing advice and support of the trial; the independent members of the TSC and DMC; and the staff at recruitment sites who facilitated recruitment, treatment and follow-up of trial participants. The Health Services Research Unit and the Health Economics Research Unit is core funded by the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorate.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

“I have no clue what I drunk last night” Using Smartphone technology to compare in-vivo and retrospective self-reports of alcohol consumption.

This research compared real-time measurements of alcohol consumption with retrospective accounts of alcohol consumption to examine possible discrepancies between, and contextual influences on, the different accounts.Building on previous investigations, a specifically designed Smartphone technology was utilized to measure alcohol consumption and contextual influences in de facto real-time. Real-time data (a total of 10,560 data points relating to type and number of drinks and current social / environmental context) were compared with daily and weekly retrospective accounts of alcohol consumption.Participants reported consuming more alcoholic drinks during real-time assessment than retrospectively. For daily accounts a higher number of drinks consumed in real-time was related to a higher discrepancy between real-time and retrospective accounts. This effect was found across all drink types but was not shaped by social and environmental contexts. Higher in-vivo alcohol consumption appeared to be related to a higher discrepancy in retrospectively reported weekly consumption for alcohol beverage types other than wine. When including contextual factors into the statistical models, being with two or more friends (as opposed to being alone) decreased the discrepancy between real-time and retrospective reports, whilst being in the pub (relative to being at home) was associated with greater discrepancies.Overall, retrospective accounts may underestimate the amount of actual, real-time alcohol consumed. Increased consumption may also exacerbate differences between real-time and retrospective accounts. Nonetheless, this is not a global effect as environmental and social contexts interact with the type of alcohol consumed and the time frame given for reporting (weekly vs. daily retrospective). A degree of caution therefore appears warranted with regards to the use of retrospective self-report methods of recording alcohol consumption. Whilst real-time sampling is unlikely to be completely error free, it may be better able to account for social and environmental influences on self-reported consumption

Spatial Organization and Molecular Correlation of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Using Deep Learning on Pathology Images

Beyond sample curation and basic pathologic characterization, the digitized H&E-stained images of TCGA samples remain underutilized. To highlight this resource, we present mappings of tumorinfiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) based on H&E images from 13 TCGA tumor types. These TIL maps are derived through computational staining using a convolutional neural network trained to classify patches of images. Affinity propagation revealed local spatial structure in TIL patterns and correlation with overall survival. TIL map structural patterns were grouped using standard histopathological parameters. These patterns are enriched in particular T cell subpopulations derived from molecular measures. TIL densities and spatial structure were differentially enriched among tumor types, immune subtypes, and tumor molecular subtypes, implying that spatial infiltrate state could reflect particular tumor cell aberration states. Obtaining spatial lymphocytic patterns linked to the rich genomic characterization of TCGA samples demonstrates one use for the TCGA image archives with insights into the tumor-immune microenvironment

Pan-cancer Alterations of the MYC Oncogene and Its Proximal Network across the Cancer Genome Atlas

Although theMYConcogene has been implicated incancer, a systematic assessment of alterations ofMYC, related transcription factors, and co-regulatoryproteins, forming the proximal MYC network (PMN),across human cancers is lacking. Using computa-tional approaches, we define genomic and proteo-mic features associated with MYC and the PMNacross the 33 cancers of The Cancer Genome Atlas.Pan-cancer, 28% of all samples had at least one ofthe MYC paralogs amplified. In contrast, the MYCantagonists MGA and MNT were the most frequentlymutated or deleted members, proposing a roleas tumor suppressors.MYCalterations were mutu-ally exclusive withPIK3CA,PTEN,APC,orBRAFalterations, suggesting that MYC is a distinct onco-genic driver. Expression analysis revealed MYC-associated pathways in tumor subtypes, such asimmune response and growth factor signaling; chro-matin, translation, and DNA replication/repair wereconserved pan-cancer. This analysis reveals insightsinto MYC biology and is a reference for biomarkersand therapeutics for cancers with alterations ofMYC or the PMN

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy