Effect of Fibre Type on Mechanical Properties of Nonwoven Reinforced TPU Composites

Nonwoven-reinforced composites were produced using both low modulus fibres (lyocell, polyethylene terephthalate, and polyamide) and high modulus aramid fibres (polyphenylene terephthalamide) in thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) matrix. Preferentially oriented web preforms were prepared by carding and pre-needling before impregnating the nonwovens in a thermoplastic polyurethane resin matrix. Composites were prepared by compression moulding and mechanical properties were evaluated. Scanning Electron Microscopy was employed to study the fibre-to-matrix interface in the nonwoven-reinforced composites. It was found that nonwoven reinforcement provided a range of mechanical properties, mainly linked to fibre properties and orientation of fibres in the web, apparently unaffected by the mechanical properties of the web. Furthermore, all studies fibres were thoroughly embedded in the matrix

Development of multi-criteria decision support system (DSS) coupled with GIS for identifying optimal locations for soil aquifer treatment (SAT) facilities

Η διαχείριση του εμπλουτισμού των υδροφορέων αποτελεί μια ευρέως διαδομένη τεχνική, ιδιαίτερα σε υδρολογικά ευαίσθητες περιοχές, όπως αυτές της Μεσογειακής Λεκάνης, όπου οι υδατικοί πόροι είναι περιορισμένοι. Η επιλογή της χωροθέτησης έργων τεχνητού εμπλουτισμού (Τ.Ε.) αποτελεί μια πολύπλοκη διαδικασία το αποτέλεσμα της οποίας καθορίζει εν πολλοίς και την ίδια την αποτελεσματικότητα του έργου. Η εν λόγω διαδικασία περιπλέκεται εντονότερα όταν πρόκειται για τη χρηση νερών εμπλουτιμού υποβαθμισμένης ποιότητας. Βασικός στόχος της παρούσας εργασίας είναι η παρουσίαση ενός πρόδρομου εργαλείου πολυ-κριτιριακού Συστήματος Λήψης Αποφάσεων, το οποίο ενσωματώνει σε μια δυναμική πλατφόρμα: τόσο τις τεχνικές του Τ.Ε. όσο και τα γεωγραφικά χαρακτηριστικά που καθορίζουν την αποτελεσματικότητα του έργου. Το προτεινόμενο σύστημα αποτελεί προχωρημένο εργαλείο σύζευξης Συστημάτων Λήψης Αποφάσεων και Γεωγραφικών Πληροφοριών ικανό να αξιολογεί κρίσιμα ζητήματα που αφορούν σε έργα Τ.Ε. –γεωλογικά, υδρογεωλογικά, κλιματολογικά, νομικά, κοινωνικά, οικονομμικά κ.α. – με ιδιαίτερη έμφαση σε συστήματα Επεξεργασίας-Εδάφους- Υδροφόρου. Το συγκεκριμένο εργαλείο πρόκειται να ενσωματωθεί στο λογισμικό ArcGIS, σε περιβάλλον φιλικό προς το χρήστη, όπου η προβολή και επεξεργασία χωρικών δεδομένων μπορεί να πραγματοποιηθεί με τη χρήση Arc tools.Managed Aquifer Recharge is a wide-spread well-established groundwater engineering method which is largely seen as an alternative potential major source for water and this conclusion becomes even more pronounced in semi-arid and/or arid areas, such as the Mediterranean Basin. The process of site selection for the installation of a MAR facility is of paramount importance for the feasibility and effectiveness of the project itself, especially when the facility will include the use of waters of impaired quality as a recharge source. The main objective of this study is to present the developed framework of a multicriteria Decision Support System (DSS) that integrates within a dynamic platform: the main groundwater engineering parameters associated with MAR applications together with the general geographical features which determine the effectiveness of such a project. The proposed system will provide an advanced coupled DSS-GIS tool capable of handling local MAR-related issues -such as hydrogeology, topography, soil, climate etc., and spatially distributed variables -such as societal, economic, administrative, legislative etc., with special reference to Soil-Aquifer- Treatment technologies. The new SAT-selection tool in question is integrated in ArcGIS software -within a user friendly environment- where data can be processed and displayed using Arc tools for spatial analysis

Getting shops to voluntarily stop selling cheap, strong beers and ciders: a time-series analysis evaluating impacts on alcohol availability and purchasing.

BACKGROUND: 'Reducing the Strength' (RtS) is a public health initiative encouraging retailers to voluntarily stop selling cheap, strong beers/ciders (≥6.5% alcohol by volume). This study evaluates the impact of RtS initiatives on alcohol availability and purchasing in three English counties with a combined population of 3.62 million people. METHODS: We used a multiple baseline time-series design to examine retail data over 29 months from a supermarket chain that experienced a two-wave, area-based role out of RtS: initially 54 stores (W1), then another 77 stores (W2). We measured impacts on units of alcohol sold (primary outcome: beers/ciders; secondary outcome: all alcoholic products), economic impacts on alcohol sales and substitution effects. RESULTS: We observed a non-significant W1 increase (+3.7%, 95% CI: -11.2, 21.0) and W2 decrease (-6.8%, 95% CI: -20.5, 9.4) in the primary outcome. We observed a significant W2 decrease in units sold across all alcohol products (-10.5%, 95% CI: -19.2, -0.9). The direction of effect between waves was inconsistent for all outcomes, including alcohol sales, with no evidence of substitution effects. CONCLUSIONS: In the UK, voluntary RtS initiatives appear to have little or no impact on reducing alcohol availability and purchase from the broader population of supermarket customers

Understanding the treatment burden of people with chronic conditions in Kenya: A cross-sectional analysis using the Patient Experience with Treatment and Self-Management (PETS) questionnaire

In Kenya, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are an increasingly important cause of morbidity and mortality, requiring both better access to health care services and self-care support. Evidence suggests that treatment burdens can negatively affect adherence to treatment and quality of life. In this study, we explored the treatment and self-management burden among people with NCDs in in two counties in Western Kenya. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of people newly diagnosed with diabetes and/or hypertension, using the Patient Experience with Treatment and Self-Management (PETS) instrument. A total of 301 people with diabetes and/or hypertension completed the survey (63% female, mean age = 57 years). They reported the highest treatment burdens in the domains of medical and health care expenses, monitoring health, exhaustion related to self-management, diet and exercise/physical therapy. Treatment burden scores differed by county, age, gender, education, income and number of chronic conditions. Younger respondents (<60 years) reported higher burden for medication side effects (p<0.05), diet (p<0.05), and medical appointments (p = 0.075). Those with no formal education or low income also reported higher burden for diet and for medical expenses. People with health insurance cover reported lower (albeit still comparatively high) burden for medical expenses compared to those without it. Our findings provide important insights for Kenya and similar settings where governments are working to achieve universal health coverage by highlighting the importance of financial protection not only to prevent the economic burden of seeking health care for chronic conditions but also to reduce the associated treatment burden

Community-based health workers implementing universal access to HIV testing and treatment: lessons from South Africa and Zambia-HPTN 071 (PopART)

The global expansion of HIV testing, prevention and treatment services is necessary to achieve HIV epidemic control and promote individual and population health benefits for people living with HIV (PLHIV) in sub-Saharan Africa. Community-based health workers (CHWs) could play a key role in supporting implementation at scale. In the HPTN 071 (PopART) trial in Zambia and South Africa, a cadre of 737 study-specific CHWs, working closely with government-employed CHW, were deployed to deliver a ‘universal’ door-to-door HIV prevention package, including an annual offer of HIV testing and referral services for all households in 14 study communities. We conducted a process evaluation using qualitative and quantitative data collected during the trial (2013–2018) to document the implementation of the CHW intervention in practice. We focused on the recruitment, retention, training and support of CHWs, as they delivered study-specific services. We then used these descriptions to: (i) analyse the fidelity to design of the delivery of the intervention package, and (ii) suggest key insights for the transferability of the intervention to other settings. The data included baseline quantitative data collected with the study-specific CHWs (2014–2018); and qualitative data from key informant interviews with study management (n = 91), observations of CHW training events (n = 12) and annual observations of and group discussions (GD) with intervention staff (n = 68). We show that it was feasible for newly recruited CHWs to implement the PopART intervention with good fidelity, supporting the interpretation of the trial outcome findings. This was despite some challenges in managing service quality and CHW retention in the early years of the programme. We suggest that by prioritizing the adoption of key elements of the in-home HIV services delivery intervention model—including training, emotional support to workers, monitoring and appropriate remuneration for CHWs—these services could be successfully transferred to new settings

Corrigendum to: community-based health workers implementing universal access to HIV testing and treatment: lessons from South Africa and Zambia-HPTN 071 (PopART).

In the originally published version of this manuscript, the spelling of the co-author’s name was incorrect. The name should be “Mubekapi-Musadaidzwa” but is listed as “Mubekapi-Muzadaidzwa”. This error has now been corrected online

Transient Gastric Irritation in the Neonatal Rats Leads to Changes in Hypothalamic CRF Expression, Depression- and Anxiety-Like Behavior as Adults

A disturbance of the brain-gut axis is a prominent feature in functional bowel disorders (such as irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia) and psychological abnormalities are often implicated in their pathogenesis. We hypothesized that psychological morbidity in these conditions may result from gastrointestinal problems, rather than causing them.Functional dyspepsia was induced by neonatal gastric irritation in male rats. 10-day old male Sprague-Dawley rats received 0.1% iodoacetamide (IA) or vehicle by oral gavage for 6 days. At 8-10 weeks of age, rats were tested with sucrose preference and forced-swimming tests to examine depression-like behavior. Elevated plus maze, open field and light-dark box tests were used to test anxiety-like behaviors. ACTH and corticosterone responses to a minor stressor, saline injection, and hypothalamic CRF expression were also measured.Behavioral tests revealed changes of anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in IA-treated, but not control rats. As compared with controls, hypothalamic and amygdaloid CRF immunoreactivity, basal levels of plasma corticosterone and stress-induced ACTH were significantly higher in IA-treated rats. Gastric sensory ablation with resiniferatoxin had no effect on behaviors but treatment with CRF type 1 receptor antagonist, antalarmin, reversed the depression-like behavior in IA-treated ratsThe present results suggest that transient gastric irritation in the neonatal period can induce a long lasting increase in depression- and anxiety-like behaviors, increased expression of CRF in the hypothalamus, and an increased sensitivity of HPA axis to stress. The depression-like behavior may be mediated by the CRF1 receptor. These findings have significant implications for the pathogenesis of psychological co-morbidity in patients with functional bowel disorders

Inducible cAMP Early Repressor (ICER) and Brain Functions

The inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER) is an endogenous repressor of cAMP-responsive element (CRE)-mediated gene transcription and belongs to the CRE-binding protein (CREB)/CRE modulator (CREM)/activating transcription factor 1 (ATF-1) gene family. ICER plays an important role in regulating the neuroendocrine system and the circadian rhythm. Other aspects of ICER function have recently attracted heightened attention. Being a natural inducible CREB antagonist, and more broadly, an inducible repressor of CRE-mediated gene transcription, ICER regulates long-lasting plastic changes that occur in the brain in response to incoming stimulation. This review will bring together data on ICER and its functions in the brain, with a special emphasis on recent findings highlighting the involvement of ICER in the regulation of long-term plasticity underlying learning and memory

Community-based health workers implementing universal access to HIV testing and treatment: lessons from South Africa and Zambia-HPTN 071 (PopART).

The global expansion of HIV testing, prevention and treatment services is necessary to achieve HIV epidemic control and promote individual and population health benefits for people living with HIV (PLHIV) in sub-Saharan Africa. Community-based health workers (CHWs) could play a key role in supporting implementation at scale. In the HPTN 071 (PopART) trial in Zambia and South Africa, a cadre of 737 study-specific CHWs, working closely with government-employed CHW, were deployed to deliver a 'universal' door-to-door HIV prevention package, including an annual offer of HIV testing and referral services for all households in 14 study communities. We conducted a process evaluation using qualitative and quantitative data collected during the trial (2013-2018) to document the implementation of the CHW intervention in practice. We focused on the recruitment, retention, training and support of CHWs, as they delivered study-specific services. We then used these descriptions to: (i) analyse the fidelity to design of the delivery of the intervention package, and (ii) suggest key insights for the transferability of the intervention to other settings. The data included baseline quantitative data collected with the study-specific CHWs (2014-2018); and qualitative data from key informant interviews with study management (n = 91), observations of CHW training events (n = 12) and annual observations of and group discussions (GD) with intervention staff (n = 68). We show that it was feasible for newly recruited CHWs to implement the PopART intervention with good fidelity, supporting the interpretation of the trial outcome findings. This was despite some challenges in managing service quality and CHW retention in the early years of the programme. We suggest that by prioritizing the adoption of key elements of the in-home HIV services delivery intervention model-including training, emotional support to workers, monitoring and appropriate remuneration for CHWs-these services could be successfully transferred to new settings