Issues faced by people with amputation(s) during lower limb prosthetic rehabilitation: a thematic analysis

Background: Successful rehabilitation is essential to improve the physical and mental outcomes of people with lower limb amputation(s). Individuals have different goals and expectations of successful rehabilitation and experience issues that affect their quality of life. Objectives: To determine factors affecting lower limb prosthetic rehabilitation from people with amputation(s), important for studies focusing on prosthetic and socket design and fitting because they provide context of need and user issues. Study design: Thematic analysis of semistructured interviews. Methods: Ten people with amputation(s) were self-selected from a survey identifying factors affecting lower limb prosthetic rehabilitation. The telephone interviews were semistructured exploring the biggest impactors on and frustrations with rehabilitation and the socket. A thematic analysis was completed by following the undermentioned steps: familiarization, coding, generating themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and reporting. Results: Five distinct but interrelated themes were identified: External to Prosthesis, Body Impactors, Consequences of Ill-Fit, Prosthesis Irritants, and Work and Social Impact. Those living with amputation(s) mentioned prosthetic-related issues affecting their work and social life, including difficulties wearing their prosthesis all day, the socket's rigidity, and the ability to participate in hobbies. Conclusions: The study provides new insights into the issues experienced during prosthetic rehabilitation, highlighting impacts beyond just physical health consequences. The study provides an evidence base for areas of the rehabilitation journey which could be improved to improve the quality of life of people with amputation(s

Fine-structure diagnostics of neutral carbon toward HE 0515-4414

New high-resolution high signal-to-noise spectra of the $z=1.15$ damped Lyman $\alpha$ (DLA) system toward the quasi-stellar object HE 0515-4414 reveal absorption lines of the multiplets 2 and 3 in \ion{C}{i}. The resonance lines are seen in two components with total column densities of $\log N=13.79\pm0.01$ and $\log N=13.36\pm0.01$, respectively. The comparision of theoretical calculations of the relative fine-structure population with the ratios of the observed column densities suggests that the \ion{C}{i} absorbing medium is either very dense or exposed to very intense UV radiation. The upper limit on the local UV energy density is 100 times the galactic UV energy density, while the upper limit on the \ion{H}{i} number density is 110 cm$^{-3}$. The excitation temperatures of the ground state fine-structure levels of $T=15.7$ and $T=11.1$ K, respectively, are consistent with the temperature-redshift relation predicted by the standard Friedmann cosmology. The cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) is only a minor source of the observed fine-structure excitation.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, uses A&A macro package, gzipped tar archive, accepted by A&

The liminality of trajectory shifts in institutional entrepreneurship

In this paper, we develop a process model of trajectory shifts in institutional entrepreneurship. We focus on the liminal periods experienced by institutional entrepreneurs when they, unlike the rest of the organization, recognize limits in the present and seek to shift a familiar past into an unfamiliar and uncertain future. Such periods involve a situation where the new possible future, not yet fully formed, exists side-by-side with established innovation trajectories. Trajectory shifts are moments of truth for institutional entrepreneurs, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms of how entrepreneurs reflectively deal with liminality to conceive and bring forth new innovation trajectories. Our in-depth case study research at CarCorp traces three such mechanisms (reflective dissension, imaginative projection, and eliminatory exploration) and builds the basis for understanding the liminality of trajectory shifts. The paper offers theoretical implications for the institutional entrepreneurship literature

Skyrmion fluctuations at a first-order phase transition boundary

Magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected spin textures with promising prospects for applications in data storage. They can form a lattice state due to competing magnetic interactions and are commonly found in a small region of the temperature - magnetic field phase diagram. Recent work has demonstrated that these magnetic quasi-particles fluctuate at the μeV energy scale. Here, we use a coherent x-ray correlation method at an x-ray free-electron laser to investigate these fluctuations in a magnetic phase coexistence region near a first-order transition boundary where fluctuations are not expected to play a major role. Surprisingly, we find that the relaxation of the intermediate scattering function at this transition differs significantly compared to that deep in the skyrmion lattice phase. The observation of a compressed exponential behavior suggests solid-like dynamics, often associated with jamming. We assign this behavior to disorder and the phase coexistence observed in a narrow field-window near the transition, which can cause fluctuations that lead to glassy behavior

Denitrification and nitrous oxide emissions from riparian forests soils exposed to prolonged nitrogen runoff

Compared to upland forests, riparian forest soils have greater potential to remove nitrate (NO3) from agricultural run-off through denitrification. It is unclear, however, whether prolonged exposure of riparian soils to nitrogen (N) loading will affect the rate of denitrification and its end products. This research assesses the rate of denitrification and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from riparian forest soils exposed to prolonged nutrient run-off from plant nurseries and compares these to similar forest soils not exposed to nutrient run-off. Nursery run-off also contains high levels of phosphate (PO4). Since there are conflicting reports on the impact of PO4 on the activity of denitrifying microbes, the impact of PO4 on such activity was also investigated. Bulk and intact soil cores were collected from N-exposed and non-exposed forests to determine denitrification and N2O emission rates, whereas denitrification potential was determined using soil slurries. Compared to the non-amended treatment, denitrification rate increased 2.7- and 3.4-fold when soil cores collected from both N-exposed and non-exposed sites were amended with 30 and 60 μg NO3-N g-1 soil, respectively. Net N2O emissions were 1.5 and 1.7 times higher from the N-exposed sites compared to the non-exposed sites at 30 and 60 μg NO3-N g-1 soil amendment rates, respectively. Similarly, denitrification potential increased 17 times in response to addition of 15 μg NO3-N g-1 in soil slurries. The addition of PO4 (5 μg PO4–P g-1) to soil slurries and intact cores did not affect denitrification rates. These observations suggest that prolonged N loading did not affect the denitrification potential of the riparian forest soils; however, it did result in higher N2O emissions compared to emission rates from non-exposed forests

Late Endosomes Act as mRNA Translation Platforms and Sustain Mitochondria in Axons.

Local translation regulates the axonal proteome, playing an important role in neuronal wiring and axon maintenance. How axonal mRNAs are localized to specific subcellular sites for translation, however, is not understood. Here we report that RNA granules associate with endosomes along the axons of retinal ganglion cells. RNA-bearing Rab7a late endosomes also associate with ribosomes, and real-time translation imaging reveals that they are sites of local protein synthesis. We show that RNA-bearing late endosomes often pause on mitochondria and that mRNAs encoding proteins for mitochondrial function are translated on Rab7a endosomes. Disruption of Rab7a function with Rab7a mutants, including those associated with Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2B neuropathy, markedly decreases axonal protein synthesis, impairs mitochondrial function, and compromises axonal viability. Our findings thus reveal that late endosomes interact with RNA granules, translation machinery, and mitochondria and suggest that they serve as sites for regulating the supply of nascent pro-survival proteins in axons

Transient peak-strain matching partially recovers the age-impaired mechanoadaptive cortical bone response

Mechanoadaptation maintains bone mass and architecture; its failure underlies age-related decline in bone strength. It is unclear whether this is due to failure of osteocytes to sense strain, osteoblasts to form bone or insufficient mechanical stimulus. Mechanoadaptation can be restored to aged bone by surgical neurectomy, suggesting that changes in loading history can rescue mechanoadaptation. We use non-biased, whole-bone tibial analyses, along with characterisation of surface strains and ensuing mechanoadaptive responses in mice at a range of ages, to explore whether sufficient load magnitude can activate mechanoadaptation in aged bone. We find that younger mice adapt when imposed strains are lower than in mature and aged bone. Intriguingly, imposition of short-term, high magnitude loading effectively primes cortical but not trabecular bone of aged mice to respond. This response was regionally-matched to highest strains measured by digital image correlation and to osteocytic mechanoactivation. These data indicate that aged bone’s loading response can be partially recovered, non-invasively by transient, focal high strain regions. Our results indicate that old murine bone does respond to load when the loading is of sufficient magnitude, and bones’ age-related adaptation failure may be due to insufficient mechanical stimulus to trigger mechanoadaptation

Chronic rhinosinusitis: Patient experiences of primary and secondary care - a qualitative study

Objectives: To explore the experience of CRS and its management from the perspective of patients with CRS. To our knowledge this is the first qualitative study exploring sinus disease. Design: Semi-structured qualitative interviews. Setting: ENT outpatient clinic. Participants: 21 adult patients with CRS: 11 male, 10 female. Patients suffered from a range of types of CRS (including polyps and fungal disease) and differing durations of symptoms (1.5- 47 years). Participants were purposively selected. Thematic analysis was used. Outcome measures: Patient experience of CRS and its management. Results: Patients had concerns regarding management of their symptoms by both healthcare professionals and themselves, including delays to referral and repeated medications. They reported reduced quality of life and high financial and psychosocial costs associated with living with CRS. Conclusions: Despite guidelines for CRS treatment, outcomes remain variable leading to dissatisfaction with treatment. Adherence to existing guidelines may result in fewer repeated consultations in primary care and earlier referrals to secondary care