264 research outputs found
Visual Displays in Space Station Culture: An Archaeological Analysis
We offer an archaeological analysis of the visual display of âspace heroesâ and Orthodox icons in the Russian Zvezda module of the International Space Station (ISS). This study is the first systematic investigation of material culture at a site in space. The ISS has now been continuously inhabited for 20 years. Here, focusing on the period 2000â2014, we use historic imagery from NASA archives to track the changing presence of 78 different items in a single zone. We also explore how ideas about which items are appropriate for display and where to display them originated in earlier Soviet and Russian space stations starting as early as the 1970s. In this way, we identify the emergence and evolution of a particular kind of space station culture with implications for future habitat design
Reciprocal Antagonism between the Herbicides, Diclofop-Methyl and 2,4-D, in Corn and Soybean Tissue Culture
Bidirectional association between disturbed sleep and neuropathic pain symptoms : a prospective cohort study in post-total joint replacement participants
Background
Disturbed sleep is strongly correlated with chronic pain. The aim of this study was to examine the association between sleep disturbance and incident joint pain focusing on neuropathic-like pain symptoms.
Methods
A total of 423 individuals who had undergone total joint replacement (TJR) for osteoarthritis were assessed at the mean time of 3.6 years post-surgery and again at 5.9 years post-TJR, using the Medical Outcomes Survey sleep subscale, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and painDETECT questionnaire instruments. Cox hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed adjusting for age, body mass index, sex, and use of hypnotic and analgesic medication.
Results
The presence of neuropathic pain symptoms predicted incidence of disturbed sleep after adjustment for covariates and pain severity (adjusted HR [aHR] 2.01, 95% CI: 1.00â4.10; p<0.05). There was no association between joint pain and incidence of disturbed sleep when individuals with neuropathic pain symptoms at the baseline visit were excluded (aHR 1.11, 95% CI: 0.47â2.67). Disturbed sleep at baseline predicted incident neuropathic joint pain symptoms (aHR 2.75, 95% CI: 1.21â6.26; p<0.016) but had no effect on incidence of joint pain when all types of pain were considered together (aHR 0.63, 95% CI: 0.30â1.39).
Conclusion
These data suggest a causal bidirectional link between sleep disturbance and joint pain with neuropathic features but not with other types of joint pain
Gender and sustainable livelihoods: linking gendered experiences of environment, community and self
In this essay I explore the economic, social,
environmental and cultural changes taking place in Bolsena,
Italy, where agricultural livelihoods have rapidly
diminished in the last two decades. I examine how gender
dynamics have shifted with the changing values and
livelihoods of Bolsena through three womenâs narratives
detailing their gendered experiences of environment,
community and self. I reflect on these changes with Sabrina,
who is engaged in a feminist community-based
organization; Anna, who is running an alternative wine bar;
and Isabella, a jeweler, who is engaged in ecofeminist
practices. My analysis is based on concepts developed by
feminist political ecology: specifically, the theory of rooted
networks from Dianne Rocheleau, Donna Harawayâs concept
of naturecultures (and the work of J. K. Gibson-Graham
on new economic imaginaries emerging from the
politics of place. I aim to think with, reflect upon and
provoke from the ââotherwiseââ, taking into account the
lived relations entwining nature and gender. My article
looks at the interconnections of gender, environment and
livelihoods, attentive to the daily needs, embodied interactions
and labours of these three women as part of a
reappropriation, reconstruction and reinvention of Bolsenaâs
lifeworld. By listening to the stories of their everyday
lives and struggles, I show the dynamic potential of the
politics of place and the efforts to build diverse economies
and more ethical economic and ecological relationships
based on gender-aware subjectivities and values
Heritage Quay: What Will You Discover? Transforming the Archives of the University of Huddersfield, Yorkshire, UK
The Heritage Quay project is changing how archive services at the University of Huddersfield are delivered. This article examines how the Staff/Space/Collections dependency model and Customer Service Excellence framework have been used, and what lessons can be drawn for other archives
Bidirectional association between disturbed sleep and neuropathic pain symptoms: a prospective cohort study in post-total joint replacement participants
Disturbed sleep is strongly correlated with chronic pain. The aim of this study was to examine the association between sleep disturbance and incident joint pain focusing on neuropathic pain-like symptoms. 423 individuals who had undergone total joint replacement (TJR) for osteoarthritis (OA) were assessed 3.6 years post-surgery, using the Medical Outcomes Survey sleep subscale, the WOMAC and PainDETECT instruments, and again 5.9 years post-TJR. Cox hazards ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed adjusting for age, BMI, sex, use of hypnotic and analgesic medication. The presence of neuropathic pain symptoms predicted incidence of disturbed sleep after adjustment for covariates and pain severity (aHR 2.01, 95% CI: 1.00-4.10 p<0.05). There was no association between joint pain and incidence of disturbed sleep when individuals with neuropathic pain symptoms at baseline visit were excluded (aHR 1.11, 95% CI: 0.47-2.67). Disturbed sleep at baseline predicted incident neuropathic joint pain symptoms (aHR 2.75, 95% CI: 1.21-6.26; p<0.016) but had no effect on incidence of joint pain when all types of pain were considered together (aHR 0.63, 95%CI: 0.30-1.39). These data suggest a causal bidirectional link between sleep disturbance and joint pain with neuropathic features, but not with other types of joint pain
Actionable, Pathogenic Incidental Findings in 1,000 Participantsâ Exomes
The incorporation of genomics into medicine is stimulating interest on the return of incidental findings (IFs) from exome and genome sequencing. However, no large-scale study has yet estimated the number of expected actionable findings per individual; therefore, we classified actionable pathogenic single-nucleotide variants in 500 European- and 500 African-descent participants randomly selected from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Exome Sequencing Project. The 1,000 individuals were screened for variants in 114 genes selected by an expert panel for their association with medically actionable genetic conditions possibly undiagnosed in adults. Among the 1,000 participants, 585 instances of 239 unique variants were identified as disease causing in the Human Gene Mutation Database (HGMD). The primary literature supporting the variantsâ pathogenicity was reviewed. Of the identified IFs, only 16 unique autosomal-dominant variants in 17 individuals were assessed to be pathogenic or likely pathogenic, and one participant had two pathogenic variants for an autosomal-recessive disease. Furthermore, one pathogenic and four likely pathogenic variants not listed as disease causing in HGMD were identified. These data can provide an estimate of the frequency (âŒ3.4% for European descent and âŒ1.2% for African descent) of the high-penetrance actionable pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in adults. The 23 participants with pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants were disproportionately of European (17) versus African (6) descent. The process of classifying these variants underscores the need for a more comprehensive and diverse centralized resource to provide curated information on pathogenicity for clinical use to minimize health disparities in genomic medicine
Incorporating Baseline Outcome Data in Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis of Non-randomized Studies.
Background
In non-randomized studies (NRSs) where a continuous outcome variable (e.g., depressive symptoms) is assessed at baseline and follow-up, it is common to observe imbalance of the baseline values between the treatment/exposure group and control group. This may bias the study and consequently a meta-analysis (MA) estimate. These estimates may differ across statistical methods used to deal with this issue. Analysis of individual participant data (IPD) allows standardization of methods across studies. We aimed to identify methods used in published IPD-MAs of NRSs for continuous outcomes, and to compare different methods to account for baseline values of outcome variables in IPD-MA of NRSs using two empirical examples from the Thyroid Studies Collaboration (TSC).
Methods
For the first aim we systematically searched in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane from inception to February 2021 to identify published IPD-MAs of NRSs that adjusted for baseline outcome measures in the analysis of continuous outcomes. For the second aim, we applied analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), change score, propensity score and the naĂŻve approach (ignores the baseline outcome data) in IPD-MA from NRSs on the association between subclinical hyperthyroidism and depressive symptoms and renal function. We estimated the study and meta-analytic mean difference (MD) and relative standard error (SE). We used both fixed- and random-effects MA.
Results
Ten of 18 (56%) of the included studies used the change score method, seven (39%) studies used ANCOVA and one the propensity score (5%). The study estimates were similar across the methods in studies in which groups were balanced at baseline with regard to outcome variables but differed in studies with baseline imbalance. In our empirical examples, ANCOVA and change score showed study results on the same direction, not the propensity score. In our applications, ANCOVA provided more precise estimates, both at study and meta-analytical level, in comparison to other methods. Heterogeneity was higher when change score was used as outcome, moderate for ANCOVA and null with the propensity score.
Conclusion
ANCOVA provided the most precise estimates at both study and meta-analytic level and thus seems preferable in the meta-analysis of IPD from non-randomized studies. For the studies that were well-balanced between groups, change score, and ANCOVA performed similarly
A descriptive model of patient readiness, motivators, and hepatitis C treatment uptake among Australian prisoners
Background: Hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) has a significant global health burden with an estimated 2%â3% of the world's population infected, and more than 350,000 dying annually from HCV-related conditions including liver failure and liver cancer. Prisons potentially offer a relatively stable environment in which to commence treatment as they usually provide good access to health care providers, and are organised around routine and structure. Uptake of treatment of HCV, however, remains low in the community and in prisons. In this study, we explored factors affecting treatment uptake inside prisons and hypothesised that prisoners have unique issues influencing HCV treatment uptake as a consequence of their incarceration which are not experienced in other populations. Method and Findings: We undertook a qualitative study exploring prisoners' accounts of why they refused, deferred, delayed or discontinued HCV treatment in prison. Between 2010 and 2013, 116 Australian inmates were interviewed from prisons in New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia. Prisoners experienced many factors similar to those which influence treatment uptake of those living with HCV infection in the community. Incarceration, however, provides different circumstances of how these factors are experienced which need to be better understood if the number of prisoners receiving treatment is to be increased. We developed a descriptive model of patient readiness and motivators for HCV treatment inside prisons and discussed how we can improve treatment uptake among prisoners.Conclusion: This study identified a broad and unique range of challenges to treatment of HCV in prison. Some of these are likely to be diminished by improving treatment options and improved models of health care delivery. Other barriers relate to inmate understanding of their illness and stigmatisation by other inmates and custodial staff and generally appear less amenable to change although there is potential for peer-based education to address lack of knowledge and stigma
Thyroid Hormone Therapy for Older Adults with Subclinical Hypothyroidism.
BACKGROUND: The use of levothyroxine to treat subclinical hypothyroidism is controversial. We aimed to determine whether levothyroxine provided clinical benefits in older persons with this condition. METHODS: We conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial involving 737 adults who were at least 65 years of age and who had persisting subclinical hypothyroidism (thyrotropin level, 4.60 to 19.99 mIU per liter; free thyroxine level within the reference range). A total of 368 patients were assigned to receive levothyroxine (at a starting dose of 50 Όg daily, or 25 Όg if the body weight was <50 kg or the patient had coronary heart disease), with dose adjustment according to the thyrotropin level; 369 patients were assigned to receive placebo with mock dose adjustment. The two primary outcomes were the change in the Hypothyroid Symptoms score and Tiredness score on a thyroid-related quality-of-life questionnaire at 1 year (range of each scale is 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more symptoms or tiredness, respectively; minimum clinically important difference, 9 points). RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 74.4 years, and 396 patients (53.7%) were women. The mean (±SD) thyrotropin level was 6.40±2.01 mIU per liter at baseline; at 1 year, this level had decreased to 5.48 mIU per liter in the placebo group, as compared with 3.63 mIU per liter in the levothyroxine group (P<0.001), at a median dose of 50 Όg. We found no differences in the mean change at 1 year in the Hypothyroid Symptoms score (0.2±15.3 in the placebo group and 0.2±14.4 in the levothyroxine group; between-group difference, 0.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], -2.0 to 2.1) or the Tiredness score (3.2±17.7 and 3.8±18.4, respectively; between-group difference, 0.4; 95% CI, -2.1 to 2.9). No beneficial effects of levothyroxine were seen on secondary-outcome measures. There was no significant excess of serious adverse events prespecified as being of special interest. CONCLUSIONS: Levothyroxine provided no apparent benefits in older persons with subclinical hypothyroidism. (Funded by European Union FP7 and others; TRUST ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01660126 .)
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