Age-related macular degeneration: a disease of systemic or local complement dysregulation?

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in developed countries. The role of complement in the development of AMD is now well-established. While some studies show evidence of complement dysregulation within the eye, others have demonstrated elevated systemic complement activation in association with AMD. It is unclear which one is the primary driver of disease. This has important implications for designing novel complement-based AMD therapies. We present a summary of the current literature and suggest that intraocular rather than systemic modulation of complement may prove more effective

Bluetooth 5.0 Suitability Assessment for Emergency Response within Fire Environments

Natural disasters, such as wildfires, can cause widespread devastation. Future-proofing infrastructure, such as buildings and bridges, through technological advancements is crucial to minimize their impact. Fires in disasters often stem from damaged fuel lines and electrical equipment, such as the 2018 California wildfire caused by a power line fault. To enhance safety, IoT applications can continuously monitor the health of emergency personnel. Using Bluetooth 5.0 and wearables in mesh networks, these apps can alert others about an individual’s location during emergencies. However, fire can disrupt wireless networks. This study assesses Bluetooth 5.0’s performance in transmitting signals in fire conditions. It examined received signal strength indicator (RSSI) values in a front open-fire chamber using both Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and mesh networks. The experiment considered three transmission heights of 0.61, 1.22, and 1.83 m and two distances of 11.13 m and 1.52 m. The study demonstrated successful signal transmission with a maximum loss of only 2 dB when transmitting through the fire. This research underscores the potential for reliable communication in fire-prone environments, improving safety during natural disasters

A Systematic Multidisciplinary Process for User Engagement and Sensor Evaluation: Development of a Digital Toolkit for Assessment of Movement in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Objectives: To describe and critique a systematic multidisciplinary approach to user engagement, and selection and evaluation of sensor technologies for development of a sensor-based Digital Toolkit for assessment of movement in children with cerebral palsy (CP).Methods: A sequential process was employed comprising three steps: Step 1: define user requirements, by identifying domains of interest; Step 2: map domains of interest to potential sensor technologies; and Step 3: evaluate and select appropriate sensors to be incorporated into the Digital Toolkit. The process employed a combination of principles from frameworks based in either healthcare or technology design.Results: A broad range of domains were ranked as important by clinicians, patients and families, and industry users. These directly informed the device selection and evaluation process that resulted in three sensor-based technologies being agreed for inclusion in the Digital Toolkit, for use in a future research study.Conclusion: This report demonstrates a systematic approach to user engagement and device selection and evaluation during the development of a sensor-based solution to a healthcare problem. It also provides a narrative on the benefits of employing a multidisciplinary approach throughout the process. This work uses previous frameworks for evaluating sensor technologies and expands on the methods used for user engagement

A Telecollaboration Project on Giving Online Peer Feedback: Implementing a Multilateral Virtual Exchange during a Pandemic

Telecollaboration, also called virtual exchange or online intercultural exchange, is a form of collaborative learning whereby language learners in different locations engage in computer-mediated communication to complete tasks online. There is ample evidence that telecollaboration promotes the acquisition of language skills, intercultural competence, and digital literacies. Challenges faced implementing virtual exchanges include differences in time zones, learning objectives, academic calendars, and cultural attitudes. The present article describes a case of a multilateral telecollaboration project based on the facilitated dialogue model involving four institutions-two in Europe and two in the United States-that was designed to prepare students for the experience of giving online peer feedback on collaborative writing assignments. Our initial goal was to explore the challenges students would face and the benefits they would receive from a complex telecollaboration project involving multiple institutions and two task sequences: 1) input and reflection on giving and receiving peer feedback, 2) completion of the collaborative writing task to be peer reviewed. However, new challenges and opportunities emerged after the switch to emergency e-learning and remote teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic. Relying upon multiple data sources-including correspondence, observations, class discussions, surveys, reflective writing, and information stored in virtual learning environments-our methods of data collection involved convenience sampling, while data analysis was predominantly descriptive. Our results demonstrate that even during a global pandemic, students and instructors face similar logistical challenges and reap similar benefits as has been reported in the literature. Yet our experience also reveals the resiliency of telecollaboration in the face of extreme disruption as well as the potential to exploit virtual exchange to develop learning strategies-such as methods for giving and receiving peer feedback-and meta-awareness of how language is used in the real-world-such as the implications of English as a lingua franca

The initiator methionine tRNA drives secretion of type II collagen from stromal fibroblasts to promote tumor growth and angiogenesis

Summary: Expression of the initiator methionine tRNA (tRNAi Met) is deregulated in cancer. Despite this fact, it is not currently known how tRNAi Met expression levels influence tumor progression. We have found that tRNAi Met expression is increased in carcinoma-associated fibroblasts, implicating deregulated expression of tRNAi Met in the tumor stroma as a possible contributor to tumor progression. To investigate how elevated stromal tRNAi Met contributes to tumor progression, we generated a mouse expressing additional copies of the tRNAi Met gene (2+tRNAi Met mouse). Growth and vascularization of subcutaneous tumor allografts was enhanced in 2+tRNAi Met mice compared with wild-type littermate controls. Extracellular matrix (ECM) deposited by fibroblasts from 2+tRNAi Met mice supported enhanced endothelial cell and fibroblast migration. SILAC mass spectrometry indicated that elevated expression of tRNAi Met significantly increased synthesis and secretion of certain types of collagen, in particular type II collagen. Suppression of type II collagen opposed the ability of tRNAi Metoverexpressing fibroblasts to deposit pro-migratory ECM. We used the prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor ethyl- 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate (DHB) to determine whether collagen synthesis contributes to the tRNAi Met-driven pro-tumorigenic stroma in vivo. DHB had no effect on the growth of syngeneic allografts in wild-type mice but opposed the ability of 2+tRNAi Met mice to support increased angiogenesis and tumor growth. Finally, collagen II expression predicts poor prognosis in high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma. Taken together, these data indicate that increased tRNAi Met levels contribute to tumor progression by enhancing the ability of stromal fibroblasts to synthesize and secrete a type II collagen-rich ECM that supports endothelial cell migration and angiogenesis

Safe Beacon: A Bluetooth Based Solution to Monitor Egress of Dementia Sufferers within a Residential Setting

The global population is ageing, as a consequence of this there will be a greater incidence of ageing related illnesses which cause cognitive impairment–such as Alzheimer’s disease. Within residential care homes, such cognitive impairment can lead to wandering of individuals beyond the boundaries of safety provided. This wandering, particularly in urban areas can be life threatening. This study introduces a novel solution to detect, and alert caregivers of, egress of at-risk inhabitants of a care home. This solution operates through a combination of wearable Bluetooth beacons and beam-formed listening devices. In an evaluation process involving 275 egress events, this solution proved to offer accurate operation with no incidence of false positives. Notably, this solution has been deployed within a real residential care home environment for over 12 months. Proposed future work discusses improvements to this solution