Redefining Community in the Age of the Internet: Will the Internet of Things (IoT) generate sustainable and equitable community development?

There is a problem so immense in our built world that it is often not fully realized. This problem is the disconnection between humanity and the physical world. In an era of limitless data and information at our fingertips, buildings, public spaces, and landscapes are divided from us due to their physical nature. Compared with the intense flow of information from our online world driven by the beating engine of the internet, our physical world is silent. This lack of connection not only has consequences for sustainability but also for how we perceive and communicate with our built environment in the modern age. A possible solution to bridge the gap between our physical and online worlds is a technology known as the Internet of Things (IoT). What is IoT? How does it work? Will IoT change the concept of the built environment for a participant within it, and in doing so enhance the dynamic link between humans and place? And what are the implications of IoT for privacy, security, and data for the public good? Lastly, we will identify the most pressing issues existing in the built environment by conducting and analyzing case studies from Pomona College and California State University, Northridge. By analyzing IoT in the context of case studies we can assess its viability and value as a tool for sustainability and equality in communities across the world

Single molecule force measurements of perlecan/HSPG2: A key component of the osteocyte pericellular matrix

Perlecan/HSPG2, a large, monomeric heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG), is a key component of the lacunar canalicular system (LCS) of cortical bone, where it is part of the mechanosensing pericellular matrix (PCM) surrounding the osteocytic processes and serves as a tethering element that connects the osteocyte cell body to the bone matrix. Within the pericellular space surrounding the osteocyte cell body, perlecan can experience physiological fluid flow drag force and in that capacity function as a sensor to relay external stimuli to the osteocyte cell membrane. We previously showed that a reduction in perlecan secretion alters the PCM fiber composition and interferes with bone's response to a mechanical loading in vivo. To test our hypothesis that perlecan core protein can sustain tensile forces without unfolding under physiological loading conditions, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to capture images of perlecan monomers at nanoscale resolution and to perform single molecule force measurement (SMFMs). We found that the core protein of purified full-length human perlecan is of suitable size to span the pericellular space of the LCS, with a measured end-to-end length of 170 ± 20 nm and a diameter of 2–4 nm. Force pulling revealed a strong protein core that can withstand over 100 pN of tension well over the drag forces that are estimated to be exerted on the individual osteocyte tethers. Data fitting with an extensible worm-like chain model showed that the perlecan protein core has a mean elastic constant of 890 pN and a corresponding Young's modulus of 71 MPa. We conclude that perlecan has physical properties that would allow it to act as a strong but elastic tether in the LCS

The health professional experience of using antipsychotic medication for dementia in care homes: a study using grounded theory and focussing on inappropriate prescribing

Introduction: Treating the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia with antipsychotics can cause detrimental side-effects but their use in care homes remains problematic with the views of professionals not fully explored. Aim/question: To develop an in-depth explanatory model about inappropriate prescribing of antipsychotics in dementia within care homes. Methods: Twenty-eight participants from eight different professional groups with a role in shaping treatment decisions in dementia care were recruited and interviewed. The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using constructivist grounded theory. Results: When patients with dementia present with behavioural and psychological symptoms, the prescribing of antipsychotics allows the multitude of work in a care home to be managed; the effectiveness of antipsychotics is more perceptible than their side-effects. This perceived usefulness strengthens beliefs that these medications ought to be prescribed again in future situations, generating a self-fulfilling prophecy. Discussion: Our findings may partly explain why the launch of the national dementia strategy in England has been found not to have reduced antipsychotic prescribing in care homes. Implications for practice: Positive perceptions based on past experiences with antipsychotics should be challenged through future interventions that tackle inappropriate prescribing using a behaviour change technique for example better highlighting adverse consequences of prescribing

Weekday and weekend patterns of physical activity and sedentary time among Liverpool and Madrid youth

Levels of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour among English and Spanish youth are high and vary within different regions of each country. Little though is known about these during specific periods of the day. The purpose of this study was to describe physical activity (PA) and sedentary time during segments of the day and week, and compare these critical contexts between youth in the Liverpool and Madrid areas of England and Spain, respectively. PA was objectively assessed in 235 Liverpool- and 241 Madrid youth (aged 10-14 years) who wore accelerometers for seven consecutive days. Minutes of sedentary time, moderate PA, vigorous PA and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were calculated for weekdays, weekend days, school time, non-school time and after-school. Between-country differences were analysed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Madrid youth spent significantly more time in sedentary activities than their Liverpool counterparts. Madrid youth engaged in more minutes of moderate intensity physical activity (MPA) than Liverpool youth during weekdays, school time and non-school time (P < 0.01). Liverpool children recorded more time in vigorous physical activity (VPA) than Madrid peers during week days and weekend days (P < 0.01) and during school time and after-school periods (P < 0.01). The MVPA was significantly higher among Madrid youth during non-school time (P < 0.01). Around 25% of all youth achieved recommended levels of MVPA. Low levels of MVPA and systematic differences in sedentary time, MPA and VPA exist between Liverpool and Madrid youth. Interventions targeted at the least-active children during weekends, after-school and non-school periods within the cultural contexts common to each city are required. © 2013 © 2013 European College of Sport Science

Struggling with Adversities of Life: The Role of Forgiveness in Patients Suffering from Fibromyalgia

Objectives: We compared the magnitude and direction of associations between forgiveness and pain, mental and physical health, quality of life, and anger in a sample of fibromyalgia (FMS) patients and healthy controls. In addition, we compared FMS and controls on mean levels of these variables. Methods: 173 FMS patients and 81 controls completed this study. Patients and controls were residents of Germany recruited with the support of the German Fibromyalgia Patient Association and several self-help groups. FMS patients and controls were about 53 years of age, mostly married (70%), Christians (81%), with levels of education ranging from 9 years to 13+. All participants completed assessments of forgiveness, pain, health, quality of life, and anger. Results: Analyses revealed that FMS patients reported higher pain and anger and poorer health and quality of life. FMS patients also reported lower levels of both forgiveness of self and others. Size and direction of associations of forgiveness with pain, health, quality of life, and anger in were not significantly different between healthy individuals and patients with FMS. Discussion: Forgiveness of self and others is beneficially associated with pain, health, quality of life, and anger in FMS patients at levels that are of similar size and direction as in healthy controls. However, FMS patients manifest lower levels of forgiveness of self and others. Therapeutic promotion of forgiveness as a psychosocial coping strategy may help patients with FMS to better manage psychological and physical symptoms, thereby enhancing well-being

Striatal dopaminergic reward response relates to age of first drunkenness and feedback response in atâ risk youth

Dopamine receptor concentrations, primarily in the striatum, are hypothesized to contribute to a developmental imbalance between subcortical and prefrontal control systems in emerging adulthood potentially biasing motivation and increasing risky behaviors. Positron emission tomography studies have found significant reductions in striatal dopamine D2 receptors, and blunted amphetamineâ induced dopamine release, in substance users compared with healthy controls. Extant literature is limited and inconsistent concerning vulnerability associated with having a family history of substance abuse (FH+). Some studies have reported familial liability associated with higher dopamine receptor levels, reduced dopamine response to stimulant challenges and decreased response to oral alcohol. However, other reports have failed to find group differences based on family history. We explored the interaction of familial liability and behavioral risk with multiâ modal molecular and neural imaging of the dopaminergic system. Fortyâ four young adult male subjects performed monetary incentive delay tasks during both [11C]raclopride positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. FH+ subjects were identified as low (nâ =â 24) or high risk (nâ =â 9) based on early initiation of drunkenness. FH+ highâ risk subjects exhibited heightened striatal dopamine response to monetary reward but did not differ in neural activations compared with FH+ low risk subjects and controls with no familial loading (nâ =â 11). Across all subjects, a negative relationship was found between dopamine release and age of first drunkenness and a positive relationship with neural response to reward receipt. These results suggest that in atâ risk individuals, higher dopamine transmission associated with monetary reward may represent a particularly useful neurobiological phenotype.The mesolimbic dopamine system is hypothesized to play a role in vulnerability to substance use disorders. Using multiâ modal methods (functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography), we tested whether young adult male subjects at high risk for substance use disorders based on family history and early drunkenness had differences in response to monetary rewards compared with controls. We found heightened striatal dopamine response in highâ risk male subjects during positron emission tomography. This was further associated with age of first drunkenness, suggesting it may represent a neurobiological risk phenotype.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136239/1/adb12341.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136239/2/adb12341_am.pd

Antimicrobial mechanisms of ortho-phthalaldehyde action

Biocides generally have multiple biochemical targets. Such a feature easily entangles the analysis of the mechanisms of antimicrobial action. In this study, the action of the dialdehyde biocide ortho-phtalaldehyde (OPA), on bacteria, was investigated using the Gram-negative Pseudomonas fluorescens. The targets of the biocide action were studied using different bacterial physiological indices. The respiratory activity, membrane permeabilization, physico-chemical characterization of the bacterial surfaces, outer membrane proteins (OMP) expression, concomitant influence of pH, contact time and presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on respiratory activity, morphological changes and OPA-DNA interactions were assessed for different OPA concentrations. With the process conditions used, the minimum inhibitory concentration was 1500 mg/l, the concentration to promote total loss of bacterial culturability was 65 mg/l and the concentration needed to inactivate respiratory activity was 80 mg/l. These data are evidence that culturability and respiratory activity were markedly affected by the biocide. OPA lead, moreover, to a significant change in cell surface hydrophobicity and induced propidium iodide uptake. Such results suggest cytoplasmic membrane damage, although no release of ATP was detected. At pH 5, the bactericidal action of OPA was stronger, though not influenced by BSA presence. Nevertheless, at pH 9, BSA noticeably (p < 0.05) impaired biocide action. A time- dependent effect in OPA action was evident when contemplating respiratory activity variation, mainly for the lower exposure times. Scanning electron microscopy allowed to detect bacterial morphological changes, translated on cellular elongation, for OPA concentrations higher than 100 mg/l. Interferences at DNA level were, however, restricted to extreme biocide concentrations. The overall bactericidal events occurred without detectable OMP expression changes. In conclusion, the results indicated a sequence of events responsible for the antimicrobial action of OPA: it binds to membrane receptors due to cross-linkage; impairs the membrane functions allowing the biocide to enter through the permeabilized membrane; it interacts with intracellular reactive molecules, such as RNA, compromising the growth cycle of the cells and, at last, with DNA.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

The Functional DRD3 Ser9Gly Polymorphism (rs6280) Is Pleiotropic, Affecting Reward as Well as Movement

Abnormalities of motivation and behavior in the context of reward are a fundamental component of addiction and mood disorders. Here we test the effect of a functional missense mutation in the dopamine 3 receptor (DRD3) gene (ser9gly, rs6280) on reward-associated dopamine (DA) release in the striatum. Twenty-six healthy controls (HCs) and 10 unmedicated subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) completed two positron emission tomography (PET) scans with [11C]raclopride using the bolus plus constant infusion method. On one occasion subjects completed a sensorimotor task (control condition) and on another occasion subjects completed a gambling task (reward condition). A linear regression analysis controlling for age, sex, diagnosis, and self-reported anhedonia indicated that during receipt of unpredictable monetary reward the glycine allele was associated with a greater reduction in D2/3 receptor binding (i.e., increased reward-related DA release) in the middle (anterior) caudate (p<0.01) and the ventral striatum (p<0.05). The possible functional effect of the ser9gly polymorphism on DA release is consistent with previous work demonstrating that the glycine allele yields D3 autoreceptors that have a higher affinity for DA and display more robust intracellular signaling. Preclinical evidence indicates that chronic stress and aversive stimulation induce activation of the DA system, raising the possibility that the glycine allele, by virtue of its facilitatory effect on striatal DA release, increases susceptibility to hyperdopaminergic responses that have previously been associated with stress, addiction, and psychosis

Time-course of change in [ 11 C]carfentanil and [ 11 C]raclopride binding potential after a nonpharmacological challenge

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with appropriate radiotracers and quantification methods allows the detection of changes in endogenous neurotransmission by determine the reduction in the binding potential (BP) of receptors before and after experimental challenges. These have typically employed psychostimulants and PET with dopamine (DA) receptor radiotracers. However, reductions in BP persist far beyond the increases in the release of the endogenous neurotransmitter, an effect ascribed to receptor internalization and recycling, a possible confound in repeated studies. Here we examined the time-course of changes in BP during a nonpharmacological challenge, moderate levels of sustained pain, shown to induce robust reductions in Μ-opioid and DA D2 BP, as measured with [ 11 C]carfentanil and [ 11 C]raclopride. It was hypothesized that, contrary to pharmacological probes, the use of a more “physiological” stimulus would not be associated with persistent changes in the BP measures. The pain challenge was associated with reductions in Μ-opioid receptor BP in several cortical and subcortical regions. These did not persist in a subsequent scan. Similar results were obtained for DA D2 receptor BP, where the pain challenge induced significant reductions in the caudate nucleus. These data demonstrate that changes in receptor BP induced by a nonpharmacological challenge did not persist into subsequent scans. They further suggest differences in the effect of pharmacological and nonpharmacological probes on PET BP measures. These may reflect varying levels of change in receptor affinity, receptor internalization, and recycling depending on the type of challenge employed. Synapse 61:707–714, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56076/1/20404_ftp.pd