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Which factors affect the implementation of telerehabilitation? Study protocol for a mixed-methods systematic review with a framework synthesis
Get PDFBackground: Telehealth approaches are promising for the delivery of rehabilitation services but may be under-used or under-implemented. Objective: To report a review protocol to identify how much telerehabilitation (telehealth approaches to the delivery of rehabilitation services) have been used and implemented, and which factors have affected such implementation. Methods: A mixed-methods systematic review with a framework synthesis. Six databases for the scientific literature will be searched, complemented by snowballing searches and additional references coming from key informants (i.e., rehabilitation researchers from a networking group in health services research). We will include English-language empirical research examining the routine use or implementation of telehealth technologies in physical rehabilitation services or by physical rehabilitation professionals from a range of study designs, excepting case studies, case reports, and qualitative studies with n < 5. Two independent reviewers will perform the screenings, quality appraisals (using the Joanna Briggs Institutes' appraisal checklists), and the data extractions. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research will be used to synthesize the data on the enablers and barriers of the implementation of telerehabilitation approaches. All the authors will be involved at this synthesis, and key informants will provide feedback. Conclusion: The results can inform further implementation endeavours
New development: Learning communities—an approach to dismantling barriers to collective improvement
Get PDFPublic services operate in conditions of complexity. Practitioners and service users can never be certain of the impact or outcome of a course of action and, consequently, responsible failure must be supported. A new methodology for enabling public service professionals to navigate the complexity of their practice is introduced in this article: ‘learning communities’ (LCs). Drawing from developmental applications of this methodology, the authors describe how LCs provide environments for talking authentically about uncertainties and mistakes with the purpose of collective improvement, and draw parallels with similar methods of community co-creation. The way that LCs tackle two key elements of the public sector’s learning capacity noted in the literature—structure and culture—is explained
Stress–strain model for FRP confined heat-damaged concrete columns
Get PDFThis paper is dedicated to the development of a new analysis-oriented model to simulate the axial and dilation behavior of FRP confined heat-damaged concrete columns under axial compressive loading. The model's calibration has considered the experimental results from concrete circular/square cross-section specimens submitted to a certain level of heat-induced damage, which after attained the environmental temperature, were fully confined with FRP jacket and tested. New equations were developed to determine the mechanical characteristics of unconfined heat-damaged concrete by performing regression analysis on a large database of experimental tests. Based on a parametric study on dilation behavior of FRP confined heat-damaged columns, a new dilation model was developed to predict concrete lateral strain at a given axial strain, dependent on the thermal damage level. By using this dilation model, a new methodology was introduced for predicting the axial stress-strain response of FRP confined heat-damaged columns in compliance with the active confinement approach. The adequate predictive performance of the model is demonstrated by estimating experimental axial stress-strain results
Expected value of first Zagreb connection index in random cyclooctatetraene chain, random polyphenyls chain, and random chain network
Get PDFThe Zagreb connection indices are the known topological descriptors of the graphs that are constructed from the connection cardinality (degree of given nodes lying at a distance 2) presented in 1972 to determine the total electron energy of the alternate hydrocarbons. For a long time, these connection indices did not receive much research attention. Ali and Trinajstić [Mol. Inform. 37, Art. No. 1800008, 2018] examined the Zagreb connection indices and found that they compared to basic Zagreb indices and that they provide a finer value for the correlation coefficient for the 13 physico-chemical characteristics of the octane isomers. This article acquires the formulae of expected values of the first Zagreb connection index of a random cyclooctatetraene chain, a random polyphenyls chain, and a random chain network with l number of octagons, hexagons, and pentagons, respectively. The article presents extreme and average values of all the above random chains concerning a set of special chains, including the meta-chain, the ortho-chain, and the para-chain
Architectural pedagogy for the Anthropocene: theory, critique and typological urbanism
Get PDFThe aim of this article is to develop an architectural pedagogy for the Anthropocene. I reflect on a project within a postgraduate architectural theory module to address the questions: How can architectural pedagogy articulate critical modes of production that contribute to quality education in the time of the Anthropocene? What are the ideas, values, and practices needed?
The method employed is close-reading of texts focused on three areas: critical theory and pedagogy, political theory and the Anthropocene, architectural theory and typological urbanism. These theoretical narratives are placed in dialogue with a reflection on a design research pedagogical project. The theoretical narratives and design research project seek to articulate the multidimensionality of critical education. The methodology enacted in the paper performs the pedagogy of the classroom.
The study yields compelling conclusions regarding the potential for rethinking the idea of typology under the pressure of the Anthropocene, and of critical pedagogy combined with design research to take positions on urgent political and social matters. I conclude with a toolkit of concepts, values, and knowledge practices.
At a time when disciplines tend toward discrete specialisation, while the need for knowledge production is ever more trans-disciplinary, this paper develops inventive techniques and conceptual frameworks for supporting approaches where different fields and ideas make contact as a collective task in the era of the Anthropocene. It updates theories of typology to address contemporary pressures
Understanding Rare Earth Elements as Critical Raw Materials
Get PDFThe boom in technological advances in recent decades has led to increased demand for rare earth elements (REEs) (also known as rare earth metals) across various industries with wide-ranging industrial applications, including in the clean energy sector, but with some environmental, economic, and social footprint concerns. This paper reviews the complexities of the production, consumption, and reuse or recovery of REEs, presenting current trends in terms of potentials and challenges associated with this. This paper in particular focuses on the supply, demand, and (environmental and economic) sustainability of REEs, as a subset of critical raw materials. It does so via a critical stocktaking of key discussions and debates in the field over the past 15 years up until now, through a thematic analysis of the published and gray (policy) literature with a grounded theory approach. The paper finds that carefully balanced lifecycle sustainability assessments are needed for assessing the respective dimensions of the extraction, processing, and reuse or recovery methods for different types of REE sources and supplies to meet current and future demands. It furthermore diagnoses the need for taking into account some shifts and substitutions among REEs also for reasons of cost and locational supplies for the security of supply. Finally, the paper provides some overall policy recommendations for addressing current problems, with a conceptual framing of the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Incorporating Horizontal Density Variations into Large‐scale Modelling of Ice Masses
Get PDFGravity-driven flow of large ice masses such as the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) depends on both the geometry and the mass density of the ice sheet. The vertical density profile can be approximated as pure ice overlain by a firn layer of varying thickness, and for the AIS the firn thickness is not uncommonly 10 to 20% of the total thickness, leading to not insignificant variation in density. Nevertheless, in most vertically-integrated ice-flow models today the density is assumed constant, sometimes with an adjustment in thickness to compensate. In this study, we explore the treatment of horizontal density variations (HDVs) within vertically-integrated ice-sheet models. We assess the relative merits and shortcomings of previously proposed approaches, and provide new formulations for including HDVs. We use perturbation analysis to derive analytical solutions that describe the impact of density variations on ice flow for both grounded ice and floating ice shelves, which reveal significant qualitative differences between each of the proposed density formulations. Furthermore, by modelling the transient evolution of a large sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), we quantify the potential impact of HDVs on estimated sea level change. For the domain we considered, we find that explicitly including the horizontal density gradients in the momentum and mass conservation equations leads to about a 10% correction in the estimated change in volume above flotation over 40 years. We conclude that including horizontal density variations in flow modelling of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is important for accurate predictions of mass loss
Impact of retrotransposon protein L1 ORF1p expression on oncogenic pathways in hepatocellular carcinoma: the role of cytoplasmic PIN1 upregulation
Get PDFBACKGROUND: Molecular characterisation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is central to the development of novel therapeutic strategies for the disease. We have previously demonstrated mutagenic consequences of Long-Interspersed Nuclear Element-1 (LINE1s/L1) retrotransposition. However, the role of L1 in HCC, besides somatic mutagenesis, is not well understood.
METHODS: We analysed L1 expression in the TCGA-HCC RNAseq dataset (n = 372) and explored potential relationships between L1 expression and clinical features. The findings were confirmed by immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis of an independent human HCC cohort (n = 48) and functional mechanisms explored using in vitro and in vivo model systems.
RESULTS: We observed positive associations between L1 and activated TGFβ-signalling, TP53 mutation, alpha-fetoprotein and tumour invasion. IHC confirmed a positive association between pSMAD3, a surrogate for TGFβ-signalling status, and L1 ORF1p (P < 0.0001, n = 32). Experimental modulation of L1 ORF1p levels revealed an influence of L1 ORF1p on key hepatocarcinogenesis-related pathways. Reduction in cell migration and invasive capacity was observed upon L1 ORF1 knockdown, both in vitro and in vivo. In particular, L1 ORF1p increased PIN1 cytoplasmic localisation. Blocking PIN1 activity abrogated L1 ORF1p-induced NF-κB-mediated inflammatory response genes while further activated TGFβ-signalling confirming differential alteration of PIN1 activity in cellular compartments by L1 ORF1p.
DISCUSSION: Our data demonstrate a causal link between L1 ORF1p and key oncogenic pathways mediated by PIN1, presenting a novel therapeutic avenue
An Extreme Learning Machine optimized by Differential Evolution and Artificial Bee Colony for Predicting the Concentration of Whole Blood with Fourier Transform Raman Spectroscopy
Get PDFLocal Government Officers, Pragmatism and Creativity during Austerity – The case of Urban Green Newcastle
Get PDFIn the UK during austerity non-statutory services such as parks have been subject to funding cuts. Local governments face pressures to identify transformative financial solutions to parks provision and to protect parks as public spaces. Yet, how local government officers tackle the problem(s) of parks and balance these demands is under-explored. This article discusses how local government officers led the transfer of Newcastle upon Tyne’s parks from local government to a new entity, Urban Green Newcastle (UGN) a charity and company limited by guarantee. Working within a project framework and across the local authority, as well as in consultation with the public, we show how local government officers crafted narratives to legitimise their work and to provide an ex-post rationalisation for: (i) the need to act creatively; (ii) the changes to democratic accountability and control in the new model; and (iii) the risks involved in creating UGN. The article deepens our understanding of the agency of local government officers during austerity via its attention to legitimisation narratives. More specifically, for the first time in debates about parks, we show how local government officers contribute to the (re)conception of parks as public spaces through the negotiation of alternative narratives of parks management, governance, and democratic accountability