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‘Ways of being’ in the domestic garden for people living with dementia: doing, sensing and playing
No full textDomestic gardens represent a site for enacting embodied identity and social relationships in later life, and negotiating tensions between continuity and change. In the context of dementia, domestic gardens have significant implications for ‘living well’ at home, and for wider discussions around embodiment, relational selfhood and agency. Yet previous studies exploring dementia and gardens have predominantly focused on care home or community contexts. In light of this, the paper explores the role of domestic gardens in the everyday lives of people living with dementia and their households, using qualitative, creative methods. This includes filmed walking interviews and garden tours, diaries and sketch methods, involving repeat visits with six households in England. Findings are organised thematically in relation to different ‘ways of being’ in the garden: working in and doing the garden; being in and sensing; and playing, empowerment and agency. These different ‘ways of being’ are situated within relationships with household members, neighbours, and non-human actors including pets, wildlife and the materiality of the garden. Garden practices illustrate continuity, situated within embodied biographies and habitus. However, identities, practices and gardens are also subject to ongoing readjustment and reconstruction. The conclusion discusses implications for extending literature on gardens and later life, describing how social and material relationships in domestic gardens are renegotiated in the context of dementia, while highlighting opportunities for ‘play’, active sensing and agency. We also explore contributions to understandings of dementia, home and place, and implications for garden design and care practice
Pre-sleep alpha brainwave entrainment by audio or visual stimulation for people with chronic pain and sleep disturbance; a feasibility study
No full textCorneal densitometry to assess the corneal cysteine deposits in patients with cystinosis
No full textAims: To assess the suitability of corneal densitometry measurements obtained with Scheimpflug imaging in estimating the corneal changes caused by cystine deposits in the cornea in patients with cystinosis.Methods: Scheimpflug imaging (Pentacam) was performed for 14 cystinosis patients and 16 age matched controls. Pentacam data was used for analysis of the corneal densitometry at different zones in the cornea for cystinosis patients and controls. The densitometry measurements were compared to the corneal crystal scores obtained from the slitlamp images for patients with cystinosis.Results: There was no statistically significant difference in keratometry measurements between the two groups (p>0.05). Corneal thickness was found to be significantly higher in the control group when compared to cystinosisgroup (p=0.0004). The Mean corneal densitometry was significantly higher in cystinosis patients when compared to the control group at most of the corneal layers and zones. The corneal densitometry readings for the right and left eyes showed moderate positive correlation with the corneal crystal score with a ceiling effect being reached at the maximum corneal crystal score of 3.Conclusion: Corneal densitometry obtained through Pentacam can be used as an objective estimate of the level of cystine crystals present in patients with cystinosis. The clinical estimate of corneal crystal score, although effective at low levels of crystal deposition, does not allow for accurate estimates of change when the level of crystal deposition is high leading to limited utility when assessing treatment effects. Hence, densitometry measurements can potentially be used to assess treatment efficacy of cystinosis treatments in clinical settings
Rifting and recharge as triggers of the mixed basalt-1 rhyolite Halarauður ignimbrite eruption (Krafla, Iceland)
No full textWe present a petrologic study of the ca. 110 ka Halarauður eruption (7 ± 6 km3 magma), associated with collapse of Krafla caldera in northeast Iceland. Whole-rock compositions of juvenile Halarauður products span a continuous range between quartz tholeiite basalt (50.0 wt% SiO2, 5.0 wt% MgO; Mg# 42) and rhyolite (74.6 wt% SiO2). Linear correlations between all major elements are consistent with two-component mixing of subequal volumes of these endmember magmas, whereas correlations between trace elements are influenced by diffusive fractionation during chaotic mixing. Evolved compositions (andesite to rhyolite) and compositional heterogeneity are typical of early-erupted units, reflecting tapping of the upper, more silicic regions of a compositionally heterogeneous reservoir undergoing chaotic mixing. Later-erupted deposits are more compositionally homogeneous and grade smoothly upward from andesite to basalt, reflecting tapping of denser hybrid magma and uncontaminated basalt from lower in the chamber. All erupted products host <1-2 modal% macrocrysts, implying storage at near-liquidus temperatures. Geobarometry and MELTS modeling suggest shallow storage pressures of ~200 MPa (~8 km depth) for the quartz tholeiite. Plagioclase (An60-76) and augite (Mg# 68-75) macrocrysts crystallized from this basalt during shallow storage, while sparse glomerocrysts (plagioclase ± augite ± olivine ± orthopyroxene) in late-erupted basaltic material are derived from disaggregated cumulate mush and include more primitive compositions. Occasional narrow sodic rims on plagioclase crystals from the quartz tholeiite record short periods of re-equilibration with hybrid magmas during mixing, constrained by experimental growth rates as at most two months and possibly as short as tens of hours. A second population of calcic plagioclase (cores An83-91) with adhering primitive basaltic glass selvages (Mg# 53-59) occurs sparsely in deposits of the first eruptive phase and is scarce or absent in later-erupted units, providing evidence for eruption of a second, more primitive basalt that was of insufficient volume to skew whole-rock mixing trends. Nucleation delay models suggest that the absence of overgrowth rims or quench crystals in these glassy basaltic selvages reflect residence times of a few hours at rhyolitic temperatures before eruption. Short basalt-rhyolite mixing timescales reflect rapid destabilization of the magmatic system and triggering of the eruption by mafic recharge. The ascent of both primitive and evolved basaltic magmas from depth mirrors events in recent volcano-tectonic episodes in the north of Iceland, suggesting that mafic recharge was driven by a plate boundary rifting event
The TRANSCEND University Consortium: Integrated Waste Management
No full textTRANSCEND (Transformative Science and Engineering for Nuclear Decommissioning) is a collaborative research consortium comprising 11 universities and 8 industry partners. The £9.4 million research program, funded primarily by the Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPSRC) Research Council of the UK, incorporates >40 projects in total, which will address some of the key challenges within the areas of nuclear decommissioning and waste management; including mobilization, processing, packaging, storage, transport and final disposal. This paper will outline a summary of the current progress and impact of Theme 1 - Integrated Waste Management. This theme focuses on underpinning science and engineering in areas of relevance to hazard reduction and decommissioning, where the three key work package objectives are: (1) New materials and methods for effluent decontamination; (2) Modelling and experiments for understanding pond and silo sludge/slurry behavior; (3) Innovative wasteform materials. In total, this theme has 15 different projects, delivered through both postdoctoral and PhD researchers, all with specific industry supervision from our partners, led by the NNL. The following provides a review of the project summaries to date, and their critical impact
Model order reduction of layered waveguides via rational Krylov fitting
No full textRational approximation recently emerged as an efficient numerical tool for the solution of exterior wave propagation problems. Currently, this technique is limited to wave media which are invariant along the main propagation direction. We propose a new model order reduction-based approach for compressing unbounded waveguides with layered inclusions. It is based on the solution of a nonlinear rational least squares problem using the RKFIT method. We show that approximants can be converted into an accurate finite difference representation within a rational Krylov framework. Numerical experiments indicate that RKFIT computes more accurate grids than previous analytic approaches and even works in the presence of pronounced scattering resonances. Spectral adaptation effects allow for finite difference grids with dimensions near or even below the Nyquist limit
Self-report measures of secure attachment in adulthood: A systematic review:Self-report adult secure attachment measures
No full textBackground: Secure attachment in adulthood is associated with many markers of adaptive functioning. Valid and reliable self-report measures of attachment security could provide a practical tool to help advance strengths-based research and clinical work. Previous reviews have not specifically examined the psychometric properties of self-report instruments with respects to secure attachment, or systematically appraised the methodological quality of relevant validation studies. Method: A systematic review was completed in accordance with the COSMIN guidelines for reviews of patient-reported outcome measures. The methodological quality of individual studies was evaluated, and results were rated against criteria for good measurement properties. Results: 40 studies were included in the review, which collectively reported on 24 self-report instruments. The methodological quality of individual studies was variable, and no single instrument was identified as having sufficient evidence of a range of psychometric properties. However, the Attachment Style Questionnaire – Short Form (ASQ-SF), the Cartes-Modèles Individuels de Relations (CAMIR), Cartes-Modèles Individuels de Relations-Reduced (CAMIR-R), and the Psychological Treatment Inventory – Attachment Style Scales (PTI-ASS) had the most robust evidence for the properties assessed.Conclusion: Existing self-report measures assessing adult secure attachment have limited psychometric support. More methodologically robust studies of content validity, reliability, measurement invariance, and construct validity in particular are needed. <br/
Definition, diagnosis, and clinical management of nonobstructive kidney dysplasia: A consensus statement by the ERKNet working group on Kidney Malformations
No full textKidney dysplasia is one of the most frequent causes of chronic kidney failure in children. While dysplasia is a histological diagnosis, the term “kidney dysplasia” is frequently used in daily clinical life without histopathological confirmation. Clinical parameters of kidney dysplasia have not been clearly defined, leading to imprecise communication amongst healthcare professional and with patients. This lack of consensus hampers precise disease understanding and the development of specific therapies. Based on a structured literature search, we here suggest a common basis for clinical, imaging, genetic, pathological, and basic science aspects of non-obstructive kidney dysplasia associated with functional kidney impairment.We propose to accept hallmark sonographic findings as surrogate parameters defining a clinical diagnosis of dysplastic kidneys. We suggest differentiated clinical follow-up plans for children with kidney dysplasia and summarize established monogenic causes for non-obstructive kidney dysplasia. Finally, we point out and discuss research gaps in the field
Investigating the shared genetic architecture of uterine leiomyoma and breast cancer: a genome-wide cross-trait analysis
No full textLittle is known regarding the shared genetic architecture or causality underlying the phenotypic association observed for uterine leiomyoma (UL) and breast cancer (BC). Leveraging summary statistics from the hitherto largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) conducted in each trait, we investigated the genetic overlap and causal associations of UL with BC overall, as well as with its subtypes defined by the status of estrogen receptor (ER). We observed a positive genetic correlation between UL and BC overall (r_g = 0.09, P = 6.00×10-3), which was consistent in ER+ subtype (r_g = 0.06, P = 0.01) but not in ER subtype (r_g = 0.06, P = 0.08). Partitioning the whole genome into 1,703 independent regions, local genetic correlation was identified at 22q13.1 for UL with BC overall and with ER+ subtype. Significant genetic correlation was further discovered in 9 out of 14 functional categories, with the highest estimates observed in coding, H3K9ac, and repressed regions. Cross-trait meta-analysis identified 9 novel loci shared between UL and BC. Mendelian randomization demonstrated a significantly increased risk of BC overall (OR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.01-1.18) and ER+ subtype (OR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.01-1.17) for genetic liability to UL. No reverse causality was found. Our comprehensive genome-wide cross-trait analysis demonstrates a shared genetic basis, pleiotropic loci, as well as a putative causal relationship between UL and BC, highlighting an intrinsic link underlying these two complex female diseases