13 research outputs found
Involutionary Architecture: Unyoking Coherence from Congruence
No full textBy focusing on the qualities of a posthumanist architectural practice inhis chapter 4, Andrej Radman continues the analysis of the genetic power ofaffective encounters begun by Iris van der Tuin in her opening chapter, and byJussi Parikka in his geophilosophical analysis of the emergent consequencesof constitutive relations for the operation of posthuman systems. Radmanargues that the recomposition of what Guattari refers to as ‘architecturalenunciation’ profoundly transforms the role of the architect, who becomes itsrelay by assuming the analytic and pragmatic responsibility for the productionnot merely of the environment, but of subjectivation itself. FollowingDeleuze’s Spinozism, and continuing the affective corporeal emphasis subsequently given to this in work by Brian Massumi, Radman suggests that if tothink differently one has to feel differently, and if the sole purpose of designis to change us, then architecture is effectively a ‘psychotropic practice’ thatmodulates and compels routines of experience.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.OLD Architectural Theor
Supporting disabled children and their families in Scotland: A review of policy and research
No full textThe Joseph Rowntree Foundation has been supporting research about disabled children and their families for a number of years. An earlier Foundations covering the messages from these projects has already been published (1). This Foundations places the messages from that work into the Scottish context. It gives an overview of current policies affecting disabled children and their families in Scotland and draws on research carried out north of the border
Evaluation of a standardized treatment regimen of anti-tuberculosis drugs for patients with multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (STREAM) : study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
No full textBackground
In contrast to drug-sensitive tuberculosis, the guidelines for the treatment of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) have a very poor evidence base; current recommendations, based on expert opinion, are that patients should be treated for a minimum of 20 months. A series of cohort studies conducted in Bangladesh identified a nine-month regimen with very promising results. There is a need to evaluate this regimen in comparison with the currently recommended regimen in a randomized controlled trial in a variety of settings, including patients with HIV-coinfection.
Methods/Design
STREAM is a multi-centre randomized trial of non-inferiority design comparing a nine-month regimen to the treatment currently recommended by the World Health Organization in patients with MDR pulmonary TB with no evidence on line probe assay of fluoroquinolone or kanamycin resistance. The nine-month regimen includes clofazimine and high-dose moxifloxacin and can be extended to 11 months in the event of delay in smear conversion. The primary outcome is based on the bacteriological status of the patients at 27 months post-randomization. Based on the assumption that the nine-month regimen will be slightly more effective than the control regimen and, given a 10% margin of non-inferiority, a total of 400 patients are required to be enrolled. Health economics data are being collected on all patients in selected sites.
Discussion
The results from the study in Bangladesh and cohorts in progress elsewhere are encouraging, but for this regimen to be recommended more widely than in a research setting, robust evidence is needed from a randomized clinical trial. Results from the STREAM trial together with data from ongoing cohorts should provide the evidence necessary to revise current recommendations for the treatment for MDR-TB
Working with terminal illness: what is known and what is needed
No full text
Experience of terminal illness in working-age people: a review of the literature and a survey of HR professionals.
Item produced by What Works Centre for Wellbeing.
See also: https://whatworkswellbeing.org/projects/dying-well-work-and-employment/
Please note: E Borgstrom has helped curate this item but is not an original author on the item.</p
Author Correction: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the kidney community: lessons learned and future directions.
No full textNEW INSIGHTS AND POSSIBLE THERAPEUTIC IMPLICATIONS OF ADENOSINE ANALOGS AND PULSED ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS (PEMFs) IN OSTEOARTICULAR PATHOLOGIES
No full textObjective: The aim of this study was to characterize adenosine receptors in synovial fibroblasts
(SFs) and to investigate the potential link between adenosine pathway and pulsed electromagnetic
fields (PEMFs). In particular, we articulated our study and we pointed our efforts to:
1) characterize, by a pharmacological point of view, the presence of adenosine receptors subtypes
(A1, A2A, A2B and A3) in two cell models: bovine and human SFs;
2) verify the effect of PEMFs on affinity and density parameters of the adenosine receptors
characterized ;
3) investigate the functionality of adenosine receptor subtypes in the presence and in the absence of
PEMFs through the analysis of cAMP release;
4) investigate if adenosine receptor agonists and PEMF biophysical stimulation, alone or combined,
may modulate pro-inflammatory parameters (PGE-2 and IL-6 release; COX-2 expression) in SFs
treated with known inflammatory stimuli.
Methods: SFs isolated from bovine synovial fluids or from human synovial OA pannus were
cultured in monolayer. Western blotting analysis was done to confirm the expression of adenosine
receptors in bovine and human SFs. Moreover, competition binding experiments in the absence and
in the presence of PEMFs on the adenosine receptors were also performed. In the adenylate cyclase
assays, the cAMP levels modulated by typical high-affinity A2A or A3 agonists in the absence and
in the presence of PEMFs were evaluated in both cell types. Further, bovine SFs were treated with
TNF-a (10 ng/ml) to activate inflammatory response. Adenosine analogs (CHA for A1 receptors,
NECA non-selective agonist, CGS 21680 for A2A receptors and Cl-IB-MECA for A3 receptors)
were added to control and TNF-α-treated bovine cultures both in the absence and in the presence of
adenosine deaminase (ADA), which is used to deplete endogenous adenosine. Parallel cultures of
bovine SFs were exposed to PEMFs (75 Hz, 1.5 mT) during the period in culture (24 hours). PGE-2
release was measured by immunoassay. COX-2 expression was evaluated by RT-PCR. In addition,
human SFs were treated with f IL-1β (50 ng/ml) to activate inflammatory response. Parallel cultures
of human SFs were exposed to PEMFs (75 Hz, 1.5 mT) during the period in culture (24 hours).
PGE-2 and IL-6 release was measured by immunoassays.
Results: Bovine and human SFs expressed all adenosine receptors (A1, A2A, A2B, A3). PEMFs
evoked an up-regulation of A2A and A3 receptors in both cell types. In both PEMF-treated cell
models, cAMP levels modulated by A2A or A3 agonists were significantly increased and decreased
respectively, when compared with the untreated cells, both in human and in bovine SFs. Further,
TNF-α significantly stimulated PGE-2 release in bovine SFs. All adenosine agonists, except for Cl-
IB-MECA, significantly inhibited PGE-2 production. PEMFs inhibited PGE-2 production in the
absence of adenosine agonists and increased the effects of CHA, CGS 21680 and NECA. In ADA,
the inhibition on PGE-2 release induced by CHA, CGS 21680 and NECA was stronger than in the
absence of ADA and the PEMF-inhibitory effect was lost. Changes in PGE-2 levels were associated
to a modification of COX-2 expression. To what concern human SFs, IL-1β strongly increased both
PGE-2 and IL-6 release. In parallel experiments, PEMF exposure significantly inhibited PGE-2 and
IL-6 release.
Conclusions: All adenosine receptors are present and have a similar pharmacological behaviour
both in bovine and in human SFs. Further, in these cells PEMFs mediate an up-regulation of A2A
and A3 receptors related to an increase of their functional activities.
In addition, this study supports anti-inflammatory activities of A1 and A2A adenosine receptors and
PEMFs in bovine SFs. PEMF activity appears to be mediated by a PEMF-induced up-regulation of
A2A receptors. Finally, PEMF exposure seems exert anti-inflammatory activities in human SFs.
Biophysical and/or pharmacological modulation of adenosine pathways may play an important role
to control joint inflammation, and further may open interesting perspectives to develop new
therapeutic approaches in osteoarticular pathologies
A qualitative study exploring the experience of moving out of the family home for African Caribbean people with learning disabilities
No full textThe way in which people with learning disabilities experience the move out of the family home has not been extensively researched. This is surprising given the fact that Clinical Psychologists who work with people with learning disabilities are often asked to support service users, families and staff around the time of residential transition. The paucity of research is especially evident among people with learning disabilities from minority ethnic communities.
The aim of this study was to explore the experience of moving out of the family home for African Caribbean people with learning disabilities. This ethnic group appear to be overrepresented in residential services and are at greater risk of being diagnosed with mental health problems than other ethnic groups.
Six African Caribbean people with learning disabilities who had moved out of the family home were interviewed about their experiences of residential transition. The data collected from these semi-structured interviews were then analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 2004).
Both an individual and group analysis was carried out in order to ensure that individual voices were heard. The group analysis produced three superordinate themes. The first, ‘struggle’, described participants striving for empowerment and autonomy whilst feeling frustrated by their dependency and powerlessness. The second, ‘connectedness’, described participants’ repeated experiences of loss and rejection and their desire to form close relationships and belong to a wider community. Finally the third, ‘appraisal with emotion’, described participants’ anxieties regarding residential transitions in terms of their perceived vulnerability and limited resources as well as a sense of hope about the future.
Despite its small sample size, this study offers an insight into the experiences of a hugely under researched population. The findings can also be used to inform the clinical practice of professionals who work with such service users
Nitrogen Isotope Variation in the Environment: Implications for Interpretation
No full textNatural abundance of 15N varies greatly and unpredictably within and between environments. The unpredictable nature of 15N limits the use of N isotope natural abundance (d15N) in tracing the flow and fate of N in environments. Recent investigations have, however, revealed consistent and repeatable patterns of 15N in some ecosystem components. These patterns suggest that d15N may yet provide a tool to investigate and illuminate ecosystem N cycling processes. Identifying and quantifying the sources of isotopic variation must precede any significant advance in the application of this technique, and to this end an assessment of isotopic variation associated with major ecosystem components has been carried out in this thesis. d15N patterns have been established, hypotheses proposed and tested, and conclusions about the application of the technique are presented.
15N patterns in surface and groundwater were measured in a variety of different land-use catchments in an attempt to identify distinct isotopic 'fingerprints'. High levels of 15N variation were measured in both stream and groundwaters, resulting in strongly overlapping land-use 'fingerprints'. Environmental 15N variation in streams and groundwaters was found to be too great to differentiate between land-uses based on d15N alone.
In contrast, the artificially 15N enriched signature of effluent N was used to trace its flow and fate, following irrigation, in a forested catchment. The effluent d15N signature allowed it to be traced into the major ecosystem components, permitting a first order N budget to be determined for effluent N storage and loss. N sources with significantly different 15N signatures to that of 'background ecosystem N' can therefore be used to trace the flow and fate of N in ecosystems.
During the course of this work a number of higher and lower order plants were observed to have highly depleted (lt; -8 ) d15N signatures. Epiphytes and lithophytes, strongly reliant on atmospheric N sources, were consistently depleted in 15N, with signatures as low as -24 , measured in a range of environments. A similar level of depletion was measured in a wide range of plants growing in early primary succession sites (as low as -22.3 ), which could not be accounted for by any abiotic or biotic factor or significantly depleted N source. The absence of any measurable driver of depletion suggested a universal fractionating mechanism which acts in a wide range of environments and vegetation types. Diffusive uptake of atmospheric NH3(g) and the proportional uptake of a supplied N source were two proposed mechanisms that could theoretically account for the level and universal nature of depletion.
Diffusive uptake of atmospheric NH3(g) was tested as a primary fractionating mechanism in plants. Strongly N deficient plants were capable of utilising NH3(g) as a nutritional source, but the level of 15N depletion measured in these plants closely approximated that of the inherent NH3(g) d15N signature. No significant additional fractionation is associated with NH3(g) diffusive uptake. Diffusive uptake of atmospheric NH3(g) by plants cannot alone account for the level of depletion measured in early primary succession plant communities.
Proportional uptake of a N source as a primary fractionating mechanism was tested by growing plants in various concentrations and rates of applied N. Fractionation attributed to the proportional uptake of a supplied N source, as a consequence of P limitation or rapid flow over roots, resulted in a significant level of 15N depletion in plants. The level of depletion attributed to this mechanism was, however, not sufficient to account for the level measured in early primary succession plant communities.
Individual 15N fractionating mechanisms cannot alone explain the level of depletion observed in early primary succession plants, however a combination of fractionating mechanisms can. Fractionation attributed to the proportional uptake of an already depleted N source, i.e., wet deposited N, largely accounts for the level of depletion measured in early succession plant communities. This two-step fractionation model can act on both higher and lower plants, independent of ecosystem biotic and abiotic factors. Additional, and less dramatic fractionations attributed to atmospheric NH3(g) uptake, mycorrhizal associations, internal remobilisation, and taxon-specific N acquisition strategies, will contribute to the level of d15N depletion.
This thesis presents the first extensive survey of highly depleted d15N signatures in terrestrial vegetation. Furthermore, thorough testing of theoretically plausible mechanisms has resulted in a full account of the highly depleted d15N signatures measured in a wide range of vegetation types and environments
