Thinking and Designing Beyond the Jig-Seating Reimagined

Most chairs aren’t designed to serve human bodies. Enter, the impaired body, not simply as a source for treatment and revision but as a challenge to standard design. This poster presents an innovative chair redesign project. The effort was intended to enhance comfort and functionality as well as aesthetics of seating in public spaces.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/ccids_posters/1060/thumbnail.jp

Community-Based Wetland Conservation Protects Endangered Species in Madagascar: Lessons from Science and Conservation

Survival                of the Madagascar fish eagle (Haliaeetus vociferoides) is threatened by habitat loss. Of a population estimated at 100-120 breeding pairs, 10 pairs breed on three adjacent lakes in western Madagascar.  Fishing on the lakes is the main livelihood of local Sakalava people. From 1991 through 1995 we documented a massive              influx of migrant fishermen who abused local traditional resource extraction rules and threatened the livelihood of local inhabitants, as well as the survival of one of the world’s most endangered eagles. Migrants’ economic incentive was strong. In 1995 per capita income from fishing was about USD1500 for the six-month season, about 7.5 times the national annual average. Fish stocks were rapidly diminished through the fishing season as catches diminished to the point where fishermen gave   up fishing before the end of the season. Fish stocks were lowest when Madagascar fish eagle nestlings fledged, affecting annual productivity. The most serious impact of fishermen may be on the lake-side forest, which was used as a source of dugout canoes and wood to fuel fishdrying fires. To conserve this important breeding site we worked with the local community to enhance and enforce traditional resource utilization rules that helped    prevent                loss of fish eagle breeding habitat, reduce nest site disturbance, and sustain prey availability. We used a 1996 law to empower communities to control natural resource use by creating two community associations with authority to enforce local rules. We helped the associations become               effective through training, advice, logistical, and scientific support

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Children’s play and independent mobility in 2020: results from the British Children’s Play Survey

The British Children’s Play Survey was conducted in April 2020 with a nationally representative sample of 1919 parents/caregivers with a child aged 5–11 years. Respondents completed a range of measures focused on children’s play, independent mobility and adult tolerance of and attitudes towards risk in play. The results show that, averaged across the year, children play for around 3 h per day, with around half of children’s play happening outdoors. Away from home, the most common places for children to play are playgrounds and green spaces. The most adventurous places for play were green spaces and indoor play centres. A significant difference was found between the age that children were reported to be allowed out alone (10.74 years; SD = 2.20 years) and the age that their parents/caregivers reported they had been allowed out alone (8.91 years; SD = 2.31 years). A range of socio-demographic factors were associated with children’s play. There was little evidence that geographical location predicted children’s play, but it was more important for independent mobility. Further, when parents/caregivers had more positive attitudes around children’s risk-taking in play, children spent more time playing and were allowed to be out of the house independently at a younger age

German Translation and Linguistic Validation of the LIMB‑Q: A Patient-reported Outcome Measure for Lower Extremity Trauma

BACKGROUND: Lower extremity trauma can have a significant impact on a patient's quality of life. The LIMB-Q is a recently developed and validated patient-reported outcome measure that assesses patient-specific outcomes and experience of health care. The aim of this study was to translate and linguistically validate the LIMB-Q from English to German. METHODS: The translation was performed by combining World Health Organization and Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research guidelines. The process consisted of forward translations, a backward translation, expert panel meetings, cognitive debriefing interviews with patients, and several rounds of discussion and reconciliation with the creators of LIMB-Q. The goal was to obtain a culturally and conceptually accurate translation of LIMB-Q into German for use in Switzerland. RESULTS: From the two forward translations, there was one primary discrepancy between the two translators that was discussed to determine the most conceptually accurate translation. From the backward translations, there were 63 items that required discussion and re-translation. Nine patients participated in the cognitive debriefing interviews, which led to three items being modified. The translation process led to a linguistically validated and conceptually equivalent German version of the LIMB-Q. CONCLUSIONS: The German (Switzerland) version of LIMB-Q is now available. This will offer a valuable tool for lower extremity trauma research and clinical care in German-speaking populations

Hidden in the Middle : Culture, Value and Reward in Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics - the so-called shotgun marriage between biology and computer science - is an interdiscipline. Despite interdisciplinarity being seen as a virtue, for having the capacity to solve complex problems and foster innovation, it has the potential to place projects and people in anomalous categories. For example, valorised 'outputs' in academia are often defined and rewarded by discipline. Bioinformatics, as an interdisciplinary bricolage, incorporates experts from various disciplinary cultures with their own distinct ways of working. Perceived problems of interdisciplinarity include difficulties of making explicit knowledge that is practical, theoretical, or cognitive. But successful interdisciplinary research also depends on an understanding of disciplinary cultures and value systems, often only tacitly understood by members of the communities in question. In bioinformatics, the 'parent' disciplines have different value systems; for example, what is considered worthwhile research by computer scientists can be thought of as trivial by biologists, and vice versa. This paper concentrates on the problems of reward and recognition described by scientists working in academic bioinformatics in the United Kingdom. We highlight problems that are a consequence of its cross-cultural make-up, recognising that the mismatches in knowledge in this borderland take place not just at the level of the practical, theoretical, or epistemological, but also at the cultural level too. The trend in big, interdisciplinary science is towards multiple authors on a single paper; in bioinformatics this has created hybrid or fractional scientists who find they are being positioned not just in-between established disciplines but also in-between as middle authors or, worse still, left off papers altogether

Reconstruction of primary vertices at the ATLAS experiment in Run 1 proton–proton collisions at the LHC

This paper presents the method and performance of primary vertex reconstruction in proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment during Run 1 of the LHC. The studies presented focus on data taken during 2012 at a centre-of-mass energy of √s=8 TeV. The performance has been measured as a function of the number of interactions per bunch crossing over a wide range, from one to seventy. The measurement of the position and size of the luminous region and its use as a constraint to improve the primary vertex resolution are discussed. A longitudinal vertex position resolution of about 30μm is achieved for events with high multiplicity of reconstructed tracks. The transverse position resolution is better than 20μm and is dominated by the precision on the size of the luminous region. An analytical model is proposed to describe the primary vertex reconstruction efficiency as a function of the number of interactions per bunch crossing and of the longitudinal size of the luminous region. Agreement between the data and the predictions of this model is better than 3% up to seventy interactions per bunch crossing

Trivalent nanobody-based ligands mediate powerful activation of GPVI, CLEC-2 and PEAR1 in human platelets whereas FcγRIIA requires a tetravalent ligand

Background: Clustering of the glycoprotein receptors GPVI, CLEC-2, FcγRIIA and PEAR1 leads to powerful activation of platelets through phosphorylation of tyrosine in their cytosolic tails and initiation of downstream signalling cascades. GPVI, CLEC-2 and FcγRIIA signal through YxxL motifs that activate Syk. PEAR1 signals through a YxxM motif that activates phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K). Current ligands for these receptors have an undefined valency and show significant batch variation and, for some, uncertain specificity.Objectives: We have raised nanobodies against each of these receptors and multimerised them to identify the minimum number of epitopes to achieve robust activation of human platelets.Methods: Divalent and trivalent nanobodies were generated using a flexible glycine-serine linker. Tetravalent nanobodies utilise a mouse Fc domain (IgG2a, which does not bind to FcγRIIA) to dimerise the divalent nanobody. Ligand affinity measurements were determined by surface plasmon resonance. Platelet aggregation, ATP secretion and protein phosphorylation were analysed using standardised methods.Results: Multimerisation of the nanobodies led to a stepwise increase in affinity with divalent and higher-order nanobody oligomers having sub-nanomolar affinity. The trivalent nanobodies to GPVI, CLEC-2 and PEAR1 stimulated powerful and robust platelet aggregation, secretion and protein phosphorylation at low nanomolar concentrations. A tetravalent nanobody was required to activate FcγRIIA with the concentration-response relationship showing a greater variability and reduced sensitivity compared to the other nanobody-based ligands, despite a sub-nanomolar binding affinity. Conclusions: The multivalent nanobodies represent a series of standardised, potent agonists for platelet glycoprotein receptors. They have applications as research tools and in clinical assays

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Participatory Planning for the Creation of a Coastal Protected Area: Middle Basin from Arroyo Solís Grande, Canelones – Uruguay

Se presentan resultados de un caso de estudio perteneciente a un proyecto de investigación internacional, que estudia la gestión de procesos deliberativos que incorporan conocimientos locales y tradicionales, articulan diversos intereses y valoraciones asociadas a servicios ecosistémicos y la biodiversidad. El caso de estudio se centra en el proceso de creación de la primera área en integrar el SDAPA (Sistema Departamental de Áreas de Protección Ambiental) de Canelones: “Cuenca Media del Arroyo Solís Grande”. El estudio se realizó con un enfoque de Manejo Costero Integrado, y se centró en la realización de entrevistas semiestructuradas a integrantes de la Comisión Administradora del área que fueron prota- gonistas del proceso de planificación. Se presenta una sistematización del proceso deliberativo que condujo a la creación del área y su Comisión Administradora, identificando las razones que motivaron el proceso y el método empleado para ello. Los principales resultados se centran en la identificación de barreras y facilitadores del proceso de implementación que el área tiene por delante. Por tratarse de un proceso pionero, se sistematizaron lecciones aprendidas que fueran rele- vantes también para futuros procesos de creación de áreas dentro del SDAPA u otros procesos en áreas costeras similares. A partir de este caso de estudio, se proponen ideas y alternativas en torno a importantes desafíos del Manejo Costero Integrado: la integración de diferentes cuerpos de conocimiento, la participación efectiva de actores clave, la facilitación o mediación ante conflictos de intereses y el involucramiento de privados en iniciativas de conservación.This work displays the results of a case study included in an international research project, which studies delibera- tive processes of management that incorporate local and traditional knowledge, and articulate diverse interests and values associated with ecosystem services and biodiversity. The case study focuses on the creation process of the first area to integrate the SDAPA (Departmental System of Environmental Protection Areas) of Canelones: “Cuenca Media del Arroyo Solís Grande”. The study was carried out with an Integrated Coastal Management approach. Data collection was done through semi-structured inter- views with members of the administrative commission of the area who were protagonists of the planning process. This work displays a systematization of the deliberative processes that led to the creation of the area and its ad- ministrative commission, identifying the reasons that motivated the process and the methods used to achieve this goal. The results show the barriers and facilitators of the imple- mentation process that may shape upcoming developments in the area. Since this was a pioneering process, this work systematized the lessons learned that are relevant for future SDAPA area creation processes or similar processes in other coastal areas. Based on this case study, ideas and alternatives are proposed regarding important challenges of Integrated Coastal Management: the integration of different bodies of knowledge, the effective participation of key stakeholders, the facilitation or mediation of conflicts of interest, and the involvement of the private sector in conservation initiatives