Guidelines for Creating Community-Driven Building Retrofit Programs: A Guidance Document for Local Governments

Cities in the United States can unlock unprecedented federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to spur building upgrades for low- and moderate-income (LMI) households. Through collaboration, cities and communities can co-create building retrofit programs. Having frontline communities play an active role in shaping local building decarbonization programs ensures the needs and priorities of these communities are centered and addressed. Engaging LMI homeowners, renters, building owners, and contractors will help deliver a host of benefits for communities

Effects of Walking Poles on Posture and Gait

INTRODUCTION: Walking poles have become increasingly popular not only as a tool for exercising, but also as an assistive device. Physical Therapists use them to assist patients with balance during ambulation. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to look at the effects of walking poles on gait speed and posture. METHODS: This study included 60 community ambulators between 21-74 years old (19 males and 41 females), seen for a single session. Participants were fitted for walking poles and given a 3-minute warm-up period to become comfortable with them. A 10 Meter Walk Test (10 MWT) was performed with and without walking poles. Additionally, pictures were taken standing in front of a posture grid and while walking on instrumented walkway (GAITRite) with and without walking poles. Participants completed a walking pole survey at the end of the session. RESULTS: It was found that walking poles do not significantly change gait speed or posture during a single session. Forty-three percent (43%) of the participants perceived improvement in posture with use of walking poles, though only 11.7% of participants posture was found to improve by researchers. Gait speed decreased slightly overall with the use of walking poles during the 10 MWT and GAITRite, but was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Walking poles do not significantly change gait speed or posture in community ambulators with in this single session study, though many participants perceived improved posture. Only a few participants had ever used walking poles prior to the study and only a short practice session was allotted. Future studies could explore the effects of walking poles on posture and gait after a longer period of practice with the poles (i.e, 6 weeks). Also, future studies could compare effects of walking pole and other assistive devices (i.e., cane)

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead