The aim of this research was to study the overall restoration effect on residual retinal cells through surgically grafted autologous cells onto the surrounding tissue, choroid and retina in order to produce a constant secretion of growth factors (GFs) in dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients.6 months after surgery, several values were statistically significant in the group with higher RTA. Also patient compliance analysis (PCA) in relation to functional change perception appeared to be very good.Thirty-six eyes of 25 patients (range 64-84 years of age) affected by dry AMD were included in study, and divided in two groups by spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT): group A with retinal thickness average (RTA) less than 250 microns (μm) and group B with RTA equal to or more than 250 μm. Adipocytes, adipose-derived stem cells from the stromal-vascular fraction, and platelets from platelet-rich plasma were implanted in the suprachoroidal space. Particularly, the following parameters were evaluated: best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) for far and near distance, retinal thickness maps, scotopic and photopic electroretinogram (ERG), and microperimetry (MY). All statistical analyses were performed with STATA 14.0 .The available set of GFs allowed biological retinal neuroenhancement. After 6 months it improved visual performance (VP), but the increase was better if RTA recorded by OCT was higher, probably in relation to the presence of areas with greater cellularity. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a heterogeneous clinical condition in which retinal degeneration occurs predominantly in the macula and leads to impairment of central visual acuity , 2. AMD,Moreover, dry AMD accounts for 80% of all intermediate and advanced forms of the retinal disease and no effective treatment for progressive vision loss is available to date. On the other hand, the retina is particularly susceptible to oxidative damage due to its high oxygen demand and constant exposure to light. It is known that smoking may slow down choroidal blood flow, promoting ischemia, hypoxia, and microinfarctions, resulting in a reduction in macular pigments and in RPE damage. Oral supplement of antioxidants and smoking cessation can help to prevent or counter AMD development and progression –3. HowevConsequently, the idea of using systemic or local injection of stem/progenitor or reparatory cells in the area of injury to treat multiple chronic disorders has received close attention in the last decade . UnfortuNevertheless, there is another aspect linked to the properties of growth factors (GFs) which have been known for many years and specifically to their ability to curb the evolution of retinal dystrophies in experimental models, as demonstrated by several studies. GFs and neurotrophins such as basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), neural growth factor (NGF), ciliar neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), can significantly slow down retinal degeneration and cell death in animal models –10.Based on these concepts, the efficacy of autologous fat transplantation was demonstrated by Filatov  work andOur cellular autograft, defined Limoli Retinal Restoration Technique (LRRT), uses three different cell types that are able to produce adequate GFs in terms of both quantity and quality:Adipose stromal cells derived from orbital fat .Platelets (PLT) derived from platelet-rich plasma (PRP) , 17.Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) included in the stromal-vascular fraction (SVF) of adipose tissue .Cellular autograft efficacy in dry AMD was demonstrated by Limoli et al. in preliminary works , 19–21. neurotrophic GFs to slow down RPE cells and photoreceptor apoptosis;angiotrophic GFs for therapeutic purposes to improve choroidal flow; in fact, the impairment of the latter is belived to be one of the pathogenetic factors of AMD.Consequently, the rationale of our study was focused on cell therapy, through autologous cells surgically grafted in the suprachoroidal space, in order to achieve a costant production of GFs at the chorioretinal level. Besides, to evaluate the prognosis of dry AMD patients treated with LRRT, we assumed that a greater number of residual cells leads to greater interaction between GFs and chorioretinal cellular membrane receptors, more intense cellular activity and, ultimately, improvement of VP. In other words, we hypothesized that if retina is thinner and more atrophic, it is harder to obtain functional neuroenhancement through cell therapy. In order to focus on, we chose SD-OCT for the preliminary analysis of retinal thickness average (RTA) in cell therapy with LRRT on patients affected by dry AMD.In the study we included 36 eyes (21 right and 15 left eyes) of 25 patients with dry AMD (9 men and 16 women), aged between 64 and 84 years of age (75.96 years on average) (SD ±6.13) , with 14 eyes, 10 patients (2 men and 8 women), mean age of 77.6 years  , mean age of 74.87 years   or gender (p = 0.174) distribution.No significant differences were found between the two groups either in terms of age (p = 0.025), but not in group B . RTA was positive correlated with Rod ERG in group A  and group B .  in group A  was lower than in group B  Figure . RTA wasThe visual functional characteristics in patients with dry AMD and the average values recorded before (T0) and 6 months (T180) after cell autograft by LRRT are shown in Table BCVA increased in group A from 0.621 logMAR to 0.588 logMAR and in group B from 0.59 logMAR to 0.41 logMAR. Mean variation was significantly lower in A (0.033 logMAR SD 0.17) than in B (0.18 logMAR SD 0.23) Figure , 4  and a mean increase of 3.29 Pts (SD 7.35). In group B, visual acuity went from 8.68 to 8.27 Pts with slightly lower magnification (from 3.1 to 2.9 X), equivalent to an increase of 0.41 Pts (SD 2.0) Figure , and 4  increased in both groups. The mean improvement in retinal sensitivity was 0.76 dB SD 2.5), increasing from 7.65 dB to 8.41 dB in group A, and 1.59 dB (SD 3.34), increasing from 16.82 dB to 18.4 in group B Figure , and 4  showed that, at 6 months post surgery, 19 out of 36 eyes (52.78%) recorded better vision, 14 out of 36 (38.89%) no change in the functional situation, and 3 out of 36 (8.33%) a worsening , epidermal growth factor (EGF), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), interleukin (IL), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), pigment-epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), and adiponectin [ponectin .ADSCs produce: bFGF, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), placental growth factor (PlGF), TGF-β, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), IGF-1, IL, and angiogenin [giogenin .Platelets produce: platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), IGF-1, TGF-β, VEGF, bFGF, EGF, platelet-derived angiogenesis factor (PDAF), and thrombospondin (TSP) [in (TSP) –25.Therefore, following the complex process of GF-receptor formation, a limited number of second messengers are generated inside the target cell. These, in turn, control a series of biochemical pathways in the cell by regulating enzyme activity and transcription factors, through a cascade of phosphorylation events –25. UponThe main function of GFs is the external control of the cell cycle from the quiescent cell phase, G0 phase, to the entry of the cell in the G1 phase of growth. In addition, they can regulate the triggering of mitosis, cell survival, migration, and cell differentiation. Some factors, such as VEGF, bFGF, angiogenin, PDAF, PlGF, PDGF, EGF, and TGF-β promote endothelial regeneration and may contribute to choriocapillaris reperfusion , 25, 26.TGF-βFrom the results of our study, LRRT may result, directly and indirectly, in increased choroidal perfusion and greater trophism of the photoreceptors through GF-receptor interactions and stimulation mediated by Müller cells and RPE cells. Subsequently, these events are believed to allow more intense cellular activity as demonstrated by the improvement in electrical activity , 19. It Ultimately, our results allow us to conclude that the technique offers some advantages in providing benefits to patients suffering from dry AMD. Vice versa, the surgical procedures available to date are more complex and only temporarily effective –13. ObviTherefore, we will continue our studies to provide useful updates to the scientific world on this disease which is responsible for growing disability in the modern world due to aging and will therefore have a growing burden on society.Cell therapy by autologous cell graft in the suprachoroidal space according to LRRT seems to afford a functional improvement in retinal residual cells, proportional to their condition, with positive consequences on patient VP. The preliminary reading of OCT may allow rehabilitators and surgeons to plan this type of surgery/therapy in patients with dry AMD. Including in severe cases the contribution of GFs to the residual cells of the retina allows the optimization of rehabilitation and recovery of lost capacity with appropriate magnifying systems.The tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki were observed, and written informed consent approval by the Ethics Committee of the Low Vision Academy was obtained.For this purpose, we included 36 eyes of 25 patients (16 women and 9 men), with an average age of 75.96 years (range from 64 to 84 years of age) affected with dry AMD.They were identified and enrolled according to several characteristics. The inclusion criteria were:Caucasian patients classified as well-nourished; age ranging from 64 to 84 years;dry AMD diagnosis with SD-OCT, fundus autofluorescence imaging, and angiography in the presence of drusen and irregularities of RPE in at least 1 eye; well-preserved extrafoveal areas; measurable visual acuity not influenced by lens opacity; normal intraocular pressure; acceptance of the clinical protocol by signing the informed consent.The criteria for exclusion from the study due to possible cross interference with the test were as follows:patients with signs of exudative AMD;myopia or hypermetropy with spherical equivalent of ≥ 6 diopters;cataract, chorioretinal and neovascular membrane-associated disorders, macular pucker, uveitis, etc.;other ocular disorders, such as glaucoma, optic neuritis, ocular trauma, high refractive errors, etc.;insufficient compliance in individuals affected by medical problems, such as hypovitaminoses, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, vasculitis, renal and hepatic diseases, gastrointestinal malabsorption, hypothyroidism, malignant neoplasias, and other systemic acute or chronic diseases.The eyes were retrospectively divided into two groups according to RTA: group A in which RTA was less than 250 μm, and group B in which RTA was equal to or greater than 250 μm Figure . For eacFat tissue was collected and purified from the abdominal subcutaneous layer of patients according to the Lawrence and Coleman  techniquThe distance between the grafted autologous cells and choroid was reduced by deep sclerectomy to favor the paracrine secretion of the autologous cells into the choroidal flow.For the same reason, the area of contact between the stalk and choroid was expanded.The suprachoroidal pocket was built to accommodate the graft and saturated with a mixture of ADSCs and SVF obtained according to the Lawrence and Coleman technique .The adipose pedicle was infiltrated with PRP gel obtained by centrifugation of the blood material, separation of the component, and its platelet degranulation .The details are as follows:A deep scleral door of about 5 mm was opened by radial hinge in the infero-temporal quadrant at 8 mm from the limbus. The sclerectomy must be deep enough to allow viewing of the slate color of the choroid.Orbital fat was extracted from a gap above the inferior oblique muscle. The extracted pedicle fat must be sufficient to ensure the survival of the vascular scaffold after its location.The flap of autologous fat was laid gently on the bed and sutured with choroidal vicryl 6/0 at the proximal edge of the door. The scleral flap was then secured to avoid compression on the fat pedicle or on its nutrient vessels. The remaining space between the autologous fat graft, choroid, and scleral flaps was saturated with 0.5 cc of SVF, previously prepared with ADSCs by venflon inserted into the scleral pocket. Then, the stroma of the peduncle was infiltrated with 1 cc of PRP using a 25-gauge cannula.Therefore, an autograft consisting of fat cells, ADSCs from SVF, and PRP was obtained.The functional analysis was then repeated after 180 days. Particularly, we considered BCVA and close-up visus after visual rehabilitation and the necessary magnification factor, retinal sensitivity, PCA, RTA, and ERG activity in both groups.t-test was used to compare mean age between the two study groups. Gender distribution was compared by chi square test. In order to take into account multiple eyes for the same patients, a Mixed linear regression model was used to evaluate the difference in this parameter at T0 between the two groups and the variation at T0 and T180, and to compare the mean change between the two groups. A p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. All statistical analyses were performed with STATA 14.0 .Student's


In the last few decades, the relationship between physical conditions and mental health has increasingly attracted the interest of researchers and professionals across disciplines. This relationship is especially relevant in old age, as the challenges posed by aging at various levels represent crucial concerns for policy makers. Due to the remarkable increase in life expectancy across countries, sustainable prevention strategies are needed to help individuals preserve psychophysical well-being in old age. In particular, the regular practice of a moderately intense physical activity is recommended by the World Health Organization to enhance balance, prevent falls, strengthen muscles, and promote psychophysical well-being. Daily physical exercise represents a beneficial and low-cost strategy, easily accessible to the general population and potentially customizable to specific needs through brief training programs. Based on these premises, the present research aimed at longitudinally evaluating mental well-being among 58 Italian people aged 67–85, who were involved in two Adapted Physical Activity (APA) training programs. Inclusion criteria for participation comprised high autonomy levels in daily activities, no cognitive impairment, sedentary habits or only occasional performance of moderate physical activity. Based on physical and functional assessment, 39 participants joined a program of adapted motor activity , while 19 participants attended a variant program specifically designed for people with osteoporosis . Well-being dimensions were assessed through the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Physical functioning were evaluated before and after the programs through the Short Physical Performance Battery and the Handgrip Dynamometer Jamar Test. Findings highlighted that, besides physical benefits, participants reported significantly more adaptive emotion regulation strategies after both training programs; in addition, participants attending OsteoFit reported significantly higher levels of emotional well-being. Results suggest the potential of moderate physical activity in promoting mental health, emphasizing the additional role of training programs as cost-effective opportunities for elderly people to socialize and improve emotional functioning. Overall, the findings support the view of old age as a stage of competence development and adaptive adjustment, rather than a phase of mere psychophysical decline. The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion WHO,  providesThe demographic and epidemiological changes that took place in the last few decades—including longer life expectancy, reduction in birth rates and childhood mortality, as well as increase in the number of years spent with chronic diseases —have made the Ottawa guidelines a necessary reference point for policy makers and health professionals , subsequently launched also in Japan (MIDJA), whose set of questions includes several hedonic and eudaimonic well-being measures. Studies thoroughly investigating the psychological outcomes of physical activity and exercise interventions addressed to elderly participants are less frequent, especially in the biomedical domain, where quality of life measures are often used as measures of psychological functioning . Italians above 65 account for 22.3% of the population, and the overall average age is 44.9 years ISTAT, . InterveBased on these premises, the two studies included in this work aim at evaluating the psychological outcomes of two different training programs of Adapted Physical Activity (APA) for people aged over 65 with sedentary habits. APA is an umbrella term referring to physical activities and sports that are designed taking into account the interests and capabilities of persons with limiting conditions, including disabilities, health impairments, or aging  who were recruited at C.A.M. centersParticipants in Study 1 were 39 elderly persons (34 women and 5 men) aged between 68 and 85 years (SD = 0.48) at the Katz Index, 99.15 (SD = 1.35) at the Barthel Index, and 8 (SD = 0) at the Lawton Index, globally highlighting a high degree of autonomy and ADL functioning. Participants also reported good cognitive functioning, with an MMSE score of 28.72 (SD = 1.53). Concerning education, 59% of participants had a high school degree, 21% had attended elementary and middle school, and 21% had a college degree. Regarding demographic characteristics, 56.4% of participants lived with their partner (81.8%) or other family members such as children (18.2%), while 43.6% lived alone. The majority (74.4%) had children . Table On average, participants' ADL independence ratings amounted to 5.67 (The majority of participants (82.1%) reported having one or more leisure time activity, primarily intellectual and sedentary ones, such as reading, volunteering, arts and crafts, and attendance in cultural events. Sports accounted for less than 20% of the answers. A lower percentage of participants (51.3%) also reported taking active part in associations, primarily cultural ones.N = 7 participants); functional disabilities (N = 2); MMSE score < 24 (N = 1); psychiatric disorders (N = 1); intense physical activity (N = 1); heart disease (N = 1). In addition, two persons could not be enrolled in the training because of severe hearing impairment, and one because of severe osteoporosis. Due to organizational and space constraints, the program was segmented in multiple waves over time. The first wave, to which the current study refers, included 60 participants: 39 completed the study, 10 dropped out, and 11 are currently on a waiting list for future waves of the training program. Participants who dropped out were comparable in terms of demographic features to those who completed the study. They were 8 women and 2 men, aged between 71 and 78 years , with a mean score of 28.40 (SD = 1.43) at the MMSE, 5.70 (SD = 0.48) at the Katz Index, 99.60 (SD = 0.84) at the Barthel Index, and 8 (SD = 0) at the Lawton Index.The research protocol was approved by the Ethical Committee of Milano area B (document no. 813/2015). A group of 187 older adults aged 67–89 volunteered for the study. After presenting the research and obtaining written informed consent, participants' current cognitive and physical functioning was assessed by a geriatrist at the hospital, in order to appraise eligibility. After assessment, 13 volunteers did not meet the study criteria for the following reasons: impairment in the walk test (Before the start of the training program (T0), participants provided personal information on their socio-demographic characteristics and leisure time activities. They further filled in a battery of psychological questionnaires and performed physical tests measuring the variables of interest in this study .PoliFIT Program, consisting of group sessions of structured and adapted physical activities (APA), taking place in a dedicated gym at the Research and Clinical Institute Fondazione Ca' Granda Ospedale Policlinico in Milano. The activities had been planned by a team of specialized physicians and physiotherapists, with the aim to prevent physical and functional decay, and to promote healthy aging. Participants were randomly divided into groups of 10 individuals each, attending weekly sessions of 45 min for 4 months. The sessions were run by two physiotherapists. The program consisted of moderate or intense physical activity including aerobic, strength, balance, coordination, and flexibility exercises, with the use of sticks, elastic bands, balance platforms, soft carpets, and rehabilitative balls. On average, participants' rate of attendance was 77.35% (SD = 13.27).Participants then joined the first wave of the At the end of the program (T1), participants were again invited to fill in the same battery of psychological questionnaires and perform the physical tests administered at T0.Information was collected from participants about age, gender, education, family status Mini Mental State Examination . In addition, a categorical diagnosis of mental health at T0 and T1 was calculated for each participant based on their scores at the MHC-SF Keyes, . A diagnt Cohen, .Participants' mean ratings in the psychological measures at T0 (prior to intervention) and T1 (following the intervention) are reported in Table N = 28) had moderate mental health and 28.2% were flourishing (N = 11). At T1, 66.7% reported moderate mental health (N = 26), 30.8% were flourishing (N = 12), and one participant was languishing. Concerning satisfaction with life, based on normative criteria  and fell within the range 21–25, indicating slight satisfaction. Finally, in terms of emotion regulation strategies, participants tended to use more cognitive reappraisal and less expressive suppression.Considering the scale ranges, participants reported at both times high well-being scores, especially in emotional and psychological dimensions, while social well-being ratings were somewhat low. In addition, the categorical diagnosis of mental health revealed that at T0 71.8% of participants  = 11.02, p = 0.002, At T1, all participants showed significant improvements in their physical performance, for both upper and lower limbs . Exclusion criteria were cognitive impairment with a score < 24 at the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE); diagnosis of Parkinson's disease or being under anti-Parkinson medicament; otovestibular diseases; severe visual impairment; EMG-verified peripheral neuropathies; severe brain injuries; severe heart diseases (NYHA > 3); severe pulmonary disease  requiring oxygen therapy; current participation in rehabilitation programs; psychiatric disorders; quoad vitam prognosis < 1 year.Participants in Study 2 were 19 elderly persons who were recruited at the bone metabolism surgery of the Research and Clinical Institute Fondazione Ca' Granda Ospedale Policlinico in Milano. Inclusion criteria were voluntary participation in the study; being positive at the Romberg Test for disequilibrium; bone density test showing a M = 76.58, SD = 5.31). On average, they reported good cognitive functioning, with an MMSE score of 27.42 (SD = 1.83). Concerning education, 64.7% had a high school degree, 29.4% had attended elementary and middle school, and 5.9% had a college degree. At the demographic level, 63.2% lived alone, while 36.8% lived with their partner (71.4%) or other family members such as children (28.6%). The majority (73.7%) had children . As shown in Table Participants were 18 women and 1 man aged between 67 and 84 years , with a mean MMSE score of 27.80 (SD = 2.17). Like in Study 1, before the start of the training program (T0) participants provided personal information, filled in a battery of psychological questionnaires and performed physical tests measuring the variables of interest, as reported in the Materials section.The research protocol was approved by the Ethical Committee of Milano area B (document no. 786/2016). A group of 24 participants volunteered in the study. After the research presentation, they provided written informed consent. Then, participants' current physical functioning was assessed by a geriatrist and physiotherapists at the hospital, in order to control for inclusion/exclusion criteria. All participants were deemed eligible for the study: 19 completed the study and 5 dropped out. The latter group included 5 women, aged between 71 and 83  active structured and adapted physical activities (APA) and (2) exercises to be performed with equipment for aerobic and strength training. The protocol targeted different muscle groups and was designed by a team of specialized physicians and physiotherapists, with the aim to improve balance and proprioception, and to promote muscle strengthening. Participants were randomly divided into two groups of up to 10 individuals. For 14 consecutive weeks, they attended two 45-min training sessions a week at the hospital gym. One of the weekly sessions consisted of moderate intensity activity, including aerobic, balance, coordination, and flexibility exercises with the use of sticks, balance platforms, soft carpets and rehabilitative balls. The other session consisted of a strength training for both lower and upper limbs by means of Technogym® machines. Participants' average rate of attendance amounted to 81.68% (SD = 14.11). At the end of the program (T1), participants were again invited to complete the battery of psychological questionnaires and perform the physical tests administered at T0.Participants then joined the Mental Health Continuum Short Form . In addition, the categorical diagnosis of mental health at T0 and T1 was calculated for each participant based on their scores at the MHC-SF Keyes, . One-wayt Cohen, .N = 14) had moderate mental health and 26.3% were flourishing (N = 5), while at T1 52.6% reported moderate mental health (N = 10), and 47.4% were flourishing (N = 9). No participants were classified as languishing, both at T0 and T1. Overall, participants reported being slightly satisfied with life . Finally, as regards emotion regulation, assessed through ERQ, participants reported high use of cognitive reappraisal at both times and a lower use of expressive suppression, especially at T1.Table F = 9.64, p = 0.006, F = 6.26, p = 0.022, One-way repeated ANOVAs revealed significant large time effects for emotional well-being [Wilks' λ = 0.65, The aims of Study 2 were to investigate the psychological effects of an adapted physical activity (APA) group training program, specifically tailored to the needs of older persons with osteoporosis. Attendance rate to the 14-week APA program was very high, despite the intensive training including two sessions per week. On average, participants reported overall good levels of well-being at T0; none was languishing based on the categorical diagnosis of mental health; they reported a more frequent use of reappraisal compared to suppression strategies of emotion regulation. At T1 participants reported significant improvements in emotional well-being, as well as a significant reduction in the use of suppression strategies of emotion regulation. In addition, the percentage of flourishing participants almost doubled.These findings are consistent with a recent study investigating physical activity programs addressed to persons with osteoporosis, and showing improvements in both emotional and eudaimonic well-being dimensions  addressed to older adults—PoliFit and OsteoFit—on participants' hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, and emotion regulation strategies. The overall aim of the programs was to promote healthy aging and prevent physical and functional decay. While PoliFit was designed for globally healthy individuals, OsteoFit specifically addressed the needs of people with osteoporosis, targeting fall prevention through improvement of balance. Activities of both programs were performed in groups, consistent with the view of APA as an opportunity for socialization and bio-psycho-social well-being promotion  and at improving health and preventing falls in a frailty condition like osteoporosis (Study 2). The combination of different measures allowed for exploring different domains of mental health—emotional, psychological, and social—within a conceptual framework considering well-being not as the absence of disorders or pathological symptoms , but as the presence of positive indicators. The assessment of well-being before and after the programs allowed for detecting their positive psychological outcomes, in terms of adaptive emotion regulation and emotional well-being. To the best of our knowledge, these studies are among the few ones assessing this kind of training programs and through this set of instruments in the Italian aging population.This research has several limitations as well. In both studies, the lack of a control group—comprising, for example, older adults involved in non-physical group activities or in individual physical practice—does not allow to clearly distinguish the contribution of socialization to participants' improvement in emotion regulation from the contribution of the specific activity program. Moreover the samples were small, and they were almost completely comprised of women. Participants were independent in ADL, thus not reflecting the range of possible autonomy conditions characterizing the aging process; the inclusion of participants with lower levels of autonomy, besides requiring different typologies of adapted physical activities, could provide different psychological outcomes. Participants in both studies were Italian citizens of a metropolitan city, thus belonging to a specific socio-cultural context: While this feature increases reliability in the comparison of results between the two samples, it prevents from generalizing results to other countries, characterized by different healthcare and welfare systems, different family organization, and different views of aging.Findings from the two studies presented here suggest that mental well-being in later life could be supported and improved through the group practice of physical activity. Due to the limitations reported above, these results cannot be considered as conclusive. Nevertheless, they can pave the way to further studies aimed at investigating the role of different structured leisure activities, performed individually or collectively, in the emotional well-being of older persons with and without physical frailties. Comparing the findings across activities and social settings may shed light on the specific contribution provided to well-being by socialization and by activity type. Researchers and practitioners are increasingly acknowledging the importance of promoting well-being in conditions of physical frailty and along the changes accompanying the aging process. The loss of primary control in several life domains characterizing this life stage may be successfully compensated by the development of psychological resources such as wisdom, and by the strengthening of adaptive regulatory strategies. These assets are shaped by individual and contextual factors; to this purpose, health professionals working with older people should support their potential for positive reappraisal of their own conditions, at the same time promoting competence building based on their perception of mastery and self-acceptance. These resources represent an important psychological capital that can be usefully exploited in the context of programs addressing physical health. Research in the health domain should more systematically explore these dimensions, overcoming the still predominating deficit-focused approach.AD and MB provided substantial contributions to the conception and design of the work; the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data; drafting the work and revising it critically for important intellectual content; final approval of the version to be published; and agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. As concerns the other co-authors, GB and DM provided substantial contributions to the design of the training programs and to data collection, and they implemented the programs together with CR; EB actively participated in data coding and storing; all these co-authors also participated in data interpretation; critical revision of the work at the conceptual level; final approval of the version to be submitted; and agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


Technology innovation has accelerated progress in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), especially in the mobile phones sector. Concurrently, local, national, and international governments are enforcing stricter regulations to protect natural resources and human health. The paper attempts to address the question: Have technological innovations and regulation development had a positive impact on ecosystems and public health? We identified 36 waste mobile phones (WMPs) manufactured between 2002 and 2013, assessed their metals concentration, leachability, and potential impact on environment and human health using digestion, Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP), and USEtox model, respectively. The results highlight that regulations did not have significant impact on total metal content, except some heavy metals, while technology innovation recorded stronger impact. WMPs should be classified as hazardous due to excessive lead content. Copper posed the most significant ecotoxicity risk, and chromium showed the most significant risk for both cancerous and non-cancerous diseases. Additionally, we demonstrated that WMPs toxicity increased with technology innovation. Today, mobile phones are versatile and work like professional computers and cameras; are much lighter, compact, beautiful, and intelligent; and have become an indispensable part of human lives2. Accelerated innovation has lead to proliferation in mobile phone production. International Telecommunication Unions3 reported that 781 million mobile phones were generated in 2015 and the numbers will increase to 877 million units by 2020. However, rapid innovation has also reduced the usage span of phones4, resulting in increase in the number of waste mobile phones (WMPs), categorised as waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE), also called as electronic waste or e-waste6. WMPs and waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) are listed as one of hazardous wastes by the U.S., European Union, China, and other nations9.The first mobile phone invented by Marty Cooper 44 years ago, weighed 2.5 pounds, was 9 inches in length, 5 inches in thickness, required ten hours to charge, and functioned for 20 minutes11. Gold contained in WMPs are higher than other e-waste. For example, gold in WPCBs of WMPs is 300 g per ton compared to 100 g per ton found in WPCBs of desk computers12. Consequently, WMPs can be considered as the core of e-waste. At present, recovery, reuse, and recycling are considered as the most effective approaches to WMPs management13. However, only 10% of the end-of-life mobile phones are recycled in the U.S.; the residual 90% are stored at homes by users or are dumped in landfills14, where they leach toxic substances into the environment and threaten the ecosystem and human health16.E-waste is the core of “urban mining” due to abundant content of secondary materials, especially valuable metals such as copper, gold, and palladium18. Although regulations vary across countries, they are increasingly stricter due to environmental and public health concerns19. In the past 20 years, local, national, and international governments have enacted series of regulations and laws to restrict the use of hazardous materials in information and communication equipment20. The best examples are the “Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substance in electrical and electronic equipment” (RoHS) and the “Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive” (WEEE) by the European Union which specify the thresholds for six hazardous substances. Meanwhile, electric and electronic equipment (EEE) industry pursuits have persisted on technology innovation by applying new materials and restricting hazardous substances in response to public awareness of environmental protection and cost reduction7. Innovation is especially significant in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry and the mobile phones sector. Consequently, this research addresses the question: “Will such significant changes in materials resources caused by regulation development and technology innovation reduce the chemical toxicity risk of WMPs?” To the best of our knowledge, this issue has not been previously investigated.Toxic substances including heavy metals such as lead, zinc, chromium, cadmium, and brominate flame retardants like PBBs and PBDEs threaten the ecosystem and human health, especially when treated improperly22, to evaluate the ecological toxicity and human health (cancer and non-cancer related) impacts of WMPs caused by technological innovation and regulations. We expect these results will provide valuable information to guide the administration and industry to set up cost-effective and efficient approaches to eliminate chemical toxicity risks of electric and electronic products.We collected WMPs generated between 2002 and 2013 and analyzed metals to assess the effect of technological innovation and regulations. We conducted chemical leaching assessment procedures to evaluate if the WMPs should be classified as hazardous waste. We also employed a life cycle impact model, USEtox24. Thus, we identified 52 mobile phones manufactured between 2000 and 2013, which are listed in Supporting Information (SI) - Table 1. Subsequently, we searched the market and several mobile phone recycling companies to collect all identified WMPs. We collected 36 WMPs over one and a half years, though some were broken, short of battery, or lacked back shells. Detailed information about the 36 cellular phones is given in SI Table In 2014, we conducted internet searches and identified nearly 1000 mobile phones models produced from 2000 to 2013. We chose one mobile model produced by the top three or four manufacturers each year. The top manufacturers were mainly NOKIA, SAMSUNG, MOTOROLA, BLACKBERRY, and APPLEAll WMPs were weighed, disassembled, and crushed using a mill  to particles of diameter around 9.5 mm for TCLP  testing. The obtained powder samples were stored in marked airtight polyethylene bags for further analysis.4-HNO3 system was used to digest the powder samples, as described elsewhere25. The metals in the digested solutions were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer . In this research, 22 elements namely aluminium, arsenic, antimony, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, gold, iron, magnesium, molybdenum, lead, nickel, palladium, selenium, silver, thallium, tin, vanadium, and zinc were selected.HF-HClO26. Six elements including arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, and silver were tested in the WMPs using the TCLP.The TCLP (Method 1311), which is designed to determine the mobility of chemical substances in liquid, solid, and multiphase wastes, is widely used in research to test potential hazard levels27. It was developed under the auspice of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). The researchers continue to update the model and factors of USEtox which updated from Version 1.01 (2010) to Version 2.02 (2016). In this study, we chose the USEtox “mid-point effect” characterization approach rather than the “end-point effect” in Version 2.02, which minimizes inference of data and uncertainties caused by interactions between different impacts22. The potential carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic impacts of human toxicity and eco-toxicity of the selected metals were calculated according to the formula:Px represents the impact score of metal x in the WMP; Cx is the concentration of metal x in the WMP , representing about 20% of the total metallic content mainly because of the steel shell. Copper  and aluminium , cobalt , magnesium , tin , and barium , constituting about 7.73%, 6.26%, 5.45%, 2.98%, and 1.38%, respectively. The rest including arsenic, gold, molybdenum, lead, palladium, silver, selenium, thallium, and vanadium, which were at least one order of magnitude lower, and were at levels lower than 1%. Beryllium and cadmium could not be detected in any of the investigated WMPs.average of 27567 mg/kg) ranked next, at similar percentages of about 16% of the total. Copper is primarily used within the printed wiring board (PWB) to facilitate electrical connection between miscellaneous layers in the phone board. Aluminium is mainly present in the batteries of the WMPs as a current collector, PWBs, and shells for lowering weight−1. Five of the 36 TCLP lead leaching concentrations, namely, from the NOKIA 7650, MOTO V70, SAMSUNGD508, BLACKBERRY 9900, and IPHONE 5 models, exceeded the limit, at 10.43, 23.78, 19.69, 5.24, and 10.37 mg/L, respectively. Therefore, those five models were classified as hazardous waste.The results of the TCLP tests are presented in Table 3·day·kg−1), followed by aluminium (ranging from 18236–81096 PAF·m3·day·kg−1), and nickel (10047–30070 PAF·m3·day·kg−1) which also posed considerable risks. Similar results were also recorded for WPCBs, where copper posed the most significant ecotoxicity risk7, ranging from 13273–28153 PAF·m3·day·kg−1. The two differed in the proportion of copper’s potential ecotoxicity impact, which was about 58% in WMPs but almost 90% in WPCBs. In addition, zinc ranked second for ecotoxicity risk of WPCBs, and the rest were insignificant7. Aluminium and nickel ranked second for WMPs as discussed before. This can be attributed to the differences in composition , an order of magnitude lower, and silver cannot be neglected. The potential human health risks, both cancer and non-cancer related, are significantly different compared to the results of WPCBs, where lead followed by nickel posed the most significant cancer risk, and zinc followed by lead for non-cancer risks7. Similar results were obtained for WMPs by Hilbert and Ogunseitan, where nickel followed by chromium registered the most significant cancer risks; and beryllium followed by lead for non-cancer risks21. This can be attributed to the fact that the characterization factors of hexavalent chromium in USEtox Version 2.02 is much higher than that of USEtox Version 1.01, which highlights the potential risk of chromium.Chromium, mainly found in screens, plastics, and shell of alloy steelsTwo milestones, namely, the launch of full touch-screen smart phones in 2007 by APPLE and RoHS implementation by the European Union in 2006, were used to discuss the influence of technology innovation and regulation development on toxicity evolution of WMPs. Figure 7 and others29. Technology innovation registered a much stronger impact on total metal concentration, which increased from 2002 to 2007 because of functional demands and the uncertainty of future development of mobile phones until the emergence of APPLE’s IPHONE in 2007, which reinvented mobile phones. The impact decreased after 2007 as technology advances after 2007 were used to perfect the blueprint of IPHONEs and limit costs. Therefore, this could guide the production to reduce environmental problem caused by electronic products30.Figure Total metal contained in the Group 2 WMPs SI Fig.  showed t31. However, we observed that silver concentrations in the WMPs decreased since 2005 , and coThis research demonstrates that WMPs continue to pose considerable threat to ecosystems and public health due to excess toxic metals. Regulation development had positive influence on reducing hazardous risks of a few specific toxic substances such as lead. New materials that are introduced by technology innovation before sufficient assessment exist risks according to our research where ecotoxicity and human toxicity of WMPs increased in the investigated period. This research strongly calls upon the consumers to urge the ICT industry undertake product toxicity risk elimination as their first priority in technology innovation. Additionally, governments at different levels should educate public concerns on sustainability, environment, ecosystem and public health and enable public monitoring the communication industry.Supporting information


Diabetes is associated with an increased risk for active tuberculosis (TB) disease. We conducted a case–control study and found a significant association between diabetes and TB disease among US-bound refugees. These findings underscore the value of collaborative management of both diseases. The burden of tuberculosis (TB) is highest in resource-limited countries, many of which are experiencing increased rates of diabetes  active pulmonary or extrapulmonary TB diagnosed during the overseas examination prior to departure and treated before arrival in the United States , normal (18.5 to <25 kg/m2), overweight (25 to <30 kg/m2), or obese (>30 kg/m2). Demographic variables were sex, age group, living setting (refugee camp or noncamp setting), and region of nationality, which were assigned according to US Department of State categories. Body mass index was categorized as underweight (<18.5 kg/mWe used logistic regression to assess the association of diabetes and TB and assessed effect modification between region and diabetes. Variables were included in the multivariate model if they were significant (p<0.05) in a model of diabetes only or if they were confounders, defined as variables causing a change in odds between diabetes and TB of >20%.>18 years of age had TB, 5,767 (2.3%) had diabetes, and 56 (<0.1%) had both. Effect modification between region and diabetes was not significant. After controlling for region, sex, age group, body mass index, and living in a refugee camp, we found a significant association between diabetes and TB   of 248,850 US-bound refugees 1.3–2.2) .Although the link between diabetes and TB is widely accepted, previous studies showed differing strengths of association and significance , which could have affected our odds calculations. Also, because diabetes screening is not a required part of the overseas medical examination, some persons with diabetes were probably missed, leading to an underestimation of the true prevalence of diabetes in this population. In the United States, ≈28% of persons have undiagnosed diabetes  at the time of arrival in the United States. Some states also test for diabetes. Our findings, along with the extensive literature associating diabetes with TB, indicate that a diagnosis of TB disease in a patient should trigger testing for diabetes to optimize treatment. In states that already screen for both diseases, further research could lead to promising innovation in collaboratively managing the 2 diseases.


Pneumovirus genus of the Paramyxoviridae family, namely Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Pneumonia Virus of Mice (PVM), each encode two nonstructural (NS) proteins that share no sequence similarity but yet suppress IFN. Since suppression of IFN underlies the ability of these viruses to replicate in the host cells, the mechanism of such suppression has become an important area of research. This Short Report is an important extension of our previous efforts in defining this mechanism.Interferon (IFN) inhibits viruses by inducing several hundred cellular genes, aptly named ‘interferon (IFN)-stimulated genes’ (ISGs). The only two RNA viruses of the We show that, like their PVM counterparts, the RSV NS proteins also target multiple members of the ISG family. While significantly extending the substrate repertoire of the RSV NS proteins, these results, unexpectedly, also reveal that the target preferences of the NS proteins of the two viruses are entirely different. This is surprising since the two Pneumoviruses are phylogenetically close with similar genome organization and gene function, and the NS proteins of both also serve as suppressors of host IFN response.The finding that the NS proteins of the two highly similar viruses suppress entirely different members of the ISG family raises intriguing questions of pneumoviral NS evolution and mechanism of action. Paramyxoviridae family, however, exhibit IFN resistance [Pneumovirus genus, which is comprised of two members that are severe respiratory pathogens, namely RSV, a human virus, and PVM, a mouse virus [IFN is recognized as an antiviral cytokine that uses STAT-family transcription factors to induce a few hundred IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs), many of which have been shown to be antiviral , 2. Sevesistance , 4. We hsistance –9, focusse virus , 11. A nse virus –12. Thusse virus –23. Howese virus –8, 24–27se virus , 9, 24. se virus , the higse virus  did not Recombinant NS clones, cell culture, transfection and immunoblot assays have been published , 29, 30 To start with, we examined the effect of RSV NS proteins on six major human ISGs, and the immunoblot results are shown Fig. . As descWhereas IFIT1 and IFITM3 were preferentially targeted by RSV NS1, MAPK8 was a preferred target of NS2. The degree of reduction was also different such that NS1 lowered the steady-state levels of IFIT1 and IFITM3 by greater than 80%, but NS2 reduced MAPK8 levels only by a third. To our surprise, however, they had little or no effect on the human counterparts of the PVM NS substrates, i.e. IFITM1, TRAFD1 and ISG20. Whereas TRAFD1 and ISG20 showed a slight sensitivity to RSV NS1 , they were essentially fully refractory to RSV NS2. It is to note that the PVM NS proteins also preferred as well as shared their targets to various degrees. Regardless, it seems fair to assume that screening of the full set of >400 ISGs [Given the differential substrate choice of the NS proteins of RSV and PVM, we wondered whether NS protein sequences had any common motif or domain that might shed light on their common function as IFN antagonists. To this end, we compared the conceptually translated amino acid sequences of the NS1 and NS2 proteins of RSV and PVM, in order to find even short regions of homology. However, as shown  family in human consists of four TPR-domain proteins, of which IFIT1 is the most abundantly induced, following exposure of the cells to IFN . Recent and PIV5 , 41. IFIand PIV5 –46 and Rand PIV5 , 48. Thuand PIV5 , such asand PIV5 , 51, butIFITM3, a member of the IFITM (IFN-induced transmembrane protein) family of proteins, is located in the endocytic membrane; it has been shown to strongly inhibit West Nile virus (WNV) and dengue virus (DENV) , but hadIn contrast, IFITM1 is the only member of the IFITM family that is localized in the cell membrane , 55; it Our results have shown that the IFN-antagonistic pneumoviral nonstructural (NS) proteins, which are essential for optimal virus growth, suppress a much larger repertoire of host IFN-pathway factors than was previously conceived. Acting singly and/or together, the NS1 and NS2 proteins of both pneumoviruses, namely RSV and PVM, reduce the levels of multiple ISG proteins, the ultimate antiviral factors of the IFN system. The highly dissimilar and unique primary structures of the NS proteins and their ability to target equally diverse ISGs, but in a specific manner, have raised intriguing questions about their evolution and mechanisms of action.We have used ISG over-expressing cell lines here, which may not produce exactly the same amount of ISG proteins as in an IFN-stimulated cell. These cell lines are also in HEK293 background, which are not physiological hosts of RSV infection. However, the RSV NS proteins can suppress a wide range of substrate concentration, expressed from diverse vectors , 7, 27,


Here, we report, for what we believe to be the first time, on the modification of a low cost sensor, designed for the smartphone camera market, to develop an ultraviolet (UV) camera system. This was achieved via adaptation of Raspberry Pi cameras, which are based on back-illuminated complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors, and we demonstrated the utility of these devices for applications at wavelengths as low as 310 nm, by remotely sensing power station smokestack emissions in this spectral region. Given the very low cost of these units, ≈ USD 25, they are suitable for widespread proliferation in a variety of UV imaging applications, e.g., in atmospheric science, volcanology, forensics and surface smoothness measurements. Ultraviolet (UV) imaging has a wide variety of scientific, industrial and medical applications, for instance in forensics , industrRecently, considerable effort has been invested in developing low cost back-illuminated complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor technology. Previously, this sensor architecture was applied only within specialist, low light imaging arenas, e.g., in astronomy. In the last few years, however, the manufacturing costs of these devices have been reduced markedly, such that they now feature prominently in consumer electronic products, particularly smartphones. The key advantage of the back-illuminated sensor architecture, over the conventional CMOS configuration, is that the photo-diodes are placed in front of the metal wiring matrix layer of the sensor, thereby improving fill factor and substantially increasing optical throughput to the photoreceptors, particularly in the UV, where these detectors are photosensitive.2) emissions from a power station smokestack.To date, however, application of these inexpensive sensors has predominantly been focused on visible imaging, due to the choice of fore-optics and the Bayer filter layer applied to the sensors, in order to generate red-green-blue (RGB) mosaics. Recent studies have highlighted that these smartphone cameras do have some UV sensitivity ,7,8, eveThis work was achieved using Raspberry Pi Camera Module v1.3 boards (referred to as PiCams hereafter), of cost ≈ USD 25 (Raspberry Pi Foundation). The PiCam is based on an Omnivision OV5647 back-illuminated CMOS sensor, developed primarily for the mobile phone market; the OV5647 is a 1/4” 5-megapixel (2592 × 1944 active array) backlit-CMOS unit, with 8-/10-bit RGB/RAW image output. PiCam boards were chosen here due to the ease of data acquisition and image processing using Raspberry Pi computer boards (Raspberry Pi Foundation), via the Python programming language. Due to their low expense and power consumption, Raspberry Pi computers are increasingly being used in a variety of sensing applications  bath. To improve UV sensitivity of the sensor, we then removed the microlens and Bayer filter layers, the latter of which masks the sensor in a mosaic of RGB colour filters  and heated (70–100 °C) until the filter was entirely removed; this generally takes 10–30 minutes, depending on the level of applied heating and agitation. A second bath of this remover was then applied to optimise the cleaning procedure. Following this, the photoresist remover was washed from the sensor by a three stage cleaning procedure, using successive baths of n-butyl acetate, acetone and isopropyl alcohol. All the above chemicals were applied undiluted. For each of these steps, the sensor was submerged on the order of minutes, to ensure a thorough cleaning. Careful and rigorous application of this methodology can result in uniform and clean sensors which exhibit greatly enhanced UV sensitivity relative to non-de-Bayered units. For example, a clear-sky image taken with a partially de-Bayered unit, captured through a 310 nm filter and with a shutter speed of 400 ms, exhibits an increase of ≈ 600% in a de-Bayered region relative to the unmodified section of the sensor.Whilst the filter can be removed by careful scratching , a far more uniform finish is achievable chemically; we adopted the latter approach using a five step procedure. We first submerged the sensors in photoresist remover  format, in files of ≈ 6 MB. These images could then be straightforwardly processed and analysed.A UV transmissive anti-reflection (AR) coated plano-convex quartz lens of 6 mm diameter and 9 mm focal length , was then mounted to the fore of the PiCam, using an in-house designed, 3D printed lens holder, attached to the board using its pre-existing mount holes; this provided a field of view of ≈ 28°. This lens housing consists of two parts, enabling straightforward focusing via screw thread adjustment. As the housing covers the entire camera board, it was necessary to disable the board’s light-emitting diode (LED), which, by default, is programmed to turn on during image acquisition see . By way Following construction of the imaging system, the sensor linearity, which is important for quantitative applications, and UV sensitivity were tested. This was achieved by mounting a UV bandpass filter, of 12.5 mm diameter, centred on 310 nm and of 10 nm full width at half maximum (FWHM) (Edmund Optics Ltd.) to the fore of the camera lens; these filters have no other transmission features in the spectral sensitivity range of the CMOS detectors.To test the UV sensor response, images of uniformly illuminated clear-sky were taken through the 310 nm filter at varying shutter speeds; these experiments were performed in Sheffield, UK, at approximately 11:00 local time (solar zenith angle of around 50°), during February 2016. At each shutter speed four images were captured and analog gain was fixed throughout, for consistency; the operating software does not allow gain specification, but it does enable this to be fixed, following stabilization of the system after the camera start-up process. By averaging pixel DNs from a 800 × 600 pixel region in the centre of each image, we observed a linear increase in average pixel DN relative to shutter speed, for the RAW 10-bit sensor data A. Furthe2 to the atmosphere from their smokestacks, and remotely sensing these emissions is one means of ensuring regulatory compliance and constraining effects on the atmosphere [Sulphur dioxide has strong UV absorption bands between 300 and 320 nm , which hmosphere ,5,15,16.2 absorbs at 310 nm, but not at 330 nm, contrasting resulting images provides a means of constraining the spatial distribution of gas concentration across the field of view, whilst eliminating sources of extinction common to both wavelengths, e.g., due to aerosols. In particular, SO2 apparent absorbance (AA) for each pixel was determined using the following relation [IP is the in-plume intensity, and IB is the background intensity, taken as the average value in the clear sky adjacent to the rising gas plume; the subscripts specify the camera filter in question, for the dark subtracted, mask corrected imagery. Calibration of AA was then carried out using quartz cells containing known column amounts of SO2 , in particular measuring AA values for each cell when pointing at plume free sky, plotting concentration vs. these, and then multiplying all acquired plume image AA values by this gradient. The cell column amounts were verified using an Ocean Optics Inc. USB2000 spectrometer, using the VolcanoSO2 differential optical absorption spectroscopy code [In order to demonstrate proof of concept of the utility of the developed sensors for UV imaging applications, we deployed two UV PiCam units at Drax power station in the United Kingdom over a ≈ 15 min period on 15 August 2016. Bandpass filters, centred at 310 and 330 nm , were mounted to the fore of the co-aligned cameras, one on one unit, with the other filter on the other camera. Both devices simultaneously imaged the rising smokestack plume. Shutter speeds of ≈ 300 and 40 ms, respectively, were applied for the cameras, in view of the greater scattered skylight intensity at the latter wavelength, and images were acquired at 0.25 Hz. Camera-to-camera pixel mapping was achieved subsequently in software, using the smokestack as a reference. The acquisition and retrieval protocols followed those of Kantzas et al. , in partrelation :(1)AA=−opy code .2 monitoring [nitoring , indicat2 were obtained, and a time series of ICAs through successive images was produced. A plume speed of ≈4.9 m/s was calculated by generating two such ICA time series, determined for parallel plume cross sections, located at different distances from the source, and then cross correlating these. This plume speed was then multiplied by the ICA values to generate a SO2 flux time series, as shown in 2 flux was found to be relatively stable from the smokestack, with a mean emission of 0.44 kg/s; nevertheless, notable gas “puffs” are apparent, and can be seen both in the flux time series and SO2 absorption image video  of SOideo see . The Dra2 fluxes from a power station smokestack.In this paper we have presented, for the first time, a relatively simple methodology for the development of low-cost UV cameras, based on inexpensive sensors developed for the smartphone market. We show that by modification of Raspberry Pi camera sensors, and rebuilding of the optical systems, camera boards as cheap as ≈ USD 25 can be adapted to applications down to wavelengths of at least 310 nm. The potential utility of such devices in UV imaging applications was illustrated via a case study, in which we used the cameras to perform ultraviolet remote sensing of SO2 emissions in volcanic plumes [With this in mind, other possible areas in which this technology could be applied include, but are not limited to: ground-based mineral aerosol detection 331/360 nm), to mimic satellite based TOMS retrievals ,21, moni31/360 nmc plumes ,24,25 asOne potential current limitation to this system is its maximum achievable frame rate. The shutter speeds used here at the power station (300 ms at 310 nm) correspond to a theoretically achievable acquisition rate of >1 Hz. However, in reality obtainable frame rates are rather lower due to on chip processing. Preliminary tests suggest that framerates >0.5 Hz are achievable, however, over prolonged periods this resulted in sporadic dropping of frames, which disappeared altogether for acquisition at 0.25 Hz. More work is required to identify the limiting factor in frame capture, and whether stable higher acquisition rates might be achievable with further software optimisation. For the majority of applications, however, we suggest that framerates of 0.25 Hz will be more than adequate.Future work could focus on the spectral range of such units; the sensitivity of this system below 310 nm has not been quantified herein, and whilst the sensors do likely respond at deeper UV wavelengths, there may be a trade off in terms of signal to noise. Investigating the longer wavelength cut off of these monochrome devices could also be of interest, in establishing their use in high temperature thermal imaging applications. Other work may include consideration of thermal effects on sensor stability/noise, and the degree to which cooling/temperature stabilisation might improve signal to noise. Finally, whilst signal to noise levels appear promising here, particularly given the low sensor price point, further work is now also merited in comparing the system sensitivity and noise characteristics against more expensive scientific grade UV cameras.


This work presents a new on-line adaptive filter, which is based on a similarity analysis between standard electrode locations, in order to reduce artifacts and common interferences throughout electroencephalography (EEG) signals, but preserving the useful information. Standard deviation and Concordance Correlation Coefficient (CCC) between target electrodes and its correspondent neighbor electrodes are analyzed on sliding windows to select those neighbors that are highly correlated. Afterwards, a model based on CCC is applied to provide higher values of weight to those correlated electrodes with lower similarity to the target electrode. The approach was applied to brain computer-interfaces (BCIs) based on Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) to recognize 40 targets of steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP), providing an accuracy (ACC) of 86.44 ± 2.81%. In addition, also using this approach, features of low frequency were selected in the pre-processing stage of another BCI to recognize gait planning. In this case, the recognition was significantly  Several brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) based on electroencephalography (EEG) signals have been developed to assist people with paralysis and severe motor disabilities as alternative methods for communication and control ,2,3,4,5.Emerging applications of BCIs based on pre-movement or motor planning patterns are beginning to be explored to control exoskeletons and other end-applications, for the challenging purpose of gait rehabilitation or assistance ,5,19,20.Motor anticipation recognition is a challenging task, due to uncertainty related to intra-subject reaction time variability, EEG variability, event duration, and several sources of interference and artifacts. As interference and artifacts can be cited electrode and eyes movements, eye blinks, myoelectric and cardiac activities, non-g others ,21. Physg others ,21,22, aSeveral methods have been proposed for EOG artifact detection ,25,26,27mplitude ,28. Thesmplitude . These uPrevious works have also demonstrated that the speed, and accuracy of BCIs are influenced by the SNR achieved after applying spatial and temporal filtering methods . SpatialIn order to address this issue, several methods have been proposed. In particular, in  a methodSeveral studies have used standard electrode locations close to the ocular source, such as frontal electrodes FP1, FP2, FT9, and FT10 (that provide a reference input with EOG components) to remove artifacts using methods, such as ANC and FORCe ,23. Recet signal . The sect signal . Both meFew robust methods have been proposed to reduce common interferences and artifacts for on-line analysis, during static and dynamic motor applications. For example, several unsupervised methods have been proposed for on-line applications, in order to remove EOG artifacts and drift signals on raw EEG, using other electrodes located on the scalp , or faceThis work presents a new on-line adaptive method based on similarity analysis between standard electrode locations, which may reduce common interferences, preserving the useful information. Thus, in contrast to traditional LAR and WAR filters, the performance of this new method is linked to the target electrode information, in which a concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) method is applied through a proposed model to compute virtual distances between electrodes, which are used to estimate common interferences . Thus, cThis work is a first stage of a system based on a BCI to command a lower-limb robotic exoskeleton, built at Federal University of Espirito Santo (UFES/Brazil) , in whicThis paper is structured into four sections. After this Introduction, i and the reference electrode, i and the neighbor electrode j, N is the number of electrodes, and Spatial filters LAR and WAR can be used to reduce common interferences on EEG signals, computing the average voltage from a set of surrounding electrodes  taking into account the distance between electrodes . Then, cThe formulation of LAR and WAR filters are based on inter-electrode distances to compute weighted indices that do not depend on underlying data, which may add onto the target electrode undesirable artifacts from neighbor electrodes, and may remove useful information. For this reason, we propose here a new method that provides an adaptive behavior for these traditional spatial filters (LAR and WAR), in order to preserve the useful neural information on the electrode of interest, reducing common interferences and artifacts. In this study, common interferences are considered those signals or undesirable physiological events broadcasting on the scalp or around the electrode of interest, with the same phase and similar amplitude , such asg others ,21. The Equation , are comeability . This inn independent pairs of samples, Y is the current segment of raw EEG, n is the size of window i is the electrode of interest, and j is the neighbor electrode.For The estimation of common interferences may be obtained from all neighbor electrodes. However, due to possible electrode and cable movements, some electrodes may present high values of amplitude throughout raw EEG, providing low performance during the interference rejection. Thus, a first stage is proposed here to select the neighbor electrodes that are more suitable to reduce the interferences and artifacts on the electrode of interest.i throughout the time , i is the current target electrode, j is the current neighbor electrode, k is the current sample, and According to the filter setup , Equation . From thquations  and 6),,ρcij andA combination of maximum and minimum values of the standard deviation is carried out to establish an adaptive threshold through Equation , which aEquation , which wOn the other hand, Equation  is used All neighbor electrodes are considered as suitable candidates to obtain the common reference if the current i is the electrode of interest, j is the selected neighbor electrode, The second stage is used to compute virtual distances (VDs) between the electrode of interest and the selected neighbor electrodes, which are based on the similarity indice Equation . This cuk, e is the current electrode correspondent to e.In addition, the selected neighbor electrodes, including the electrode of interest, are analyzed through a stage of amplitude correction, described by Equation , in ordei and the reference electrode, i, i and the selected neighbor j, N is the number of electrodes, and Finally, a weighted index is obtained for each neighbor electrode from VD, in order to estimate common interferences. As a result, for Ad LAR and Ad WAR setups, Equations  and 10)10) are aThe proposed formulation for the Ad LAR and Ad WAR filters may contribute to the reduction of undesirable artifacts and noise on the target electrode, because the weight indices are related to the similarity between the electrode of interest, and selected neighbor electrodes. It is possible to see that this new method provides higher weight The next section presents the methodology used to fit the proposed model (see Equation ), and thftp://sccn.ucsd.edu/pub/ssvep_benchmark_dataset, were used to fit the proposed model through several trials. In this manner, the rest of the database can be used for evaluation purposes. Then, EEG signals of these ten subjects were analyzed through the power spectrum density, which was computed using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) on the locations O1, O2, Oz, PO3, PO4, PO7, PO8, POz, P1, P2, P3, P4 and Pz, such as suggested by [In the literature, little information about methods used to fit models of spatial filters was found. Then, the well-known SSVEP was adopted here as a methodology to fit the proposed model, looking for a way to preserve the useful information while rejecting artifacts. For this purpose, ten subjects (SV1 to SV10) from an SSVEP dataset with 35 subjects  obtained from ested by . Twelve I and O are the magnitude spectrum from the FFT of the input and output signals, respectively, and f are the SSVEP components. Results of model fitting are shown in Notice that the proposed model in Equation  is basedquations  and 12) tEquation ).(11)SNThe database of EEG signals from 35 subjects  was usedSubjects of the database (from SV1 to SV35) were asked to focus on 40 characters flickering at different frequencies  during six sessions. Each session was conducted for a total of 40 trials of 6 s in length that represent the full character set in a random selection. The trials were formed by two stages: (1) a visual cue (a red square) was presented on the selected character for a duration of 0.5 s, and (2) the corresponding stimulus was emitted to the subject for a period of 5 s. The screen was blank for 0.5 s before the next trial began, which provided for all subjects a short break between consecutive trials. Furthermore, all subjects were asked to shift their gaze to the target as soon as possible within the cue duration. The subjects were asked to avoid eye blinks throughout the stimulation period. Moreover, several minutes of rest were added between two consecutive sessions, in order to avoid visual fatigue.The equipment Synamps2  was used to acquire 64 channels of EEG signals, according to the international 10–20 system, with frequency range from 0.15 Hz to 200 Hz, notch filter at 50 Hz, and sampling rate of 1000 Hz. The ground electrode was placed midway between Fz and FPz, and the reference electrode was located on the vertex. The continuous EEG was segmented in epochs of 6 s , which were subsequently downsampled at 250 Hz. Such as aforementioned, this dataset was used here to fit the proposed model through a group of subjects, evaluating on all subjects the ability of the adaptive filter to preserve the neural information at stimuli frequencies, which is addressed in the next section.x is the EEG segment without processing, y is the output segment after processing, x and y as a function of the frequency The EEG signals from all 35 subjects were used from the SSVEP database to study the capability of the proposed method to preserve the main SSVEP components, after applying the adjusted Ad WAR and WAR filters on three EEG electrodes O1, O2 and Oz. Then, indices such as attenuation (A), SNR, and coherence were analyzed . SNR wasp-values .Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) has been used in BCIs to recognize SSVEP targets . Here, CA lower-limb robotic exoskeleton was built at Federal University of Espirito Santo (UFES/Brazil) , which mSeveral features were explored on Cz, CP1, and CP2 locations, in order to obtain feature vectors in time and frequency domains, such as: reference-free EEG (RF) ,46,47, mAn unsupervised method of low computational cost based on the Representation Entropy (RE) index was used for feature selection , aiming Z-test, in order to obtain RE values that do not present a significant difference  and RE, which is composed of the following three stages: (4) the updated feature set is analyzed through MICI to obtain feature combinations with the lowest value or high redundancy . (5) theC of the SVM, scanning C values , and computing the following i, i and column j, and K is the total number of classes. C value of SVM.Support Vector Machine (SVM) with linear kernel was adopted here for the BCI to recognize both classes gait planning and rest from stand position. During the training stage, the full training set was used to adjust the SVM classifier, as well as to obtain the classification model. A first step based on an inner cross-validation  and PNM ,52. PNM A total of 24 repetitions of gait planning (−1.5 to 0 s from the gait onset) and 36 repetitions of rest-state from the stand position  were collected on each subject during six sessions. The feature vector was obtained using sliding windows of 250 ms in length for each sample. Thus, from each segment of 1.5 s (gait planning) and 2.0 s (resting from stand position) in duration, a total of 1250 and 1750 trials, respectively, were obtained.Different BCIs were developed here to recognize the gait planning, which were based on Ad LAR, LAR, Ad WAR, and WAR filters, with the aim of comparing their performance. These filters were used to obtain the reference-free EEG on Cz, CP1, and CP2. The electrode locations FC3, FC1, C3, C4, and Pz surrounding Cz, CP1, and CP2 were adopted in a similar way as done by , when apIn addition, BCIs based on a bandpass filter (from 8 to 30 Hz), combined with methods for feature extraction, such as Common Spatial Pattern (CSP) , Filter-C  of the SVM classifier were scanned in an inner cross-validation In order to compare these BCIs, a cross-validation technique ng stage .p-values .The indices ACC, TPR, FPR, and F1  were adoAn experimental protocol was implemented to evaluate the gait planning recognition applying the adaptive filters in a BCI. For this purpose, six healthy subjects  without lower-limb injury or locomotion deficits were selected to participate in this study, which was approved by the Ethics Committee of UFES (Protocol number: 47024214.5.0000.5060). All subjects (S1 to S6) provided written informed consent prior to the data collection, and the background of this study was explained. In this experiment, the equipment BrainNet BNT 36  with 20 EEG channels was used to acquire brain and muscular activities, including signals of knee angles and foot contacts. A cap with 64 electrodes (Ag-AgCl) was used to acquire the brain activity around the primary and supplementary motor cortex, at locations FC3, FC1, FCz, FC2, FC4, C5, C3, C1, Cz, C2, C4, C6, CP5, CP3, CP1, CPz, CP2, CP4, CP6 and Pz, according to the international 10-20 system. The reference electrodes were located on earlobes A1 and A2, and the ground electrode was located between the eyebrows. These electrode locations have been previously used by other authors to study motor intention . In addiThe signal acquisition equipment was setup with a band-pass filter from 0.1 to 100 Hz, notch filter in 60 Hz, and sampling rate of 400 Hz. Additionally, a goniometer and footswitch sensors, located on the right leg, were used to measure the knee angle and gait phase, respectively, using a frequency range from DC to 70 Hz. A software was developed to guide the subjects during the experiment through visual and sound cues, and an Arduino board was used to generate a synchronous signal. The acquisition system was attached to a mobile platform, in order to follow the subjects during walking.Several experiments were conducted to evaluate the capability of the spatial filters to reduce common interferences, while preserving the neural information related to gait planning.Two sessions of sequential and random tasks were proposed for this study. The first session was conducted with 10 sub-sessions, using the following tasks: (1) knee extension (K-E)/knee flexion (K-F)/sit rest (Si-R). The second session was conducted with 6 sub-sessions for the following random tasks: (2) K-F, K-E, sit-to-stand, stand-to-sit, stand rest, sit rest and walking . All sub-sessions had 10 repetitions of motor tasks with 7 s of duration, with 3 min of rest. Furthermore, all subjects were asked to avoid using their arms as extra support, and talking during each session. To study the gait planning, both classes gait planning, and rest from stand position were considered. The walking task had 4 repetitions per session, with a duration of 7 s. SSVEP patterns that arise in reaction to flickering stimuli can be detected mainly around occipital location from EEG channels . Thus, EAfter analyzing the data, a unique model EEG signals of 35 healthy subjects (from SV1 to SV35), obtained from the SSVEP database see  were useAnother comparison was carried out between both WAR and Ad WAR filters, for the BCI based on CCA, which was applied in this case to recognize 40 targets using the locations O1, O2, Oz, PO3, PO4, PO5, PO6, POz, and Pz, also used in [In general, the Ad WAR decreases significantly A comparison between LAR, Ad LAR, WAR and Ad WAR filters was carried out in the pre-processing stage of BCIs for gait planning recognition. Here, these BCI used unsupervised feature selection and SVM classifier with linear kernel.Six subjects (S1 to S6) were analyzed through electrodes located on the primary and supplementary motor areas, using two states: rest from stand position , and gait planning .Once obtained the reference-free EEG (RF), the feature vectors were computed, and analyzed through an unsupervised method for feature selection. m values (first and last rows of the projection matrix) were 3 and 4 for almost all subjects. C were obtained among subjects, with small values  fixed in the last k-fold for almost all subjects. It can be observed in The application of this new method for an SSVEP database with 35 subjects showed that the proposed spatial filters may be applied for a SSVEP-BCI to recognize targets with good performance Regarding the BCI based on SVM with linear kernel to recognize gait planning, which is based on adaptive filters Ad LAR or Ad WAR applied in the pre-processing stage, both filters presented accuracy higher than 73% for all subjects, with the best performance obtained on subjects S1 A comparison was carried out with BCIs based on CSP ,16, FBCSees with . The besThe best performance of the BCIs was obtained with unsupervised methods, such as RK  for featThe continuous recognition throughout the planning interval was improved on almost all subjects using the Ad LAR and Ad WAR filters, as shown in In the literature, the recognition of self-paced lower-limb movements has been little studied. Some studies have been focused on recognizing gait starting, using amplitude features of low frequency ,53 or spn filter , achievichannels , and fasAlthough the proposed BCIs based on Ad LAR and Ad WAR filters achieved promising results To conclude, this work presented a new method that provides an adaptive behavior to the traditional spatial filters LAR and WAR , which sThis work is the first stage of a system based on a BCI to command a lower-limb robotic exoskeleton, developed at Federal University of Espirito Santo (UFES/Brazil) . In futu