Researchers uncover fatal flaw in green pigmented concrete

Certain green pigments could weaken the strength of architectural concrete

XI'AN JIAOTONG-LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY

Research News

As Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University researchers completed their research on coloured architectural concrete, they found a surprising result--green pigmented cement had impurities that produced porous, poor quality concrete. Meanwhile, red and blue pigments had little effect.

The research was conducted by Mehreen Heerah, a graduate of XJTLU's Department of Civil Engineering, Dr Graham Dawson of XJTLU's Department of Chemistry, and Isaac Galobardes of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University.

Pigmented architectural concrete is used as a visually appealing alternative to grey concrete, such as in Barcelona's Ciutat de la Justícia, explains Dr Dawson. As the demand for pigmented architectural concrete grows, so does the importance of this research.

Not easy being green

"The characteristics of red and blue pigments used in the study were established in the existing research literature. However, the characteristics of the green pigment was not usual," says Dawson.

"The results for the red and blue pigments were quite close to our expectation," Heerah says. "On the other hand, we did not expect the drastic effect of green pigment on the properties of the mortar. In fact, we expected that a greater increment in strength with the green pigment compared to the other two."

That's because green pigment in products is based upon chromium oxide, which increases the strength of the mix when hydrated.

So why was green concrete found to be substandard?

The answer lies in how it was produced with damaging impurities, says Dr Dawson.

"Chemical products are used to produce pigments," he explains. "Sometimes, pigments present simple chemical components and other combinations of them to obtain different colours."

The offending impurity that weakened the green concrete was muscovite; a mineral used to produce green pigment for other industrial uses. When hydrated with cement, muscovite generated significant quantities of a component that causes excessive porousness, which results in a reduction in strength and longevity.

"However, other studies have found that there is no adverse effect when using green pigment consisting solely of chromium (III) oxide, with no muscovite," says Heerah.

Mix it up

The cement samples were produced with three different pigments--blue cobaltous aluminate, green chromium oxide and red iron oxide pigment--at three different levels: 1, 5 and 10%. The researchers tested two types of cement to understand how these admixtures and by-products affect the properties of the resulting concrete.

The four-part experiment first tested water absorption to evaluate the change in physical properties, and then determined the hydration properties of the samples.

Next, the kinetics of hydration were studied through the evolution of the temperature of each mix. Finally, the researchers examined the flexural and compressive strength to understand the effect of pigment on mechanical strength.

The research established that the morphology of hydration products and kinetics was related to the samples' compressive strength.

The poor performance of the green pigment stood out compared to the minimal effects of the red and blue.

The research also discovered that the cobaltous aluminate oxide (blue) and iron (III) oxide (red) pigments could be used with both Portland and Portland Composite cement without weakening the concrete's strength.

Less impact

Researchers also improved upon an existing equation used for estimating the real-time compressive strength of the pigmented mortar, Heerah says.

Dr Galobardes explains: "Using this equation avoids making the destructive tests used to estimate the mechanical properties of concrete.

"This eliminates waste and lowers carbon dioxide emissions and costs related to the production of the samples used in the tests."

While pigments themselves do not reduce carbon emissions produced by concrete, the research indicates that they are safe to use with eco-cements.

Cement mixes such as Portland Composite Cement, which includes ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) and fly ash are expected to achieve reduced carbon emissions in coming years.

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How the brain paints the beauty of a landscape

Researchers investigate how our brains proceed from merely seeing a landscape to feeling its aesthetic impact

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT

Research News

 

IMAGE: A RESEARCH TEAM FROM THE MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR EMPIRICAL AESTHETICS INVESTIGATED HOW OUR BRAINS PROCEED FROM MERELY SEEING A LANDSCAPE TO FEELING ITS AESTHETIC IMPACT. view more 

CREDIT: MPI FOR EMPIRICAL AESTHETICS

How does a view of nature gain its gloss of beauty? We know that the sight of beautiful landscapes engages the brain's reward systems. But how does the brain transform visual signals into aesthetic ones? Why do we perceive a mountain vista or passing clouds as beautiful? A research team from the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics has taken up this question and investigated how our brains proceed from merely seeing a landscape to feeling its aesthetic impact.

In their study, the research team presented artistic landscape videos to 24 participants. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), they measured the participants' brain activity as they viewed and rated the videos. Their findings have just been published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. First author A. Ilkay Isik encapsulates:

"We would have expected the aesthetic signals to be limited to the brain's reward systems, but surprisingly, we found them already present in visual areas of the brain while the participants were watching the videos. The activations occurred right next to brain regions deployed in recognizing physical features in movies, such as the layout of a scene or the presence of motion."

Senior author Edward Vessel suggests that these signals may reflect an early, elemental form of beauty perception:

"When we see something beyond our expectations, local patches of brain tissue generate small 'atoms' of positive affect. The combination of many such surprise signals across the visual system adds up to make for an aesthetically appealing experience."

With this new knowledge, the study not only contributes to our understanding of beauty, but may also help clarify how interactions with the natural environment can affect our sense of well-being. The results might have potential applications in a variety of fields where the link between perception and emotion is important, such as clinical health care and artificial intelligence.

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Original Publication:

Isik, A.I. and Vessel, E.A. (2021). From Visual Perception to Aesthetic Appeal: Brain Responses to Aesthetically Appealing Natural Landscape Movies.

Front. Hum., 21 July 2021 Neurosci. 15:676032.

 

Research 'final nail in the coffin' of Paranthropus as hard object feeders

Long-held eating habits beliefs debunked

UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO

Research News

New research from the University of Otago debunks a long-held belief about our ancestors' eating habits.

For more than 60 years, researchers have believed Paranthropus, a close fossil relative of ours which lived about one to three million years ago, evolved massive back teeth to consume hard food items such as seeds and nuts, while our own direct ancestors, the genus Homo, is thought to have evolved smaller teeth due to eating softer food such as cooked food and meats.

However, after travelling to several large institutes and museums in South Africa, Japan and the United Kingdom and studying tooth fractures in more than 20,000 teeth of fossil and living primate species, Dr Ian Towle, an Otago biological anthropologist, working with Dr Carolina Loch, of the Faculty of Dentistry, says this "neat picture is far more complex than once thought".

"By individually studying each tooth and recording the position and size of any tooth fractures, we show tooth chipping does not support regular hard food eating in Paranthropus robustus, therefore potentially putting an end to the argument that this group as a whole were hard food eaters," he says.

Dr Towle says the findings challenge our understanding of dietary and behavioural changes during human evolution.

"The results are surprising, with human fossils so far studied - those in our own genus Homo - showing extremely high rates of tooth fractures, similar to living hard object eating primates, yet Paranthropus show extremely low levels of fracture, similar to primates that eat soft fruits or leaves.

"Although in recent years there has been a slow acceptance that another species of Paranthropus, Paranthropus boisei, found in East Africa, was unlikely to have regularly eaten hard foods, the notion that Paranthropus evolved their large dental apparatus to eat hard foods has persisted. Therefore, this research can be seen as the final nail in the coffin of Paranthropus as hard object feeders."

The fact that humans show such contrasting chipping patterns is equally significant and will have "knock on" effects for further research, particularly research on dietary changes during human evolution, and why the human dentition has evolved the way it has, he says.

"The regular tooth fractures in fossil humans may be caused by non-food items, such as grit or stone tools. However, regardless of the cause, these groups were subjected to substantial tooth wear and fractures. So, it raises questions to why our teeth reduced in size, especially compared to groups like Paranthropus."

Dr Towle's research will now focus on if our dentition evolved smaller due to other factors to allow other parts of the skull to expand, leading to evolution then favouring other tooth properties to protect it against wear and fracture, instead of increased tooth size.

"This is something we are investigating now, to see if tooth enamel may have evolved different characteristics among the great apes. Our research as a whole may also have implications for our understanding of oral health, since fossil human samples typically show immaculate dental health.

"Since extreme tooth wear and fractures were the norm, our ancestors likely evolved dental characteristics to not just cope with but actually utilise this dental tissue loss. For example, without substantial tooth wear our dentitions can face all sorts of issues, including impacted wisdom teeth, tooth crowding and even increased susceptibility to cavities."

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Paranthropus robustus tooth chipping patterns do not support regular hard food mastication, co-authored by Dr Towle and Dr Loch, was published in the Journal of Human Evolution.

Tooth chipping prevalence and pattern in extant primates, co-authored by Dr Towle and Dr Loch was published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

Chipping and wear patterns in extant primate and fossil hominin molars: 'Functional' cusps are associated with extensive wear but low levels of fracture, co-authored by Dr Towle and Dr Loch was published in the Journal of Human Evolution.

Study shows environmental link to herbicide-resistant horseweed

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Research News

IMAGE: UPRIGHT (LEFT) AND ROSETTE (RIGHT) TYPE HORSEWEED PLANTS EMERGING SIMULTANEOUSLY IN A FIELD IN MICHIGAN DURING MID-SUMMER. view more 

CREDIT: PHOTO BY JOHN A. SCHRAMSKI

WESTMINSTER, Colorado - July 23, 2021 - Horseweed is a serious threat to both agricultural crops and natural landscapes around the globe. In the U.S., the weed is prolific and able to emerge at any time of the year.

Fall emerging horseweed overwinters as a rosette, while spring emerging horseweed skips the rosette stage and grows upright. In some instances, both rosette and upright plants emerge simultaneously in mid-summer. These unpredictable growth patterns create challenges for growers as they try to develop an appropriate weed management plan.

In a study featured in the journal Weed Science, a team from Michigan State University explored whether environmental cues could be used to predict horseweed growth type. They found that variations in temperature, photoperiod, competition, shading, and soil moisture resulted only in the rosette growth type. Upright plants emerged, though, when seeds were exposed to dry conditions, followed by a prolonged cooling.

Researchers also determined that upright horseweed plants from known glyphosate-resistant populations are three- to four-fold less sensitive to glyphosate than their rosette siblings, which makes them much harder to control.

"Our results suggest that when horseweed populations shift from winter to summer annual lifecycles, concurrent increases can be expected in glyphosate resistance," says researcher John Schramski of Michigan State University.

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To learn more, read the article "Environmental cues affecting horseweed (Conyza canadensis) growth type and their sensitivity to glyphosate" online, available Open Access.

About Weed Science

Weed Science is a journal of the Weed Science Society of America, a nonprofit scientific society focused on weeds and their impact on the environment. The publication presents peer-reviewed original research related to all aspects of weed science, including the biology, ecology, physiology, management and control of weeds. To learn more, visit http://www.wssa.net.

Disclaime

Scientists identify five new plant species in Bolivia

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

Research News

IMAGE: JACQUEMONTIA BOLIVIANA. CREDIT: JOHN WOOD view more 

CREDIT: JOHN WOOD

Scientists have identified five new plant species in the Bolivian Andes.

The species are all part of the genus Jacquemontia, which are twining or trailing plants with pretty blue flowers.

With rapid biodiversity loss taking place across South America and worldwide, identifying plant species is a vital step towards protecting them.

The new study, which classifies and describes the 28 Jacquemontia species now known to live in Bolivia and Peru, was carried out by the universities of Exeter and Oxford, and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

"Many plant species have not been identified and classified, especially in the tropics," said Rosie Clegg, of the University of Exeter and Kew.

"If you don't know what a species is, you can't conserve it.

"Working with local collaborators in Bolivia, we have identified five new Jacquemontia species - and our work so far suggests most of them are relatively rare."

Jacquemontia plants often grow in open, bushy or grassy habitats, however, even widespread species are often scattered in their distribution and some species are highly specialised, growing even on bare rock with very little soil or water, while some require fire to stimulate seed germination. The researchers now want to discover more about these species, and where each can be found as - at present - some are only known to exist in a single location. Plants limited to a small area are highly vulnerable to threats such as the arrival of invasive species and habitat destruction for agriculture, mining and road and reservoir construction. Clegg's current work focusses on rock outcrops, where some Jacquemontia species are found, although the new species described in the paper are found on Andean slopes. "Rock outcrops come in many forms across South America, with different geologies and different plants living on them," she said. "As well as identifying plants, we want to learn more about these habitats and the role they play in wider ecosystems. "Jacquemontia and other plants on rock outcrops are able to survive in very harsh conditions, so through them we can learn more about how plants might respond and adapt to climate change."

John Wood, of the University of Oxford and Kew, said: "Collaboration between UK institutions working alongside colleagues in Bolivia is important for the identification and conservation of species and their habitats."

Clegg's research at the University of Exeter is funded by the NERC GW4+ Doctoral Training Programme.

The five newly described species are named: Jacquemontia boliviana, Jacquemontia cuspidata, Jacquemontia longipedunculata, Jacquemontia mairae and Jaquemontia chuquisacensis.

The paper, published in the journal Kew Bulletin, is entitled: "Jacquemontia (Convolvulaceae) in Bolivia and Peru."

CAPTION

Jacquemontia longipedunculata. Credit Alfredo Fuentes

CREDIT

Alfredo Fuentes

The University of Exeter has launched a 'Green Futures' campaign and website to drive action on the environment and climate emergency. To find out more please visit https://greenfutures.exeter.ac.uk.

CAPTION

Jacquemontia cuspidata. Credit Julia Gutierrez

CREDIT

Julia Gutierrez

Water resources: Defusing conflict, promoting cooperation

ETH ZURICH

Research News

IMAGE: MEGA-?DAM ON THE OMO RIVER: GIBE III (2016). view more 

CREDIT: MIMI ABEBAYEHU/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Rivers are lifelines for many countries. They create valuable ecosystems, provide drinking water for people and raw water for agriculture and industry. In the Global South in particular, there is strong competition for access to freshwater resources. The increasing use of hydropower has recently intensified this competition further.

Take Ethiopia, for example: when the country began filling the mega-?dam Gibe III on the Omo River in 2015, downstream users saw a drop in water volumes. Natural flooding declined, reducing the volume of fertile mud washed onto the floodplain. The level of Kenya's Lake Turkana, into which the Omo flows, fell temporarily by two metres, resulting in significant consequences for people and agriculture.

Addressing the nexus

The network of interactions between water, energy, food and ecosystems - referred to by experts as the "water-energy-food (WEF) nexus" - often leads to wide-ranging disputes in the catchment areas of transboundary rivers. Large-scale infrastructure construction projects such as dams and irrigation schemes have caused political tensions between neighbouring states at various points in the past.

An international research team led by ETH Zurich has now developed a strategic toolkit that can help to defuse such conflicts over water use, through an objective analysis of stakeholder's interests. In the EU's Horizon 2020 project DAFNE, 14 research partners from Europe and Africa worked together to find approaches to a more equitable management of water resources.

"We wanted to show how it is possible to sustainably manage the nexus between water, energy, food and ecosystems, even in large and transboundary river basins with a wide range of users," says Paolo Burlando, Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources Management at ETH Zurich.

Integrating and balancing different interests

While it is now recognised that watershed planning should take a holistic approach that respects the needs of all stakeholders, multidimensional decision-making problems with significant numbers of stakeholders make it difficult to negotiate generally accepted solutions.

"Conventional planning tools are usually overwhelmed with challenges such as these," explains Burlando, who has led the DAFNE consortium for the past four years. This is why the project team developed a novel method to map and quantify trade-offs in the WEF nexus.

The approach is based on the principles of the participatory and integrated planning and management of water resources, which focuses on the role and interests of stakeholders. The DAFNE methodology is designed to engage stakeholders and find compromises and synergies in a joint approach. "The key is to find solutions that benefit everyone, take the environment into account and also make economic sense," explains Burlando.

Enabling dialogue through models

DAFNE uses state-of-the-art modelling techniques and digital solutions to enable participatory planning. A strategic decision tool allows the social, economic and environmental consequences of interventions to be assessed in a quantitative approach, enabling users to identify viable development pathways. Stakeholder selected pathways are simulated in detail using a hydrological model driven by high-resolution climate scenarios, in order to accurately analyse the impact on the respective water resources. Additional sub-models can be used to model other aspects of the nexus. Finally, a visualisation tool helps to illustrate interrelationships and assess problems from various user perspectives.

"The models aim to facilitate continuous negotiation between stakeholders - which is a key element of the DAFNE approach," says Senior Scientist Scott Sinclair, who co-developed the modelling approach.

Case studies with local stakeholders

The DAFNE project focused on two large river basins in East, and Southern Africa - the Omo-Turkana and Zambezi - where the researchers tested their methodology in two case studies. In both case studies, real stakeholders were involved in the development of the DAFNE approaches, working with them to test alternative operating modes for the power plants and irrigation schemes, to design more sustainable use scenarios for their catchment areas. They exchanged their different perspectives in simulated negotiations to illustrate the process.

In the Omo-Turkana basin, the scientists also used their methodology in a retrospective analysis of the controversial two-year filling phase of the Gibe III mega-dam in Ethiopia. "We observed that the negative impact on downstream neighbours was exacerbated by a prolonged drought," reports Burlando. The DAFNE consortium partner from Politecnico di Milano were able to show in a study published in Nature Communications together with Burlando and Sinclair, that such problems can be reduced by combining DAFNE tools with seasonal drought forecasts and flexibly adapting the filling regime to hydroclimatic conditions.

Dams on the advance worldwide

The results of the study are highly topical: Ethiopia is currently building another mega-dam in the Omo-Turkana catchment area, and filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile. Worldwide, around 500 dam projects are being planned in regions affected by climate feedbacks through teleconnections. Growing populations and increasing prosperity will continue to boost demand for energy, food and water. The researchers hope that the DAFNE methodology will one day become a reference.

"We designed the modelling tools to be transferable to other regions with competing water needs," says Burlando. Follow-up projects are already under way to apply and further develop the technology in several river basins worldwide.

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Reference

Zaniolo M, Giuliani M, Sinclair S, Burlando P, Castelletti A. When timing matters - misdesigned dam filling impacts hydropower sustainability. Nat Commun 12, 3056 (2021), doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-23323-5

 

China's carbon-monitoring satellite reports global carbon net of six gigatons

INSTITUTE OF ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Research News

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IMAGE: THE FIRST GLOBAL CARBON FLUX MAP DERIVED BY TANSAT OBSERVATION. view more 

CREDIT: DONGXU YANG

About six gigatons -- roughly 12 times the mass of all living humans -- of carbon appears to be emitted over land every year, according to data from the Chinese Global Carbon Dioxide Monitoring Scientific Experimental Satellite (TanSat).

Using data on how carbon mixes with dry air collected from May 2017 to April 2018, researchers developed the first global carbon flux dataset and map. They published their results in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences.

The map was developed by applying TanSat's satellite observations to models of how greenhouse gasses are exchanged among Earth's atmosphere, land, water and living organisms. During this process, more than a hundred of gigatons of carbon are exchanged, but the increase in carbon emissions has resulted in net carbon added to the atmosphere -- now at about six gigatons a year -- which is a serious issue that contributes to climate change, according to Dongxu Yang, first author and a researcher in the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAP CAS).

"In this paper, we introduce the first implementation of TanSat carbon dioxide data on carbon flux estimations," Yang said. "We also demonstrate that China's first carbon-monitoring satellite can investigate the distribution of carbon flux across the globe."

While satellite measurements are not as accurate as ground-based measurements, said co-author Jing Wang, a researcher in IAP CAS, satellite measurements provide continuous global observation coverage that provides additional information not available from limited or varied surface monitoring stations. For example, a monitoring station in a city may report very different observations compared to a station in a remote village, especially if they are in drastically different climates.

"The sparseness and spatial inhomogeneity of the existing ground-based network limits our ability to infer consistent global- and regional-scale carbon sources and sinks," said co-author Liang Feng, researcher with the National Centre for Earth Observation at the University of Edinburgh. "To improve observation coverage, tailor-made satellites, for example TanSat, have been developed to provide accurate atmospheric greenhouse gas measurements."

The data from these satellites, which includes TanSat, Japan's GOSAT and the United States' OCO-2, and future missions, will be used to independently verify national emission inventories across the globe. According to the Yang, this process will be overseen by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and begin in 2023, in support of the Paris Agreement. TanSat's measurements generally match with data from the other satellites.

"This verification method will be helpful to better understand carbon emissions in real time, and to help ensure transparency across the inventories," said co-author Yi Liu, researcher in IAP CAS.

The process will be bolstered by the next generation of satellites, known as TanSat-2, which is currently in the design phase. The goal, Yang said, will be to obtain measurements that help elucidate the carbon budget from the global scale down to individual cities.

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TanSat, funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the China Meteorological Administration, was launched in December 2016.

The impact of climate change on Kenya's Tana river basin

UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA

Research News

Many species within Kenya's Tana River Basin will be unable to survive if global temperatures continue to rise as they are on track to do - according to new research from the University of East Anglia.

A new study published in the journal PLOS ONE today outlines how remaining within the goals of the Paris Agreement would save many species.

The research also identifies places that could be restored to better protect biodiversity and contribute towards global ecosystem restoration targets.

Researcher Rhosanna Jenkins carried out the study as part of her PhD at UEA's School of Environmental Sciences.

She said: "This research shows how many species within Kenya's Tana River Basin will be unable to survive if global temperatures continue to rise as they are on track to do.

"But remaining within the goals of the Paris Agreement, which aims to keep global warming well below 2°C, ideally at 1.5°C, would save many species. This is because large areas of the basin act as refugia from climate change."

"With higher warming levels, not only are the refuges lost but also the potential for restoration becomes more limited.

"The United Nations declared the 2020s as the 'Decade on Ecosystem Restoration'. Our results show the importance of considering climate change within these restoration efforts.

"With higher levels of warming, many of the species you are trying to restore will no longer be able to survive in the places they were originally found.

"Strong commitments from global leaders ahead of the COP climate change summit in Glasgow are needed to stand any chance of avoiding the loss of species - which for the Tana River Basin is clearly indicated by this work."

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'Addressing risks to biodiversity arising from a changing climate: the need 2 for ecosystem restoration in the Tana River Basin, Kenya' is published in the journal PLOS ONE on July 21, 2021.

What's riskier for young soccer players, practice or game time?

On average, impacts are more frequent during drills, more severe during games

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY

Research News

For young soccer players, participating in repetitive technical training activities involving heading during practice may result in more total head impacts but playing in scrimmages or actual soccer games may result in greater magnitude head impacts. That's according to a small, preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's Sports Concussion Conference, July 30-31, 2021.

"Headers are a fundamental component to the sport of soccer. Therefore, it is important to understand differences in header frequency and magnitude across practice and game settings," said study author Jillian Urban, PhD, MPH, of Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C. "Practices are more amenable to change than games. Therefore, understanding how we can restructure practice to reduce head impact exposure while teaching fundamental skills needed to safely play the sport is critical to improving head impact safety in the sport."

The study followed eight soccer players who were ages 14 and 15 for two seasons. Players wore a custom-fitted mouthpiece sensor during all practices and games. Researchers recorded all activities on the field with a time-synchronized camera, and identified each time head contact was made.

Head impact exposure was quantified in terms of peak head motion and impacts per player per hour, or impact rate. The amount of time an athlete was exposed to an activity was also evaluated. Researchers then compared impact rates across activity types which ranged from 0.5 head impacts per player hour to 13.7 head impacts per player hour.

Researchers saw a similar number of player-to-player contacts happening during technical drills, team interaction and game play. Technical training activities like heading the ball and practicing ball-control and dribbling were associated with an average impact rate of 13.7 head impacts per player hour. Team interaction activities such as small-sided games in practice were associated with an average impact rate of 0.5 head impacts per player per hour, which was slightly lower than the 1.3 head impacts per player hour observed during games.

Researchers also looked at average rotational head motion, which ranged from 500 radians per second squared (rad/s2) to 1,560 rad/s2, with higher numbers signifying greater magnitude head impacts. Technical training was associated with an average magnitude of 550 rad/s2, while team interaction and games were associated with an average rotational head motion of 910 rad/s2 and 1,490 rad/s2, respectively.

"If the goal is to reduce the number of head impacts a young soccer player may get on the field, our findings suggest the best way may be to target technical training drills and how they are distributed within a season," said Urban. "However, if the goal is to reduce the likelihood of players sustaining head impacts of greater magnitude, then the best bet may be to look at factors associated with high-magnitude head impacts that can occur during scrimmages and games."

A limitation of the study is the small number of players involved.

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The study was supported in part by the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma.

Learn more about concussion at BrainandLife.org, home of the American Academy of Neurology's free patient and caregiver magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life® on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

When posting to social media channels about this research, we encourage you to use the hashtags #AANSCC and #AANscience.

The American Academy of Neurology is the world's largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with over 36,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

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New research outlines how those admitted on Sunday and Tuesday are more likely to develop delirium, a hospital complicationCITY UNIVERSITY LONDONResearch NewsElderly patients with neurological conditions are significantly more likely to develop delirium shortly after they are hospitalised.A new study has discovered that a delayed transfer to a hospital floor is associated with greater short-term risk of delirium among patients aged 65 and over, and for those who arrive to the Emergency Department (ED) on days with higher risk of prolonged lengths of stay - found to be Sunday and Tuesday.Delirium is an acute cognitive disorder characterised by altered awareness, attentional deficits, confusion, and disorientation. Current estimates of new-onset delirium highlight the fact that delirium overwhelmingly develops in medical settings (as high as 82 per cent in intensive care settings) compared to the community at large (between one per cent and two per cent). Research has shown that between 30 per cent and 40 per cent of all delirium cases are preventable.Authored by Valdery Moura Junior, an Executive PhD Research student at the Business School (formerly Cass), the study explores whether a combination of the care experienced at the ED and the delayed implementation of delirium prevention measures contribute to an increased risk of the disorder. For example, it is possible that the bright lights and high ambient noise level of the ED for 24 hours a day will contribute to increased short-term risk.The findings showed that of the 858 patients who presented to the ED with a neurological emergency, delirium was documented in 234 (30 per cent) patients within the first 72 hours from ED arrival.This study also found that there was a connection between the onset of delirium and the day in which the patient arrived in the ED. Those arriving on Sundays and Tuesdays were more likely to demonstrate symptoms in a shorter time. Casual factors suggested include fewer hospital beds, delayed floor admission - a waiting time greater than 13 hours - and a greater proportion of elective pre-surgical admissions.Mr. Moura has outlined several measures which can be taken to help prevent the likelihood of the onset of delirium in these settings, as well as reduce spending. These include an earlier initiation of delirium prevention measures; a quicker transfer from the ED to the hospital bed; and improving communication across healthcare managers in primary care, emergency rooms, operating rooms, and post-acute services.Valdery Moura Junior, who is also computer scientist and technical leader at the Mass General Brigham, a Boston-based non-profit hospital and physicians network that includes Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), two of the Harvard Medical School's most prestigious teaching hospitals, said:"New-onset delirium in older patients alone will mean a high price for the health care system and poses a global challenge for healthcare managers, providers, and payors. Managing hospital capacity has been an enormous challenge throughout the pandemic, with many admission processes reviewed as a result with the goal of improving patient outcomes. Our study may help to identify feasible targets to improve processes between ED and the rest of the hospital."Professor Feng Li, Chair of Information Management at the Business School, said: "This is an excellent example where routine operational data in a hospital can be used to identify anomaly and improve patient outcomes. Valdery's research demonstrated that more systematic use of such data can lead to significant improvement in the management of hospital capacity and operational processes, and most of all, quality of patient care."###‘Hospital complications among older adults: Better processes could reduce the risk of delirium’ by Valdery Moura Junior, M Brandon Westover, Feng Li, Eyal Kimchi, Maura Kennedy, Nicole M Benson, Lidia Maria Moura, John Hsu, is published in Health Services Management Research journal.Notes to Editors1. Although delirium reverberates through all age populations, adults over 65 are at greater risk of developing delirium during an acute illness, as are individuals with an underlying neurocognitive disorder (mild cognitive impairment and dementia)2. ED arrival on Sundays was associated with delayed floor admission and with the lowest proportion of hospital to skilled nursing facility discharges. Similarly, ED arrival on Tuesdays was associated with delayed floor admission and with greater proportion of elective pre-surgical admissions on Wednesday morning3. The research examined the time to delirium onset among 858 patients: 2/3 were admitted for stroke, with the remaining admitted for another acute neurologic event. Among all patients, 81.2 per cent had at least one delirium risk factor in addition to age. All eligible patients received delirium prevention protocols upon admission to the floor and received at least one delirium screening event4. Of the 858 patients aged 65+, 697 (81 per cent) had at least one delirium risk factor (e.g., stroke, visual impairment, fall, dementia)

Better healthcare management can reduce the risk of delirium among older adults

New research outlines how those admitted on Sunday and Tuesday are more likely to develop delirium, a hospital complication

CITY UNIVERSITY LONDON

Research News

Elderly patients with neurological conditions are significantly more likely to develop delirium shortly after they are hospitalised.

A new study has discovered that a delayed transfer to a hospital floor is associated with greater short-term risk of delirium among patients aged 65 and over, and for those who arrive to the Emergency Department (ED) on days with higher risk of prolonged lengths of stay - found to be Sunday and Tuesday.

Delirium is an acute cognitive disorder characterised by altered awareness, attentional deficits, confusion, and disorientation. Current estimates of new-onset delirium highlight the fact that delirium overwhelmingly develops in medical settings (as high as 82 per cent in intensive care settings) compared to the community at large (between one per cent and two per cent). Research has shown that between 30 per cent and 40 per cent of all delirium cases are preventable.

Authored by Valdery Moura Junior, an Executive PhD Research student at the Business School (formerly Cass), the study explores whether a combination of the care experienced at the ED and the delayed implementation of delirium prevention measures contribute to an increased risk of the disorder. For example, it is possible that the bright lights and high ambient noise level of the ED for 24 hours a day will contribute to increased short-term risk.

The findings showed that of the 858 patients who presented to the ED with a neurological emergency, delirium was documented in 234 (30 per cent) patients within the first 72 hours from ED arrival.

This study also found that there was a connection between the onset of delirium and the day in which the patient arrived in the ED. Those arriving on Sundays and Tuesdays were more likely to demonstrate symptoms in a shorter time. Casual factors suggested include fewer hospital beds, delayed floor admission - a waiting time greater than 13 hours - and a greater proportion of elective pre-surgical admissions.

Mr. Moura has outlined several measures which can be taken to help prevent the likelihood of the onset of delirium in these settings, as well as reduce spending. These include an earlier initiation of delirium prevention measures; a quicker transfer from the ED to the hospital bed; and improving communication across healthcare managers in primary care, emergency rooms, operating rooms, and post-acute services.

Valdery Moura Junior, who is also computer scientist and technical leader at the Mass General Brigham, a Boston-based non-profit hospital and physicians network that includes Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), two of the Harvard Medical School's most prestigious teaching hospitals, said:

"New-onset delirium in older patients alone will mean a high price for the health care system and poses a global challenge for healthcare managers, providers, and payors. Managing hospital capacity has been an enormous challenge throughout the pandemic, with many admission processes reviewed as a result with the goal of improving patient outcomes. Our study may help to identify feasible targets to improve processes between ED and the rest of the hospital."

Professor Feng Li, Chair of Information Management at the Business School, said: "This is an excellent example where routine operational data in a hospital can be used to identify anomaly and improve patient outcomes. Valdery's research demonstrated that more systematic use of such data can lead to significant improvement in the management of hospital capacity and operational processes, and most of all, quality of patient care."

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‘Hospital complications among older adults: Better processes could reduce the risk of delirium’ by Valdery Moura Junior, M Brandon Westover, Feng Li, Eyal Kimchi, Maura Kennedy, Nicole M Benson, Lidia Maria Moura, John Hsu, is published in Health Services Management Research journal.

Notes to Editors

1. Although delirium reverberates through all age populations, adults over 65 are at greater risk of developing delirium during an acute illness, as are individuals with an underlying neurocognitive disorder (mild cognitive impairment and dementia)

2. ED arrival on Sundays was associated with delayed floor admission and with the lowest proportion of hospital to skilled nursing facility discharges. Similarly, ED arrival on Tuesdays was associated with delayed floor admission and with greater proportion of elective pre-surgical admissions on Wednesday morning

3. The research examined the time to delirium onset among 858 patients: 2/3 were admitted for stroke, with the remaining admitted for another acute neurologic event. Among all patients, 81.2 per cent had at least one delirium risk factor in addition to age. All eligible patients received delirium prevention protocols upon admission to the floor and received at least one delirium screening event

4. Of the 858 patients aged 65+, 697 (81 per cent) had at least one delirium risk factor (e.g., stroke, visual impairment, fall, dementia)