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Reading, even when silent and individual, is a social phenomenon and has often been studied as such. Complementary to this view, research has begun to explore how reading is embodied beyond simply being 'wired' in the brain. This article brings the social and embodied perspectives together in a very literal sense. Reporting a qualitative study of reading practices across student focus groups from six European countries, it identifies an underexplored factor in reading behaviour and experience. This factor is the sheer physical presence, and concurrent activity, of other people in the environment where one engages in individual silent reading. The primary goal of the study was to explore the role and possible associations of a number of variables (text type, purpose, device) in selecting generic (e.g. indoors vs outdoors) as well as specific (e.g. home vs library) reading environments. Across all six samples included in the study, participants spontaneously attested to varied, and partly surprising, forms of sensitivity to company and social space in their daily efforts to align body with mind for reading. The article reports these emergent trends and discusses their potential implications for research and practice.

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Abstract: The study of traditional agrarian systems can provide useful knowledge for improving the sustainability of present-day agriculture. Nonetheless, with the loss of traditional agro-ecosystems and the rationale that guides them, as has happened in Europe, an historical research approach can have a decisive role to play in recapturing this knowledge. In this article we study the evolution of a typical Mediterranean agro-ecosystem during the last 250 years, supporting the claim that high diversity and the internalization of energy flows and nutrient cycles found in traditional agriculture, are not only characteristics of the greatest sustainability of such systems, but are based in the need for additional land in production. This claim requires the dedication of land to diverse and complementary uses that leave a footprint on the landscape. Organic agriculture needs to consider this “land cost”, meanwhile trying to minimize it in order to improve its actual degree of sustainability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The airtightness of buildings has gained relevance in the last decade. The spread of the regulatory frameworks, the demand of stricter requirements, schemes for testing and quality control, the creation of airtightness databases and its analysis, is proof of this reality. The present review encompasses schemes developed in Europe and North America with regard to these aspects for national residential sectors. A normative framework on requirements and recommendations at the national level is compiled. Whole building airtightness databases are compared based on their structures and measurement data acquisition protocols. Gathered complementary information not directly related to testing is analysed and airtightness influencing factors importance and relationships are discussed. Weaknesses and strengths in the different aspects of the existing database setups are identified. Also, neglected or not entirely undertaken topics are pinpointed together with the suggestion of possible opportunities for future works and changes. Amongst other relevant remarks and discussions, it is concluded that the lack of uniformization in method between countries, the need for a minimum data setup, the lack of data analysis on relating the energy impact with the advancement in requirements of airtightness performance and the implemented setups are some of the main issues to address in the near future. • A thorough review of the regulatory context and the main database schemes on whole building airtightness. • National initiatives differ significantly although international standards are in place. • The absence of regulation on most of southern and eastern European countries hinders the implementation of nZEB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hypertension is considered as a main risk factor for chronic kidney disease development and progression. Thus, the control and evaluation of this disease with new software and devices are especially important in patients who suffer from chronic kidney disease.Objective: This study aimed to validate the QardioArm mobile device, which is used for blood pressure (BP) self-measurement in patients who suffer from chronic kidney disease, by following the European Society of Hypertension International Protocol 2 (ESH-IP2) guidelines.Methods: A validation study was carried out by following the ESH-IP2 guidelines. A sample of 33 patients with chronic kidney disease self-measured their BP by using the QardioArm and Omron M3 Intellisense devices. Heart rate (HR), diastolic BP, and systolic BP were measured.Results: The QardioArm fulfilled the ESH-IP2 validation criteria in patients who suffered from chronic kidney disease.Conclusions: Thus, this study is considered as the first validation using a wireless upper arm oscillometric device connected to an app to measure BP and HR meeting the ESH-IP2 requirements in patients who suffer from chronic kidney disease. New validation studies following the ESH-IP2 guidelines should be carried out using different BP devices in patients with specific diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]