Mattress Covers Research Articles

Research on Smart Mattress Based on Fiber Unbalanced Sagnac Loop

Because the contact vital sign detection system is monitored through skin contact, it affects the user’s comfort and causes inconvenience. And most of the non-contact equipment is not high precision, or the cost is too high. To solve the above problems, this article is based on the physiological activity of slight vibration in multimode optical fiber micro bending deformation which result in the change of light intensity principle, considering the structure of the optical fiber Sagnac loop sensor has simple structure, low cost, but the signal to noise ratio is poor and is not sensitive to low frequency signal, this paper designed a based on intelligent mattress of non-equilibrium sagnac loop structure. The mattress can obtain the heart impact map signal in real time by changing the small light intensity, and obtain the heart rate, respiration rate and other information through the algorithm processing the signal. Mattress in the design of the sensing optical fiber module will be connected to two different types of optical fiber of Unbalanced Sagnac loop structure, solve the balance Sagnac loop structure of optical fiber access signal noise is bigger, poor sensitivity were weakness, go through the serpentine line way of embedded mattress, and using the mattress cover material for optical fiber micro bending cycle critical mechanical adjustment cycle, the mattress is of high sensibility. Cardiac and respiratory signals obtained in the laboratory were compared with those obtained from the balanced Sagnac loop, and through the fast Fourier transform (FFT) in frequency domain signal is analyzed, the vital signs of signal more clearly this mattress stable and less noise, change the tester for many times after tests, get the signal of high accuracy, the error is very small. The experiment shows that the mattress can realize the non-sensory vital signs signal detection, convenient for users to monitor their physical conditions in real time in daily work and life, and can timely notify the family members and medical staff in emergency, to avoid the occurrence of accidents.

Microscopic identification of feathers from 7th century boat burials at Valsgärde in Central Sweden: Specialized long-distance feather trade or local bird use?

The warriors in the well-equipped, high-rank 7th–8th century boat burials at Valsgärde in Central Sweden were lying in feather stuffed beds. Feathers, especially from Common Eider, are known as trade commodities from the coast of North Norway from the 15th century onwards, but written sources indicate that it started much earlier. The main goal of this investigation was thus to see if the feathers from two of the boat burials, Valsgärde 7 and 8, showed any indications of such specialized long-distance trade of certain bird species. Various levels of bird identifications were obtained through microscopic analysis of the ancient feathers. Some of these identifications were corroborated with avian bones in the two burials and from a contemporary farm close to the burials. In this way a remarkably large variety of birds, among them Eagle Owl, was identified. The birds are likely to have been present in the surrounding areas including the nearby coast of the Baltic Sea. Therefore, the feathers do not suggest long-distance trade, but appear as a new source of knowledge of local bird fauna in archaeological sites. Scandinavian folklore and Islandic Sagas indicated that the feathers had a special meaning, in connection with death and shamanism. The investigations could not confirm long-distance trade with feathers, but gave new perspectives on the use and cultural significance of birds in the Late Iron Age in Scandinavia.

Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis and (Idiopathic) Pulmonary Fibrosis Due to Feather Duvets and Pillows

IntroductionExposure to feather bedding may be an unnoticed cause of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Thus, an in-depth clinical study of the diagnosis of patients with suspected HP and IPF is required in order to determine their etiologies. The objective of the present study is to raise awareness of HP and pulmonary fibrosis due to exposure to feather bedding, and to study the prevalence and describe long-term outcomes. MethodsWe describe a series of 33 patients diagnosed with HP and pulmonary fibrosis due to feather bedding exposure and followed over a 10-year period. The patients were from a subgroup of 127 individuals with HP undergoing in-depth evaluation using a diagnostic protocol at a regional referral center. ResultsEleven (33%) patients were clinically diagnosed with acute HP and 22 (67%) with chronic HP. Ten (45%) chronic HP patients showed a high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) pattern of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) with suspected IPF. The prevalence of HP was 6.2/100 000 feather bedding users (compared with 54.6 per 100 000 bird-breeders). The survival rates of patients over the 10-year period was 100% for acute HP and 64% for chronic HP. ConclusionsIn a series of HP patients, the diagnosis was attributed to feather bedding exposure in 26%. UIP pattern on HRCT was present in nearly half of the chronic cases. The survival of patients with chronic HP at ten years was 64%, despite avoiding further exposure.

Cardboard Bed Without Mattress Is Ineffective in Improving the body Contact Pressure-a Preliminary Study Using a Dummy Model.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to describe and evaluate the dispersion of body-mattress contact pressure on a cardboard bed and investigate whether the cardboard bed has a positive effect on evacuees’ musculoskeletal burden.Materials and MethodsA high-performance nursing simulator was used to measure the contact pressure and the body surface contour area of the bed, and these values were collected with the patient in the supine position using the Body Pressure Measurement System. Data of each test were acquired 10 times and were compared among 4 conditions (plastic sheet, cardboard bed, cardboard bed with a blanket, and cardboard bed with a mattress-topper). The data analysis for body-mattress contacts pressure and the surface contour area of the whole body, head, chest, and buttocks were conducted by one-way repeated analysis of variance and Bonferroni post-hoc test.ResultsThe average body-contact pressure on the cardboard bed did not decrease compared with that on the floor with plastic sheets. In contrast, the body surface contour area was significantly different among any other conditions, but the gap was only approximately 16%. However, the body-contact pressure and the body surface contour area were improved when a mattress-topper was added on the cardboard bed. When a blanket was laid on the cardboard bed, the contact area was increased.ConclusionOur results indicate that the pressure dispersion ability of the cardboard bed was not sufficient; however, adding the mattress-topper or the blanket could contribute to an improvement in the evacuees’ musculoskeletal burden. Many evacuees lay a mattress topper or futon on a cardboard bed after installing cardboard beds. Our findings may also support the scientific validity of the evacuees’ actual sleeping style in Japan. This preliminary study provides the basis for future research on exploring an appropriate sleeping bed condition in evacuee shelters.

Дом тюдоровской эпохи (по данным «Описания Англии» Уильяма Харрисона

Статья посвящена изучению повседневной жизни англичан елизаветинской эпохи и в частности их жилища, по свидетельству Уильяма Харрисона, автора «Описания Англии», 1577 г. С точки зрения Уильяма Харрисона, дом англичанина является объектом его гордости. По его мысли, дома в Англии различаются по материалу, из которого они построены. По мнению Уильяма Харрисона, различие в материалах для строительства домов определяется климатическими условиями местности, где они были возведены. Кроме того, разница в домах определяется и статусом их владельцев. Есть дома простолюдинов и аристократов. Особое место Уильям Харрисон отводит убранству домов, делая акцент на последних модных тенденциях в интерьере, а именно увеличение количества дымоходов и каминов, появление перин и столового серебра. Эти нововведения, по его данным, затронули все слои населения Англии. «Описание Англии» Уильяма Харрисона позволяет выяснить, что дом многое значит в менталитете англичан тюдоровской эпохи.

Better combination of thickness and hardness of mattress topper for supine sleeping posture: A physiological measurements evaluation

Placing a topper on a sleeping system is common practice to enhance sleeping comfort. The aim of this study was to determine the thickness and hardness effect of a mattress topper by measuring the four physiological measurements from 40 healthy males. The results showed that the use of a thin mattress topper (30 mm) significantly induced lower body pressure and temperature, higher muscle activities in the biceps femoris, and a straighter spinal alignment in the T12–L4 vertebrae. The use of a hard mattress topper significantly induced a higher body pressure, a lower body temperature in the lower extremities, a higher EMG (%MVC) in the trapezius, but a lower EMG (%MVC) in the biceps femoris, and a straighter spinal alignment at T1–T4, T4–T6, and T6–T8. Overall, a soft topper of 30-mm thickness was suggested as the best combination. The findings can provide very useful information for topper design and selection.

A novel minimal-contact biomotion method for long-term respiratory rate monitoring.

In this study, we assessed the diagnostic accuracy of the device VitaLog (SWG Sportwerk GmbH & Co. KG, Dortmund, Germany) for estimation of respiratory rate (RR) variability. VitaLog is a minimal-contact biomotion device that is placed under the mattress topper. It senses respiratory effort and body movement using a piezoelectric sensor. Diagnostic accuracy was determined in 103 patients referred to our sleep laboratory for suspected sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). SDB was defined by AHI ≥ 15/h. Results provided by VitaLog were compared with nasal flow measurement obtained by polysomnography (PSG). Diagnostic accuracy of VitaLog was excellent. We obtained a correlation of r = 0.99 and a bias of 0.2 cycles per minute (cpm) between VitaLog and PSG-provided nasal flow. Detection RR variability worked nearly identically in patients with and without SDB. VitaLog is an appropriate method for determination of RR variability based on a minimal-contact biomotion sensor. This device is easy to handle, available at low cost, and suitable for long-term monitoring in the hospital or at home.

Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis and (Idiopathic) Pulmonary Fibrosis Due to Feather Duvets and Pillows

IntroductionExposure to feather bedding may be an unnoticed cause of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Thus, an in-depth clinical study of the diagnosis of patients with suspected HP and IPF is required in order to determine their etiologies. The objective of the present study is to raise awareness of HP and pulmonary fibrosis due to exposure to feather bedding, and to study the prevalence and describe long-term outcomes. MethodsWe describe a series of 33 patients diagnosed with HP and pulmonary fibrosis due to feather bedding exposure and followed over a 10-year period. The patients were from a subgroup of 127 individuals with HP undergoing in-depth evaluation using a diagnostic protocol at a regional referral center. ResultsEleven (33%) patients were clinically diagnosed with acute HP and 22 (67%) with chronic HP. Ten (45%) chronic HP patients showed a high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) pattern of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) with suspected IPF. The prevalence of HP was 6.2/100 000 feather bedding users (compared with 54.6 per 100 000 bird-breeders). The survival rates of patients over the 10-year period was 100% for acute HP and 64% for chronic HP. ConclusionsIn a series of HP patients, the diagnosis was attributed to feather bedding exposure in 26%. UIP pattern on HRCT was present in nearly half of the chronic cases. The survival of patients with chronic HP at ten years was 64%, despite avoiding further exposure.

Use of Temperature Controlling Mattress Pad for Sleep Improvement

Use of Temperature Controlling Mattress Pad for Sleep Improvement

Fuzzy Tsukamoto for Determinen Linen Priority

With problems at the hospital Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo, namely borrowing linen when nurses make loans to the logistics division, so that the logistics division has difficulty in determining which linen is used more frequently or lent by nurses, because the type of linen that is very much causes difficulties in the division in determining which linen is obliged to return it quickly to the logistics division. In order for linen to be available again in the logistics division, in addition to a very large loan every month, the logistics division had difficulty determining the average loss of linen in one year. That way the problem that occurs to solve this problem is to use a method namely Fuzzy Tsukamoto to determine the average amount of loss of linen and to determine priority linen that will be replaced earlier when the linen change schedule is in progress or the linen return is speeded up by returning the type of linen that is very often used for. After calculating using the Fuzzy Tsukamoto method, priority linen can be produced, including a Bolster, Blanket, Mattress Pad, and Bed Cover. Based on the calculation of Fuzzy Tsukamoto by doing several stages, namely Fuzzyfication, Fuzzy Rule, Fuzzy Inference System, and Defuzzyfication resulting in an average amount of linen loss in one year is 222.

Innovative New Evacuation Concept with Emergency Mattresses

In-hospital patients with limited mobility are extremely vulnerable in cases of emergency or fire. In the past, several large fires in multi-story hospitals have resulted in deaths. For this reason, we have developed an evacuation mattress that incorporates the functions of an evacuation towel with the comfort of a normal mattress. The retention and fixation belts are protected and hidden by the washable mattress cover and can be reached by zippers in case of emergency. One person can pull the patient from the bed, along the hallway, and through the stairwell without injury. The entire mattress costs approximately 80 - 90 € more than a normal mattress. In the meantime, all beds of our six hospital group have been equipped with these mattresses. Rapid rescue can thus be facilitated with a complete system.

High rebound mattress toppers facilitate core body temperature drop and enhance deep sleep in the initial phase of nocturnal sleep.

Recently, several new materials for mattresses have been introduced. Although some of these, such as low rebound (pressure-absorbing/memory foam) and high rebound mattresses have fairly different characteristics, effects of these mattresses on sleep have never been scientifically evaluated. In the current study, we have evaluated effects of a high rebound mattress topper [HR] on sleep and its associated physiology, and the effects were compared to those of a low rebound mattress toppers (LR) in healthy young (n = 10) and old (n = 20) adult males with a randomized, single-blind, cross over design. We found that sleeping with HR compared to LR induced a larger decline in core body temperature (CBT) in the initial phase of nocturnal sleep both in young (minimum CBT: 36.05 vs 36.35°C) and old (minimum CBT: 36.47 vs. 36.55°C) subjects, and declines in the CBT were associated with increases in deep sleep/delta power (+27.8% in young and +24.7% in old subjects between 11:00–01:00). We also found significantly smaller muscle activities during roll over motions with HR (-53.0 to -66.1%, depending on the muscle) during a separate daytime testing. These results suggest that sleeping with HR in comparison to with LR, may facilitate restorative sleep at the initial phase of sleep.

Preventive Effect of a Microclimate-Regulating System on Pressure Ulcer Development: A Prospective, Randomized Controlled Trial in Dutch Nursing Homes.

Prevention of pressure ulcers (PrUs) is based on relieving pressure, diminishing shear stress, and controlling the skin's microclimate. Based on the recommendations in the most recent guideline for prevention of PrUs, a pressure-relieving, shear stress-diminishing, and microclimate-controlling skin interface multilayer support system (Bedcare; Sense Textile, 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands) has been developed for use on top of a viscoelastic foam mattress (Formafoam, Kabelfabriek Eupen, Belgium). The aim of this study was to test the PrU preventive effect of this system compared with a viscoelastic foam mattress alone. A multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial was executed in 21 nursing homes in the Netherlands. Residents with a Braden score less than 16, a life expectancy of more than 3 months, and no PrUs during the last 3 months were asked to participate and included after informed consent. Residents were divided into 2 groups. The control group received a new high-quality viscoelastic foam mattress covered with a cotton sheet. The intervention group received the same new mattress, in combination with the newly developed multilayer system. Research nurses followed the participating residents for 12 weeks. The outcome parameter was the development of PrUs. Two hundred six residents participated in the study. Both groups had comparable demographics (eg, age, Braden score, care dependency, incontinence). In the control group, 5% of the residents developed a category 2, 3, or 4 PrU, and 9% in the intervention group did. These results were not statistically significant. This study shows that the multilayer system (Mini Overlay System, barrier mattress cover, and Stay and Transfer Sheet), when used as an integral system and in combination with a viscoelastic foam mattress, has no added value over the viscoelastic foam mattress/cotton sheet.

Smart Care Beds for Elderly Patients with Impaired Mobility

Most accidents occurring at medical institutions treating elderly patients with mobility impairment are bedsores and fall accidents. One of the reasons for this high rate of accidents is the lack of nursing personnel. In order to aid caregivers in nursing elderly patients who are not able to move about freely, in this paper, we propose a design and implementation of a smart bed. In this bed, several pressure sensors are deployed underneath the mattress cover to consider both peoples’ standard physical characteristics and the specific body parts where bedsores commonly occur. To manage the pressure ulcer area and to prevent falls, the body area is divided into three vertical areas and three horizontal areas. Each microcontroller unit manages pressure‐sensing information in one of the body regions divided horizontally. In this study, a real‐time pressure‐sensing algorithm is presented that is capable of deciding on the possibilities of bedsores and falling accidents by considering both the intensity and the duration of pressure of specific body parts. Our experimental results demonstrate that a prototype smart bed works well for several human models of various heights and weights.

Classification of sleep and wake using a novel minimal-contact single-channel device

Polysomnography (PSG) is the gold standard for sleep analysis and the diagnosis of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). As PSG is time-consuming and labor-intensive, it is the last step in a stepwise diagnostic workup. An early preliminary diagnosis can be obtained by a novel single-channel minimal-contact device which is placed under the patient’s mattress topper. This study assessed the diagnostic accuracy of the novel minimal-contact device VitaLog (SWG Sportwerk GmbH & Co. KG, Dortmund, Germany) for sleep–wake classification and measurement of heart rate (HR). The results were compared to PSG. VitaLog is a minimal-contact sensor that does not restrict sleep. The diagnostic accuracy of VitaLog was studied in 49 patients referred to our sleep research unit due to suspected SBD. Results obtained by VitaLog were compared to those of a simultaneous PSG to assess the diagnostic accuracy of VitaLog for sleep–wake classification and measurement of HR. Compared to PSG, the accuracy of HR determined by VitaLog was excellent (r = 0.99) with a bias of 0.15 beats per min (bpm). Regarding total sleep time (TST), we found a good correlation of r = 0.8 and a bias of 14 min. For sleep efficiency (SE) estimated by VitaLog, the correlation was moderate with r = 0.6 with a bias of 4.0%. Sleep latency (SL) and wake after sleep onset (WASO) were underestimated by 1 and 12 min, respectively. VitaLog is a promising approach for the estimation of the sleep-related parameters TST, SE, SL, and WASO based on a minimal-contact sensor. In addition, it measures HR with excellent accuracy. However, algorithm modifications are desired to provide appropriate diagnostic accuracy in all sleep disorder cohorts.

Trends in prevalence and risk factors of allergic rhinitis symptoms in primary schoolchildren six years apart in Budapest

BackgroundFew data are available concerning the time trends and risk factors associated with allergic rhinitis (AR) in schoolchildren in Hungary. MethodsAt an interval of six years, parents of 6–12-year-old children completed identical ISAAC-based and additional questionnaires related to possible risk factors. ResultsResponse rate was 62.8% with 6335 questionnaires distributed in 2007, and 52.9% with 6441 questionnaires in 2013. The prevalence of current AR symptoms (subjects presenting clinical symptoms of AR in the past 12 months, but had yet to be diagnosed by physician) increased significantly from 14.9% to 23.5% (p<0.001). There was no significant change in the prevalence of physician-diagnosed AR (11.6–11.2%). In multivariate analysis, gender (OR 0.733; CI 0.642–0.931), a family history of atopy (OR 2.017; CI 1.669–2.436), frequent upper respiratory tract infections (OR 2.033; CI 1.659–2.492), long-lasting disease before the appearance of the allergy (OR 2.119; CI 1.311–3.428), feather bedding (OR 0.773; CI 0.599–0.996) and living in a green area (OR 1.367; CI 1.133–1.650) were found to be significant risk factors of cumulative AR in 2013. In both of the groups with (p<0.000) or without (p<0.003) AR the families with a history of atopy used feather bedding less frequently than families without atopy. ConclusionAlthough the prevalence of physician-diagnosed AR has not shown significant changes during the studied interval, the significant increase of the current AR symptoms suggests growing prevalence of AR among children in Budapest. Our results revealed new aspects of bedding customs in atopic families.

1074 POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, CANINE COMPANIONSHIP, AND SLEEP: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

Large numbers of Veterans with post-deployment psychological disorders have reported improvements in sleep in association with canine companionship. Studies have also provided support for an association between canine companionship and lower baseline heart rate. We tested both possibilities in a sample of combat Veterans undergoing inpatient treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and participating in a Service Animal Training Intervention in which they shared custody of a service canine with another Veteran. Alternating custody enabled within-subjects modeling of associations between canine companionship and sleep. 18 military Veterans with deployment-related PTSD underwent mattress actigraphy for up to four weeks yielding 493 nights of sleep data. Mattress actigraphy relies upon accelerometers embedded in a mattress topper. The intended sleep period is delimited manually by blind raters after which sleep parameters are calculated automatically. Participants also rated morning restedness on a five-point scale following a total of 329 nights. Whether or not participants had custody of their service canines was carefully tracked. Linear mixed modeling was applied to the longitudinal data, controlling for AHI, snoring, and body movements. A random intercept was specified for each participant. Modeling morning restedness detected only main effects of minutes of actigraphic quiescence (F(1,324) = 4.44, p = 0.036) and canine presence (F(1,313) = 3.89, p = 0.049), both predictors having positive coefficients. Modeling of sleep heart rate also detected main effects of actigraphic quiescence (F(1,476) = 5.38, p = 0.021) and of canine presence (F(1,472) = 5.55, p = 0.018), as well as an effect of snoring (F(1,478) = 13.23, p = 0.0003). Quiescence and canine presence were negatively associated with sleep heart rate, while snoring was positively associated. After accounting for other predictors, canine presence was associated with lower sleep heart rate and greater morning restedness in Veterans with PTSD. Preliminarily, these results are consistent with Veterans’ reports of positive effects of a familiar canine presence on their sleep. This research was supported by Contract W81XWH-15-2-0005 to Steven H. Woodward, PhD, from the Defense Health Program, Military Operational Medical Research Program, and U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.

"A Shell and What Became of It": Missile Narratives and Commemorative Trajectories at Gettysburg

"A Shell and What Became of It":Missile Narratives and Commemorative Trajectories at Gettysburg Kristen Treen [On] Friday, my mother said she would take the feather bed to the garret where the others were neatly packed away. She went up to get the place ready for it and came down to get some one to help carry it up; while she was down there was a loud crash and a shell came tearing through a fifteen inch brick wall, striking a beam that supported the roof, split it in two, broke out a rung from the crib in which we had slept when children, and having spent its force rolled down the stairs to the first landing. —Elizabeth McClean, Gettysburg Compiler Gettysburg's missiles have notoriously long trajectories. in July 1908, Elizabeth McClean helped the Gettysburg Compiler mark the battle's forty-fifth anniversary with her remembrance of a shell that had traveled from the fray into her family's home ("The Rebels Are Coming!"). The intrusion took place in the midst of the intense push that marked the battle's final day. Until that moment the McCleans, tucked away on central Baltimore Street, had seen little of the action, although stray bullets flattened themselves against their wall. The shell was another matter altogether, for its impact lasted far beyond its moment of collision. Elizabeth didn't just preserve the story of that day: her family, who had initially been too afraid to handle the shell, decided to keep it. They preserved the damage it had done, too. Writing for the same newspaper a year later, her brother Robert recalled how "a broken piece of timber struck out by the shell on its course through the garret was driven through the side of a crib standing there, leaving an opening unrepaired to this day, as a memorial of the battle" ("A Boy in Gettysburg—1863" 2). The impulse to memorialize seized others. The next owner of the McClean house had "another shell put in the wall where the first one came though" (E. McClean 2). Another family embedded a three-inch Reed shell in their shot-riddled wall alongside a cluster of bullet holes. At least nine buildings in Gettysburg remain studded with traces (authentic or makeshift) of the battle's impact— [End Page 453] traces that visitors still seek out, intent on an engagement with the past that monuments up at the Soldiers' National Cemetery don't seem to yield.1 Indeed, these vernacular memorials explode the workings of public monuments altogether, and I want to take that explosion as a starting point for a reevaluation of the commemorative practice that emerged at Gettysburg. It seems inevitable now that the Soldiers' National Cemetery, Abraham Lincoln's brief remarks at its dedication, and the unveiling, in 1869, of the Soldiers' National Monument should have become mythical points of origin for the war's commemorative inheritance. In 1863, the battle represented an important geographical turning point in the war's progress; coinciding with the Federal triumph at Vicksburg a day later, on July 4, Gettysburg appeared to reaffirm the consonance between the Republican cause and the foundational aims of the Declaration of Independence. And while the battle's appalling casualty rate alarmed those who flocked to Cemetery Ridge, Little Round Top, and Devil's Den, the battle hastened on a commemorative endeavor that, in its urgent need to honor the fallen, would set the standard for commemorative acts to come. With time, Lincoln's words became a blueprint for the nation that would arise from the rubble; we know that story. But its inexorable narrative trajectory, bolstered by symbolism and shored-up by hindsight, obscures this project's messy beginnings. Commemoration, I want to suggest, started with souvenir gatherers like the McCleans who, with thousands of civilians and soldiers, collected objects that helped them to tell this event. Historical accounts of the battle's aftermath and Gettysburg's commemorative endeavor have generally cast this popular activity as a fundamentally separate, "unofficial" act of remembering.2 At the very least, souvenir gathering provides background noise to the official commemorative efforts of state officials and federal agents. At most, it is...

George Orwell-Anti-Imperialistic outlook and Anti-totalitarian

There are two further reasons for his down and out life not stated by Orwell, but which ought, I think, to come into the reckoning. First, Orwell's own impression of working-class life (it appears particularly strongly in Nineteen Eighty-four) as a kind of warm feather bed into which one could sink abandoning all pretensions. His own family, he seemed to feel, had only recently and with great difficulty hauled itself up into the middle classes. The enterprise of a grant parent, the fiothold gained by his father as minor official, his own suffering at school and the sacrifices made by parents and sisters to keep him there, had led only to this a police job which was more than he could stomach. Since the whole upward fight had been in vain, the sensible thing to do was to relax and go down. The resulting hardship would be well compensated by peace of kind.

Parabolic Path

Parabolic Path Bobby Mitchell (bio) When the bullet passed through the girl’s head, entering at the base of her neck and exiting through her forehead, it pulled behind it a trail of gray matter into the broken cranium. It restored the fractured skull, stitching together the delicate, dark skin between the girl’s eyebrows. When the bullet encased itself in its shell and spun and rushed and sped into the muzzle of Sergeant Sofie Afridi’s Beretta at a rate of 1,100 meters per second, as the shell came to rest in the chamber of her sidearm and the force of the bullet sent a shock through her rigid, outstretched arms, Sofie knew she’d become a mother. When she first saw the girl, blood smeared on her face and pooled on the suddenly wet earthen ground of a mud home in a small compound near the Khyber Pass, Sofie knew the girl would be born soon. She looked to the other soldiers in the room with her. Private Murphy. Specialist Granger. Sergeant Carter. One of these would be the girl’s father, she thought. There were other bodies in the room, too. Their pale, cold forms—dimly lit—cast small shadows on the ground where the dawn’s twilight had crept in through the west-facing windows. Sofie dusted her hands off and knelt beside the girl. She held two fingers to the girl’s carotid artery. She hoped for a pulse, for the first small beat. In some births, she knew, there could be a long, quiet period of a slow, weak pulse before the first painful and beautiful breath. For those born in war, and there were always so many born that way, birth involved a lot of blood. There was, of course, a variety of other and less violent ways to be born, but for those who had seen a war-birth, there was no arguing that it was one of nature’s most beautiful miracles. [End Page 72] Sofie stood up, buttoning the chin strap of her helmet into place. She stretched out her arm, pointing to the other bodies in the room. She called out to her fellow soldiers, asking for a status report. The other soldiers—Private Granger and Specialist Murphy were closest to her—shook their heads, meaning no one was breathing, not yet anyway. Specialist Murphy stood, his legs spread wide and slightly bent, his weapon drawn, standing next to the body of an unborn soldier he and Granger had carried with them to this home. His nametape said Ramirez, so that’s what they would call him. Somewhere on this compound, Murphy knew Ramirez had a father or a mother waiting for him. Murphy had said so on the way to the compound, he just knew it, why else would he be lugging the body around with him? Sofie looked back to the little girl on the ground, the wet blood all but gone, the last trails of it snaking its way across her face. She broke the holster strap on her sidearm, her weapon drawn and steady, waiting for the bullet which, a moment later, had ripped out of the girls head and traced its parabolic path into her gun. The girl screamed. She scooted across the floor, hands behind her bent back, her heels digging into the ground and pulling her small self towards Sofie. The girl’s eyes were wide and her chest rose and fell in massive heaves. She wanted to holster her weapon, to kneel back down in the dirt to comfort the girl, her daughter, her first child, but she knew she couldn’t. The compound was ringing with the hollow bangs of bullets coming loose from the secret places where they had been lodged, waiting for this moment when the soldiers would come along to collect them. The bullets pried loose from mud walls and feather bedding, from bookcases and hand-crank-radios, from livestock and people alike, and once a soldier drew their weapon they kept it out until the last bullet tore through the air. Nineteen rounds in all, that’s what she collected. She’d had to drop...