bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exploring light and colour patterns for remote biophilic northern architecture
Authors: Espinoza-Sanhueza Carolina , Hébert Marc , Lalonde Jean-François , Demers Claude MH
Published: September 2023

This research explores the effects of light in terms of colour, surface colour configuration and finishes using simple and advanced methods in the development of biophilic lighting ambiances for remote northern architecture. Biophilic light and colour design can benefit inhabitants of subarctic regions, where drastic changes in the natural photoperiod can impact the mind and body. To predict the outcomes of light and colour, this research used reduced-scale models that replicate a north-oriented room and a specially designed mirror-box sky simulator, which emulates the lighting conditions and correlated colour temperature (CCT) of a northern sky. Physical models with distinct surface colour properties and the use of high dynamic range imagery (HDRi) techniques allow the recognition of quantitative effects and lighting attributes of main hue families such as red, green, blue and yellow. The results reveal that the colour and the surface colour configuration significantly modify the spectral properties of a lit ambiance measured in Equivalent Melanopic Lux (EML) and CCT. Surface colour configuration and finishes produce variations in the luminous attributes measured in intensity contrast. This combination of simple and innovative tools could predict light and colour effects in early design stages for responsive architecture in subarctic territories.
Investigation on energy management strategy of gas-electric marine hybrid propulsion system with improved dynamic programing algorithm
Authors: Xu Chao , Fan Liyun , Jiang Zejun , Shen Chongchong , Li Hongcheng
Published: September 2023

An energy management strategy (EMS) is important in marine hybrid propulsion systems while the global optimal solutions are more significant for the EMS to improve the fuel economy of system. Aiming at finding the more accurate global optimal solutions for EMS, an improved dynamic programing (DP) algorithm was proposed to overcome the basic DP algorithms’ weaknesses and improve the fuel economy. Then the model of gas-electric hybrid propulsion system was also established to verify the strategies. What’s more, the improved DP algorithm was applied to the minimum natural gas consumption and charge-sustaining strategy. And a bi-level optimization scheme that decoupled the interaction between the EMS and components matching was also studied. The results showed that the improved DP algorithm not only avoided the shortcomings in the basic DP algorithm such as the weak effect of penalty functions and curse of dimensionality but also gave more accurate solutions. Compared to the basic DP, the improved DP algorithm can reduce the gas fuel consumption by 3.67% and the computational complexity decreases 100 times.
The multiple logics of market-based governance: How the sharing economy platform Airbnb governs user conduct
Authors: Bajde Domen , Golf-Papez Maja , Kolar Tomaž , Culiberg Barbara
Published: September 2023

Building upon the rich tradition of research on governmentality, this paper introduces the notion of market-based governance (i.e. the coordinated efforts of companies to align the conduct of its constituents with the institutional norms, values and interests of the company), and presents an empirical investigation of market-based governance in the context of a sharing economy platform, Airbnb. Whereas existing governmentality research has focused on specific discourses or aspects of governance in the marketplace, our aim is to develop broader-spectrum conceptual tools for ‘ordering’ the increasingly multifaceted forms of marked-based governance. We show that Airbnb mobilizes three distinct logics of governance (i.e. the regulatory, competitive and communitarian) which subsume diverse modes of power (i.e. the sovereign, disciplinary and pastoral) that contribute to the cultivation of governable subjects (i.e. the compliant subject, entrepreneurial subject and community member). The theoretical framework developed in this work is applied to critically reflect on emergent forms of market-based governance, the dilemmas of multi-logic governance and the uneven geographies of market-based governance.
The Sound of Water: sensing a wetland intervention through interactive environmental audio
Authors: Whitelaw Mitchell , Wassens Skye , Mackenzie Adrian
Published: September 2023

The Sound of Water ( https://flow-mer.org.au/napnap ) microsite documents an environmental intervention at Nap Nap Swamp, a wetland in the western reaches of Australia’s Murrumbidgee River. A collaboration between a designer (Whitelaw) and an ecologist (Wassens), it was supported by the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office. We use audiovisual data storytelling to engage audiences with Nap Nap as it transitions from a dry to wet state. Focusing on a 9-day period in mid-2020, we combine audio and hydrological data to show the ecosystem’s response to a managed environmental flow, narrating this change through the wetland’s charismatic frog species, including the threatened Southern Bell Frog. In this paper we reflect on the technical and creative contributions of the project in visualising environmental audio, as well as its significance for wider practice. We highlight the value of creatively re-purposing ecological data and the importance of multi-stakeholder networks, and we argue that our celebration in this project of environmental management, intervention and care should be a key concern for future digital ecologies practices.
Reconversion of a building to a new functional program using graph matching
Authors: Deprez Louise , Verstraeten Ruben , Pauwels Pieter
Published: September 2023

Building, demolishing, and rebuilding new structures, instead of renovating vacant buildings for adaptive reuse, generates a significant amount of waste. Quickly assessing if and how a building can house a new function can be time-consuming. We developed a method that automates this process using a graph-based strategy in which both the building and the functional program are represented by attributed graphs. Specifically, the new method performs a node matching strategy based on the properties of the nodes and the topological structure of the graphs by which each empty room is filled with an activity of the new function.
Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence Empowered People Analytics: A Novel Framework Towards Sustainability
Authors: Chang Yu-Ling , Ke Jie
Published: September 2023

Series of reports on AI misconduct from multiple renowned organizations have triggered a surge of public awareness, calling for more responsible and sustainable use of AI. Noting socially responsible AI (SRAI) as a new concept in the field of PA and HRD, we delved into the subject through an integrative literature review of 75 articles and incorporated three sustainability concepts into AI-enabled PA: corporate social responsibility (CSR), environment, social, and governance (ESG), and UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). Through a stakeholder view, we identified major SRAI stakeholders (subjects) and analyzed their essential considerations (objectives), the impediments of AI technology (causes), and the solutions (means). The analysis illuminated key requirements and considerations for enhancing AI-enabled PA to SRAI-empowered PA towards sustainability. Moreover, we proposed a holistic framework to thoroughly understand SRAI in theory and provided practical implications, recommendations, and future research directions for HRD scholars and professionals.
The added effects of cold spells on stroke admissions: Differential effects on ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke
Authors: Liu Peilin , Chen Zhuangzhuang , Han Suqin , Xia Xiaoshuang , Wang Lin , Li Xin
Published: September 2023

Background:

Epidemiological evidence suggests an association between low ambient temperature and stroke risk, but available data are limited particularly on associations with different stroke subtypes.

Aims:

The aim of this study is to estimate the relationship between cold spells and stroke admissions, including the effect of cold spells on different stroke subtypes (ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH)).

Methods:

A total of 144,405 stroke admissions from the Tianjin Centre for Health and Meteorology Multidisciplinary Innovation in China, covering the period from January 2016 to December 2020, were studied, as well as meteorological and air pollutant data. A generalized additive model with a distributed lag nonlinear model was employed to assess the relationship, considering 12 different definitions of a cold spell based on various temperature thresholds and durations. The analysis controlled for lagged and nonlinear effects of temperature. Analyses were performed on all strokes as well as ischemic stroke and ICH.

Results:

There was a significant increase in stroke admissions during cold spells. Generally, the increased risk during cold spells increased as the temperature threshold decreased, but was not significantly affected by the duration. The optimal model was obtained using the cold-spell definition based on an average daily temperature below the 10th percentile (0.11°C) for 2 or more consecutive days. According to this model, the effect of cold spells on ischemic stroke admissions had a significant lag effect and was long-lasting, with a single-day effect occurring on lag 7d, peaking on lag 13d (relative risk (RR) = 1.05; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02 to 1.09), and lasting until lag 20d. In contrast, the effect on ICH was immediate and short-lived, with the most significant single-day effect occurring on the current day (RR = 1.17; 95% CI = 1.06 to 1.29) and limited within 3 days. 14.15% of stroke cases could be attributed to cold spells, with ICH exhibiting a higher burden than ischemic stroke except for strict temperature threshold definitions.

Conclusion:

Cold spells are associated with an increased stroke risk. Different patterns of association were seen for different stroke subtypes. The effect on ischemic stroke had a lag effect and a longer duration, whereas the effect on ICH had an immediate effect and a shorter duration. These findings support the development and improvement of stroke cold-spell early warning systems and highlight the importance of public health interventions to mitigate the adverse health impacts of cold spells.
Assessment of atrial septal defects using 3-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography prior to percutaneous device closure: first report from Bangladesh
Authors: Saha Santosh Kumar , Ahmed Chaudhury Meshkat , Haque Tuhin , Al Mamun Mohammad Abdullah , Hussain Mohd. Zahid
Published: September 2023

Background:

Secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) is treated following trans-catheter closure in alternative to surgical treatment. Per-intervention selection of device size with balloon occlusive diameter (BOD) often cause tearing or enlarging, causing arrhythmias and hypotension. We assessed the suitability of percutaneous device closure for ASD using 3-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (3DTTE).

Objectives:

This study was conducted to investigate if 3DTTE could be an alternative of balloon sizing for selection of device size in atrial septal defect device closure.

Design:

It was a cross-sectional comparative study.

Methods:

This study was conducted at the department of Pediatric Cardiology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University for a period of 2 years. Thirty-three purposively selected secundum ASD patients suitable for device closure were included in the study. Ethical permission was taken from the Institutional Review Board and written consent was taken from each patient’s guardian. In this study, 3DTTE derived ASD diameter and BOD were compared with that of deployed device size using correlation analysis.

Results:

Out of 33 patients, 63.6% were female and 36.4% were males had a mean age of 18.07 ± 14.58 years (range 2–55 years). Mean diameter of ASD measured by 2-dimensional (2D) and 3-dimensional (3D) echocardiography were 17.09 ± 6.08 mm and 21.30 ± 6.56 mm, respectively, yielding a significant difference ( p < 0.001). 3D echocardiography derived ASDs diameter were highly correlated with device size than BOD and 2D echocardiography derived diameter (2D echocardiography: r = 0.796, p = <0.001, 3D echocardiography: r = 0.960, p = <0.001, BOD: r = 0.840, p = <0.001).

Conclusion:

3DTTE can accurately measure ASD diameter and can be used as an alternate, effective, and safe method to select device size.
Social movements’ struggles under new municipalism: Confronting the neoliberal Parque Pümpin megaproject in Valparaíso city
Authors: Caimanque Rodrigo , López-Morales Ernesto
Published: September 2023

Over the past decade, new municipalism has emerged as an alternative form of politics emphasising radical democracy and community-based urban agendas. However, recent election results and challenges in navigating existing institutional frameworks worldwide have prompted a further examination of the potential and limitations of new municipalism in different contexts. This article evaluates the implementation of new municipal governance in Valparaíso, Chile, where a neighbourhood organisation backed by the local government clashed with a developer seeking to privatise and redevelop a critical ecological area called Pümpin Park. The city's significant public park shortage led to widespread social unrest, protests, and legal inquiries. Using firsthand accounts and official records, this study analyses how Valparaíso practices new municipalism by collaborating with grassroots movements to achieve the project's cancellation. However, it is still unclear whether the municipality's long-term urban development plans will continue to reflect a new municipalist agenda beyond this particular conflict.
A politics of conviction: The refusal of colonial carcerality in Palestinian graffiti
Authors: Nabulsi Jamal
Published: September 2023

In this visual essay, I curate and annotate nine photos of Palestinian prisoner graffiti, foregrounding a Palestinian politics of conviction. Prisoner graffiti is a prominent genre of Palestinian street art, countering Israel's system of colonial carcerality that attempts to dispossess and displace Palestinians. Israeli colonial carcerality functions not only through the “small prison” of Israeli detention, but through the “large prison” of Israeli colonial occupation and apartheid. The distinct forms that this incarceration takes across the fragments of Palestine—from the lands occupied in 1948, 1967, and the diaspora—all aim to crush a Palestinian will to resist. Israel works to construct its carceral systems as inescapable, suggesting to Palestinians that they have no choice but to submit to their colonisation. Against this colonial carcerality, we find in Palestinian prisoner graffiti what I term a politics of conviction. Persisting through their conviction and imprisonment under Israeli colonial law, Palestinians cultivate a conviction in liberation. Directly countering the apparent inevitability of incarceration and the reification of carceral systems, this politics of conviction asserts the inevitability of al-ḥurriya (freedom) from both the small prison and the large prison. This conviction in liberation is constituted by a range of feelings, including love for the prisoner and the dignity that they embody. I suggest that this politics of conviction might form the affective basis of a distinctly Palestinian abolitionism—working to abolish the colonial structures that uphold both the small and large prisons.
Refusing spatiotemporal unfixity: A response to ‘Inhabiting the extensions’
Authors: Chari Sharad
Published: September 2023

This commentary on Simone et al.'s ( 2023 ) ‘Inhabiting the Extensions’ explores what exactly this phrase could mean, for whom it inspires bewilderment and why, and what it might mean to engage the geographical research drawn upon if they were to express something about collective refusal of widespread spatiotemporal unfixity.
Identifying the revolutionary agent in the radical project of autogestion
Authors: Napoletano Brian M. , Urquijo Pedro S. , Clark Brett , Foster John Bellamy
Published: September 2023

In our article, ‘Henri Lefebvre's Conception of Nature-Society in the Revolutionary Project of Autogestion’, we sought to open an important dialog on the relation of autogestion to the ecological struggle for metabolic restoration. The four insightful commentaries in this dialog have taken up this argument and moved it forward substantially. Here, we briefly reflect on a central problem raised by these four interventions and Lefebvre's theory of autogestion more generally: The agent of radical social transformation.
A rare presentation of Zinner syndrome as recurrent epididymitis: A case report
Authors: Khalil Nabil CN , Ayyad Mohammed , Albandak Maram , Aljundi Anas , Qabaja Mohamad
Published: September 2023

Zinner syndrome is a rare congenital malformation characterized by ipsilateral renal agenesis, atresia of the ejaculatory duct, and cystic distension of the seminal vesicles. Symptoms typically arise in adolescence or adulthood and may include painful urination, perineal discomfort, and post-ejaculatory pain. Diagnosis, often made between the ages of 20 and 50 years, involves differentiating Zinner syndrome from other cystic disorders using techniques such as cystoscopy, MRI, intravenous urography, and transrectal ultrasound. Treatment varies based on symptom severity, ranging from conservative approaches to invasive surgeries. Regular follow-up is essential to identify complications and preserve fertility. Herein, we present a 27-year-old male with recurrent scrotal swelling and erythema incidentally diagnosed with Zinner syndrome. The patient had a history of recurrent epididymitis and was found to have cystic dilatation of the seminal vesicle, ipsilateral renal agenesis, and obstruction of the left ejaculatory duct on imaging. Given the patient’s mild symptoms, he was managed conservatively with antibiotics and pain medication, resulting in significant improvement.
Loneliness in Relation to Social Factors and Self-Reported Health Among Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Axén Anna , Taube Elin , Sanmartin Berglund Johan , Skär Lisa
Published: September 2023

Background:

Loneliness is described as a public health problem and can be both a consequence of aging and a cause of ill health. Lonely older adults tend to have difficulties making new social connections, essential in reducing loneliness. Loneliness often varies over time, but established loneliness tends to persist. Maintaining good health is fundamental throughout the life course. Social connections change with aging, which can contribute to loneliness.

Aim:

This study aimed to investigate loneliness in relation to social factors and self-reported health among older adults.

Method:

A cross-sectional research design was used based on data from the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care, Blekinge (SNAC-B), from February 2019 to April 2021. Statistical analysis consisted of descriptive and inferential analysis.

Results:

Of n = 394 participants, 31.7% (n = 125) stated loneliness. Close emotional connections were necessary for less loneliness. Loneliness was more common among those who did not live with their spouse or partner and met more rarely. Furthermore, seeing grandchildren and neighbors less often increased loneliness, and a more extensive social network decreased loneliness.

Conclusion:

This study underlined the importance of social connections and having someone to share a close, emotional connection with to reduce loneliness.
Aortic Arch Reconstruction Using Nonvalved Femoral Vein Homograft in High-Risk Neonates
Authors: Mitchell Kyle G. , Dobrila Julija , Podgorsek Blaz , Greenleaf Christopher , Chen Peter , Salazar Jorge D. , LaPar Damien J.
Published: September 2023

Aortic arch obstruction is often present with complex concomitant congenital heart defects (CHDs). The use of nonvalved femoral vein homograft (FVH) to reconstruct the aortic arch has distinct surgical advantages, including simplified reconstruction. We present an intraoperative video of a Yasui procedure utilizing FVH for aortic reconstruction in a 12-day-old (2.2 kg) neonate with right ventricular outflow tract obstruction, malalignment ventricular septal defect, aortic valve atresia, aortic arch hypoplasia, atrial septal defect, and ductal dependent systemic circulation. Further, we report outcomes for a series of three additional neonatal patients with complex CHD and aortic arch obstruction who underwent FVH arch reconstruction.
Communication and Team Cohesion Moderate the Relationship Between Transformational Leadership and Athletic Performance
Authors: Oh Youngtaek
Published: September 2023

This study was grounded on a previous investigation of the mediating effect of teamwork on the relationship between transformational leadership and performance. The purpose of this study is to enhance theoretical knowledge of transformational leadership. This study enrolled 263 athletes registered with the Korea Sports and Olympic Committee. We assessed transformational leadership, communication, team cohesion, and athletic performance. To analyze the collected data, SPSS 24.0, PROCESS macro (V4.1), and Amos 24.0 were used. There was an interaction effect between transformational leadership and communication on athletic performance, mediated by team cohesion. According to the moderated mediating effect index, team cohesion was a significant moderator of athletic performance. It can be concluded that coaches who possess strong coaching abilities and engage in accurate, positive communication with their athletes can enhance team cohesion, organizational behavior, leading to a positive impact on athletic performance.
Trajectories and Personality Predictors of Eating-Pathology Development in Girls From Preadolescence to Adulthood
Authors: Lacroix Emilie , Wilson Sylia , McGue Matt , Iacono William G. , von Ranson Kristin M.
Published: September 2023

Understanding eating-pathology development may enable meaningful prescriptions for its prevention. Here, we identified common trajectories of eating-pathology development and the personality factors associated with these trajectories. Participants were 760 female twins from the Minnesota Twin Family Study who reported on eating pathology at approximate ages 11, 14, 18, 20, 24, and 29. Parents reported on twins’ personality characteristics at age 11, and twins completed self-report personality questionnaires at ages 14 and 18. Latent class growth analysis identified two distinct trajectories for total eating pathology, binge eating, and weight preoccupation and three distinct trajectories for body dissatisfaction. Girls with more pathological trajectories already showed elevated eating pathology at age 11. These subgroups of high-risk girls self-reported greater proneness to anxiety, stress, and alienation, and less sociable personality styles. Prevention efforts may be enhanced by using self-reported personality traits to identify girls at high risk for eating pathology.
An Automatized Deep Segmentation and Classification Model for Lumbar Disk Degeneration and Clarification of Its Impact on Clinical Decisions
Authors: Soydan Zafer , Bayramoglu Emru , Karasu Recep , Sayin Irem , Salturk Serkan , Uvet Huseyin
Published: September 2023

Study Design

Cross-sectional database study

Objective

The purpose of this study was to develop a successful, reproducible, and reliable convolutional neural network (CNN) model capable of segmentation and classification for grading intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD), as well as quantify the network's impact on doctors' clinical decision-making.

Methods

5685 discs from 1137 patients were graded separately by four experienced doctors according to the Pfirrmann classification. A ground truth (GT) was established for each disc in accordance with the decision of the majority of doctors. The U-net model is used for segmentation. 1815 discs from 363 patients were used to train and test the U-net. The Inception V3 model is employed for classification. All discs were separated into two distinct sets: 90% in a training set and 10% in a test set. The performance metrics of these models were measured. Reliability tests were performed. The impact of CNN assistance on doctors was assessed.

Results

Segmentation accuracy was .9597 with a .8717 Jaccard Index and a .9314 Sorensen Dice coefficient. Classification accuracy is .9346, and the F1 score is .9355. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and kappa values between CNN and GT were .95-.97. With CNN's assistance, the success rates of doctors increased by 7.9% to 22%.

Conclusions

The fully automated network outperformed doctors markedly in terms of accuracy and reliability. The results of CNN were comparable to those of other recent studies in the literature. It was determined that CNN’s assistance had a substantial positive effect on the doctor’s decision.
What Does ESL Mean to Her? An Analysis of Women of Color Recounting Their Attempts to Exit EL Instructional Services
Authors: Brooks Maneka Deanna
Published: September 2023

A portion of EL-identified youth want to exit the EL instructional services to which they are legally entitled. Moreover, institutionalized adultism within EL policy does not provide youths a role in decision-making about these services. As a result, little is known about how individuals who attempt unsanctioned exits conceptualize EL instructional services. This study uses an intersectional anti-adultism conceptual lens to analyze the retrospective interviews of 35 women of color who attempted to exit EL instructional services during their K–12 schooling. The findings highlight three dominant themes in participants’ conceptualizations of EL instructional services: they were academically limiting, socially isolating, and that placement in these services was a product of racism. Moreover, this detailed analysis evidenced how schooling transitions impacted participants’ conceptualization of EL instructional services. These findings have implications for how research, policy, and practice can center EL-identified youths’ decision-making and disrupt their experiences of marginalization.
Perceived policy-related barriers to palliative care implementation: a qualitative descriptive study
Authors: Aregay Atsede , O’Connor Margaret , Stow Jill , Ayers Nicola , Lee Susan
Published: September 2023

Background:

Ethiopia has a national palliative care guideline, and palliative care is explicitly recognised in the country’s healthcare policy and health sector transformation plans. However, palliative care is not fully delivered in the regional public hospitals and primary health care units.

Objective:

This study explores perceived policy barriers to deliver palliative care services in rural and regional healthcare settings, which primary healthcare units largely serve.

Design:

Face-to-face interviews were conducted in a rural region of Ethiopia.

Methods:

Forty-two participants were recruited from a variety of health settings including primary, secondary and tertiary levels across the region. Interviews were conducted with policymakers from the regional health bureau, pharmacists, medical doctors, health officers (clinical officers) and nurses, including chief nursing officers in leadership roles at all levels of healthcare institutions. Data analysed using thematic analysis.

Results:

Participants described several barriers related to healthcare policy, including lack of government priority and focus on palliative care; lack of health professionals’ awareness of the national palliative care plans and guidelines; and lack of palliative care integration into the existing healthcare system and the national budget. Participants remarked that palliative care services in the region were mainly limited to HIV patients, often managed with external support and, hence unsustainable.

Conclusions:

Policy priority and focus is a fundamental component for the provision of palliative care because lack of focus and support from the government have led to inadequate access to palliative care for all in need. Hence, as participants suggested, palliative care should be integrated into all healthcare levels, particularly into the primary health care units and the health extension programme, to facilitate health extension workers to support millions living in rural areas.
Assessing the impact of palliative care admission of end-of-life cancer adults
Authors: Díez-Concha Jose F. , Gómez-García Diego Mauricio , Agudelo Julián Alberto , Lizarazo Herrera Edwin Alexander
Published: September 2023

Background:

There is evidence that early admission to the palliative care (PC) program in adult cancer patients improves symptoms management, reduces unplanned hospital admissions, minimizes aggressive cancer treatments, and enables patients to make decisions about their end-of-life (EOL) care.

Objectives:

This retrospective cohort study aimed to determine whether late admission to a PC program is associated with aggressive treatment at the EOL in adult patients with oncological diseases from their admission until death.

Design/Methods:

The study evaluated the aggressiveness in EOL management in patients with advanced stage oncological diseases who died between 2017 and 2019. The study population was divided into two groups based on the time of admission to the PC program. Aggressiveness at the EOL was measured using five criteria: treatment, hospital admission and duration, emergency department care, and/or intensive care unit utilization.

Results:

The study found a significant difference in the rate of aggressive EOL treatments between late admission to PC care and early admission [adjusted EOL 79.6% versus 70.4%; relative risk (RR): 1.98, 90% CI: 1.08–3.59, p: 0.061]; In the analysis of secondary variables, a significant association was observed between early admission to PC and the suspension of active treatments at the EOL, leading to a decrease in aggressiveness (77% versus 55.8%; RR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.14–1.67, p: 0.004).

Conclusion:

Our findings suggest that early referral to PC services is associated with less aggressive treatment at the EOL, including suspension of active treatments.
Settler-colonial geographical ignorance in Canadian education
Authors: Forcione Melissa , Lamb Christopher , Buitenhuis Kim , Godlewska Anne
Published: September 2023

Despite increasing attention to Indigenous demands for justice, self-governance and the decolonization of Canadian society, many Canadians remain deeply unaware of the complex ways Indigenous and non-Indigenous lives entwine in Canada and of the past and present settler-colonial structures which continue to control and harm Indigenous Peoples and lands. Drawing on our decade-long project examining education at multiple levels in multiple jurisdictions and bringing together scholarship on settler-colonial ignorance, decolonizing education and geographical imaginaries, we highlight how pervasive settler-colonial geographical ignorance, (re)produced through formal education, inhibits many Canadians’ capacities to understand themselves as inextricably linked and responsible to Indigenous Peoples. Through our examination of the results of surveys of college and university students and of public kindergarten to Grade 12 curricula in three Canadian provinces, we provide analyses of settler-colonial forms of geographical unknowing (re)produced in Canadian public education and echoed in the discourses of students. Our analysis draws out commonly held (mis)perceptions and prejudicial attitudes that pervade settler-colonial imaginations, allowing us to identify the entangled temporal, spatial and (non)relational dimensions of settler-colonial geographical ignorance in Canada. Considering the ways that many non-Indigenous people misunderstand and ignore the geographies of settler-colonialism and of Indigenous Peoples, we hope to contribute to ongoing, urgent investigations into the ways that settler-colonial and geographical ignorance serve to oppress Indigenous Peoples and exploit the lands to which they belong for others’ benefit. Furthermore, by focusing on and demonstrating the spatial nature of such ignorance, we argue that (re)conciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples in Canada must also be spatial.
Symptom Adverse Events and Quality of Life of Children With Advanced Cancer: Results From a Longitudinal Study Using the Pediatric Patient-Reported Outcomes-Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events
Authors: Grinde Krista , Raybin Jennifer L. , Ward Jessica , Smith Corey , Brown Roger , Montgomery Kathleen E.
Published: September 2023

Background: The presence of poorly controlled symptoms negatively impacts the quality of life (QoL) throughout cancer treatment. The purpose of this multisite study was to explore the relationship between QoL and symptom adverse events (AEs) in children with advanced cancer over 6 months. Method: A prospective and longitudinal descriptive study design was used to collect QoL and symptom AE data from children aged 2 to 18 with advanced cancer. QoL was measured using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQLTM) Cancer Module 3.0 and symptom AEs were measured using the Pediatric Patient-Reported Outcome-Common Terminology Criteria for AEs (PRO-CTCAEs®). Descriptive statistics were used to describe QoL and symptom AE data. Correlational analyses and generalized linear mixed models were used to examine the relationship between symptom AEs and QoL. Results: Forty-nine children participated in the study. The mean total PedsQLTM score was 73.86 for the sample across all time points. Children diagnosed with a central nervous system (CNS) tumor reported poorer QoL compared to children diagnosed with a hematologic malignancy or non-CNS solid tumor. Symptom frequency AEs of anxiety, pain, nausea, insomnia, hot flashes, and fatigue severity demonstrated the strongest and most significant negative correlation with total QoL scores. Analyses of the relationship between QoL and symptom AEs over time revealed time-specific significant differences with children who experienced frequency AEs of nausea, and anxiety reporting poorer QoL at time point 4 (week 8). Discussion: The Ped PRO-CTCAE® and PedsQLTM can be used to evaluate the relationship between symptom AEs and QoL in practice and in future research.
Perception of Subtle Energy “Prana”, and Its Effects During Biofield Practices: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis
Authors: Belal Manasa , Vijayakumar Vinu , Prasad K Nagendra , Jois Srikanth N.
Published: September 2023

Background

The idea of “life force” or “subtle pranic energy,” sometimes referred to as prana, ki, qi, vital force, and scientifically accepted as biofield, is prevalent across many cultures.

Objectives

This review's objective is to synthesize data from studies that looked at a range of physical, psychological, and biofield sensations while experiencing prana and receiving biofield therapies.

Method

We looked for qualitative, exploratory, and mixed-method studies on subtle pranic energy perceptions, as well as the physical and emotional experiences connected to biofield therapeutic procedures, through searches in 3 electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, ninteen studies were appropriate for this review. The results were synthesized using the 6 steps of the thematic analysis approach.

Results

The first concept, “energy experiences,” comprises 4 themes that describe participants’ sensations of prana (awareness of temperature variation; presence of energy; physical sensation of energy; and magnetic sensation). The second concept, “positive experiences,” consists of 3 themes that describe the benefits of undergoing biofield therapy on the physical and emotional conditions of the participants (positive affective experiences; positive physical sensations; and positive valued experiences). The third concept, “experience of awareness,” describes how participants become aware of their mental activities (awareness of mental activities).

Conclusion

Our knowledge of perceptions and experiences related to biofield therapy is enhanced by this meta-synthesis. It gave a comprehensive picture of the enormous sensations and advantages that were felt when engaging in biofield practices.
An R Shiny Application (SDOH) for Predictive Modeling Using Regional Social Determinants of Health Survey Responses
Authors: Ratnayake Isuru , Pepper Sam , Anderson Aliyah , Alsup Alexander , Mudaranthakam Dinesh Pal
Published: September 2023

Social determinants of health (SDoH) surveys are data sets that provide useful health-related information about individuals and communities. This study aims to develop a user-friendly web application that allows clinicians to get a predictive insight into the social needs of their patients before their in-patient visits using SDoH survey data to provide an improved and personalized service. The study used a longitudinal survey that consisted of 108,563 patient responses to 12 questions. Questions were designed to have a binary outcome as the response and the patient's most recent responses for each of these questions were modeled independently by incorporating explanatory variables. Multiple classification and regression techniques were used, including logistic regression, Bayesian generalized linear model, extreme gradient boosting, gradient boosting, neural networks, and random forests. Based on the area under the curve values, gradient boosting models provided the highest precision values. Finally, the models were incorporated into an R Shiny application, enabling users to predict and compare the impact of SDoH on patients’ lives. The tool is freely hosted online by the University of Kansas Medical Center's Department of Biostatistics and Data Science. The supporting materials for the application are publicly accessible on GitHub.
Ferric iron in chrome-bearing spinels: implications for microprobe correction procedures
Authors: Rollinson Hugh , Adetunji Jacob
Published: September 2023

We investigated the compositions of a suite of 361 chrome-bearing spinels from spinel peridotites, ophiolitic mantle chromitites and from layered igneous intrusions in which the Fe2+/Fe3+ratio has been determined by Mössbauer spectroscopy. We explore the crystal-chemical controls on the distribution of Fe3+and on mineral stoichiometry with regard to electron-probe correction procedures for estimating Fe3+in spinel. We find that chrome-bearing spinels can be subdivided into three groups: a Cr–Al-rich group; a high-Fe group; and a highly oxidised group. Spinels of the Cr–Al group are found in spinel peridotites and ophiolitic mantle chromitites. They are normal spinels with a low Fe3+content and compositions that are close to stoichiometric. Spinels in the high-Fe group are found in layered igneous intrusions. They are also normal spinels which have higher concentrations of Fe3+on the octahedrally coordinated site than is found for the Cr–Al group. Stoichiometric calculations tend to overestimate the Fe3+content and their compositions do not conform to the MgO–cr# correlation found in the Cr–Al group. Spinels in the highly oxidised group are found in layered intrusions and ophiolitic mantle chromitites. They have (Fe3+/ΣFe)Möss> 0.4 and high Cr (cr# > 0.5), but relatively low Fe2+(fe# 0.24–0.56). Stoichiometric calculations tend to underestimate the Fe3+content. They represent normal spinels in which tetrahedrally coordinated Fe2+has been oxidised to Fe3+.

Our data show that spinels with greater Cr and Fe are sufficiently different in their crystal chemistry from the aluminous spinels to indicate that the EPMA correction procedures developed for Fe3+in aluminous spinels on the basis of the Cr/Al ratio, and used in oxy-thermobarometry, are inappropriate for Cr-rich and Fe-rich compositions.
Eleven years of alloimmunization in 6496 patients with sickle cell disease in France who received transfusion
Authors: Floch Aline , Viret Sophie , Malard Lucile , Pakdaman Sadaf , Jouard Alicia , Habibi Anoosha , Galacteros Frédéric , François Anne , Pirenne France
Published: September 2023

Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is a major therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD). Patients are at risk of forming antibodies to RBC antigens, which can result in the impossibility to find compatible units and can cause hemolytic transfusion reactions. This retrospective study investigates the evolution of RBC consumption and the frequencies, specificities, and chronology of the appearance of antibodies in a population of patients consistently receiving RH (C, D, E, c, e) and K–matched RBC units (RBCus) from a predominantly European donor population. Over the 11-year period in the Paris area, 6496 patients received transfusion at least once for a total of 239 944 units. Antibodies were made by 1742 patients. The first antibodies of a patient were predictive of subsequent immunization. By the 17th RBCu transfused (by the 20th, excluding warm autoantibodies), 75% of the patients who would make antibodies had made their first. By the 16th, 90% who would make antibodies to a high frequency antigen had made their first antibody to these antigens. Females made their first antibodies slightly earlier than males. Patients who received multiple transfusions (>50 units) had a higher immunization prevalence than those who rarely received transfusion (<12 units) but fewer clinically significant antibodies. Patients with SCD and prophylactic RH-K matching not immunized by the 20th RBCu are likely to have a low alloimmunization risk (to antigens other than RH-K), that is, be low responders, especially relative to the most clinically significant antibodies. This number of 20 units is a point before which close monitoring of patients is most important but remains open to future adjustment.
Pneumococcal infections in children with sickle cell disease before and after pneumococcal conjugate vaccines
Authors: Adamkiewicz Thomas V. , Yee Marianne E. M. , Thomas Stepy , Tunali Amy , Lai Kristina W. , Omole Folashade S. , Lane Peter A. , Yildirim Inci
Published: September 2023

Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). Over 25 years, the Georgia Emerging Infections Program/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Active Bacterial Core Surveillance network identified 104 IPD episodes among 3707 children with hemoglobin SS (HbSS) or HbSC aged <10 years, representing 6% of IPD in Black or African American children residing in Metropolitan Atlanta (reference population). Children with IPD and HbSS/SC were older than those with IPD in the reference population (P < .001). From 1994-1999 to 2010-2018, IPD declined by 87% in children with HbSS aged 0 to 4 years, and by 80% in those aged 5 to 9 years. However, IPD incidence rate ratios when comparing children with SCD with the reference population increased from 20.2 to 29.2 over these periods. Among children with HbSS and IPD, death declined from 14% to 3% after 2002, and meningitis declined from 16% to 8%. Penicillin resistance was more prevalent in children with SCD before 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) licensure. After 2010, all IPD serotypes were not included in the 13-valent PCV (PCV13). Within 3 years of vaccination, the effectiveness of the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) against non-PCV13 serotypes included in PPSV23 plus 15A/15C was 92% (95% confidence interval, 40.8- 99.0, P = .014; indirect-cohort effect adjusted for age and hydroxyurea). PPSV23 would cover 62% of non-PCV13 serotype IPD in children with SCD, whereas PCV15, PCV20, and PCV21/V116 (in development) could cover 16%, 51%, and 92%, respectively. Although less frequent, IPD remains a life-threatening risk in children with SCD. Effective vaccines with broader coverage could benefit these children.
Phase 2 study of natalizumab plus standard corticosteroid treatment for high-risk acute graft-versus-host disease
Authors: Al Malki Monzr M. , London Kaitlyn , Baez Janna , Akahoshi Yu , Hogan William J. , Etra Aaron , Choe Hannah , Hexner Elizabeth , Langston Amelia , Abhyankar Sunil , Ponce Doris M. , DeFilipp Zachariah , Kitko Carrie L. , Adekola Kehinde , Reshef Ran , Ayuk Francis , Capellini Alexandra , Chanswangphuwana Chantiya , Eder Matthias , Eng Gilbert , Gandhi Isha , Grupp Stephan , Gleich Sigrun , Holler Ernst , Javorniczky Nora Rebeka , Kasikis Stelios , Kowalyk Steven , Morales George , Özbek Umut , Rösler Wolf , Spyrou Nikolaos , Yanik Gregory , Young Rachel , Chen Yi-Bin , Nakamura Ryotaro , Ferrara James L. M. , Levine John E.
Published: September 2023

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is the main cause of nonrelapse mortality (NRM) after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Ann Arbor (AA) scores derived from serum biomarkers at onset of GVHD quantify GI crypt damage; AA2/3 scores correlate with resistance to treatment and higher NRM. We conducted a multicenter, phase 2 study using natalizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks T-cell trafficking to the GI tract through the α4 subunit of α4β7 integrin, combined with corticosteroids as primary treatment for patients with new onset AA2/3 GVHD. Seventy-five patients who were evaluable were enrolled and treated; 81% received natalizumab within 2 days of starting corticosteroids. Therapy was well tolerated with no treatment emergent adverse events in >10% of patients. Outcomes for patients treated with natalizumab plus corticosteroids were compared with 150 well-matched controls from the MAGIC database whose primary treatment was corticosteroids alone. There were no significant differences in overall or complete response between patients treated with natalizumab plus corticosteroids and those treated with corticosteroids alone (60% vs 58%; P = .67% and 48% vs 48%; P = 1.0, respectively) including relevant subgroups. There were also no significant differences in NRM or overall survival at 12 months in patients treated with natalizumab plus corticosteroids compared with controls treated with corticosteroids alone (38% vs 39%; P = .80% and 46% vs 54%; P = .48, respectively). In this multicenter biomarker–based phase 2 study, natalizumab combined with corticosteroids failed to improve outcome of patients with newly diagnosed high-risk GVHD. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as # NCT02133924.