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Background: Several vaccines were introduced in Tanzania to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. While studies have explored the acceptability and hesitancy of COVID-19 vaccines within the general population, there is limited research focusing on the confidence and associated factors among People Living with HIV (PLHIV). This study aims to fill that gap by investigating vaccine confidence and its determinants in this demographic group. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in centres for care and treatment in four regions of mainland Tanzania using structured questionnaires. A generalized linear mixed model was fitted to determine the factors associated with confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine. Results: A total of 1,100 participants were interviewed; 761 (69.2%) were female. The mean age and standard deviation were 41.6 ±12.1 years. The overall level of confidence in COVID-19 vaccines was 55.3%. Females were less likely to express confidence compared to males (aOR = 0.77; 95% CI: 0.72–0.84). Participants with primary (aOR = 1.79; 95% CI: 1.65–1.94), secondary (aOR = 1.81; 95% CI: 1.57–2.09), and university-level education (aOR = 2.14; 95% CI: 0.17–26.54) were more likely to report confidence in COVID-19 vaccines. Attending a dispensary-level health facility (aOR = 1.32; 95% CI: 1.27–1.38) and living in rural areas (aOR = 1.43; 95% CI: 1.23–1.66) were significantly associated with confidence in COVID-19 vaccines. Conclusion: Although COVID-19 is no longer a global public threat, these findings highlight the significance of being prepared in public health and the necessity of continuous efforts to comprehend and enhance vaccine acceptance and confidence among people living with HIV. By tackling the factors that impact vaccine attitudes in this group, we can improve our preparedness for future public health challenges where vaccine uptake may once again become crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The parasitic infection caused by Taenia solium represents a significant public health concern in developing countries. Larval invasion of body tissues leads to cysticercosis (CC), while central nervous system (CNS) involvement results in neurocysticercosis (NCC). Both conditions exhibit diverse clinical manifestations, and the potential impact of concomitant HIV infection especially prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa on peripheral and CNS immune responses remains poorly understood. This study aimed to identify the potential impact of HIV coinfection in CC and NCC patients. Methodology: A nested study within a cross-sectional analysis in two Tanzanian regions was performed and 234 participants (110 HIV+ and 124 HIV-) were tested for cysticercosis antibodies, antigens, CD4 counts and serum Th1 and Th2 cytokines via multiplex bead-based immunoassay. 127 cysticercosis seropositive individuals underwent cranial computed tomography (CCT) and clinical symptoms were assessed. Multiple regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with cytokine modulation due to HIV in CC and NCC patients. Results: Serologically, 18.8% tested positive for cysticercosis antibodies, with no significant difference HIV+ and HIV+. A significantly higher rate of cysticercosis antigen positivity was found in HIV+ individuals (43.6%) compared to HIV- (28.2%) (p = 0.016). CCT scans revealed that overall 10.3% had active brain cysts (NCC+). Our study found no significant changes in the overall cytokine profiles between HIV+ and HIV- participants coinfected CC and NCC, except for IL-5 which was elevated in HIV+ individuals with cysticercosis. Furthermore, HIV infection in general was associated with increased levels of pro-and some anti-inflammatory cytokines e.g. TNF-α, IL-8, and IFN-γ. However, based on the interaction analyses, no cytokine changes were observed due to HIV in CC or NCC patients. Conclusions: In conclusion, while HIV infection itself significantly modulates levels of key cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-8, and IFN-γ, it does not modulate any cytokine changes due to CC or NCC. This underscores the dominant influence of HIV on the immune system and highlights the importance of effective antiretroviral therapy in managing immune responses in individuals coinfected with HIV and CC/NCC. Author summary: Our study evaluates the interplay of immune responses in individuals coinfected with HIV and neurocysticercosis (NCC) in resource-limited settings. We analyzed cytokine profiles among 234 participants, discovering that HIV infection significantly modulates various key cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-8, and IFN-γ. Notably, our results indicate that while HIV has a dominant influence on cytokine levels, it does not cause additional cytokine alterations specifically due to NCC. This suggests that the immunomodulatory effects of NCC are minimal in the presence of HIV, pointing to the overarching impact of HIV on the immune system. Our findings emphasize the complexity of immune responses in coinfected individuals and underscore the critical role of effective antiretroviral therapy. Insights from our study are crucial for refining therapeutic strategies in managing such complex coinfections in endemic regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant public health concern globally, particularly in regions with a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. In Tanzania, the co-occurrence of TB and HIV poses a substantial challenge to healthcare systems. Isoniazid Preventive Therapy (IPT) has become an important intervention to mitigate the risk of TB infection among individuals living with HIV. Despite its proven efficacy, the extent of knowledge, attitude, and practice of healthcare workers (HCWs) in Tanzania is not well-documented. This study aimed to evaluate the levels of knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding IPT among healthcare workers. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among healthcare workers working at TB/HIV clinics in 12 regions of Tanzania mainland. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to the respondents consisting of social demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude, and practice questions. Data were analyzed using Stata version 14.0. Results: A total of 464 respondents were interviewed, with 282 (60.8%) being female. The mean age was 36.4 years (SD = 11.0). Among the interviewed, 255 (55.0%) were nurses. Regarding knowledge, attitude, and practice on IPT, 217 (46.8%), 220 (47.0%), and 422 (90.9%) respondents respectively demonstrated adequacy in these domains. Factors such as gender, university education, professional role in healthcare practice, cumulative work experience of one year or more, tenure at a TB/HIV clinic of one year or longer, and attendance at IPT-related training emerged as significant determinants. These factors influence respondents' knowledge, attitude, and practice towards IPT. Conclusion: The findings underscored a notable knowledge gap and a less favourable attitude towards IPT among HCWs, despite commendable practices. Addressing this disparity through targeted training interventions for healthcare workers holds promise for enhancing their understanding and attitude toward IPT, thereby fostering increased acceptance and utilization of this preventive therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This study assessed the effect of a school deworming program on Taenia solium (the pork tapeworm) which started in 2002 in Tanzania. Mbulu district was selected because several studies including clinical trials were conducted in the district. Despite the school deworming and intervention conducted, the area is reported with high human T. solium cysticercosis and related epileptic cases. We assessed the deworming performed by the local government in collaboration with the Neglected Tropical Disease Control (NTD) program among school children. The infection by age, sex, and household along with community and risk factors were assessed. High human T. solium cysticercosis was reported along with high household and community risk factors. The deworming seemed to have positive effect amongyounger age groups but with no significant difference in other, older age groups. This shows that there is a re-infection of younger age groups compared to untreated adults. Thus, it is recommended to scale up deworming to adult age groups. Background: Taeniosis and cysticercosis are human infections caused by the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium. This study is a baseline for community-based intervention. We determined the prevalence of human cysticercosis and associated risk factors following a deworming program conducted throughout the country, with Mbulu District being among the districts in Northern Tanzania. Methods: Human cysticercosis was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Ag- ELISA). Household interviews and observations were conducted to identify risk factors for cysticercosis transmissions among households and communities. Results: Three hundred individuals participated in this study. The age ranged from 5 to 89 years, with a median of 19 years. The prevalence of human cysticercosis was 23 (7.67%). The prevalence was high with 6 (11.76%) among individuals aged 26 to 35 years and ±45 years. There was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence by age group, sex, or occupation. Among the 300 participants, 82 (27.3%) had received anthelmintics during the previous year; among these, 5 (21.7%) were infected. The likelihood of infection was low among anthelmintic users by 28% [0.72 (0.26–2.01)], but the protection was not significant. The communities differed in risk factors on the availability of a clean and safe water supply; 52.7% (46/86) of households visited had no pit latrine. The cysticercosis prevalence showed a significant difference in communities. Conclusions: The prevalence of human cysticercosis was high and associated with higher age groups. The prevalence was low among those who had taken anthelmintics and was associated with lower age groups. The current school deworming program has a positive effect on school children, while the elderly are at higher risk because the intervention did not target them. It is recommended to scale up anthelmintic intervention to higher age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL) production among Enterobacteriaceae, such as E. coli, has been increasing worldwide, which causes treatment failure for urinary tract infections. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors for the production of ESBL in E. coli from patients with urinary tract infections (UTI) in Zanzibar. Methods: a prospective cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2018 to December 2021 in Zanzibar. Data were retrieved from a routine bacteriological laboratory culture report from urine samples of 4306 patients at the Lancet Laboratory. In addition, the patient's social demographics and clinical data were retrieved by examining the medical records in the respective hospitals. All inpatients older than fifteen years diagnosed with urinary tract infections (UTI) and requested urine culture and sensitivity were included. The Chi-square and Fischer's exact tests were used to compare antibiotic resistance. In addition, a binary logistic regression analysis was used to predict ESBL production risk factors. Results: the prevalence of E. coli-producing ESBL was 13.4% (578/4030). Infection of ESBL. E. coli was prevalent in females 52.6% (n=304) compared to male patients, 47.4% (n=274), and the majority 38.8% (n=224), were people of young age, between 16-30 years. The average age of patients was 31.5±10.2 years, with minimum age of 16 years and a maximum age of 72 years. In multivariate analysis, results shown that previously hospitalised patients aOR: 6.35, 95% Cl 3.37-11.92; p=0.001, long hospital stays aOR: 10.34, 95% Cl 3.03-22.29; p <0.001, prior use of penicillin aOR: 7.78, 95% Cl 2.99-29.11; p < 0.001, and prior use of cephalosporin drugs aOR: 4.64, 95% Cl 2.99-9.96; p=0.001, were strongly associated with the emergence of ESBL-producing E. coli in urinary tract infection patients. ESBL E. coli showed high resistance to amoxicillin 99.5% (n=575), ampicillin 97.8.% (n=570), cotrimazaxole 86.2% (n=344), ceftriaxone 73.7% (n=344), ciprofloxacin 73.2% (n=423), and ceftaxime 59.5% (n=426). There was a less resistance to ampicillin -cloxacillin 44.3% (n=256), gentamicin 22.5% (n=22.5), and norfloxacin 18.9% (n=109) respectively. Isolates were shown to be more susceptible to meropenem at 1.6% (n=9). Conclusion: the overall prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli is 13.4%. The risk of emergence ESBL was higher in patients with previous history of hospitalisation, long hospital stay, prior use of penicillin and cephalosporin drugs. High level of antimicrobial resistance observed against most commonly used antibiotics in treatment of urinary tract infections. The clinicians should rely on microbiological diagnosis in treatment of UTIs to reduce risk of treatment failure. Further study should be carried out to assess the prevalence and resistance pattern of other uropathogens and other risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher Education institutions, at least in nominal 'Western' contexts, oversell a dressed-up version of 'excellence' to draw in students, but they have more firmly in their sight a vision of the commercial bottom line. This research study, firmly grounded in the author's experience of postgraduate education, posits that the marketised, neoliberal conception of 'excellence' both covers a hidden truth that these institutions are content just to get learners 'over the line' and hides a more authentic, bottom-up conception of 'excellence' which appears when the voices of learners and educators are heard above the managerialist chatter and when teaching well is considered. The paper presents its review of the field as a critically evocative autoethnography, with the author positioned as a witness to the lexical slaughter of 'excellence', amongst other terms suborned by the neoliberalist academy. Within its chorus of voices, it introduces the reflective critical incidents of three postgraduate supervisors or mentors telling of their realisations that their institutions are more interested in getting students 'over the line' in a timely fashion than in facilitating opportunities for authentic excellence. Methodologically, then, the study presents three narratives as evidence in a narrative enquiry embedded in the broader autoethnography, as is often the case in professional practice research. The paper is positioned on the cusp of COVID-19's aftermath and suggests that higher education organisations are on track to miss the opportunities to begin dismantling neoliberal thought that the pandemic afforded. Instead, they condemn themselves to 'mediocracy' - rule by the mediocre churning out mediocrity under the guise of a shopfront of gaudy but vacuous 'excellence'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the 2020s march on into a post-COVID age, an increasing trend for academics to exit their current academic positions or to leave academia altogether can be observed internationally and locally. Consequently, a sizeable body of experts accessible to higher education but geographically beyond its ivory towers and psychologically outside its neoliberal grip has come to exist. These para-academics and public intellectuals continue to contribute to communities of teaching, learning, and researching but do so often without affiliation. This study explores the relational link between the archaic notion of affiliation and what it means to 'belong' to a university as staff. The study problematises belonging as an assimilative designator of an organisation's culture and suggests that belonging, as employed in teaching and learning discourse, as a trust-based mode of building community, is a different beast than that conceived by neoliberal universities. Using vignettes as narrative enquiry, the paper retells and curates six accounts of academics making transitions out of academic positions and finding fresh educational contexts for belonging. These emancipatory narratives move through spaces of trauma into authentic places of reclaimed identity, most notably as independent public intellectuals within a broader context of global citizenship. The narratives show us what life after being academically affiliated can look like when individuals exercise critical resilience to establish academic identities beyond the neoliberal university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critiques media commentary on reforms in higher education (HE) and the polytechnic or vocational education and training (VET) in Aotearoa/New Zealand during 2023. It used as its epicentre Gaston's (2023) opinion piece, particularly on the current round of redundancies, rationalisations and restructurings in the sector in our 'post-COVID-19' world. Her suggestion that the reforms as we see them today lead me to explore the origins of neoliberalist ideology in tertiary education in the country, seeking a definition to guide how Aotearoa/New Zealand, in particular, has experienced and manifested neoliberalist policy. The ideology's emphasis on work intensification and responsibilisation at both the level of the individual and the organization lies at the heart of the rationale. Since 2023 has been a year of mysterious budget holes for many universities and for the emergent super-Polytechnic Te Pūkenga/New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology, I investigate how the media and public domain materials report the financial state of our tertiary providers. Generating a case study of the University of Otago's property portfolio, which grew by two billion dollars between 2012 and 2022, I tap into recent critiques of the university as a real estate portfolio and campus as literally 'flat land' that has the potential to become a domain less in the name of education than neoliberalist capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article creates and curates a sequence of cabaret songs to represent recognizable characters or types from the scholarship and literature of the modern, neoliberalised university. Using poetic enquiry as an ethnographic technique, I stand at the border of practice-based qualitative and performative research paradigms and re-imagine such figures as the ninja, the nervous wreck, the precariat, the zombie and the activist as characters in the cabaret of the modern university. The enquiry has two primary groundings: the comprehensive literature of the increasingly toxic modern university and a sociocultural critique of the Kabarett, the underground cabarets of the Weimar Republic of the 1920s and early '30s. The art of the cabaret involved writing and performing satirical portraits of familiar types seen in society and the world. The expressionistic era of the Kabarett was a time of decadent creativity and unashamed freedom of voice, an era that reached eventual termination after the rise of Nazism. Foregrounded by an exploration of the features of the modern university, including its corporatism, its performative audit culture, its governmentalised hegemonic regimes of truth and its climate of anxiety and fear, the study traces the origins of its types and aims to replicate aspects of their identities. The research examines both the origin stories of ninjas, nervous wrecks, zombies, precariats and activists and interprets their identities in the satiric form of subversive Kabarett songs. The findings of this study can literally be performed. The study also reaches back to medieval and Renaissance drama to examine and critique my dramatic narrative voice. The ironic eye with which I view this cabaret aligns with that of Puck/Robin Goodfellow in Shakespeare's A midsummer night's dream. This ironic eye examines the denizens of the neoliberalised universities and declares, "Lord, what fools these mortals be!". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The BNT162b2 mRNA-based vaccine has shown high efficacy in preventing COVID-19 infection but there are limited data on the types and persistence of the humoral and T cell responses to such a vaccine. Methods: Here, we dissect the vaccine-induced humoral and cellular responses in a cohort of six healthy recipients of two doses of this vaccine. Results and discussion: Overall, there was heterogeneity in the spike-specific humoral and cellular responses among vaccinated individuals. Interestingly, we demonstrated that anti-spike antibody levels detected by a novel simple automated assay (Jess) were strongly correlated (r=0.863, P<0.0001) with neutralizing activity; thus, providing a potential surrogate for neutralizing cellbased assays. The spike-specific T cell response was measured with a newly modified T-spot assay in which the high-homology peptide-sequences crossreactive with other coronaviruses were removed. This response was induced in 4/6 participants after the first dose, and all six participants after the second dose, and remained detectable in 4/6 participants five months post-vaccination. We have also shown for the first time, that BNT162b2 vaccine enhanced T cell responses also against known human common viruses. In addition, we demonstrated the efficacy of a rapid ex-vivo T cell expansion protocol for spike-specific T cell expansion to be potentially used for adoptive-cell therapy in severe COVID-19, immunocompromised individuals, and other high-risk groups. There was a 9 to 13.7-fold increase in the number of expanded T cells with a significant increase of anti-spike specific response showing higher frequencies of both activation and cytotoxic markers. Interestingly, effector memory T cells were dominant in all four participants' CD8+ expanded memory T cells; CD4+ T cells were dominated by effector memory in 2/4 participants and by central memory in the remaining two participants. Moreover, we found that high frequencies of CD4+ terminally differentiated memory T cells were associated with a greater reduction of spikespecific activated CD4+ T cells. Finally, we showed that participants who had a CD4+ central memory T cell dominance expressed a high CD69 activation marker in the CD4+ activated T cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As in-person social interaction became widely known as the primary mode of transmission of the COVID-19 virus, alternative modes of social interaction were adopted to maintain interpersonal communication during the various lockdowns that were to come. By analysing the application of five key concepts (Goffman's definition of the situation, Anderson's imagined communities, Fischer-Licht's autopoietic feedback loop, Murray's procedural authorship and Agamben's state of exception), we develop an assemblage for assessing Innersloth's Among Us as a proxy for the pandemic experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study analyzes the effects of retrospective lipid suppression, a simulated macromolecular prior knowledge and different spline baseline stiffness values on 9.4T multi‐slice proton FID‐MRSI data spanning the whole cerebrum of human brain and the reproducibility of respective metabolite ratio to total creatine (/tCr) maps for 10 brain metabolites. Methods: Measurements were performed twice on 5 volunteers using a short TR and TE FID MRSI 2D sequence at 9.4T. The effects of retrospective lipid L2‐regularization, macromolecular spectrum and different LCModel baseline flexibilities on SNR, FWHM, fitting residual, Cramér‐Rao lower bound, and metabolite ratio maps were investigated. Intra‐subject, inter‐session coefficient of variation and the test–retest reproducibility of the mean metabolite ratios (/tCr) of each slice was calculated. Results: Transversal, sagittal, and coronal slices of many metabolite ratio maps correspond to the anatomically expected concentration relations in gray and white matter for the majority of the cerebrum when using a flexible baseline in LCModel fit. Results from the second measurements of the same subjects show that slice positioning and data quality correlate significantly to the first measurement. L2‐regularization provided effective suppression of lipid‐artifacts, but should be avoided if no artifacts are detected. Conclusion: Reproducible concentration ratio maps (/tCr) for 4 metabolites (total choline, N‐acetylaspartate, glutamate, and myoinositol) spanning the majority of the cerebrum and 6 metabolites (N‐acetylaspartylglutamate, γ‐aminobutyric acid, glutathione, taurine, glutamine, and aspartate) covering 32 mm in the upper part of the brain were acquired at 9.4T using multi‐slice FID MRSI with retrospective lipid suppression, a macromolecular spectrum and a flexible LCModel baseline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the levels and patterns of resistance to first- and second-line anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs among new and previously treated sputum smear positive pulmonary TB (PTB) patients.Methods: We conducted a nationally representative cross-sectional facility-based survey in June 2017-July 2018 involving 45 clusters selected based on probability proportional to size. The survey aimed to determine the prevalence of anti-TB drug resistance and associated risk factors among smear positive PTB patients in Tanzania. Sputum samples were examined using smear microscopy, Xpert MTB/RIF, culture and drug susceptibility testing (DST). Logistic regression was used to account for missing data and sampling design effects on the estimates and their standard errors.Results: We enrolled 1557 TB patients, including 1408 (90.4%) newly diagnosed and 149 (9.6%) previously treated patients. The prevalence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) was 0.85% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.4-1.3] among new cases and 4.6% (95% CI: 1.1-8.2) among previously treated cases. The prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains resistant to any of the four first-line anti-TB drugs (isoniazid, rifampicin, streptomycin and ethambutol) was 1.7% among new TB patients and 6.5% among those previously treated. Drug resistance to all first-line drugs was similar (0.1%) in new and previously treated patients. None of the isolates displayed poly-resistance or extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). The only risk factor for MDR-TB was history of previous TB treatment (odds ratio = 5.7, 95% CI: 1.9-17.2).Conclusion: The burden of MDR-TB in the country was relatively low with no evidence of XDR-TB. Given the overall small number of MDR-TB cases in this survey, it will be beneficial focusing efforts on intensified case detection including universal DST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis presents several lineages each with distinct characteristics of evolutionary status, transmissibility, drug resistance, host interaction, latency, and vaccine efficacy. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) has emerged as a new diagnostic tool to reliably inform the occurrence of phylogenetic lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and examine their relationship with patient demographic characteristics and multidrug-resistance development. Methods: 191 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates obtained from a 2017/2018 Tanzanian drug resistance survey were sequenced on the Illumina Miseq platform at Supranational Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory in Uganda. Obtained fast-q files were imported into tools for resistance profiling and lineage inference (Kvarq v0.12.2, Mykrobe v0.8.1 and TBprofiler v3.0.5). Additionally for phylogenetic tree construction, RaxML-NG v1.0.3(25) was used to generate a maximum likelihood phylogeny with 800 bootstrap replicates. The resulting trees were plotted, annotated and visualized using ggtree v2.0.4 Results: Most [172(90.0%)] of the isolates were from newly treated Pulmonary TB patients. Coinfection with HIV was observed in 33(17.3%) TB patients. Of the 191 isolates, 22(11.5%) were resistant to one or more commonly used first line anti-TB drugs (FLD), 9(4.7%) isolates were MDR-TB while 3(1.6%) were resistant to all the drugs. Of the 24 isolates with any resistance conferring mutations, 13(54.2%) and 10(41.6%) had mutations in genes associated with resistance to INH and RIF respectively. The findings also show four major lineages i.e. Lineage 3[81 (42.4%)], followed by Lineage 4 [74 (38.7%)], the Lineage 1 [23 (12.0%)] and Lineages 2 [13 (6.8%)] circulaing in Tanzania. Conclusion: The findings in this study show that Lineage 3 is the most prevalent lineage in Tanzania whereas drug resistant mutations were more frequent among isolates that belonged to Lineage 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is very little knowledge regarding autistic adult services, practices, and delivery. The study objective was to improve understanding of current services and practices for autistic adults and opportunities for improvement as part of the Autism Spectrum Disorder in the European Union (ASDEU) project. Separate survey versions were created for autistic adults, carers of autistic adults, and professionals in adult services. 2,009 persons responded to the survey and 1,085 (54%) of them completed at least one of the services sections: 469 autistic adults (65% female; 55% <35 years old), 441 carers of autistic adults (27% female; 6% <35 years old), 175 professionals in adult services (76% female; 67% in non-medical services). Top choices by autistic adults, carers or professionals for services best suiting their current needs were: residential services: "help in own home" (adults, carers of high independent adults, professionals), "fulltime residential facility" (carers of low independent adults); employment services: "job mentors" (adults, carers of high independent adults, professionals), "Sheltered employment" (carers of low independent adults); education services: "support in regular education setting" (all groups); financial services: financial support in lieu of employment ("Supplementary income for persons unable to have full employment" for adults, "full pension" for carers of low independent adults) or to supplement employment earnings for carers of high independent adults and professionals; social services: "behavior training" (adults) and "life skills training" (carers and professionals). Waiting times for specific services were generally < 1 month or 1-3 months, except for residential services which could be up to 6 months; most professionals were uninformed of waiting times (>50% responded "don't know"). Five of seven residential services features recommended for autistic adults were experienced by <50% of adults. The knowledge of good local services models that work well for autistic adults was generally low across all services areas. The variation in services experiences and perceptions reported by autistic adults, carers, or professionals underscore the need to query all groups for a complete picture of community services availability and needs. The results showed areas for potential improvement in autistic adult services delivery in the EU to achieve recommended standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Autism Spectrum Disorders in the European Union (ASDEU) survey investigated local services' use experiences of autistic adults, carers and professionals with interventions for autistic adults. The majority of the 697 participants experienced recommended considerations prior to deciding on intervention and during the intervention plan and implementation. Psychosocial interventions were the most commonly experienced interventions, while pharmacological interventions NOT recommended for core autistic symptoms were reported by fairly large proportions of participants. Family interventions were experienced slightly more commonly by carers than adults or professionals. Less than the 26% of autistic adult responders who had experienced challenging behaviors reported receiving an intervention to change them. These results provide insights for improving gaps in service provision of interventions among autistic adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although tuberculosis (TB) care is free in Tanzania, TB-associated costs may compromise access to services and treatment adherence resulting in poor outcomes and increased risk of transmission in the community. TB can impact economically patients and their households. We assessed the economic burden of TB on patients and their households in Tanzania and identified cost drivers to inform policies and programs for potential interventions to mitigate costs.Methods: We conducted a nationally representative cross-sectional survey using a standard methodology recommended by World Health Organization. TB patients of all ages and with all types of TB from 30 clusters across Tanzania were interviewed during July - September 2019. We used the human capital approach to assess the indirect costs and a threshold of 20% of the household annual expenditure to determine the proportion of TB-affected households experiencing catastrophic cost. We descriptively analyzed the cost data and fitted multivariable logistic regression models to identify potential predictors of catastrophic costs.Results: Of the 777 TB-affected households, 44.9% faced catastrophic costs due to TB. This proportion was higher (80.0%) among households of patients with multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB). Overall, cost was driven by income loss while accessing TB services (33.7%), nutritional supplements (32.6%), and medical costs (15.1%). Most income loss was associated with hospitalization and time for picking up TB drugs. Most TB patients (85.9%) reported worsening financial situations due to TB, and over fifty percent (53.0%) borrowed money or sold assets to finance TB treatment. In multivariable analysis, the factors associated with catastrophic costs included hospitalization (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 34.9; 95% confidence interval (CI):12.5-146.17), living in semi-urban (aOR = 1.6; 95% CI:1.0-2.5) or rural areas (aOR = 2.6; 95% CI:1.8-3.7), having MDR-TB (aOR = 3.4; 95% CI:1.2-10.9), and facility-based directly-observed treatment (DOT) (aOR = 7.2; 95% CI:2.4-26.6).Conclusion: We found that the cost of TB care is catastrophic for almost half of the TB-affected households in Tanzania; our findings support the results from other surveys recently conducted in sub-Saharan Africa. Collaborative efforts across health, employment and social welfare sectors are imperative to minimize household costs due to TB disease and improve access to care, patient adherence and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Ultrahigh field MRS has improved characterization of the neurochemical profile. To compare results obtained at 9.4T to those from lower field strengths, it is of interest to quantify the concentrations of metabolites measured. Thus, measuring T1‐relaxation times is necessary to correct for T1‐weighting that occurs in acquisitions for single‐voxel spectroscopy and spectroscopic imaging. A macromolecule (MM) simulation model was developed to fit MM contributions to the short TE inversion series used to measure T1‐relaxation times. Methods: An inversion series with seven time points was acquired with metabolite‐cycled STEAM to estimate T1‐relaxation times of metabolites. A short TE was employed in this study to retain signals from metabolites with short T2‐relaxation times and J‐couplings. The underlying macromolecule spectrum was corrected by developing a sequence‐specific, relaxation‐corrected simulated MM model. Quantification of metabolite peaks was performed using internal water referencing and relaxation corrections. Results: T1‐relaxation times for metabolites range from approximately 750 to approximately 2000 ms and approximately 1000 to approximately 2400 ms in gray matter (GM)‐ and white matter (WM)‐ rich voxels, respectively. Quantification of metabolites was compared between GM and WM voxels, as well as between results that used a simulated MM spectrum against those that used an experimentally acquired MM spectrum. Metabolite concentrations are reported in mmol/kg quantities. Conclusion: T1‐relaxation times are reported for nonsinglet resonances for the first time at 9.4T by use of a MM simulation model to account for contributions from the MM spectrum. In addition to T1‐relaxation times, quantification results of metabolites from GM‐ and WM‐rich voxels are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Accurate and precise MRS fitting is crucial for metabolite concentration quantification of 1H‐MRS spectra. LCModel, a spectral fitting software, has shown to have certain limitations to perform advanced spectral fitting by previous literature. Herein, we propose an open‐source spectral fitting algorithm with adaptive spectral baseline determination and more complex cost functions. Theory: The MRS spectra are characterized by several parameters, which reflect the environment of the contributing metabolites, properties of the acquisition sequence, or additional disturbances. Fitting parameters should accurately describe these parameters. Baselines are also a major contributor to MRS spectra, in which smoothness of the spline baselines used for fitting can be adjusted based on the properties of the spectra. Three different cost functions used for the minimization problem were also investigated. Methods: The newly developed ProFit‐1D fitting algorithm is systematically evaluated for simulations of several types of possible in vivo parameter variations. Although accuracy and precision are tested with simulated spectra, spectra measured in vivo at 9.4 T are used for testing precision using subsets of averages. ProFit‐1D fitting results are also compared with LCModel. Results: Both ProFit‐1D and LCModel fitted the spectra well with induced parameter and baseline variations. ProFit‐1D proved to be more accurate than LCModel for simulated spectra. However, LCModel showed a somewhat increased precision for some spectral simulations and for in vivo data. Conclusion: The open‐source ProFit‐1D fitting algorithm demonstrated high accuracy while maintaining precise metabolite concentration quantification. Finally, through the newly proposed cost functions, new ways to improve fitting were shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research providing an evidence-base for autistic adult services is sparse. The Autism Spectrum Disorders in the European Union (ASDEU) network implemented an on-line survey to determine gaps in autistic adult diagnostic evaluation and post-diagnostic support services. More than 55% in all groups experienced most of the recommended features for diagnostic evaluation for autistic adults. In contrast, < 2% of adults or carers, and < 21% of professionals experienced each of the recommended features for post-diagnostic support. In contrast to 61% of professionals, only about 30% of autistic adults and carers had knowledge of good local services models for autism diagnosis in adulthood. There are major differences between good practice guidelines for diagnostic and post-diagnostic care for autistic adults, and what is actually experienced by services users and professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To present 31P whole brain MRSI with a high spatial resolution to probe quantitative tissue analysis of 31P MRSI at an ultrahigh field strength of 9.4 Tesla. Methods: The study protocol included a 31P MRSI measurement with an effective resolution of 2.47 mL. For SNR optimization, the nuclear Overhauser enhancement at 9.4 Tesla was investigated. A sensitivity correction was achieved by applying a low rank approximation of the γ‐adenosine triphosphate signal. Group analysis and regression on individual volunteers were performed to investigate quantitative concentration differences between different tissue types. Results: Differences in gray and white matter tissue 31P concentrations could be investigated for 12 different 31P resonances. In addition, the first highly resolved quantitative MRSI images measured at B0 = 9.4 Tesla of 31P detectable metabolites with high SNR could be presented. Conclusion: With an ultrahigh field strength B0 = 9.4 Tesla, 31P MRSI moves further toward quantitative metabolic imaging, and subtle differences in concentrations between different tissue types can be detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A range of terms and concepts referring to autonomous vehicle technologies are used both in the scientific and grey literature. Different, often overlapping, concepts and adjectives are used to describe automated vehicles. This abundance of terminology can create conditions for confusion and factual misinterpretation among audiences and between authors. This paper argues the lack of clarity between automated and autonomous cars contributes to increase expectations of current technology and to inappropriate predictions of both public and governments alike. The "autonomous" car, or vehicle, is a misnomer that could mislead potential users and its use may well result in a backlash of rejection, slowing development. To have an overview of driving automation vocabulary, a search of publications referencing "autonomous", "automated", "driverless" and "self-driving" cars or vehicles in the ScienceDirect library was conducted. Results showed they were largely used in the scientific literature investigated, despite obvious meaning differences between the concepts. The impact of the incorrect use of these terms on individuals' acceptance is discussed and clear definitions provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Autism Spectrum Disorders in the European Union (ASDEU) survey investigated the knowledge and health service experiences of users and providers to generate new hypotheses and scientific investigations that would contribute to improvement in health care for autistic adults. An online survey designed for autistic adults, carers of autistic adults, and professionals in adult services was translated into 11 languages and distributed electronically by organizations and in-country adult service facilities in 2017; 522 autistic adults, 442 carers, and 113 professionals provided answers to the health questions. Professionals, the majority in non-medical services, appeared to be poorly informed about whether certain co-occurring conditions were more frequent in autistic adults than typical adults—especially some medical conditions, suicide attempts, accidents, and pain. A minority of autistic adults reported preventive health behaviors such as routine health check-ups. The majority of users and providers expressed the desire to make health care services more user-friendly for autistic adults. Among the three groups, <20% of responders knew an organization or clinician which has developed a way to monitor health, and prevent poor health, that works well for adults on the autism spectrum. The results point to means for better management of co-occurring conditions associated with autism in adulthood in order to reduce hospital admissions and potential areas of improvement in health and social services for autistic adults. Specifically, efforts should be focused on (1) professionals' education on risks for co-occurring conditions in autistic adults; (2) promoting preventive health behaviors; (3) making services user-friendly for autistic adults and their families; and (4) encouraging knowledge of good local services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Macromolecular peaks underlying metabolite spectra influence the quantification of metabolites. Therefore, it is important to understand the extent of contribution from macromolecules (MMs) in metabolite quantification. However, to model MMs more accurately in spectral fitting, differences in T1 relaxation times among individual MM peaks must be considered. Characterization of T1‐relaxation times for all individual MM peaks using a single inversion recovery technique is difficult due to eventual contributions from metabolites. On the contrary, a double inversion recovery (DIR) technique provided flexibility to acquire MM spectra spanning a range of longitudinal magnetizations with minimal metabolite influence. Thus, a novel method to determine T1‐relaxation times of individual MM peaks is reported in this work. Methods: Extensive Bloch simulations were performed to determine inversion time combinations for a DIR technique that yielded adequate MM signal with varying longitudinal magnetizations while minimizing metabolite contributions. MM spectra were acquired using DIR‐metabolite‐cycled semi‐LASER sequence. LCModel concentrations were fitted to the DIR signal equation to calculate T1‐relaxation times. Results: T1‐relaxation times of MMs range from 204 to 510 ms and 253 to 564 ms in gray‐ and white‐matter rich voxels respectively at 9.4T. Additionally, concentrations of 13 MM peaks are reported. Conclusion: A novel DIR method is reported in this work to calculate T1‐relaxation times of MMs in the human brain. T1‐relaxation times and relaxation time corrected concentrations of individual MMs are reported in gray‐ and white‐matter rich voxels for the first time at 9.4T. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Relaxation times are a valuable asset when determining spectral assignments. In this study, apparent T2 relaxation times (T2app) of downfield peaks are reported in the human brain at 9.4 T and are used to guide spectral assignments of some downfield metabolite peaks. Methods: Echo time series of downfield metabolite spectra were acquired at 9.4 T using a metabolite‐cycled semi‐LASER sequence. Metabolite spectral fitting was performed using LCModel V6.3‐1L while fitting a pH sweep to estimate the pH of the homocarnosine (hCs) imidazole ring. T2app were calculated by fitting the resulting relative amplitudes of the peaks to a mono‐exponential decay across the TE series. Furthermore, estimated tissue concentrations of molecules were calculated using the relaxation times and internal water as a reference. Results: T2app of downfield metabolites are reported within a range from 16 to 32 ms except for homocarnosine with T2app of 50 ms. Correcting T2app for exchange rates (T2corr) resulted in relaxation times between 20 and 33 ms. The estimated pH values based on hCs imidazole range from 7.07 to 7.12 between subjects. Furthermore, analyzing the linewidths of the downfield peaks and their T2app contribution led to possible peak assignments. Conclusion: T2app relaxation times were longer for the assigned metabolite peaks compared to the unassigned peaks. Tissue pH estimation in vivo with proton MRS and simultaneous quantification of amide protons at 8.30 ± 0.15 ppm is likely possible. Based on concentration, linewidth, and exchange rates measurements, tentative peak assignments are discussed for adenosine triphosphate (ATP), N‐acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG), and urea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Relaxation times can contribute to spectral assignment. In this study, effective T2 relaxation times (T2eff) of macromolecules are reported for gray and white matter–rich voxels in the human brain at 9.4 T. The T2eff of macromolecules are helpful to understand their behavior and the effect they have on metabolite quantification. Additionally, for absolute quantification of metabolites with magnetic resonance spectroscopy, appropriate T2 values of metabolites must be considered. The T2 relaxation times of metabolites are calculated after accounting for TE/sequence‐specific macromolecular baselines. Methods: Macromolecular and metabolite spectra for a series of TEs were acquired at 9.4 T using double inversion–recovery metabolite‐cycled semi‐LASER and metabolite‐cycled semi‐LASER, respectively. The T2 relaxation times were calculated by fitting the LCModel relative amplitudes of macromolecular peaks and metabolites to a mono‐exponential decay across the TE series. Furthermore, absolute concentrations of metabolites were calculated using the estimated relaxation times and internal water as reference. Results: The T2eff of macromolecules are reported, which range from 13 ms to 40 ms, whereas, for metabolites, they range from 40 ms to 110 ms. Both macromolecular and metabolite T2 relaxation times are observed to follow the decreasing trend, with increasing B0. The linewidths of metabolite singlets can be fully attributed to T2 and B0 components. However, in addition to these components, macromolecule linewidths have contributions from J‐coupling and overlapping resonances. Conclusion: The T2 relaxation times of all macromolecular and metabolite peaks at 9.4 T in vivo are reported for the first time. Metabolite relaxation times were used to calculate the absolute metabolite concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Juvenile nursery habitats are a critical requirement for the maintenance of some fish populations. Snapper in northern New Zealand is hypothesised to fit this nursery habitat model; however, nursery habitat association and dependency are poorly understood for New Zealand's largest snapper population in the Hauraki Gulf. To better understand habitat usage by post‐settlement snapper and identify potential nursery habitats, we surveyed fish communities across a range of structured benthic habitats using fixed‐position seabed cameras in Kawau Bay, in the northwestern Hauraki Gulf. Results indicated a low overall abundance of post‐settlement snapper, relative to previous surveys at a nearby harbour outside of the Hauraki Gulf. There were also amongst‐habitat differences in Kawau Bay, with post‐settlement snapper and fish diversity higher in association with horse mussels relative to bare sediment. We anticipated high abundance of post‐settlement snapper at restored green‐lipped mussel bed sites, but abundance was again low relative to previous surveys outside of the Gulf. While Hauraki Gulf locations other than Kawau Bay may serve as nursery habitats with abundant populations of post‐settlement snapper, another possibility is that post‐settlement snapper habitat may not be as limiting within the expansive semi‐sheltered Hauraki Gulf (potentially following an Effective Juvenile Habitat model). This hypothesis requires further investigation, as the answer could alter the emphasis of habitat conservation and restoration efforts in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of Patient as teacher (PAT) sessions on the knowledge, communication skills, and participation of pharmacy students in the United Kingdom. Methods: During the academic year 2019-2020, year 1 and 2 pharmacy students at the University of Central Lancashire were invited to complete a questionnaire following PAT sessions. Data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics, including mean and standard deviation for: continuous variables and reliability analysis. Pearsons chi-square or Fisher exact test, odds ratio, and phi were used for analyzing dichotomous variables. Thematic analysis was used for free text comments. Results: Sixty eight of 228 students participated (response rate of 29.8%). No statistical difference was found between gender (P=0.090); a statistically significant difference was found between year (P=0.008). Cronbachs a (0.809) confirmed a good internal consistency. Ninety-seven percent of the students learned a lot, and 85.3% appreciated and valued the PAT sessions; 89.7% wanted more sessions. Ninety-two point seven percent perceived the sessions to contextualize their learning. Five questions were dichotomized by grouping the responses into negative and positive; 90.3% of responses were positive and did not show statistically significant differences in gender and year of study. Overall students' free text comments were positive, but active listening and consultation appeared in the positive and negative domains, highlighting the need for more student engagement. Conclusion: PAT sessions had a positive impact on students' knowledge, communication skills and participation, and contextualized learning. They provide a valuable contribution to the pharmacy students' experience in the United Kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise the issues of alignment for changing academic libraries by using and extending McKinsey's 7S model. Design/methodology/approach: Theoretical work was conducted to consider and extend the 7S model for the situation of academic libraries. Empirical data were then used to confirm the value of these extensions and suggest further changes. The data to support the analysis were drawn from 33 interviews with librarians, library and non-library academics and experts, and a survey of UK library staff. Findings: In the academic library context, the 7S model can be usefully extended to include three library functions (stuff, space and services) and users. It can also include institutional influences and stakeholders, and aspects of the external environment or situation, including suppliers and allies. The revised model then provides a useful framework within which data about library change can be analysed. Perceived barriers to successful performance fit the model and enable the identification of seven challenges of alignment. Research limitations/implications: The resulting model has potential applications such as in the structuring analysis of academic library performance, mapping future directions of development and for exploring variations across the sector and internationally. Practical implications: The revised model can be used by practitioners to think through their own strategic position and to act to shape their future, in the light of seven major areas of alignment. Originality/value: The paper extends a well-known model used in strategy, to produce a more comprehensive, sector-specific analytic tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interview narrators reflect on living their cultural connections to Ireland and Scotland while living in Aotearoa New Zealand. Among the questions they focus on are whether the experience of colonisation in the northern hemisphere has influenced relations with Maori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa. These co-created, layered and complex narratives are viewed as "lived and told stories'', with the reader seen as a co-participant in the narrative. Applying the narrative analysis lenses of time and place left the researcher with a sense of the passage of time and the constant change that it bought for her own family and for interview narrators. These narratives are offered with a sense of celebration for the strength of cultures which can remake themselves across hemispheres and generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a qualitative study of the practicum learning experiences of 20 teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages enrolled in a Master's programme at a university in Australia. The practicum, comprising 22 days of placement including seven observations and 15 days of planned, supervised teaching, is a core course. This study has two objectives: to suggest a range of artefacts to include in a practicum portfolio to maximize 'authenticity', and to begin to unfurl from the data some of the learning, both the intended and the serendipitous, that practice teachers report. The advantages of portfolio-based modes of assessing the performances and outcomes of practice teachers' learning on TESOL practicum are well-documented. These are 'authentic' mode of assessment because they are socially situated, contain records of performances over time and embody 'interpretations and reflections' (Mattsson, Rorrison & Eilertsen, 2011). In addition to gaining data on how they link theory to practice, these portfolios incorporate practice teachers' emerging realizations of their agency as practitioners and their perceptions of their enhanced professional competence. Their embedded reflectivity means that information about their intellectual, social, moral, and emotional identity journeys are captured as part of the learning trajectory. A process of 'becoming', rather than a stasis of 'being' is portrayed, enhancing authenticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mineralized NYF and LCT pegmatites occur throughout the northeast-trending Neoproterozoic Damara Belt, Namibia. Mineralization in the pegmatites varies geographically, from the northeast, where they are enriched in Li-Be, to the southwest, where they also contain notable Sn and U. Similar fluid inclusion populations occur throughout the pegmatites, regardless of their respective metal enrichments, and primary fluid inclusion textures were destroyed by continued fluid activity. Pseudosecondary to secondary inclusions are aqueo-carbonic, carbonic, and aqueous in composition, and have been divided into five types. The earliest populations are saline (>26.3 eq. wt.% NaCl), homogenizing at temperatures in excess of 300 °C. Their carbonic phase is composed of CO2, with minor CH4, and micro-elemental mapping indicates they contain trace metals, including Ca, Fe, Zn, Cu, and K. Type 3 inclusions formed later, homogenize at ~325 °C, and are less saline, with a carbonic phase composed of CO2. Type 4 carbonic inclusions are composed of pure CO2, and represent the latest stages of fluid evolution, while Type 5 aqueous inclusions are believed to be unrelated to the crystallization of the pegmatites, and rather the result of regional Cretaceous magmatism, or the ingress of meteoric water. The similarities in fluid inclusion populations observed in the pegmatites suggest that differences in mineralization were driven by magma composition rather than fluid activity alone, however saline fluids facilitated the enrichment and deposition of metals during the late stages of crystallization. Furthermore, the similarities between fluid inclusion populations in different pegmatites suggests they share a similar fluid evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigated what motivates feminist activists to engage in archiving and memory collecting activity, such as oral history projects, and what form such activity takes, including the extent to which they collaborate with formal archives. A case study of a feminist archiving project was undertaken: the Sheffield Feminist Archive project. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews with the five most active members of the project were conducted. The participants in this study saw their activity as a part of their feminist activism. They were motivated by a desire to increase the presence of women and feminists in the archival record. They hoped that the material they collected would help to change the way the public see women, feminism and gender relations. They chose to collaborate with a formal archive, Sheffield Archives, from the start of their archiving activity. They felt that this brought benefits to the project which enabled them to meet their aims. These included status and public identity, visibility and archival expertise. Despite their limited time, the participants saw themselves as having an active and multifaceted role in the collaboration including being a link with the feminist community, collecting material for the archive, publicizing the archive and challenging archival practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Visualisations of research and research-related activities including research data management (RDM) as a lifecycle have proliferated in the last decade. The purpose of this paper is to offer a systematic analysis and critique of such models.Design/methodology/approach A framework for analysis synthesised from the literature presented and applied to nine examples.Findings The strengths of the lifecycle representation are to clarify stages in research and to capture key features of project-based research. Nevertheless, their weakness is that they typically mask various aspects of the complexity of research, constructing it as highly purposive, serial, uni-directional and occurring in a somewhat closed system. Other types of models such as spiral of knowledge creation or the data journey reveal other stories about research. It is suggested that we need to develop other metaphors and visualisations around research.Research limitations/implications The paper explores the strengths and weaknesses of the popular lifecycle model for research and RDM, and also considers alternative ways of representing them.Practical implications Librarians use lifecycle models to explain service offerings to users so the analysis will help them identify clearly the best type of representation for particular cases. The critique offered by the paper also reveals that because researchers do not necessarily identify with a lifecycle representation, alternative ways of representing research need to be developed.Originality/value The paper offers a systematic analysis of visualisations of research and RDM current in the Library and Information Studies literature revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the lifecycle metaphor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published writers of fictional or semi-fictional works entering the academy as doctoral candidates express surprise at the requirements of formal human ethics reviews. Admitting an element of the autoethnographic exists in their writing, they may insist that they possess what Freeman called 'narrative integrity'. This paper considers the ethics of autoethnography as they apply to both the academy, chiefly within the PhD by artefact and exegesis, and the world of published writers, seeking possible solace from such scholarly concepts as 'relational ethics', or 'ethic of care'. Drawing methodologically on our experience as doctoral supervisor and student and with the permission of writer/students whose stories are inseparable from this work, this study unpacks in ethical terms the problems reported by students whose methodology involves evocative or performative autoethnography. As interpretatist methodologists, autoethnographers maintain it provides insights into the interplay between the personally engaged self and mediated cultural descriptions. Methodologically, it enacts the self and others as data. This connection between the personal and the social makes it difficult for autoethnographers to speak of themselves without speaking of others. Examining autoethnography involves a close scrutiny of the boundaries between the self and the other, a process that is both enlightening and essential for supervisory dyads in creative writing methodologically informed by autoethnography. These aspects of the ethics of autoethnography are crucial, but little attention has been paid to the problematic notion that practiceled research is emergent in practice and that its autoethnography requires a retrospective approach, looking backwards as well as forwards. The reality of applying this methodology in practice-led research clashes with the pro-active nature of ethics procedurals required by universities. The paper identifies nine praxical problems that arise from such clashes, and considers best-practice principles for responding to these problems, drawing strongly on indigenous research. Finally, it offers conclusions relating to consent, transparency and the need to open a dialogue around best practice in autoethnographic research in the academic field of Writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the meaning of information literacy (IL) in food logging, the activity of recording food intake and monitoring weight and other health conditions that may be affected by diet, using applications (apps) accessed through mobile devices and personal computers.Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered from a small group of food logging app users through a focus group and interviews. Analysis was informed by practice theory and the growing interest in IL outside educational settings.Findings Food logging revolves around the epistemic modality of information, but it is the user who creates information and it is not textual. Food logging is associated with a discourse of focussing on data and downplaying the corporeal information associated with eating and its effect on the body. Social information was an important source for choosing an app, but data were rarely shared with others. Food loggers are very concerned with data quality at the point of data entry. They have a strong sense of learning about healthy eating. They were not well informed about the data privacy and access issues.Practical implications Food loggers need to be better informed about data risks around food logging.Originality/value This is the first study of food logging from an IL perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By 2050, the evolutionary approach to aero engine research may no longer provide meaningful returns on investment, whereas more radical approaches to improving thermal efficiency and reducing emissions might still prove cost effective. One such radical concept is the addition of a secondary power cycle that utilizes the otherwise largely wasted residual heat in the core engine's exhaust gases. This could provide additional shaft power. Supercritical carbon dioxide closed-circuit power cycles are currently being investigated primarily for stationary power applications, but their high power density and efficiency, even for modest peak cycle temperatures, makes them credible bottoming cycle options for aero engine applications. Through individual geometric design and performance studies for each of the bottoming cycle's major components, it was determined that a simple combined cycle aero engine could offer a 1.9% mission fuel burn benefit over a state-of-the-art geared turbofan for the year 2050. However, the even greater potential of more complex systems demands further investigation. For example, adding inter-turbine reheat (ITR) to the combined cycle is predicted to significantly improve the fuel burn benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fingolimod (FTY720) is an orally bio-available immunomodulatory drug currently approved by the FDA for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Currently, there is a significant interest in the potential benefits of FTY720 on stroke outcomes. FTY720 and the sphingolipid signaling pathway it modulates has a ubiquitous presence in the central nervous system and both rodent models and pilot clinical trials seem to indicate that the drug may improve overall functional recovery in different stroke subtypes. Although the precise mechanisms behind these beneficial effects are yet unclear, there is evidence that FTY720 has a role in regulating cerebrovascular responses, blood-brain barrier permeability, and cell survival in the event of cerebrovascular insult. In this article, we critically review the data obtained from the latest laboratory findings and clinical trials involving both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, and attempt to form a cohesive picture of FTY720's mechanisms of action in stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine and describe clinical symptoms, demographic characteristics and environmental exposures as determinants of pulmonary mycobacterial diseases among patients examined for tuberculosis in agropastoral communities in Northern Tanzania. Methods: This was a cross sectional study. Sputum samples were collected from patients attending three hospitals in Tanzania, and were investigated for pulmonary tuberculosis by microscopy between November 2010 and June 2012. The patients were interviewed about background information, and potential exposure to mycobacteria. Results: We examined 1,711 presumptive tuberculosis cases where 936 (54.2%) were males and 775 (45.3%) females. Of all the study participants, 277 (16%) were found to have sputum samples positive for mycobacteria; 228 (13%) were smear positive, 123 (7%) were culture positive and 74 (4%) were positive by both smear microscopy and culture. Of the 123 mycobacterial culture positive, 15 (12.2%) had non-tuberculous mycobacteria. Males were more likely than females to be positive for mycobacteria. Factors associated with mycobacterial disease were loss of appetite, age groups below 41 years, and being a male. Among HIV negative patients, loss of appetite, age below 20 years and being a male were associated with being mycobacterial positive. Among HIV positive patients, males and those patients with a persistently coughing family member were more likely to harbor mycobacteria. Conclusion: The findings in this study show that both M. tuberculosis and non-tuberculous mycobacterial strains were prevalent in the study community. Some risk factors were identified. Although the reported predictors may improve screening for mycobacterial diseases, their use requires some precaution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a report titled "Progress of the World's Women 2015-2016: Transforming economies, realizing rights" offered by the UN Women organization of the United Nations. Topics discussed include its contribution towards global social policy making; clarification offered on reinforcing interdependence between human rights and universalistic social policy; and challenges with the human rights framework on deriving substantive guidance through politicized fiscal policy processes.

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to explore the character of scholars’ research-related personal information collections (PICs). Design/methodology/approach – The study was based on in-depth interviews and office tours of 17 scholars in Education and Health Sciences in a Kuwaiti Higher Education Institution. Findings – Scholars’ research-related PICs were added to throughout the research life-cycle. They were huge, diverse, hybrid and fragmented. Key factors shaping the collections were the pressure to do research, time pressure in general, quality of space available, technology opportunity, lack of support from central services, the need to collect Arabic material, self-presentation and self-management. Older scholars and non-Kuwaiti nationals experienced the pressures slightly differently. Research limitations/implications – The study was limited to scholars in two disciplines, in one institution in a developing world context. However the models produced are suggestive of factors involved in shaping of the research-related PICs of scholars in general. Practical implications – Failures in personal information management are a cause for concern in terms of data integrity and validity of research. Interventions could include training of early career researchers for a life time of collecting. Originality/value – This is the first study to examine the contents of scholars’ research-related PICs and to provide a model of factors shaping them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on practitioners' experiences of applying tenets from critical pedagogy, 'the pedagogy of hope' (Freire, 1970, 1998) to three exemplars of critical practice in TESOL. While multicultural and sociocultural approaches in the discipline have emphasised the centrality of the social, cultural and communicative aspects of language learning and teaching, they glide over the criticism that no language is, in Pennycook's (2001) term, "innocent" and no discourse separate from the powerful ideology that produced it. In addition to its emphasis on the imperialistic freight of English, critical pedagogy has an impetus for social action through teacher and learner empowerment that can take many other forms. This study draws on literature to identify the grass-roots features of critical pedagogy and applies these tenets to practical examples. In the process, it contributes to a much-bemoaned gap in critical pedagogy literature: the space where theory meets practice in TESOL or ELT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi-item listening portfolio is an effective instrument for formatively and summatively assessing adult learners' independent acts of extensive listening over time. Framed by studies of strategic English as an Additional Language (EAL) learning via portfolio, this paper uses a qualitative descriptive analysis of ten students' reflective portfolios to evaluate a situated pedagogical approach to the learning and assessment of extensive real-world listening in an EAL degree program at a tertiary institute in Auckland. The study supports the use of a pedagogy that demonstrates and practices key strategies via a flexible listening portfolio that students develop over the duration of a programme. The students emerged with what one participant calls "memorable and meaningful tools" for his future life. The study suggests the innovation of the listening portfolio may open the possibility for students to develop future identities as agential participants in communities (Toohey & Norton, 2003), not merely students instrumentally completing listening competency tests. I developed self-awareness of listening strategies when I expose a variety of listening and spoken language outside the classroom... In the past, my main purpose was to understand the content without analysing. Today I equip myself with these strategies in my everyday life. They are memorable and meaningful tools for me (Mora, Somalia) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tuberculosis (TB) disproportionally affects persons and families who are economically and socially disadvantaged. Therefore, a patient cost survey was conducted in Tanzania to evaluate the costs incurred by patients and their households before and after the diagnosis of TB. It was the first survey in Tanzania to ascertain baseline information and experience for subsequent surveys. This paper aims to share the experience encountered during the survey to ensure a standardized approach and elimination of potential barriers for the implementation of future surveys. A total of 777 TB patients from 30 clusters selected based on probability proportional to the size were interviewed during the study period. As the sample size was calculated based on notification data from the previous year, some health facilities experienced an inadequate number of TB patients during the study to meet the allocated cluster size for the survey. Most facilities had poor recording and recordkeeping in TB registers where deaths were not registered, and some patients had not been assigned district identification numbers. Fixed days for TB drug refills in health facilities affected the routine implementation of the survey as the interviews were conducted when patients visited the facility to pick up the drugs. Tablets used to collect data failed to capture the geographic location in some areas. The households of TB patients lost to follow-up and those who had died during TB treatment were not included in the survey. When planning and preparing for patient costs surveys, it is important to consider unforeseen factors which may affect planned activities and findings. During the survey in Tanzania, the identified challenges included survey logistics, communications, patient enrollment, and data management issues. To improve the quality of the findings of future surveys, it may be reasonable to revise survey procedures to include households of TB patients who were lost to follow-up and those who died during TB treatment; the households of such patients may have incurred higher direct and indirect costs than households whose patient was cured as a result of receiving TB treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current study was conducted to assess experienced risk factors and perceptions of mycobacterial diseases in communities in northern Tanzania. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in Arusha and Manyara regions in Northern Tanzania. We enrolled tuberculosis (TB) patients attending Mount Meru Hospital, Enduleni Hospital and Haydom Lutheran Hospitals in Arusha municipality, Ngorongoro and Mbulu districts, respectively. Patient addresses were recorded during their first visit to the hospitals. Patients with confirmed diagnosis of TB by sputum smear microscopy and/or culture at central laboratory were followed up and interviewed using pre-tested questionnaires, and selected relatives and neighbors were also interviewed. The study was conducted between June 2011 and May 2013. Results: The study involved 164 respondents: 41(25%) were TB patients, 68(41.5%) were their relatives and 55(33.5%) their neighbors. Sixty four (39%) knew a risk factor for mycobacterial disease. Overall, 64(39%) perceived to be at risk of mycobacterial diseases. Exposure to potential risks of mycobacterial diseases were: keeping livestock, not boiling drinking water, large family, smoking and sharing dwelling with TB patients. Rural dwellers were more often livestock keepers (p<0.01), more often shared dwelling with livestock (p<0.01) than urban dwellers. More primary school leavers reported sharing dwelling with TB patients than participants with secondary and higher education (p = 0.01). Conclusion: Livestock keeping, sharing dwelling with livestock, sharing household with a TB patient were perceived risk factors for mycobacterial diseases and the participants were exposed to some of these risk factors. Improving knowledge about the risk factors may protect them from these serious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]