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The presentations in this session of the Monticello II conference were aimed at summarizing what is known about asbestiform and non-asbestiform elongate mineral particles (EMPs) and mesothelioma risks based on evidence from experimental and epidemiology studies. Dr. Case discussed case reports of mesothelioma over the last several decades. Dr. Taioli indicated that the epidemiology evidence concerning non-asbestiform EMPs is weak or lacking, and that progress would be limited unless mesothelioma registries are established. One exception discussed is that of taconite miners, who are exposed to grunerite. Drs. Mandel and Odo noted that studies of taconite miners in Minnesota have revealed an excess rate of mesothelioma, but the role of non-asbestiform EMPs in this excess incidence of mesothelioma is unclear. Dr. Becich discussed the National Mesothelioma Virtual Bank (NMVB), a virtual mesothelioma patient registry that includes mesothelioma patients' lifetime work histories, exposure histories, biospecimens, proteogenomic information, and imaging data that can be used in epidemiology research on mesothelioma. Dr. Bernstein indicated that there is a strong consensus that long, highly durable respirable asbestiform EMPs have the potential to cause mesothelioma, but there is continued debate concerning the biodurability required, and the dimensions (both length and diameter), the shape, and the dose associated with mesothelioma risk. Finally, Dr. Nel discussed how experimental studies of High Aspect Ratio Engineered Nanomaterials have clarified dimensional and durability features that impact disease risk, the impact of inflammation and oxidative stress on the epigenetic regulation of tumor suppressor genes, and the generation of immune suppressive effects in the mesothelioma tumor microenvironment. The session ended with a discussion of future research needs.

Coercive control has been shown to be far more damaging for victims psychologically than physical violence. Linked to this, domestic violence perpetrators are increasingly turning to the online world to enact control and abuse. Women are most likely to be killed once they have separated from their abusers, and perpetrators harness the online realm to continue the abuse long after a relationship has ended, with devastating consequences. This article draws on a subsection of data from a qualitative study as it relates to survivor accounts of online and technological abuse (via social media, mobile phones, Global Positioning Systems [GPS] tracking, etc.) as it is enacted by cisgender men against cisgender women. We reveal crucial evidence of the ways in which intimate partner abuse via the technological realm serves to exacerbate harm and prevent victims from fully recovering from their trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intimate partner violence causes significant, long-lasting harm to almost one-third (27%) of the world's population of women. Even when women leave abusive relationships, some men continue to exercise control over their ex-partners through psychological control, threats, violence, stalking, and other forms of harassment. In this qualitative study, 52 purposively sampled women who self-identified as victims or survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) from male partners were interviewed. Data were analyzed with a theoretically informed thematic analysis, supported by Nvivo® software. We found that leaving a violent relationship was a long-term process fraught with difficulty and ongoing risks of psychological harm. The concept of Continuous Traumatic Stress (CTS), first developed to understand the impact of state-sponsored violence and war, was found to be a particularly useful tool for the analysis of the impact of post-separation abuse. Additionally, CTS encourages researchers and practitioners to think anew about resilience-centered approaches to improving protection and access to justice for female victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that victims of intimate partner violence experience numerous barriers to leaving abusive relationships. For ethnic minority and immigrant women these barriers are significantly exacerbated. This metasynthesis explored barriers to help-seeking as experienced by Black, Asian, minority ethnic and immigrant women with experience of intimate partner violence. A review of worldwide literature published in English in peer-reviewed journals on this topic from 2000 to July 2020 produced 2597 relevant articles. After removing duplicates and applying the exclusion criteria, a total of 47 articles were selected for inclusion in the review. The synthesis found that these women faced additional barriers as a result of institutional racism, immigration laws, culture and religion, and issues of cultural competence, and lack of diversity within frontline services. Such barriers, from a range of formal and informal resources, services and other mechanisms of support, served to exacerbate feelings of fear, threat, isolation and powerlessness. The barriers were also further weaponised by perpetrators in order to extend their reign of terror and control. As a result, women were caught in a double-bind – stay in an abusive relationship or face further threats and consequences if they attempted to leave. Whilst our search criteria focused on barriers to help-seeking, many of the papers included in our synthesis also explored facilitators to help-seeking, which are included in our findings and overwhelmingly relate to informal support from females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A novel method using a moving threshold (r‐PLTmt) to determine canine r‐PLTs (reticulated platelets) has been introduced for ADVIA 2120 software v6.11.7. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate absolute (ar‐PLTmt) and percent (%r‐PLTmt) prior to and after visual inspection of scattergrams (ar‐PLTmtv, %rPLTmtv) compared with flow cytometry (flow) and to determine reference intervals (RIs) in 120 dogs. Methods: For method comparison, 42 blood samples of healthy and thrombocytopenic dogs were included. Calculation of Spearman's rho, Bland–Altman, and Passing‐Bablok analysis was performed. Coefficients of variation (CVs) were determined for three concentration levels. Results: Moderate correlations between %r‐PLTmt and %r‐PLTmtv (rs 0.75–0.76) were seen compared with flow cytometry. The CV for medium %r‐PLTs counts assessed with flow cytometry was 12.9%. Comparable CVs were obtained for ar‐PLTmt (14.4%) and %r‐PLTmt (15.7%), and ar‐PLTmtv and %r‐PLTmtv (10.9% and 12.9%, respectively). At low and high concentration levels, CVs for % and absolute r‐PLTmt/rPLTmtv ranged between 23%–30% and 15%–20%. In patients with microcytic hypochromic erythrocytes, CVs for ar‐PLTmt and %r‐PLTmt were 36%–66%. Visual inspection of scattergrams resulted in a marked decrease in CV ranging between 15% and 20%. A proportional bias of 10.8% between %r‐PLTmt and flow cytometry became lower (9.7%) after visual validation of scattergrams. Passing‐Bablok analysis showed proportional and constant error. RIs for r‐PLTmt and r‐PLTmtv were 0.2%–3.8% and 0.6–10.2 × 109/L and 0.3%–4.5% and 1.1–10.3 × 109/L, respectively. Median values for %r‐PLTmtv were higher in young adults (≤2 years) than in older dogs (P = 0.03). Conclusions: r‐PLTmt and r‐PLTmtv were moderately correlated with flow cytometry. Visual inspection of scattergrams is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To play a musical instrument in the way that one would sing is a goal that has been shared and documented by performers of Western classical music for several centuries. It is still common to hear performers in the 21st century encouraging each other to aspire to performance ideals that are linked to aspects of vocality. Taking voicelikeness not as an identifiable property of sound but rather as a social construction, this study investigates what an instrumental musician can do when they invoke the notion of voicelikeness, using discourse analysis to probe data from a single case study of a flute masterclass. We contend that, while the "truth" about any one instrumentalist's claim to vocality may be impossible to verify, observing the ways in which such a claim is built up, shared, and defended can reveal the musical values that are being shaped and disseminated by musicians in a given set of circumstances. Applying a discourse approach to the analysis of an actual social encounter exposes how an instrumental musician can draw upon existing ideas about the voice to construct ideal musical practice. We conclude that stories of voicelikeness in discourse amongst instrumental musicians are not only about making a sound that is in some way vocal, they can also be used to transmit the norms of classical music performance from expert performer to developing performer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]