Search

AbstractThis research explores the detailed methods of upcycling, contrasting them with traditional linear design processes through autoethnographic documentation. By centering on a material-oriented view of reuse, the study uncovers how upcycling actively interacts with a material’s past, encompassing human imprints, temporality, fragmentation, and signs of aging. While commonly acknowledged as reuse of worn garments, upcycling can entail intricate interactions with historical remnants and weathered materials, including the challenges posed by aged material patina and its transient nature. The research challenges the prevailing upcycling literature’s limited dialogue of the nuanced complexities associated with working with aging materials, which instead often prioritizes consumer-driven goals within a circular remanufacturing context. Through practices like upcycling, which center on physical making and materials, we uncover insights and opportunities for impactful change often overlooked in traditional material processes, design planning, and manufacturing processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Europe, most HTLV-1-infected individuals originate from highly endemic regions such as West Indies, sub-Saharan Africa, and South America. The only genuine endemic region for HTLV-1 in Europe is Romania where ATL series have been reported among Romanian patients. Our objective is to better understand the origin of this endemic focus based on a study of the genetic diversity of HTLV-1 in Romanians. DNA was obtained from PBMCs/buffy coats of 11 unrelated HTLV-1-infected individuals of Romanian origin. They include 9 ATL cases and 2 asymptomatic carriers. LTR sequences were obtained for all specimens. Complete genomic HTLV-1 sequences were obtained using four PCR series on 10 specimens. Phylogenetic trees were generated from multiple alignments using HTLV-1 prototypic sequences and the new generated sequences. Most of the complete LTR sequences (756-bp) showed low nucleotide diversity, ranging from 0% to 0.8% difference, and were closely related (less than 0.8% divergence) to the only previously characterized Romanian strain, RKI2. One strain, ROU7, diverged slightly (1.5% on average) from the others. Phylogenetic analyses both on partial LTR and the complete genome demonstrate that the 11 sequences belong to the HTLV-1a cosmopolitan genotype and 10 of them belong to the previously denominated a-TC Mozambique–Southern Africa A subgroup. In this study, we demonstrated that the HTLV-1 present in Romania most probably originated in Southern Africa. As most Romanian HTLV-1 strains are very closely related, we can assume that HTLV-1 has been introduced into the Romanian population recently. Further studies are ongoing to decipher the routes of arrival and dissemination of these HTLV-1 strains, and to date the emergence of this endemic focus in Central Europe. Author summary: In Europe, HTLV-1 infections mainly originate in regions such as the West Indies, sub-Saharan Africa and South America. However, Romania has been identified as a true endemic area, due to reported cases of ATL among Romanian patients. To understand this situation, we analyzed the genetic diversity of HTLV-1 in Romanians and collected DNA from 11 infected individuals, most of them ATL cases. The results showed a close genetic relationship between most of the sequences, closely matching the previously identified Romanian RKI2 strain. However, one strain, ROU7, showed a slight divergence. Phylogenetic analysis positioned these sequences in the cosmopolitan HTLV-1a genotype, belonging mainly to the a-TC Mozambique-Southern Africa subgroup. This suggests a probable origin of HTLV-1 in Romania from South Africa, perhaps recently introduced. Further studies aim to elucidate the transmission routes and emergence of this HTLV-1 endemicity in Central Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dinitrogen (N2) fixation represents a key source of reactive nitrogen in marine ecosystems. While the process has been rather well-explored in low latitudes of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, other higher latitude regions and particularly the Indian Ocean have been chronically overlooked. Here, we characterize N2 fixation and diazotroph community composition across nutrient and trace metals gradients spanning the multifrontal system separating the oligotrophic waters of the Indian Ocean subtropical gyre from the high nutrient low chlorophyll waters of the Southern Ocean. We found a sharp contrasting distribution of diazotroph groups across the frontal system. Notably, cyanobacterial diazotrophs dominated north of fronts, driving high N2 fixation rates (up to 13.96 nmol N l−1 d−1) with notable peaks near the South African coast. South of the fronts non-cyanobacterial diazotrophs prevailed without significant N2 fixation activity being detected. Our results provide new crucial insights into high latitude diazotrophy in the Indian Ocean, which should contribute to improved climate model parameterization and enhanced constraints on global net primary productivity projections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Drill instructors (DIs) are responsible for executing their Services' recruit training programs and for training recruits. DIs assume a variety of roles, including teaching and developing practical skills and knowledge, mentoring, modeling appropriate behavior and attitudes, motivating recruits for success during and after recruit training, applying and instilling discipline, and ensuring the safety and welfare of recruits. This article examines two major research questions at the intersection of gender, gender-integrated training, and the DI role: (1) What differences exist in how DIs experience their role by gender? and (2) how does gender-integrated recruit training affect DIs' approach to training? Materials and Methods This article draws from 87 semistructured interviews conducted with Service leaders, training cadre, and DIs in service of a broader Marine Corps interdisciplinary study on gender integration at recruit training. Interviews were conducted virtually and in-person with Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard personnel from June to November 2021. Each interview was coded with initial and secondary codes developed through a flexible coding approach. Data were analyzed across and within relevant categories such as gender and Service to identify themes and patterns. Results Although the DI role was universally described as demanding and difficult, unique challenges for women consistently emerged from the data. The top reported challenges faced by female DIs were personnel shortages, work and family conflict, culture-driven sexism in the training environment from male peers and recruits, and pressure to excel above and beyond their male peers. In recruit training, DIs are responsible for executing gender-integrated practices. Service leaders, training cadre, and DIs described how gender integration practices affect their approach to the role and implementation of training, including addressing and dismantling sexism, shutting down recruit romantic relationships, training all recruits in an equal manner, knowing gender-specific grooming standards, increasing communication among DIs, and working with mixed-gender DI teams. Conclusions Female DIs face additional challenges in and outside the role compared with their male peers, and some of these challenges are preventable. Staffing and personnel issues plague the female DI population and are a persistent and pervasive challenge to gender integration efforts. Women are a necessary and highly desirable population to fill the DI role, particularly as Services aim to expose recruits to leaders of both genders during their critical first training experience. DIs play an important role in ensuring the successful completion of recruit training, ultimately helping to build the future leaders of the military. The success of gender integration efforts depends on DIs' intentional approach to the process. Future research can build on this work by expanding the scope to other military training environments (beyond recruit training) and examining how DIs' own sociodemographic positions (e.g. gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation) inform their perspective on and approach to equity in the training environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does a technocratic entity, such as a central bank, craft a key policy intervention when faced with limits to established frameworks of governance? This article explores the Bank of England's turn to unconventional policy in 2009 drawing on a set of eighteen in-depth interviews with former members of the Monetary Policy Committee, Executive team, and staff economists, and a corpus of documents. Adopting Goffman's 'framing analysis', it argues that the limits to established governance led to the temporary replacement of the New Keynesian frame with a Monetarist frame, as a result of expert struggles, with consequential outcomes on the policy intervention. As the backstage dissensus spilled over onto the frontstage, manifesting as limits to knowledge, the Bank's 'expert authority' was threatened. The Bank engaged in 'manufactured consensus'—a backstage compromise between competing frames forged into a frontstage consensus via a hybrid frame—which proved to be a fragile strategy. By throwing light on the backstage–frontstage relations of technocratic organizations, I claim that an intervention may be shaped both by internal processes as well as by the ways in which the organization seeks to handle the external demands to which those very same internal processes may give rise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North Atlantic is a region of enhanced biogeochemical and climatological importance for the global ocean as it is the site of one of the largest seasonal phytoplankton blooms on the planet. However, there is a lack of understanding of how phytoplankton size influences bloom dynamics and associated nutrient utilization rates, particularly during the decline phase when export to the deep ocean is especially pronounced. Here, we evaluate trends in size‐fractionated carbon, nitrogen, and silicic acid uptake rates in conjunction with environmental parameters to assess these dynamics. In our study, the decline phase of the bloom continued to be highly productive with net primary production (NPP) ranging from 36.4 to 146.6 mmol C m−2 d−1 and approximately 54% of primary production being driven by large phytoplankton cells (≥5 μm) that were primarily utilizing nitrate (mean f‐ratio of 0.77). Entrainment of silicic acid related to deepening of the mixed layer caused by storms increased silicic acid uptake rates to 2.0–5.7 mmol Si m−2 d−1 without concomitant increases in NPP by large cells (silicic acid to carbon uptake ratios averaged 0.12). A companion study in the North Pacific allowed for paired evaluation of these regions. Our results suggest that in highly productive regions where phytoplankton biomass and productivity is distributed across a broad range of cell sizes, such as the North Atlantic, size itself has a stronger influence on nutrient cycling and potential carbon export relative to regions with lower production and a predominance of small (<5 μm) cells, such as the North Pacific. Plain Language Summary: The North Atlantic Ocean experiences a seasonal bloom of phytoplankton. This bloom represents one of the largest removals of anthropogenic carbon to the deep ocean on the planet. Here, we seek to better quantify the mechanisms of this removal by characterizing the amount and composition of phytoplankton present and how much primary production they are engaging in. We sampled during the decline phase of the spring bloom and found the region to be characterized by mostly large phytoplankton primarily utilizing nitrate. When compared to a companion study in the North Pacific, this study confirms the important role cell size and nutrient availability play in determining the degree of productivity in both high and low primary production oceanic regions. Key Points: The decline phase of the North Atlantic spring bloom exhibits transitions in the balance between small and large size‐fractionated primary production dynamicsDuring the bloom decline, diatoms contribute less to primary production but remain a substantial component of phytoplankton biomassPhytoplankton size is a substantial control on ecosystem dynamics in endmember oceanic productivity‐export systems [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is a rare tumour of the salivary glands characterised by distant metastases, mainly to lungs and bone. Isolated metastasis to the liver is unusual. We present the case of a woman with an ACC of the submandibular gland (pT1N0) who underwent radical submandibular gland excision and selective neck dissection. Preoperative imaging identified a liver lesion with features suggestive of a haemangioma. Two-year postoperatively, a surveillance CT neck/trunk showed an increase in size of the left liver lobe lesion. Subsequent MR liver and US-guided biopsy confirmed the lesion to be metastatic ACC. The patient underwent a successful left lateral liver sectionectomy. She remains disease-free 2.5 years after her liver resection. A literature search revealed only four other similar cases. This report highlights that even early-stage ACCs of the salivary gland may present with synchronous solitary liver metastasis which can be effectively treated with curative surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Career development for university research managers and administrators (RMAs) is inherently challenging in small island states. In this article, we argue that by acquiring career adaptability resources, university RMAs can address their career development needs even in contexts with a restricted labor market. We do this by first identifying the factors that shape the career development prospects of university RMAs. Subsequently, we present evidence of how university RMAs in small island states may pursue their career development goals by redefining their roles according to the contextual realities. Career adaptability theory helps us to explore how this redefinition occurs, particularly since adaptability arises from a combination of personality traits (self-regulation) and careful interventions that can build adaptability resources. We use the knowledge from career adaptability theory to identify a number of implications for RMAs, universities, counselors, and professional associations to address career development issues within restricted small island contexts.

Parenting education programs aim to teach parents, often low-income mothers, a set of skills, behaviors, and attitudes believed to promote improved opportunities for their children. Parenting programs are often offered in schools, with instructors teaching pregnant or parenting teens about child development, attachment, and discipline strategies. Despite the large numbers of participants and significant public and private funding going to parenting education, sociologists of education in the United States have paid little attention to the topic. Existing research, by scholars in other disciplines, has found parenting education to be a relatively weak intervention. Yet this research focuses exclusively on individual-level processes, paying little attention to social context or other factors. This study uses extensive observational and interview data from parenting education programs in two schools and one social service organization to examine what is taught, what is not, and the intersections between program content and the structural realities shaping parents' lives. The results show that although they were designed for low-income mothers, the classes were silent on the issue of poverty, treating poverty-related concerns as irrelevant to the task of parenting. Furthermore, when such topics did emerge, instructors redirected the conversations to personal behaviors and characteristics. Thus, the ''hidden curriculum'' of parenting education conveyed the message that good parenting should be unaffected by the challenges of poverty. The mothers, however, struggled to provide for their children in conditions of extreme scarcity, making it difficult for them to focus on other parenting issues.

Abstract Introduction: The Technical Performance Score (TPS) was developed and subsequently refined at the Boston Children's Hospital. Our objective was to translate and validate its application in a developing country. Methods: The score was translated into the Portuguese language and approved by the TPS authors. Subsequently, we studied 1,030 surgeries from June 2018 to October 2020. TPS could not be assigned in 58 surgeries, and these were excluded. Surgical risk score was evaluated using Risk Adjustment in Congenital Heart Surgery (or RACHS-1). The impact of TPS on outcomes was studied using multivariable linear and logistic regression adjusting for important perioperative covariates. Results: Median age and weight were 2.2 (interquartile range [IQR] = 0.5-13) years and 10.8 (IQR = 5.6-40) kilograms, respectively. In-hospital mortality was 6.58% (n=64), and postoperative complications occurred in 19.7% (n=192) of the cases. TPS was categorized as 1 in 359 cases (37%), 2 in 464 (47.7%), and 3 in 149 (15.3%). Multivariable analysis identified TPS class 3 as a predictor of longer hospital stay (coefficient: 6.6; standard error: 2.2; P=0.003), higher number of complications (odds ratio [OR]: 1.84; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-3; P=0.01), and higher mortality (OR: 3.2; 95% CI: 1.4-7; P=0.004). Conclusion: TPS translated into the Portuguese language was validated and showed to be able to predict higher mortality, complication rate, and prolonged postoperative hospital stay in a high-volume Latin-American congenital heart surgery program. TPS is generalizable and can be used as an outcome assessment tool in resource diverse settings.

The purpose of the Maleth Program, also known as Project Maleth, is Malta's first space program to evaluate human skin tissue microbiome changes in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients afflicted with diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). This was carried out in both ground-based models and spaceflight. The first mission (Maleth I) under this program was carried out to uncover the effects of spaceflight, microgravity and radiation on human skin tissue microbiome samples from six T2DM patients recruited into the study. Each patient human skin tissue sample was split in three, with one section processed immediately for genomic profiling by 16S typing and the rest were processed for longer term ground-control and spaceflight experiments. Ground-control and spaceflight human skin tissue samples were also processed for genomic profiling upon mission re-entry and completion. Maleth I's overall objective was achieved, as human skin tissue samples with their microbiomes travelled to space and back yielding positive results by both standard microbiology techniques and genetic typing using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Preliminary findings of this mission are discussed in light of its innovative approach at DFU microbiome research, and the clinical implications that may emerge from this and other future similar studies.

Digital Education Initiatives and Timely Solutions (DIG-IT) is an Erasmus+ project collaboration between university academics, clinical educators, industry partners, healthcare professionals, and technology experts over 5 European Union (EU) states. The objectives are to create digital educational capacity for academic faculty and mobile learning opportunities for continuing professional healthcare education. The first deliverable of this project was the innovative European Union Digital Education Quality Standards Framework and Toolkit or EU-DEF. This framework can be used to consider all principle and secondary aspects when designing, delivering, and evaluating digital education resources. In this article we explore the framework efficacy in collaboratively developing two open access, mobile healthcare apps, ECG Interpretation for Nurses and Nurse Leadership and Management. We describe the teamwork needed and steps taken during this process, and demonstrate the adaptability, usability, and value of this tool for other online development projects. The EU-DEF is an evidence-based, comprehensive framework that can be used as a starting point for individuals or teams when developing digital educational projects. Considering all variables helps focus the expertise required to produce robust end-products.

High Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor 2 (TNFR2) expression is characteristic of diverse malignant cells during tumorigenesis. The protein is also expressed by many immunosuppressive cells during cancer development, allowing cancer immune escape. A growing body of evidence further suggests a correlation between the circulating form of this protein and cancer development. Here we conducted a systematic meta-analysis of cancer studies published up until 1st October 2022, in which the circulating soluble TNFR2 (sTNFR2) concentrations in patients with cancers were recorded and their association with cancer risk was assessed. Of the 14,615 identified articles, 44 studies provided data on the correlation between cancer risk and the level of circulating sTNFR2. The pooled means comparison showed a consistently significant increase in the levels of sTNFR2 in diverse cancers when compared to healthy controls. These included colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, lung cancer, hepatocarcinoma, and glioblastoma. In a random-effect meta-analysis, the cancer-specific odd ratios (OR) showed significant correlations between increased circulating sTNFR2 levels and the risk of colorectal cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and hepatocarcinoma at 1.59 (95% CI:1.20-2.11), 1.98 (95% CI:1.49-2.64) and 4.32 (95% CI:2.25-8.31) respectively. The overall result showed an association between circulating levels of sTNFR2 and the risk of developing cancer at 1.76 (95% CI:1.53-2.02). This meta-analysis supports sTNFR2 as a potential diagnostic biomarker for cancer, albeit with different predictive strengths for different cancer types. This is consistent with a potential key role for TNFR2 involvement in cancer development.