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The purpose of this study was to: 1) examine existing interprofessional pain management curricula in a DPT and MOT program by mapping pain subject matter to the IASP interprofessional content to determine gaps, vertical and horizontal coherence and integration 2) evaluate pain knowledge and attitudes early and late curriculum within the current pre-licensure Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) and Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) students, and 3) to define changes needed within the existing interprofessional pain management curricula to better prepare students for clinical experiences and professional practice. Pain content was mapped to the IASP core competencies to identify gaps in content and coherence. Students were evaluated on existing pain knowledge and attitudes using the City of Boston's Rehabilitation Professional's Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (COBS). Two hundred and forty physical and occupational therapy students completed the study. The mean percentage of correct responses of 70.6% +/-25.6% did not significantly change across didactic terms. Curricular mapping can inform planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of the curriculum and alignment with IASP guidelines.

Background: Evidence-based practice (EBP) is supported by the appropriate use of standardized outcome measures (OMs). Continuing education (CE) is a common method for translation of OMs knowledge to practice. However, little is known about the attitudes and behaviors of physical therapists regarding CE and knowledge translation (KT) of OMs. Purpose: To determine physical therapists' practice style traits (PSTs) and compare these to attitudes, knowledge, behaviors, and barriers for KT. Subjects and Methods: Seventy-nine physical therapists who attended a CE course on OMs completed two standardized surveys. The Practice Style Questionnaire (PSQ) categorizes responses on three theoretical constructs: 1. how clinician weighs research evidence versus experience, 2. their degree of comfort in clinical practice, and 3. how evidence impacts their workload. The EBP Questionnaire (EBPQ) items are grouped into four domains: attitude, knowledge, behavior, and barriers. Results: On the PSQ, 28% of subjects were categorized as "seekers" of evidence, 49% were "pragmatists," and 23% were "receptives." PSTs scores were compared to the four domains of the EBPQ. Behavior was the only domain found to be significant between traits (p = 0.00). Seekers were significantly different from both the pragmatists and receptives in their behaviors, however pragmatists and receptives did not differ. Discussion and Conclusion: Assessing PSTs may help tailor KT interventions. Since nearly half of clinicians are pragmatists, it may be helpful to target KT interventions to this group, while considering the needs of other styles.

In this qualitative study, we share the musical experiences of seven Ghanaian university music students who primarily play a brass instrument in a university band. The purpose of this study is to illuminate these students' musical experiences during their pre-tertiary years to better understand what those experiences were and how they impacted their current musical abilities and understandings. The research questions for this study are: What were the formal musical experiences of Ghanaian university music majors who play Western-style brass instruments before entering university? What music teaching and learning methods did they experience prior to entering university? Who were the people who taught them music prior to entering university? Findings indicate that musical spaces were mostly outside of the regular school curriculum, including extra-curricular school regimental bands, church brigades, and town bands. Music learning was non-sequential throughout students' pre-tertiary experiences. Lack of access to instruments outside of rehearsals was a barrier to individual practice. Participants showed a lack of clarity about their music teachers' credentials, experience, and backgrounds but their answers suggest that professional development and training programs for teachers would be beneficial. It is recommended that Ghanaian brass band music education is restructured in places where it already exists and where pre-tertiary students choose to play, to include more comprehensive and sequential instrumental music education.

The fact that neutrinos carry a non-vanishing rest mass is evidence ofphysics beyond the Standard Model of elementary particles. Their absolute massbears important relevance from particle physics to cosmology. In this work, wereport on the search for the effective electron antineutrino mass with theKATRIN experiment. KATRIN performs precision spectroscopy of the tritium$\beta$-decay close to the kinematic endpoint. Based on the first fiveneutrino-mass measurement campaigns, we derive a best-fit value of $m_u^{2} ={-0.14^{+0.13}_{-0.15}}~\mathrm{eV^2}$, resulting in an upper limit of $m_u <{0.45}~\mathrm{eV}$ at 90 % confidence level. With six times the statistics ofprevious data sets, amounting to 36 million electrons collected in 259measurement days, a substantial reduction of the background level and improvedsystematic uncertainties, this result tightens KATRIN's previous bound by afactor of almost two.

Identity matters in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) because it can affect an individual's long-term sense of belonging, which may in turn affect their persistence in STEMM. Early K-12 science classes often teach students about the foundational discoveries of the field, which have been predominately made, or at least published, by White men. This homogeneity can leave underrepresented individuals in STEMM feeling isolated, and underrepresented K-12 students may feel as though they cannot enter STEMM fields. This study aimed to examine these feelings of inclusivity in STEMM through an interactive workshop that asked middle schoolers to identify scientists from images of individuals with various racial and gender identities. We found that a plurality of students had a positive experience discussing diversity in science and recognizing underrepresented individuals as scientists.

Graduate Records Examinations (GRE) remain an important criterion for admission to the graduate program. This study explored the predictive role of the GRE for college success among deaf students because most deaf and hard-of-hearing students experience lifelong difficulties in English language and literacy because of their different language acquisition processes. Additionally, the study examined the students' undergraduate grade point average (UGPA), first-semester grade point average (FSGPA), and graduating graduate grade point average (GGPA) to understand D/HH students' performance in a graduate program. Additionally, the study examined the use of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) as a substitute for the GRE criterion for graduate admission. The findings' discussions offer suggestions for using GRE scores in admitting D/HH students to graduate academic programs across the United States.

Fracture injection/shut-in tests are commonly used to measure the state of stress in the subsurface. Injection creates a hydraulic fracture (or in some cases, opens a preexisting fracture), and then the pressure after shut-in is monitored to identify fracture closure. Different interpretation procedures have been proposed for estimating closure, and the procedures sometimes yield significantly different results. In this study, direct, in-situ strain measurements are used to observe fracture reopening and closure. The tests were performed as part of the EGS Collab project, a mesoscale project performed at 1.25 and 1.5 km depth at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. The tests were instrumented with the SIMFIP tool, a double-packer probe with a high-resolution three-dimensional borehole displacement sensor. The measurements provide a direct observation of the fracture closure signature, enabling a high-fidelity estimate of the fracture closure stress (ie, the normal stress on the fracture). In two of the four tests, injection created an opening mode fracture, and so the closure stress can be interpreted as the minimum principal stress. In the other two tests, injection probably opened preexisting natural fractures, and so the closure stress can be interpreted as the normal stress on the fractures. The strain measurements are compared against different proposed methods for estimating closure stress from pressure transients. The shut-in transients are analyzed with two techniques that are widely used in the field of petroleum engineering – the ‘tangent’ method and the ‘compliance’ method. In three of the four tests, the tangent method significantly underestimates the closure stress. The compliance method is reasonably accurate in all four tests. Closure stress is also interpreted using two other commonly-used methods – ‘first deviation from linearity’ and the method of (Hayashi and Haimson, 1991). In comparison with the SIMFIP data, these methods tend to overestimate the closure stress, evidently because they identify closure from early-time transient effects, such as near-wellbore tortuosity. In two of the tests, microseismic imaging provides an independent estimate of the size of the fracture created by injection. When combined with a simple mass balance calculation, the SIMFIP stress measurements yield predictions of fracture size that are reasonably consistent with the estimates from microseismic. The calculations imply an apparent fracture toughness 2-3x higher than typical laboratory-derived values.

The EGS Collab project performed well-monitored rock stimulation and flow tests at the 10-m scale in an underground research laboratory to inform challenges in implementing enhanced geothermal system (EGS) technology. This project, supported by the US Department of Energy, gathered data and observations from the field tests and compared these to simulation results to understand processes and to build confidence in numerical modeling of the processes. The project consisted of 3 Experiments, each comprising test and testbed design, many individual tests, numerical simulation, and analysis. The Experiments were performed in two deep underground testbeds at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota. Field experiments are now complete, significant data sets have been collected and analyzed, and some analysis continues. Experiments using underground test facilities have many advantages in that they allow:•Three-dimensional characterization of the stimulated volume by complementary geophysical methods surrounding the experiment•Using techniques that are currently not applicable under geothermal condition to provide processes insight •Comprehensive tracer testing and detailed characterization of complex fluid movements•Understanding the geometry of the stimulated network at the meso-scale and its implications for effective fracture surface area, rock block size, and heat exchange.Underground testing has its own set of complications, however, which affect the ability to perform tests as desired and affect the experiment results. Included here are the inability to flow at desired injection rates due to stress gradients caused by drift cooling, and the need to strongly limit induced seismicity because the distance to people and equipment.Experiment 1 examined hydraulic fracturing at a depth of 1.5 km in a well-characterized phyllite. Eight subhorizontal boreholes were used in this Experiment. Geophysical monitoring instrumentation was deployed in six boreholes to monitor stimulation events and flow tests. The other two boreholes were used to perform and carefully measure water injection and production. More than a dozen stimulations and nearly one year of flow tests in the testbed were performed. Detailed observations of processes occurring during stimulation and dynamic flow tests were collected and analyzed. Flow tests using ambient-temperature and chilled water were performed with intermittent tracer tests to examine system behavior. We achieved adaptive control of the tests using close monitoring of rapidly disseminated data and near-real-time simulation. Numerical simulation was critical in answering key experimental design questions, forecasting fracture behavior, and analyzing results. We were successful in performing many simulations in near-real-time in conjunction with the field experiments, with more detailed simulations performed later. Experiment 2 was intended to examine hydraulic shearing of natural fractures at a depth of 1.25 km in amphibolite. The stresses, rock type, and fracture conditions are different than in Experiment 1. The testbed consists of 9 boreholes, in addition to 2 exploratory characterization boreholes. Four boreholes drilled as two fans of 2 monitoring holes contained grouted-in monitoring sensors. The remaining five open boreholes drilled in a five-spot pattern were adaptively used for injection, production, and monitoring. Approximately five fracture set orientations were encountered in the testbed along with a low-stress rhyolite sill at 35 m below the access drift in exploratory well TV4100. The testbed was designed to optimize the potential for shear stimulation while also avoiding the low-stress rhyolite. Experiment 2 focused on stimulating a fracture in the most likely orientation to shear, however shear stimulation did not occur probably due to cementation from natural secondary mineralization. Other fracture sets encountered were also cemented and had orientations less likely to shear.Experiment 3 consisted of several stimulations in the same testbed as Experiment 2 allowing different stimulation approaches including ramped-rate injection, rapid injection, and oscillating-pressure injection. Ultimately these methods created hydraulic fractures, one of which was used for a medium-duration cold water injection test. The major findings of the EGS Collab Project include: 1.Significant shear stimulation did not occur during our stimulation attempts. Shear stimulation may occur but under a limited set of conditions not encountered.2.Our stimulations resulted in hydraulic fractures that required hydraulic propping. Pumping at pressures exceeding the minimum principal stress may not be feasible in an enhanced geothermal system.3.The systems we generated were complex hydraulic fracture/natural fracture systems, and these systems changed over time in response to applied pressures and flowrates and to unknown stimuli.4.The project attempted alternative stimulation methods, which did not provide significant flow improvement. 5.Thermal breakthrough was not achieved as designed, most likely because flow to production boreholes was not adequate. 6.The combination of geophysical tools used provided excellent understanding of many important processes. 7.Microearthquakes (MEQs) didn’t necessarily identify flow paths.8.Engineering tools bounding expected seismicity are needed.This report provides a summary of tests and analyses performed for EGS Collab Experiment 2 (Shear Stimulation in Testbed 2) and Experiment 3 (Alternative Stimulation methods). Much of the EGS Collab work has been published in journals and conference papers, presented in conferences, included in written reports, and submitted in data sets to the Geothermal Data Repository (GDR). The entirety of these written works is included as an appendix to this report, and this report serves as a summary and framework pointing to these published papers, presentations, and reports.

The International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC) systematically produces and phenotypes mouse lines with presumptive null mutations to provide insight into gene function. The IMPC now uses the programmable RNA-guided nuclease Cas9 for its increased capacity and flexibility to efficiently generate null alleles in the C57BL/6N strain. In addition to being a valuable novel and accessible research resource, the production of 3313 knockout mouse lines using comparable protocols provides a rich dataset to analyze experimental and biological variables affecting in vivo gene engineering with Cas9. Mouse line production has two critical steps - generation of founders with the desired allele and germline transmission (GLT) of that allele from founders to offspring. A systematic evaluation of the variables impacting success rates identified gene essentiality as the primary factor influencing successful production of null alleles. Collectively, our findings provide best practice recommendations for using Cas9 to generate alleles in mouse essential genes, many of which are orthologs of genes linked to human disease.

Abstract Background This study investigated the prevalence and predictors of episiotomy among puerperal women accessing postnatal care in the Kumasi Metropolis. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1750 postnatal mothers who had spontaneous vaginal using a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were conducted to show the rate of episiotomy. Chi-square and binary logistic regression analyses were conducted using Jamovi software version 2.5.3. Results The prevalence of episiotomy among the study population was 49.7% compared to the 10% of all deliveries recommended by World Health Organisation (WHO). Among those who had an episiotomy, 88.5% gave consent, and 77.6% required repairs. In the bivariate analysis educational status, age, perineal tearing, marital status, household monthly income, spontaneous vaginal deliveries and previous episiotomy had a significant association with episiotomy risk. In the multivariate analysis, married women, lower education levels, moderate household incomes, grand multiparous women, spontaneous vaginal delivery (SVD), instrumental deliveries, longer second stages of labour, and attending more antenatal care (ANC) sessions were all associated with a reduced likelihood of episiotomy. Higher one-minute Apgar scores and anemia also lowered the odds. Conversely, hypertensives, women with four or more previous vaginal deliveries, and those with a history of episiotomy were more likely to undergo the procedure. Conclusion Episiotomies conducted was high, indicating potential overuse compared to WHO’s recommendations. Antenatal attendance and timing should be prioritised to improve maternal preparation and outcomes. Policy interventions to reduce unnecessary episiotomies are needed. Midwifery education must also emphasise the importance of respectful maternity care.

Academic integrity fosters a culture of honesty, trust, and respect within the educational community. Evidence indicates that manual plagiarism checks through human judgment remain prevalent in undergraduate theses, terminal assignments, and group projects in developing countries. To fill this gap, we engaged with students and staff of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, to propose a new plagiarism detection architecture, a novel open-source algorithm, and a web-based application for plagiarism detection and prevention. We demonstrate the performance of our algorithms, discuss the results, and suggest avenues for future research to advance this field.

BACKGROUND: Globally, over 40 million lives have been claimed by HIV/AIDS. In Ghana, more than 350,000 people are living with HIV. Non-disclosure of HIV status is a major barrier to HIV/AIDS eradication; yet, little is known of the determinants of HIV status disclosure in resource limited settings in Africa like Ghana. OBJECTIVE: Determine the predictors of HIV status disclosure among people living with HIV (PLHIV) and stimulate policy discourse on support systems for self-disclosure in Africa. METHODS: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study among PLHIV (n = 181) in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically the Volta region of Ghana. Bivariate probit regression was run to determine factors associated with HIV status disclosure among PLHIV. RESULTS: HIV status self-disclosure was reported by 50% of the respondents; nearly 65% disclosed their status to non-family members and non-partners. Significant correlates of HIV status disclosure either to partners or non-partners were marital status, monthly income, type of occupation, and being divorced due to HIV status (p

Abstract The International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC) systematically produces and phenotypes mouse lines with presumptive null mutations to provide insight into gene function. The IMPC now uses the programmable RNA-guided nuclease Cas9 for its increased capacity and flexibility to efficiently generate null alleles in the C57BL/6N strain. In addition to being a valuable novel and accessible research resource, the production of 3313 knockout mouse lines using comparable protocols provides a rich dataset to analyze experimental and biological variables affecting in vivo gene engineering with Cas9. Mouse line production has two critical steps – generation of founders with the desired allele and germline transmission (GLT) of that allele from founders to offspring. A systematic evaluation of the variables impacting success rates identified gene essentiality as the primary factor influencing successful production of null alleles. Collectively, our findings provide best practice recommendations for using Cas9 to generate alleles in mouse essential genes, many of which are orthologs of genes linked to human disease.

Abstract Background Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) are pivotal tools for malaria prevention in endemic regions like Ghana. Understanding the protective factors and barriers influencing ITN ownership and usage is crucial for designing effective interventions. A scoping review was conducted to identify studies exploring protective factors and barriers related to ITN ownership and usage. Methods This review followed the guidelines by Askey and O’Malley. Search was done in four major databases including PubMed, Science Direct, PubMed CENTRAL, and JSTOR. Additional searches were done in Google Scholar and Google. Peer-reviewed and grey literature were included. Results A total of 24 papers met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Included studies found regional disparities in ITN ownership and usage. Furthermore, included studies reported ownership rates between 97.8 and 28% and usage rates between 94 and 20%. Protective factors facilitating ITN ownership were marital status, higher educational attainment, higher income levels, and being aged 25 years or older. In contrast, the factors for its use included community-level campaigns advocating for ITN use and awareness, individuals with secondary education or higher and those residing in urban areas. Missed opportunities in free distribution exercises and the unavailability of subsidized ITNs at health facilities were barriers to ownership. Conclusion Understanding and addressing protective factors and barriers influencing ITN ownership and usage are crucial for enhancing malaria prevention strategies and achieving sustainable progress in combating malaria in endemic areas. Collaborative and evidence-based interventions are essential for addressing these challenges effectively.

الملخص: أهداف البحث: قامت الدراسة بتقييم التأثير الوقائي المضاد لسرطان الكبد من المستخلص القلوي الجذعي والجذري المشترك لزانثوكسيلوم زانثوكسيلويدز في الفئران الشبيهة بسرطان الكبد سي سي آي 4 / المستحثة بزيت الزيتون. طريقة البحث: تم تحضير المستخلص القلوي الجذعي والجذري المشترك لزانثوكسيلوم زانثوكسيلويدز من الساق المجففة وجذور زانثوكسيلوم زانثوكسيلويدز بنسبة 1:1 وتميزت كيميائيا. تم توزيع ما مجموعه 30 من فئران ويستار الذكور الأصحاء (يتراوح وزنها بين 210-280 جم) بشكل عشوائي على ست مجموعات (التحكم، والنموذج، و العلاج الكيمائي المستخدم لعلاج السرطان كابيسيتابين، وجرعات المستخلص القلوي الجذعي والجذري المشترك لزانثوكسيلوم زانثوكسيلويدز [50، 100، و200 ملغم/كغم]). تلقت جميعها، باستثناء المجموعة الضابطة، رباعي كلوريد الكربون/زيت الزيتون (3 مل/كجم، ص) في الصباح بينما في فترة ما بعد الظهر من نفس يوم الجرعة، تلقت المجموعة النموذجية محلول ملحي عادي (5 مل/كجم، ص)، ومجموعة كابيسيتابين (50 مجم/كجم). ومجموعات المستخلص القلوي الجذعي والجذري المشترك لزانثوكسيلوم زانثوكسيلويدز(50 ، و 100، و 200 ملغم / كغم) مرة واحدة في الأسبوع لمدة 36 يوما. تم رصد معدل البقاء على قيد الحياة، والبروتين ألفا في الدم والبروتين سي التفاعلي. تم تقييم تشريح الكبد الإجمالي، وأنسجة الكبد، وإنزيمات الكبد، البيليروبين، الكرياتينين، اليوريا، الألبومين، الجلوبيولين، والمعلمات الدموية. النتائج: كان العائد من المستخلص القلوي الجذعي والجذري المشترك لزانثوكسيلوم زانثوكسيلويدز 0,58%. تم اكتشاف قلويدات الفينانثريدين الرباعية في المستخلص القلوي الجذعي والجذري المشترك لزانثوكسيلوم زانثوكسيلويدز. وكان معدل البقاء على قيد الحياة في فئران السيطرة 100٪ مقارنة مع الفئران في المجموعة النموذجية. أدى علاج المستخلص القلوي الجذعي والجذري المشترك لزانثوكسيلوم زانثوكسيلويدز إلى تحسين معدل البقاء على قيد الحياة مقارنة بالمجموعة النموذجية. زادت مستويات مصل والبروتين ألفا في الدم وبروتين سي التفاعلي والبيليروبين في المجموعة النموذجية مقارنة بالمجموعة الضابطة. انخفض المستخلص القلوي الجذعي والجذري المشترك لزانثوكسيلوم زانثوكسيلويدز في المصل والبروتين ألفا في الدم وبروتين سي التفاعلي والبيليروبين مقارنة بالنموذج. زاد مستوى انزيمات الكبد في المجموعة النموذجية مقارنة بالمجموعة الضابطة ولكن انخفض في المجموعة المعالجة بالمستخلص القلوي الجذعي والجذري المشترك لزانثوكسيلوم زانثوكسيلويدز. الاستنتاجات: أظهر المستخلص القلوي الجذعي والجذري المشترك لزانثوكسيلوم زانثوكسيلويدز تأثيرا وقائيا مضادا لسرطان الكبد ضد الأنماط الظاهرية المشابهة لسرطان الكبد سي سي آي 4 / زيت الزيتون في الجرذان. يسلط هذا الاكتشاف الضوء على إمكانات القلويدات الخام من زانثوكسيلوم زانثوكسيلويدز كقوالب طبيعية للتوليف شبه العلاجي المضاد لسرطان الكبد. Abstract: Objective: This study assessed the prophylactic anti-HCC effects of a combined stem and root alkaloidal extract of Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides (Z. zanthoxyloides) (SRAEZZ) in rats with a CCl4/olive oil-induced HCC-like phenotype. Methods: SRAEZZ was prepared from dried stems and roots of Z. zanthoxyloides in a 1:1 proportion and chemically characterized. A total of 30 healthy male Wistar rats (weighing 210–280 g) were randomly assigned to six groups (control, model, capecitabine, and SRAEZZ [50, 100, or 200 mg/kg]). All groups except the control received CCl4/olive oil (3 mL/kg, po) in the morning, whereas in the afternoon of the same dosing day, the model group received normal saline (5 mL/kg, po), the capecitabine group received capecitabine (50 mg/kg, po), and the SRAEZZ groups received SRAEZZ (50, 100, or 200 mg/kg, po, respectively) once per week for 36 days. Survival rate, serum α-fetoprotein (AFP), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were monitored. Gross liver anatomy, liver histology, liver enzymes (ALP, AST, and ALT), bilirubin, creatinine, urea, albumin, globulins, and hematological parameters were assessed. Results: SRAEZZ yield was 0.58% from the initial stem and root sample (520 g). Quaternary phenanthridin alkaloids were detected in SRAEZZ. Control rats had a 100% survival rate compared with rats in the model group. SRAEZZ treatment improved the survival rate with respect to that in the model group. Serum AFP, CRP, and bilirubin levels were greater in the model group than the control group. SRAEZZ decreased serum AFP, CRP, and bilirubin below the levels observed in the model group. ALP, AST, and AST were higher in the model group, but lower in SRAEZZ-treated group, than the control group. Conclusion: SRAEZZ demonstrated prophylactic anti-HCC effects against CCl4/olive oil-induced HCC-like phenotypes in rats. These findings highlight the potential of crude alkaloids from Z. zanthoxyloides as natural templates for semi-synthesis of anti-HCC pharmacotherapeutics.

This study set out to explore English for academic purposes (EAP) student perceptions of their experiences at a university in western Canada. A qualitative approach was used, with 17 students completing a questionnaire toward the end of their EAP program, and one of those students taking part in an interview approximately one year later. Data from the questionnaires and interview were transcribed and descriptively coded, with the codes gathered into salient themes. Thematic analysis identified benefits related to developing academic writing and speaking skills, boosting confidence levels, fostering EAP friendships, providing a transition period, and learning about local culture. However, the analysis also revealed the need for improvements in overall teaching and learning experiences, reading and listening skills development, and sociocultural content. These findings point to the importance of conceptualizing EAP with a wide range of outcomes related to linguistic, academic, social, cultural, and personal growth to support students' additional language socialization in a postsecondary context. The findings also highlight areas for curriculum renewal and revision and underscore the role these programs can play in building on students' strengths as they develop their overall competence in an additional language to achieve the goals that matter to them.

“AI ethics” has become a popular term for signaling concerns with the development and application of artificial intelligence, and a hot-button issue in both academic and public discourse. The current work tends to center adult-oriented, adult-generated, and issues-based conceptions of ethics. This paper reports on an alternative model for “doing ethics” via co-design with young people, highlighting the need for students to engage in AI ethics work, especially as AI is increasingly used in their education and social lives. In particular, we focus on developing a rights-based approach, using the White House Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights as a starting point for redesigning core AI ethics principles and their conveyance to be accessible and relevant to young people, in collaboration with young people. In this manuscript, we describe our empirical work in a series of three studies on AI ethics teaching and learning with middle and high school students, which culminated in redesigning pieces of the AI Bill of Rights. We present lessons learned, implications for responsible AI in education from student perspectives, and conclude with our suggested principles for integrating student insight and perspectives into the ethics frameworks that guide AI applications.

This study investigates the effect of wood black charcoal powder (WBCP) as a partial cement (C) replacement and carbon fiber textile on concrete. The objective is to explore the potential benefits of these additions on the properties of the concrete. Sixty concrete cubes and 30 concrete cylinders were prepared for this analysis. Fifteen concrete cylinders were wrapped with carbon fiber textiles, serving as an external reinforcement. The concrete cubes were cured for days 7, 14, and 28 based on the individual procedure. The cement-wood black charcoal powder (C-WBCP) 3 concrete paste had the highest slump value of 20 mm and the compressive strength ([Formula: see text]) of the concrete cubes were higher at C-WBCP 2 concrete with 29.37 N/mm2 with C-WBCP 1 concrete being next at day 28 of curing. The test results proved that C-WBCP 2 concrete cylinders wrapped with carbon fiber textile exhibited improved [Formula: see text] with 34 N/mm2 as the highest on day 28 of curing. It was observed that the density of concrete decreased with the addition of WBCP and a reduction in the cement percentage. Also, the C-WBCP concrete wrapped with carbon fiber textile proved to have a reduced density when compared with the unwrapped C-WBCP concrete. The workability of concrete is affected by the incorporation of the WBCP.

AbstractEntrepreneurship is the process of economic growth, development, creation, and poverty reduction while all Sustainable Development Goals (1), integrated towards No Poverty, is the sync that make the path in the needle for major livelihood. This article examines the internal and external factors that influence the growth of micro entrepreneurship in the hospitality industry. Internal factors include motives and issues and challenges of entrepreneurs and the external factors include socio-economic factors and financial factors related to hotel industry. A critical examination with few literature suggests to proceed further to understand the motives and challenges faced by the small hospitality business entrepreneurs along with socio-economic factors. As a result of the assessment of literature, identification of gaps in various sectors and as the world has recently been expanded to include socio-economic and financial kinds of entrepreneurial action, the researchers have narrowed the search to evaluate motivations and business obstacles faced by small business entrepreneurs in the hospitality industry. Considering some quantitative approach among different small hospitality business entrepreneurs, opinion towards the attributes like motivation factor, issues and challenges, growth and development of entrepreneurs were collected from a sample of 250 respondents from Coimbatore district. To gauge the same, the research proposed a model that assess the influence of internal and external factors on the growth of small business operators. Results indicate that there exist some influence among few of the internal and external factors on progress of the entrepreneurs based on the motivation they undergo to overcome the challenges and keep them engaged in the hospitality sector.

Background: Current phenotyping approaches for murine autism models often focus on one selected behavioral feature, making the translation onto a spectrum of autistic characteristics in humans challenging. Furthermore, sex and environmental factors are rarely considered. Here, we aimed to capture the full spectrum of behavioral manifestations in 3 autism mouse models to develop a “behavioral fingerprint” that takes environmental and sex influences under consideration. Methods: To this end, we employed a wide range of classical standardized behavioral tests and 2 multiparametric behavioral assays—the Live Mouse Tracker and Motion Sequencing—on male and female Shank2, Tsc1, and Purkinje cell–specific Tsc1 mutant mice raised in standard or enriched environments. Our aim was to integrate our high dimensional data into one single platform to classify differences in all experimental groups along dimensions with maximum discriminative power. Results: Multiparametric behavioral assays enabled a more accurate classification of experimental groups than classical tests, and dimensionality reduction analysis demonstrated significant additional gains in classification accuracy, highlighting the presence of sex, environmental, and genotype differences in our experimental groups. Conclusions: Together, our results provide a complete phenotypic description of all tested groups, suggesting that multiparametric assays can capture the entire spectrum of the heterogeneous phenotype in autism mouse models.

Some extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics allow for Lorentz invariance and charge-parity-time invariance violations. In the neutrino sector strong constraints have been set by neutrino-oscillation and time-of-flight experiments. However, some Lorentz-invariance-violating parameters are not accessible via these probes. In this work, we focus on the parameters (aof(3))00, (aof(3))10, and (aof(3))11 which would manifest themselves in a nonisotropic β-decaying source as a sidereal oscillation and an overall shift of the spectral endpoint. Based on the data of the first scientific run of the KATRIN experiment, we set the first 90% confidence-level limit on |(aof(3))11| of

The integration of Mixed Reality (MR) technology into Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) has ushered in a new era for the automotive industry, offering heightened safety, convenience, and passenger comfort. However, the substantial and varied data generated by MR-Connected AVs (MR-CAVs), encompassing both highly dynamic and static information, presents formidable challenges for efficient data management and retrieval. In this paper, we formulate our indexing problem as a constrained optimization problem, with the aim of maximizing the utility function that represents the overall performance of our indexing system. This optimization problem encompasses multiple decision variables and constraints, rendering it mathematically infeasible to solve directly. Therefore, we propose a heuristic algorithm to address the combinatorial complexity of the problem. Our heuristic indexing algorithm efficiently divides data into highly dynamic and static categories, distributing the index across Roadside Units (RSUs) and optimizing query processing. Our approach takes advantage of the computational capabilities of edge servers or RSUs to perform indexing operations, thereby shifting the burden away from the vehicles themselves. Our algorithm strategically places data in the cache, optimizing cache hit rate and space utilization while reducing latency. The quantitative evaluation demonstrates the superiority of our proposed scheme, with significant reductions in latency (averaging 27%−49.25%), a 30.75% improvement in throughput, a 22.50% enhancement in cache hit rate, and a 32%−50.75% improvement in space utilization compared to baseline schemes.

Abstract Background A challenge facing many Academic Health Centers (AHCs) attempting to revise health professions education to include the impact of racism as a social and structural determinant of health (SSDoH) is a lack of broad faculty expertise to reinforce and avoid undermining learning modules addressing this topic. To encourage an institutional culture that is in line with new anti-racism instruction, we developed a six-part educational series on the history of racism in America and its impact on contemporary health inequities for teaching structural competency to health professions academicians. Methods We developed a six-hour elective continuing education (CE) series for faculty and staff with the following objectives: (1) describe and discuss race as a social construct; (2) describe and discuss the decolonization of the health sciences and health care; (3) describe and discuss the history of systemic racism and structural violence from a socio-ecological perspective; and (4) describe and discuss reconciliation and repair in biomedicine. The series was spread over a six-month period and each monthly lecture was followed one week later by an open discussion debriefing session. Attendees were assessed on their understanding of each objective before and after each series segment. Results We found significant increases in knowledge and understanding of each objective as the series progressed. Attendees reported that the series helped them grapple with their discomfort in a constructive manner. Self-selected attendees were overwhelmingly women (81.8%), indicating a greater willingness to engage with this material than men. Conclusions The series provides a model for AHCs looking to promote anti-racism and structural competency among their faculty and staff.

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the vital need for research to inform policy decision-making and save lives. The Wales COVID-19 Evidence Centre (WCEC) was established in March 2021 and funded for two years, to make evidence about the impact of the pandemic and ongoing research priorities for Wales available and actionable to policy decision-makers, service leads and the public. Objectives We describe the approaches we developed and our experiences, challenges and future vision. Program implementation The centre operated with a core team, including a public partnership group, and six experienced research groups as collaborating partners. Our rapid evidence delivery process had five stages: 1. Stakeholder engagement (continued throughout all stages); 2. Research question prioritisation; 3. Bespoke rapid evidence review methodology in a phased approach; 4. Rapid primary research; and 5. Knowledge Mobilisation to ensure the evidence was available for decision-makers. Main achievements Between March 2021–23 we engaged with 44 stakeholder groups, completed 35 Rapid Evidence Reviews, six Rapid Evidence Maps and 10 Rapid Evidence Summaries. We completed four primary research studies, with three published in peer reviewed journals, and seven ongoing. Our evidence informed policy decision-making and was cited in 19 Welsh Government papers. These included pandemic infection control measures, the Action Plan to tackle gender inequalities, and Education Renew and Reform policy. We conducted 24 Welsh Government evidence briefings and three public facing symposia. Policy implications Strong engagement with stakeholder groups, a phased rapid evidence review approach, and primary research to address key gaps in current knowledge enabled high-quality efficient, evidence outputs to be delivered to help inform Welsh policy decision-making during the pandemic. We learn from these processes to continue to deliver evidence from March 2023 as the Health and Care Research Wales Evidence Centre, with a broader remit of health and social care, to help inform policy and practice decisions during the recovery phase and beyond.

Abstract Background Therapeutic communication (TC) promotes effective patient care, emotional wellbeing, and improves patient outcomes. The purpose of this review was to synthesise evidence on barriers and outcomes of TC between nurses and patients in Africa and to inform future studies and systematic reviews. Methods Search for the records was done in four major databases including PubMed, Science Direct, PubMed CENTRAL, and JSTOR. Additional searches were done in Google Scholar and Google. Results and findings from published studies and grey literature were included. A total of 16 articles met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. This scoping review followed the guidelines by Askey and O’Malley. Results Barriers associated with TC were grouped under five main themes: sociodemographic factors, patient-related factors, nurse-related factors, environmental and health service-related. Age, and religious beliefs were the main sociodemographic factors that hindered TC while stress and inadequate knowledge and skills were identified among the nurse-related barriers to TC. Extreme weather conditions and mosquito infestation were environmental factors while lack of access to TC educational programmes on TC was a health service-related factor that interfered with TC. Both positive and negative outcomes of TC were also identified. Conclusion Continuous professional development on TC is necessary to improve nurses’ attitudes and update their skills to enable them to render culturally competent nursing care to patients.