Search results for: Amanda Aguirre

Authors: Julie A. Baldwin, Robert T. Trotter, Mark Remiker, C. Loren Buck, Amanda Aguirre, Trudie Milner, Emma Torres, Frank A. von Hippel

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Introduction: In the past, there have been concerns about contaminants in the water sources in Yuma, Arizona, including the Colorado River. Prolonged exposure to contaminants, such as perchlorate and heavy metals, can lead to deleterious health effects in humans. This project examined the association between the concentration of environmental contaminants and patient health outcomes in Yuma residents, using a community-engaged approach to data collection. Methods: A community-engaged design allowed community partners and researchers to establish joint research goals, recruit participants, collect data, and formulate strategies for dissemination of findings. Key informant interviews were conducted to evaluate adherence to models of community-based research. Results: The training needs, roles, and expectations of community partners varied based on available resources, prior research experience, and perceived research challenges and ways to address them. Conclusions: Leveraging community-engaged approaches for studies of environmental contamination in marginalized communities can expedite recruitment efforts and stimulate action that can lead to improved community health.

Keywords: community engaged research, environmental contaminants, underserved populations, health equity

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Authors: Felipe Aguirre

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In this paper some of the relevant features of the πλῆκτρον within GrecoLatin tradition will be analyzed. Starting from the formal aspects (shape, materials, technical properties) and the archaeological evidence, some of its symbolic implications that emerge in the light of literary and iconographic analysis will be discussed. I shall expose that, in addition to fulfilling a purely physical function within the process of sound production, the πλῆκτρον was the object of a rich imaginery that provided it with an allegorical, metaphorical-poetic and even metaphysical dimension.

Keywords: musicology, ethnomusicology, ancient greek music, plectrum, stringed instruments

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Authors: Amanda T. Badaró, Douglas F. Barbin, Sofia T. Garcia, Maria Teresa P. S. Clerici, Amanda R. Ferreira

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Food fortification is the intentional addition of a nutrient in a food matrix and has been widely used to overcome the lack of nutrients in the diet or increasing the nutritional value of food. Fortified food must meet the demand of the population, taking into account their habits and risks that these foods may cause. Wheat and its by-products, such as semolina, has been strongly indicated to be used as a food vehicle since it is widely consumed and used in the production of other foods. These products have been strategically used to add some nutrients, such as fibers. Methods of analysis and quantification of these kinds of components are destructive and require lengthy sample preparation and analysis. Therefore, the industry has searched for faster and less invasive methods, such as Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR). NIR is a rapid and cost-effective method, however, it is based on indirect measurements, yielding high amount of data. Therefore, NIR spectroscopy requires calibration with mathematical and statistical tools (Chemometrics) to extract analytical information from the corresponding spectra, as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA). PCA is well suited for NIR, once it can handle many spectra at a time and be used for non-supervised classification. Advantages of the PCA, which is also a data reduction technique, is that it reduces the data spectra to a smaller number of latent variables for further interpretation. On the other hand, LDA is a supervised method that searches the Canonical Variables (CV) with the maximum separation among different categories. In LDA, the first CV is the direction of maximum ratio between inter and intra-class variances. The present work used a portable infrared spectrometer (NIR) for identification and classification of pure and fiber-fortified semolina samples. The fiber was added to semolina in two different concentrations, and after the spectra acquisition, the data was used for PCA and LDA to identify and discriminate the samples. The results showed that NIR spectroscopy associate to PCA was very effective in identifying pure and fiber-fortified semolina. Additionally, the classification range of the samples using LDA was between 78.3% and 95% for calibration and 75% and 95% for cross-validation. Thus, after the multivariate analysis such as PCA and LDA, it was possible to verify that NIR associated to chemometric methods is able to identify and classify the different samples in a fast and non-destructive way.

Keywords: Chemometrics, fiber, linear discriminant analysis, near-infrared spectroscopy, principal component analysis, semolina

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Authors: Diego Aguirre, Olac Fuentes

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In this paper, we present a taxonomy of weight initialization schemes used in deep learning. We survey the most representative techniques in each class and compare them in terms of overhead cost, convergence rate, and applicability. We also introduce a new weight initialization scheme. In this technique, we perform an initial feedforward pass through the network using an initialization mini-batch. Using statistics obtained from this pass, we initialize the weights of the network, so the following properties are met: 1) weight matrices are orthogonal; 2) ReLU layers produce a predetermined number of non-zero activations; 3) the output produced by each internal layer has a unit variance; 4) weights in the last layer are chosen to minimize the error in the initial mini-batch. We evaluate our method on three popular architectures, and a faster converge rates are achieved on the MNIST, CIFAR-10/100, and ImageNet datasets when compared to state-of-the-art initialization techniques.

Keywords: deep learning, image classification, supervised learning, weight initialization

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Authors: Diwei Lin, Amanda Jia Hui Tan

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In 2012, testicular cancer was estimated to account for 940 disability adjusted life years in Australia; of these, 450 were years lost due to premature death and 500 were years of healthy life lost due to disease, disability or injury. Testicular choriocarcinoma is one of the rarest variants of testicular germ cell tumours, accounting for less than 1% of testicular germ cell tumours and only about 0.19% of all testicular tumours. Management involves radical orchiectomy followed by chemotherapy. Even then, the prognosis is extremely poor. This case report describes a 20-year-old male with pure testicular choriocarcinoma with pulmonary metastases.

Keywords: testicular cancer, choriocarcinoma, cryptorchidism, chemotherapy, metastatic testicular cancer

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Authors: Andre Luiz Campelo dos Santos, Amanda Owings, Henry Socrates Lavalle Sullasi, Omer Gokcumen, Michael DeGiorgio, John Lindo

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An increasing body of archaeological and genomic evidence have indicated a complex settlement process of the Americas. Here, four newly sequenced ancient genomes from Northeast Brazil and Uruguay are reported to share strong relationships with previously published samples from Panama and Southeast Brazil. Moreover, an unexpected high genomic affinity with present-day Onge is found in ancient individuals unearthed along the northern portion of South America’s Atlantic coast. These results provide genomic evidence for ancient migrations along South America’s Atlantic coast.

Keywords: archaeogenomics, atlantic coast, paleomigrations, South America

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Authors: Mariana P. Medeiros, Amanda P. Carvallo, Augusta Isaac, Milos Janecek, Peter Minarik, Mayerling Martinez Celis, Roberto. R. Figueiredo

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The effect of high pressure torsion processing on mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of pure magnesium and Mg-Zn, Mg-Zn-Ca, Mg-Li-Y, and Mg-Y-RE alloys is investigated. Micro-tomography and SEM characterization are used to estimate corrosion rate and evaluate non-uniform corrosion features. The results show the severe plastic deformation processing improves the strength of all magnesium alloys, but deformation localization can take place in the Mg-Zn-Ca and Mg-Y-RE alloys. The occurrence of deformation localization is associated with low strain rate sensitivity in these alloys and with severe corrosion localization. Pure magnesium and Mg-Zn and Mg-Li-Y alloys display good corrosion resistance with low corrosion rate and maintained integrity after 28 days of immersion in Hank`s solution.

Keywords: magnesium alloys, severe plastic deformation, corrosion, biodegradable alloys

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Authors: Christine Li, Amanda Robertson

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Epidermal inclusion cysts occur when epidermal cells are implanted in the dermis following trauma, or surgery. They are a rare cause of an umbilical mass, with very few cases previously reported following abdominal surgery. These lesions can present with a range of symptoms, including palpable mass, pain, redness, or discharge. This paper reports a case of an umbilical epidermal inclusion cyst in a 52-year-old female presenting with a six-week history of a painful, red umbilical lump on a background of two previous diagnostic laparoscopies. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans revealed non-specific soft tissue thickening in the umbilical region. This was successfully treated with complete excision of the lesion. Umbilical lumps are a common presentation but can represent a diagnostic challenge. The differential diagnosis should include an epidermal inclusion cyst, particularly in a patient who has had previous abdominal surgery, including laparoscopic surgery.

Keywords: epidermal inclusion cyst, laparoscopy, umbilical mass, umbilicus

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Authors: Diwei Lin, Amanda Jh. Tan

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We present a very rare case of de novo large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the prostate (LCNEC) in an 84-year-old male on a background of high-grade, muscle-invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. While NE tumours account for 1% to 5% of all cases of prostate cancer and scattered NE cells can be found in 10% to 100% of prostate adenocarcinomas, pure LCNEC of the prostate is extremely rare. Most LCNEC of the prostate is thought to originate by clonal progression under the selection pressure of therapy and refractory to long-term hormonal treatment for adenocarcinoma of the prostate. De novo LCNEC is only described in case reports and is thought to develop via direct malignant transformation. Limited data in the English literature makes it difficult to accurately predict the prognosis of LCNEC of the prostate. However, current evidence suggesting that increasing NE differentiation in prostate adenocarcinoma is associated with a higher stage, high-grade disease, and a worse prognosis.

Keywords: large cell neuroendocrine cancer, prostate cancer, refractory cancer, medical and health sciences

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Authors: Amanda Coleman, Estefanía Gonzalez

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Empathy is considered an essential skill for engaging with social work clients. Drawing from developments in medical education, researchers will conduct and evaluate a three-part pilot theatre workshop with master level social work students (n ≈ 30) to evaluate the workshop's ability to enhance empathy among participants. Outcomes will be measured using semi-structured post-intervention interviews with a subset of participants (n ≈ 10) as well post-intervention written reflections and pre-and-post intervention quantitative evaluation of empathy using King and Holosko’s 2011 Empathy Scale for Social Workers. The content of the workshop will differ from traditional role plays, which are common in social work education, in that it will draw from role theory and research on creative empathy to emphasize role reversal with clients. Workshops will be held February and March of 2017 with preliminary findings available by April.

Keywords: education, empathy, social work, theatre

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Authors: Catharina O. Vianna Dias da Silva, Amanda F. Batista, Ana Clara C. Burgos Lessa, Carolina S. Lucchesi Ramacciotti, Maria Clara B. de Andrade, Roberto de B. Silva

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This article aims to analyze the bioethical aspects related to the historical practices of experiments on humans that occurred in Nazi Germany during the period of World War II (1939-1945). The method was based on the bibliographic review of articles published in databases such as SciELO and Pubmed. In the discussion, historical and humanistic aspects that contributed to the construction of a genocidal culture practiced during this period were analyzed. Additionally, an ethical question arises: should the information acquired during this dark period be used by science? After analysis, it was found that these Nazi experiments went over medical and ethical principles, being a deplorable milestone in history. It was also concluded that, although they generated potentially 'useful' results in the scientific field, they should be discarded as an ethical question of principle, of never daring to validate such a deplorable way of obtaining knowledge.

Keywords: Nazism, bioethics, human experimentation, human rights, genocide, torture, medicine

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Authors: Amanda R. Teixeira, João H. S. Rego, Gabriel F. S. Brito, Fabricio M. Silva

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The use of superplasticizer additives has provided several advances for the civil construction industry, enabling gains in the rheological behavior and mechanical properties of cementitious matrices. These compounds act at the solid-liquid interface of colloidal suspensions of cement pastes, preventing agglomeration of the particles. Although the use in the concrete industry is wide, the mechanisms of dispersion of concrete admixtures composed of polycarboxylate in cement with supplementary cementitious materials have ample opportunity to be investigated, providing the attainment of increasingly compatible and efficient cement-addition-additive systems. The cements used in the research are Portland Cement CPV and two cements Portland Cement Composite (CPIV) with calcined clay contents of 20% and 28% and three commercial additives based on polycarboxylate. The performance of the additives and obtaining the optimal content was determined by the Marsh Cone test and spread by Mini-Slump.

Keywords: calcined clay, composite cements, superplasticizer additives, polycarboxylate

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Authors: Amanda Cristina de Oliveira, Elias de Souza Monteiro Filho, Roberta Ceriani

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Liquid-liquid extraction in aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) constitutes a powerful tool for purifying bio-materials, such as cells, organelles, proteins, among others. In this work, the extraction of the bovine serum albumin (BSA) has been studied in systems formed by polyethylene glycol (PEG) (1500, 4000, and 6000 g.mol⁻¹) + potassium sodium tartrate + water at 303.15°K. Phase diagrams were obtained by turbidimetry and Merchuk’s method (1998). The experimental tie-lines were described using the Othmer-Tobias and Bancroft correlations. ATPSs were correlated with the nonrandom two-liquid (NRTL) model. The results were considered excellent according to global root-mean-square deviations found which were between 0,72 and 1,13%. The concentrations of the proteins in each phase were determined by spectrophotometry at 280 nm, finding partition efficiencies greater than 71%.

Keywords: aqueous two phases systems, bovine serum albumin , liquid-liquid extraction, polyethylene glycol

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Authors: Amanda Rebman

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This paper challenges the criminal justice system’s traditional stance regarding prostitution. Historically, the acceptance and morality of prostitution within the United States has fluctuated depending upon the social attitudes of the era. Today, prostitutes are allegedly viewed as victims; however, they are treated like criminals throughout the criminal justice system and society. Dominant patriarchal narratives within the United States has resulted in woman lacking autonomy over their bodies and diminished their ability to choose their own career. Even though prostitutes are deemed victims, many times, they are convicted of crimes, a practice that results in further victimization. Utilizing the socialist feminist theory to understand these juxtaposing positions on whether to legalize prostitution facilitates a greater understanding of how patriarchal capitalist arrangements ensure the oppression of women throughout the criminal justice system. The legalization of prostitution will alleviate some of this oppression and ensure a more equal treatment of women in the criminal justice system and society at large.

Keywords: equality, feminist theory, prostitution, sex work

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Authors: Amanda Abbott-Jones

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Adult students with dyslexia in higher education can receive support for their cognitive needs but may also experience negative emotion such as anxiety due to their dyslexia in connection with their studies. This paper aims to test the hypothesis that adult dyslexic learners have a higher prevalence of academic and social anxiety than their non-dyslexic peers. A quantitative approach was used to measure differences in academic and social anxiety between 102 students with a formal diagnosis of dyslexia compared to 72 students with no history of learning difficulties. Academic and social anxiety was measured in a questionnaire based on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Findings showed that dyslexic students showed statistically significant higher levels of academic, but not social anxiety in comparison to the non-dyslexic sample. Dyslexic students in higher education show academic anxiety levels that are well above what is shown by students without dyslexia. The implications of this for the dyslexia practitioner is that delivery of strategies to deal with anxiety should be seen equally as important, if not more so, than interventions to deal with cognitive difficulties.

Keywords: Academic, Anxiety, Dyslexia, Quantitative

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Authors: Ikhsan Fahmi, Hasti Amanda Ilmi Putri

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The COVID-19 pandemic caused large scale social restrictions which have an impact on aspects of the nation’s life, such as the level of poverty. One of the causes of poverty is the lack level of public health. The calculation of poverty is seen as an inability from an economic side of basic food and nonfood needs, which is measured from the expenditure side, one of which is health expenditure. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of health subsidies on society on the level of poverty in 2020 in Indonesia. The main source used is the National Socio-Economic Survey of Consumption Expenditure and Cor, March 2020. From the result of the analysis, it was found that the percentage of poor people increased from the previous 9.78 percent to 9,92 percent, or there were 391,000 people who were previously not poor people who became poor when the health subsidies were revoked. There is a pattern of distribution of provinces in Indonesia between the average cost of health subsidies per capita per month if the government does not provide health subsidies and the increase in the percentage of poor people. This indicates that government intervention related to health subsidised is important in terms of poverty alleviation in Indonesia.

Keywords: poverty, health, subsidy, expenditure

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Authors: Stephanie Aguirre Moreno, Jesús Everardo Olguín Tiznado, Claudia Camargo Wilson, Juan Andrés López Barreras

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This research work presents a proposal to evaluate the environmental performance of a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in Mexico in order to minimize their environmental impact. Given that public education has limited financial resources, it is necessary to conduct studies that support priorities in decision-making situations and thus obtain the best cost-benefit ratio of continuous improvement programs as part of the environmental management system implemented. The methodology employed, adapted from the Environmental Effect Analysis (EEA), weighs the environmental aspects identified in the environmental diagnosis by two characteristics. Number one, environmental priority through the perception of the stakeholders, compliance of legal requirements, and environmental impact of operations. Number two, the possibility of improvement, which depends of factors such as the exchange rate that will be made, the level of investment and the return time of it. The highest environmental priorities, or hot spots, identified in this evaluation were: electricity consumption, water consumption and recycling, and disposal of municipal solid waste. However, the possibility of improvement for the disposal of municipal solid waste is higher, followed by water consumption and recycling, in spite of having an equal possibility of improvement to the energy consumption, time of return and cost-benefit is much greater.

Keywords: environmental performance, environmental priority, possibility of improvement, continuous improvement programs

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Authors: Virginia Dickson-Swift, Amanda Kenny, Jane Farmer, Sarah Larkins, Karen Carlisle, Helen Hickson

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In this presentation, we will focus on the methods of Remote Services Futures (RSF), an evidence-based method of community participation that was developed in Scotland. Using oral health as the focus, we will discuss the ways that RSF can be used to achieve sustainable engagement with stakeholders from various parts of the community. We will describe our findings of using RSF methods to engage with rural communities, including the steps involved and what happened when we asked people about the oral health services that they thought were needed in their community. We found that most community members started by thinking that a public dental clinic was required in every community, which is not a sustainable health service delivery option. Through a series of facilitated workshops, communities were able to discuss and prioritise their needs and develop a costed plan for their community which will ensure sustainable service delivery into the future. Our study highlights the complexities of decision making in rural communities. It is important to ensure that when communities participate in health care planning that the outcomes are practical, feasible and sustainable.

Keywords: community participation, sustainable health planning, Remote Services Futures, rural communities

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Authors: Amanda Burrell, Tonia Gary, David Wright, Kumara Ward

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This paper explores the concept of academic identity as it relates to the lecture, in particular, the digitized lecture delivered to a camera, in the absence of a student audience. Many academics have the performance aspect of the role thrust upon them with little or no training. For the purpose of this study, we look at the performance of the academic identity and examine tailored film presence coaching for its contributions toward academic identity, specifically in relation to feelings of self-confidence and diminishment of discomfort or stage fright. The case is articulated through the lens of scholar-practitioners, using expert facilitated participatory action research. It demonstrates in our sample of experienced academics, all reported some feelings of uncertainty about presenting lectures to camera prior to coaching. We share how power poses and reframing fear, produced improvements in the ease and competency of all participants. We share exactly how this insight could be adapted for self-coaching by any academic when called to present to a camera and consider the relationship between this and academic identity.

Keywords: academic identity, digitized lecture, embodied learning, performance coaching

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Authors: Amanda Abbott-Jones

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Adult students with dyslexia can receive support for cognitive needs but may also experience anxiety, which is less understood. This study aims to test the hypothesis that dyslexic learners in higher education have a higher prevalence of academic and social anxiety than their non-dyslexic peers and explores wider emotional consequences of studying with dyslexia and the ways that adults with dyslexia cope cognitively and emotionally. A mixed-method approach was used in two stages. Stage one compared survey responses from students with dyslexia (N = 102) and students without dyslexia (N = 72) after completion of an anxiety inventory. Stage two explored the emotional consequences of studying with dyslexia and the types of coping strategies used through semi-structured interviews with 20 dyslexic students. Results revealed a statistically significant effect for academic anxiety but not for social anxiety. Findings for stage two showed that: (1) students’ emotional consequences were characterised by a mixture of negative and positive responses, yet negative responses were more frequent in response to questions about academic tasks than positive responses; (2) participants had less to say on coping emotionally, than coping cognitively.

Keywords: dyslexia, higher education, anxiety, emotion

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Authors: Rute Faria, Digo Moraes, Amanda Santos, Dione Morais, Maria Sartori

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Seed vigor is a fundamental component for the good performance of the entire soybean production process. Seeds with mechanical damage at harvest time will be more susceptible to fungal and insect attack during storage, which will invariably reduce their vigor to the field, compromising uniformity and final stand performance. Harvesters, even the most modern ones, when not properly regulated or operated, can cause irreversible damages to the seeds, compromising even their commercialization. Therefore, the control of an efficient harvest is necessary in order to guarantee a good quality final product. In this work, the damage caused by two different harvesters (one rented, and another one) was evaluated, traveling in two speeds (4 and 8 km / h). The design was completely randomized in 2 x 2 factorial, with four replications. To evaluate the physiological quality seed germination and vigor tests were carried out over a period of six months. A multivariate analysis of Principal Components (PCA) and clustering allowed us to verify that the leased machine had better performance in the incidence of immediate damages in the seeds, but after a storage period of 6 months the vigor of these seeds reduced more than own machine evidencing that such a machine would bring more damages to the seeds.

Keywords: Glycine max (L.), cluster analysis, PCA, vigor

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Authors: Alexandra Cheira

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Cultural appropriation has been theorised as a form of colonialism in which members of a dominant culture reduce cultural elements that are deeply meaningful to a minority culture to the category of the “exotic other” since they do not experience the oppression and discriminations faced by members of the minority culture. Yet, in the particular case of literature, writers such as Lionel Shriver and Bernardine Evaristo have argued that authors from a cultural majority have a right to write in the voice of someone from a cultural minority, hence attacking the idea that this is a form of cultural appropriation. By definition, Shriver and Evaristo claim, writers are supposed to write beyond their own culture, gender, class, and/ or race. In this light, this paper discusses the limits of cultural appropriation vis-à-vis the ethics of narrative empathy by addressing the mixed critical reception of Kathryn Stockett’s The Help (2009) and Jeanine Cummins’s American Dirt (2020). In fact, both novels were acclaimed as global eye-openers regarding the struggles of respectively South American migrants and African American maids. At the same time, both novelists have been accused of cultural appropriation by telling a story that is not theirs to tell, given the fact that they are white women telling these stories in what critics have argued is really an American voice telling a story to American readers.These claims will be investigated within the framework of Edward Said’s foundational examination of Orientalism in the field of postcolonial studies as a Western style for authoritatively restructuring the Orient. This means that Orientalist stereotypes regarding Eastern cultures have implicitly validated colonial and imperial pursuits, in the specific context of literary representations of African American and Mexican cultures by white writers. At the same time, the conflicted reception of American Dirt and The Help will be examined within the critical framework of narrative empathy as theorised by Suzanne Keen. Hence, there will be a particular focus on the way a reader’s heated perception that the author’s perspective is purely dishonest can result from a friction between an author’s intention and a reader’s experience of narrative empathy, while a shared sense of empathy between authors and readers can be a rousing momentum to move beyond literary response to social action.Finally, in order to assess that “the key question should not be who can write about whom, but how the writer tells the story”, the recent controversy surrounding Dutch author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld’s decision to resign the translation of American poet Amanda Gorman’s work into Dutch will be duly investigated. In fact, Rijneveld stepped out after journalist and activist Janice Deul criticised Dutch publisher Meulenhoff for choosing a translator who was not also Black, despite the fact that 22-year-old Gorman had selected the 29-year-old Rijneveld herself, as a fellow young writer who had likewise come to fame early on in life. In this light, the critical argument that the controversial reception of The Help reveals as much about US race relations in the early twenty-first century as about the complex literary transactions between individual readers and the novel itself will also be discussed in the extended context of American Dirt and white author Marieke Rijneveld’s withdrawal from the projected translation of Black poet Amanda Gorman.

Keywords: cultural appropriation, cultural stereotypes, narrative empathy, race relations

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Authors: Jessica Hemberg, Amanda Sundqvist, Yulia Korzhina, Lillemor Östman, Sofia Gylfe, Frida Gädda, Lisbet Nyström, Henrik Groundstroem, Pia Nyman-Kurkiala

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Purpose: There are large gaps in the literature on COVID-19 pandemic-related mental health outcomes and after-effects specific to adolescents and young adults. The study's aim was to explore adolescents’ and young adults’ experiences of well-being, health, and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: A qualitative exploratory design with qualitative content analysis was used. Twenty-three participants (aged 19-27; four men and 19 women) were interviewed. Results: Four themes emerged: Changed social networks – fewer and closer contacts, changed mental and physical health, increased physical and social loneliness, well-being, internal growth, and need for support. Conclusion: Adolescents’ and young adults’ experiences of well-being, health, and loneliness are subtle and complex. Participants experienced changed social networks, mental and physical health, and well-being. Also, internal growth, need for support, and increased loneliness were seen. Clear information on how to seek help and support from professionals should be made available.

Keywords: adolescents, COVID-19 pandemic, health, interviews, loneliness, qualitative, well-being, young adults

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Authors: Amanda R. R. Oliveira, Caio F. F. C. Cunha, Juan C. L. Junior, Amorim H. P. Junior

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Children deaths are traumatic events that most often can be prevented. The technology of prevention and intervention in cases of infant deaths is available at low cost and with solid evidence and favorable results, however, with low access cover. Weight is one of the main factors related to death in the neonatal period, so the newborns of low birth weight are a population at high risk of death in the neonatal period, especially early neonatal period. This paper describes the development of a model based in neural network analysis to predict the mortality risk rating in the early neonatal period for newborns of low birth weight to identify the individuals of this population with increased risk of death. The neural network applied was trained with a set of newborns data obtained from Brazilian health system. The resulting network presented great success rate in identifying newborns with high chances of death, which demonstrates the potential for using this tool in an integrated manner to the health system, in order to direct specific actions for improving prognosis of newborns.

Keywords: low birth weight, neonatal death risk, neural network, newborn

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Authors: Jacklynn Walters, Amanda A. Alblas, Linda M. Greyling

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Cervical carcinoma is the second most common cancer found in women. Diagnosis of skeletal metastases is uncommon in cervical cancer patients. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of skeletal metastases in in a Western Cape skeletal population. Skeletal samples (n=14) from the Kirsten Skeletal Collection at Stellenbosch University, diagnosed pre-mortem with cervical cancer, were examined. Macroscopic analysis was done using low magnification to examine each skeletal element for signs of disease. Skeletons were also x-rayed using the Lodox® Statscan® Imaging system and the scans evaluated by a musculoskeletal radiologist. Three (21%) of the skeletons showed metastases, with the os coxae and lower vertebral column affected in all three cases. Furthermore, metastases occurred in the scapulae and ribs in two of the cases and in one case the skull, mandible, and long bones were affected. Additionally, three skeletons without evidence of skeletal metastases presented with a periosteal reaction on the os coxae in response to the diseased adjacent soft tissue. Previous studies observed that skeletal metastases are more common than what is diagnosed pre-mortem with the vertebral spine most commonly affected. The findings of this study agree with previous reports and illustrate the effectiveness of the Lodox® scanner in diagnoses of metastases in skeletal material.

Keywords: cancer, cervix, radiology, skeletal metastases

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Authors: Amanda Noble

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The process of exiting/escaping situations of sex trafficking can be arduous and fraught with numerous barriers. In this paper the results of a national Canadian study on escaping situations of sex trafficking is discussed. Surveys and focus groups were conducted with 201 stakeholders in 8 cities, including 50 survivors of sex trafficking, service providers, health care providers and police. The results show that survivors are both vulnerable to being exploited and experience barriers to exiting as a result of structural factors such as colonialism, poverty, and discrimination based on race and gender. Survivors also face numerous barriers within various systems such as child welfare and the legal system. In addition, survivors contend with multiple psychological and psychosocial factors when exiting including the trauma bond, complex trauma and mental health concerns, substance use, isolation, and adjusting to ‘mainstream’ life. In light of these factors, the service needs of survivors escaping sex trafficking are discussed, and promising practices, such as trauma-informed practice and working from a stages of change model are outlined. This paper is useful for service providers that work with survivors, policy makers, or anyone who has ever wondered why survivors that are not being physically detained don’t ‘just leave’ or escape their exploitative situations.

Keywords: Barriers, Exiting, Promising Practices, Sex Trafficking

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Authors: Amanda Kenny, Virginia Dickson-Swift, Jane Farmer, Sarah Larkins, Karen Carlisle, Helen Hickson

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Rural ECOH (Engaging Communities in Oral Health) is a collaborative project that connects policy makers, service providers and community members. The aim of the project is to empower community members to determine what is important for their community and to design the services that they need. This three-year project is currently underway in six rural communities across Australia. This study is specifically focused on Remote Services Futures (RSF), an evidence-based method of community participation that was developed in Scotland. The findings highlight the complexities of community participation in health service planning. We assumed that people living in rural communities would welcome participation in oral health planning and engage with their community to discuss these issues. We found that to understand the relationships between community members and health service providers, it was essential to identify the formal and informal community leaders and to engage stakeholders from the various community governance structures. Our study highlights the sometimes ‘messiness’ of decision making in rural communities as well as ways to ensure that community members have the training and practical skills necessary to participate in community decision making.

Keywords: community participation, health planning, rural ECOH, Remote Services Futures

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Authors: Jing Lin, Zou Yiming, Goei Ronn, Li Yun, Amanda Ong Jiamin, Alfred Tok Iing Yoong

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High-entropy alloy (HEA) coatings comprise multiple (five or more) principal elements that give superior mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties. However, the current synthesis methods of HEA coating still face huge challenges in facile and controllable preparation, as well as conformal integration, which seriously restricts their potential applications. Herein, we report a controllable synthesis of conformal quinary HEA coating consisting of noble metals (Rh, Ru, Ir, Pt, and Pd) by using the atomic layer deposition (ALD) with a post-annealing approach. This approach realizes low temperature (below 200 °C), precise control (nanoscale), and conformal synthesis (over complex substrates) of HEA coating. Furthermore, the resulting quinary HEA coating shows promising potential as a platform for catalysis, exhibiting substantially enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performances as compared to other noble metal-based structures such as single metal coating or multi-layered metal composites.

Keywords: high-entropy alloy, thin-film, catalysis, water splitting, atomic layer deposition

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Authors: Raleigh Blasdell, Amanda M. Sharp Parker, Lauren Waldrop, Brigid Toney

Abstract:

It has been demonstrated that fictional media sources have persuasive effects on public beliefs; this study contributes to the social constructionist literature by conducting a content analysis of U.S. major motion pictures involving terrorism. Using the Unified Film Population Sampling Methodology, the top-grossing films were identified to examine the frequency and context of several constructs of terrorism, including terrorist demographics, type of terrorism, country of origin, organizational affiliation, crime typology, and victim demographics. Comparisons of these constructs, as depicted in the films, were then made with the extant academic literature on terrorism. The data provide notable information regarding the representation of terrorism by the film industry, as well the discrepancies between the scholarly literature and depictions in popular films. The results indicate vast differences between fiction and reality, emphasizing a 'Middle Eastern Islamic male' terrorist stereotype. Using the theoretical foundation of social constructionism, the findings provide insight into how inaccurate depictions in film can influence society’s beliefs about terrorism and terrorists, which subsequently can translate into public support for legislation and policies that are often fueled by misinformation.

Keywords: film, media, social constructionism, terrorism

Procedia PDF Downloads 169

Authors: Valerie Alexander, Amanda Gutierrez, Veronica Campbell, Dara Schwartz, B. Charles Tatum

Abstract:

It has long been assumed that personality disorders (PD) originate in adolescence or early adulthood and that the maladaptive behaviors significantly attenuate over time. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 supports early onset of PD and views the pattern of behaviors as enduring and stable. The premise of this study is that PD may not always begin early in life, that behaviors may change over the lifespan, and that current treatment modalities may be beneficial in seniors. Self-injurious behaviors (SIB) exhibited earlier in life may, in older adults, be manifested in less overt high-risk behaviors but by refusal to take medication and get necessary medical treatment. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is a well-known treatment modality for teaching emotional regulation and distress tolerance and thus reducing self-injurious behaviors yet very little has been studied about SIB and treatment in older adults. The population for this study was older adults, with a history of SIB, a PD, and depression and/or anxiety. Participants learned an adapted version of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) as developed by DBT trained therapists. The results provided clinical potentials for the efficacy of DBT to reduce SIB, decrease depression and anxiety in the older adult population.

Keywords: anxiety, depression, dialectical behavioral therapy, personality disorders, self-harm behavior, treatment in older adults

Procedia PDF Downloads 302