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The past decade saw the proliferation of projects that use 3D and related technologies to engage with Indigenous heritage through museum collections and cultural heritage site digitization projects involving the documentation and sometimes physical replication of objects and landscapes; some of these projects involved Indigenous origin communities. Although 3D technologies have become more widespread and accessible, ethical considerations in practice lag behind. The “Ethical Considerations in Three-Dimensional Digitization of Indigenous Heritage” project unites researchers, members of Indigenous communities, and 3D heritage specialists to develop a set of best practices for the responsible conduct of research (RCR). These practices promote ethical cultures in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, recognizing Indigenous heritage 3D modeling as a critical part of the broader conversation around decolonization and core methodologies. This article proposes incorporating best practices developed from the RCR findings for 3D digitization projects of Indigenous cultural heritage. We suggest utilizing Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility, and Ethics (CARE) principles, Indigenous Data Sovereignty, and a co-production of knowledge (CPK) framework.
We use a within-subject experimental design to investigate whether systematic relationships exist across distinct features of individual preferences: altruism in a two-person context, risk aversion in monetary outcomes, and social preferences in a group context. We find that altruism is related to demographic variables, including years of education, gender, and age. Perhaps most importantly, self allocation in a two-person dictator game is related to social preferences in a group context. Participants who are more generous in a dictator game are more likely to vote against their self-interest in a group tax redistribution game which we interpret to be an expression of social preferences.
The European shores of the Mediterranean are characterised by well-known sociocultural and economic dynamics during the Bronze and Early Iron Ages (2200–550 BC), but our understanding of the African shores is comparatively vague. Here, the authors present results from excavations at Kach Kouch, Morocco, revealing an occupation phase from 2200–2000 cal BC, followed by a stable settlement from c. 1300–600 BC characterised by wattle and daub architecture, a farming economy, distinctive cultural practices and extensive connections. Kach Kouch underscores the agency of local communities, challenging the notion of north-western Africa as terra nullius prior to Phoenician arrival.
This study aims to develop a framework for establishing priorities in the regional health service of Murcia, Spain, to facilitate the creation of a comprehensive multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework. This framework will aid in decision-making processes related to the assessment, reimbursement, and utilization of high-impact health technologies.
Method
Based on the results of a review of existing frameworks for MCDA of health technologies, a set of criteria was proposed to be used in the context of evaluating high-impact health technologies. Key stakeholders within regional healthcare services, including clinical leaders and management personnel, participated in a focus group (n = 11) to discuss the proposed criteria and select the final fifteen. To elicit the weights of the criteria, two surveys were administered, one to a small sample of healthcare professionals (n = 35) and another to a larger representative sample of the general population (n = 494).
Results
The responses obtained from health professionals in the weighting procedure exhibited greater consistency compared to those provided by the general public. The criteria more highly weighted were “Need for intervention” and “Intervention outcomes.” The weights finally assigned to each item in the multicriteria framework were derived as the equal-weighted sum of the mean weights from the two samples.
Conclusions
A multi-attribute function capable of generating a composite measure (multicriteria) to assess the value of high-impact health interventions has been developed. Furthermore, it is recommended to pilot this procedure in a specific decision context to evaluate the efficacy, feasibility, usefulness, and reliability of the proposed tool.
Healthcare workers (HCWs) were at increased risk for mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, with prior data suggesting women may be particularly vulnerable. Our global mental health study aimed to examine factors associated with gender differences in psychological distress and depressive symptoms among HCWs during COVID-19. Across 22 countries in South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, 32,410 HCWs participated in the COVID-19 HEalth caRe wOrkErS (HEROES) study between March 2020 and February 2021. They completed the General Health Questionnaire-12, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and questions about pandemic-relevant exposures. Consistently across countries, women reported elevated mental health problems compared to men. Women also reported increased COVID-19-relevant stressors, including insufficient personal protective equipment and less support from colleagues, while men reported increased contact with COVID-19 patients. At the country level, HCWs in countries with higher gender inequality reported less mental health problems. Higher COVID-19 mortality rates were associated with increased psychological distress merely among women. Our findings suggest that among HCWs, women may have been disproportionately exposed to COVID-19-relevant stressors at the individual and country level. This highlights the importance of considering gender in emergency response efforts to safeguard women’s well-being and ensure healthcare system preparedness during future public health crises.
To test whether adherence to treatment in patients with MS is influenced by cognitive variables (executive functions), personality, and social support.
Participants and Methods:
This is a pilot observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study. 60 patients with Relapsing remitting MS ( 73.33% female; age: 41.41 ±14.00) undergoing medical treatment ( 28 dymethilfumarate, 7 ocrelizumab/ rituximab, 6 fingolimod, 5 interferon, 5 natalizumab, 4 cladribine, 3 teriflunomide, 1 alemtuzumab, 1 glatiramer acetate) underwent a comprehensive multi-component evaluation including : cognition, social support (using the self-reported record of social support scale), personality (using the NEO-FFI questionnaire) and evaluation of treatment adherence using the Morisky Green Levine Medication Adherence Scale Participants were divided into two groups according to their adherence to medical treatment, low vs. high adherence was defined using a cutoff score of 4. Differences between groups were evaluated using Student's t-test with a significance level of p<0.05, the effect size was calculated with Cohen's d test.
Results:
Groups did not differ significantly in age, sex, type of treatment, Montreal Cognitive Assesments (MoCA) or neuropsychiatric scales of depression and anxiety. Regardless of treatment type, 63.33% of the patients had high treatment adherence. Significant differences between groups were found in the Global Index of Social Support (p=0.016, Cohen's d= 0.73) and the responsibility factor of the NEO-FFI (p=0.048, Cohen's d= 0.20). Conversely, no significant differences were found in executive functions (p=0.8), Openness (p=0.062), Extraversion (p=0.5), Neuroticism (p=0.4) and Agreeableness (p=0.8).
Conclusions:
Social support and the responsibility factor of personality are significantly different between MS patients with high and low adherence to medical treatment. The study of social support and personality may be a key component in improving adherence strategies.
A checklist of Lichen-forming, Lichenicolous and Allied Fungi of Ecuador is presented with a total of 2599 species, of which 39 are reported for the first time from the country. The names of three species, Hypotrachyna montufariensis, H. subpartita and Sticta hypoglabra, previously not validly published, are validated. Pertusaria oahuensis, originally introduced by Magnusson as ‘ad interim’, is validated as Lepra oahuensis. The form Leucodermia leucomelos f. albociliata is validated. Two new combinations, Fissurina tectigera and F. timida, are made, and Physcia mobergii is introduced as a replacement name for the illegitimate P. lobulata Moberg non (Flörke) Arnold. In an initial step, the checklist was compiled by reviewing literature records of Ecuadorian lichen biota spanning from the late 19th century to the present day. Subsequently, records were added based on vouchers from 56 collections participating in the Consortium of Lichen Herbaria, a Symbiota-based biodiversity platform with particular focus on, but not exclusive to, North and South America. Symbiota provides sophisticated tools to manage biodiversity data, such as occurrence records, a taxonomic thesaurus, and checklists. The thesaurus keeps track of frequently changing names, distinguishing taxa currently accepted from ones considered synonyms. The software also provides tools to create and manage checklists, with an emphasis on selecting vouchers based on occurrence records that can be verified for identification accuracy. Advantages and limitations of creating checklists in Symbiota versus traditional ways of compiling these lists are discussed. Traditional checklists are well suited to document current knowledge as a ‘snapshot in time’. They are important baselines, frequently used by ecologists and conservation scientists as an established naming convention for citing species reported from a country. Compiling these lists, however, requires an immense effort, only to inadequately address the dynamic nature of scientific discovery. Traditional checklists are thus quickly out of date, particularly in groups with rapidly changing taxonomy, such as lichenized fungi. Especially in megadiverse countries, where new species and new occurrences continue to be discovered, traditional checklists are not easily updated; these lists necessarily fall short of efficiently managing immense data sets, and they rely primarily on secondary evidence (i.e. literature records rather than specimens). Ideally, best practices make use of dynamic database platforms such as Symbiota to assess occurrence records based both on literature citations and voucher specimens. Using modern data management tools comes with a learning curve. Systems like Symbiota are not necessarily intuitive and their functionality can still be improved, especially when handling literature records. However, online biodiversity data platforms have much potential in more efficiently managing and assessing large biodiversity data sets, particularly when investigating the lichen biota of megadiverse countries such as Ecuador.
This paper proposes a proper compass adjustment method using only a GPS (or any other GNSS receiver) and a single visual reference to enhance the efficiency of compass adjustment. During compass adjustment, the ship proceeds on magnetic courses using a gyroscopic or satellite compass and considering magnetic declination. However, non-magnetic compasses are only compulsory for ships of 500 gross tonnage or upwards (SOLAS V/19.2.5.1). Many ships of less than 500 gross tonnage have only a magnetic compass to indicate heading. In these cases, a minimum of five leading lines or a minimum of five bearings of conspicuous and distant points or sun azimuths are necessary to adjust the compass. This makes compass adjustment more laborious and time consuming. To expedite this process, a reliable and practical method was developed to use the courses over ground given by a GNSS receiver and a single visual reference instead of the headings provided by a gyroscopic or satellite compass. The method is valid for all ships, but is primarily intended for those equipped with only a magnetic compass to indicate heading.
Image-processing pipelines require the design of complex workflows combining many different steps that bring the raw acquired data to a final result with biological meaning. In the image-processing domain of cryo-electron microscopy single-particle analysis (cryo-EM SPA), hundreds of steps must be performed to obtain the three-dimensional structure of a biological macromolecule by integrating data spread over thousands of micrographs containing millions of copies of allegedly the same macromolecule. The execution of such complicated workflows demands a specific tool to keep track of all these steps performed. Additionally, due to the extremely low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the estimation of any image parameter is heavily affected by noise resulting in a significant fraction of incorrect estimates. Although low SNR and processing millions of images by hundreds of sequential steps requiring substantial computational resources are specific to cryo-EM, these characteristics may be shared by other biological imaging domains. Here, we present Scipion, a Python generic open-source workflow engine specifically adapted for image processing. Its main characteristics are: (a) interoperability, (b) smart object model, (c) gluing operations, (d) comparison operations, (e) wide set of domain-specific operations, (f) execution in streaming, (g) smooth integration in high-performance computing environments, (h) execution with and without graphical capabilities, (i) flexible visualization, (j) user authentication and private access to private data, (k) scripting capabilities, (l) high performance, (m) traceability, (n) reproducibility, (o) self-reporting, (p) reusability, (q) extensibility, (r) software updates, and (s) non-restrictive software licensing.
“What can comics contribute to the field of ecological information, critique and alternatives?”
This was the question asked in 1980 by the editors of El Ecologista Comix, a special edition of the magazine El Ecologista, in a fictional interview with an imagined comics scholar opening the single issue of the comics collaboration, featuring well-known Spanish comics artists of the period, including Max and Xaquín Marín. Such a question hints not only at the medium’s fight for cultural legitimization but also at the innumerable possibilities afforded by the medium for initiating social change. Only some thirty years later would the question of comics’ capacity to engage with questions of environmental health, justice, and ethics receive sustained scholarly attention, despite the fact that the employment of comics for the purposes of environmental activism and literacy has a significant history. Within Spain, comics illustrate the concerns and proposals of early environmentalisms, often in ways that reflect the democratizing aesthetics of counterculture movements, as well as mobilizing resistance to neoliberal urbanization. Comics also reflect the mainstreaming of environmental concern and the exacerbation of environmental crises wrought by the globalization of consumer capitalism, and they employ graphic journalism and nonfiction to explore the destructive metabolism of Spanish cities or social justice concerns exacerbated by urban waste and development.
The ability of comics to develop an environmental politics and/or ecocritical approach to contemporary issues can be mapped onto two underlying concerns: first, the capacity of comics to influence and represent the subject’s “ethical orientation to the natural world,” which is not only developed through the graphic representation of ideas and icons but also through the simultaneous representation of subjects as objects, enmeshed within wider environments and ecologies of relation. This may also include the artist’s own self-representation within the comic, an ethical and stylistic choice that strengthens the reliability and sense of intimacy between artists and readers while emphasizing the constructed, contingent, and positional nature of narrative.
A second concern regards the ways in which comics artists present deeper ecocritical reflection and engage “ecological thought,” i.e., forms of inquiry, representation, and storytelling that emphasize the complex interrelations and interdependencies of multiple species and systems that make up planetary life.
This paper tests whether logically equivalent risk formats can lead to different health state utilities elicited by means of the traditional standard gamble (SG) method and a modified version of the method that we call “double lottery.” We compare utilities for health states elicited when probabilities are framed in terms of frequencies with respect to 100 people in the population (i.e., X out of 100 who follow a medical treatment will die) with SG utilities elicited for frequencies with respect to 1,000 people in the population (i.e., Y out of 1,000 who follow a medical treatment will die). We found that people accepted a lower risk of death when success and failure probabilities were framed as frequencies type “Y deaths out of 1,000” rather than as frequencies type “X deaths out of 100” and hence the utilities for health outcomes were higher when the denominator was 1000 than when it was 100. This framing effect, known as Ratio Bias, may have important consequences in resource allocation decisions.
La dictadura ha predominado como forma fundamental de organización política en la mayoría de las repúblicas hispanoamericanas, desde el logro de la Independencia hasta nuestros días. Las fuerzas democráticas, siempre presentes y muchas veces heroicamente activas, por lo general han llevado la peor parte en el conflicto con la tiranía. Por eso resulta comprensible que la novela hispanoamericana refleje, desde sus comienzos, esa característica básica de la vida social del Continente. El número de novelas que, directa o indirectamente, se refieren al tema dictatorial es enorme. Curiosa y (en apariencia) contradictoriamente, por larguísimos años el dictador no ha sido protagonista de estas obras. Aparece en ellas como un personaje más, importante, pero secundario, en el desarrollo de la trama. No es sino en la década del 70 de este siglo, con las novelas dedicadas a este tema por Alejo Carpentier, Augusto Roa Bastos, Gabriel García Márquez y Arturo Uslar Pietri, cuando el dictador ocupa el centro de la atención del autor y su personalidad es examinada en todas sus aristas. O sea que hasta 1970 no existió mas que el género (la novela de dictadura), de orientación sociológica y política, más que psicológica. Sólo en la década del 70 aparece la especie (la novela de dictadores), que además de retratar un régimen se concentra en el estudio de la compleja personalidad tiránica de un individuo. Al examen del proceso histórico y literario que explica ese fundamental cambio de orientación estética está dedicado este artículo.
In this report, we present a new 14C of 9627–9490 cal BC (8640 ± 30 BP) obtained at the Intihuasi Cave, San Luis, Argentina. The sample was obtained during fieldwork conducted as part of a new management plan for tourist use of the site. Intihuasi has played a central role in the history of archaeological investigations in South America. There, in 1951 González applied for the first time a systematic methodology for archaeological excavations in Argentina. Moreover, he complemented his field results with the obtainment of the first radiocarbon dates for the Southern Cone of South America. These achievements allowed him to build the first macroregional chronological sequence, which is still partially used. The new radiocarbon date presented in this article aims to reconsider the importance of the Intihuasi Cave for the discussion of the macroregional peopling of the Southern Cone of South America. We believe that the site ratifies the occurrence of an Andean population vector in the region.
Wild birds are hosts of Culicoides from as early on as the nesting stage when constrained to their nests. However, the environmental factors which determine the abundance and composition of Culicoides species within each bird nest are still understudied. We sampled Culicoides from Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nests found in 2 types of forests located in southern Spain. Firstly, we monitored the abundance of Culicoides species in bird nests from a dry Pyrenean oak deciduous forest and a humid mixed forest comprising Pyrenean and Holm oaks throughout 2 consecutive years. During the 3rd year, we performed a cross-fostering experiment between synchronous nests to differentiate the role of rearing environment conditions from that of the genetically determined or maternally transmitted cues released by nestlings from each forest. We found 147 female Culicoides from 5 different species in the birds' nests. The abundance of Culicoides was higher in the dry forest than in the humid forest. Culicoides abundance, species richness and prevalence were greater when the nestlings were hatched later in the season. The same pattern was observed in the cross-fostering experiment, but we did not find evidence that nestling's features determined by the forest of origin had any effect on the Culicoides collected. These results support the notion that habitat type has a strong influence on the Culicoides affecting birds in their nests, while some life history traits of birds, such as the timing of reproduction, also influence Culicoides abundance and species composition.
Refractory epilepsy from operculoinsular origin is increasingly recognized because of published descriptions of its clinical presentations, more attention in the interpretation of non-invasive focus localization techniques, and the development of invasive electrode implantation schemes to sample that area. Microsurgical techniques of operculo-insular cortical resection have been refined, taking into consideration the complex and deep anatomy and the high vascularity of the perisylvian area. Selective transsylvian and/or subpial transopercular insulectomies are performed, depending on the definition of the extent of cortectomy needed and the functional areas to preserve. Seizure control results after surgery are similar than those in other brain locations. Neurological complications and neuropsychological consequences are acceptable. It is crucial that these highly selected patients be investigated and operated in epilepsy centers dedicated to this complex type of refractory epilepsy, both to optimize the results of seizure control and keep the complication rate as low as possible.
The early clinical predictors of respiratory failure in Latin Americans with Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) have scarcely been studied. This is of particular importance since Latin America has a high frequency of axonal GBS variants that may imply a worse prognosis.
Methods:
We studied 86 Mexican patients with GBS admitted to the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, a referral center of Mexico City, to describe predictors of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV).
Results:
The median age was 40 years (interquartile range: 26–53.5), with 60.5% men (male-to-female ratio: 1.53). Most patients (65%) had an infectious antecedent (40.6% gastrointestinal). At admission, 38% of patients had a Medical Research Council (MRC) sum score <30. Axonal subtypes predominated (60.5%), with acute motor axonal neuropathy being the most prevalent (34.9%), followed by acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (32.6%), acute motor sensory axonal neuropathy (AMSAN) (25.6%), and Fisher syndrome (7%). Notably, 15.1% had onset in upper limbs, 75.6% dysautonomia, and 73.3% pain. In all, 86% received either IVIg (9.3%) or plasma exchange (74.4%). IMV was required in 39.5% patients (72.7% in AMSAN). A multivariate model without including published prognostic scores yielded the time since onset to admission <15 days, axonal variants, MRC sum score <30, and bulbar weakness as independent predictors of IMV. The model including grading scales yielded lower limbs onset, Erasmus GBS respiratory insufficiency score (EGRIS) >4, and dysautonomia as predictors.
Conclusion:
These results suggest that EGRIS is a good prognosticator of IMV in GBS patients with a predominance of axonal electrophysiological subtypes, but other early clinical data should also be considered.
Nowadays, the world is shifting towards a more sustainable way of life, and product designers have an important part in this change. They have to eco(re)design their products to make them environmentally conscious throughout their lifecycle, and especially at their end-of-life (EoL). However, one can observe that synergy between product designers and recycling-chains stakeholders is lacking, mainly due to their weak communication. While many design-for-EoL approaches coexist in the literature, design from EoL must also be taken into account to fully develop a circular economy.
RE-CYCLING is an innovative design approach that supports both design for and from EoL. This paper focuses on the recycling EoL-option and the validation of the associated indicators. To validate the design-for-recycling indicators, the recyclability of three smartphones is assessed. It is expected that indicators provide a similar score as none of them was designed to be recycled; results comply with expectations. In parallel, the convenience of using recycled materials in smartphones is analysed to validate our design-from-recycling indicators. It is found that the proposed indicators can indeed support designers integrating recycled materials in products.
This study presents an individualized coaching approach tailored to the stages of proximity of promising scientists interested in becoming independently funded researchers in the context of a minority-serving institution. This strategy defined the participant’s stage of proximity by their number of first-author publications in peer-reviewed journals and their track record in submitting research grants. We argue that coaching tailored by stages is an asset to maintain the enthusiasm, persistence, and positive attitude of promising scientists as they try to reach independent investigator status. Furthermore, this valuable educational approach supports the development of management and leadership skills in defined scientific domains.