The effect of near work on the anterior eye and associations with myopia: a narrative review

The global prevalence of myopia has increased significantly in recent decades, and it is anticipated that half the population of the world will be myopic by 2050. The dramatic increase in myopia cannot be explained solely by genetic factors; hence, environmental factors such as near work may play an important role in myopia development. Near work activities involve accommodation, convergence, and pupil constriction, which lead to various mechanical changes that alter the structural and optical properties of the anterior eye. Mechanical changes associated with near work activities include ciliary body contraction, medial rectus contraction, lateral rectus relaxation, changes in the eyelid-cornea interaction, pupil size, and crystalline lens shape and position. These structural variations lead to optical changes including a change in spherical refractive power, astigmatism, accommodative convergence, higher order aberrations, and retinal image quality. Several differences in near work-related optical and structural changes have been observed between myopes and non-myopes. These differences elucidate mechanisms that potentially underpin near work-associated axial elongation and myopia development. This narrative review explores anterior segment structural and optical changes during near work and their potential mechanistic contribution to myopia development, while highlighting literature gaps that require further research.</p

A Survivor-Based Perspective of Vulnerability in Clergy Sexual Misconduct Against Adults

The Roman Catholic Church now aseems to be finally making changes regarding clergy sexual misconduct against adults - but it is a smoke screen. The people in my research, the victims/survivors, still have no meaningful path by which to be heard and believed. Much of the problems lies squarely in the dismissive and serious inadequate beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours of the hierarchy: for most, they simply don't believe adult women and men who do not fit into their very narrow definition of 'vulnerable adult/person' can be sexually violated against their will. This chapter seeks to present an alternative perspective, one based on vcitms/survivor's experiences, and hopes to educate any clergy and laity who may not grasp what occurs when adults are sexually targeted, groomed, aand violated by clergy

A gender analysis of digital platform work in Australia

The gig economy has been heralded as removing many of the impediments to gender equality at work experienced by women. ‘Gigs’ are discrete tasks or jobs organised through digital platforms accessible to individual workers (Williams et al., 2022). With low barriers to entry, this form of work is said to provide higher levels of flexibility, including the ability to work from home and, because work is algorithmically distributed via an app, it is believed that gender discrimination is removed from hiring decisions. This is not the case as demonstrated by substantial Australian empirical data gathered from our program of gig economy research, including a 2023 national prevalence study. Indeed, the gig economy reproduces, and may well exacerbate, existing gender inequalities. In this briefing paper, we present key findings from our inquiry into gendered dimensions of the Australian gig economy

Preparedness of Nepalese Teachers to Implement Inclusive Pedagogy

This PhD research investigated how prepared Nepalese teachers are to practise inclusive pedagogy. It used a sociocultural conceptual framework and adopted a sequential mixed-method research design with a qualitative focus. The findings revealed a narrow understanding of inclusive education among the participating Nepalese teachers, who also demonstrated limited preparedness for teaching inclusively. This study has significant implications for reforming policies and practices and strengthening the teacher education and professional development system to promote inclusion in education

Anticoagulation during Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO): A Selective Inhibitor of Activated Factor XII Compared to Heparin in an Ex Vivo Model

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a form of life support for critically ill patients with severe respiratory or cardiac failure. Interactions between patient blood and ECMO biomaterials increase the risk of thrombosis, necessitating concurrent anticoagulation treatment, with the standard of care being heparin. However, hemostatic complications such as thrombosis and bleeding remain prevalent. Activated factor XII (FXIIa) inhibitors are selective anticoagulants and offer a potential alternative to heparin. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of IMB-F12, a cyclotide-based FXIIa inhibitor, in human blood using an ex vivo ECMO model. Ten circuits were randomly allocated to heparin or IMB-F12 and ran for 6 h. Primary hemostasis was assessed by full blood cell count, aggregometry, flow cytometry, and von Willebrand factor multimer analysis; secondary hemostasis by activated clotting time (ACT), rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM), prothrombin time, and activated partial thromboplastin time. All circuits ran successfully for 6 h with stable oxygenator resistance (pressure drop, flow). ACT was higher in the IMB-F12 group than in the heparin group (p = 0.008). Significant differences were observed between ROTEM INTEM and HEPTEM in both IMB-F12 (clotting time (CT) p = 0.001, clot formation time (CFT) = 0.0004, maximum clot firmness (MCF) p = 0.03) and heparin (CT p = 0.01, CFT = 0.004, MCF p = 0.02) groups. Collagen- and thrombin receptor activating peptide (TRAP)-induced platelet aggregation were better preserved in the IMB-F12 group (p = 0.004 and 0.005, respectively). In conclusion, IMB-F12 provides an effective alternative to heparin anticoagulation with an improved preservation of collagen- and TRAP-induced platelet aggregation in an ex vivo model.</p

The green construction framework: a strategic pathway to emission reduction through technological innovations in the built environment

This chapter explores the transformative potential of the Green Construction Framework in reducing emissions within the built environment. It highlights the strategic integration of cutting-edge technologies and innovative practices aimed at minimizing the carbon footprint of construction activities. The framework emphasizes the adoption of sustainable materials, energy-efficient systems, and smart building technologies to create eco-friendly structures. By examining case studies and real-world applications, the chapter demonstrates how these technological advancements contribute to significant emission reductions. It also discusses the economic and environmental benefits of green construction, including cost savings, enhanced building performance, and improved occupant health. The chapter concludes with a roadmap for stakeholders, outlining actionable steps to implement the Green Construction Framework effectively. This strategic approach not only addresses the urgent need for emission reduction but also paves the way for a sustainable future in the construction industry

Revisiting Semantic Ambiguity in English Words: Nonarbitrary Polysemy-Form Mappings Influence Lexical Processing

Most English word forms convey multiple meanings, that is, they are semantically ambiguous. A relatively small proportion of these ambiguous forms are homonyms that convey distinct meanings (e.g., bank may refer to a financial institution or the land bordering a river), while the majority are polysemes that convey interrelated senses (mouth may refer to the mouth of a person or a river). Empirical investigations have demonstrated an advantage for polysemous word forms across various lexical processing tasks, suggesting differences in the way they are organized in semantic memory. However, polysemous forms also tend to be more frequent, comprise fewer phonemes and syllables, and occur in more dense neighborhoods involving more similar sounding words. The nature and extent of these systematic polysemy-form mappings and their influence on processing have yet to be fully investigated. The present study reports an analysis of a corpus of English monomorphemic words (N = 4,466), confirming that phonological features predict a significant proportion of variance (16.8%) in the number of senses conveyed by a word. A series of experiments using relative weight analyses of megastudy data sets of word recognition and production tasks demonstrates that these systematic polysemy-form mappings have a relatively important influence on lexical processing compared to other lexical and semantic variables. These findings suggest that polysemous word forms might be structured systematically to minimize cognitive costs and maintain a compact or kernel lexicon. Implications for current accounts of lexical ambiguity based solely on semantic similarity are discussed.</p

EphA2 regulates vascular permeability and prostate cancer metastasis via modulation of cell junction protein phosphorylation

Prostate cancer morbidity and mortality demonstrate a need for more effective targeted therapies. One potential target is EphA2, although paradoxically, pro- and anti-oncogenic effects have been shown to be mediated by EphA2. We demonstrate that unique activating and blocking EphA2-targeting monoclonal antibodies display opposing tumor-suppressive and oncogenic properties in vivo. To further explore this complexity, we performed detailed phosphoproteomic analysis following ligand-induced EphA2 activation. Our analysis identified altered phosphorylation of 73 downstream proteins related to the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and ERK/MAPK pathways, with the majority implicated in cell junction and cytoskeletal organization, cell motility, and tumor metastasis. We demonstrate that the adapter protein SHB is an essential component in mediating the inhibition of the ERK/MAPK pathway in response to EphA2 receptor activation. Furthermore, we identify the adherence junction protein afadin as an EphA2-regulated phosphoprotein which is involved in prostate cancer migration and invasion.</p

Theoretical insights of nitrate reduction to ammonia on partially reduced In2O3 surfaces

The electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR) has attracted much attention due to the formation of value-added ammonia as well as being an environmentally benign process. However, there is still a lack of high-performance electrocatalysts and an in-depth understanding of the electrocatalytic reaction mechanism for NO3RR. Based on first-principles calculations, the partially reduced In2O3-x catalysts with different monolayers (MLs) of oxygen vacancies were examined for the electrochemical conversion of nitrate to ammonia. The thermodynamically favourable pathways were identified for the screened candidates with various MLs of oxygen vacancies from 0 to 3, and the Gibbs free energy evolution of the 2 MLs of oxygen vacancies was downhill. The catalysts’ performance is highly associated with the oxygen vacancy layers, and In2O3 with 2 ML of oxygen vacancies exhibits the highest NO3RR activity. The introduction of oxygen vacancies can enhance the interfacial charge density around In active sites. The PDOS comparison between 0 ML and 2 MLs unravelled that the oxygen vacancies can downshift the overall orbitals and make the defective In2O3 metallic, thus promoting the electron transfer for improved performance of NO3RR. Meanwhile, the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is effectively inhibited. This work not only proposes a high-performance electrocatalyst for ammonia production but also reveals the relationship between the layer number of oxygen vacancies and the NO3RR activity, thus highlighting vacancy engineering and providing novel insights into the design of NO3RR catalysts.</p

Does Topic Matter? Investigating Students' Interest, Emotions and Learning when Writing Stories About Socioscientific Issues

This case study of a Year 8 science class in South-East Queensland investigated the affective and cognitive experiences of engaging students in a science-writing project. Building on the work of Tomas, Rigano and Ritchie (2016), students wrote a series of short stories across two school terms about the socio-scientific issues (SSIs) of coal seam gas (CSG) mining and skin grafting. Data were collected using an emotion diary (in which students self-reported their interest and emotions at the end of each lesson), written thinking prompts (designed to elicit students’ evolving understanding of each SSI) and semi-structured, end-of-project student interviews. Three main assertions emerged from analysis of these data. First, students’ self-reported interest was statistically higher in relation to skin grafting compared to CSG. Second, interest and positive emotions reported by students in the skin grafting unit were associated mostly with the topic, while in the CSG mining unit, they were related mostly to pedagogical approaches. Thirdly, students could explain the scientific, social, moral and ethical dimensions of each SSI and an evidence-informed position at the end of both units. These assertions support our thesis that topic does matter when engaging students in writing stories about SSIs. At the same time, while the results of this study support the learning affordances of SSIs, they suggest that the teacher’s pedagogical decisions also matter in keeping students cognitively and affectively engaged when learning about a less interesting or relatable topic