Drumming out resistance in Japan: writing back Burakumin identity through music

Noémie Adam is an alumna of the LSE MSc Human Rights programme (2013/14). She researches and writes on human rights and civil liberties in the UK, Europe and Japan

Aménagement d’une salle des employés au Département de pharmacie du Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (projet ESPACE)

Objectif : Aménager une salle des employés multifonctionnelle au sein du Département de pharmacie du Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal et en évaluer l’influence sur le bonheur au travail et le sentiment d’appartenance des employés envers le département. Description de la problématique : Les employés ont accès à une salle à manger comprenant un nombre restreint de places assises et qui peut s’avérer bruyante. Certains employés ont exprimé le besoin de disposer d’une nouvelle salle principalement destinée au repos et à la tenue d’activités diverses. Résolution de la problématique : Un sondage préintervention a été envoyé à l’ensemble des membres du département pour évaluer les besoins relatifs à l’aménagement des lieux (taux de réponse de 31 %). En réponse aux commentaires reçus, un local de 28 mètres carrés a été choisi. Certains bureaux ont dû être relocalisés et du mobilier inutilisé provenant de l’Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal a servi à aménager le nouvel espace. Les employés ont pu profiter des lieux avant de répondre aux sondages à cinq et 40 semaines après l'intervention (taux de réponse de 20 % et de 26 %). Cette nouvelle salle a eu une influence modeste sur le bonheur au travail (4,9–5,8/10) et le sentiment d’appartenance (4,2–4,4/10) des employés. Conclusion : Les deux sondages post-intervention ont montré que l’influence réelle de cette salle s’est révélée moins grande que ce qui avait été anticipé. La principale barrière à son utilisation a été le manque d’activités organisées. Abstract Objective: To create a multifunctional employee lounge in the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal’s pharmacy department and to assess its impact on employees’ workplace happiness and on their sense of belonging to the department. Problem description: Employees have access to a dining room with limited seating capacity and which can be noisy. Some employees have expressed the need for a new room to be used primarily for resting and conducting various activities. Problem resolution: A pre-intervention survey was sent to all department staff to assess space planning needs (31% response rate). In response to the comments received, an area measuring 28 m2 was chosen. Certain offices had to be relocated, and unutilized furniture from the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal was used to furnish the new room. The employees were able to use the lounge for 5 and 40 weeks before completing the post-intervention surveys (response rates of 20% and 26%). The new lounge had a modest impact on workplace happiness (4.9-5.8/10) and on their sense of belonging (4.2-4.4/10). Conclusion: The two post-intervention surveys showed that the lounge’s actual impact was less than anticipated. The main barrier to its use was the lack of organized activities

Towards sustainable waste management in Myanmar – key results from the project ‘Capacity building on waste management in the Bago Region’

Prosjektleder: Ingrid NesheimThis report presents key results from the project ‘Capacity building on waste management in the Bago Region’. It synthesizes primary and secondary data on various aspects of waste management in the Bago Township, including a study of the formal and informal waste management systems and their key actors, and a study of microplastic pollution of the Bago River. Building on Action Research it further presents four pilot cases promoting sustainable waste management practices and behavioural change through a cleanup of a river side waste dump, waste management at the local market, new waste management systems and composting at selected monasteries.Royal Norwegian Embassy in MyanmarpublishedVersio

Climate sensitivity of shrub growth across the tundra biome

The tundra biome is experiencing rapid temperature increases that have been linked to a shift in tundra vegetation composition towards greater shrub dominance. Shrub expansion can amplify warming by altering the surface albedo, energy and water balance, and permafrost temperatures. To account for these feedbacks, global climate models must include realistic projections of vegetation dynamics, and in particular tundra shrub expansion, yet the mechanisms driving shrub expansion remain poorly understood. Dendroecological data consisting of multi-decadal time series of annual growth of shrub species provide a previously untapped resource to explore climate-growth relationships across the tundra biome. We analysed a dataset of approximately 42,000 annual growth records from 1821 individuals, comprising 25 species from eight genera, from 37 arctic and alpine sites. Our analyses demonstrate that the sensitivity of shrub growth to climate was (1) heterogeneous across the tundra biome, (2) greater at sites with higher soil moisture and (3) strongest for taller shrub species growing at the northern or upper elevational edge of their range. Across latitudinal gradients in the Arctic, climate sensitivity of growth was greatest at the boundary between low- and high-arctic vegetation zones, where permafrost conditions are changing and the majority of the global permafrost soil carbon pool is stored. Thus, in order to more accurately estimate feedbacks among shrub change, albedo, permafrost thaw, carbon storage and climate, the observed variation in climate-growth relationships of shrub species across the tundra biome will need to be incorporated into earth system models.JRC.H.3-Forest Resources and Climat

Acute Muscular Sarcocystosis: An International Investigation Among Ill Travelers Returning From Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2011-2012

A large outbreak of acute muscular sarcocystosis (AMS) among international tourists who visited Tioman Island, Malaysia, is described. Clinicians evaluating travelers returning ill from Malaysia with myalgia, with or without fever, should consider AMS in their differential diagnosi

A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

peer reviewe

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men