Appropriation, translation and transformation of institutionalised development discourses: the case of faith-based organisations doing development work in the Philippines

This study looks into the experiences of five Evangelical faith-based organisations which are doing development work in Metro Manila, Philippines. Using an analytical framework informed by discourse theory and institutionalism, this study provides a description on each of four dimensions of the development work of FBOs: the first dimension is practices/actions, which relates to the program activities of FBOs; the second is community/actor, which refers to the actor’s network and his or her role in translating or transforming institutionalised discourses (e.g. models) that are put into practice/action; the third is discourse, which identifies teachings or ideas that may frame the understanding of actors; and the fourth is institutions, which identifies models and innovations adopted by actors. This study also explains how and why actors appropriate or contest, and translate or transform development models or innovations that they encounter through their interactions with other actors

Rural Revitalization in New Mexico

The Rural Education Bureau of the New Mexico Public Education Department has established a program to address the special needs of schools and communities in the extensive rural areas of the state. High poverty rates, depopulation and a general lack of viable economic opportunity have marked rural New Mexico for decades. The program underway aims at establishing holistic community socioeconomic revitalization at the grass roots level with the schools playing a leading role. Initiatives include community conversations with key leaders to determine necessary steps to take in encouraging economic growth and attracting businesses, the institution of entrepreneurship within the community, the transformation of the school into a community resource and the encouragement of place-based education within schools. In the second year of this program there are 13 school districts actively involved in the enhancement of their schools and community. The program adopted many of the principles for rural revitalization seen in the remote communities of South Australia

Adaptation of Microelectrode Array Technology for the Study of Anesthesia-Induced Neurotoxicity in the Intact Piglet Brain

Every year, millions of children undergo anesthesia for a multitude of procedures. However, studies in both animals and humans have called into question the safety of anesthesia in children, implicating anesthetics as potentially toxic to the brain in development. To date, no studies have successfully elucidated the mechanism(s) by which anesthesia may be neurotoxic. Animal studies allow investigation of such mechanisms, and neonatal piglets represent an excellent model to study these effects due to their striking developmental similarities to the human brain. This protocol adapts the use of enzyme-based microelectrode array (MEA) technology as a novel way to study the mechanism(s) of anesthesia-induced neurotoxicity (AIN). MEAs enable real-time monitoring of in vivo neurotransmitter activity and offer exceptional temporal and spatial resolution. It is hypothesized that anesthetic neurotoxicity is caused in part by glutamate dysregulation and MEAs offer a method to measure glutamate. The novel implementation of MEA technology in a piglet model presents a unique opportunity for the study of AIN

Capsaicin Nanoparticles as Therapeutic Agents against Gliomas

Capsaicin is an alkaloid molecule with outstanding biological activity. Several reports have shown that capsaicin exerts significant antitumoral effects in several cancer cell lines, including gliomas. However, its application has been very limited due to its hydrophobicity, low affinity, and short life span. Gliomas are a heterogeneous group of brain malignant tumors with increasing prevalence worldwide. Standard therapy against these tumors generally includes resection by surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy or their combination. However, elicitation of tumor resistance to chemical or radiation treatments remains one of the main challenges to be resolved, particularly in the case of glioblastomas. Nanotechnology is an innovative approach to the treatment of Central Nervous System diseases and especially to gliomas treatment. Indeed, the use of nanotherapeutic formulations offers several advantages over the conventional methods of drug delivery therapy. In this review, we analyzed the current literature regarding the development of capsaicin-loaded nanoparticles as a promising approach for the treatment of malignant brain tumors

Nanostructural study of sol-gel-derived zirconium oxides

Two sol-gel derived zirconia powders were prepared at pH = 0.5 and pH = 5.5. They were investigated as a function of temperature using mainly perturbed angular correlation spectroscopy. The aim was to elucidate the relationship between the nanoscopic configurations around Zr4+ ions and the morphology and structure of the powders. The highly porous material resulting from the solution at higher pH could be described mainly by defective and disordered, very hydrolyzed tetragonal arrays. As temperature increased, the amount of these arrays decreased while they became increasingly asymmetric, thus suggesting their superficial localization. The easy removal of hydroxyls led to the early appearance of the monoclinic phase. The gel obtained from the precursor at pH = 0.5 was entirely described by configurations still involving organic residues. After their calcination, the powder underwent a well-defined two-step hydroxyl removal thermal process leading to the crystallization of the tetragonal and the monoclinic phases. The thermal stability of the metastable tetragonal phase in the investigated powders seems to be controlled by their different capability to absorb oxygen.Facultad de Ciencias Exacta

The Problem of the Color Line: Spatial Access to Hospital Services for Minoritized Racial and Ethnic Groups

Examining how spatial access to health care varies across geography is key to documenting structural inequalities in the United States. In this article and the accompanying StoryMap, our team identified ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) with the largest share of minoritized racial and ethnic populations and measured distances to the nearest hospital offering emergency services, trauma care, obstetrics, outpatient surgery, intensive care, and cardiac care. In rural areas, ZCTAs with high Black or American Indian/Alaska Native representation were significantly farther from services than ZCTAs with high White representation. The opposite was true for urban ZCTAs, with high White ZCTAs being farther from most services. These patterns likely result from a combination of housing policies that restrict housing opportunities and federal health policies that are based on service provision rather than community need. The findings also illustrate the difficulty of using a single metric—distance—to investigate access to care on a national scale

Mesoscopic Modeling of the Encapsulation of Capsaicin by Lecithin/Chitosan Liposomal Nanoparticles

The transport of hydrophobic drugs in the human body exhibits complications due to the low solubility of these compounds. With the purpose of enhancing the bioavailability and biodistribution of such drugs, recent studies have reported the use of amphiphilic molecules, such as phospholipids, for the synthesis of nanoparticles or nanocapsules. Given that phospholipids can self-assemble in liposomes or micellar structures, they are ideal candidates to function as vehicles of hydrophobic molecules. In this work, we report mesoscopic simulations of nanoliposomes, constituted by lecithin and coated with a shell of chitosan. The stability of such structures and the efficiency of the encapsulation of capsaicin, as well as the internal and superficial distribution of capsaicin and chitosan inside the nanoliposome, were analyzed. The characterization of the system was carried out through density maps and the potentials of mean force for the lecithin-capsaicin, lecithin-chitosan, and capsaicin-chitosan interactions. The results of these simulations show that chitosan is deposited on the surface of the nanoliposome, as has been reported in some experimental works. It was also observed that a nanoliposome of approximately 18 nm in diameter is stable during the simulation. The deposition behavior was found to be influenced by a pattern of N-acetylation of chitosan

The Intersection of Rural Residence and Minority Race/Ethnicity in Cancer Disparities in the United States

One in every twenty-five persons in America is a racial/ethnic minority who lives in a rural area. Our objective was to summarize how racism and, subsequently, the social determinants of health disproportionately affect rural racial/ethnic minority populations, provide a review of the cancer disparities experienced by rural racial/ethnic minority groups, and recommend policy, research, and intervention approaches to reduce these disparities. We found that rural Black and American Indian/Alaska Native populations experience greater poverty and lack of access to care, which expose them to greater risk of developing cancer and experiencing poorer cancer outcomes in treatment and ultimately survival. There is a critical need for additional research to understand the disparities experienced by all rural racial/ethnic minority populations. We propose that policies aim to increase access to care and healthcare resources for these communities. Further, that observational and interventional research should more effectively address the intersections of rurality and race/ethnicity through reduced structural and interpersonal biases in cancer care, increased data access, more research on newer cancer screening and treatment modalities, and continued intervention and implementation research to understand how evidence-based practices can most effectively reduce disparities among these populations