Troubling Vulnerability: Designing with LGBT Young People's Ambivalence Towards Hate Crime Reporting

HCI is increasingly working with ?vulnerable? people yet there is a danger that the label of vulnerability can alienate and stigmatize the people such work aims to support. We report our study investigating the application of interaction design to increase rates of hate crime reporting amongst Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender young people. During design-led workshops participants expressed ambivalence towards reporting. While recognizing their exposure to hate crime they simultaneously rejected ascription as victim as implied in the act of reporting. We used visual communication design to depict the young people?s ambivalent identities and contribute insights on how these fail and succeed to account for the intersectional, fluid and emergent nature of LGBT identities through the design research process. We argue that by producing ambiguous designed texts, alongside conventional qualitative data, we ?trouble? our design research narratives as a tactic to disrupt static and reductive understandings of vulnerability within HCI

Hormone replacement therapy use dramatically increases breast oestrogen receptor expression in obese postmenopausal women

BACKGROUND: It is known that use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by postmenopausal women increases the risk of breast cancer. METHOD: In this study, oestrogen receptor (ER)-α expression is examined using standard immunoperoxidase technique. RESULTS: Normal breast samples of 11 Australian postmenopausal women have been included in the ER-α study; the result showed a strong correlation (r(2) = 0.80) between ER-α expression in normal breast epithelial cells and body mass index (BMI) in normal women who currently use HRT. CONCLUSION: This finding confirms that the possibility of increased risk of breast cancer associated with increased ER-α expression in normal breast epithelial cells, in turn associated with high BMI and the use of HRT

Breastfeeding, breast milk and viruses

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is seemingly consistent and compelling evidence that there is no association between breastfeeding and breast cancer. An assumption follows that milk borne viruses cannot be associated with human breast cancer.</p> <p>We challenge this evidence because past breastfeeding studies did not determine "exposure" of newborn infants to colostrum and breast milk.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a prospective review of 100 consecutive births of infants in the same centre to determine the proportion of newborn infants who were "exposed" to colostrum or breast milk, as distinct from being fully breast fed. We also report a review of the breastfeeding practices of mothers of over 87,000 newborn infants in the Australian State of New South Wales.</p> <p>This study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia). Approval 05063, 29 September 2005.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Virtually all (97 of 100) newborn infants in this centre were "exposed" to colostrum or breast milk whether or not they were fully breast fed. Between 82.2% to 98.7% of 87,000 newborn infants were "exposed" to colostrum or breast milk.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In some Western communities there is near universal exposure of new born infants to colostrum and breast milk. Accordingly it is possible for the transmission of human milk borne viruses. This is contrary to the widespread assumption that human milk borne viruses cannot be associated with breast cancer.</p

UBC 97 and ACI 318-02 Code Comparison - Summary Report

Introduction Recognizing there have been questions on the differences between the alternate slender wall design procedures in 1997 UBC and in ACI 318-02, the SEAOSC Board authorized a Task Group to provide a comprehensive review of the two design procedures. The ACI procedure was adopted by IBC 2000 and subsequent code editions. As quoted in ACI 318R-02 Commentary Section R14.8, Section 14.8 is based on the corresponding requirements in the UBC and experimental research of the Test Report by SCCACI-SEAOSC. This summary report includes review of source documents, code comparison, and background of the design provisions under UBC and under ACI, respectively. A comprehensive review of the 1980 test data was made in addition to analytical comparison of sample wall panel design under each of the two procedures. Pursuant to the comparative design and validation of the original data, a list of findings is presented in the Report. Other design considerations though not part of the code comparison are discussed in order to encourage further studies by other groups. The report concludes with recommendations to SEAOSC Board and proposed changes to ACI. Code Comparison Under 97 UBC Section 1914.8, the cracked moment is based on fr = 5 √ f ´c.; and in ACI 318-02 Section 14.8, the cracked moment is based on fr = 7.5 √ f ´c. This also means that the Mcr (UBC) = 2/3 Mcr (ACI) in the application of the two design procedures. In the 97 UBC, a linear interpolation between Δcr and Δn is permitted in obtaining Δs in order to simplify the slender wall panel design for Ms \u3e 5 √ f ´c Ig/yt. The ACI procedure employs effective moment of inertia and a magnified moment for the combined moment due to lateral and eccentric vertical load, also know as the P-Δ effect. Table 1 gives section by section comparison between the alternate slender wall design procedures. Review of 1980 Test Data This Task Group was able to review and re-analyze the original test data. Verification of the 1980 data using adjusted lateral force and deflection data was performed. The analytical result follows closely with the bilinear load deflection characteristic. Lateral deflection increases rapidly when the moment exceeds two-third (2/3) of Mcr (as defined by ACI). The calculated moments for each of the twelve test panel correlate closely with the empirical test data. The load deflection curves and plots for the low axial loads versus moment interaction curve further validate the UBC design procedure. ACI needs to improve its methodology in computing Mu and Ie so that computed results would follow a bilinear load deflection characteristic. Summary of Findings Summary of comparative design examples is given on Table 5. Design based on ACI procedure is normally controlled by strength with service load deflection less than Δcr. ACI procedure significantly under-estimates service load deflection in comparison to the UBC procedure with increase lateral force and/ or axial load. Where wall panel design based on ACI procedures meets strength and deflection limit, the corresponding wall panel calculation based on UBC procedure may exceed the deflection limit. Recommendations To calculate service load deflection, use E/1.4 for earthquake forces Recommend to appropriate enforcement agencies that adoption of the 2003 IBC provisions on alternate design of slender wall procedure should incorporate proposed changes to ACI 318-05 Section 14.8.4. Modification to ACI 318-05 Section 14.8.4 -delete equations (14-8) and (14-9) and the last paragraph in total, and replace with the following after the first paragraph: “Δs = 0.67Δ cr + (Ms –0.67Mcr )(Δn –0.67Δcr)÷ (Mn-0.67Mcr); for Ms \u3e 0.67Mcr (14-8) Δs = 5 Ms lc2 ÷ (48Ec Ig) ; for Ms\u3c.67Mcr (14-9) Send a letter to ACI-318 addressing the concerns in using the ACI alternate design of slender wall procedure and requesting ACI 318 to correct statements under Commentary R14.8

Effect of serviceability limits on optimal design of steel portal frames

The design of hot-rolled steel portal frames can be sensitive to serviceability deflection limits. In such cases, in order to reduce frame deflections, practitioners increase the size of the eaves haunch and / or the sizes of the steel sections used for the column and rafter members of the frame. This paper investigates the effect of such deflection limits using a real-coded niching genetic algorithm (RC-NGA) that optimizes frame weight, taking into account both ultimate as well as serviceability limit states. The results show that the proposed GA is efficient and reliable. Two different sets of serviceability deflection limits are then considered: deflection limits recommended by the Steel Construction Institute (SCI), which is based on control of differential deflections, and other deflection limits based on suggestions by industry. Parametric studies are carried out on frames with spans ranging between 15 m to 50 m and column heights between 5 m to 10 m. It is demonstrated that for a 50 m span frame, use of the SCI recommended deflection limits can lead to frame weights that are around twice as heavy as compared to designs without these limits

Generationing development

The articles in this special issue present a persuasive case for accounts of development to recognise the integral and fundamental roles played by age and generation. While the past two decades have witnessed a burgeoning of literature demonstrating that children and youth are impacted by development, and that they can and do participate in development, the literature has tended to portray young people as a special group whose perspectives should not be forgotten. By contrast, the articles collected here make the case that age and generation, as relational constructs, cannot be ignored. Appropriating the term ‘generationing’, the editors argue that a variety of types of age relations profoundly structure the ways in which societies are transformed through development – both immanent processes of neoliberal modernisation and the interventions of development agencies that both respond and contribute to these. Drawing on the seven empirical articles, I attempt to draw some of the ideas together into a narrative that further argues the case for ‘generationing’ but also identifies gaps, questions and implications for further research

Multicentre analysis of incidental findings on low-resolution CT attenuation correction images : an extended study

Objective: To review new incidental findings detected on low-resolution CT attenuation correction (CTAC) images acquired during single-photon emission CT-CT myocardial perfusion imaging as an extension to our initial study. Methods: CTAC images acquired as part of myocardial perfusion imaging performed using single-photon emission CT at four UK nuclear medicine centres were evaluated as part of a multicentre study. New incidental findings that were considered to be clinically significant were evaluated further. Positive-predictive value (PPV) was determined at the time of definitive diagnosis. Results: Out of 3485 patients, 962 (28%) patients had a positive finding on the CTAC image, of which 824 (24%) were new findings. 84 (2.4%) patients had findings that were considered clinically significant at the time of the CTAC report and which had not been previously diagnosed. However, only 10 (0.29%) of these had findings that were confirmed as clinically significant, with the potential to be detrimental to patient outcome, after follow-up and definitive diagnosis. Conclusion: The overall PPV from all centres over the 2-year period was 12%. Each centre achieved what we considered to be low PPVs with no significant difference between the present and initial studies. The additional data from the combined studies show that, statistically, there is no significant difference between the PPVs from any of the centres. We conclude that routine reporting of CTAC images is not beneficial. Advances in knowledge: This study combined with the previous study offers a unique evaluation of new clinically significant incidental findings on low-resolution CT images in an attempt to determine the benefit of reporting the CTAC images

A Binary Millisecond Pulsar in Globular Cluster NGC6544

We report the detection of a new 3.06 ms binary pulsar in the globular cluster NGC6544 using a Fourier-domain ``acceleration'' search. With an implied companion mass of ~0.01 solar masses and an orbital period of only P_b~1.7 hours, it displays very similar orbital properties to many pulsars which are eclipsed by their companion winds. The orbital period is the second shortest of known binary pulsars after 47 Tuc R. The measured flux density of 1.3 +/- 0.4 mJy at 1332 MHz indicates that the pulsar is almost certainly the known steep-spectrum point source near the core of NGC6544.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letters on 11 October 2000, 5 page