Genetic variability of the 16S rRNA gene of Nocardia brasiliensis, the most common causative agent of actinomycetoma in Latin America and the Caribbean

Mycetoma is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016. It is characterized by the progressive growth of nodules and granulomatous lesions on the legs, arms, and trunk. It is potentially disfiguring and causes disability or amputations in working-age people from marginalized areas. The causative agents can be fungi (eumycetoma) or actinobacteria (actinomycetoma), the latter being the most common in America and Asia. Nocardia brasiliensis is the most important causal agent of actinomycetoma in the Americas. Taxonomic problems have been reported when identifying this species, so this study aimed to detect the 16S rRNA gene variations in N. brasiliensis strains using an in silico enzymatic restriction technique. The study included strains from clinical cases of actinomycetoma in Mexico, isolated from humans and previously identified as N. brasiliensis by traditional methods. The strains were characterized microscopically and macroscopically, then subjected to DNA extraction and amplification of the 16S rRNA gene by PCR. The amplification products were sequenced, and consensus sequences were constructed and used for genetic identification and in silico restriction enzyme analysis with the New England BioLabs® NEBcutter program. All study strains were molecularly identified as N. brasiliensis; however, in silico restriction analysis detected a diversity in the restriction patterns that were finally grouped and subclassified into 7 ribotypes. This finding confirms the existence of subgroups within N. brasiliensis. The results support the need to consider N. brasiliensis as a complex species

Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI <18·5 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). For schoolaged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI <2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference) and obesity (BMI >2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesit

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions

Responding to Gender-based Violence in Scotland: The Scope of the Gender Equality Duty to Drive Cultural and Practical Change

This piece of research, undertaken for the Equality and Human Rights Commission by the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research explores some of the arguments for and against a gender aggravation in Scots criminal law before considering the evidence thus far of the impact the Gender Equality Duty (GED) has had on Scotland’s criminal justice system, and makes a number of useful recommendations for the future. This research has its roots in well-established policy debates in Scotland. Following the passage of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003, which introduced a new statutory aggravation for crimes motivated by religious prejudice, the then Scottish Executive convened a working group to explore and make recommendations on whether there was a case for similar provision for other social groups. The report andrecommendations of the Hate Crime Working Group, published in 2004, recognised that the debate to introduce gender aggravation was one of the most contested issues which it had looked at, but it did not believe that at that stage it could recommend introducing such a provision. These debates re-emerged with Patrick Harvie’s member’s bill which was to become the Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Act 2009. The Equality and Human Rights Commission, along with many organisations in the women’s sector in Scotland, stated in its evidence on the bill that it did not believe that a statutory gender aggravation would be an effective additional criminal justice response to identifying and tackling crime motivated by gender prejudice. This of course begs the question about what is required to better address these types of crime. This piece of research aims to be a useful contribution to this debate

Supporting Teachers’ Understanding of Innovative Maker Pedagogies During a Pandemic Through the Design of Ethical and Relational Online Professional Learning

This qualitative research explores the challenges involved in designing online professional learning (OPL) for teachers with a focus on innovative pedagogies, specifically maker-centred practices. This OPL was designed in response to teachers’ expressed need for support to the government mandated pivot to emergency remote teaching (ERT) during the 2020 pandemic. The research question addressed is: What are the many ways in which we create the conditions for meaningful, authentic, and respectful professional learning focused on innovative practices, such as making, in an online environment? In this study, the conceptual model considers human-centred design and Nodding’s (2013) relational practice in the context of the Ontario College of Teachers’ (OCT) four-part conception of professional ethics. Implications include that designers: (a) can enhance teacher learning by highlighting the connection between empathy, perspective-taking, and techno-pedagogical competence with making; (b) should focus the sessions on common tools, as well as transferable activities and curriculum, to support early success; and (c) design with teachers, which requires the intentional design of conditions for teacher learning, targeted supports and scaffolds for learning, awareness of resources needed, and provision of appropriate instructional guidance and expertise.Cette recherche fondée sur l’approche qualitative explore les défis liés à la conception d’une formation professionnelle en ligne (FPEL) pour les enseignants et les enseignantes dans le domaine du bricolage numérique et physique. Conçue pour répondre aux besoins exprimés par le personnel enseignant dans le cadre du virage obligatoire vers l’enseignement à distance au cours de la pandémie globale de 2020, notre recherche aborde la question suivante : comment peut-on créer une formation professionnelle à distance d’envergure, authentique et respectueuse afin d’aider le personnel enseignant à développer les approches pédagogiques novatrices telles que les pédagogies Bricoleur? Encadré par les normes de la déontologie pour la profession enseignante déterminées par l’Ordre des enseignantes et des enseignants de l’Ontario, nos analyses reposent sur des principes de conception centrés sur l’humain, et sur la notion de pratique relationnelle de Noddings (2013). Nos analyses permettent d’observer que : (a) lorsque les concepteurs le rendent explicite, le lien entre l’empathie, la prise de perspective et la compétence techno-pédagogique peut appuyer l’apprentissage; (b) les concepteurs devraient miser sur les outils utilisés par tous les participants et participantes, de même que sur des activités flexibles qui s’appliquent à tous les milieux scolaires pour favoriser des succès rapides; et (c) la co-conception d’une formation professionnelle en ligne avec le personnel enseignant nécessite la mise en place intentionnelle de conditions propices à l’apprentissage, y compris le soutien ciblé, l’échafaudage des pratiques techno-pédagogiques, l’attention aux ressources nécessaires et l’accès aux conseils et à l’expertise pédagogiques adéquats

Feasibility of a Clinical Trial of Vision Therapy for Treatment of Amblyopia

North elevation of the west pavilion, general view; n 1715-1724 a two-storey palace was built with a central section flanked by two projecting bays; the original architect is unknown, but further construction followed the designs of Le Blond and Niccolò Michetti. Empress Elizabeth (reigned 1741-1762) commissioned Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli to enlarge the palace. Between 1745 and 1755 he raised the building to three storeys and added three-storey wings facing the Upper Park, with galleries ending in two domed pavilions. Of the early 18th-century interiors, the Tsar’s study, with oak panelling in Rococo style by Nicolas Pineau, remains unchanged, as does the oak staircase. Rastrelli designed five staterooms and a series of reception-rooms, which were sumptuously decorated with gilded wood-carving, ceilings painted by Bartolomeo Tarsia, Ivan Vishnyakov and others, mirrors, decorative parquet floors, vases and statues. In 1763 the Chinese lobbies were decorated to a design by Jean-Baptiste Vallen de la Motte, with lacquered panels and paintings by A. Perizinotti and the brothers Aleksey Bel’sky (1730-1796) and Ivan Bel’sky (1719-1799). In the second half of the 18th century the state Chesma Hall, Throne Room, White Dining-room and other ceremonial reception-rooms were reworked in a Neo-classical style by Yury Fel’ten and Vallen de la Motte. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ (accessed 6/17/2009

La singularité de la littérature de la diaspora / Les modalités de dialogue entre les littératures de l'intérieur et de l'extérieur.: Le Vietnam contemporain : Littérature, Cinéma, Linguistique (Colloque international, INALCO, Paris 2014).

Fonds audiovisuel du programme "ESCoM-AAR" (Equipe Sémiotique Cognitive et nouveaux Médias - Archives Audiovisuelles de la Recherche. Paris, France, 2000 - 2016).«Le Vietnam contemporain : Littérature, cinéma, linguistique» est le thème d’un premier colloque international dans ce domaine, qui s'est tenu en mars 2014 à l’Inalco. Cet événement, organisé par huit universités (Inalco, Université Paris-Diderot, Université Paris-Est Créteil, Université Aix-Marseille, Université Nationale du Vietnam, San Francisco State University, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies et Chulalongkorn University), est destiné à présenter l’état des lieux de la recherche en littérature, cinéma et linguistique du Vietnam contemporain.Premier colloque international dans ce domaine, il associe chercheurs, écrivains et cinéastes. Il prend diverses formes : contributions scientifiques, rencontre-débat, lectures, projection-débat autour de six axes :1. « L’émergence d’une nouvelle génération d’auteurs : écritures et thématiques »2. « Récit & image : le cinéma comme nouvelle approche de la société »3. « La littérature vietnamienne dans le monde : traduction et réception »4. « La singularité de la littérature de la diaspora »5. « Différentes voix de la création vietnamienne d’expression française »6. « Faits linguistiques : langue vietnamienne contemporaine. Regard contrastif avec le français »Cet événement s'inscrit dans le cadre des années croisées France-Vietnam 2013-2014.Hội thảo quốc tế « Việt Nam đương đại : Văn học, Điện ảnh, Ngôn ngữ » diễn ra từ ngày 17 đến hết ngày 19 tháng 3 năm 2014 tại Học viện Ngôn ngữ và Văn minh phương Đông Paris đã thu hút sự tham gia của đông đảo các nhà nghiên cứu, nhà văn, nhà ngôn ngữ, dịch giả và các nhà làm phim đến từ nhiều quốc gia trên thế giới. Hội thảo nhằm mục đích giới thiệu và đánh giá những nghiên cứu trong các lĩnh vực văn chương, điện ảnh và ngôn ngữ và diễn ra dưới nhiều hình thức : bàn tròn, tham luận, chiếu phim và thảo luận, đọc sách.Sự kiện này là một hoạt động trong khuôn khổ Năm Việt Nam tại Pháp 2013-2014