Context and impact of medium of instruction on attitudes, motivation and academic performance: Secondary school children in Hong Kong

The thesis is an investigation of how medium of instruction (MOI) as a factor interacts with relevant socio-cultural contextual factors to create impacts on the attitudes, motivation and academic performance of secondary school children studying in two branches of the same school, one with Chinese as MOI and one with English as MOI, called MOI bifurcation. It attempts to use both quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques to investigate the impacts of the streaming of students to learn either in their first language or the second language on the attitudinal, motivational as well as behavioural development of students of the two respective MOI streams. The setting for the thesis was the secondary sector of Hong Kong, a city of People's Republic of China with the unique presence of two dominant languages, namely, Chinese, the first language of the majority of the population, and English, the socially and economically powerful second language. Subjects were 213 male and 188 female students from three secondary schools with Chinese as the medium of instruction (CMI), who were allocated to either the Chinese stream or the English stream (EMI) upon transition to Secondary 4 being the penultimate year of the 5 year secondary system. The subjects shared similar cultural and educational backgrounds, all with at least 12 years of education learning through the Chinese medium. Results revealed that differences were consistently identified between the students of the two MOI groups, both immediately upon and some time after the transition to the bifurcation settings, in their attitudinal as well as behavioural development, and in their self-reported academic performance. It was also found that the differences identified were found to either continue or grow in strength in the course of time, though some of the differences only emerged at a later stage. Findings also indicated that in a context where the differences between the two learning media are substantial in terms of status and educational values, the MOI streaming had a unique and more positive impact on students studying through the high power second language (i.e. English), e.g. more favourable attitudes towards English, higher level of L2 motivation, better self-concept and an inclination to a higher level of internality. On the other hand, those studying in their native but low status mother-tongue were found to be more susceptible to less favourable development in the above aspects, in comparison with their EMI counterparts

Planet.Health: An Ecosystem Approach to Imagine and Coordinate for Planetary Health Futures

Planet.Health addresses imagination and coordination challenges for planetary health through innovative approaches to social organising. This report presents the findings from the inaugural Planet.Health event in 2022, including the Planet.Health unconference. An unconference is a participant-driven event format that provides flexibility for emergent ideas and connections. In this (un)conference report, we share the challenges, achievements, and lessons learned during the initial year of activities in the leadup to and following the Planet.Health unconference event. We also discuss how the intersection of web3 and planetary health—a major focus of the first year—provides an alternative lens for envisioning, innovating, and coordinating beyond conventional social and institutional frameworks. We explore the potential impact of web3 technologies and decentralised social, economic, and financial networks and highlight the implications of these approaches for addressing planetary crises and supporting a flourishing human–environment relationship. As a new contribution to the planetary health field, this work emphasises the importance of building decentralised systems to foster creative actions and inspire global engagement for planetary wellbeing. The report concludes with some practical insights on how we begin to build and sustain decentralised social networks, including a discussion of the benefits and limitations of these approaches

Magnetic resonance imaging 3t and total fibrotic volume in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

INTRODUCTION: Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common renal hereditary disorder. Several authors have attempted to identify a kidney damage marker for predicting the prognosis and the effectiveness of therapy in ADPKD. The aim of this study was to identify and quantify in ADPKD, through a novel MR protocol with 3 Tesla (MRI 3Tesla), the presence of parenchymal fibrotic tissue at early stage of disease, able to correlate the glomerular filtrate and to predict the loss of the function renal. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 15 ADPKD patients undergone to renal MRI 3Tesla at T0 and revaluated after follow up (T1) of 5 years. We have evaluated renal function, plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC), insulin resistance and surrogate markers of atherosclerosis (carotid intima media thickness (IMT), ankle/brachial index (ABI) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI). RESULTS: Our study showed a significant negative correlation between total kidney volume and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) during observational observation (p<0.02). Moreover, we showed a negative correlation between eGFR with Total Fibrotic Volume (TFV) (p<0.04) and Total Perfusion Volume/Total kidney Volume(<0.02). Moreover TFV was correlated positively with PAC (p<0.05), insulin values (p<0.05), ABI (p <0.05) and LVMI(p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The MRI 3Tesla, despite the high costs, could be considered an useful and non-invasive method in the evaluation of fibrotic tissue and progression of the disease in ADPKD patients. Further clinical trials on larger group are due to confirm the results of this pilot study, suggesting that MRI 3Tesla can be useful to evaluate the effectiveness of new therapeutic strategies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Influence of Weapon Types on the Patterns and Outcomes of Violent Encounters

Rapport de stage présenté à l'école de Criminologie de la Faculté des arts et sciences en vue de l'obtention du grade de Maître ès sciences (M.Sc.) en criminologie option analyse criminologiqueEn collaboration avec le Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), la présente étude vise à bonifier les connaissances quant au caractère structurant de l'arme à feu lors de la réalisation de crimes violents. Plus précisément, cette étude identifie les facteurs associés à l’utilisation d’une arme à feu dans un contexte de crimes violents et estime son effet sur le risque de blessures mortelles et blessures non mortelles. Les données utilisées pour l’étude proviennent du Module d’information policière (MIP) pour la période 2011-2012. Les données furent analysées à l’aide de deux stratégies principales. Premièrement, des régressions logistiques ont permis d’identifier les facteurs associés à l’utilisation d’une arme lors de l’occurrence d’un crime violent. Deuxièmement, l’effet moyen de l’arme à feu sur le risque de décès et de blessures non mortelles fut estimé à l’aide d’une méthode nommée le « propensity score matching (PSM) ». Il s’agit d’une stratégie statistique qui tente de reproduire les conditions des recherches expérimentales en réponse à l'absence de randomisation dans la plupart des recherches dans le domaine des sciences sociales. Les résultats montrent que les armes à feu sont utilisées principalement lors de la réalisation de crimes liés aux groupes criminels ayant pour cible des victimes plutôt non vulnérables (de jeunes hommes accompagnés d’autres personnes). L’arme à feu leur confère tout de même un avantage en ce sens qu’elle augmente le risque de décès de la victime lors des altercations tout en diminuant le risque de blessures, notamment lors des vols à main armée. Les résultats indiquent que l’arme à feu confère un avantage significatif, même entre les mains des délinquants les plus puissants. Les résultats suggèrent également que les autres armes ne sont pas des substituts équivalents à l’arme à feu. De même, l’arme à feu constitue une menace suffisante qui ne nécessite pas l’infliction de blessures supplémentaires lors de la réalisation de vols qualifiés.In collaboration with the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), this study aims to improve the knowledge about the structuring effect of firearms on criminal violence. This study first identifies factors associated with firearms use in violent crimes and second, estimates the risk of fatal and non-fatal injuries associated with gun use. Data used in the present study come from the Module d’information policière (MIP), for the period of 2011 to 2012. Data were analyzed using a two-step strategy. First, logistic regressions were conducted to pinpoint factors associated with firearm use in violent crime. Second, estimates of the average treatment effect were computed using the propensity score matching (PSM) technique. PSM is an innovative statistical strategy that attempts to reproduce conditions of controlled experiments when cases were not randomized in the first place. In general, results show that firearms are more frequently used in gang-related crimes where individuals attack relatively non-vulnerable targets (young males accompanied by other persons). Despite these characteristics, firearm use increases the risk of fatal injuries in violent altercations, but lessens the risk of non-fatal injuries, among other things, in the case of robberies. Findings establish that firearms facilitate the perpetration of violent crimes, even in the hands of the strongest offenders. Results also suggest that other weapons are poor substitutes for firearms. Although the findings cannot fully corroborate firearms as the great equalizer, these weapons do confer several advantages to their user(s). Firearms also appear to be a sufficient threat in the case of robberies, where additional injuries are not necessary to successfully commit the crime

Moltiplicazione in vitro di <i>Salvia desoleana</i> Atzei e Picci

The Salvia desoleana Atzei and Picci is an endemic species of the Sardinia, perennial, evergreen, with lignified epigeo stock. It is one camefita and, after a short period of rest, it emits, from gems in first 20-30 cm of the stalk, coppers that shall flowering in spring-summer. The cultivated plants persist for numerous years. The parts of the plant used for the extraction of essential oils are the inflorescenze and leaves, time of collection on July. To the plant, the following propriety have been ascripted: antipiretyc, antispasmodic, astringent, hypertensive, stimulating and tonic; coleretic property; peripheral analgesic activity, antiinflammatory activity, antimicrobic property and some depressing effects on the centraI nervous system. It has been demonstrated that it induces apoptosys. It has been performed a study of approach to the adaptability to the cultivation in vitro of the species, in order to carry out the propagation of a high number of plants. The substrates use you in the experimentation were base on basal salts and vitamins of Murashige and Skoog. Lengthening of the buds in cultivation has been taken pIace on an substrates. Formation of callus to the base of the explants has been observed in NAA and 6BA; multiplication on substrates containing NAA and 6BA or IBA. The observed factor of multiplication is of 2-3 new buds for bud in cultivation in the first month, increased to 20 in the second month. It has been induced formation of roots in the buds in cultivation on containing substrate IAA

Beliefs and attitudes among Italian high school students toward people with severe mental disorders

The negative attitudes surrounding mental disorders and their treatment are a major obstacle to the correct identification and treatment of emerging psychopathologies. The purpose of this study was to investigate mental health literacy in a large and representative sample of high school students in Italy, via a booklet containing several questionnaires delivered to 1032 teenagers. The items in the questionnaires probed knowledge about mental health and illness, stigmatization, stereotypes, behaviors, opinions, and attitudes. In general, the students had a reasonable knowledge of mental disorders and were able to distinguish these from somatic disorders. However, a large portion of the students nourished some misconceptions about mental disorders and was also rather skeptical about the effectiveness of treatment or the chance of recovery for people with severe mental disorders. Nevertheless, roughly half of the students reported being willing to provide help to someone with a mental disorder when in need. Poor mental health literacy is a major barrier to seeking help and receiving effective treatment. Young people are the ideal target of raising awareness and antistigma campaigns because they are at a higher risk for developing a psychopathology

Improvement of Myocardial Function Following Catheter-Based Renal Denervation in Heart Failure

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Reflections on the Arts, Environment, and Culture After Ten Years of The Goose

To mark the tenth anniversary of The Goose, we asked prominent ecologically-minded scholars, writers, artists, and educators from across Canada to reflect on the relationship between the arts, culture, and the environment. Their comments illuminate a wide range of triumphs and tensions, from the politics and practices of environmentalist writing and art, to the connections between the environment and matters of diversity and justice, to the past and future of ALECC (Association for Literature, Environment, and Culture in Canada), to the world of a single poem

Bentonite- and Palygorskite-Based Gels for Topical Drug Delivery Applications

Bentonite or palygorskite-based hydrogels have recently been suggested as a strategy to increase bioavailability and control the retention and release of therapeutic candidates. In this work, clay-based hydrogels loaded with diclofenac acid nanocrystals have been successfully designed and developed. The aim was to improve diclofenac solubility, its dissolution rate and to enhance its local bioavailability after topical application. For this purpose, diclofenac acid nanocrystals were prepared by wet media milling technology and then loaded into inorganic hydrogels based on bentonite and/or palygorskite. Diclofenac acid nanocrystals were characterized by morphology, size, and zeta potential. Moreover, rheological behavior, morphology, solid state, release studies, and in vitro skin penetration/permeation of diclofenac acid nanocrystals-loaded hydrogels were performed. The hydrogels were characterized by a crystalline structure, and demonstrated that the inclusion of diclofenac in clay-based hydrogels resulted in an increased thermal stability. The presence of both palygorskite and bentonite reduced nanocrystal mobility, and consequently its release and penetration into the skin. On the other hand, bentonite- or palygorskite-based hydrogels revealed great potential as an alternative strategy to enhance topical bioavailability of DCF nanocrystals, enhancing their penetration to the deeper skin layers