Class, race and ethnicity and information avoidance among cancer survivors

Background: Information seeking may increase cancer survivors' ability to make decisions and cope with the disease, but many also avoid cancer information after diagnosis. The social determinants and subsequent communication barriers that lead to avoidance have not been explored. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of social determinants on information avoidance among cancer survivors. Methods: We examined how health information avoidance is associated with structural and individual factors in a mail-based survey of 519 cancer survivors. Factor analysis was conducted to determine barriers to obtaining cancer information, and multivariable logistic regression models by gender were run to analyze social determinants of avoidance from an intersectional approach. Results: Participants who were younger, female, had greater debt and lower income, and had difficulty finding suitable information were more likely to avoid information. The probability of information avoidance increased when survivors reported barriers to information use or comprehension. Conclusion: These results indicate that survivors' information avoidance may be driven, in part, by social determinants, particularly among those at the intersection of multiple social status categories. Customized strategies are needed that maximize the likelihood that information will be used by vulnerable groups such as those from a lower socioeconomic position

Superhero comics and the digital communications circuit: a case study of <i>Strong Female Protagonist</i>

This article examines the ongoing superhero webcomic Strong Female Protagonist (2012-present), by Brannon Lee Mulligan and Molly Ostertag and employs it as a case study to analyse the new communications circuit created by the digital production and delivery of comics. It adopts a perspective drawn from Book History to frame the communication model of print comics and to evaluate how webcomics such as Strong Female Protagonist redefine the role of readers, authors and publishers

Control of rotorcraft retreating blade stall using air-jet vortex generators

A series of low-speed wind tunnel tests were carried out on an oscillating airfoil fitted with two rows of air-jet vortex generators (AJVGs). The airfoil used had an RAE 9645 section and the two spanwise arrays of AJVGs were located at x/c=0.12 and 0.62. The devices and their distribution were chosen to assess their ability to modify/control dynamic stall; the goal being to enhance the aerodynamic performance of helicopter rotors on the retreating blade side of the disc. The model was pitched about the quarter chord with a reduced frequency (k) of 0.1 in a sinusoidal motion defined by a=15o+10sin_ t. The measured data indicate that, for continuous blowing from the front row of AJVGs with a momentum blowing coefficient (C &#956;) greater than 0.008, modifications to the stalling process are encouraging. In particular, the pitching moment behavior exhibits delayed stall and there is a marked reduction in the normal force hysteresis

Experimental investigation of the initial regime in fingering electrodeposition: dispersion relation and velocity measurements

Recently a fingering morphology, resembling the hydrodynamic Saffman-Taylor instability, was identified in the quasi-two-dimensional electrodeposition of copper. We present here measurements of the dispersion relation of the growing front. The instability is accompanied by gravity-driven convection rolls at the electrodes, which are examined using particle image velocimetry. While at the anode the theory presented by Chazalviel et al. describes the convection roll, the flow field at the cathode is more complicated because of the growing deposit. In particular, the analysis of the orientation of the velocity vectors reveals some lag of the development of the convection roll compared to the finger envelope.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, REVTEX 4; reference adde

A pragmatic, phase III, multisite, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm, dose increment randomised trial of regular, low-dose extended-release morphine for chronic breathlessness: Breathlessness, Exertion And Morphine Sulfate (BEAMS) study proto

© Article author(s). Introduction Chronic breathlessness is highly prevalent and distressing to patients and families. No medication is registered for its symptomatic reduction. The strongest evidence is for regular, low-dose, extended-release (ER) oral morphine. A recent large phase III study suggests the subgroup most likely to benefit have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and modified Medical Research Council breathlessness scores of 3 or 4. This protocol is for an adequately powered, parallel-Arm, placebo-controlled, multisite, factorial, block-randomised study evaluating regular ER morphine for chronic breathlessness in people with COPD. Methods and analysis The primary question is what effect regular ER morphine has on worst breathlessness, measured daily on a 0-10 numerical rating scale. Uniquely, the coprimary outcome will use a FitBit to measure habitual physical activity. Secondary questions include safety and, whether upward titration after initial benefit delivers greater net symptom reduction. Substudies include longitudinal driving simulation, sleep, caregiver, health economic and pharmacogenetic studies. Seventeen centres will recruit 171 participants from respiratory and palliative care. The study has five phases including three randomisation phases to increasing doses of ER morphine. All participants will receive placebo or active laxatives as appropriate. Appropriate statistical analysis of primary and secondary outcomes will be used. Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval has been obtained. Results of the study will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals, findings presented at relevant conferences and potentially used to inform registration of ER morphine for chronic breathlessness. Trial registration number NCT02720822; Pre-results

Successful recruitment to trials : findings from the SCIMITAR+ Trial

BACKGROUND: Randomised controlled trials (RCT) can struggle to recruit to target on time. This is especially the case with hard to reach populations such as those with severe mental ill health. The SCIMITAR+ trial, a trial of a bespoke smoking cessation intervention for people with severe mental ill health achieved their recruitment ahead of time and target. This article reports strategies that helped us to achieve this with the aim of aiding others recruiting from similar populations. METHODS: SCIMITAR+ is a multi-centre pragmatic two-arm parallel-group RCT, which aimed to recruit 400 participants with severe mental ill health who smoke and would like to cut down or quit. The study recruited primarily in secondary care through community mental health teams and psychiatrists with a smaller number of participants recruited through primary care. Recruitment opened in October 2015 and closed in December 2016, by which point 526 participants had been recruited. We gathered information from recruiting sites on strategies which led to the successful recruitment in SCIMITAR+ and in this article present our approach to trial management along with the strategies employed by the recruiting sites. RESULTS: Alongside having a dedicated trial manager and trial management team, we identified three main themes that led to successful recruitment. These were: clinicians with a positive attitude to research; researchers and clinicians working together; and the use of NHS targets. The overriding theme was the importance of relationships between both the researchers and the recruiting clinicians and the recruiting clinicians and the participants. CONCLUSIONS: This study makes a significant contribution to the limited evidence base of real-world cases of successful recruitment to RCTs and offers practical guidance to those planning and conducting trials. Building positive relationships between clinicians, researchers and participants is crucial to successful recruitment

Emission of Volatile Organic Compounds After Herbivory from Trifolium pratense (L.) Under Laboratory and Field Conditions

Plants emit a wide range of volatile organic compounds in response to damage by herbivores, and many of the compounds have been shown to attract the natural enemies of insect herbivores or serve for inter- and intra-plant communication. Most studies have focused on volatile emission in the laboratory while little is known about emission patterns in the field. We studied the emission of volatiles by Trifolium pratense (red clover) under both laboratory and field conditions. The emission of 24 compounds was quantified in the laboratory, of which eight showed increased emission rates after herbivory by Spodoptera littoralis caterpillars, including (E)-β-ocimene, the most abundant compound, (Z)-β-ocimene, linalool, (E)-β-caryophyllene, (E,E)-α-farnesene, 4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene (DMNT), 1-octen-3-ol, and methyl salicylate (MeSA). While most of these compounds have been reported as herbivore-induced volatiles from a wide range of plant taxa, 1-octen-3-ol seems to be a characteristic volatile of legumes. In the field, T. pratense plants with varying herbivore damage growing in established grassland communities emitted only 13 detectable compounds, and the correlation between herbivore damage and volatile release was more variable than in the laboratory. For example, the emission of (E)-β-ocimene, (Z)-β-ocimene, and DMNT actually declined with damage, while decanal exhibited increased emission with increasing herbivory. Elevated light and temperature increased the emission of many compounds, but the differences in light and temperature conditions between the laboratory and the field could not account for the differences in emission profiles. Our results indicate that the release of volatiles from T. pratense plants in the field is likely to be influenced by additional biotic and abiotic factors not measured in this study. The elucidation of these factors may be important in understanding the physiological and ecological functions of volatiles in plants

As possibilidades investigativas da aprendizagem histórica de jovens estudantes a partir das histórias em quadrinhos

Resumo O objetivo deste estudo é investigar como a verdade histórica e a intersubjetividade organizam a forma como os jovens tomam o conhecimento para si. A investigação é estruturada nas relações entre a cultura jovem, as histórias em quadrinhos e a cultura histórica de uma sociedade (RÜSEN, 2009). Analisam-se possibilidades investigativas existentes na relação entre as histórias em quadrinhos e a aprendizagem histórica de jovens estudantes. Abordam-se os tipos de investigações sobre como as narrativas históricas gráficas entraram na cultura escolar: 1) os quadrinhos ligados ao mercado das histórias em quadrinhos ficcionais com temas históricos; 2) os livros didáticos; 3) as histórias em quadrinhos didáticas na forma de paradidáticos; 4) as histórias em quadrinhos produzidas pelos próprios estudantes; e 5) as narrativas gráficas autobiográficas

Cold comfort? Reconceiving the practices of bathing in British self-build eco-homes

Living sustainably involves a broad spectrum of practices, from relying on a technological fix to a deep green vision. The latter is often articulated by advocates and critics alike as involving shifting to a simpler lifestyle that dispenses with some of the (perceived) frivolous or environmentally damaging attachments to luxury or convenience. This article explores practices of reconceiving comfort in the context of the social and material architectures of eco-housing. Comfort is defined as an ongoing process, a negotiation between different elements (e.g., climate, materials and bodies) in a particular place. This article uses three case studies of self-built eco-communities in Britain (Green Hills, Landmatters, and Tinkers Bubble) and analyzes their bathrooms and bathing practices. In the eco-communities' bathing practices, comfort was reconceived as not being reliant on particular facilities, furniture, or temperature, as not private but as collective and shared, and as an embodied relation. This article demonstrates the relationality of comfort, how it is therefore possible to reconceive comfort, and how comfort can be understood as a practice. This focus on practices also challenges social practice theories to more purposefully engage with those already living a highly ecological lifestyle to understand how radical change is navigated