Teachers\u27 Guide to Scott Chantler\u27s Mini Comic All Stars: The True Story of the 1934 Chatham Coloured All-Stars

This Teachers\u27 Guide is intended to accompany Scott Chantler\u27s mini comic All Stars: the True Story of the 1934 Chatham Coloured All-Stars. This comic and teachers\u27 guide were produced as part of the Telling the Stories of Race and Sports in Canada project, funded by a SSHRC Connections Grant and supported by the University of WIndsor, the Chatham Kent Black Historical Society and the Essex County Black Research Society

The role of culture in mobile application adoption amongst diabetes patients in previously disadvantaged communities in the Western Cape

Magister Commercii - MComIntroduction: Diabetes mellitus is a global health problem with a high mortality rate. Self-management is an essential part of diabetes management and it includes self-care behaviour tasks such as healthy eating, being active and taking prescribed medication. In the current digital age, the use of technology for self- management of the disease is an important consideration. As a first step towards this, individuals have to first accept and use the technology. However, the literature indicates low levels of technology use amongst diabetic patients in environments with low socio- economic indicators and amongst minority groups. Previous studies suggest that there are many factors that influence technology acceptance such as economic, social and cultural factors. Mobile health (m-health) received recognition in healthcare literature in recent years and are known for delivering effective and efficient interventions to patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes. An investigation into m-health acceptance for diabetes management is vital as it impacts the achievement of development goals, including the United Nations’ SDG 3. This research posits that the culture of patients is a possible reason for the low acceptance and use of technology. Research based on the proliferation of culture as a determinant for diabetes self-management at an individual level is limited, especially in the South African context. The main research question pursued in the study reported in this thesis is How does culture influence m-health acceptance of diabetic patients in disadvantaged communities? Research design and methodology: Using an interpretivist paradigm, a case study research design provided the basis to collect data from 20 diabetes patients in Mitchells Plain and Strandfontein. The theoretical model that was used as a lens for investigation comprised a juxtaposition of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and Unified- Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2). The analysis of the qualitative data was undertaken with Atlas Ti, using a thematic content analysis process. Results: Eight themes emerged from the data and key results of the study indicate that opinions towards medical practitioners, which reflects power distance has a positive impact on users and non-users. Diabetic patients comply with the opinions of their doctors as they fear disagreeing with them. As such, this may result in having a positive influence on a participant’s ability to adopt and use mobile applications. Caregiver influence, which reflects femininity, has a negative influence on users as a result of diabetic patients being responsible for taking care of their family and others are both home carers and providers for their families. This indicates that patients are more concerned with the quality of their life and family than with the adoption mobile applications. Future work: It is recommended that research should be conducted in other areas in the Western Cape, specifically in the Cape flats to see whether the same sorts of results will be achieved in different communities. This could help policymakers and application developers tailor mobile applications for this target population

Highlighting the gaps in hazard and risk assessment of unregulated Endocrine Active Substances in surface waters: retinoids as a European case study

Regulatory hazard and risk assessment of endocrine-active substances currently specifies four modes of action: interference with sex hormone (oestrogen, androgen) pathways, steroidogenesis, and thyroid hormone signalling. This does not encompass the full complexity of the endocrine system and its extended interfaces with environmental pollutants that can potentially disrupt the carefully maintained balance. Here we take the retinoid signalling pathway as a European case study for both, under- and unregulated endocrine pathways and outline the different levels of interference, discuss their adversity, and indicate crosstalk to other signalling pathways. Retinoid compounds already exist in drinking water sources, occur naturally in cyanobacterial blooms and/or enter surface waters via wastewater discharge, where they pose a potential hazard to the environment and human health - a situation that can be expected to worsen due to water shortages induced by climate-change and population growth. We briefly review relevant aspects of current endocrine disruptor (ED) testing for regulatory purposes and then expand upon the needs for inclusion of disruption of retinoid signalling in (ED) regulatory safety assessment contributing to adverse health outcomes that include cognitive function and neurological disease. An overview of developmental effects of retinoid signalling disruption across species highlights critical processes and potential crosstalk with other signalling pathways. A focused weight of evidence-based evaluation of the biologically plausible associations between neurological disorders and altered retinoid signalling highlights the evidence gaps. We show that monitoring only a limited number of anthropogenic priority chemicals in water is insufficient to address the environmental risks of retinoid signalling disruption. To comprehensively assess impacts on the endpoints, processes, and pathways of the endocrine system that are most vulnerable to chemical interference we need further investigation of the true mixture composition in environmental matrices. On a weight of evidence-basis this information can then be integrated into a reliable, inclusive, quantitative approach that ultimately accommodates all the critical pathways. By focusing on the retinoid signalling pathway, we intend to improve the scope and relevance of an integrated approach for the risk assessment of endocrine disruptors

Designing antibiotic cycling strategies by determining and understanding local adaptive landscapes

The evolution of antibiotic resistance among bacteria threatens our continued ability to treat infectious diseases. The need for sustainable strategies to cure bacterial infections has never been greater. So far, all attempts to restore susceptibility after resistance has arisen have been unsuccessful, including restrictions on prescribing [1] and antibiotic cycling [2,3]. Part of the problem may be that those efforts have implemented different classes of unrelated antibiotics, and relied on removal of resistance by random loss of resistance genes from bacterial populations (drift). Here, we show that alternating structurally similar antibiotics can restore susceptibility to antibiotics after resistance has evolved. We found that the resistance phenotypes conferred by variant alleles of the resistance gene encoding the TEM {\beta}-lactamase (blaTEM) varied greatly among 15 different {\beta}-lactam antibiotics. We captured those differences by characterizing complete adaptive landscapes for the resistance alleles blaTEM-50 and blaTEM-85, each of which differs from its ancestor blaTEM-1 by four mutations. We identified pathways through those landscapes where selection for increased resistance moved in a repeating cycle among a limited set of alleles as antibiotics were alternated. Our results showed that susceptibility to antibiotics can be sustainably renewed by cycling structurally similar antibiotics. We anticipate that these results may provide a conceptual framework for managing antibiotic resistance. This approach may also guide sustainable cycling of the drugs used to treat malaria and HIV

Allogeneic natural killer cell therapy

Interest in adoptive cell therapy for treating cancer is exploding owing to early clinical successes of autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T lymphocyte therapy. However, limitations using T cells and autologous cell products are apparent as they (1) take weeks to generate, (2) utilize a 1:1 donor-to-patient model, (3) are expensive, and (4) are prone to heterogeneity and manufacturing failures. CAR T cells are also associated with significant toxicities, including cytokine release syndrome, immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome, and prolonged cytopenias. To overcome these issues, natural killer (NK) cells are being explored as an alternative cell source for allogeneic cell therapies. NK cells have an inherent ability to recognize cancers, mediate immune functions of killing and communication, and do not induce graft-versus-host disease, cytokine release syndrome, or immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome. NK cells can be obtained from blood or cord blood or be derived from hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells or induced pluripotent stem cells, and can be expanded and cryopreserved for off-the-shelf availability. The first wave of point-of-care NK cell therapies led to the current allogeneic NK cell products being investigated in clinical trials with promising preliminary results. Basic advances in NK cell biology and cellular engineering have led to new translational strategies to block inhibition, enhance and broaden target cell recognition, optimize functional persistence, and provide stealth from patients\u27 immunity. This review details NK cell biology, as well as NK cell product manufacturing, engineering, and combination therapies explored in the clinic leading to the next generation of potent, off-the-shelf cellular therapies for blood cancers

Access barriers to maternal healthcare services in selected hard-to-reach areas of Zambia: a mixed methods design

Introduction: poor access to maternal health services is a one of the major contributing factors to maternal deaths in low-resource settings, and understanding access barriers to maternal services is an important step for targeting interventions aimed at promoting institutional delivery and improving maternal health. This study explored access barriers to maternal and antenatal services in Kaputa and Ngabwe; two of Zambia´s rural and hard-to-reach districts. Methods: a concurrent mixed methods approach was therefore, undertaken to exploring three access dimensions, namely availability, affordability and acceptability, in the two districts. Structured interviews were conducted among 190 eligible women in both districts, while key informant interviews, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted for the qualitative component. Results: the study found that respondents were happy with facilities´ opening and closing times in both districts. By comparison, however, women in Ngabwe spent significantly more time traveling to facilities than those in Kaputa, with bad roads and transport challenges cited as factors affecting service use. The requirement to have a traditional birth attendant (TBA) accompany a woman when going to deliver from the facility, and paying these TBAs, was a notable access barrier. Generally, services seemed to be more acceptable in Kaputa than in Ngabwe, though both districts complained about long queues, being delivered by male health workers and having delivery rooms next to male wards. Conclusion: based on the indicators of access used in this study, maternal health services seemed to be more accessible in Kaputa compared to Ngabwe

Development of a reference and proficiency chemical list for human steatosis endpoints in vitro

The most prevalent liver disease in humans is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, characterised by excessive hepatic fat accumulation, or steatosis. The western diet and a sedentary lifestyle are considered to be major influences, but chemical exposure may also play a role. Suspected environmental chemicals of concern include pesticides, plasticizers, metals, and perfluorinated compounds. Here we present a detailed literature analysis of chemicals that may (or may not) be implicated in lipid accumulation in the liver, to provide a basis for developing and optimizing human steatosis-relevant in vitro test methods. Independently collated and reviewed reference and proficiency chemicals are needed to assist in the test method development where an assay is intended to ultimately be taken forward for OECD Test Guideline development purposes. The selection criteria and considerations required for acceptance of proficiency chemical selection for OECD Test Guideline development. (i.e., structural diversity, range of activity including negatives, relevant chemical sectors, global restrictions, etc.) is described herein. Of 160 chemicals initially screened for inclusion, 36 were prioritized for detailed review. Based on the selection criteria and a weight-of-evidence basis, 18 chemicals (9 steatosis inducers, 9 negatives), including some environmental chemicals of concern, were ranked as high priority chemicals to assist in vitro human steatosis test method optimisation and proficiency testing, and inform potential subsequent test method (pre-)validation