Preaching What We Practice: Theories-in-Use in Community Development

This paper examines theories-in-use among community development practitioners and attempts to bridge the schism between practice and theory by articulating implicit theories utilized in practice

Development studies on the globiferous pedicelleriae of the echinoid strongylocentrotus drobachiensis O.F. Muller with special emphasis on the skeleton

Developmental stages of the globiferous pedicrellariae of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus Drobachiensis O. F. Muller were investigated with a view to understanding the development and differentiation of the skeletal elements, muscles, sensory areas, nerves and venom glands. Specimens were studied using the light microscope, the transmission electron microscope, the scanning electron microscope, and the analytical electron microscope. -- A globiferous pedicellaria begins as a tiny finger-shaped projection on the test of the sea urchin. The tip gradually separates into three jaws which continue to merge with each other at their bases. The skeleton is one of the first components to develop in the appendage. A skeletal element is deposited in the three jaws and in the basal stalk region. The skeleton remains surrounded by a cluster of cells throughout development. These cells send out numerous projections which are continuous with thin areas of cytoplasm surrounding, or near the skeleton; mitochondria are numerous in the cytoplasmic projections. X-ray microprobe analysis with EMMA-4 showed significantly high amounts of calcium in the cells associated with the skeleton especially in the mitochondria, vehicular structures and nuclei. The term calcicyte (L. calx, lime) has been proposed to refer to this skeletogenic cell type. – The skeletal valves of the jaws develop from a tri-radiate spicule into a very elaborate ossicle with areas for articulation, muscle insertion and passage of nerve fibers. -- Unlike the mature appendage, the developing pedicellaria possesses an epithelium on the outer sides of the jaws that is several cell layers thick. This has been shown to develop into the venom glands. -- The sensory hillock appears as a thickening of the epithelium on the inner side of each jaw. Nerves from the sensory hillocks enter the skeletal valves through a foramen to innervate the muscles which insert on the skeleton

The Ursinus Weekly, February 23, 1906

Alumni meetings • Zwinglian declamation contest • Glee Club entertained • Honors awarded • Philadelphia letter • Charmidean Club • Society notes • Student Volunteer Convention • Alumni • Senior officers • Baseball schedule • Literary Supplement: The United States among the nations; Poe and his poetic works; The supernatural element in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; Our national crime; Criticism on the works of Schubert and Schumann; Mutabilityhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/2970/thumbnail.jp

Comparing the Efficacy and Efficiency of Human and Generative AI: Qualitative Thematic Analyses.

BACKGROUND: Qualitative methods are incredibly beneficial to the dissemination and implementation of new digital health interventions; however, these methods can be time intensive and slow down dissemination when timely knowledge from the data sources is needed in ever-changing health systems. Recent advancements in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and their underlying large language models (LLMs) may provide a promising opportunity to expedite the qualitative analysis of textual data, but their efficacy and reliability remain unknown. OBJECTIVE: The primary objectives of our study were to evaluate the consistency in themes, reliability of coding, and time needed for inductive and deductive thematic analyses between GenAI (ie, ChatGPT and Bard) and human coders. METHODS: The qualitative data for this study consisted of 40 brief SMS text message reminder prompts used in a digital health intervention for promoting antiretroviral medication adherence among people with HIV who use methamphetamine. Inductive and deductive thematic analyses of these SMS text messages were conducted by 2 independent teams of human coders. An independent human analyst conducted analyses following both approaches using ChatGPT and Bard. The consistency in themes (or the extent to which the themes were the same) and reliability (or agreement in coding of themes) between methods were compared. RESULTS: The themes generated by GenAI (both ChatGPT and Bard) were consistent with 71% (5/7) of the themes identified by human analysts following inductive thematic analysis. The consistency in themes was lower between humans and GenAI following a deductive thematic analysis procedure (ChatGPT: 6/12, 50%; Bard: 7/12, 58%). The percentage agreement (or intercoder reliability) for these congruent themes between human coders and GenAI ranged from fair to moderate (ChatGPT, inductive: 31/66, 47%; ChatGPT, deductive: 22/59, 37%; Bard, inductive: 20/54, 37%; Bard, deductive: 21/58, 36%). In general, ChatGPT and Bard performed similarly to each other across both types of qualitative analyses in terms of consistency of themes (inductive: 6/6, 100%; deductive: 5/6, 83%) and reliability of coding (inductive: 23/62, 37%; deductive: 22/47, 47%). On average, GenAI required significantly less overall time than human coders when conducting qualitative analysis (20, SD 3.5 min vs 567, SD 106.5 min). CONCLUSIONS: The promising consistency in the themes generated by human coders and GenAI suggests that these technologies hold promise in reducing the resource intensiveness of qualitative thematic analysis; however, the relatively lower reliability in coding between them suggests that hybrid approaches are necessary. Human coders appeared to be better than GenAI at identifying nuanced and interpretative themes. Future studies should consider how these powerful technologies can be best used in collaboration with human coders to improve the efficiency of qualitative research in hybrid approaches while also mitigating potential ethical risks that they may pose

Restoration of seagrass habitat leads to rapid recovery of coastal ecosystem services

There have been increasing attempts to reverse habitat degradation through active restoration, but few largescale successes are reported to guide these efforts. Here, we report outcomes from a unique and very successful seagrass restoration project: Since 1999, over 70 million seeds of a marine angiosperm, eelgrass (Zostera marina), have been broadcast into mid-western Atlantic coastal lagoons, leading to recovery of 3612 ha of seagrass. Well-developed meadows now foster productive and diverse animal communities, sequester substantial stocks of carbon and nitrogen, and have prompted a parallel restoration for bay scallops (Argopecten irradians). Restored ecosystem services are approaching historic levels, but we also note that managers value services differently today than they did nine decades ago, emphasizing regulating in addition to provisioning services. Thus, this study serves as a blueprint for restoring and maintaining healthy ecosystems to safeguard multiple benefits, including co-benefits that may emerge as management priorities over time

Lack of Effectiveness of Antiretroviral Therapy in Preventing HIV Infection in Serodiscordant Couples in Uganda: An Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: We examined the real-world effectiveness of ART as an HIV prevention tool among HIV serodiscordant couples in a programmatic setting in a low-income country. METHODS: We enrolled individuals from HIV serodiscordant couples aged ≥18 years of age in Jinja, Uganda from June 2009 - June 2011. In one group of couples the HIV positive partner was receiving ART as they met clinical eligibility criteria (a CD4 cell count ≤250 cells/ μL or WHO Stage III/IV disease). In the second group the infected partner was not yet ART-eligible. We measured HIV incidence by testing the uninfected partner every three months. We conducted genetic linkage studies to determine the source of new infections in seroconverting participants. RESULTS: A total of 586 couples were enrolled of which 249 (42%) of the HIV positive participants were receiving ART at enrollment, and an additional 99 (17%) initiated ART during the study. The median duration of follow-up was 1.5 years. We found 9 new infections among partners of participants who had been receiving ART for at least three months and 8 new infections in partners of participants who had not received ART or received it for less than three months, for incidence rates of 2.09 per 100 person-years (PYRs) and 2.30 per 100 PYRs, respectively. The incidence rate ratio for ART-use was 0.91 (95% confidence interval 0.31-2.70; p=0.999). The hazard ratio for HIV seroconversion associated with ART-use by the positive partner was 1.07 (95% CI 0.41-2.80). A total of 5/7 (71%) of the transmissions on ART and 6/7 (86%) of those not on ART were genetically linked. CONCLUSION: Overall HIV incidence was low in comparison to previous studies of serodiscordant couples. However, ART-use was not associated with a reduced risk of HIV transmission in this study

Pulp, Vol. 3 No. 1

This is the third issue of Pulphttps://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/pulp/1002/thumbnail.jp

Feasibility and acceptability of mobile phone short message service as a support for patients receiving antiretroviral therapy in rural Uganda: a cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Mobile phone technologies have been promoted to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). We studied the receptiveness of patients in a rural Ugandan setting to the use of short messaging service (SMS) communication for such purposes. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional analysis measuring mobile phone ownership and literacy amongst patients of The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) in Jinja, Uganda. We performed bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses to examine associations between explanatory variables and a composite outcome of being literate and having a mobile phone. RESULTS: From June 2012 to August 2013, we enrolled 895 participants, of whom 684 (76%) were female. The median age was 44 years. A total of 576 (63%) were both literate and mobile phone users. Of these, 91% (527/ 576) responded favourably to the potential use of SMS for health communication, while only 38.9% (124/319) of others were favourable to the idea (p<0.001). A lower proportion of literate mobile phone users reported optimal adherence to ART (86.4% vs. 90.6%; p=0.007). Male participants (AOR=2.81; 95% CI 1.83-4.30), sub-optimal adherence (AOR=1.76; 95% CI 1.12-2.77), those with waged or salaried employment (AOR=2.35; 95% CI 1.23-4.49), crafts/trade work (AOR=2.38; 95% CI 1.11-5.12), or involved in petty trade (AOR=1.85; 95% CI 1.09-3.13) (in comparison to those with no income) were more likely to report mobile phone ownership and literacy. CONCLUSIONS: In a rural Ugandan setting, we found that over 60% of patients could potentially benefit from a mobile phone-based ART adherence support. However, support for such an intervention was lower for other patients