Timeline mapping in qualitative interviews: a study of resilience with marginalized groups

Growing interest in visual timeline methods signals a need for critical engagement. Drawing on critical emancipatory epistemologies in our study exploring resilience among marginalized groups, we investigate how the creation of visual timelines informs verbal semistructured interviewing. We consider both how experiences of drawing timelines and how the role of the timeline in interviews varied for South Asian immigrant women who experienced domestic violence, and street-involved youth who experienced prior or recent violent victimization. Here we focus on three overarching themes developed through analysis of timelines: (a) rapport building, (b) participants as navigators, and (c) therapeutic moments and positive closure. In the discussion, we engage with the potential of visual timelines to supplement and situate semistructured interviewing, and illustrate how the framing of research is central to whether that research maintains a critical emancipatory orientation

Clinical outcomes of a treat and extend regimen with intravitreal aflibercept injections in patients with diabetic macular edema: Experience in clinical practice

Introduction: Treat-and-extend (T&E) and prore nata (PRN; ‘as needed’) regimens of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) treatment have been found to reducethe injection burden on patients and improvethe cost effectiveness of the treatment of macular edema. The aim of this study was to assessthe effectiveness of a T&E regimen of aflibercept, in a clinical setting, in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) who were either intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy naive or withminimal exposure to anti-VEGF (B 6 treatments) in the previous 12 months.Methods: This prospective, single arm, open labelstudy recruited patients with DME (macularthickness of C 300 lm) and best-corrected visualacuity (BCVA) between 28-78 ETDRS letters. Participants received five loading doses of intravitrealaflibercept at 4-weekly intervals. BCVA measurements and macular optical coherence tomographywere performed at each visit. If no disease activitywas detected, treatment intervals were increased by2 weeks to a maximum of 12 weeks. Outcomemeasures included: changes in BCVA and retinalanatomical measures (central foveal thickness[CFT] and central macular volume within 6 mm ofthe fovea [CSVol]) between baseline and 2 years,patient treatment intervals; and adverse events.Results: Of the 36 patients who providedinformed consent to participate in the studyand were screened, 26 patients (eyes) were eligible to participate in the study. After regressionanalysis, adjustment for repeated measures, andsignificant covariates, the mean BCVA increasedby 3.8 letters (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1,6.4) and the CFT and CSVol decreased by127.2 lm (95% CI 91.7, 162.5) and 1.6 mm3 (95% CI 1.2, 2.0), respectively, over the courseof the study. In the second year, 16 of the 25patients still participating had their treatmentintervals extended to 12 weeks. There was noevidence of any new adverse events that wouldrequire changes to the aflibercept safety profile.Conclusion: For the majority of patients presenting with DME, a T&E regimen of afliberceptin the first 2 years of therapy is a practical alternative to PRN treatment with regular review

Compound wind and rainfall extremes: Drivers and future changes over the UK and Ireland

\ua9 2024The co-occurrence of wind and rainfall extremes can yield larger impacts than when either hazard occurs in isolation. This study assesses compound extremes produced by Extra-tropical cyclones (ETCs) during winter from two perspectives. Firstly, we assess ETCs with extreme footprints of wind and rainfall; footprint severity is measured using the wind severity index (WSI) and rain severity index (RSI) which account for the intensity, duration, and area of either hazard. Secondly, we assess local co-occurrences of 6-hourly wind and rainfall extremes within ETCs. We quantify the likelihood of compound extremes in these two perspectives and characterise a number of their drivers (jet stream, cyclone tracks, and fronts) in control (1981–2000) and future (2060–2081, RCP8.5) climate simulations from a 12-member ensemble of local convection-permitting 2.2 km climate projections over the UK and Ireland. Simulations indicate an increased probability of ETCs producing extremely severe WSI and RSI in the same storm in the future, occurring 3.6 times more frequently (every 5 years compared to every 18 years in the control). This frequency increase is mainly driven by increased rainfall intensities, pointing to a predominantly thermodynamic driver. However, future winds also increase alongside a strengthened jet stream, while a southward displaced jet and cyclone track in these events leads to a dynamically-enhanced increase in temperature. This intensifies rainfall in line with Clausius-Clapeyron, and potentially wind speeds due to additional latent heat energy. Future simulations also indicate an increase in the land area experiencing locally co-occurring wind and rainfall extremes; largely explained by increased rainfall within warm and cold fronts, although the relative increase is highest near cold fronts suggesting increased convective activity. These locally co-occurring extremes are more likely in storms with severe WSI and RSI, but not exclusively so as local co-occurrence requires the coincidence of separate drivers within ETCs. Overall, our results reveal many contributing factors to compound wind and rainfall extremes and their future changes. Further work is needed to understand the uncertainty in the future response by sampling additional climate models

One-by-one trap activation in silicon nanowire transistors

Flicker or 1/f noise in metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) has been identified as the main source of noise at low frequency. It often originates from an ensemble of a huge number of charges trapping and detrapping. However, a deviation from the well-known model of 1/f noise is observed for nanoscale MOSFETs and a new model is required. Here, we report the observation of one-by-one trap activation controlled by the gate voltage in a nanowire MOSFET and we propose a new low-frequency-noise theory for nanoscale FETs. We demonstrate that the Coulomb repulsion between electronically charged trap sites avoids the activation of several traps simultaneously. This effect induces a noise reduction by more than one order of magnitude. It decreases when increasing the electron density in the channel due to the electrical screening of traps. These findings are technologically useful for any FETs with a short and narrow channel.Comment: One file with paper and supplementary informatio

Low Friction Flows of Liquids at Nanopatterned Interfaces

With the recent important development of microfluidic systems, miniaturization of flow devices has become a real challenge. Microchannels, however, are characterized by a large surface to volume ratio, so that surface properties strongly affect flow resistance in submicrometric devices. We present here results showing that the concerted effect of wetting . properties and surface roughness may considerably reduce friction of the fluid past the boundaries. The slippage of the fluid at the channel boundaries is shown to be drastically increased by using surfaces that are patterned at the nanometer scale. This effect occurs in the regime where the surface pattern is partially dewetted, in the spirit of the 'superhydrophobic' effects that have been recently discovered at the macroscopic scales. Our results show for the first time that, in contrast to the common belief, surface friction may be reduced by surface roughness. They also open the possibility of a controlled realization of the 'nanobubbles' that have long been suspected to play a role in interfacial slippag

Compound wind and rainfall extremes: Drivers and future changes over the UK and Ireland

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordData availability: Wind and rainfall data is freely available. Other data can be made available upon reasonable request.The co-occurrence of wind and rainfall extremes can yield larger impacts than when either hazard occurs in isolation. This study assesses compound extremes produced by Extra-tropical cyclones (ETCs) during winter from two perspectives. Firstly, we assess ETCs with extreme footprints of wind and rainfall; footprint severity is measured using the wind severity index (WSI) and rain severity index (RSI) which account for the intensity, duration, and area of either hazard. Secondly, we assess local co-occurrences of 6-hourly wind and rainfall extremes within ETCs. We quantify the likelihood of compound extremes in these two perspectives and characterise a number of their drivers (jet stream, cyclone tracks, and fronts) in control (1981-2000) and future (2060-2081, RCP8.5) climate simulations from a 12-member ensemble of local convection-permitting 2.2 km climate projections over the UK and Ireland. Simulations indicate an increased probability of ETCs producing extremely severe WSI and RSI in the same storm in the future, occurring 3.6 times more frequently (every 5 years compared to every 18 years in the control). This frequency increase is mainly driven by increased rainfall intensities, pointing to a predominantly thermodynamic driver. However, future winds also increase alongside a strengthened jet stream, while a southward displaced jet and cyclone track in these events leads to a dynamically-enhanced increase in temperature. This intensifies rainfall in line with Clausius-Clapeyron, and potentially wind speeds due to additional latent heat energy. Future simulations also indicate an increase in the land area experiencing locally co-occurring wind and rainfall extremes; largely explained by increased rainfall within warm and cold fronts, although the relative increase is highest near cold fronts suggesting increased convective activity. These locally co-occurring extremes are more likely in storms with severe WSI and RSI, but not exclusively so as local co-occurrence requires the coincidence of separate drivers within ETCs. Overall, our results reveal many contributing factors to compound wind and rainfall extremes and their future changes. Further work is needed to understand the uncertainty in the future response by sampling additional climate models.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)Joint UK BEIS/Defra Hadley Centre Climate ProgrammeEuropean Union Horizon 202

Is telomere length socially patterned? Evidence from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 study

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) is strongly associated with an increased risk of morbidity and premature mortality, but it is not known if the same is true for telomere length, a marker often used to assess biological ageing. The West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study was used to investigate this and consists of three cohorts aged approximately 35 (N = 775), 55 (N = 866) and 75 years (N = 544) at the time of telomere length measurement. Four sets of measurements of SES were investigated: those collected contemporaneously with telomere length assessment, educational markers, SES in childhood and SES over the preceding twenty years. We found mixed evidence for an association between SES and telomere length. In 35-year-olds, many of the education and childhood SES measures were associated with telomere length, i.e. those in poorer circumstances had shorter telomeres, as was intergenerational social mobility, but not accumulated disadvantage. A crude estimate showed that, at the same chronological age, social renters, for example, were nine years (biologically) older than home owners. No consistent associations were apparent in those aged 55 or 75. There is evidence of an association between SES and telomere length, but only in younger adults and most strongly using education and childhood SES measures. These results may reflect that childhood is a sensitive period for telomere attrition. The cohort differences are possibly the result of survival bias suppressing the SES-telomere association; cohort effects with regard different experiences of SES; or telomere possibly being a less effective marker of biological ageing at older ages

Rare recurrence of a rare ovarian stromal tumor with luteinized cells: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Sex cord-stromal tumors of the ovary are uncommon. They behave unpredictably and often have a late recurrence, making counseling, management, and prediction of prognosis challenging.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 52-year-old Moroccan woman with an sex cord-stromal tumors underwent a bilateral oophorectomy. The histology was unusual but was likely to be a luteinized thecoma with suspicious features for invasion. Seven years later, after a gastrointestinal bleed, a metastasis within the small bowel mucosa was detected. This represents probable isolated hematogenous or lymphatic spread, which is highly unusual, especially in the absence of concurrent peritoneal disease.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>To the best of our knowledge, this is the second reported case of an sex cord-stromal tumors recurring in small bowel mucosa and mimicking a primary colorectal tumor. This highlights the diverse nature and behavior of these tumors.</p