International education: a force for peace and cross-cultural understanding?

This paper discusses the notion that the international sojourn has the potential to transform sojourners into cultural mediators who carry the power to improve global relations. A year-long ethnographic study of the adjustment experiences of international postgraduate students in England revealed a universal early enthusiasm for cross-cultural contact that was matched by a widespread adoption of segregated patterns of interacting. The most common friendship networks were described by bonds with conationals, and yet all students attested to an increase in their cultural learning and mindfulness by the end of the sojourn. Nevertheless, intercultural competence was maximised only in those few students who pursued a multicultural strategy of interaction, leading the researcher to call on Higher Education Institutions to instigate policies to encourage lasting cross-cultural contact

“I am Italian in the world”: A mobile student’s story of language learning and ideological becoming

This article theorises the relationship between language and intercultural learning from a Bakhtinian dialogic perspective, based on the language learning story of Federica, a mobile student in UK higher education (HE). I first outline the context of UK HE and its internationalisation agenda, discussing how research in this field has conceptualised language, intercultural communication (IC), and international students in terms of a totalising boundary between self and other. I link this to current concerns in IC regarding the philosophical underpinnings of the field, specifically the aporia created as a result of the totalising self/other relation in prevailing IC discourse (MacDonald & O’Regan, 2013). I then present a means of addressing this aporia through a Bakhtinian theorisation of the relationship between language and intercultural learning. This theorisation offers a relational perspective on the self and the other in which intercultural learning is a process of ideological becoming (Bakhtin, 1981) with the other, enacted in, with and through language, as illustrated in Federica’s story of learning English. The article concludes with a call for language and communicative practices to be placed at the heart of HE internationalisation agendas and for HE practitioners to recognise shared responsibility for intercultural communication

Antiproliferative activity and mode of action analysis of novel amino and amido substituted phenantrene and naphtho[2,1-b]thiophene derivatives

Herein we present and describe the design and synthesis of novel phenantrene derivatives substituted with either amino or amido side chains and their biological activity. Antiproliferative activities were assessed in vitro on a panel of human cancer cell lines. Tested compounds showed moderate activity against cancer cells in comparison with 5-fluorouracile. Among all tested compounds, some compounds substituted with cyano groups showed a pronounced and selective activity in the nanomolar range of inhibitory concentrations against HeLa and HepG2. The strongest selective activity against HeLa cells was observed for acrylonitriles 8 and 11 and their cyclic analogues 15 and 17 substituted with two cyano groups with a corresponding IC50 = 0.33, 0.21, 0.65 and 0.45 μM, respectively. Compounds 11 showed the most pronounced selectivity being almost non cytotoxic to normal fibroblasts. Additionally, mode of biological action analysis was performed in silico and in vitro by Western blot analysis of HIF-1-α relative expression for compounds 8 and 11

Within-group relatedness is correlated with colony-level social structure and reproductive sharing in a social fish.

In group-living species, the degree of relatedness among group members often governs the extent of reproductive sharing, cooperation, and conflict within a group. Kinship among group members can be determined by the presence and location of neighboring groups, as these provide dispersal or mating opportunities that can dilute kinship among current group members. Here we assessed how within-group relatedness varies with the density and position of neighboring social groups in Neolamprologus pulcher, a colonial and group-living cichlid fish. We used restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) methods to generate thousands of polymorphic SNPs. Relative to microsatellite data, RADseq data provided much smaller confidence intervals around relatedness estimates. These data allowed us to document novel patterns of relatedness in relation to colony-level social structure. First, the density of neighboring groups was negatively correlated with relatedness between subordinates and dominant females within a group, but no such patterns were observed between subordinates and dominant males. Second, subordinates at the colony edge were less related to dominant males in their group than subordinates in the colony center, suggesting a shorter breeding tenure for dominant males at the colony edge. Finally, subordinates who were closely related to their same sex dominant were more likely to reproduce, supporting some restraint models of reproductive skew. Collectively, these results demonstrate that within-group relatedness is influenced by the broader social context, and variation between groups in the degree of relatedness between dominants and subordinates can be explained by both patterns of reproductive sharing and the nature of the social landscape

Mapping European Association of Urology Guideline Practice Across Europe: An Audit of Androgen Deprivation Therapy Use Before Prostate Cancer Surgery in 6598 Cases in 187 Hospitals Across 31 European Countries

Background: Evidence-practice gaps exist in urology. We previously surveyed European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines for strong recommendations underpinned by high-certainty evidence that impact patient experience for which practice variations were suspected. The recommendation “Do not offer neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) before surgery for patients with prostate cancer” was prioritised for further investigation. ADT before surgery is neither clinically effective nor cost effective and has serious side effects. The first step in improving implementation problems is to understand their extent. A clear picture of practice regarding ADT before surgery across Europe is not available. Objective: To assess current ADT use before prostate cancer surgery in Europe. Design, setting, and participants: This was an observational cross-sectional study. We retrospectively audited recent ADT practices in a multicentre international setting. We used nonprobability purposive sampling, aiming for breadth in terms of low- versus high-volume, academic, versus community and public versus private centres. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Our primary outcome was adherence to the ADT recommendation. Descriptive statistics and a multilevel model were used to investigate differences between countries across different factors (volume, centre type, and funding type). Subgroup analyses were performed for patients with low, intermediate, and high risk, and for those with locally advanced prostate cancer. We also collected reasons for nonadherence. Results and limitations: We included 6598 patients with prostate cancer from 187 hospitals in 31 countries from January 1, 2017 to May 1, 2020. Overall, nonadherence was 2%, (range 0–32%). Most of the variability was found in the high-risk subgroup, for which nonadherence was 4% (range 0–43%). Reasons for nonadherence included attempts to improve oncological outcomes or preoperative tumour parameters; attempts to control the cancer because of long waiting lists; and patient preference (changing one's mind from radiotherapy to surgery after neoadjuvant ADT had commenced or feeling that the side effects were intolerable). Although we purposively sampled for variety within countries (public/private, academic/community, high/low-volume), a selection bias toward centres with awareness of guidelines is possible, so adherence rates may be overestimated. Conclusions: EAU guidelines recommend against ADT use before prostate cancer surgery, yet some guideline-discordant ADT use remains at the cost of patient experience and an additional payer and provider burden. Strategies towards discontinuation of inappropriate preoperative ADT use should be pursued. Patient summary: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is sometimes used in men with prostate cancer who will not benefit from it. ADT causes side effects such as weight gain and emotional changes and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Guidelines strongly recommend that men opting for surgery should not receive ADT, but it is unclear how well the guidance is followed. We asked urologists across Europe how patients in their institutions were treated over the past few years. Most do not use ADT before surgery, but this still happens in some places. More research is needed to help doctors to stop using ADT in patients who will not benefit from it

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI <18·5 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). For schoolaged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI <2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference) and obesity (BMI >2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesit

Analysis of Genomic Sequence Data Reveals the Origin and Evolutionary Separation of Hawaiian Hoary Bat Populations

We examine the genetic history and population status of Hawaiian hoary bats (Lasiurus semotus), the most isolated bats on Earth, and their relationship to northern hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus), through whole-genome analysis of single-nucleotide polymorphisms mapped to a de novo-assembled reference genome. Profiles of genomic diversity and divergence indicate that Hawaiian hoary bats are distinct from northern hoary bats, and form a monophyletic group, indicating a single ancestral colonization event 1.34 Ma, followed by substantial divergence between islands beginning 0.51 Ma. Phylogenetic analysis indicates Maui is central to the radiation across the archipelago, with the southward expansion to Hawai‘i and westward to O‘ahu and Kaua‘i. Because this endangered species is of conservation concern, a clearer understanding of the population genetic structure of this bat in the Hawaiian Islands is of timely importance