Critical Rhetoric and Collaboration: Missing Principle #9 and ProfsDoPop.com

As part of this Special Section on critical rhetoric, this article examines the role of collaboration in the future of critical rhetoric. Building on McKerrow’s original eight principles of praxis, the authors advocate for a missing ninth principle that reflects the need for critical rhetoric to be a shared venture across both individual projects and larger discourses. As an example of this type of work, they provide ProfsDoPop.com, an academic, online blog designed to bring academic sensibilities and concepts to popular audiences through the critique of popular culture

Changes in PM2.5 Peat Combustion Source Profiles with Atmospheric Aging in an Oxidation Flow Reactor

Smoke from laboratory chamber burning of peat fuels from Russia, Siberia, the USA (Alaska and Florida), and Malaysia representing boreal, temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions was sampled before and after passing through a potential-aerosol-mass oxidation flow reactor (PAM-OFR) to simulate intermediately aged (∼2 d) and well-aged (∼7 d) source profiles. Species abundances in PM2.5 between aged and fresh profiles varied by several orders of magnitude with two distinguishable clusters, centered around 0.1 % for reactive and ionic species and centered around 10 % for carbon. Organic carbon (OC) accounted for 58 %–85 % of PM2.5 mass in fresh profiles with low elemental carbon (EC) abundances (0.67 %–4.4 %). OC abundances decreased by 20 %–33 % for well-aged profiles, with reductions of 3 %–14 % for the volatile OC fractions (e.g., OC1 and OC2, thermally evolved at 140 and 280 ∘C). Ratios of organic matter (OM) to OC abundances increased by 12 %–19 % from intermediately aged to well-aged smoke. Ratios of ammonia (NH3) to PM2.5 decreased after intermediate aging. Well-aged NH+4 and NO−3 abundances increased to 7 %–8 % of PM2.5 mass, associated with decreases in NH3, low-temperature OC, and levoglucosan abundances for Siberia, Alaska, and Everglades (Florida) peats. Elevated levoglucosan was found for Russian peats, accounting for 35 %–39 % and 20 %–25 % of PM2.5 mass for fresh and aged profiles, respectively. The water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) fractions of PM2.5 were over 2-fold higher in fresh Russian peat (37.0±2.7 %) than in Malaysian (14.6±0.9 %) peat. While Russian peat OC emissions were largely water-soluble, Malaysian peat emissions were mostly water-insoluble, with WSOC ∕ OC ratios of 0.59–0.71 and 0.18–0.40, respectively. This study shows significant differences between fresh and aged peat combustion profiles among the four biomes that can be used to establish speciated emission inventories for atmospheric modeling and receptor model source apportionment. A sufficient aging time (∼7 d) is needed to allow gas-to-particle partitioning of semi-volatilized species, gas-phase oxidation, and particle volatilization to achieve representative source profiles for regional-scale source apportionment

Estimating the probability of demonstrating vaccine efficacy in the declining Ebola epidemic: a Bayesian modelling approach.

OBJECTIVES: We investigate the chance of demonstrating Ebola vaccine efficacy in an individually randomised controlled trial implemented in the declining epidemic of Forécariah prefecture, Guinea. METHODS: We extend a previously published dynamic transmission model to include a simulated individually randomised controlled trial of 100,000 participants. Using Bayesian methods, we fit the model to Ebola case incidence before a trial and forecast the expected dynamics until disease elimination. We simulate trials under these forecasts and test potential start dates and rollout schemes to assess power to detect efficacy, and bias in vaccine efficacy estimates that may be introduced. RESULTS: Under realistic assumptions, we found that a trial of 100,000 participants starting after 1 August had less than 5% chance of having enough cases to detect vaccine efficacy. In particular, gradual recruitment precludes detection of vaccine efficacy because the epidemic is likely to go extinct before enough participants are recruited. Exclusion of early cases in either arm of the trial creates bias in vaccine efficacy estimates. CONCLUSIONS: The very low Ebola virus disease incidence in Forécariah prefecture means any individually randomised controlled trial implemented there is unlikely to be successful, unless there is a substantial increase in the number of cases

Duration of Ebola virus RNA persistence in semen of survivors: population-level estimates and projections.

Ebola virus can persist in semen after recovery, potentially for months, which may impact the duration of enhanced surveillance required after interruption of transmission. We combined recent data on viral RNA persistence with weekly disease incidence to estimate the current number of semen-positive men in affected West African countries. We find the number is low, and since few reported sexual transmission events have occurred, the future risk is also likely low, although sexual health promotion remains critical

Implementing a Health Care Professional-Supported Digital Intervention for Survivors of Cancer in Primary Care:Qualitative Process Evaluation of the Renewed Intervention

Background: Primary care has an important role in supporting cancer survivors, yet support is limited because of practitioners’ perceived lack of expertise and time. A digital intervention for cancer survivors could provide an efficient way for primary care staff to support cancer survivors without the need to accumulate expertise and skills to help patients make behaviour changes, providing very brief support alongside this could maximise adherence to the digital interventions. Renewed is a digital intervention combining online behaviour change advice with brief healthcare practitioner support from a nurse or healthcare assistant. Knowledge about the views and experiences of primary care staff providing support alongside a digital intervention for cancer survivors is sparse, limiting understanding of the acceptability and feasibility of this type of intervention. Objective: To explore Supporters’ experiences of providing support to cancer survivors using Renewed, to understand potential barriers and facilitators to implementation of Renewed in practice, and investigate strengths and weaknesses of the intervention from the perspective of healthcare professionals.Methods: This was a qualitative process evaluation, nested within a large trial evaluating Renewed. Twenty-eight semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with nurses and healthcare assistants. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.Results: Four themes were developed during analysis which reflected factors that Supporters identified as hindering or enabling them to provide support alongside Renewed Online (Themes: Renewed Online as an acceptable digital tool with some improvements; confidence to enact the Supporter role; practicalities of delivering support alongside a digital intervention; and managing a patient-led approach). The analysis suggests that Supporters perceived that a digital intervention such as Renewed would be beneficial to support cancer survivors in primary care, and fit within current practices. However, barriers to providing support alongside a digital intervention were also identified, including concerns about how to facilitate rapport building and, in a minority, concerns about employing a non-directive approach, in which the majority of advice and support is provided through a digital intervention, with brief additional support provided by primary care staff. Conclusion: These findings add to the literature about how best to provide support alongside digital interventions, suggesting that whilst most practitioners cope well with a non-directive approach, a minority require more training to feel confident implementing this. This study suggests that barriers to providing formal support to cancer survivors in primary care could be successfully overcome with an approach like Renewed, where a digital intervention provides most of the support and expertise, and healthcare practitioners provide the additional brief human support to maximise engagement. Strategies to maximise the chances of successful implementation for this type of intervention are discussed. <br/

S-wave eta'-proton FSI; phenomenological analysis of near-threshold production of pi0, eta, and eta' mesons in proton-proton collisions

We describe a novel technique for comparing total cross sections for the reactions pp --> pp pi(0), pp --> pp eta, and pp --> pp eta' close to threshold. The initial and final state proton-proton interactions are factored out of the total cross section, and the dependence of this reduced cross section on the volume of phase space is discussed. Different models of the proton-proton interaction are compared. We argue that the scattering length of the S-wave eta'-proton interaction is of the order of 0.1 fm.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Evolutionary connectionism: algorithmic principles underlying the evolution of biological organisation in evo-devo, evo-eco and evolutionary transitions

The mechanisms of variation, selection and inheritance, on which evolution by natural selection depends, are not fixed over evolutionary time. Current evolutionary biology is increasingly focussed on understanding how the evolution of developmental organisations modifies the distribution of phenotypic variation, the evolution of ecological relationships modifies the selective environment, and the evolution of reproductive relationships modifies the heritability of the evolutionary unit. The major transitions in evolution, in particular, involve radical changes in developmental, ecological and reproductive organisations that instantiate variation, selection and inheritance at a higher level of biological organisation. However, current evolutionary theory is poorly equipped to describe how these organisations change over evolutionary time and especially how that results in adaptive complexes at successive scales of organisation (the key problem is that evolution is self-referential, i.e. the products of evolution change the parameters of the evolutionary process). Here we first reinterpret the central open questions in these domains from a perspective that emphasises the common underlying themes. We then synthesise the findings from a developing body of work that is building a new theoretical approach to these questions by converting well-understood theory and results from models of cognitive learning. Specifically, connectionist models of memory and learning demonstrate how simple incremental mechanisms, adjusting the relationships between individually-simple components, can produce organisations that exhibit complex system-level behaviours and improve the adaptive capabilities of the system. We use the term “evolutionary connectionism” to recognise that, by functionally equivalent processes, natural selection acting on the relationships within and between evolutionary entities can result in organisations that produce complex system-level behaviours in evolutionary systems and modify the adaptive capabilities of natural selection over time. We review the evidence supporting the functional equivalences between the domains of learning and of evolution, and discuss the potential for this to resolve conceptual problems in our understanding of the evolution of developmental, ecological and reproductive organisations and, in particular, the major evolutionary transitions

Decision regret in men living with and beyond nonmetastatic prostate cancer in the United Kingdom: A population‐based patient‐reported outcome study

Objective: Clinical options for managing nonmetastatic prostate cancer (PCa) vary. Each option has side effects associated with it, leading to difficulty in decision‐making. This study aimed to assess the relationship between patient involvement in treatment decision‐making and subsequent decision regret (DR), and quantify the impact of health‐related quality of life (HRQL) outcomes on DR. Methods: Men living in the United Kingdom, 18 to 42 months after diagnosis of PCa, were identified from cancer registration data and sent a questionnaire. Measures included the Decision Regret Scale (DRS), Expanded Prostate cancer Index Composite short form (EPIC‐26), EQ‐5D‐5L, and an item on involvement in treatment decision‐making. Multivariable ordinal regression was utilized, with DR categorized as none, mild, or moderate/severe regret. Results: A total of 17 193 men with stage I‐III PCa completed the DRS: 36.6% reported no regret, 43.3% mild regret, and 20.0% moderate/severe regret. The odds of reporting DR were greater if men indicated their views were not taken into account odds ratio ([OR] = 6.42, 95% CI: 5.39‐7.64) or were involved “to some extent” in decision‐making (OR = 4.63, 95% CI: 4.27‐5.02), compared with men who were “definitely” involved. After adjustment, including for involvement, men reporting moderate/big problems with urinary, bowel, or sexual function were more likely to experience regret compared with men with no/small problems. Better HRQL scores were associated with lower levels of DR. Conclusions: This large‐scale study demonstrates the benefit of patient involvement in treatment decision‐making for nonmetastatic PCa. However, men experiencing side effects and poorer HRQL report greater DR. Promoting engagement in clinical decision‐making represents good practice and may reduce the risk of subsequent regret

Notes towards a history of Khoi literature

This article puts forward a revisionist history of Khoi literature, and also presents a number of translated Khoi narratives that have not been available in English before. Compared to the large volume of Bushman literature and scholarship, there has been very little Khoi literature and engagement with it, and an argument is presented to account for this gap in South African cultural history. Until now, the major source of Khoi literature was Wilhelm Bleek’s Reynard the Fox in South Africa (1864), and this text is critically interrogated as a limiting version of Khoi orature. An alternative corpus of Khoi narratives is presented that was originally published in Leonard Schultze’s Aus Namaland und Kalahari (1907).Web of Scienc

Do clinical guidelines reduce clinician dependent costs?

Clinician dependent costs are the costs of care that are under the discretion of the healthcare provider. These costs include the costs of drugs, tests and investigations, and discretionary outpatient visits and impatient stays. The purpose of this review was to summarize recent evidence, relevant to both developed and developing countries on whether evidence based clinical guidelines can change hospitals variable costs which are clinician dependent, and the degree of financial savings achieved at hospital level. Potential studies for inclusion were identified using structured searches of Econlit, J-Stor, and Pubmed databases. Two reviewers independently evaluated retrieved studies for inclusion. The methodological quality of the selected articles was assessed using the Oxford Centre for Evidence- Based Medicine (CEBM) levels of evidence. The results suggest that 10 of the 11 interventions were successful reducing financial costs. Most of the interventions, either in modeling studies or real interventions generate significant financial saving, although the former reported higher savings because the studies assumed 100 percent compliance