Analgesic Effects of Botulinum Toxin in Children with CP

Experiencing pain is the greatest contributor to a reduced quality of life in children with cerebral palsy (CP). The presence of pain is quite common (~60%) and increases with age. This leads to missed school days, less participation, and reduced ambulation. Despite these alarming consequences, strategies to relieve the pain are absent and poorly studied. Moreover, it is difficult to evaluate pain in this group of children, especially in cases of children with cognitive deficits, and tools for pain evaluation are often inadequate. Botulinum toxin has been shown to alleviate pain in a variety of disorders and could potentially have an analgesic effect in children with CP as well. Even though most of the studies presented here show promising results, many also have limitations in their methodology as it is unlikely to capture all dimensions of pain in this heterogeneous group using only one assessment tool. In this review, we present a new way of examining the analgesic effect of botulinum toxin in children with CP using a variety of pain scores

The practice and characteristics of significant mantras at the Vajrakilaya Drupchen ritual in Malaysia

This paper reports an observation on the chants used in Dudjom New Treasure Buddhist Society Ipoh, Malaysia. Vajrakilaya Drupchen is performed with the main intention of benefiting the well-being of the world community as a whole for world peace and harmony. The purpose is to provide better understanding of one of the most important Buddhist ceremonies, Vajrakilaya Drupchen (the Great Accomplishment Ritual), through the musical practices of the ritual ceremony. As most of the mantras were orally transmitted, this article looks into a root mantra and two significant mantras of Vajrakilaya ritual. These mantras were transcribed in which the characteristics and musical element were analysed and discussed. Attention will be given to the structure, motivic ideas and pitch of chants. The characteristics of these mantras in comparison with other schools in the same lineage will also be highlighted

Promoting Mental Health Through Empowerment and Community Capacity Building

Effective mental health promotion must consider the social determinants of health and integrate the principles of social inclusion, access and equity into health programs. Attention to issues of ‘cultural competence’ and ‘cultural sensitivity’ is not enough.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. This summary was written by Naoko Ikeda. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Improved Measurements of the IXPE Crab Polarization

X-ray polarization from the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) provides an important new probe of the geometry of the pulsar emission zone and of particle acceleration in the surrounding pulsar wind nebula (PWN). However, with IXPE's modest ~20-30" spatial resolution, separation of the pulsar signal from the nebula is a challenge. Conventional analysis defines an "off" phase window as pure nebular emission and subtracts its polarization to isolate the phase-varying pulsar ("on-off fitting"). We present a more sensitive scheme that uses external measurements of the nebula structure and pulsar light curve to isolate their contributions to the phase- and spatially-varying polarization via least-squares regression ("simultaneous fitting"). Tests with simulation data show ~30% improvement in pulse phase polarization uncertainties, decreased background systematics, and substantially improved nebular polarization maps. Applying "simultaneous fitting" to early IXPE Crab data extracts additional phase bins with significant polarization. These bins show interesting departures from the well-known optical polarization sweeps, although additional exposure will be needed for precise model confrontation.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

The Effect of Parental Support on Academic Performance Among Students at Asia-Pacific International University

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of parental support on college students’ academic performance of Asia-Pacific International University (AIU) in Thailand. The research aimed to investigate the relationship between parental support and academic achievement among Thai and International students at AIU in Thailand.   In addition, the study sought to find out the level of parental support among Thai and International students at AIU, and the differences in parental support. Using stratified sampling, ,60 undergraduate students aged between 17 years to 25 years old from five Asia-Pacific International University (AIU) dormitories were selected to participate in this study. A survey instrument for data collection consisted of a demographic questionnaire and a Likert-scale questionnaire.  The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows, Version 21.  An independent samples t-test was used to determine the differences between Thai and International students on parental support. Spearman rho correlation coefficients between parental involvement variables and cumulative grade point averages (CGPA) were reported. The findings revealed that academic performance cannot be adequately explained by parental support. Findings of this study also showed that although there is positive influence on the family relationship between the parents and students at the college level, it does not adequately explain academic performance among students. The present study was an attempt to inform college administrators and educators of the importance of parental support at the university level. Therefore, the main recommendation is that,  college administrators should look into how parents support their college students and establish strategies for encouraging emotional and social parental support to children in college...For further research necessary to consider the varying impacts of parental support within the lives of the children, such as investigating the impact of having little or no parental support

Racialized-gendered Experiences and Mental Health Vulnerabilities of Young Asian Women in Toronto, Canada

Discourses of mental health vulnerabilities of women in the Asian diaspora s are often invoked through the concepts of “culture” with little consideration of asymmetric power relations and structural influences. We used a narrative approach to explore the experiences and perspectives on culture, identities, relationships, and mental health among young Asian women living in Toronto, Canada. We engaged 14 participants in focus groups and individual interviews, and identified four overall themes: (1) racialized-gendered bodily abjection, (2) experiences of enacted racism and sexism, (3) perceptions of familial expectations, and (4) their strategies of coping and resilience. Our analysis revealed how Whiteness and structural violence shape the racialized-gendered experiences of young Asian women and perpetuate microaggressions that compromise their mental  health and well-being. Critical  nursing practice must question the idea of “culture” embedded in the dominant discourse of “culturally competent” care. Nurses need to achieve structural competence to dismantle systems of oppression and unequal power relations.  

East and Southeast Asian Men and Bathhouses in Toronto

HIV prevention needs to reflect the diverse experiences of gay men at bathhouses, especially those from ethno-racial groups.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Posture Measurement and Data Logging System

microSense metrics is developing an affordable and functional posture measurement and data logging system that will aid researchers in preventing injuries in construction workers and the elderly. Our system will track the angle of inclination of the subject’s body as it moves through a range of motions. The system’s data logging capabilities will enable us to capture this dynamic data and retrace the subject’s movement for further analysis.&nbsp