Disability Decolonized: Indigenous Peoples Enacting Self-determination

Populations researched often have little if any input in the means of data collection, analysis, or authorship of the findings published. They are excluded from participating in the scientific methods even though they are the subject of the content that is being produced. This is true for Indigenous populations and the disability community around the globe. Researchers usually use colonial methodology that does not encompass the values of these communities or have their well-being in mind. This paper examines the history of colonization and how it has infiltrated science and inhibits self-determination of Indigenous peoples. Indigenous communities need to have the means and power for self-determination. For individuals with disabilities, this includes rights to services and programs that give the respect and person-centered care they deserve to make informed decisions about their lives. Moreover, there is a recognized need for culturally appropriate services that empower American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people with disabilities to lead independent lives in their own communities—urban or rural. AI/AN cultures may view disabilities differently than those in the mainstream U.S. Barriers and challenges for AI/AN individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and AI/AN families of individuals with IDD in access to services include inadequate funding, personnel shortages, housing shortages, lack of coordination among agencies, lack of consultation with tribes, and problems identifying persons eligible for services. AI/AN-specific programs that have begun to bridge the gap in access to and development of culturally competent services such as Oyáte Circle and development of collegiate courses focused on AI/AN disabilities issues. There remains a need for partnership with AI/AN tribes for disability services and incorporation of AI/AN people with disabilities as equitable partners in program development and implementation. To reach a full decolonization of IDD health care and fully embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles, individuals in these communities need to be viewed as experts in their journey of resilience

Inclusion in Disability Evaluation and Surveillance Projects: Reflections and Recommendations For Inclusive Project Teams

Disability rights advocates emphasize “Nothing about us without us,” yet a program evaluation or surveillance team’s composition rarely reflects inclusion of the individuals from the disability populations they focus on. Individuals who have lived experience with disabilities should be present during all steps of program evaluation and surveillance projects in meaningful ways to progress the impact of disabilities work. In this paper, we describe a process used by staff at Alaska’s University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) to hire, train, and work with individuals with intellectual, development disabilities (IDD) as team members. The case example for the inclusion effort was the National Core Indicators (NCI) In-Person Survey (IPS). Recruitment started in December 2020 with Zoom interviews for the NCI IPS occurring from March through August 2021. The project team included ten staff members, one of whom also was an individual who experiences an IDD (partner interviewer). Team members completed web based and Zoom training sessions. Throughout the training and onboarding process, project leads sought to modify the training and project implementation to better suit the expressed needs of all team members. To support the partner interviewer with IDD, two team members with research and program evaluation experience served as “lead” interviewers. Project leads also created a simplified version of the NCI IPS instrument for data collection. Multiple training sessions were held to acclimate the lead and partner interviewer with the team interview process and modified data collection instrument. Recommendations for improving our UCEDD program evaluation and surveillance inclusive practices were noted: Involve individuals with disabilities in every part of project planning processes; allow team members agency in selecting their projects and room for flexibility if research plans don’t work out; establish open communication and safe spaces for all team members; provide comprehensive, accessible, and equitable training; give team members a sense of timelines and trajectories of research projects with regular check-ins; adjust practices for an increasingly online work environment with COVID-19; develop accessible training, data collection and data entry systems; and invest in all team members long-term

Complete compensation of criss-cross deflection in a negative ion accelerator by magnetic technique

During 2016, a joint experimental campaign was carried out by QST and Consorzio RFX on the Negative Ion Test Stand (NITS) at the QST Naka Fusion Institute, Japan, with the purpose of validating some design solutions adopted in MITICA, which is the full-scale prototype of the ITER NBI, presently under construction at Consorzio RFX, Padova, Italy. The main purpose of the campaign was to test a novel technique, for suppressing the beamlet criss-cross magnetic deflection. This new technique, involving a set of permanent magnets embedded in the Extraction Grid, named Asymmetric Deflection Compensation Magnets (ADCM), is potentially more performing and robust than the traditional electrostatic compensation methods. The results of this first campaign confirmed the effectiveness of the new magnetic configuration in reducing the criss-cross magnetic deflection. Nonetheless, contrary to expectations, a complete deflection correction was not achieved. By analyzing in detail the results, we found indications that a physical process, taking place just upstream of the plasma grid, was giving an important contribution to the final deflection of the negative ion beam. This process appears to be related to the drift of negative ions inside the plasma source, in the presence of a magnetic field transverse to the extraction direction, and results in a non-uniform ion current density extracted at the meniscus. Therefore, the numerical models adopted in the design were improved by including this previously disregarded effect, so as to obtain a much better matching with the experimental results. Based on the results of the first campaign, new permanent magnets were designed and installed on the Extraction Grid of NITS. A second QST-Consorzio RFX joint experimental campaign was then carried out in 2017, demonstrating the complete correction of the criss-cross deflection and confirming the validity of the novel magnetic configuration and of the hypothesis behind the new models. This contribution presents the results of the second joint experimental campaign on NITS along with the overall data analysis of both campaigns, and the description of the improved models. A general picture is given of the relation among magnetic field, beam energy, meniscus non-uniformity and beamlet deflection, constituting a useful database for the design of future machines

Isolation of human β-defensin-4 in lung tissue and its increase in lower respiratory tract infection

BACKGROUND: Human β-defensin-4 (hBD-4), a new member of the β-defensin family, was discovered by an analysis of the genomic sequence. The objective of this study was to clarify hBD-4 expression in human lung tissue, along with the inducible expression in response to infectious stimuli, localization, and antimicrobial activities of hBD-4 peptides. We also investigated the participation of hBD-4 in chronic lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) by measuring the concentrations of hBD-4 peptides in human bronchial epithelial lining fluid (ELF). METHODS: The antimicrobial activity of synthetic hBD-4 peptides against E. coli and P. aeruginosa was measured by radial diffusion and colony count assays. We identified hBD-4 in homogenated human lung tissue by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a radioimmunoassay (RIA). Localization of hBD-4 was studied through immunohistochemical analysis (IHC). We investigated the effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on hBD-4 expression and its release from small airway epithelial cells (SAEC). We collected ELF from patients with chronic LRTI using bronchoscopic microsampling to measure hBD-4 concentrations by RIA. RESULTS: hBD-4 exhibited salt-sensitive antimicrobial activity against P. aeruginosa. We detected the presence of hBD-4 peptides in human lung tissue. IHC demonstrated the localization of hBD-4-producing cells in bronchial and bronchiolar epithelium. The levels of hBD-4 peptides released from LPS-treated SAECs were higher than those of untreated control cells. ELF hBD-4 was detectable in 4 of 6 patients with chronic LRTI, while the amounts in controls were all below the detectable level. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that hBD-4 plays a significant role in the innate immunity of the lower respiratory tract

Neutrophils in cancer: neutral no more

Neutrophils are indispensable antagonists of microbial infection and facilitators of wound healing. In the cancer setting, a newfound appreciation for neutrophils has come into view. The traditionally held belief that neutrophils are inert bystanders is being challenged by the recent literature. Emerging evidence indicates that tumours manipulate neutrophils, sometimes early in their differentiation process, to create diverse phenotypic and functional polarization states able to alter tumour behaviour. In this Review, we discuss the involvement of neutrophils in cancer initiation and progression, and their potential as clinical biomarkers and therapeutic targets