Intrigues and priorities : critical thinking and contemporary art in visual arts education

This thesis looks at how arts education can respond to the context of the 21st century by focusing on critical thinking and contemporary art in visual arts education. I argue that art as a subject has the potential to educate youth beyond mere aesthetic, formal art skills. Its inherent flexibility to encompass all interests, cultures, and backgrounds makes it a truly inclusive subject and the multiplicity that follows provides students with opportunities for cross-associative and critical thinking. If utilized in an education context, it can be the necessary conduit for engaging students, respecting their intrigues, and offering a space to critically understand their priorities. The research questions that guide this thesis are as follows: 1. Has the role of art education diametrically changed for the 21st century student and why? What new empowering roles can art education assume today? How is critical thinking incorporated currently in arts education? 2. How does art education promote critical thinking among students? What are the underlying challenges and changes needed in enhancing critical thinking in an arts education context? 3. What are the distinguishing features and qualities of contemporary art that enhance art education

The Use of Web-Based Support Groups Versus Usual Quit-Smoking Care for Men and Women Aged 21-59 Years: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Existing smoking cessation treatments are challenged by low engagement and high relapse rates, suggesting the need for more innovative, accessible, and interactive treatment strategies. Twitter is a Web-based platform that allows people to communicate with each other throughout the day using their phone. OBJECTIVE This study aims to leverage the social media platform of Twitter for fostering peer-to-peer support to decrease relapse with quitting smoking. Furthermore, the study will compare the effects of coed versus women-only groups on women’s success with quitting smoking. METHODS The study design is a Web-based, three-arm randomized controlled trial with two treatment arms (a coed or women-only Twitter support group) and a control arm. Participants are recruited online and are randomized to one of the conditions. All participants will receive 8 weeks of combination nicotine replacement therapy (patches plus their choice of gum or lozenges), serial emails with links to Smokefree.gov quit guides, and instructions to record their quit date online (and to quit smoking on that date) on a date falling within a week of initiation of the study. Participants randomized to a treatment arm are placed in a fully automated Twitter support group (coed or women-only), paired with a buddy (matched on age, gender, location, and education), and encouraged to communicate with the group and buddy via daily tweeted discussion topics and daily automated feedback texts (a positive tweet if they tweet and an encouraging tweet if they miss tweeting). Recruited online from across the continental United States, the sample consists of 215 male and 745 female current cigarette smokers wanting to quit, aged between 21 and 59 years. Self-assessed follow-up surveys are completed online at 1, 3, and 6 months after the date they selected to quit smoking, with salivary cotinine validation at 3 and 6 months. The primary outcome is sustained biochemically confirmed abstinence at the 6-month follow-up. RESULTS From November 2016 to September 2018, 960 participants in 36 groups were recruited for the randomized controlled trial, in addition to 20 participants in an initial pilot group. Data analysis will commence soon for the randomized controlled trial based on data from 896 of the 960 participants (93.3%), with 56 participants lost to follow-up and 8 dropouts. CONCLUSIONS This study combines the mobile platform of Twitter with a support group for quitting smoking. Findings will inform the efficacy of virtual peer-to-peer support groups for quitting smoking and potentially elucidate gender differences in quit rates found in prior research. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02823028; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT0282302

Facebook Recruitment Using Zip Codes to Improve Diversity in Health Research: Longitudinal Observational Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Facebook’s advertising platform reaches most US households and has been used for health-related research recruitment. The platform allows for advertising segmentation by age, gender, and location; however, it does not explicitly allow for targeting by race or ethnicity to facilitate a diverse participant pool. OBJECTIVE This study looked at the efficacy of zip code targeting in Facebook advertising to reach blacks/African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos who smoke daily for a quit-smoking web-based social media study. METHODS We ran a general market campaign for 61 weeks using all continental US zip codes as a baseline. Concurrently, we ran 2 campaigns to reach black/African American and Hispanic-/Latino-identified adults, targeting zip codes ranked first by the percentage of households of the racial or ethnic group of interest and then by cigarette expenditure per household. We also ran a Spanish language campaign for 13 weeks, targeting all continental US zip codes but utilizing Facebook’s Spanish language targeting. The advertising images and language were common across campaigns. Costs were compared for advertisement clicks, queries, applications, and participants, and yields were compared for the final three outcomes. We examined outcomes before and after the Cambridge Analytica scandal that broke in March 2018. Finally, we examined 2 promoted Facebook features: lookalike audiences and audience network placement. RESULTS Zip code targeting campaigns were effective for yielding the racial or ethnic groups of interest. The black-/African American–focused versus general market campaign increased black/African American weekly queries (mean 9.48, SD 5.69 vs general market mean 2.83, SD 2.05; P<.001) and applicants (mean 1.11, SD 1.21 vs general market mean 0.54, SD 0.58; P<.001). The Hispanic-/Latino-focused versus general market campaign increased Hispanic/Latino weekly queries (mean 3.10, SD 2.16 vs general market mean 0.71, SD 0.48; P<.001) and applicants (mean 0.36, SD 0.55 vs general market mean 0.10, SD 0.14; P=.001). Cost metrics did not differ between campaigns at generating participants (overall P=.54). Costs increased post- versus prescandal for the black-/African American–focused campaign for queries (mean US $8.51, SD 3.08 vs US$5.87, SD 1.89; P=.001) and applicants (mean US $59.64, SD 35.63 vs US$38.96, SD 28.31; P=.004) and for the Hispanic-/Latino-focused campaign for queries (mean US $9.24, SD 4.74 vs US$7.04, SD 3.39; P=.005) and applicants (mean US $61.19, SD 40.08 vs US$38.19, SD 21.20; P=.001). CONCLUSIONS Zip code targeting in Facebook advertising is an effective way to recruit diverse populations for health-based interventions. Audience network placement should be avoided. The Facebook lookalike audience may not be necessary for recruitment, with drawbacks including an unknown algorithm and unclear use of Facebook user data, and so public concerns around data privacy should be considered. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrial.gov NCT02823028; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT0282302

One future or many? November 14, 15, and 16, 2002

This repository item contains a single issue of the Pardee Conference Series, a publication series that began publishing in 2006 by the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future. This was the Center's 2nd annual Conference that took place during November 14, 15, and 16, 2002.The conference brought together some 30 experts from various disciplines to discuss whether the trajectories of the future will be ‘global’ or ‘regional’ in nature. Different panels looks at the future trajectories for Europe, the Western Hemisphere, Central Asia and the Former Soviet Union, and on Asia and in each case the discussion looked at the relative importance of the regional and of global dynamics on teh forces shaping the future of these regions.Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affair

Sexual Networks and HIV Risk among Black Men Who Have Sex with Men in 6 U.S. Cities

Background Sexual networks may place U.S. Black men who have sex with men (MSM) at increased HIV risk. Methods Self-reported egocentric sexual network data from the prior six months were collected from 1,349 community-recruited Black MSM in HPTN 061, a multi-component HIV prevention intervention feasibility study. Sexual network composition, size, and density (extent to which members are having sex with one another) were compared by self-reported HIV serostatus and age of the men. GEE models assessed network and other factors associated with having a Black sex partner, having a partner with at least two age category difference (age difference between participant and partner of at least two age group categories), and having serodiscordant/serostatus unknown unprotected anal/vaginal intercourse (SDUI) in the last six months. Results Over half had exclusively Black partners in the last six months, 46% had a partner of at least two age category difference, 87% had ≤5 partners. Nearly 90% had sex partners who were also part of their social networks. Among HIV-negative men, not having anonymous/exchange/ trade partners and lower density were associated with having a Black partner; larger sexual network size and having non-primary partners were associated with having a partner with at least two age category difference; and having anonymous/exchange/ trade partners was associated with SDUI. Among HIV-positive men, not having non-primary partners was associated with having a Black partner; no sexual network characteristics were associated with having a partner with at least two age category difference and SDUI. Conclusions Black MSM sexual networks were relatively small and often overlapped with the social networks. Sexual risk was associated with having non-primary partners and larger network size. Network interventions that engage the social networks of Black MSM, such as interventions utilizing peer influence, should be developed to address stable partnerships, number of partners, and serostatus disclosure

The Influence of Physical Activity on Monocyte Phenotype on Circulating Platelet-Monocyte Complexes in Overweight/Obese Persons

Elevated platelet-monocyte complexes (PMC) promote atherosclerosis and are associated with cardiovascular disease. It is unknown whether consistent physical activity (PA) decreases circulating PMCs. Additionally, no one has determined the monocyte phenotype most associated with PMCs. Purposes: 1) to examine the influence of PA on PMCs and their association with inflammatory /prothrombotic markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP), L-selectin (LS), platelet factor 4 (PF4), von Willebrand Factor (vWF), and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) and 2) to determine the monocyte phenotype most likely to form PMCs. Methods: Thirty-one overweight/obese subjects (44±5yr, BMI 34.2±5 kg×m2) were divided into two groups: sedentary (SED, n=17) and physically active (PA, n=14) based on physical activity logs. SED participated in \u3c 1 h of formal exercise while PA participated in moderate-high intensity exercise at least 3 h per week. Flow cytometry was used to identify PMCs on the monocyte phenotypes: classical (CD14+CD16-), intermediate (CD14+CD16+), and non-classical (CD14+CD16++). Platelets were identified using the marker CD42a. Results: Percentage of circulating PMCs and median fluorescence intensity of CD42a (MedFI; marker of platelet density per monocyte) were not different between groups; however, monocyte phenotype significantly impacted PMC percentage and MedFI where the lower the CD16 expression, the greater the adhesion of platelets. Classical monocytes (CD16-) had the highest % of PMC, etc. (Fig 1). HbA1c was greater (p=0.031) and LS (p=0.019) was lower in SED compared to PA (Fig. 2). There were no significant associations between any blood marker and PMC percentage, but PF4 was correlated with percent of CD16 -(r= -0.482, p=0.031) and CD16+(r= 0.473, p=0.035) monocytes. Conclusions: The absence of a separation between groups in VO2max may partially explain the lack of a difference in PMCs between groups. Regarding our second aim, classical monocytes appear to be more involved in PMC formation than do CD16+ monocytes with CD16++ having the lowest percentage of cells with platelets adhered (PMC). This observation may be due to the shedding of adhesion molecules from platelets and monocytes during activation from classical (CD16-) to a more inflammatory state (ie. CD16+)

Seroprevalence of Zika virus in wild African green monkeys and baboons

ABSTRACT Zika virus (ZIKV) has recently spread through the Americas and has been associated with a range of health effects, including birth defects in children born to women infected during pregnancy. Although the natural reservoir of ZIKV remains poorly defined, the virus was first identified in a captive “sentinel” macaque monkey in Africa in 1947. However, the virus has not been reported in humans or nonhuman primates (NHPs) in Africa outside Gabon in over a decade. Here, we examine ZIKV infection in 239 wild baboons and African green monkeys from South Africa, the Gambia, Tanzania, and Zambia using combinations of unbiased deep sequencing, quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR), and an antibody capture assay that we optimized using serum collected from captive macaque monkeys exposed to ZIKV, dengue virus, and yellow fever virus. While we did not find evidence of active ZIKV infection in wild NHPs in Africa, we found variable ZIKV seropositivity of up to 16% in some of the NHP populations sampled. We anticipate that these results and the methodology described within will help in continued efforts to determine the prevalence, natural reservoir, and transmission dynamics of ZIKV in Africa and elsewhere. IMPORTANCE Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne virus originally discovered in a captive monkey living in the Zika Forest of Uganda, Africa, in 1947. Recently, an outbreak in South America has shown that ZIKV infection can cause myriad health effects, including birth defects in the children of women infected during pregnancy. Here, we sought to investigate ZIKV infection in wild African primates to better understand its emergence and spread, looking for evidence of active or prior infection. Our results suggest that up to 16% of some populations of nonhuman primate were, at some point, exposed to ZIKV. We anticipate that this study will be useful for future studies that examine the spread of infections from wild animals to humans in general and those studying ZIKV in primates in particular. Podcast: A podcast concerning this article is available

In vitro parameter optimization for spatial control of focused ultrasound ablation when using low boiling point phase-change nanoemulsions

Abstract Background Phase-shift nanoemulsions (PSNEs) provide cavitation sites when the perfluorocarbon (PFC) nanodroplets (ND) are vaporized to microbubbles by acoustic energy. Their presence lowers the power required to ablate tissue by high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), potentially making it a safer option for a broader range of treatment sites. However, spatial control over the ablation region can be problematic when cavitation is used to enhance heating. This study explored relationships between vaporization, ablation, and the PSNE concentration in vitro to optimize the acoustic intensity and insonation time required for spatially controlled ablation enhancement using a PSNE that included a volatile PFC component. Methods HIFU (continuous wave at 1 MHz; insonation times of 5, 10, 15, and 20 s; cool-down times of 2, 4, and 6 s; peak negative pressures of 2, 3, and 4 MPa) was applied to albumin-acrylamide gels containing PFC agents (1:1 mix of volatile decafluorobutane and more stable dodecafluoropentane at 105 to 108 PFC ND per milliliter) or agent-free controls. Vaporization fields (microbubble clouds) were imaged by conventional ultrasound, and ablation lesions were measured directly by calipers. Controlled ablation was defined as the production of ‘cigar’-shaped lesions corresponding with the acoustic focal zone. This control was considered to be lost when ablation occurred in prefocal vaporization fields having a predominantly ‘tadpole’ or oblong shape. Results Changes in the vaporization field shape and location occurred on a continuum with increasing PSNE concentration and acoustic intensity. Working with the maximum concentration-intensity combinations resulting in controlled ablation demonstrated a dose-responsive relationship between insonation time and volumes of both the vaporization fields (approximately 20 to 240 mm3) and the ablation lesions (1 to 135 mm3) within them. Conclusions HIFU ablation was enhanced by this PSNE and could be achieved using intensities ≤650 W/cm2. Although the ablation lesions were located within much larger microbubble clouds, optimum insonation times and intensities could be selected to achieve an ablation lesion of desired size and location for a given PSNE concentration. This demonstration of controllable enhancement using a PSNE that contained a volatile PFC component is another step toward developing phase-shift nanotechnology as a potential clinical tool to improve HIFU