Participatory research emergent recommendations for researchers and academic institutions: a rapid scoping review

In recent years, a range of academic disciplines have emphasized the potential benefits of prioritizing meaningful engagement with individuals and communities who have lived and have living experience with the topics, phenomena and problems researchers seek to study. In March 2022, we were asked to produce a paper to inform a university workshop and training materials to help students and faculty engage with participatory methods. In turn, we conducted a rapid scoping review of reviews to document key recommendations relating to methodology, logistics and ethics within the various modes of participatory research. Searches were conducted in Web of Science, SCOPUS, ProQuest, Pub Med, OVID (including Medline, PschyInfo/EMBASE, APAPsych) to identify published academic reviews (e.g., systematic, scoping, literature reviews and evidence gap maps), for best practices relating to participatory research. This approach drew out aggregated best practices and lessons learned across many primary studies and increased the speed of the review. From 276 studies imported for screening, 43 full-text studies were assessed for eligibility and 28 were deemed relevant for full inclusion. Results are presented as: 1) participatory research recommendations for researchers; and 2) participatory research recommendations for academic institutions. Three sub-themes emerged within the context of suggestions for researchers engaging with participatory methods: 1) early-stage considerations for study design and planning; 2) conducting the research; and 3) dissemination and knowledge exchange. This rapid scoping review highlights key recommendations for researchers interested in using participatory approaches in their own research, and for academic and institutional stakeholders who aim to support these practices

On knottings in the physical Hilbert space of LQG as given by the EPRL model

We consider the EPRL spin foam amplitude for arbitrary embedded two-complexes. Choosing a definition of the face- and edge amplitudes which lead to spin foam amplitudes invariant under trivial subdivisions, we investigate invariance properties of the amplitude under consistent deformations, which are deformations of the embedded two-complex where faces are allowed to pass through each other in a controlled way. Using this surprising invariance, we are able to show that in the physical Hilbert space as defined by the sum over all spin foams contains no knotting classes of graphs anymore.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figure

Anticoagulant rodenticides on our public and community lands: spatial distribution of exposure and poisoning of a rare forest carnivore.

Anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) poisoning has emerged as a significant concern for conservation and management of non-target wildlife. The purpose for these toxicants is to suppress pest populations in agricultural or urban settings. The potential of direct and indirect exposures and illicit use of ARs on public and community forest lands have recently raised concern for fishers (Martes pennanti), a candidate for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act in the Pacific states. In an investigation of threats to fisher population persistence in the two isolated California populations, we investigate the magnitude of this previously undocumented threat to fishers, we tested 58 carcasses for the presence and quantification of ARs, conducted spatial analysis of exposed fishers in an effort to identify potential point sources of AR, and identified fishers that died directly due to AR poisoning. We found 46 of 58 (79%) fishers exposed to an AR with 96% of those individuals having been exposed to one or more second-generation AR compounds. No spatial clustering of AR exposure was detected and the spatial distribution of exposure suggests that AR contamination is widespread within the fisher's range in California, which encompasses mostly public forest and park lands Additionally, we diagnosed four fisher deaths, including a lactating female, that were directly attributed to AR toxicosis and documented the first neonatal or milk transfer of an AR to an altricial fisher kit. These ARs, which some are acutely toxic, pose both a direct mortality or fitness risk to fishers, and a significant indirect risk to these isolated populations. Future research should be directed towards investigating risks to prey populations fishers are dependent on, exposure in other rare forest carnivores, and potential AR point sources such as illegal marijuana cultivation in the range of fishers on California public lands

Regge calculus from a new angle

In Regge calculus space time is usually approximated by a triangulation with flat simplices. We present a formulation using simplices with constant sectional curvature adjusted to the presence of a cosmological constant. As we will show such a formulation allows to replace the length variables by 3d or 4d dihedral angles as basic variables. Moreover we will introduce a first order formulation, which in contrast to using flat simplices, does not require any constraints. These considerations could be useful for the construction of quantum gravity models with a cosmological constant.Comment: 8 page

Exploiting High-Throughput Cell Line Drug Screening Studies to Identify Candidate Therapeutic Agents in Head and Neck Cancer

BACKGROUND: There is an urgent need for better therapeutics in head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) to improve survival and decrease treatment morbidity. Recent advances in high-throughput drug screening techniques and next-generation sequencing have identified new therapeutic targets in other cancer types, but an HNSCC-specific study has not yet been carried out. We have exploited data from two large-scale cell line projects to clearly describe the mutational and copy number status of HNSCC cell lines and identify candidate drugs with elevated efficacy in HNSCC. METHODS: The genetic landscape of 42 HNSCC cell lines including mutational and copy number data from studies by Garnett et al., and Barretina et al., were analyzed. Data from Garnett et al. was interrogated for relationships between HNSCC cells versus the entire cell line pool using one- and two-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs). As only seven HNSCC cell lines were tested with drugs by Barretina et al., a similar analysis was not carried out. RESULTS: Recurrent mutations in human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative patient tumors were confirmed in HNSCC cell lines, however additional, recurrent, cell line-specific mutations were identified. Four drugs, Bosutinib, Docetaxel, BIBW2992, and Gefitinib, were found via multiple-test corrected ANOVA to have lower IC50 values, suggesting higher drug sensitivity, in HNSCC lines versus non-HNSCC lines. Furthermore, the PI3K inhibitor AZD6482 demonstrated significantly higher activity (as measured by the IC50) in HNSCC cell lines harbouring PIK3CA mutations versus those that did not. CONCLUSION: HNSCC-specific reanalysis of large-scale drug screening studies has identified candidate drugs that may be of therapeutic benefit and provided insights into strategies to target PIK3CA mutant tumors. PIK3CA mutations may represent a predictive biomarker for response to PI3K inhibitors. A large-scale study focused on HNSCC cell lines and including HPV-positive lines is necessary and has the potential to accelerate the development of improved therapeutics for patients suffering with head and neck cancer. This strategy can potentially be used as a template for drug discovery in any cancer type

Patterns of Natural and Human-Caused Mortality Factors of a Rare Forest Carnivore, the Fisher (Pekania pennanti) in California.

Wildlife populations of conservation concern are limited in distribution, population size and persistence by various factors, including mortality. The fisher (Pekania pennanti), a North American mid-sized carnivore whose range in the western Pacific United States has retracted considerably in the past century, was proposed for threatened status protection in late 2014 under the United States Endangered Species Act by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in its West Coast Distinct Population Segment. We investigated mortality in 167 fishers from two genetically and geographically distinct sub-populations in California within this West Coast Distinct Population Segment using a combination of gross necropsy, histology, toxicology and molecular methods. Overall, predation (70%), natural disease (16%), toxicant poisoning (10%) and, less commonly, vehicular strike (2%) and other anthropogenic causes (2%) were causes of mortality observed. We documented both an increase in mortality to (57% increase) and exposure (6%) from pesticides in fishers in just the past three years, highlighting further that toxicants from marijuana cultivation still pose a threat. Additionally, exposure to multiple rodenticides significantly increased the likelihood of mortality from rodenticide poisoning. Poisoning was significantly more common in male than female fishers and was 7 times more likely than disease to kill males. Based on necropsy findings, suspected causes of mortality based on field evidence alone tended to underestimate the frequency of disease-related mortalities. This study is the first comprehensive investigation of mortality causes of fishers and provides essential information to assist in the conservation of this species

The FENE dumbbell polymer model: existence and uniqueness of solutions for the momentum balance equation

We consider the FENE dumbbell polymer model which is the coupling of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with the corresponding Fokker-Planck-Smoluchowski di ffusion equation. We show global well-posedness in the case of a 2D bounded domain. We assume in the general case that the initial velocity is sufficiently small and the initial probability density is sufficiently close to the equilibrium solution; moreover an additional condition on the coeffcients is imposed. In the corotational case, we only assume that the initial probability density is sufficiently close to the equilibrium solution

Integration of highly probabilistic sources into optical quantum architectures: perpetual quantum computation

In this paper we introduce a design for an optical topological cluster state computer constructed exclusively from a single quantum component. Unlike previous efforts we eliminate the need for on demand, high fidelity photon sources and detectors and replace them with the same device utilised to create photon/photon entanglement. This introduces highly probabilistic elements into the optical architecture while maintaining complete specificity of the structure and operation for a large scale computer. Photons in this system are continually recycled back into the preparation network, allowing for a arbitrarily deep 3D cluster to be prepared using a comparatively small number of photonic qubits and consequently the elimination of high frequency, deterministic photon sources.Comment: 19 pages, 13 Figs (2 Appendices with additional Figs.). Comments welcom

Optical generation of matter qubit graph states

We present a scheme for rapidly entangling matter qubits in order to create graph states for one-way quantum computing. The qubits can be simple 3-level systems in separate cavities. Coupling involves only local fields and a static (unswitched) linear optics network. Fusion of graph state sections occurs with, in principle, zero probability of damaging the nascent graph state. We avoid the finite thresholds of other schemes by operating on two entangled pairs, so that each generates exactly one photon. We do not require the relatively slow single qubit local flips to be applied during the growth phase: growth of the graph state can then become a purely optical process. The scheme naturally generates graph states with vertices of high degree and so is easily able to construct minimal graph states, with consequent resource savings. The most efficient approach will be to create new graph state edges even as qubits elsewhere are measured, in a `just in time' approach. An error analysis indicates that the scheme is relatively robust against imperfections in the apparatus.Comment: 10 pages in 2 column format, includes 4 figures. Problems with figures resolve

Operator Spin Foam Models

The goal of this paper is to introduce a systematic approach to spin foams. We define operator spin foams, that is foams labelled by group representations and operators, as the main tool. An equivalence relation we impose in the set of the operator spin foams allows to split the faces and the edges of the foams. The consistency with that relation requires introduction of the (familiar for the BF theory) face amplitude. The operator spin foam models are defined quite generally. Imposing a maximal symmetry leads to a family we call natural operator spin foam models. This symmetry, combined with demanding consistency with splitting the edges, determines a complete characterization of a general natural model. It can be obtained by applying arbitrary (quantum) constraints on an arbitrary BF spin foam model. In particular, imposing suitable constraints on Spin(4) BF spin foam model is exactly the way we tend to view 4d quantum gravity, starting with the BC model and continuing with the EPRL or FK models. That makes our framework directly applicable to those models. Specifically, our operator spin foam framework can be translated into the language of spin foams and partition functions. We discuss the examples: BF spin foam model, the BC model, and the model obtained by application of our framework to the EPRL intertwiners.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, RevTex4.