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Chocs de la société de l\u27information: Poèmes documentaires sur littératie informationnelle critique
No full textRepresenting changes to social relations in the late twentieth century, the “Information Society” emerged from several global historical developments: political tension between market ideologies and attempts at alternatives; the integration of computer technology across public and private life; and intense specialization within western systems of knowledge fostering skepticism of grand unifying narratives. At different phases of its emergence, information literacy has been proffered as a solution to the Information Society’s many shocks. But despite investments and codification in national curriculums, information literacy has yielded only marginal success over its 50-year history, neither preventing the worst of the Information Society’s calamities nor achieving its visions of progress. Following modes of documentary poetry and research poetry, these three poems ("Zurkowski\u27s Prism," "The Amazing Dissolving Student," and "A Decade and Another and Another") draw from textual materials of the Information Society and its complex discourses to raise provocative questions about the world which critical information literacy practitioners must face such that they may change it. Each poem traces aspects of its history, its material conditions, and attempts through critical information literacy (both the incomplete and the ongoing) to struggle with its many contradictions.Représentant des changements dans les relations sociales à la fin du XXe siècle, la « société de l\u27information » a émergé de plusieurs développements historiques mondiaux : tension politique entre les idéologies du marché et les tentatives d\u27alternatives ; l\u27intégration de la technologie informatique dans la vie publique et privée ; et une spécialisation intense au sein des systèmes de savoirs occidentaux favorisant le scepticisme à l\u27égard des grands récits unificateurs. À différentes phases de son émergence, la littératie informationnelle a été présentée comme une solution aux nombreux chocs de la société de l\u27information. Mais malgré les investissements et la codification dans les curriculums nationaux, la littératie informationnelle n\u27a connu qu\u27un succès marginal au cours de ses 50 ans d\u27histoire, sans empêcher les pires calamités de la société de l\u27information et sans non plus réaliser ses visions de progrès. Suivant des modes de poésie documentaire et de poésie de recherche, ces trois poèmes (« Zurkowski’s Prism », « The Amazing Dissolving Student » et « A Decade and Another and Another ») puisent dans les matériaux textuels de la société de l\u27information et ses discours complexes pour soulever des questions provocantes sur le monde que les praticien.ne.s de la littératie informationnelle critique doivent confronter pour pouvoir le changer. Chaque poème retrace des aspects de son histoire et de ses conditions matérielles, et tente de lutter contre ses nombreuses contradictions à travers la littératie informationnelle critique (à la fois incomplète et en développement)
Disease Subtyping in Type 2 Diabetes: From Clusters to Clinical Translation
No full textType 2 diabetes (T2D) is a heterogeneous metabolic disorder with diverse etiologies, clinical trajectories, and treatment responses. Traditional management strategies adopt a one-size-fits-all approach, primarily focused on lowering hyperglycemia, but this paradigm overlooks important inter-individual differences that influence outcomes and long-term complications. Recent advances in systems biology and computational analytics have enabled novel approaches to disease subtyping, with the aim of stratifying patients into biologically and clinically meaningful groups.
This narrative review synthesizes current evidence on clustering methods applied to T2D subtyping. Hard clustering approaches, such as k-means and hierarchical clustering, have most often been used to define phenotypic subtypes based on clinical traits, including age of onset, body mass index, insulin resistance, and beta (β)-cell function. While these models provide discrete categories that can be easily interpreted, they may oversimplify disease heterogeneity. In contrast, soft clustering techniques, including archetype analysis and latent class models, allow individuals to exhibit characteristics across multiple clusters, reflecting overlapping biological pathways. Genetic clustering has further revealed stable, mechanistically distinct endotypes, with potential to guide treatment selection and refine risk prediction.
The clinical translation of T2D subtyping holds promise for tailoring interventions to underlying pathophysiology, improving therapeutic efficacy, and reducing adverse outcomes. However, challenges remain, including validation in diverse populations, cost-effectiveness considerations, and the need for prospective clinical trials stratified by subtype. Subtyping represents an important step toward precision medicine in T2D, with the potential to transform clinical care from uniform management to individualized treatment strategies
Barthas, Jérémie. Machiavelli costituzionalista: Il progetto di riforma dello Stato di Firenze del 1522
No full textKuhn, John. Making Pagans: Theatrical Practice and Comparative Religion in Early Modern England
No full textMinority languages and intergroup communication: the case of Siwi (Amazigh) in Egypt
No full textMinority or minoritized languages are often restricted to ingroup use by their own speakers and indexically related to them. Nevertheless, minority languages and their speakers are never isolated; they are part of a multilingual ecology and included in local language hierarchies. In this paper, I focus on the occurrence and role of Siwi in the interaction between Siwi and Arabic speakers in the Siwa Oasis. In this multilingual space, a national minority language, Siwi Amazigh, is spoken by the majority of the population, and different varieties of the dominant language, Arabic, are spoken as L1 by a smaller portion of the population and as L2 by virtually everyone. Data from mixed-group conversations show that although Arabic varieties far outscore Siwi, as one would expect, everyday practices are characterized by the hybridity and heterogeneity typical of multilingual ecologies. This paper provides an accurate portrait of conversational habits in Siwa and depicts Siwi fluctuating between an identity marker value, due to its vitality, and an identity maker value, which builds on it
FEASIBILITY OF A PILOT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL ON CRANIAL REMOLDING ORTHOSIS FOR SEVERE DEFORMATIONAL PLAGIOCEPHALY
No full textBACKGROUND: Prevalence of deformational plagiocephaly (DP) has increased since the “Back to sleep” campaign to counter sudden infant death syndrome. Cranial remolding orthosis (CRO) is commonly used to manage severe DP in infants, yet evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCT) remains limited.
OBJECTIVES: This pilot RCT aimed to assess the feasibility of a future large-scale RCT on cranial remolding orthosis for severe DP in infants aged 4 to 7 months. Specific objectives included evaluating recruitment, retention, coordination, and parental acceptability. A secondary objective was exploring trends in cranial shape outcomes between groups over 6- and 12-week periods.
METHODOLOGY: Seventy-eight infants were screened at a single pediatric tertiary-care center between December 2023 and June 2024, and 31 families were approached for consent after initial clinical evaluation. Following consent, head shape severity was assessed using three-dimensional surface imaging, and seven infants were excluded prior to randomization due to insufficient severity. Twenty-four infants were randomized to receive immediate (n = 12) or delayed (six-week delay) (n = 12) CRO. One participant randomized to the delayed arm received the orthosis earlier than planned due to a protocol deviation. Feasibility metrics included recruitment timelines, protocol adherence, appointment coordination, and parental acceptability. Exploratory efficacy analyses evaluated cranial vault asymmetry (CVA), cranial vault asymmetry index (CVAI), oblique diameter diagonal difference (ODDI), cranioproportional index (CI), Argenta severity scores, and parent-reported head shape perception and satisfaction.
FINDINGS: Of the 24 randomized infants, 20 were male and four were female. Mean age at enrollment was 5.3 ± 0.9 months in the intervention arm and 5.1 ± 0.9 months in the control arm. Recruitment and retention targets were met within seven months despite scheduling challenges. Parental satisfaction was high (mean score of 4.5 ± 0.1 on a 5-point scale), and all families reported willingness to repeat treatment despite common but minor side effects, including sweating, orthosis odor, and mild skin irritation. Significant improvements over time were observed in CVA, ODDI, and CI (all p < 0.001), with no significant between-group differences observed at 6 or 12 weeks.
CONCLUSION: This pilot trial confirmed the feasibility and acceptability of conducting a larger RCT on CRO for DP, demonstrating successful recruitment, retention, and protocol implementation. Cranial symmetry improved over time in both groups, with no statistically significant differences observed between immediate and delayed treatment arms over the 12-week period. Future larger studies are needed to assess clinical effectiveness and should consider broader inclusion criteria, refined measurement techniques, and dedicated coordination to address scheduling challenges and ensure rigorous implementation and generalizability.
Layman\u27s Abstract
Certain babies develop a flattened head shape, known as deformational plagiocephaly, when they spend long periods lying on their backs. This head shape has become more frequent since the recommendation for babies to sleep on their backs was introduced. Milder cases often improve over time, but severe cases may need a custom-made helmet (cranial remolding orthosis) to reshape the skull. This study tested whether it would be doable to conduct a larger clinical trial to evaluate how well helmet therapy works for infants with severe head flattening. Of 78 children screened, 31 infants were recruited, of whom 24 infants aged 4 to 7 months met eligibility criteria after head shape confirmation using three-dimensional imaging. Twelve infants started helmet therapy immediately, and 12 began treatment after a six-week delay. The study assessed ease of family recruitment and assignation to either group, ease of study coordination, how acceptable the treatment was to parents, and if measurable changes in head shape could be detected after 6 and 12 weeks. Recruitment and follow-up were successful, and parents reported high satisfaction with treatment despite minor, temporary side effects such as sweating, helmet odor, or mild skin irritation. Head shape improved in both groups over time, but no differences were seen between infants who started helmet therapy immediately versus after a six-week delay, suggesting that no clear short-term advantage of starting treatment earlier was observed in this pilot study. These results show that a larger study on helmet therapy for severe deformational plagiocephaly is doable and acceptable to families. Future research should include a broader range of infants and use refined measurement techniques to better determine helmet therapy effectiveness.
Article PDF Link: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/cpoj/article/view/46298/34762
How To Cite: Amir-Yazdani P, Alhaeik R, Gimeno M, Fontaine K, Bursuc A, Weil A.G, et al. Feasibility of a pilot randomized controlled trial on cranial remolding orthosis for severe deformational plagiocephaly. Canadian Prosthetics & Orthotics Journal. 2026; Volume 9, Issue 1, No. 1. https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v9i1.46298
Corresponding Author: Pegah Amir-Yazdani, MDAffiliation: 1) Department of Pediatrics, Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Canada; 2) Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.E-Mail: [email protected] ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9088-162
Regional Analgesia in Sickle Cell Knee Pain: A case report using the interspace between the popliteal artery and capsule of the knee (iPACK) and genicular nerve block techniques
No full textWhile nerve blocks have proven effective in managing pre- and postoperative knee pain, their application in managing sickle cell vaso-occlusive crises is not widely explored. This case presents a novel application of a motor-sparing combination of knee nerve blocks including the iPACK, genicular blocks, and a block to the vastus intermedius to treat debilitating knee pain in a 21-year-old male who was opioid-refractory. This intervention provided improved analgesia leading to a notable improvement in the patient’s functional ability. This case highlights the potential of this specific regional anesthetic technique as an effective and safe alternative to systemic opioid therapy for regional sickle cell-related pain.
The role of precision medicine in liver transplantation: An interview with Dr. Mamatha Bhat
No full textDr. Mamatha Bhat is a Hepatologist and Clinician-Scientist affiliated with the Ajmera Transplant Centre at the University Health Network (UHN). She is also a scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (TGHRI) and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Bhat serves as Director of the Clinician-Scientist Training Program for the Department of Medicine, Partnership & Engagement Lead for the Temerty Centre for AI Research and Education in Medicine (T-CAIREM), and past Chair of the International Liver Transplant Society Basic and Translational Science Research Committee.
Dr. Bhat completed her medical training at McGill University. She then completed a Transplant Hepatology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. This was followed by a CIHR Fellowship for Health Professionals, through which she completed a PhD in Medical Biophysics.
Dr. Bhat’s research program aims to improve long-term outcomes for patients undergoing liver transplantation by developing artificial intelligence tools that integrate clinical and omics data. Her vast contributions to the field of liver transplant research have been recognized internationally
Regional Voices on Stage: The Sheffield Dialect and Authenticity in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
No full textThis paper examines the role of the Sheffield dialect in the musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (ETAJ, score by Dan Gillespie Sells, book and lyrics by Tom MacRae, and directed by John Butterell), exploring how it functions as a tool for characterisation and storytelling. It also explores how the use of dialect contributes to the construction of a working-class identity without reducing the characters to negative stereotypes, as has too often been done in the past with non-standard dialects. The paper focuses on the notion of dialectal authenticity, highlighting the linguistic choices that directors face when incorporating accents and dialects in film and theatre. ETAJ is presented as an example of how the competing pressures of authenticity and audience intelligibility can be navigated depending on the target audience. An interview with the dialect coach who worked on the production provided valuable insights into these linguistic choices as well as the coaching process, which helps actors acquire and produce accents and dialects accurately. By aiming for a high degree of authenticity and providing the necessary resources to the actors, ETAJ serves as an ideal subject for the analysis concluding this paper, in which I evaluate how authentically the Sheffield accent is portrayed by six characters and whether the actors’ performances ultimately reflect the creators’ intentions. I conclude that ETAJ sets a strong example of how a regional, non-standard dialect can be portrayed respectfully in entertainment media, not only through careful integration into the narrative but also via authentic performance. Such positive portrayals avoid reinforcing harmful stereotypes and can contribute to normalising linguistic diversity and reducing stigmatisation