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“Can we train students in both Sanskrit and Python?”:Book review: Tilton, L., Mimno, D., & Johnson, J. M. (2024). Computational humanities. University of Minnesota Press.
No full textA distributional treatment of Real2Sim2Real for object-centric agent adaptation in vision-driven deformable linear object manipulation
No full textWe present an integrated (or end-to-end) framework for the Real2Sim2Real problem of manipulating deformable linear objects (DLOs) based on visual perception. Working with a parameterised set of DLOs, we use likelihood-free inference (LFI) to compute the posterior distributions for the physical parameters using which we can approximately simulate the behaviour of each specific DLO. We use these posteriors for domain randomisation while training, in simulation, object-specific visuomotor policies (i.e. assuming only visual and proprioceptive sensory) for a DLO reaching task, using model-free reinforcement learning. We demonstrate the utility of this approach by deploying sim-trained DLO manipulation policies in the real world in a zero-shot manner, i.e. without any further fine-tuning. In this context, we evaluate the capacity of a prominent LFI method to perform fine classification over the parametric set of DLOs, using only visual and proprioceptive data obtained in a dynamic manipulation trajectory. We then study the implications of the resulting domain distributions in sim-based policy learning and real-world performance
Pathways between intimate partner violence and HIV care and treatment during pregnancy and postpartum:a qualitative study in southwestern Kenya
No full textIntimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with suboptimal HIV treatment behaviors and health outcomes among perinatal women. Less is known about the postpartum phase or how distinct types of perinatal IPV exposure may inhibit HIV-related care. We conducted a qualitative study nested within an ongoing trial among perinatal women in rural Kenya to explore the influence of IPV on adherence to HIV treatment during pregnancy and postpartum. In 2022, a trained researcher fluent in Dholuo and Kiswahili conducted 23 semi-structured interviews with women up to 2 years postpartum living with HIV and self-reported IPV in their current relationship. Digitally recorded interviews were translated into English, transcribed verbatim, and thematically coded using deductive and inductive techniques. Nearly all women reported psychological and financial IPV, the majority reported physical IPV, half reported male controlling behaviors, half reported reproductive coercion, and many reported sexual IPV. Many women described a link between IPV and their adherence to perinatal HIV care and treatment. An indirect pathway was exhibited when psychological IPV heightened mental distress, leading to non-adherence through symptoms of depression and anxiety. A second path occurred when financial IPV and withholding food led to HIV treatment challenges. A direct pathway occurred when male partners sabotaged HIV treatment or controlled women’s access to HIV care. In turn, women’s evasion of IPV through leaving home or strategic non-disclosure had unanticipated consequences for their HIV treatment. Despite enduring IPV, many women described adhering to HIV treatment to sustain good health for themselves and their children. IPV-exposed women living with HIV described multiple ways a violent relationship was detrimental to maintaining their HIV treatment. To meet global goals to end vertical transmission of HIV and improve maternal and infant health, preventing and addressing IPV within maternal health settings should be prioritized in HIV programming
The gut microbiota of Labrador Retriever puppies: a longitudinal cohort study
No full textBackgroundMost research into the development of the canine gut microbiota has featured cross-sectional studies, and there has been limited exploratory research into how it is affected by external factors. We aimed to longitudinally characterise the gut microbiota and its development in Labrador Retriever puppies and identify whether alterations in the gut microbiota are associated with factors related to demography, lifestyle, antibiotic usage and gastrointestinal health.Results76 Labrador Retriever puppies were recruited via Dogslife, a UK-based online cohort study. Faecal samples were collected at three to four, seven, and 12 months of age and analysed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing alongside questionnaire data. Alpha and beta diversity were assessed using linear mixed effects models and permutational multivariate analysis, accounting for repeated measures. Differential abundance was evaluated using multivariable association with linear models. Associations were identified between puppies’ gut microbiota and age, sex, coat colour, household smoking status, dietary indiscretions (e.g. household waste, coprophagia), contact with other dogs and horses, recent oral/injected antibiotic use, and recent vomiting and diarrhoea. The greatest source of variation was individual identity, explaining approximately 25% of alpha diversity and 50% of beta diversity. Alpha diversity declined between three and 12 months, with age-related shifts in community composition and dispersion. Coprophagia was associated with increased alpha diversity and contributed to variation in community structure. Antibiotic use was associated with reduced alpha diversity, altered composition, and changes in taxa across Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Tenericutes. These effects were largely transient, with the largest shifts occurring within one week of treatment. Puppies with recent diarrhoea showed increased alpha diversity and differential abundance in several taxa within four weeks of the episode. Helicobacter was more frequently detected in samples from puppies with recent diarrhoea.ConclusionsThis longitudinal study characterises the development of gut microbiota in Labrador Retriever puppies and identifies associations with demographic, environmental, and health-related factors. These findings underscore the value of longitudinal sampling in microbiome research, offer novel insights for owners and veterinarians, and lay a foundation for future studies investigating causal mechanisms and potential interventions.<br/
Uncovering the multivariate genetic architecture of frailty with genomic structural equation modeling
No full textFrailty is a multifaceted clinical state associated with accelerated aging and adverse health outcomes. Informed etiological models of frailty hold promise for producing widespread health improvements across the aging population. Frailty is currently measured using aggregate scores, which obscure etiological pathways that are only relevant to subcomponents of frailty. Here we perform a multivariate genome-wide association study of the latent genetic architecture between 30 frailty deficits, which identifies 408 genomic risk loci. Our model includes a general factor of genetic overlap across all deficits, plus six new factors indexing a shared genetic signal across specific groups of deficits. We demonstrate the added clinical and etiological value of the six factors, including predicting frailty in external datasets, highlighting divergent genetic correlations with clinically relevant outcomes and uncovering unique underlying biology linked to aging. We show that nuanced models of frailty are key to understanding its causes and how it relates to worse health
Neuropsychological assessment practices in PRECISION-ALS:Challenges and opportunities for harmonization
No full textOBJECTIVE: To gather comprehensive insights regarding current neuropsychological assessment practices in PRECISION-ALS, a pan-European research and industry consortium, to propose areas which can be harmonized and facilitate more robust cross-country comparisons.METHODS: Representatives from PRECISION-ALS sites were surveyed with a semi-structured interview, gathering information on how people with ALS are assessed for cognitive/behavioral change, including how they are initially screened, classified as impaired/unimpaired, and followed up longitudinally. Assessment practices across PRECISION-ALS sites were summarized using descriptive analysis.RESULTS: Ten of the eleven PRECISION-ALS sites perform cognitive and/or behavioral screening at least once during the course of the disease, using the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioral ALS Screen, either for clinical or research purposes. All centers categorize impairment, but differ how it is defined, with some using local norms, and others using other countries' norms. Most sites account for age and education, but differ in how these factors are considered. Longitudinal protocols vary in terms of the number of assessments, time intervals, and use of alternative versions. Behavioral screening is more consistently implemented, with the ECAS caregiver interview as the standard tool, however there is a lack of clarity in how this data is applied. Many sites supplement cognitive and behavioral screening with additional measures of mood and/or neuropsychiatric symptoms.CONCLUSIONS: These findings illustrate areas of commonality and divergence in neuropsychological screening practices. Site-specific variations are likely to confound research involving cross-country data-sharing. PRECISION-ALS, in generating prospective population-based datasets, will provide agreed harmonized protocols for neuropsychological assessment across participating sites
Optimizing management of non-additive genetic variation in selective breeding programmes
No full textIntense selection, particularly in nucleus breeding programmes, has been hugely successful in achieving genetic gain and improving commercially important production and health traits. Alongside genetic drift, selection leads to changes in allele frequencies over time, and loss of genetic variance and heterozygosity, which give rise to inbreeding depression. Breeding programmes in livestock are typically based solely on additive genetic architecture, while non-additive genetic effects (e.g., dominance) are overlooked. The aim of this study is to explore methods to estimate quantitative genetic parameters and assess the impact of dominance variance on the breeding programme over time, in the presence of both additive and dominance genetic effects. We have employed stochastic simulations within the AlphaSimR package, to examine scenarios for a complex trait influenced by only additive or by both additive and dominance genetic effects, in populations of varying numbers of breeding animals, and assuming random mating and equal contributions. An initial burn-in of 10 generations was followed by 20 generations of truncation selection based on phenotypes or on genomic estimated breeding values (GEBV).We estimated GEBV using either an additive or an additive and dominance model via ridge-regression best linear unbiased prediction (RR-BLUP / SNP-BLUP). The temporal trends and long-term performance of the simulated breeding programmes were assessed in terms of genetic gain, changes in genetic variance, inbreeding depression, and prediction accuracy. We expect that accurately estimating and directly accounting for and exploiting dominance effects can enhance the long-term performance of the breeding programme and better inform the management of genetic variance and inbreeding depression. Our findings will support further work to optimize the trade-off between genetic gain and loss of genetic diversity, and to devise breeding strategies for how to best estimate and exploit non-additive variation in practice in commercial breeding programmes
Mature students’ experiences of disability and vocational care-related degrees in college-based higher education:Recognition and redistribution
No full textThis research paper investigates how subjective experiences of disability influence mature students’ decisions about care-related vocational degrees. It offers a fresh perspective by considering the impact of disability on both disabled students and on students who have disabled relatives. The article also interrogates the application of Fraser’s two-dimensional theory of social justice to the claims of disabled people, arguing for its integration with her earlier work on the politics of needs interpretation. Ten participants from three further education colleges were interviewed, and their transcripts were thematically analysed. Findings indicated that both positive and negative life experiences of disability and/or unpaid care affected the career choices of most of the participants. They were motivated to acquire qualifications to have their experiences recognised so that they could effect change. Accessing resources that enhance the learning of disabled people and their carers was a fight. These draining battles affected some participants’ capacity to study, and some understood the need to learn new expert discourses to succeed. The research concludes that approaches to widening participation need to be less focussed on the collection of quantitative data and more inclusive of lived experiences
Patterns of adverse childhood experiences from a longitudinal South African community sample:A latent class analysis
Get PDFSouth African children have a high risk of experiencing multiple adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) compared to children living in high-income countries. In a low- and middle-income context with high levels of deprivation and crime, we should consider expanded ACEs (ACE-E) that are contextually sensitive, alongside conventional ACEs (ACEs-C). Latent class analysis was used to explore patterns of 14 ACEs measured in a sample of 3,401 South African adolescents (56.42% girls). Data were collected in 2010/2011 and 2011/2012. We assessed the association between class membership and demographic covariates of poverty, location (rural vs. urban), gender, age, and province. 5 classes emerged based on model fit indices and theory: “Low ACEs,” “High Parental AIDS-Affectedness and Parental Death,” “High Parental AIDS-Affectedness and Parental Sickness,” “Moderate Multi-Type Abuse,” and “Highest Multi-type ACEs.” ACEs-E played a stronger role in shaping latent classes than ACEs-C. Compared to the low ACE class, adolescents in other classes lived in greater poverty, were older, and more likely to be girls. Children in “High Parental AIDS-Affectedness and Parental Death” were more likely to be in the Mpumalanga province and children in “Moderate Multi-Type Abuse” were more likely to be in Western Cape. South African adolescents are at risk of multiple ACE exposure and contextually sensitive ACEs mattered most when characterising patterns of ACEs. Research should continue to focus on person-centred approaches to ACEs for understanding the complexity and multiplicative effects of ACEs in low-resource settings
Clinical audit of pre-procedural checklists in an equine referral hospital
Get PDFBackground: Surgical safety checklists have demonstrated a positive impact on post-surgical morbidity/mortality in human medicine, and likely have an equal benefit in veterinary medicine. To realise their advantages, they must be correctly and regularly used. A clinical audit was planned to assess this. Objectives: To determine the compliance with the pre-procedural request form/surgical safety checklist in a large multi-disciplinary equine referral hospital. Study Design: Retrospective full-cycle clinical audit. Methods: One hundred and forty-eight checklists (consisting of 23 sub-sections) were examined for completeness. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and section completion rates were compared against national standards. Interventions to improve checklist use were made: a checklist redesign after consultation with end-users, a hospital education scheme to improve staff understanding, regular e-mail reminders, and recruitment of key senior staff as champions. Lastly, it was made policy for checklists to be uploaded to the horse's medical record. Following this, 30 new checklists were re-audited in the same manner. Results obtained were compared against the first audit and national standards. Results: Checklists were rarely fully complete. In the first audit, completion rates for various subsections ranged from 9% to 89%, with a median value of 64%. In the re-audit, the completion rates ranged from 80% to 100%, with a median value of 93%. The sign-out section was most likely to be incomplete. Main Limitations: Data were not collected in real-time, and it is difficult to determine the significance of missing data. Staff were aware of the re-audit; it is possible that checklist compliance was temporarily increased. Fewer checklists were examined in the second audit. Conclusions: The interventions have a positive benefit on checklist completion. A clinical audit of checklists is a useful tool that can easily be conducted in practice and may help promote a safety culture within hospitals.</p
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