71446 research outputs found
Sort by
E.E. Southard's Network: Psychiatry's Intervention into 'the Labor Problem'
No full textAuthor's Origina
Zodiac Games
No full textFormat: 10-part YA mini-series (50 minutes/ episode)
Logline: A dystopian society where Virgos- girls with magical powers- must sacrifice
themselves in order for the world to continue.
Episode two of “Zodiac Games” follows protagonist Marlayna “Marlee” Kendra (18) on her journey to find Raya, her missing twin sister. Episode one introduces the world of the Zodiac, where everyone born under a celestial sign possesses a special ability. Marlee, a Virgo, has the gift of magic, which requires her to sacrifice herself, in order to power all of society. But a group of radical nomadic “Beaumen,” who live in the nearby woods, rejects this idea and makes it their life's mission to stop the sacrifices. Marlee, a specially trained, powerful House Defender (who protects Virgos with defensive magic), meets Fletch, the Beauman combat leader, who agrees to help her find her sister, if she helps him in return. Marlee, only taught to hate Beaumen, does not trust him and jumps over a waterfall to escape. The story picks up here, with Marlee running from Fletch and the Beaumen, who want to contain her powers, and Marlee’s personal struggle to find the one person she lost five years ago— her sister
The Effectiveness of Solar Photovoltaic Energy Policies in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
No full textThis study examines the effectiveness of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy policies in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, focusing on their role in advancing renewable energy adoption and achieving the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) energy diversification goals. Using a comparative methodology, the research analyzes policy frameworks, stakeholder engagement, and project outcomes in the two cities. Dubai’s initiatives, including the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park and Shams Dubai, emphasize distributed generation and grassroots stakeholder participation. Conversely, Abu Dhabi’s large-scale projects, such as Noor Abu Dhabi and the Al Dhafra Solar PV Project, prioritize centralized energy production and strategic international partnerships.
The findings highlight the distinct approaches of both cities, demonstrating Dubai’s ability to foster community engagement and Abu Dhabi’s success in achieving scalability and economic efficiency. Both strategies align with the UAE’s broader goals for sustainability, energy security, and economic diversification. However, challenges such as regulatory hurdles, financial constraints, and technical limitations remain. This paper provides actionable insights for policymakers and stakeholders, offering a replicable framework for enhancing renewable energy policies globally and advancing the transition to a sustainable energy future.Author's Origina
Boundary construction and education: un/belonging among Somali refugee students in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
No full textThis study analyzes how un/belonging is experienced by Somali refugee students in public primary schools in the Bole Michael area of Addis Ababa. Drawing on data from interviews and focus group discussions, we place these micro-level experiences of un/belonging in conversation with the current Ethiopian policy for the inclusion of refugees in the national education system. While the inclusion of refugees is now the status quo for large refugee-hosting countries in the Global South, we find that this policy often ignores the specificities of refugees’ educational experiences in particular places. Somali refugees describe public primary schools as ‘difficult’ and ‘alien’ to their culture, while school authorities and teachers characterize Somali learners as ‘others’ who should, but fail to, assimilate. Our findings indicate the need for policies and practices to engage in negotiations between refugees and public schools to move beyond foundational efforts of providing access to schools to goals of learning and belonging.Accepted Manuscrip
Genome-wide association analyses identify 95 risk loci and provide insights into the neurobiology of post-traumatic stress disorder
No full textPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) genetics are characterized by lower discoverability than most other psychiatric disorders. The contribution to biological understanding from previous genetic studies has thus been limited. We performed a multi-ancestry meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies across 1,222,882 individuals of European ancestry (137,136 cases) and 58,051 admixed individuals with African and Native American ancestry (13,624 cases). We identified 95 genome-wide significant loci (80 novel). Convergent multi-omic approaches identified 43 potential causal genes, broadly classified as neurotransmitter and ion channel synaptic modulators (e.g., GRIA1, GRM8, CACNA1E ), developmental, axon guidance, and transcription factors (e.g., FOXP2, EFNA5, DCC ), synaptic structure and function genes (e.g., PCLO, NCAM1, PDE4B ), and endocrine or immune regulators (e.g., ESR1, TRAF3, TANK ). Additional top genes influence stress, immune, fear, and threat-related processes, previously hypothesized to underlie PTSD neurobiology. These findings strengthen our understanding of neurobiological systems relevant to PTSD pathophysiology, while also opening new areas for investigation.Accepted Manuscrip
Disentangling sex differences in PTSD risk factors
No full textDespite extensive research on sex/gender differences in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), underlying mechanisms are still not fully understood. Here we present a systematic overview of three sex/gender-related risk pathways. We assessed 16 risk factors as well as 3-month PTSD severity in a prospective cohort study (n=2924) of acutely traumatized individuals and investigated potential mediators in the pathway between sex assigned at birth and PTSD severity using multiple mediation analysis with regularization. Six risk factors were more prevalent/severe in women, and none were more pronounced in men. Analyses showed that acute stress disorder, neuroticism, lifetime sexual assault exposure, anxiety sensitivity, and pre-trauma anxiety symptoms fully mediated and uniquely contributed to the relationship between sex assigned at birth and PTSD severity. Our results demonstrate different risk mechanisms for women and men. Such knowledge can inform targeted interventions. Our systematic approach to differential risk pathways can be transferred to other mental disorders to guide sex- and gender-sensitive mental health research.Accepted Manuscrip
Who Enrolls in Coverage and Who Remains Uninsured? Medicaid Take-Up Before and After the Affordable Care Act and During Unwinding
No full textContext
Many uninsured individuals in the U.S. are eligible for Medicaid but not enrolled. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded Medicaid eligibility starting in 2014, streamlined enrollment, and boosted outreach. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, states were required to provide continuous coverage to Medicaid enrollees, a policy that ended in April 2023, with resulting coverage losses during the “unwinding” of this policy.
Methods
Using household data from the American Community Survey and state-level eligibility criteria, we assessed Medicaid participation among U.S. citizens under age 65, who either had Medicaid coverage or no insurance. We compared results before the ACA (2008-2010), after the ACA (2017-2019), and during “unwinding” (2023). We utilized logistic regression to identify predictors of take-up in each of these time periods.
Findings
The national take-up rate among Medicaid-eligible individuals rose from 76.5% before the ACA to 85.0% after the ACA. These gains persisted in 2023 as unwinding began, when take-up was slightly higher (86.5%) than before the pandemic. Post-ACA participation was highest among eligible children; Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian (AANHPI) and Black individuals; and residents of expansion states. Participation was lowest among adults ages 19-21, American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) individuals, employed adults, and those facing premiums for Medicaid coverage. Take-up improved post-ACA in both more and less deprived neighborhoods, while urban areas saw greater growth in take-up than rural areas.
Conclusions
From the pre- to post-ACA period, Medicaid take-up rates among eligible individuals increased, and these gains persisted during the beginning of the unwinding period, potentially reflecting increased outreach efforts under the Biden Administration. However, areas of vulnerability remain among young adults, working adults, AIAN individuals, and those in rural areas. These findings have important implications as the unwinding period ends and large changes to Medicaid may be considered after the 2024 elections.Author's Origina
New considerations for representing moisture in indoor thermal conditions: Associations between enthalpy, cognitive performance, and thermal sensations
No full textMotivated by limitations with the use of temperature and thermal comfort models in relation to occupant health outcomes, this work investigates numerous characterizations of thermal conditions and associations among these thermal variables, cognitive performance, and thermal perceptions. Measurements of classroom dry-bulb temperature and relative humidity were used to calculate a suite of eleven thermal variables, which were paired with thermal sensation votes and cognitive test responses from graduate students attending classes in these monitored spaces, resulting in an analysis dataset of 273 observations from 54 participants. Results from Spearman Rank correlation coefficients, factor analysis, and principal component analysis suggest that the eleven thermal variables cluster into three groups that reflect variations in indoor temperature, indoor relative humidity, and indoor-outdoor differences. While several variables appear to reflect variations in only air temperature (e.g., PMV estimates) or moisture, indoor enthalpy appears to reflect variations in temperature and RH in the most balanced manner. A series of mixed effects statistical models suggest that higher values of indoor enthalpy appear to be associated with improved cognitive test scores and warm sensations, and warm sensations appear to be associated with improved cognitive test scores. The collective results posit new considerations for the importance of indoor moisture with respect to occupant outcomes and how commonly used modelling approaches may not reflect this. Additional research that incorporates diverse populations, varied built environments, and causal methods could help further our understanding of the effects of air temperature and moisture on occupant outcomes in varied built environment settings.Version of Recor
