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Sowing Seeds of Change : Feminist collective action for agroecological transformation in Zimbabwe
No full textThis thesis examines how women in agricultural communities in Zimbabwe leverage collective action to advance agroecological transformation while challenging systemic gender inequities. It responds to the persistent marginalization of women in Zimbabwean agriculture by investigating how collective action reclaims agency and reshapes agroecological systems. Despite constituting at least 70 % of the agricultural workforce in Zimbabwe, women face marginalization through unequal land access, exclusion from strategic decision-making, and devaluation of their indigenous knowledge. Grounded in Feminist Political Ecology (FPE) and Collective Action Theory (CAT), the study builds on qualitative document analysis and recurring fieldwork (2022–2025) in Zimbabwe’s semi-arid regions, using interviews, focus groups, and participant observation.Findings reveal that women’s collectives within farmer organizations, community seed banks, and seed fairs, serve as crucial platforms for resisting gender-based exclusion and fostering innovation. These collective actions enable women farmers to reassert control over local seed systems, enhance agrobiodiversity, improve climate adaptation strategies, and reinforce their agency and community resilience. Such grassroots initiatives reconfigure power dynamics by redistributing resources, promoting equitable knowledge exchange, and redefining women’s roles and leadership in agriculture. Nevertheless, the research reveals inherent contradictions when transformative actions occasionally reproduce inequities while dismantling others. The study makes three key contributions: empirically I demonstrate how women’s collective action linksagroecology with gender equity, theoretically I advance FPE by centering Southern African women’s experiences, and as regards policy, I offer recommendations to integrate ecological resilience with gender justice. By foregrounding Zimbabwean women’s leadership, I argue that agroecology – rooted in collective organizing – is a powerful strategy for achieving systemic change towards ecological balance and gender justice. These generated insights hold global relevance by demonstrating effective, context-specific models of collective action that can inform broader strategies to support marginalized groups worldwide. Findings also provide valuable guidance for scholars analyzing gender dynamics in agriculture, policymakers aiming to develop inclusive agricultural policies, and social movements striving to build resilient, equitable, and sustainable food systems in widespread smallholder farming
Autosomal dominant HK1-related neurodevelopmental disorder with visual defects and brain anomalies (NEDVIBA) : An emerging mitochondrial disorder
No full textPurpose: Hexokinase 1 (HK1) encodes a ubiquitously expressed hexokinase, which is responsible for the first step of glycolysis, phosphorylation of glucose to glucose-6-phosphate. Both autosomal recessive and dominant variants in this gene have previously been shown to cause human disease, and presently, there are clinical data available for 27 individuals with the monoallelic neurodevelopmental disorder with visual defects and brain anomalies. Delineation of the entire phenotypic spectrum and genotype-phenotype relations will aid in management and counseling decisions. Methods: We present molecular and clinical data on 22 additional individuals with heterozygous, mostly de novo, variants in HK1. We also reviewed data from the published literature. Results: The clinical manifestations of neurodevelopmental disorder with visual defects and brain anomalies include varying degrees of intellectual disability/developmental delay, hypotonia, epileptic encephalopathy, visual deficits, a Leigh syndrome spectrum pattern on brain magnetic resonance imaging, and elevated lactate in blood and cerebrospinal fluid, suggesting mitochondrial dysfunction. Based on severity, individuals can be classified into mild, moderate, severe, or lethal forms. In terms of genotype-phenotype correlation, we find that all individuals carrying a missense variant at the threonine 457 residue have severe clinical features. Conclusion: HK1 should be included in mitochondrial disorder gene sequencing panels
No sex differences in the association between regional brain structure abnormalities and cognitive functioning in a geriatric memory clinic population
No full textDifferences between men and women in cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration are not yet well understood. Although sex differences in brain structure abnormalities, including white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and grey matter (GM) atrophy, have been associated with cognitive decline in the ageing population, the evidence is limited and inconclusive. Therefore, we explored sex differences in brain structure abnormalities and in the association between brain structure abnormalities and cognitive functioning. We analyzed global and regional volumetric measures of WMH and GM of 475 patients visiting an academic geriatric memory clinic in the Netherlands with multiple linear regression analyses. For both global and regional WMH and GM, we found no sex differences in brain structure abnormalities. We also found no interaction of sex on the association between brain structure abnormalities and cognitive functioning. We reflect on using a binary classification of men and women based on sex in this study, which might overlook individual differences and does not elucidate gender-related factors that influence health and risk of pathology. Future studies should focus on exploring the relationship between sex and gender on brain structure and cognitive functioning beyond this binary model, by including more data on social context, more diverse populations and using intersectional approaches
中国城市软创新的时空演化及其影响因素
No full textTrademarks increasingly serve as indicators of product innovation and broader industry shifts, encompassing a wide range of innovation activities and soft innovations often overlooked by patents. However, research on the relationship between trademarks and innovation remains in its early stages, with a lack of exploration into China's soft innovation from the trademark perspective. This paper addresses this gap by analyzing trademark data from 1980 to 2021. Integrating big data mining, statistical methods, GIS spatial analysis, and econometric models, it explores the spatio-temporal evolution patterns and factors influencing soft innovation in Chinese cities. The results find that: First, the scale of trademark applications exhibits a complex evolution characterized by continuous growth and fluctuation, showing a dual-cycle and three-stage trend. Soft innovation output in cities follows a stepwise spatial distribution pattern, decreasing from the eastern coastal areas to central and western regions. This pattern reflects a regional agglomeration, with hierarchical changes showing both stability and variability. Second, the distribution of trademark categories exhibits significant heterogeneity, notably with a continuous rise in the proportion of service categories. Subcategories are concentrated in the consumer goods sector and maintain steady growth. Spatially, these categories show a mix of clustering and dispersion, predominantly aligning with industrial development trends and innovation-driven features, presenting a pattern congruent with the industrial structure. Finally, factors such as the development of the internet, establishment of new enterprises, and technological innovation have a significant positive impact on trademark applications. Population size, GDP, and urban commodity exports also contribute significantly to increased trademark activity. The influence of industrial composition on trademark application intensity exhibits certain heterogeneity. There is a clear correlation between knowledge-intensive service industries and trademark activity, whereas a negative relationship is observed with government service departments
“It is very convenient when it works – successes and challenges with welfare technology” - a qualitative study
No full textWelfare technology (WT) use is increasingly advocated to facilitate aging in place. However, it remains unclear how older adults and homecare staff perceive these digital technologies in practice. This qualitative study investigated the ways in which current WT either facilitated or fell short in supporting older adults in their daily lives and homecare staff at work. Four key themes were developed using thematic analysis: 1) Successes and challenges with ease of use (i.e., how simple it is to interact with the WT); 2) Successes and challenges with usefulness (i.e., how effective the WT is in achieving its intended purpose); 3) Challenges with appearance, sounds and physical location; and 4) Challenges with technical maintenance and vulnerabilities. Findings revealed paradoxes in both older adult and homecare staff user perceptions. For instance, some successes with WT’s usefulness were highlighted, like GPS safety alarms in supporting older adult independence. However, challenges in usefulness were also exposed, like staff hiding “overused” safety alarms. Except for the medication robot, none of the WT devices clearly alleviated anticipated homecare staff shortages. WT perceived as auditorily or visually inadequate, that required more effort than users could comfortably manage, or that organizations could seamlessly integrate, were generally regarded as challenging. To overcome such challenges, greater involvement from older adults and homecare staff in the design and implementation of WT within homecare contexts is necessary. Refined criteria for prescribing WT to individuals, particularly regarding cognitive status, are additionally recommended by the researchers
Implementation of Recovery Tracker : A Postdischarge Electronic Remote Symptom-Monitoring Survey Tool After Major Urologic Oncology Surgeries
No full textPURPOSE Remote symptom monitoring shows promise in promoting postdischarge contact between patients and clinicians. Unique strategies may be needed to tailor reach and engagement to specific patient populations. We aimed to assess implementation and effectiveness outcomes of a patient-reported symptom assessment tool (Recovery Tracker [RT]) after major urologic operations.MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients undergoing one of four procedures (2016-2022) at a metropolitan cancer center - radical prostatectomy, nephrectomy, radical cystectomy, and retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for testicular cancer - were included in the study. Electronic delivery of RT was embedded in routine perioperative patient care. Outcomes were assessed according to the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance framework. Descriptive statistics was reported for reach, effectiveness, and adoption; a linear mixed-effects model for implementation; and a general additive model and fixed-effects meta-analysis for maintenance.RESULTSThe cohort comprised 8,934 patients. Reach, defined as patients correctly receiving the survey, was 98% overall, with 81% (95% CI, 80 to 82) of patients completing at least one survey and the majority completing >7. The median time to completion was <2 minutes and improved as patients completed more surveys (P <.001), with slight variation among procedure types. The survey was effective, initiating patient-clinician contact when alert thresholds were triggered, with a marginal increase in the need for clinician office phone calls. Patient engagement with RT was maintained over several years, with a slight improvement after the addition of e-mail reminders (between 3% and 8%).CONCLUSION Implementing a daily electronic survey after hospital discharge after major urologic surgeries is feasible and used often by patients
Invisible Higgs decay from dark matter freeze-in at stronger coupling
No full textWe study the Higgs boson decay into dark matter (DM) in the framework of freeze-in at stronger coupling. Even though the Higgs-DM coupling is significant, up to order one, DM does not thermalize due to the Boltzmann suppression of its production at low temperatures. We find that this mechanism leads to observable Higgs decay into invisible final states with the branching fraction of 10% and below, while producing the correct DM relic abundance. This applies to the DM masses down to the MeV scale, which requires a careful treatment of the hadronic production modes. For DM masses below the muon threshold, the Boltzmann suppression is not operative and the freeze-in nature of the production mechanism is instead guaranteed by the smallness of the electron Yukawa coupling. As a result, MeV DM with a significant coupling to the Higgs boson remains non-thermal as long as the reheating temperature does not exceed O(100) MeV. Our findings indicate that there are good prospects for observing light non-thermal DM via invisible Higgs decay at the LHC and FCC
Large regional variation in endovascular thrombectomy rates for acute ischemic stroke in Sweden
No full textINTRODUCTION: Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) is a significant improvement in the care of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients, but only a small portion of patients receive treatment. Our aim was to analyze EVT implementation in Sweden according to a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) for procedural and implementational effectiveness. METHODS: A nationwide prospective registry-based observational study using data from 2018, 2020, and 2022 from the Swedish quality registries for stroke care (Riksstroke and EVAS) and official population statistics. Effectiveness was analyzed using a set of predefined KPIs. To describe procedural and implementation effectiveness in a single comprehensible measure population success rate was derived by multiplying the EVT rate with successful recanalization.RESULTS: Between 2018 and 2022 EVTs in Sweden increased from 874 to 1474 procedures per year. Correspondingly, the EVT rate (EVT/AIS) increased from 4.1% to 7.3%. Implementation was heterogenous with a six-fold difference between the highest and lowest regions. EVT rates were generally highest in regions with comprehensive stroke centers (CSCs). Procedural effectiveness were similar between all CSCs. The population success-rate increased from 3.4% to 6.4% during the period with large differences between CSCs (range 3.4%-12.4%, in 2022).CONCLUSIONS: By including KPIs for procedural and implementational effectiveness, it is possible to evaluate EVT implementation for the entire stroke population, which is the ultimate objective for healthcare. The population success-rate is capturing procedural implementation effectiveness in a single measure comprehensible for all stake holders and facilitate comparisons over time and between regions, even between regions with different stroke incidence
Accelerating aqueous electrolyte design with automated full-cell battery experimentation and Bayesian optimization
No full textThe integration of automation and data-driven methodologies offers a promising approach to accelerating materials discovery in energy storage research. Thus far, in battery research, coin-cell assembly has advanced to become nearly fully automated but remains largely disconnected from data-driven methods. To bridge the disconnect, this work presents a self-driving laboratory framework to accelerate electrolyte discovery by integrating automated coin-cell assembly, galvanostatic cycling of LiFePO4||Li4Ti5O12 organic-aqueous full cells, and Bayesian optimization for selecting subsequent experiments based on prior results. The study explored an organic-aqueous hybrid electrolyte system comprising four co-solvents and two lithium-conducting salts. Using this framework, cells with an optimized electrolyte cycled with at least 94% Coulombic efficiency. Additionally, online electrochemical mass spectrometry revealed that the optimized organic co-solvents successfully mitigated the parasitic hydrogen evolution reaction. The results highlight the potential of combining Bayesian optimization with autonomous full-cell experimentation while contributing new electrolyte design insights for next-generation aqueous batteries