Search

Social prescribing (SP) embodies a comprehensive approach to addressing the social determinants of health. Access to Resources in the Community (ARC) is an innovative SP program offering bilingual services that involves a single point of entry for health and social needs and introduces practice changes to assist primary care providers in engaging patients, along with a nonclinical lay navigator who supports patients in accessing relevant community resources. The ARC team has created a SP toolkit offering practical guidance for setting up, implementing, monitoring the progress of and evaluating SP programs. The four ARC guides can be easily customized for application in diverse practice and research settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Older adults with higher needs are ideal candidates for social prescribing interventions, given the complex and intersectoral nature of their needs. This article describes findings from a developmental evaluation of 19 social prescribing programs for older adults at risk of frailty. Methods: An evaluation of the programs was conducted from 2020 to 2023. We used data from three components of the evaluation: (1) initial evaluation data collected in 2020 and 2021; (2) program profiles developed in 2022; and (3) co-creation sessions conducted in 2023. Results: From startup until March 2023, the programs served a total of 2544 older adults. The community connectors identified factors at the individual, interpersonal, institutional, community and policy levels that contributed to the successful implementation and delivery of their programs (e.g. physician champions, communities of practice, strong pre-existing relationships with the health care system), as well as challenges (e.g. limited capacity of family physicians, lack of community resources). There was strong agreement among community connectors that successful social prescribing programs should include the following core elements: (1) making connections to needed community resources; (2) co-creation of a wellness plan with long-term clients or clients who require intensive supports; (3) ongoing follow-up and check-ins for clients with wellness plans; and (4) an assessment and triaging process for the prioritization of clients. Conclusion: To leverage the full potential of social prescribing interventions, it is essential that programs engage with a range of health and social care providers, that community connectors are skilled and well supported, and that adequate investments are made in the nonprofit and voluntary sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The broader determinants of health including a wide range of community assets are extremely important in relation to public health outcomes. Multiple health conditions, multimorbidity, is a growing problem in many populations worldwide. Methods: This paper quantified the effect of community assets on major health conditions for the population of England over six years, at a fine spatial scale using a data analytic approach. Community assets, which included indices of the health system, green space, pollution, poverty, urban environment, safety, and sport and leisure facilities, were quantified in relation to major health conditions. The health conditions examined included high blood pressure, obesity, dementia, diabetes, mental health, cardiovascular conditions, musculoskeletal conditions, respiratory conditions, kidney and liver disease, and cancer. Cluster analysis and dendrograms were calculated for the community assets and major health conditions. For each health condition, a statistical model with all community assets was fitted, and model selection was performed. The number of significant community assets for each health condition was recorded. The unique variance, explained by each significant community asset per health condition, was quantified using hierarchical variance partitioning within an analysis of variance model. Results: The resulting data indicate major health conditions are often clustered, as are community assets. The results suggest that diversity and richness of community assets are key to major health condition outcomes. Primary care service waiting times and distance to public parks were significant predictors of all health conditions examined. Primary care waiting times explained the vast majority of the variances across health conditions, with the exception of obesity, which was better explained by absolute poverty. Conclusions: The implications of the combined findings of the health condition clusters and explanatory power of community assets are discussed. The vast majority of determinants of health could be accounted for by healthcare system performance and distance to public green space, with important covariate socioeconomic factors. Emphases on community approaches, significant relationships, and asset strengths and deficits are needed alongside targeted interventions. Whilst the performance of the public health system remains of key importance, community assets and local infrastructure remain paramount to the broader determinants of health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay approaches the "God is dead" theme by offering a new philosophical history addressing what would make belief in divinity, in God, sustainable and unsustainable. I claim that the death of nature and the death of God in the modern era are manifestations of a progressive distancing from a religious philosophy of the Earth that guided human development until the beginnings of civilization. I outline within the space limitations here a new way of looking at the rise of civilization and the modern era by re-evaluating large-scale epochal beliefs and assumptions of progress within a context of sustainable ends and what I have termed sustainable wisdom. From an original evolved outlook I call animate mind, rooted in a religious philosophy of the living Earth, succeeding contractions of anthropocentric mind and machine-centric mind have regressively disconnected from the community of life. This trajectory courses the disconnect from the livingness of things as defining cosmos, to that of machine-centric mind in the modern era, a devolutionary elevation of the feelingless machine, of deadness, of what Erich Fromm described as cultural necrophilia. I propose rebalancing these later contractions of anthropocentric and machine-centric mind with that deeper reality of animate mind, forged as the human evolutionary legacy still present in the human body-mind today. The renewed legacy of animate mind provides a key to what a sustainable God might mean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clostridium acetobutylicum is a solventogenic, anaerobic, gram-positive bacterium that is commonly considered the model organism for studying acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation. The need to produce these chemicals sustainably and with a minimal impact on the environment has revived the interest in research on this bacterium. The recent development of efficient genetic tools allows to better understand the physiology of this micro-organism, aiming at improving its fermentation capacities. Knowledge about gene essentiality would guide the future genetic editing strategies and support the understanding of crucial cellular functions in this bacterium. In this work, we applied a transposon insertion site sequencing method to generate large mutant libraries containing millions of independent mutants that allowed us to identify a core group of 418 essential genes needed for in vitro development. Future research on this significant biocatalyst will be guided by the data provided in this work, which will serve as a valuable resource for the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neighbourhood social cohesion has emerged as a prominent concern in urban governance worldwide. As the primary domain of residents' daily activities, the community life circle contributes to neighbourly interaction and social cohesion. This study investigates the role of space use within the community life circle in promoting social cohesion in Chongqing, China. Through an in-depth activity diary survey and structural equation model analysis, we empirically examine the interplay between community space use, neighbourly interaction, and social cohesion. Our findings suggest that the 15 min community life circle plays a crucial role in residents' daily lives, particularly among senior residents. However, the contribution of community space use to social cohesion is fully mediated by neighbourly interaction. Furthermore, not all patterns of community space use contribute to social cohesion equally; space use engaged with diverse companions on workdays significantly enhances neighbourly interaction and social cohesion. The study enriches the existing literature by deepening our understanding of the role of the community life circle in fostering socially cohesive and sustainable neighbourhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios de la Gestión is the property of Universidad Andina Simon Bolivar, Sede Ecuador and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Period products like pads, tampons, and a variety of disposable and reusable hygiene supplies constitute just one facet essential for effectively managing menstruation in a way that allows an individual to feel comfortable carrying out their daily routine. Given the absence of comprehensive public policies ensuring access to period products for economically disadvantaged menstruating individuals, community-based basic needs banks, particularly period supply banks, were established to alleviate the challenges faced by those experiencing period product insecurity. These initiatives specifically aim to furnish essential menstrual products to individuals in need. Objectives: This study aimed to assess any organizational benefits experienced by community-based organizations distributing period products on behalf of period supply banks. Design: This cross-sectional study is a formative evaluation of the distribution of free period products by period supply banks, which provide access to essential menstrual hygiene products for individuals in need through partnership with community-based partner agencies. Methods: Staff members at agencies distributing period products were invited to complete an anonymous web-based survey at two different time points about their agency's experiences distributing free period products. All participants provided informed consent via the web-based survey. Results: Agency staff reported that since they started providing period products, clients were more likely to: start a conversation about other needs (66.7%), extend the length of their relationship with the agency (60.0%), keep scheduled appointments (62.1%), ask for assistance with another need (75.0%), communicate between visits (42.4%), participate in other agency programming (55.9%), and seek other agency services (73.5%). Due to a shortage of period products, 41% of agencies have had to turn away clients needing period supplies. Conclusion: Period supply banks, in collaboration with community-based partner agencies, enhance access to both menstrual products and the associated support, fostering engagement with diverse resources and opportunities among recipients. However, addressing unmet needs necessitates policies and additional funding to ensure universal access to essential hygiene supplies for everyone to thrive and actively participate in society. Plain language summary: Positive benefits for agencies giving away free period products from a period supply bank in the United States Why we did this study: In the United States, many people with periods cannot afford to buy period supplies when needed. When people do not have enough period products, they may have to stay home from places they want to go, like work, school, or community spaces. Period supply banks want to help ensure everyone has period supplies, so that, they take in donations and buy more supplies. Then, period supply banks partner with other agencies that give period supplies for free to individuals experiencing need. What we wanted to learn: We wanted to know if the agencies that give away free period products through partnerships with period supply banks have any benefits from doing so. What we did: We asked people who work at an agency that gives away free period products received through a partnership with a period supply bank to take an online survey at two different times, when the agency began the collaboration with the period supply bank and after distributing period supplies for several months. Only people who wanted to be in the study did the survey. What we learned: Agencies who give away free period products benefit because clients are more likely to talk to them about other needs they have, enroll in a program or receive another resource from the agency, miss fewer appointments, and stay in an agency program longer. Sometimes, agencies do not have enough products for everyone who needs period supplies. More funding and policies are needed to help period supply banks buy enough period products for everyone who needs them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The jewel scarab Chrysina gloriosa is one of the most charismatic beetles in the United States and is found from the mountains of West Texas to the Southeastern Arizona sky islands. This species is highly sought by professional and amateur collectors worldwide due to its gleaming metallic coloration. However, the impact of the large-scale collection of this beetle on its populations is unknown, and there is a limited amount of genetic information available to make informed decisions about its conservation. As a first step, we present the genome of C. gloriosa , which we reconstructed using a single female specimen sampled from our ongoing effort to document population connectivity and the demographic history of this beetle. Using a combination of long-read sequencing and Omni-C data, we reconstructed the C. gloriosa genome at a near-chromosome level. Our genome assembly consisted of 454 scaffolds spanning 642 MB, with the 10 largest scaffolds capturing 98% of the genome. The scaffold N50 was 72 MB, and the BUSCO score was 95.5%. This genome assembly will be an essential tool to accelerate understanding C. gloriosa biology and help make informed decisions for the conservation of Chrysina and other species with similar distributions in this region. This genome assembly will further serve as a community resource for comparative genomic analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from the UK Local BMD, a volunteer project to transcribe the birth, marriage and death records of England and Wales, is a rare onomastic resource, being one of the few public datasets to contain full names. However, it has yet to be presented in a form amenable to large-scale analysis. This article processes 25,213,860 birth and 9,887,244 death records--collectively representing 204,427 names across 289 years-into a resource for community use. The data are presented alongside a number of summary statistics and both internal and external validation of its integrity. The data, along with the code used to generate it, are available at http://www.github.com/sjbush/uk%5Fbmd for non-commercial research purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Approximately two-thirds of patients transported to emergency departments (ED) for a fall are discharged from the ED without urgent treatment. This pilot study tests the feasibility of implementing a pre-hospital falls-assessment protocol performed by emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to determine whether a patient who fell needs an ED assessment or could be referred safely to a community resource. Methods The protocol was administered by trained EMTs to adults aged ≥ 65 after a fall between October 2019 and March 2020 in Sherbrooke (QC). All patients were transported to ED regardless of protocol outcome (transport recommended/not recommended). The objective was to assess if EMTs could complete the protocol and make the appropriate decision concerning the transport to ED. Secondary objectives aimed to assess the accuracy in identifying patients who do not require transport, and to measure the impact on avoidable ambulance transports. Results A total of 125 EMTs interventions were carried out: 17 patients were in the transport not recommended group, representing 14% of transport to hospital for falls-related EMTs calls that could be possibly avoided. Of these, 110 were transported to ED. Mean duration of on-site EMTs interventions was of 31 minutes. Forty-seven patients were admitted, mostly for infections and fractures, including four in the transport not recommended group. Conclusions This study showed that EMTs can administer a fallsassessment protocol aimed at identifying patients that need an ED evaluation. Results permitted to amend the protocol before the second phase of the project evaluating the safety of the protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Musculoskeletal disorders are characterized by several impairments, including pain, affecting muscles, bones, joints and adjacent connective tissue, resulting in temporary or permanent functional limitations and disability. Musculoskeletal pain is particularly prevalent worldwide and greatly impacts the quality of life, social participation and economic burden. To date, several issues persist about the classification of musculoskeletal pain and its management strategies and resources. The treatment of musculoskeletal pain conditions is complex and often requires a multimodal approach, including pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapy that might be ineffective in many cases, resulting in poor patient satisfaction and controversial expectations about the potential benefits of available interventions. This manuscript provides an overview of unmet needs in managing musculoskeletal pain, particularly focusing on pharmacotherapeutic pitfalls in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Baseline characterization is used during the project to show progress toward the goal and objectives and after the project to measure the amount of change. The main objective of the study was to investigate the socio-economic characterization and natural resource use in the Mefakiya learning watershed. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Quantitative data were collected using a structured questionnaire through face-to-face interviews with households at the intervention site. Sixty representative households were selected randomly and interviewed. Constraints and potentials were identified via focus group discussions. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data. The majority of the sample households (90%) were male-headed. Agriculture (crop and livestock production) is the principal (98.3%) occupation of the sample households in the Mefakiya watershed. Maize, finger millet, and te, the major crops cultivated in the watershed, are produced by 98, 92, and 68% of the households, respectively. The study area is characterized by high natural resource degradation that is interconnected in nature. Therefore, an integrated approach is more important and necessary for the sustainable use of watershed resources and further development in all aspects of the watershed in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Indigenous populations have increased risk of developing diabetes and experience poorer treatment outcomes than the general population. The FORGE AHEAD program partnered with First Nations communities across Canada to improve access to resources by developing community-driven primary healthcare models. Methods: This was an economic assessment of FORGE AHEAD using a payer perspective. Costs of diabetes management and complications during the 18-month intervention were compared to the costs prior to intervention implementation. Cost-effectiveness of the program assessed incremental differences in cost and number of resources utilization events (pre and post). Primary outcome was all-cause hospitalizations. Secondary outcomes were specialist visits, clinic visits and community resource use. Data were obtained from a diabetes registry and published literature. Costs are expressed in 2023 Can$. Results: Study population was ~ 60.5 years old; 57.2% female; median duration of diabetes of 8 years; 87.5% residing in non-isolated communities; 75% residing in communities < 5000 members. Total cost of implementation was $1,221,413.60 and cost/person $27.89. There was increase in the number and cost of hospitalizations visits from 8/$68,765.85 (pre period) to 243/$2,735,612.37. Specialist visits, clinic visits and community resource use followed this trend. Conclusion: Considering the low cost of intervention and increased care access, FORGE AHEAD represents a successful community-driven partnership resulting in improved access to resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation Currently there is a lack of efficient computational pipelines/tools for conducting simultaneous genome mapping of pathogen-derived and host reads from single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) output from pathogen-infected cells. Contemporary options include processes involving multiple steps and/or running multiple computational tools, increasing user operations time. Results To address the need for new tools to directly map and quantify pathogen and host sequence reads from within an infected cell from scRNAseq datasets in a single operation, we have built a python package, called scPathoQuant. scPathoQuant extracts sequences that were not aligned to the primary host genome, maps them to a pathogen genome of interest (here as demonstrated for viral pathogens), quantifies total reads mapping to the entire pathogen, quantifies reads mapping to individual pathogen genes, and finally integrates pathogen sequence counts into matrix files that are used by standard single cell pipelines for downstream analyses with only one command. We demonstrate that scPathoQuant provides a scRNAseq viral and host genome-wide sequence read abundance analysis that can differentiate and define multiple viruses in a single sample scRNAseq output. Availability and implementation The SPQ package is available software accessible at https://github.com/galelab/scPathoQuant (DOI 10.5281/zenodo.10463670) with test codes and datasets available https://github.com/galelab/Whitmore%5fscPathoQuant%5ftestSets (DOI 10.5281/zenodo.10463677) to serve as a resource for the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the biblical tradition, justice and mercy form the basic structure of God's will for human life and community. They also determine the contents of the social activity of the church, diakonia. From the theological point of view, they form a unity in God, nevertheless in the reality of this world they often exist in mutual tension, and in the history of a diaconal practice the emphasis on one or the other undergoes changes. This study aims to define a theologically justified perspective of the relationship between justice and love, respectively mercy, that can serve to orientate within the problems of Christian social activity. The study starts from a Protestant point of view, where the indicated problem takes on a special intensity, and it starts from the concepts of four selected confessionally evangelical authors: Emil Brunner, Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich and Paul Ricoeur. There is a need for a dialectical point of view at the relationship between justice and mercy, awareness of their inner unity as well as the ongoing tension between them. In the sense of the Lutheran distinction between secular and spiritual regiments, respectively gospel and law, it considers it necessary to balance them within the diaconical practice of the Church. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), in combination with adverse community environments, can result in traumatic stress reactions, increasing a person's risk for chronic physical and mental health conditions. Family resilience refers to the ability of families to withstand and rebound from adversity; it involves coping with disruptions as well as positive growth in the face of sudden or challenging life events, trauma, or adversities. This study aimed to identify factors contributing to family and community resilience from the perspective of families who self-identified as having a history of adversity and being resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study used Photovoice, a visual participatory research method which asks participants to take photographs to illustrate their responses to a research question. Participants consisted of a maximum variation sample of families who demonstrated family level resilience in the context of the pair of ACEs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Family members were asked to collect approximately five images or videos that illustrated the facilitators and barriers to well-being for their family in their community. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted using the SHOWeD framework to allow participants to share and elucidate the meaning of their photos. Using thematic analysis, two researchers then independently completed line-by-line coding of interview transcripts before collaborating to develop consensus regarding key themes and interpretations. Results: Nine families were enrolled in the study. We identified five main themes that enhanced family resilience: (1) social support networks; (2) factors fostering children's development; (3) access and connection to nature; (4) having a space of one's own; and (5) access to social services and community resources. Conclusions: In the context of additional stresses related to the COVID-19 pandemic, resilient behaviours and strategies for families were identified. The creation or development of networks of intra- and inter-community bonds; the promotion of accessible parenting, housing, and other social services; and the conservation and expansion of natural environments may support resilience and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breastfeeding has long-lasting effects on children's cognition, behavioral, mental and physical health. Previous research shows parental characteristics (e.g., education, race/ethnicity, income level) are associated with breastfeeding initiation and duration. Further, research shows significant variation in access to community resources by race/ethnicity. It is unclear how community resources may impact breastfeeding practices and how this might intersect with maternal race/ethnicity. Methods: This study combined nationally-representative data from the Study of Attitudes and Factors Effecting Infant Care (SAFE), which surveyed US mothers immediately after the infant's birth and at two to six months of infant age, with the Child Opportunity Index (COI) 2.0, a census tract measure of community resources associated with child development, to explore the association between community resources and breastfeeding initiation and whether this varies based on maternal race/ethnicity and country of birth. The SAFE Study used a stratified, two-stage, clustered design to obtain a nationally representative sample of mothers of infants, while oversampling Hispanic and non-Hispanic (NH) Black mothers. The SAFE study enrolled mothers who spoke English or Spanish across 32 US birth hospitals between January 2011 and March 2014. Results: After accounting for individual characteristics, mothers residing in the highest-resourced communities (compared to the lowest) had significantly greater likelihood of breastfeeding. Representation in higher-resourced communities differed by race/ethnicity. Race/ethnicity did not significantly moderate the association between community resources and breastfeeding. In examining within race/ethnic groups, however, community resources were not associated with non-US born Black and Hispanic mothers' rates of breastfeeding, while they were with US born Black and Hispanic mothers. Conclusions: Findings suggest that even health behaviors like breastfeeding, which we often associate with individual choice, are connected to the community resources within which they are made. Study implications point to the importance of considering the impact of the contextual factors that shape health and as a potential contributor to understanding the observed race/ethnicity gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2019, a noise complaint from a new, white resident of Shaw, a historically Black neighborhood of Washington, DC, led a local MetroPCS store to mute the go-go music that the storefront had played on its outdoor speakers for decades. The cultural and social implications of muting go-go music, a DC-originated genre of music that has played a central role in DC Black culture, inspired a viral hashtag, #dontmutedc, on social media, as well as a series of high-profile public protests against the muting. The #dontmutedc protests highlighted the increasing impact of gentrification on DC's Black communities, and connected gentrification to several other important social issues affecting Black DC residents. In the wake of the #dontmutedc incident, several DC-area activist organizations have integrated go-go music into major, public-facing racial justice projects. The first part of this article presents a brief history of go-go music and race in DC community life, mainstream media, and law enforcement in order to contextualize the work of go-go-centered activist work in the aftermath of the #dontmutedc protests. The second part of this article highlights the go-go-centered activist work of three organizations: the Don't Mute DC movement, Long Live Go-Go, and the Go-Go Museum and Café. These movements' projects will be used to categorize three distinct approaches to go-go-centered racial justice activism in the Washington, DC, area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social scientists, geographers, criminologists, and health scientists are often tasked with finding data to best capture the impact of "community context" on individual outcomes, including residential services, physical resources, and social institutions. One outlet for such data in Canada is Digital Map Technologies Inc. (DMTI) Spatial, which offers a national repository of over one million businesses and recreational points of interest. The database is generated through CanMap Streetfiles, which includes geocodes of each point's precise location. These data are available to researchers from their university data library and Esri Canada, but primarily available to private sector and government markets. That said, the goal of the current paper is to encourage researchers to access this rich yet under‐utilized data source. Each service, business, or resource in the DMTI Spatial database is assigned to a respective category using Standard Industrial Classification codes and North American Industrial Classification System codes. It is not clear, however, which is the more reliable coding criteria. We provide an overview of our review of DMTI Spatial data and take‐away suggestions for using this valuable resource for future research on meso‐level residential markers. Key messages: The goal of this paper is to outline existing data source(s) and measures from DMTI Spatial that might help capture meso‐level residential institutions.We recommend "best practices" for using DMTI Spatial data in researchers' own work to capture neighbourhood resources/amenities, or the social infrastructure of the community using either Standard Industrial Classification codes or North American Industrial Classification System codes.We conclude that Standard Industrial Classification codes in DMTI Spatial enhanced points of interest data are more complete—and more accurate—than North American Industrial Classification System codes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NOAA Sea Grant College Program is well suited to address aquatic invasive species issues based on the roles Sea Grant institutions play within their communities and the resources available to them through university systems. The three primary areas of a Sea Grant program--research, education, and outreach--can be used to limit and prevent the impacts of invasive species. Specifically, Sea Grant has expertise in natural science, social science, education, communication, legal support, and community science, all of which can help communities and aquatic invasive species management programs address these problematic species. This article shares examples of Sea Grant work as well as tips designed to inspire new communities and aquatic invasive species management programs to partner with Sea Grant to address these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various sacred narratives have different emphases on the shaping of natural space. Creation myths reveal the basic structure of natural space. Sacred narratives of mountain gods focus on how and why mountain forests are the source of life and stability for nearly all the species in the area. The myth of the hunting god and the legend of the Flower Festival have a remarkable endemicity. The consciousness of the community of life, which is fundamentally constructed in creation myths, reveals visible and sensible pictures in these two types of narratives. The literary imagination of these sacred narratives focuses on establishing and breaking through spatial boundaries. In the intertwining of an imaginative narrative and a realistic existence, the sacredness of natural spaces is established and can be experienced. Mountaineers imbue their practices with gracefulness and nobleness in the dimensions of emotion and morality through storytelling in order to shape the morphological characteristics and the life essence of natural spaces. The shaping of beautiful places and sublime realms in these narratives is a vivid expression of cosmology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-cell RNA-seq data allow the quantification of cell type differences across a growing set of biological contexts. However, pinpointing a small subset of genomic features explaining this variability can be ill-defined and computationally intractable. Here we introduce MarkerMap, a generative model for selecting minimal gene sets which are maximally informative of cell type origin and enable whole transcriptome reconstruction. MarkerMap provides a scalable framework for both supervised marker selection, aimed at identifying specific cell type populations, and unsupervised marker selection, aimed at gene expression imputation and reconstruction. We benchmark MarkerMap's competitive performance against previously published approaches on real single cell gene expression data sets. MarkerMap is available as a pip installable package, as a community resource aimed at developing explainable machine learning techniques for enhancing interpretability in single-cell studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the age-friendly indicators in Kashan City, Iran in 2022. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in four districts of Kashan City, Iran. Researchers randomly selected 80 locations and used a specific checklist for observation. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics. Results: Outdoor buildings and offices scored a mean of 8.95±2.25 out of 20 (range 5-14, 95% CI: 8-10.05), indicating an average condition. Urban roads and transportation scored 6.10±2.34 out of 20 (range 5-10, 95% CI: 5.8-7.0), also showing an average condition. Parks and public spaces received a score of 7.57+1.5 out of 16 (range 6-11, 95% CI: 6.8-8.1), reflecting an average condition. Religious places scored 10.09±2.6 out of 12 (range 7-11, 95% CI: 9.2-10.3), indicating a good condition. Conclusion: The majority of outdoor buildings and offices, urban roads and transportation, as well as recreational and religious spaces in Kashan City do not meet the necessary standards for an age-friendly environment. These findings highlight areas that require improvement to enhance the health, activity, and quality of life for the elderly population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data now plays a central role in civic life and community practices. This has created a pressing need for new forms of translation and sense-making that can engage diverse publics. Research-based Theatre (RbT) has proven to be an effective approach to delivering qualitative data to community stakeholders. We extend this tradition by proposing "community-engaged data theatre". This approach translates quantitative data into theatrical language to engage communities in deliberative conversations on relevant issues. Community-engaged data theatre requires bridging multiple disciplines and involves creating new definitions and shared vocabularies in discourses that formerly have had little overlap in meaning. In this article, we share key insights from our initial experiments in which we adapted quantitative and qualitative data to devise a pilot piece in collaboration with a local community partner. In this essay, we communicate our collaborative process in polyvocal, artistic form. We edit and adapt materials from our conversations and creative practices into scenes illustrating how we taught and learned from each other about data science, participatory modeling, material deliberation and Composition to pilot our lab's first community-engaged data theatre prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIM: This study aims to determine the health needs and access to health services among Syrian refugees. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out between March and September 2022 in a public setting that provides humanitarian aid in Istanbul Province. The sample included 150 participants who met the inclusion criteria. The data were collected through 20-30-minute face-toface interviews using the Omaha System Problem Classification Scheme and the sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire. All data were transferred to IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Statistics software, version 28.0, for analysis. Descriptive statistics and chi-square significance tests were performed. RESULTS: The result of the analysis revealed that the health problems of Syrian refugees were mostly related to the physiological domain (13/39.3%), followed by the psychosocial domain (9/27.2%), health-related behaviors domain (7/21.2%), and environmental domain (4/12.1%). CONCLUSION: This study highlighted the fact that refugees continue to be vulnerable to social determinants of health. In this context, it is recommended to develop new policies to reduce poverty, increase access to health and other public services, and empower refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Machine learning (ML) has a rich history in structural bioinformatics, and modern approaches, such as deep learning, are revolutionizing our knowledge of the subtle relationships between biomolecular sequence, structure, function, dynamics and evolution. As with any advance that rests upon statistical learning approaches, the recent progress in biomolecular sciences is enabled by the availability of vast volumes of sufficiently-variable data. To be useful, such data must be well-structured, machine-readable, intelligible and manipulable. These and related requirements pose challenges that become especially acute at the computational scales typical in ML. Furthermore, in structural bioinformatics such data generally relate to protein three-dimensional (3D) structures, which are inherently more complex than sequence-based data. A significant and recurring challenge concerns the creation of large, high-quality, openly-accessible datasets that can be used for specific training and benchmarking tasks in ML pipelines for predictive modeling projects, along with reproducible splits for training and testing. Results: Here, we report 'Prop3D', a platform that allows for the creation, sharing and extensible reuse of libraries of protein domains, featurized with biophysical and evolutionary properties that can range from detailed, atomically-resolved physicochemical quantities (e.g., electrostatics) to coarser, residue-level features (e.g., phylogenetic conservation). As a community resource, we also supply a 'Prop3D-20sf' protein dataset, obtained by applying our approach to CATH. We have developed and deployed the Prop3D framework, both in the cloud and on local HPC resources, to systematically and reproducibly create comprehensive datasets via the Highly Scalable Data Service (HSDS). Our datasets are freely accessible via a public HSDS instance, or they can be used with accompanying Python wrappers for popular ML frameworks. Conclusion: Prop3D and its associated Prop3D-20sf dataset can be of broad utility in at least three ways. Firstly, the Prop3D workflow code can be customized and deployed on various cloud-based compute platforms, with scalability achieved largely by saving the results to distributed HDF5 files via HSDS. Secondly, the linked Prop3D-20sf dataset provides a hand-crafted, already-featurized dataset of protein domains for 20 highly-populated CATH families; importantly, provision of this pre-computed resource can aid the more efficient development (and reproducible deployment) of ML pipelines. Thirdly, Prop3D-20sf's construction explicitly takes into account (in creating datasets and data-splits) the enigma of 'data leakage', stemming from the evolutionary relationships between proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a complex and pervasive public health problem disproportionately affecting Indigenous and Black women. During the COVID-19 pandemic, IPV became more complicated for advocates because social distancing, quarantine, and isolation measures further endangered women experiencing IPV. This manuscript is based on an ongoing community-engaged study in an upper Midwestern state. Our primary goal for this study is to generate urgently needed knowledge on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Indigenous and Black women’s help-seeking behaviours following IPV by systematically documenting barriers women faced during the pandemic. Engaging women in a large study that seeks to garner information about their experiences of violence is complex and challenging and requires significant planning, especially for ensuring participants’ safety. In this write-up, we detail the safety planning protocol developed for the purposes of recruiting and engaging women in rural and urban areas in an upper Midwestern state in the United States. Our goal is to provide scholars conducting research in the area of violence with practical considerations for safely conducting a study of this nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the last third of the 20th century, there is a new historical agent in Spain, the utopian communities, a diverse set of alternative political, economic, social, and cultural initiatives motivated by life in community and the search and the development of different utopias in the territories where they are. These experiences began to grow progressively and qualitatively and provided a great variety of forms of being, thinking and acting to face the problems in the context of globalization. The purpose of this article is to analyse the main lines of thought and action of these proposals and their evolution in the recent history of the Spanish nation-state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research was to explore the strategies effective in building community networks and pooling the resources necessary for laying the foundation to develop a successful county 4-H Extension program in early careers of Extension agents. We conducted this three-round Delphi study with a panel of specially selected 24 successful 4-H Extension agents. The Delphi research process led to identify seven strategies effective in building community networks and six strategies effective in building the necessary resources for the development of an effective county 4-H Extension program. We made practical recommendations based on these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Investigacion & Educacion en Enfermeria is the property of Universidad de Antioquia, Facultad de Enfermeria and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Voces de la Educacion is the property of Voces de la Educacion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper adds and divides the concepts related to life and health community and life safety, and integrates the common parts of both with the curriculum of physical education in colleges and universities. Through the study of life and health community, the position of human health in the society is analyzed, and the correlation between both physical education and health is analyzed, so that the main factors affecting human health can be derived. The relevance of the life safety concept to physical health is analyzed, and the integration of the life safety concept and physical health is mainly studied. The teaching effects of the integration of the two were explored in conjunction with the concept. The results showed that the physical education curriculum incorporating the life safety concept as one of the teaching objectives is conducive to improving teaching effectiveness. The effectiveness of physical education teaching after the integration was 75%, and 70% of the teaching forms were diversified. 99.1% of the students thought the life safety education course was important, and 96.5% of the students thought the content they learned about life safety education was helpful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This mixed-methods study delves into rural community servicelearning (CSL) partnerships, shedding light on the complexities and dynamics of collaboration between colleges and rural communities. Through quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews, the research amplifies the voices of rural community partners, emphasizing the crucial role of trust, communication, and reciprocity. Challenges such as staff demands and organizational mismatches underscore the need for rural institutions to better prepare students and allocate resources to support their community partners effectively. The study advocates for transformative CSL approaches that prioritize community needs and nurture long-lasting collaborations. By providing insights into the impact of CSL on rural partners and organizations, this research offers valuable recommendations for improving future practices and fostering meaningful engagement in both rural and urban settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Croatica et Slavica Iadertina is the property of University of Zadar, Department of Croatian & Slavic Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Društvena Istraživanja is the property of Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, we propose a multi-agent-based architecture for a Unity3D simulation of dynamic agrirobot-fleet-coordination methods. The architecture is based on a Robot Operating System (ROS) and Agrobots-SIM package that extends the existing package Patrolling SIM made for multi-robot patrolling. The Agrobots-SIM package accommodates dynamic multi-robot task allocation and vehicle routing considering limited robot battery autonomy. Moreover, it accommodates the dynamic assignment of implements to robots for the execution of heterogeneous tasks. The system coordinates task assignment and vehicle routing in real time and responds to unforeseen contingencies during simulation considering dynamic updates of the data related to the environment, tasks, implements, and robots. Except for the ROS and Agrobots-SIM package, other crucial components of the architecture include SPADE3 middleware for developing and executing multi-agent decision making and the FIVE framework that allows us to seamlessly define the environment and incorporate the Agrobots-SIM algorithms to be validated into SPADE agents inhabiting such an environment. We compare the proposed simulation architecture with the conventional approach to 3D multi-robot simulation in Gazebo. The functioning of the simulation architecture is demonstrated in several use-case experiments. Even though resource consumption and community support are still an open challenge in Unity3D, the proposed Agri-RO5 architecture gives better results in terms of simulation realism and scalability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article summarizes the ruling of the High Court of Justice of Asturias on February 13, 2024, which deals with the challenge to the Land Consolidation in the Villadestre-Villaoril area for not carrying out the required environmental impact assessment under Law 21/2013. The defense argues that the environmental assessment was considered unnecessary after a detailed analysis concluded that the project would not have significant effects on the environment. Additionally, it is mentioned that preventive and corrective measures were implemented to protect the environment and the quality of life of nearby communities. The ruling dismisses the challenge and highlights that no procedural or substantive rules have been violated in the land consolidation process. [Extracted from the article]

The development of critical thinking and decision-making skills is essential to link knowledge to practice in prelicensure nursing education. Immersive virtual reality (VR) is a teaching modality that provides students with an interactive way to develop their knowledge and skills. Faculty at a large mid-Atlantic university developed an innovative strategy to deploy immersive VR in a senior-level advanced laboratory technologies course with 110 students. Implementation of this approach to VR was intended to augment clinical learning in a safe learning environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on research that examined civil and community life in 34 settlements of Szigetköz in 2021 and 2022. A total of 337 NGOs and countless informal groups operate in the region. The examination is based on questionnaire research (43 fillings), interviews (25 pieces), observations (9 times) and document analysis, and one of the results is four case studies about four settlements (Dunasziget, Kimle, Mecsér and Győrladamér). The goal of this paper is to summarize the knowledge related to social sustainability and analyze its operation in these settlements. The principal finding of the research is that the four settlements coped with the challenges posed by their geographical location, economic situation and infrastructural capabilities in four ways. These roads show creative solutions using local resources, which are the key to the social sustainability of settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

China prioritizes ecological civilization construction and embraces the concept of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets." Great achievements have been made in ecological protection and restoration through implementing a series of policies and projects. This paper reviews the history of ecological restoration in China and the current development of the "integrated protection and restoration project of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts (IPRP)." Furthermore, the characteristics of IPRP were systematically elaborated from the perspectives of the ecological civilization thought, the policy management, and the key scientific issues. Also, the current achievements were summarized in the fields of national ecological space management, biodiversity conservation, and ecological protection and restoration. Existing challenges in management policy, scientific issues, and engineering practices were highlighted. Future perspectives include ecological space control, nature-based Solutions, biodiversity big data platform, modern techniques, and value realization mechanisms of ecological products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the beginnings of cultural change in the Sephardic community of Coro, Venezuela, based on three conversion events to Catholicism in 1855. These baptisms marked the lack of cohesion and structural weakness of the small community, which never had a synagogue or a rabbi. The individuals who converted faced Venezuelan culture, which imposed the Catholic faith. It is concluded that the offer of a new religious interpretation and the attraction of the Catholic world were more convenient than their own Jewish identity. The article also deals with cultural and economic disagreements in Venezuela in the years 1831 and 1855, as well as the active participation of the Levy Maduro and Curiel families in the community life of Curaçao and their migration to Coro, Venezuela. In addition, tensions between Jewish merchants and local authorities due to unpaid loans are mentioned, as well as the economic prosperity of the Jewish community during the Guzmancista period starting in 1870. The legal and religious limitations faced by the Jewish community at that time are also discussed, as well as tensions between criollo groups and non-Catholic immigrants. Finally, the influence of external and internal factors on the conversions to Catholicism of Jewish men in Coro, Venezuela is explored. [Extracted from the article]

The attachment can be directed towards the people (socially based attachment), but also can be based on the physical characteristics of the place or other factors. People in Serbia frequently change place of residence during educational stages or due to important family and life events. It also depends on other factors, such as ethnicity, tradition and environmental concerns. This study aims to re-evaluate the place attachment concept based on the well-established triple person-process-place concept and develop a new place attachment scale and apply. The survey included 1059 respondents. The SPSS was used for EFA relatedness calculations, Independent T-tests, and One-way ANOVA, while R and RStudio were used for CFA analysis. Four groups of factors were identified, leading to the development of a four-dimensional Place Relatedness Scale (4PRS): Family and Home, Social, Community and Everyday Life, Local Environment Bonding, Life Cycle. Certain differences were found between male and female respondents and in regard to other socio-demographic parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on differences in religious interpretations of different texts, incidents, and events communities life together despite having various groups and divisions. One such difference results into 'ex-communication' which is called Takfeer (تکفیر) in Islamic terminology, in which one Muslim sect labels the other Muslim group as non-believer. Takfeer (تکفیر) is the sensitive matter which has serious effects on both the accuser as well as the accused. Today, many Muslims are accused as non-believers/disbelievers by fellow Muslims without investigating the matter. In this article the Islamic concept of Takfeer تکفیر)) will be defined along with its categories. Additionally, the conditions of takfeer تکفیر)) will be explored and their effects on accuser as well as the accused will be discussed in detail. Finally, the key issues of the concept of takfeer (تکفیر) will be aided according to the Qur'an, Sunnah, and scholars' opinions to address the complexities of this grave matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groups and communities have been key topics in the information systems (IS) research agenda. While communities are assumed to emerge at the intersection of overlapping groups and their practices, prior research has mainly focused on their dynamics and evolution. This has resulted to limited empirical support regarding the emergence of communities. We address that lacuna by tracing the emergence of communities through the prism of resource mobilization theory. In doing so, we make use of a unique longitudinal dataset and incorporate Topic Modelling, Bipartite Network Analysis, and Community Detection. We show that new communities are formed at the intersection of overlapping groups and practices. In addition, we contribute to the IS literature by demonstrating that their emergence occurs due to resource mobilization that gives rise to a shared mindset. We also reveal that multiple resources are incorporated into the practices of an emerging community. By combining large datasets and innovative computational approaches, we help IS theory and practice to move away from traditional "what" questions towards the more insightful "how" ones. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our work and delineate an agenda for future research on the topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This resource description explores a web-assisted learning and teaching approach for Tamil facilitated by the Penn Language Center. Tamil is an ancient language spoken predominantly in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. The language has significant cultural and linguistic relevance. However, due to limited resources and geographical constraints, access to high-quality Tamil language instruction has often been challenging for learners outside Tamil-speaking regions. To address these challenges, the Penn Language Center developed the WALTT program, which integrates web-based technologies into Tamil language learning and teaching. This web resource description aims to examine the structure of the syllabi in detail. Overall, this resource description aims to decode the presence of web-assisted learning resources in the field of Tamil language education, as well as provide valuable resources for the broader community of web-assisted language learning and teaching practitioners and beginners of the language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Described in 2017 and known only from the holotype, Uromys vika is surely among the world's least studied rodents. This critically endangered species is facing a rapidly increasing scale for threat from logging of its primary lowland forest habitat, on the only island on which it occurs—Vangunu, Solomon Islands. However, a deep traditional ecological knowledge of U. vika is held by Vangunu's people. Using camera traps and guided by this knowledge, we aimed to make additional records of U. vika in the last major block of Vangunu's primary forest. We successfully captured 95 images of what we postulate is four different individuals. The forests at Zaira represent the last suitable habitat remaining for this species, and recent development consent for logging at Zaira will lead to its extinction if permitted to proceed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]