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Background: Many parents with learning disabilities find themselves locked in a struggle with child protection authorities to retain custody of their children. This struggle is one against deeply entrenched prejudices as well as social arrangements that often deprive parents of needed resources. This in-depth case study explores the contours of such a struggle, and the 'tools' deployed by one couple to keep child protection at bay. The goal is first to give the parents a platform to tell their stories. The second is to help inform the knowledge base of parents, advocates and allied professionals. The third is to consider the impacts the developing disability rights environment is having upon these ongoing struggles. Method: This is a qualitative case study based on interview and document analysis and long-term involvement with a couple with learning disabilities. The material was coded according to the principles of grounded theory. Findings: Three key categories were identified. The first is 'Lessons learned', referring to the knowledge and experience that the parents collected over a lifetime. The second is 'Allies: The family', highlighting the importance of a strong family network. The third is 'Secret weapons', a phrase used by the parents to denote a collection of advocates and professional supporters they strategically surrounded themselves with when needed. Conclusion: This story illustrates the parents' tactical skill and resourcefulness to retain custody of their children. We also document the addition of new tools the parents are able to make use of such as domestic disability and human rights protections that are in turn supported by international conventions such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, we also contend that families like theirs live in a state of fragility, and disruptions to their support can result in further child protection interventions.

The focus of this contribution is on how rights protection officers (RPOs) experience supporting parents with intellectual disabilities involved in child protection investigations. We situate the role of the RPOs within disability human rights framework as well as the institutional justice capital perspective to comprehend how RPOs function as a resource for parents and professionals. We identified four overlapping themes: Altering power relations, Lack of knowledge, Systemic apathy, and Challenging the informal. We argue that pervasive discrimination towards parents with intellectual disability, from the highest levels of government to interactions between parents and the child protection system, inform these interactions and influence outcomes. The work performed by the RPOs in supporting marginalised parents, raising awareness of disability rights, and countering prejudice is of critical importance. We emphasise the role of RPOs within the justice system and recommend the strengthening of such mechanisms to meet international human rights obligations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dystonia, typically characterized by slow repetitive involuntary movements, stiff abnormal postures, and hypertonia, is common among individuals with cerebral palsy (CP). Dystonia can interfere with activities and have considerable impact on motor function, pain/comfort, and ease of caregiving. Although pharmacological and neurosurgical approaches are used clinically in individuals with CP and dystonia that is causing interference, evidence to support these options is limited. This clinical practice guideline update comprises 10 evidence‐based recommendations on the use of pharmacological and neurosurgical interventions for individuals with CP and dystonia causing interference, developed by an international expert panel following the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach. The recommendations are intended to help inform clinicians in their use of these management options for individuals with CP and dystonia, and to guide a shared decision‐making process in selecting a management approach that is aligned with the individual's and the family's values and preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using an intersectional lens, this study analyses data from a nationally representative sample in Iceland, examining violence among marginalized groups of different social locations. The results highlight the precarious position of disabled women and show a significant increase of risk of violence with each marginalized social location women inhabit. Results illustrate how precarity and exposure increases for multiply marginalized women, demonstrating the importance of considering the social dimensions of violence. The article argues for the importance of advancing critical dialogue and research on violence, using an intersectional frame and including factors such as disability, gender, sexual orientation, and financial strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines evidence of academic skill development and transfer related to the taking of a first year Inquiry-based seminar course designed to enhance a range of self-directed learning skills and their transferability to other learning contexts. The study compares a sample of academic work from two groups of Social Sciences students, one comprised of students who had taken the Inquiry course and the other who had not. The student work consists of (1) papers submitted by participants who were asked for the best paper they had written at university; and (2) descriptive narratives provided by participants of the steps they took in researching and writing that paper. Qualitative and quantitative analysis by multiple raters using a blinded protocol was conducted. The results show both meaningfully higher paper and skill assessments for students who had taken the inquiry seminar and evidence of transfer of skills and strategy to other learning contexts, supporting the hypothesis that transfer of core skills occurs under particular learning conditions that can be fostered through course design and enhanced through specific pedagogical objectives.

This paper examines whether a single first-year inquiry-based seminar can have a lasting impact on students' academic skills. Fifty-four Inquiry students and 71 comparable students participated in three performance tests: a research skills exercise; an evaluation of oral presentation ability; and a test of critical reasoning and teamwork skills. In addition, participants completed a questionnaire focusing on learning approaches and experiences. The study demonstrates the feasibility of measuring long-term effects of relatively small educational interventions. Findings indicate that although universities may not be developing the skills they assume, a single first-year inquiry seminar can have far reaching effects on academic skill development and these skills are typically lasting.

Beginning in December 2018, increased numbers of gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) strandings were reported along the west coast of Mexico, the United States, and Canada, prompting declaration of a gray whale Unusual Mortality Event (UME) by the United States National Marine Fisheries Service. Although strandings declined in 2020 and 2021 from a peak in 2019, the UME is still ongoing as of fall 2023. Between 17 December 2018 and 31 December 2021, 503 animals stranded along the west coast of North America, with 226 strandings in Mexico, 71 in California, 12 in Oregon, 56 in Washington, 21 in British Columbia, and 117 in Alaska. These included 187 males, 167 females, and 149 whales of undetermined sex; and 193 adults, 194 subadults, 40 calves, 1 fetus, and 75 whales of undetermined age class. We report on 61 of the 503 carcasses (12%) that had external and internal gross necropsy and/or histopathology data: of these 61 whales, findings that contributed to death were identified in 33 (54%) whales. Sixteen of the 61 (26%) were severely emaciated. Gross lesions of blunt force trauma consistent with vessel strike were identified in 11 of the 61 animals (18%), only two of which were emaciated. Two whales (3%) were entangled at time of death, and one died from entrapment. Signs of killer whale (Orcinus orca) interaction were documented in 19 of the 61 animals; five were deemed from recent interactions and three (5%) likely contributed to mortality. A specific cause of death could not be identified in 28 of 61 whales (46%). Additionally, logistical challenges and the advanced state of decomposition of most examined carcasses precluded detection of potential infectious or toxic causes of morbidity or mortality. Up to 2016, the eastern North Pacific population of gray whale population had generally been increasing since the cessation of historic whaling and a prior UME in 1999–2000. However, recent abundance and calf production estimates have declined, a trend that overlaps the current UME. The relative contributions of carrying capacity, environmental change, prey shifts, and infectious, toxic, and other processes to the increased gray whale mortalities have not yet been resolved. Nevertheless, the marked temporal increase in strandings, including findings of malnutrition in some of the whales, along with low calf production, likely represent consequences of complex and dynamic ecological interactions in the ocean impacting the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Food insecurity (FI) among university students has received less attention in Europe than in other regions before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March 2022 using an online questionnaire (n = 924). The questionnaire addressed food security status; demographic, socioeconomic, and educational variables; academic performance; food consumption; and social support networks. The validated Food Insecurity Experience Scale was used to measure food security. Binary logistic regressions adjusted by age and gender were applied to identify FI-related factors. (3) Results: Just over 17% of the students were living with some level of FI, nearly one in three students reported having consumed few kinds of food, and 3.9% spent an entire day without eating due to a lack of resources. Food insecurity was associated with a higher likelihood of negative academic performance, decreased food consumption, and a lower likelihood of having a large support network, when compared to food-secure respondents. (4) Conclusions: The findings suggest that FI negatively impacts students' academic performance and food consumption. Future public health programs should be prioritized to prevent students from experiencing hunger due to financial or resource constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalysts for oxidation reactions are crucial for a wide variety of industrial activities. Here, we describe a framework consisting of silver nanomaterials atop Mg-doped lithium niobate. This substrate under white light irradiation is demonstrated to support the oxidation of compounds, such as p-aminothiophenol, through the activation of charge transfer processes. This study highlights the use of doped lithium niobate materials as semiconductor platforms for plasmonic photocatalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim was to investigate the role of measured intellectual function in framing parents as 'unfit' in child custody deprivation cases. Method: Grounded theory was used to analyse a national sample of custody deprivation cases in Iceland 2002-2014. Results: The terminology used to evaluate and describe the intellectual and developmental status of parents in child deprivation custody cases served as a device to define and shape the 'unfit parent'. Intellect itself, whether as low, average or even above average at times acts as a master narrative which informs and explains all manner of perceived parental deficiencies. Conclusion: The intellectual and developmental status served as a yardstick of identifying, understanding and interpreting the unfit parent. As a tool to achieve an end, parents were framed in language and culture using underlying belief set to make sense of events and issues.

Purpose: To demonstrate intraoperative dynamic flow through an optic disk pit. Methods: Retrospective interventional case report. Results: Surgical management of an optic disk pit involved standard, 25-gauge, pars plana vitrectomy, induction of posterior hyaloid separation with triamcinolone stain, temporal peripapillary laser, and SF6 gas. Intraoperatively, a remnant of stained vitreous at the optic disk head prolapsed into the optic disk pit with higher intraocular pressure but was drawn back into the vitreous cavity as the intraocular pressure was lowered. This clearly demonstrated a pressure differential across the pit. Conclusion: Communication between the vitreous cavity and the perineural space of the optic nerve is described histologically. Our case demonstrated dynamic flow through the optic disk pit with intraoperative fluctuation of intraocular pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]