Feline Leishmaniosis in Northwestern Italy: Current Status and Zoonotic Implications

Leishmaniasis remains one of the major neglected tropical diseases. The epidemiological profile of the disease comprises a wide range of hosts, including dogs and cats. Despite several studies about feline Leishmaniosis, the role of cats in disease epidemiology and its clinical impact is still debated. The present study raises awareness about the impact of leishmaniasis in cats from an endemic region in of Northwestern Italy (Liguria). A total number of 250 serum and 282 blood samples were collected from cats, then assessed for Leishmania infantum (L. infantum) serologically using western blot (WB) and molecularly using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We also tested the association of Leishmania infection with some infectious agents like haemotropic Mycoplasma, Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) together with the hematobiochemical status of the examined animals. Interestingly, all tested animals were asymptomatic and out of 250 examined serum samples, 33 (13.20%) samples (confidence interval (CI) 95% 9.56–17.96%) were positive at WB for L. infantum, whereas of the 282 blood samples, 80 (28.36%) returned a positive PCR (CI 95% 23.43–33.89%). Furthermore, there was a statistical association between PCR positivity for L. infantum and some hematological parameters besides FIV infection as well as a direct significant correlation between Mycoplasma infection and WB positivity. Taken together, the present findings report high prevalence of L. infantum among cats, which reinforces the significance of such positive asymptomatic animals and confirms the very low humoral response in this species. In addition, the laboratory values provide evidence that infection by the parasite is linked to alteration of some hematological parameters and is correlated to some infectious agents. These data are of interest and suggest future research for accurate diagnosis of such zoonosis.

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Perspectives on modelling micropollutants in wastewater treatment plants

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2013.272 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 68 (2) ◽

pp. 448-461 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Ludiwine Clouzot ◽

Jean-Marc Choubert ◽

Frédéric Cloutier ◽

Rajeev Goel ◽

Nancy G. Love ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Model Development ◽

Transformation Products ◽

Current Status ◽

Future Research ◽

Engineering Practice ◽

Wide Range ◽

Receiving Waters ◽

The Impact

Models for predicting the fate of micropollutants (MPs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been developed to provide engineers and decision-makers with tools that they can use to improve their understanding of, and evaluate how to optimize, the removal of MPs and determine their impact on the receiving waters. This paper provides an overview of such models, and discusses the impact of regulation, engineering practice and research on model development. A review of the current status of MP models reveals that a single model cannot represent the wide range of MPs that are present in wastewaters today, and that it is important to start considering classes of MPs based on their chemical structure or ecotoxicological effect, rather than the individual molecules. This paper identifies potential future research areas that comprise (i) considering transformation products in MP removal analysis, (ii) addressing advancements in WWTP treatment technologies, (iii) making use of common approaches to data acquisition for model calibration and (iv) integrating ecotoxicological effects of MPs in receiving waters.

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The Effects of Technology Supports on Community Grocery Shopping Skills for Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis

Journal of Special Education Technology ◽

10.1177/0162643421989970 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 016264342198997

Author(s):

Sojung Jung ◽

Ciara Ousley ◽

David McNaughton ◽

Pamela Wolfe

Keyword(s):

Developmental Disabilities ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Single Case ◽

Effect Sizes ◽

Future Research ◽

Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Analytic Review ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Impact

In this meta-analytic review, we investigated the effects of technology supports on the acquisition of shopping skills for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) between the ages of 5 and 24. Nineteen single-case experimental research studies, presented in 15 research articles, met the current study’s inclusion criteria and the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards. An analysis of potential moderators was conducted, and we calculated effect sizes using Tau-U to examine the impact of age, diagnosis, and type of technology on the reported outcomes for the 56 participants. The results from the included studies provide evidence that a wide range of technology interventions had a positive impact on shopping performance. These positive effects were seen for individuals across a wide range of ages and disability types, and for a wide variety of shopping skills. The strongest effect sizes were observed for technologies that provided visual supports rather than just auditory support. We provide an interpretation of the findings, implications of the results, and recommended areas for future research.

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The effect of water immersion on vection in virtual reality

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-80100-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Géraldine Fauville ◽

Anna C. M. Queiroz ◽

Erika S. Woolsey ◽

Jonathan W. Kelly ◽

Jeremy N. Bailenson

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Motion Sickness ◽

Water Immersion ◽

Sensory Information ◽

Future Research ◽

Visually Induced Motion Sickness ◽

Wide Range ◽

Induced Motion ◽

Ground Condition ◽

The Impact

AbstractResearch about vection (illusory self-motion) has investigated a wide range of sensory cues and employed various methods and equipment, including use of virtual reality (VR). However, there is currently no research in the field of vection on the impact of floating in water while experiencing VR. Aquatic immersion presents a new and interesting method to potentially enhance vection by reducing conflicting sensory information that is usually experienced when standing or sitting on a stable surface. This study compares vection, visually induced motion sickness, and presence among participants experiencing VR while standing on the ground or floating in water. Results show that vection was significantly enhanced for the participants in the Water condition, whose judgments of self-displacement were larger than those of participants in the Ground condition. No differences in visually induced motion sickness or presence were found between conditions. We discuss the implication of this new type of VR experience for the fields of VR and vection while also discussing future research questions that emerge from our findings.

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Tourism research for the GCC region: Current status and future research directions

Tourism Economics ◽

10.1177/1354816621999968 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 135481662199996

Author(s):

Ali Salman Saleh ◽

Charbel Bassil ◽

Arsalan Safari

Keyword(s):

United Arab Emirates ◽

Current Status ◽

Future Research ◽

Research Directions ◽

Regional Tourism ◽

Research Theme ◽

Tourism Sector ◽

Future Research Directions ◽

Meta Analyses ◽

The Impact

Tourism in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has recently been considered by policymakers as a new avenue for economic diversification. Despite the considerable literature concerning the impact of tourism worldwide, only a limited number of studies have looked at the tourism sector in the GCC region or analyzed its economic, sociocultural, and environmental impacts. This article therefore conducts a systematic review of the state of the literature related to tourism in the GCC region. It provides effective insights about the current status, gaps, and challenges and proposes future research directions in this area for academics, practitioners, and policymakers with an interest in regional tourism development. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses approach was used to identify and select the papers. Some 23 papers were identified and analyzed. The majority of these studies focused on the United Arab Emirates, specifically the Dubai emirate. We found the most dominant research theme to be tourism planning.

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Dryland Food Security in Ethiopia: Current Status, Opportunities, and a Roadmap for the Future

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13116503 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 6503

Author(s):

Yu Peng ◽

Hubert Hirwa ◽

Qiuying Zhang ◽

Guoqin Wang ◽

Fadong Li

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Current Status ◽

Future Research ◽

Systematic Research ◽

Security Assessment ◽

Security Issue ◽

Sustainable Development Goal ◽

Zero Hunger ◽

The Impact

Given the impact of COVID-19 and the desert locust plague, the Ethiopian food security issue has once again received widespread attention. Its food crisis requires comprehensive and systematic research to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of zero hunger. This review discusses the current situation and the causes of food security in Ethiopia. We focus on the challenges in the food security assessment field. The article lists seven typical causes of food insecurity and three roots of food security in Ethiopia. Long-term food security assessment and a comprehensive understanding and manageability for food security causes are considered as the main existing research challenges. Climate-resilient management, water management, and long-term ecosystem network monitoring and data mining are suggested as potential roadmap for future research.

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Infection control: current status. risks, research, rules and recycling

Orthodontic Update ◽

10.12968/ortu.2021.14.2.59 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 59-66

Author(s):

Jennifer Haworth ◽

Jonathan Sandy ◽

Anthony J Ireland

Keyword(s):

Infection Control ◽

Best Practice ◽

Mainland China ◽

Current Status ◽

Infectious Agents ◽

Emerging Infections ◽

Healthcare Waste ◽

Control Procedures ◽

The Uk ◽

The Impact

We are living through a period of immense change following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China in December 2019. Even before the pandemic, the cost of managing healthcare-associated infections in the UK was considerable. The risk of acquiring any infection from the dental environment must be reduced to a minimum. As we have observed in recent years, new infectious agents emerge frequently, and the dental profession must be ready to respond appropriately and quickly. Orthodontic practice presents unique challenges in relation to infection control procedures. The impact of healthcare waste on the environment must also be considered. CPD/Clinical Relevance: This paper describes the range of infectious agents posing a risk to dental team members and patients. The aim is to place the recent coronavirus pandemic in the context of other recent emerging infections. Some of the latest research regarding infection control procedures is reviewed. Current best practice is described.

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Impacts of International Baccalaureate programmes on teaching and learning: A review of the literature

Journal of Research in International Education ◽

10.1177/1475240918815801 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. 240-261 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Anisah Dickson ◽

Laura B. Perry ◽

Susan Ledger

Keyword(s):

Teaching And Learning ◽

International Baccalaureate ◽

Thinking Skills ◽

Critical Thinking Skills ◽

Pedagogical Practices ◽

Additional Stress ◽

Future Research ◽

Wide Range ◽

Teachers And Students ◽

The Impact

International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes are growing rapidly worldwide, driven in part by their global reputation and concept-driven, inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning. This thematic review of a range of literature sources examines the impact of IB programmes on teaching and learning, highlighting trends, challenges, and benefits. Findings of the review revealed that most of the studies, both qualitative and quantitative, examined stakeholders’ perspectives or self-reported experiences of IB programmes; a very small number used research designs that control for confounding factors or allow causal inferences to be drawn. A wide range of stakeholders report that IB programmes develop research and critical thinking skills, intercultural appreciation and global awareness, as well as cultivate collaborative working cultures and creative pedagogical practices among teachers. Challenges include extra demands on teachers for lesson planning and assessment, additional stress for teachers and students, and competing demands and expectations with national requirements. Recommendations are provided which may guide future research endeavours.

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Arts-Based Interventions for Professionals in Caring Roles During and After Crisis: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2020.589744 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Dominik Havsteen-Franklin ◽

Megan Tjasink ◽

Jacqueline Winter Kottler ◽

Claire Grant ◽

Veena Kumari

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Future Research ◽

Safe Place ◽

Practice Elements ◽

Qualitative Approaches ◽

The Arts ◽

Crisis Events ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Impact

Crisis events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can have a devastating effect on communities and the care professionals within them. Over recent years, arts-based interventions have helped in a wide range of crisis situations, being recommended to support the workforce during and after complex crisis but there has been no systematic review of the role of arts-based crisis interventions and whether there are cogent themes regarding practice elements and outcomes. We, therefore, conducted a systematic review to (i) define the arts-based change process used during and after crisis events, and (ii) explore the perceptions of intermediate and long-term mental health benefits of arts-based interventions for professionals in caring roles. Our search yielded six studies (all qualitative). All data were thematically aggregated and meta-synthesized, revealing seven practice elements (a safe place, focusing on strengths and protective factors, developing psychosocial competencies to support peers, emotional expression and processing, identifying and naming the impact of the crisis, using an integrative creative approach, and cultural and organizational sensitivity) applied across all six studies, as well as a range of intermediate and long-term benefits shared common features (adapting, growing, and recovering; using the community as a healing resource; reducing or preventing symptoms of stress or trauma reactions, psychophysiological homeostasis). The ways in which these studies were designed independently from one another and yet used the same practice elements in their crisis interventions indicates that there is comparability about how and why the arts-based practice elements are being used and to what effect. Our findings provide a sound basis and meaningful parameters for future research incorporating quantitative and qualitative approaches to firmly establish the effectiveness of art-based interventions, and how arts can support cultural sensitivity, acceptability and indicated outcomes, particularly those relating to stress and trauma during or following a crisis.

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Transparency you can trust: Transparency requirements for artificial intelligence between legal norms and contextual concerns

Big Data & Society ◽

10.1177/2053951719860542 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 205395171986054 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Heike Felzmann ◽

Eduard Fosch Villaronga ◽

Christoph Lutz ◽

Aurelia Tamò-Larrieux

Keyword(s):

Artificial Intelligence ◽

Data Protection ◽

Contextual Factors ◽

Information Provision ◽

Human Robot Interaction ◽

Future Research ◽

General Data Protection Regulation ◽

Wide Range ◽

General Data ◽

The Impact

Transparency is now a fundamental principle for data processing under the General Data Protection Regulation. We explore what this requirement entails for artificial intelligence and automated decision-making systems. We address the topic of transparency in artificial intelligence by integrating legal, social, and ethical aspects. We first investigate the ratio legis of the transparency requirement in the General Data Protection Regulation and its ethical underpinnings, showing its focus on the provision of information and explanation. We then discuss the pitfalls with respect to this requirement by focusing on the significance of contextual and performative factors in the implementation of transparency. We show that human–computer interaction and human-robot interaction literature do not provide clear results with respect to the benefits of transparency for users of artificial intelligence technologies due to the impact of a wide range of contextual factors, including performative aspects. We conclude by integrating the information- and explanation-based approach to transparency with the critical contextual approach, proposing that transparency as required by the General Data Protection Regulation in itself may be insufficient to achieve the positive goals associated with transparency. Instead, we propose to understand transparency relationally, where information provision is conceptualized as communication between technology providers and users, and where assessments of trustworthiness based on contextual factors mediate the value of transparency communications. This relational concept of transparency points to future research directions for the study of transparency in artificial intelligence systems and should be taken into account in policymaking.

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League Tables for Performance Improvement in Health Care

Journal of Health Services Research & Policy ◽

10.1177/135581969800300111 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 50-57 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Sandra Nutley ◽

Peter C. Smith

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Analytical Techniques ◽

Performance Data ◽

Future Research ◽

League Table ◽

Care Providers ◽

League Tables ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Impact

Objectives: Increasingly health care performance data are being disseminated in the form of ‘league tables' of health care providers, with the implication that such publication helps purchasers select the better providers, and spurs providers into improvements. This paper examines progress to date. Methods: Three stages of the league table process are considered: measurement, analysis and action. Results: A wide range of measurement schemes are now in place, although the emphasis has been on process variables and mortality as a measure of outcome. Several analytical techniques have been deployed to help users make sense of league tables, and to help determine the causes of variations in reported performance. The weakest aspect of current methods relates to the use to which such analysis is put. Conclusions: A haphazard approach to using league table data exists, with few reports on the impact of publication. A variety of directions for future research into the use of performance data are needed.

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