Navigating visibility and risk: disabled young women's self-presentation practices on social media

Visibility is a requirement of neoliberal postfeminist girlhood and social media is often attributed with the capacity to provide disabled young women with visibility that they lack elsewhere. While some attention has been paid to the intersections of gender and disability through the self-presentations of disabled young women who are known as disabled content creators, such as bloggers and YouTubers, this article goes beyond this to examine how disabled young women represent themselves on social media as part of their everyday practices. Using a combination of discursive textual analysis of Twitter and Instagram accounts and semi-structured interviews with five disabled young women, I explore how affordances such as Twitter retweets play a key role in how disabled young women navigate their visibility online as part of their self-presentation practices. I argue that visibility is potentially risky and disabled young women's social media use is shaped by concerns about harassment and questions about the 'legitimacy' of their disabled identities that operate at the intersections of gender, disability and race, stemming from their experiences of 'systemic disbelief'. Finally, I situate these self-representation practices within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Improving the reading skills of struggling secondary students in a real-world setting: issues of implementation and sustainability

Reading difficulties have been associated with limited academic success and related social-emotional outcomes including anxiety and low motivation. Recent research on the educational impact of the COVID-19 pandemic indicates that children with poor reading skills were disproportionally disadvantaged. This growing number of students experiencing reading difficulties will require effective implementation of strategies to prevent long-term disadvantage, including in the challenging context of secondary schools where teachers are unfamiliar with reading instruction and constrained by timetabling of subjects and teachers. This research examined whether a Direct Instruction programme could be implemented with fidelity in the real world of a secondary school over a sustained period. Reading progress was monitored using a standardised assessment. Programme implementation was monitored via interviews with staff, classroom observations, and field notes. These data revealed that, whilst fidelity of programme implementation was challenging, programme delivery and student ability and confidence in reading improved over the three years.

Atomic spectrometry update: review of advances in the analysis of clinical and biological materials, foods and beverages

This update covers publications from the second half of 2021 to the middle of 2022. Advances in the application of atomic spectrometry techniques to clinical and biological materials, foods and beverages are reviewed in the text, highlighting their key features. Technical details of sample collection and preparation, as well as progresses with analytical techniques are considered and three tables complement the text, summarising details of a larger spectrum of publications. During this period, the trend toward the application of multi-element techniques, such as EDXRFS, ICP-MS and LIBS continued, in particular for food authenticity studies. Triple quadrupole ICP-MS is becoming increasing popular, as it is less affected by interferences, as well as LIBS and XRF, that require minimal sample preparation. However, AAS is still considered a valid alternative for single or a limited number of elements: as in previous years, numerous pre-concentration techniques were presented, some of which explored "greener” reagents. The interest in NPs continued, both as a potential exposure risk and for their application as tags of biological materials, and led to a wider application of spICP-MS. Chromium speciation in food received more attention than usual during this period, providing evidence that the carcinogenic species CrVI was not present. A number of studies covered the application of atomic spectrometry techniques for the indirect determination of biological macromolecules, including an interesting application of LIBS for the rapid detection of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2. © 2023 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

How Safe is a One-Night Stay Protocol for Patients Undergoing Elective Bariatric Surgery?

Background: The availability and popularity of bariatric and metabolic surgery (BMS) continues to increase worldwide and in turn so do the resources allocated to it. The last NBSR report (2020) demonstrated that 70% of patients were discharged on the second postoperative day and 80% left after the third day. An amended protocol was implemented within our Trust switching from a 2-3 night stay and reducing this to a planned one-night stay for a more efficient service. This review evaluates the safety and efficacy of a one-night stay protocol. Method(s): All patients undergoing BMS between two sets of dates were retrospectively identified from our local database, pre and post protocol change. Group A (old protocol, July-December '19) and Group B (one-night stay protocol, July '20-July '21). Group B capture time was extended due to smaller numbers due to COVID. Data gathered included: Patient demographics (Age, Gender, ASA, Weight, BMI);operation;length of stay (LOS);30-day complications, 30-day mortality, and 30-day readmission rates. Descriptive statistics and Chi-squared test were used to analyse results. Result(s): Group A had 94 patient and Group B 149 patients. Patient demographics, weight and ASA were similar in both groups. There were significantly more RYGB in Group A whilst more OAGBs and sleeves in Group B: RYGB;(48[51%] vs. 30[20%]), OAGB;(32[34%] vs. 80[53%]), Sleeve;(13[14%] vs. 36[24%]). Median LOS reduced from 3 days to 1 day and mean LOS 3.2 days to 1.3 days. In Group B, 115 patients (77%) were discharged on post-operative day 1 vs. 18 (19%) in Group A. In the 34 (23%) of patients that required stay beyond day 1 in Group B the most common reason was post-operative nausea and vomiting (n=8). Other frequent reasons were pain (n=5), low urine output/AKI (n=5) and not tolerating oral diet (n=4). There were no statistically significant differences between groups for 30-day complication (6[6%] vs. 5[3%] p=0.4) or re-admission (4[4%] vs. 8[5%] p=0.9) rates. In sub-group analysis, there was no difference between operation type and LOS/complication rates. In a review of the readmissions, it was not felt any were avoidable and only 1/8 readmissions were within 48h of discharge - this patient already had an extended admission. Conclusion(s): This study demonstrated that a planned one-night stay following BMS is both safe and effective;facilitating early patient discharges whilst having the necessary safety netting steps for those who require a require an extended period in hospital. The next step would be to explore the safety of day case surgery for selected patients undergoing sleeve gastrectomy.

Intra-Crisis Policy Transfer: The Case of COVID-19 in the UK

This chapter brings together the literatures on learning and policy transfer with material on crisis learning in order to assess policy transfer in the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. The policy transfer literature focuses on ‘normal’ times, but there is little on policy transfer in a crisis, with its constituent elements of threat, uncertainty and urgency. Conversely, it is broadly argued that lesson-drawing is one of the most underdeveloped aspects of crisis management. The literature distinguishes learning across crises and learning within a crisis, or inter-crisis and inter-crisis management, and between ‘routine’ and ‘non-routine’ or ‘less routine’ crises. While there is some literature on inter-crisis learning from Pandemics, the material on intra-learning during Pandemics is limited. The main aim of the chapter is to explore the UK response to COVID-19 with respect to the crisis and lesson-drawing literatures. The material is primarily drawn from ‘scientific’ and ‘political’, and analysed by Interpretative Content Analysis. It is concluded given the difficulty of learning in the urgency, uncertainty and threat of a crisis situation, it is hardly surprising that in the case of COVID-19, high complexity and limited fungibility intra-crisis policy transfer from the past and from abroad was limited. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Intra-Crisis Lesson-Drawing in Real-Time: The Pandemic Lessons Available in the UK Media during the First Months of COVID-19

This article assesses, using a framework derived from lesson-drawing, policy transfer and crisis research, the lessons offered by the media from abroad and from the past in the UK COVID-19 pandemic. The lesson-drawing literature focuses on a series of steps and questions associated with the 'fungibility' of lessons, and the crisis literature, with its constituent elements of threat, uncertainty and between 'routine' and 'non-routine' or 'less routine' crises. The article utilises the LexisNexis Database' in order to provide a content analysis of newspaper coverage of lessons offered, giving analysis in 'real time' of the source of potential lessons (e.g. past pandemics or other nations), and the type of lessons (e.g. copying or instruments). Its analysis highlights the complexity of lesson-drawing in 'real time' in a period of considerable uncertainty, where knowledge is contested, and is subject to change over time.

Going Virtual: Successes and Shortcomings of a Synchronous STEM Outreach Event

Gender disparities in STEM fields emerge starting in the fourth grade, when girls are less likely than boys to express interest in STEM fields. Outreach events targeted to girls during this crucial developmental period can foster a sense of belonging in STEM. Women+ Excelling More in Math, Engineering, and the Sciences (F.E.M.M.E.S.) is a student-run organization at the University of Michigan that organizes STEM outreach events for children in the fourth grade and older. During the COVID-19 pandemic, F.E.M.M.E.S. transitioned events to a virtual setting. This manuscript describes the design of the virtual program, which included hands-on activities, live virtual demonstrations, and engaged role models. This manuscript also presents survey results from participants and volunteers to demonstrate the overall success of the virtual program and areas for improvement. ©

Viruses Such as SARS-CoV-2 Can Be Partially Shielded from UV Radiation When in Particles Generated by Sneezing or Coughing: Numerical Simulations

UV radiation can inactivate viruses such as SARS-CoV-2. However, designing effective UV germicidal ir- radiation (UVGI) systems can be difficult because the effects of dried respiratory droplets and other fomites on UV light intensities are poorly understood. Numerical modeling of UV intensities inside virus- containing particles on surfaces can increase understanding of these possible reductions in UV intensity. We model UV intensities within spherical approximations of virions randomly positioned within spherical particles. The model virions and dried particles have sizes and optical properties to approximate SARS- CoV-2 and dried particles formed from respiratory droplets, respectively. In 1-, 5- and 9-m diameter par- ticles on a surface, illuminated by 260-nm UV light from a direction perpendicular to the surface, 0 , 10 and 18 (respectively) of simulated virions are exposed to intensities less than 1/100 th of intensities in individually exposed virions (i.e., they are partially shielded). Even for 302-nm light (simulating sunlight), where absorption is small, 0 and 11 of virions in 1- and 9-m particles have exposures 1/100 th those of individually exposed virions. Shielding is small to negligible in sub-micron particles. Results show that shielding of virions in a particle can be reduced by illuminating a particle either from multiple widely separated incident directions, or by illuminating a particle rotating in air for a time sufficient to rotate through enough orientations. Because highly UV-reflective paints and surfaces can increase the angular ranges of illumination and the intensities within particles, they appear likely to be useful for reducing shielding of virions embedded within particles.

Virtual clinics in foot & ankle surgery: Patient and clinician perceptions and review of the literature

Aim: The COVID 19 worldwide pandemic has led to the popularisation of, 'Virtual' clinics. Within orthopaedics, little is known about the use of virtual clinics within foot and ankle surgery, specifically. Method: A cross sectional observation study of patients and clinicians in response to virtual clinics in foot and ankle surgery. Patients seen in a virtual clinic were contacted from two weeks after their consultation by telephone with a 12-point questionnaire. Demographic information was also collected. Clinicians in foot and ankle also completed a 10- point questionnaire. Results: 100 patient responses were collected. Patient satisfaction with virtual clinics was positive, 65% were very happy (Likert scale rating 5). >90% of patients felt they received enough information, felt involved, felt it was helpful and knew who to contact if there was a problem. However, 79% would still prefer a face-to-face consultation. 22% would have preferred a video consultation. Clinician responses were more cautious, 60% were neither happy nor unhappy (Likert scale rating 3). Virtual clinics may be faster for the clinician. Conclusions: Virtual clinics may be more convenient for patients with high satisfaction levels but represent significant clinical challenges for foot and ankle surgeons. Elements of virtual clinics may persist post pandemic, particularly in routine follow up patients. Virtual clinics are not appropriate for new patient referrals.

Changing Logistics of Evacuation Transportation in Hazardous Settings during COVID-19

The logistics of public-sponsored evacuation include transportation assets, personnel, and infrastructure. Effective orchestration leading up to a severe weather event is a complex undertaking requiring capacity that is matched to needs. However, under the compound hurricane-pandemic scenario, the demands for evacuation assistance and the capacity to meet demands change. Pre-event planning must be adjusted and transit modified to reduce risks posed to evacuees and essential workers. This study explores how visualizations of redistributed vulnerability and transportation resources influence planning. The research identifies how transportation, emergency management, and public health officials are adapting hurricane evacuation resources during the COVID-19 pandemic using original data from compound hazard workshops and participatory stakeholder focus groups. Findings show that by the peak of hurricane season, local evacuation recommendations were favored by officials, contracts were in place for noncongregate options, and public resources were adjusted to account for those requiring congregate sheltering. A need remained for coordinating interjurisdictional information about real-time weather, resources, staffing, and traffic as well as local knowledge of roadway flooding with ongoing hazard planning. (C) 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Virtual clinics in foot and ankle surgery: patient and clinician perceptions.

BACKGROUND: The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has led to the popularisation of 'virtual' clinics. In orthopaedics, little is known about the use of virtual clinics within foot and ankle surgery, specifically. METHODS: A cross-sectional observation study of patients and clinicians in response to virtual clinics in foot and ankle surgery. Patients seen in a virtual clinic were contacted by telephone from two weeks after their consultation and asked to complete a 12-point questionnaire. Demographic information was also collected. Clinicians in foot and ankle completed a 10-point questionnaire. RESULTS: One hundred patient responses were collected. Patient satisfaction with virtual clinics was positive, with 65% of respondents reporting they were very happy (Likert scale rating 5). More than 90% of patients felt they received enough information, felt involved, felt the virtual clinic was helpful and knew who to contact if there was a problem. However, 79% would still prefer a face-to-face consultation, and 22% would have preferred a video consultation. Clinician responses were more cautious, with 60% stating they were neither happy nor unhappy (Likert scale rating 3). Virtual clinics may be faster for the clinician. CONCLUSIONS: Virtual clinics may be more convenient for patients, with high satisfaction levels reported, but represent significant clinical challenges for foot and ankle surgeons. Elements of virtual clinics may persist post pandemic, particularly in routine follow-up. Virtual clinics are not appropriate for new patient referrals.

What are relevant, feasible and effective approaches to promote acceptance, uptake and adherence to physical distancing measures for COVID-19 prevention and control?

Physical distancing measures have been implemented worldwide to contain the transmission of COVID-19, but how best to communicate with the public to promote acceptance, uptake and adherence to these measures is less clear. This rapid review analysed evidence regarding communication with individuals and communities within the wider structural and sociopolitical context of the pandemic to support public health decision-makers when planning and implementing physical distancing measures. Findings indicated the critical role played by public communication and information in the pandemic response. Consistent features of effective communication included clear, consistent and actionable content;attention to the timing and currency of messages;consideration of the audiences for communication within and across populations;and deliberate considerations of tailoring and equity to ensure diverse population groups are reached and existing inequalities addressed. Comprehensive practical support, including access to essential services and financial support, was also critical to promote acceptance, uptake and adherence to required measures. Findings also emphasized the importance of building and maintaining public trust in authorities and of engaging communities when planning and delivering messages related to physical distancing measures.

Assessing mortality difference across COVID-19 intubation strategies

Rationale: The optimal timing of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) among patients with COVID-19 related acute respiratory failure (ARF) is unknown. Use of high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) support could potentially avoid the need for IMV and related risks. However, patients failing HFNC may be at increased risk for peri-intubation complications such as cardiac arrest. At NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center (NYP-WCMC) and Lower Manhattan Hospital (LMH), an early IMV strategy prior to March 26th 2020. We subsequently switched to a prolonged observation strategy, supporting patients with non-invasive devices including HFNC. In this study, we compared in-hospital mortality in patients with ARF managed with early IMV strategy versus a prolonged observation strategy. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study using the Weill Cornell COVID-19 Registry, which included 1869 patients admitted with a COVID-19 positive PCR test up until May 15, 2020. Patients at risk for intubation due to ARF, defined by requiring > 6 liters/min nasal cannula, were included. Patients who met ARF criteria prior to March 26, 2020 were in the early IMV strategy group, and those who met criteria on or after March 26, 2020 were in the prolonged observation strategy group. In-hospital mortality with intubation strategy as the main exposure was modelled with cox proportional hazards regression. Confounders included age, sex, BMI, comorbidities, severity of illness (SOFA) and hospital strain (difference between daily admissions and discharges). Both SOFA and hospital strain were calculated for each patient on the day that they developed ARF for modelling purposes. Results: We identified 774 patients at risk for intubation due to ARF (table), 141 were in the early IMV group and 633 were in the prolonged observation strategy group. Death occurred in 33.3% of patients in the early IMV group compared to 34.8% in the prolonged observation group. Patients in the early IMV group had a longer length of stay among survivors (27.2 ± 26.1 days vs 21.6 ± 22.8 days, p = .0213). Age-adjusted hazard ratio for death comparing early IMV versus prolonged observation was 1.35 (95% CI 0.86-2.12, which decreases to 0.87 (95% CI 0.52-1.45) after adjusting for confounders. Conclusion: In this retrospective observational study with a modest sized sample, early IMV strategy was not associated with excess mortality compared to prolonged observation. In resource constrained settings, prolonged observation with HFNC support is a reasonable hospital-level strategy in patients with ARF.

How do Americans want elections to be run during the COVID-19 crisis?

To inform the vital conversation among the nation's political leaders, elections administrators, and scholars about how to hold a safe, accessible, and fair election in November 2020, this article reports how a sample of 5612 eligible American voters, surveyed 8-10 April, wanted to see the election run during the COVID-19 crisis. We embedded a randomized experiment presenting respondents with truthful summaries of the projections of two teams of scientists about the pandemic. Our descriptive findings show that in November 2020, four in 10 eligible voters would have preferred to cast their ballot by mail rather than in person and that a majority of respondents favored policies expanding mail voting. Our experimental findings show that respondents who read the scientific projections were more likely to prefer voting by mail, were more likely to trust that a mail ballot would be counted accurately, and were more likely to favor holding the election entirely by mail.

Intra-crisis learning and prospective policy transfer in the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose: This article brings together the literatures on policy learning and lesson drawing with the intra-crisis learning literature in order to assess “learning lessons” in the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: It carries out a structured review of articles that seek to provide lessons for the pandemic. It examines these articles using interpretative content analysis to apply the criteria of prospective policy transfer to the material. Findings: Application of the criteria of prospective policy transfer suggests that lesson drawing was fairly limited. It is often not fully clear why nations were selected. Many articles were brief and provided limited detail, meaning that there was little depth on issues such as problems and goals and on policy performance or policy success or failure. There was limited discussion of transferability of lessons, and few clear lessons could be drawn. Finally, the extent to which it was possible to learn lessons in a “non-routine” or “less routine” crisis, under conditions of threat, uncertainty and urgency was generally not discussed. Practical implications: The criteria within the framework of prospective policy transfer provide a template for policy makers to assess lessons. Originality/value: This article indicates the problems of attempting to draw lessons from the past or from other nations to an unprecedented crisis, where decision-making is characterized by elements of threat, urgency and uncertainty. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.