Exploring LGBT Experiences with Family Planning and Reproductive Health

The purpose of this research is to investigate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) healthcare experiences, specifically in relation to family planning and fertility counseling. Sixteen qualitative, individual interviews were completed with participants recruited from LGBT communities on campus, as well as personal contacts and the snowball effect. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2021), and major themes and subthemes were identified. The first overall theme was Uneasiness and Fear which captures the subtheme: Dysphoria Inducement. The second overarching theme, Lack of Focus on Individualized Needs, had the subthemes of Reproductive Care and Transgender Reproductive Care. This describes doctors\u27 heteronormative assumptions placed on participant’s as well as being inattentive listeners to patients\u27 responses. The third overarching theme is Lack of Empathy, with the subtheme Specialized Doctor Preference. This theme outlines how doctors are undereducated in LGBT testing and gender affirming care procedures making LGBT specialists sought out. Self Advocation is the final theme, highlighting how patients can reject substandard care. Results of this research can benefit the LGBT community by drawing attention to patients experiences with physicians who may hold biases against this minoritized group. The lack of exposure to LGBT patients in medical school fosters a heteronormative environment and mindset that is detrimental to the doctor patient relationship. Participant responses advocate the need for more LGBT specialist’s and widespread gender clinics

Quantitative analysis of methodological and environmental influences on survival of planted mangroves in restoration and afforestation

Mangrove planting has been employed for decades to achieve aims associated with restoration and afforestation. Often, survival of planted mangroves is low. Improving survival might be aided by augmenting the understanding of which planting methods and environmental variables most influence plant survival across a range of contexts. The aim of this study was to provide a global synthesis of the influence of planting methods and background environment on mangrove survival. This was achieved through a global meta-analysis, which compiled published survival rates for the period 1979–2021 and analyzed the influence of decisions about minimum spacing and which life stage to plant, and environmental contexts such as climate, tidal range and coastal setting on the reported survival of planted individuals, classified by species and root morphology. Generalized Additive Mixed Modeling (GAMM) revealed that planting larger mangrove saplings was associated with increased survival for pencil-rooted species such as Avicennia spp. and Sonneratia spp. (17% increase cf. seedlings), while greater plant spacing was associated with higher survival of stilt-rooted species in the family Rhizophoraceae (39% increase when doubling plant spacing from 1.5 to 3.0 m). Tidal range showed a nonlinear positive correlation with survival for pencil-rooted species, and the coastal environmental setting was associated with significant variation in survival for both pencil-and stilt-rooted species. The results suggest that improving decisions about which species to plant in different contexts, and intensive care after planting, is likely to improve the survival of planted mangroves

Homeostatic motion planning with innate physics knowledge

Living organisms interact with their surroundings in a closed-loop fashion, where sensory inputs dictate the initiation and termination of behaviours. Even simple animals are able to develop and execute complex plans, which has not yet been replicated in robotics using pure closed-loop input control. We propose a solution to this problem by defining a set of discrete and temporary closed-loop controllers, called "tasks", each representing a closed-loop behaviour. We further introduce a supervisory module which has an innate understanding of physics and causality, through which it can simulate the execution of task sequences over time and store the results in a model of the environment. On the basis of this model, plans can be made by chaining temporary closed-loop controllers. The proposed framework was implemented for a real robot and tested in two scenarios as proof of concept

Fabienne Kanor, Humus

Un libro sulla schiavitù, un romanzo storico, un’epopea della tratta negriera, una storia di dolore e libertà, Humus è allo stesso tempo questo e niente di tutto questo, un mélange di passato e presente, tradizione e innovazione, una storia mille volte narrata, quella della traite négrière, ma raramente con la lucidità e l’immaginazione di una scrittrice come Fabienne Kanor. Siamo di fronte ad un’opera originale e imprevedibile che colpisce immediatamente per la sua forza evocativa e provocat..

«Publif@rum», Les Caraïbes: convergences et affinités. Numéro Francophonie Gênes-Vérone 2008, a cura di Maxime Pierre

L’ultimo numero della rivista on-line «Publif@rum», nata come spazio virtuale di condivisione e discussione sulle tematiche legate alla lingua, alla civiltà e alla letteratura di lingua francese, rende omaggio alla pluralità e alla ricchezza culturale e linguistica che il laboratorio caraibico apporta alla riflessione contemporanea sulla cultura francofona, come evoca l’immagine del germoglio di mangrovia presente nella home page. Se è vero che i recenti dibattiti sulla Francofonia tendono a ..

Multiphoton Absorption Polymerization: Issues and Solutions

Multiphoton absorption polymerization (MAP) is gaining importance as a means for fabricating 3-D micro-devices. By focusing an ultrafast laser inside a prepolymer resin, radical polymerization can be initiated by two-photon absorption of a photoinitiator. The result is a highly cross-linked solid polymer point, or voxel, which is extended to create complex shapes by scanning the laser beam in a 3-D pattern. The geometric freedom combined with sub-micron resolution provided by MAP is unparalleled by any other microfabrication techniques. However, MAP suffers from three issues; the novelty of the technique itself, the fact that it is inherently a serial process, and the restriction of device materials to cross-linking polymers. To better understand the technique, the MAP fabrication setup is described in detail. Specific techniques of fabrication, such as how to design and wash microstructures, are also described. To address the second issue, micro-transfer molding (TM) has been applied to make high fidelity molds of complex master microstructures, followed by a fast and easy replication step to make duplicate structures. This technique has even been extended to replicate structures with closed-loops, such as arches or coils, which should be topologically impossible to mold and replicate. The third issue has been addressed in two ways, by laser-direct-writing of metal patterns on 3-D substrates and by changing the surface chemistry of the polymer to contain primary amines. Laser-deposited metal can be made conductive by further electroless growth yielding 3-D conducting patterns. The amine surface modification can be used for any number of chemistries, including catalytic metal seeding, which could then be grown into a metal coating. This new flexibility in surface chemistry, along with the enhanced speed of TM, ensures that MAP will be a practical technology to create micro-devices. Numerous electrical, mechanical, optical, and biological applications of MAP are described as well as potential future applications. To date this work has resulted in 9 peer reviewed publications, and 2 more which have recently been submitted