Research has shown that gesture production supports learning across a number of tasks. It is unclear, however, whether gesture production during encoding can support narrative recall, who gesture production benefits most, and whether certain types of gestures are more beneficial than others. This study, therefore, investigated the effect of gesture production during the encoding of a narrative on subsequent narrative recall, and whether individuals’ levels of verbal and nonverbal memory moderated this effect. Additionally, this study investigated whether producing certain types (...) of gestures during encoding was more beneficial than others. Participants (N = 90, Mage = 20.43) read aloud a narrative while under instruction to produce gestures, under no specific instruction to produce gestures, or were required to keep their hands behind their back to prevent them from gesturing. Participants completed measures assessing verbal and nonverbal memory. While gesture production during encoding benefitted narrative recall (as measured through specific questions), verbal memory moderated the effect, such that gesture production was more beneficial for individuals with higher than lower verbal memory. Furthermore, producing representational gestures during encoding benefitted recall of points in the narrative at which those gestures were produced, while beat gestures had no effect. Findings have implications for understanding the mechanisms underlying the links between gesture and learning, as well as practical implications in instructional settings. (shrink)

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy and is often associated with both DNA repair deficiency and extensive metabolic reprogramming. While still emerging, the interplay between these pathways can affect ovarian cancer phenotypes, including therapeutic resistance to the DNA damaging agents that are standard‐of‐care for this tumor type. In this review, we will discuss what is currently known about cellular metabolic rewiring in ovarian cancer that may impact DNA damage and repair in addition to highlighting how specific DNA repair (...) proteins also promote metabolic changes. We will also discuss relevant data from other cancers that could be used to inform ovarian cancer therapeutic strategies. Changes in the choice of DNA repair mechanism adopted by ovarian cancer are a major factor in promoting therapeutic resistance. Therefore, the impact of metabolic reprogramming on DNA repair mechanisms in ovarian cancer has major clinical implications for targeted combination therapies for the treatment of this devastating disease. (shrink)

Verse work on quintessence of Dvaita Vedanta and philosophy of Vishnu faith; includes complete Kannada text.

This book takes as its point of departure a humble cell lying on the intersection of ideas as diverse and yet interlaced as life, knowledge, commerce, governance, and ethics. It seeks to deepen the understanding of stem cell entities and the concerns, hopes, and aspirations that shape and make them viable therapeutic entities in the context of rapid globalization. Several key intersections between individual, group, and institutional relationships have become central to locating and debating the production of stem cells today. (...) This edited collection addresses three overarching concerns: regenerating the notion of ethics, the emerging therapeutic horizons, and the position of the patient. As a whole this book seeks to explain how stem cells are accommodated, contested, and used in contemporary India and around the globe through an informed unpacking of issues underpinning contestation and promotion bestriding these technological developments. The authors offer a truly multi-disciplinary perspective, stimulating conversation between the social sciences, biological sciences and the patient. The concerns expressed and highlighted by these conversations are embedded in a vast geo-political expanse stretching from India to Euro-America and will be of great interest to academics and practitioners across fields including science technology studies, medicine and international development. (shrink)

The term diagnostic odyssey refers to patients' difficult journeys to obtain a diagnosis, particular in the case of rare or contested illnesses. This paper describes the diagnostic odyssey of patients with New Daily Persistent Headache (NDPH), a rare headache disorder notable for its persistence, resistance to treatment, and impact on quality of life. Studies conducted to date have taken a medical perspective focusing on characterizing NDPH as opposed to patient construction of the illness experience. This study fills that gap by (...) analyzing 17 semi-structured interviews with participants with NDPH, using the McGill Illness Narrative Interview (MINI). Their narratives detail significant moments of headache onset and when they realized that their condition was called NDPH. Thematic analysis identified themes including relief and devastation upon receiving a diagnosis, the importance of headache as singular, negative and positive experiences with providers, the impact of online support group, choosing friends with complex medical conditions, the cyclical nature of treatment, and maintaining hope. Participants utilized social media and social networks to navigate their illness experiences. Numerous participants also reported negative experiences with providers, which created opportunities for reinforcing identity through social networks, and cyclical interactions when medicalization of their condition was necessary for access to treatments and services. This paper advances narrative bioethics scholarship on diagnostic odysseys by arguing that social networks and cyclical engagement with medical systems support patient autonomy in terms of decision-making around uncertain treatments. It concludes with implications for physician-patient relationships that create epistemic justice for all patients, including patients with NDPH. (shrink)

The COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility represents an unprecedented global collaboration facilitating the development and distribution of vaccines for COVID-19. COVAX pools and channels funds from state and non-state actors to promising vaccine candidates, and has started to distribute successful candidates to participating states. The WHO, one of the leaders of COVAX, recognised vaccine doses would initially be scarce, and therefore, prepared a two-staged allocation mechanism they considered fair. In the first stage, vaccine doses are distributed equally among participating countries, (...) while in the second stage vaccine doses will be allocated according to a country’s need. Ethicists have questioned whether this is the fairest distribution—they argue a country’s need should be taken into account from the start and correspondingly, have proposed a framework that treats individuals with equal moral concern, aims to minimise harm and gives priority to the worst-off. In this paper, we seek to explore these concerns by comparing COVAX’s allocation mechanism to a targeted allocation based on need. We consider which distribution would more likely maximise well-being and align with principles of equity. We conclude that although in theory, a targeted distribution in proportion to a country’s need would be more morally justifiable, when political realities are taken into account, an equal distribution seems more likely to avert a greater number of deaths and reduce disparities. (shrink)

Fasting during pregnancy is an enigma: why would a woman restrict her food intake during a period of increased nutritional need? Relative to the costs to healthy individuals who are not pregnant, the physiological costs of fasting in pregnancy are amplified, with intrauterine death being one possible outcome. Given these physiological costs, the question arises as to the socioecological factors that give rise to fasting during pregnancy. There has been little formal research regarding the emic perceptions and socioecological factors associated (...) with such fasting. This study therefore took an emic approach and investigated the types of fasts that are common in pregnancy, women’s perceptions of the consequences of fasting, and the socioecological models of pregnancy fasting in three Indian communities. This cross-sectional study took place in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha state, and Mysore, Karnataka state, among two populations of Hindu women and one population of Muslim women (_N_ = 85). In total, 64% of women fasted in prior pregnancies. Findings revealed variation in the number and types of fasts that are common in pregnancy across the three communities. Each community reported differences in positive and negative consequences of fasting, with varied emphasis on reproductive health, religiosity, and general health and well-being. Finally, quantitative analyses indicated that the best-fitting model for fasting during pregnancy was religiosity, and the poorest-fitting models were resource scarcity and general health. This study provides insight into motivations for such fasting and highlights the need to investigate the relationship between supernatural beliefs and maternal–fetal protection further, as well as social functions of pregnancy fasting within the family and community. (shrink)

This essay examines the link between time and history through the use of cyclic and linear concepts of time. While the former occurs in a cosmological context, the latter is found in familiar historical forms. The author argues for the existence of historical consciousness in early India, on the evidence of early texts.

Romila Thapar examines the link between time and history through the use of cyclic and linear concepts of time. While the former occurs in a cosmological context, the latter of found in familiar historical forms. The author argues for the existence of historical consciousness in early India, on the evidence of early texts.