Perceived gains from changes in book allowance regime: case of a South African public university

This study evaluated the perceived impact of the revised National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) book allowance disbursement system on student academic performance at a South African public university. The study compared academic performance before and after the implementation of the new system, looking at flexibility and autonomy, cost management and availability of study materials as attributes of interest. Data were collected from a purposive sample of 91 students under the School of Public Management, Governance and Public Policy who had experienced both the new and old systems as part of the academic journey. Online and traditional survey methods were used, and the data were analysed using IBM SPSS. Tests included descriptive statistics, t-tests to test for academic performance perceptions differences in the old versus new system and Fisher’s exact tests to assess how academic performance was associated with identified attributes of the new system. The findings show that under the new system, the advantages of autonomy, flexibility and cost management in book allowance use increased. The prescribed textbook availability advantage, however, was declined. Regardless, there was an overall perception of (1) academic improvement and (2) neutrality in academic performance even when the actual prescribed textbook availability declined. The study recommends strengthening students’ capacities to autonomously manage their book allowance usages while at the same time facilitating the availability of OER and students’ abilities to evaluate OER quality. This two-pronged approach will narrow the gap between costs and expenditure, enabling students’ allowance to stretch a bit longer while supporting stable or improved academic performance.

Complexities of decolonising African public administration in the neoliberal world

The African Public Administration curricula and pedagogy continue to reflect the enduring hegemonic influence of Western ideals, models, and orientations, evident in the sustained reliance on Euro-American theoretical frameworks, analytical constructs, paradigms, methodologies, and their exclusionary canonisation process. A substantial body of research by scholars on the subject has heightened concerns and made several proposals for aligning pedagogical approaches with postcolonial African realities, aspirations, culture, and indigenous knowledge systems. This article critically examines the state of affairs regarding the repositioning of teaching and learning in Public Administration at African universities. The paper employs a systematic scoping review as its guiding methodology. The search strategy yielded 78 eligible publications. The findings of the review indicate persistent obstacles to achieving full decolonisation. Furthermore, strategies are being reshaped and sharpened within a largely globalising world, where the influence of Westernisation is being revitalised through universalist neoliberal schemes (e.g. isomorphic pressures channelled through international rankings, global standardisation, and global accreditation) for far-reaching influence globally. Current push-back efforts against the enduring encroachment of global influences are underwhelming, and continuing on this trajectory undermines the prospects of the decolonisation project. The paper concludes that more potent, strategic, and calculated countervailing response actions are necessary from within the African space, including deeper self-introspection, curriculum indigenisation, language decolonisation, deconstruction of dominant exclusionary colonial knowledge structures, and foregrounding African agency in the realm of epistemologies.

Human Trafficking: A Scientometric Review of the Knowledge Domain

Hindsight Bias in Forensic Mental Health Novices and Experts: An Exploratory Study

Decision-making processes are vulnerable to cognitive biases like hindsight bias, with particularly fateful consequences in forensic contexts. However, while debiasing strategies have been effective in various areas, their impact in forensics is underexplored. We investigated hindsight bias and a simple awareness-based debiasing strategy in novices ( n = 52) and forensic professionals ( n = 49). Participants were assigned to baseline, biased, or debiased conditions and rated an offender’s risk of re-offending using case vignettes. Significant hindsight bias was found in novices, but not experts who were also more aware of biases. Debiasing proved effective in novices, indicating that raising awareness may enhance equitable forensic decision-making.

Complete response to mTOR inhibitor following JAKi failure in severe pulmonary sarcoidosis: Authors’ reply

Risk of hospitalisation and mortality among patients with interstitial lung disease and COVID-19: A French multicentre prospective cohort

Risk factors of poor outcomes associated with COVID-19 are not well identified in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD). We analysed a multicentre prospective cohort of patients with ILD and COVID-19 from January 2020 to December 2022. Risk factor analysis for death at 90 days and hospitalisation was conducted using logistic regression, adjusted for age and sex. A total of 603 patients were included (66 years [54–74], 62% male). ILD diagnoses were autoimmune ILD ( n  = 147 [24%]), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF, n  = 124 [21%]), non-IPF fibrosing ILD ( n  = 118 [20%]), granulomatosis ( n  = 115 [19%]), exposure-related/secondary ILD ( n  = 68 [11%]), and other rare lung diseases ( n  = 31 [5%]). Hospitalisation due to COVID-19 was associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer or haematological disease, background glucocorticoid therapy, DL CO  < 40%pred and FVC < 70%pred. Death due to COVID-19 at day 90 was associated with the underlying ILD diagnosis, background glucocorticoid therapy, cardiovascular disease, cancer or haematological disease, and DL CO  < 40%pred, whereas vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 was protective. COVID-19-related mortality occurred mainly in the first 90 days after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Poor outcomes related to COVID-19 are associated with ILD subtype and severity, background glucocorticoid therapy and absence of vaccination. There is no evidence of late mortality.

A Convenient Method to Estimate Alignment of Eyes Under General Anesthesia in Strabismus Subjects

Introduction: This study aims to describe an objective and simple method to estimate the alignment of eyes under general anesthesia (GA) in strabismus subjects, which may vary from the angle measured preoperatively. Materials and Methods: Through the operating microscope, pictures of the eye position of 94 subjects with horizontal strabismus were captured under GA. A curved caliper was placed parallel to the horizontal meridian, and the distance between the center of cornea and the corneal reflex spot of the microscope was measured. The eye position was estimated with a quantified Hirschberg method for each eye, and the values were added to reflect the global binocular angle of deviation. To validate this method, four strabismus surgeons blindly evaluated the strabismus angle based on these pictures, and the results were compared. Agreement between the four measurements was estimated using the ICC (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient) index. Results: ICC coefficients and their 95% confidence interval were 0.93 (0.88–0.95) for the overall angle, 0.91 (0.89–0.94) for the right eye and 0.86 (0.77–0.91) for the left eye, indicating good to excellent reliability of these measurements. Conclusion: Evaluating the evolution of the strabismus under GA may be of clinical interest and have potential therapeutical consequences. The described technique is fast, convenient, and reliable and provides a tool to encourage surgeons to take into account this parameter of strabismus.

Treatment intervention for sex trafficked incarcerated women: intervening to improve self-esteem

Survivors of sex trafficking who become incarcerated often experience compounded trauma, stigma, and diminished self-esteem. Because self-esteem is central to recovery, prison-based rehabilitation programs that target self-worth are critical. This study examined Star Mosaic , a short, trauma-informed program for incarcerated women with histories of commercial sex. A within-subjects design was employed with 61 participants who completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem (RSE) scale before and after the 4–5-week program. Analyses included paired-samples t-tests, repeated-measures ANOVA by ethnicity, and subgroup comparisons across variables such as gang affiliation, pimp involvement, history of abuse, and mental health status. Participants showed a significant increase in self-esteem (M_pre = 26.05, SD = 5.71; M_post = 30.24, SD = 5.31; t(60) = 5.90, p<0.001). ANOVA revealed an ethnicity effect (F(4,56) = 2.62, p = 0.050), with Black participants demonstrating greater gains than White participants (p = 0.037). Other subgroup differences were nonsignificant, suggesting broadly similar benefits across participant profiles. Findings indicate that even a short, prison-based program can meaningfully improve self-esteem among women with experiences of sex trafficking and commercial sex. The significant gains among Black participants highlight the importance of considering cultural and contextual factors in program delivery and engagement. This suggests that interventions may resonate differently across groups, underscoring the need for culturally responsive, tailored approaches. Limitations include the modest sample size, reliance on self-report, and absence of a control group. Future studies should employ larger controlled designs and explore long-term outcomes, with particular attention to subgroup differences by ethnicity.

Type I interferon autoantibody footprints reveal neutralizing mechanisms and allow inhibitory decoy design

Potential to identify neutrino mass ordering with reactor antineutrinos at JUNO

The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is a multi-purposeneutrino experiment under construction in South China. This paper presents anupdated estimate of JUNO's sensitivity to neutrino mass ordering using thereactor antineutrinos emitted from eight nuclear reactor cores in the Taishanand Yangjiang nuclear power plants. This measurement is planned by studying thefine interference pattern caused by quasi-vacuum oscillations in the oscillatedantineutrino spectrum at a baseline of 52.5~km and is completely independent ofthe CP violating phase and neutrino mixing angle $\theta_{23}$. The sensitivityis obtained through a joint analysis of JUNO and Taishan AntineutrinoObservatory (TAO) detectors utilizing the best available knowledge to dateabout the location and overburden of the JUNO experimental site, local andglobal nuclear reactors, JUNO and TAO detector responses, expected event ratesand spectra of signals and backgrounds, and systematic uncertainties ofanalysis inputs. We find that a 3$\sigma$ median sensitivity to reject thewrong mass ordering hypothesis can be reached with an exposure to approximately6.5 years $\times$ 26.6 GW thermal power.