Targeting Arab/Muslim/South Asian Americans: Criminalization and Cultural Citizenship

In this essay, we further explore the responses of Arab and South Asian Muslim communities to the War on Terror, and ask whether these responses reveal alliance-building and pan-ethnic identification. Do the targeted groups, now portrayed as monolithic, find solidarity with each other, and if so, what are the bases for their sense of affinity. These questions force us to consider the deeper issues of pan-ethnic and political affiliation that highlight quandaries at the core of Asian American studies: how does a pan-ethnic approach challenge or support the racial and cultural categories used by state and empire to subordinate and divide populations

Pharma-engineering of multifunctional microneedle array device for application in chronic pain

Chronic pain poses a major concern to modern medicine and is frequently undertreated, causing suffering and disability. Transdermal delivery is the pivot to which analgesic research in drug delivery has centralized especially with the confines of needle phobias and associated pain related to traditional injections, and the existing limitations associated with oral drug delivery. Highlighted within this thesis is the possibility of further developing transdermal drug delivery for chronic pain treatment using an Electro-Modulated Hydrogel- Microneedle array (EMHM) prototype device for the delivery of analgesic medicatio

The trial that goes wrong : application of the model of organizational accidents to understanding the failure of clinical trials : case study of a UK public sector-funded clinical trial of an investigational medicinal product

Successful clinical trials are essential to guide clinical practice, however, there is significant risk involved in ensuring the delivery of a successful clinical trial. The most common reason for randomized controlled trial failure in the UK is the inability to recruit in an adequate and timely manner. Trials that end prematurely without reaching their intended goals raise considerable ethical and financial concerns. This study uses a single multisite randomized controlled clinical trial of an investigational medical product, which was closed early, as a case study setting to explore the circumstances around trial failure.Aims were to explore the reasons for trial failure, and in the context of the literature, learn lessons that could help to reduce the risk of failure in future studies. A systematic review of the literature was undertaken in order to examine causes of poor trial recruitment, and to validate the methods used as part of the assessment of the case study trial.I explored experiences and perceptions of individuals from stakeholder groups about the failure of this trial, analysed the data and mapped the results to the Model of Organisational Accidents and the Team error taxonomy. This is the first application of Reason’s model of organizational accidents within a trial management context A qualitative design was used, using semi structured interviews with a purposive sample of individuals representative across the trial stakeholder groups. Interviews were conducted, fully recorded and transcribed, then analysed using frameworks derived from the risk management literature to provide a descriptive framework for the context of the case study, and then a second body of theory was used to provide an explanatory framework in order to see links between the actions of individuals, groups and situations in order to better understand the reasons why this trial failed.The case study trial had shortcomings in design, had setbacks in the planning phase, where there were significant delays in appointing staff and commissioning essential components of the trial. The study fell behind time, there was budgetary overspend and issues throughout the trial relating to poor communication between stakeholder groups.All of the mistakes and lapses that occurred over the course of the study were avoidable, but the combination of inadequate experience, resources and motivational factors led to an atmosphere where mistakes were not identified or corrected due to factors relating to institutional hierarchy.The case study showed how fallible decisions at a senior management level allowed line management deficiencies within a project team and an environment where mistakes, violations and unsafe acts could occur. The analysis shows how the whole organizational system contributes to causal pathways associated with project failure, taking account of the culture of an organization and issues such as ‘excessive authority gradient’.The study suggests the need to improve monitoring of clinical trials and their progress, and aiming future research towards how funders assess investigators and host institution infrastructure as fit to lead research projects. The future development of a robust risk assessment tool that can be applied to new research projects may be useful in preventing a similar situation in the future

Strategies towards understanding the genetics of ischemic stroke

Stroke is the second largest cause of death and disability in the world and 80% of all strokes are ischemic in nature. While most risk factors have been investigated in depth, others such as South Asian ethnicity, long term blood pressure variability and symptomatic carotid stenosis remain largely understudied. In order to understand the genetic etiology underlining ischemic stroke, it is important to study the genetic burden shouldered by these phenotypes as well. This thesis examined the genetics of ischemic stroke in the presence of the above risk factors using three independent lines of investigation: a) literature based meta-analysis, b) candidate gene based approach and c) genome-wide association study. Using a literature based meta-analysis comprising 2529 ischemic stroke cases and 2881 healthy controls, genetic risk variants associated with ischemic stroke in South Asians were investigated. Genes PDE4D SNP 83, ACE I/D and IL10 G1082A were associated with South Asian ischemic stroke risk, with no major differences in strength of association for the same susceptibility genes in other ethnic groups. A candidate gene study was conducted using 8295 ischemic stroke cases and 12722 controls of European ancestry to test the association of GWAS-derived blood pressure variability associated cluster of 17 NLGN1 intronic SNPs. The study did not confirm the risk association of NLGN1 with ischemic stroke. Finally, a genome-wide association study was conducted to identify novel gene variants associated with ≥ 50% carotid stenosis in ischemic stroke, using 1164 cases and 13,703 healthy controls from seven independent cohorts. Three genetic loci at LRIG1, ROBO1 and CAPN7 were found to be associated at genome-wide significance. The findings of this thesis provide new insights into the genetic mechanisms underpinning ischemic stroke, by examining genetic variants associated with unusual stroke related phenotypes. Future directions include replication of sentinel SNPs in larger study populations and a GWAS for South Asian ischemic stroke cases.Open Acces

Microwave Solventless Synthesis of Meso-Tetrakis (Pentafluorophenyl)Poprphyrin (TPPF20) and Tris(Pentafluorophenyl))Corrole [Chemistry]

Organic chemistry is a two-semester course (Organic Chemistry I, SCC 251 and Organic Chemistry II, SCC 252) required for majors in Biology. The SCC 251 course has been designated for the Integrative Learning Core Competency as well the Digital Communication Ability. This course emphasizes the synthesis, structure, reactivity, and mechanisms of reaction of organic compounds. Laboratory stresses various organic synthetic and analytic techniques (distillation, extraction, chromatography and spectroscopy). This lab provided an opportunity for students to go deeper with the chemistry content by correlating to the concepts they learned in General Chemistry courses such as Valence shell electron pair repulsion theory (VSEPR), resonance, polarity, dipole moment, acid-base reactions, mole concept, thermochemistry and chemical kinetics. In addition, for the experimental part, applying the techniques such as qualitative analysis of ions, filtration, melting point, optical spectroscopy, and molecular modelling. This lab was performed at the end of the semester when students are familiar with basic organic techniques such as distillation, crystallization, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and column chromatography--techniques they learned previously in this lab. Overall, this lab was designed to develop critical thinking and integrative learning skills while introducing students to the porphyrin and green chemistry concepts. This experiment illustrates the several principles of green chemistry and is easily extendable to introduce topics in other chemistry courses such as NMR spectroscopy (1H, 13C and 19F NMR), material chemistry, click chemistry, coordination chemistry and environmental chemistry. Learning outcomes that can be assessed using this lab include an understanding of laboratory procedures (methods and techniques), safety hazards, and instrumentation, understanding of concepts and theories gained by performing the experiment, collecting data through observation and/or experimentation (TLC and column chromatography), interpretation of the data (percent yield, UV-vis spectra), drawing conclusions and perspective of the experiment. The knowledge students gain during this process will be useful to connect with future chemistry courses and can also be utilized to do research. LaGuardia’s Core Competencies and Communication Abilities Main Course Learning Objectives: Based on the principles and methods of green chemistry concept, students will be able to develop the ability to analyze and evaluate organic chemical reactions and processes. Gather, analyze, and interpret experimental data and graph the UV visible spectra using Microsoft excel. The ChemDraw program is used to increase classroom experiences in the preparation of high quality chemical drawings. This software is used to draw and submit chemical compound. ChemDraw Professional can also be used to predict properties, generate spectra, construct correct IUPAC names, and calculate reaction stoichiometry

Hydrophilic Porphyrins based Chemosensors for First Transition Series Metal Ions [Chemistry]

General Chemistry is a two-semester course (General Chemistry I, SCC 201 and General Chemistry II, SCC 202) required for majors in Biology and Environmental Sciences. This lab experiment, aligned to LaGuardia Community College’s Inquiry and Problem Solving Core Competency and Written Communication Ability was designed for General Chemistry I (SCC 201 Honors) course. Honors courses in LaGuardia emphasize critical thinking, analytical writing, and introduce students to research. This lab experiment provides an opportunity for students to engage in hands-on laboratory work, to develop laboratory skills, and to conduct research in the classroom by using two water soluble porphyrins to detect transition metal ions in a solution and on a paper support. Overall, this experiment was designed to meet the demand for undergraduate research experiences and to engage all the students in addressing a research question or problem that is of interest to the scientific community. In order to demonstrate their learning, students write a formal lab report which includes an understanding of experiment procedures (methods and techniques), safety hazards, instrumentation, understanding of concepts and theories gained by performing the experiment, collecting data through observation and/or experimentation, interpretation of the data (Ultraviolet-visible spectra), analysis of the data in tables and graphs, and drawing conclusions and perspective from the experiment. The knowledge students gain during this lab experiment will be useful to connect with future chemistry courses and can also be utilized to do research. The lab write-up is deposited for the assessment of the Written Communication Ability to which SCC 201 is aligned. This experiment also raises awareness about a global concern. Students detect transition metal ions in aqueous solutions by use of porphyrins. Due to rapid growth in technology and industrialization, transition metals are used in large amounts in a variety of electronic products. The improper preservation of the industrial wastes leads to accumulation of these metals into water resources, which can create danger to human health and the environment. Therefore, there is a need to carefully monitor and frequently detect transition metal ions content in the environment. This lab experiment was implemented in an Honors section of General Chemistry SCC 201 and was worth about 3.5% of the final grade. The students are likely to spend 3 hours completing the experiment in the lab and another 3-4 hours completing the lab write-up. The Program Goals that this assignment targets: 1. To provide training to the students in various lab techniques and how to utilize these techniques to conduct research. The Student Learning Objective (s) that this assignment targets: 1. Students will have an enhanced conceptual understanding of the theory to practice relationship and will achieve higher level reasoning skills. 2. Students will be able to develop their practical competence in laboratory work. 3. Students will be able to collect data through observation and/or experimentation, preparation of solutions of known concentration, characterize the compounds by UV-vis spectra, and draw conclusions and perspective of the experiment. 4. Communicate their results through the formal lab report format of: Introduction, Chemicals, Procedure, Data, Discussion and References. LaGuardia’s Core Competencies and Communication Abilities The Course Objective (s) that this assignment targets: 1. Based on the principles of environmental chemistry, students will be able to detect the transition metal ions using a porphyrin as a sensor and explore the complex connections between chemistry and real world issues. 2. Observe, collect, analyze and interpret experimental data and graph the UV visible spectra using Microsoft Excel

Risk factor and perinatal outcome of preterm delivery in a tertiary care centre in rural Haryana

Background: Aim of the study was to identify risk factors and to assess neonatal mortality and morbidity associated with preterm delivery in patient attending a tertiary care centre in rural Haryana.Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary Medical College, over a period of one year (January to December). All pre-term deliveries were included in the study. They were followed up from admission till delivery and till discharge from hospital. Various, parameters like maternal age, associated medical disorder, obstetric complications, gestational age, neonatal mortality, need of neonatal intensive care and condition of baby at discharge were analyzed.Results: In the present study, incidence of preterm deliveries was 16.1%. The most common risk factor found to be history of previous abortion (23.6%), preterm premature rupture of membrane (17.1%), Intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) with oligohydramnios (10.5%), hypertensive disorder during pregnancy (5.9%), and antepartum hemorrhage (4.6%). But majority of the patient (56.5%) no cause could be identify. Out of total 160 preterm births 3 were still born and 157 live preterm births, and out of which total Neonatal intensive care (NICU) admission were 60. Mortality rate was 100% in neonate weighing less than 1000 gm and 18% in babies weighing less than 2000 gm.Conclusions: The commonest risk factor for preterm delivery is previous history of abortion and adverse perinatal outcome is inversely proportionate to the period of gestation at the time of delivery. All efforts should be made to prolong the pregnancy beyond 34 weeks by identifying and actively managing the risk factors for better neonatal outcome