Marxist influences in the United States prior to 1900

Marxian socialism was introduced to America in the 1850*s by German political refugees, among whom were Joseph Weydemeyer, Wilhelm Weitling, Friedrich Sorge, and Victor Berger. Early socialist organizations in America were ineffective and beset with inner struggles. During the depression of 1873-75 which brought many Americans into poverty, communist propaganda began to find a response. Indifference on the part of wealthy classes to the plight of the unemployed and homeless masses, and government patronage of big business, combined to make the situation seem hopeless. The seriousness became evident during the riots of 1877 when hordes of unemployed pillaged and terrorized in many cities for days. Socialist agitation was commonly blamed for the riots

Analyzing the role of body composition and diet in plasma apelin levels of normal healthy adults

The purpose of this study was to determine if diet and/or body composition influences resting plasma apelin concentration. Apelin concentration appears to be influenced by the amount of fat in the body and by blood glucose concentration. However, most of the studies that have investigated blood apelin concentration have utilized obese or diabetic subjects. Little is known about how body composition, body fat distribution or diet may influence apelin in apparently healthy, young individuals. More specifically, the purposes of this study were to determine if baseline resting plasma apelin concentration in young, apparently healthy adult subjects is influenced by amount of fat in the body, location of fat, the macronutrient composition in their diet and if the total amount of antioxidant micronutrients (vitamins A, C, E and zinc). The proposed cohort group consisted of twelve apparently healthy young adults between the ages of 18-35.The amount of body fat, body mass index, sagittal diameter and the waist to hip ratio were utilized as covariates to determine if these factors influenced apelin concentration at rest. The data was analyzed to ascertain if there are any relationships with the listed anthropometric measures, the nutrition factors and plasma apelin concentration. Each subject’s body composition was classified via body mass index (BMI), sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD), waist circumference (WC) and 7-site skinfold analysis. In addition, Each subject completed a three day diet record prior to their three visits which were analyzed for total calories, macronutrient percent calories and amount of micronutrient antioxidants; vitamin A, C, E, and zinc. They were instructed on how to log 3 day diet records and were asked to repeat the diets as close as possible on their 2nd and 3rd visits to keep this information as consistent as possible. Significant relationships were found for body composition factors including Siri % body fat (r=0.631, P=0.028*), Brozek % body fat (r=0.642, P=0.024*), and BMI (r=0.649, P=0.022*). Body composition factors showed varied results. A significant association was found between sagittal abdominal diameter and plasma apelin concentrations at rest (r=0.628, p=0.029*), however waist circumference approached significance (r=0.061, P=0.061) and waist-to-hip ratio did not demonstrate a significant relationship (r=0.178, P=0.579). Only two subjects reported consuming high fat diets (>35% of total kilocalorie intake), therefore no relationships could be analyzed regarding plasma apelin concentration at rest and high fat diets. No significant relationships were found between individual micronutrients and plasma apelin concentrations at rest, besides vitamin E (r=0.658, P=0.020*). In conclusion this small cohort of subjects had stable resting plasma apelin levels across visits and does not appear that dietary factors influenced plasma apelin concentrations. In contrast, % BF and SAD suggest that these factors are significantly related to resting plasma apelin, with WC also approaching significance. More research should be done with a larger cohort of subjects including a wider range of diet and anthropometric measures

How the Course the “Meaning and Nature of Science” Influences Holistic Views on Science Across Genders

Throughout their college career, students take many courses that shape their life. The course "The Meaning and Nature of Science" taught students, at Appalachian State University, the meaning and essence of the nature of science (NOS). Learning the NOS can shape people's understanding of everyday topics, such as weather forecasts, politics, and nutrition. The purpose of this study was to see how this course influenced holistic understanding of science in both males and females and to examine the differences in this understanding, if any, between the genders

Relationship skills building with older adults

Relationship skills building is the focus of an innovative clinical experience with older adults for junior level nursing students in a psychiatric mental health course. The clinical experience is designed to help students apply, integrate, and validate previously learned therapeutic communication skills and experience discovery of self and others. This article describes a clinical experience that introduces students to older adults, who will make up the majority of health care recipients in the students’ future careers, and helps students explore the nurse’s role in mental health care for older adults. Not only did students engaged in the clinical experience learn to develop a relationship with the older adults, but they learned much more— they learned to appreciate the value of life, the importance of listening, and the rich and varied life stories of older adults

The inequity of digital engagement: Examining strategies to support educators in delivering online student learning in public schools

The need for educators to have reliable professional development on refining their online teaching skills became evident during the Coronavirus pandemic. Student learning should be engaging in both in-person and online settings. Having access to trained professionals in online teaching strategies creates a learning environment that is equitable and desirable for students. This improvement science initiative seeks to examine the root causes of a lack of student engagement in online learning by providing professional development and building teacher capacity to create engaging online learning environments. Working with a district and school leadership design team, we implemented a teacher professional development initiative targeting teachers working in a fully online K-8 public school with training and resources to curate engaging virtual lessons

Tetrahydrobiopterin modulates ubiquitin conjugation to UBC13/UBE2N and proteasome activity by S-nitrosation

Nitric Oxide (NO) is an intracellular signalling mediator, which affects many biological processes via the posttranslational modification of proteins through S-nitrosation. The availability of NO and NOS-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) from enzymatic uncoupling are determined by the NO synthase cofactor Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4). Here, using a global proteomics “biotin-switch” approach, we identified components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system to be altered via BH4-dependent NO signalling by protein S-nitrosation. We show S-nitrosation of ubiquitin conjugating E2 enzymes, in particular the catalytic residue C87 of UBC13/UBE2N, leading to impaired polyubiquitylation by interfering with the formation of UBC13~Ub thioester intermediates. In addition, proteasome cleavage activity in cells also seems to be altered by S-nitrosation, correlating with the modification of cysteine residues within the 19S regulatory particle and catalytic subunits of the 20S complex. Our results highlight the widespread impact of BH4 on downstream cellular signalling as evidenced by the effect of a perturbed BH4-dependent NO-Redox balance on critical processes within the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS). These studies thereby uncover a novel aspect of NO associated modulation of cellular homeostasis

Neighborhood built environment and physical activity of Japanese older adults: results from the Aichi Gerontological Evaluation Study (AGES)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although many studies have reported the association between neighborhood built environment (BE) and physical activity (PA), less is known about the associations for older populations or in countries besides the US and Australia. The aim of this paper is to examine the associations for older adult populations in Japan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Our analyses were based on cross-sectional data from the Aichi Gerontological Evaluation Study (AGES), conducted in 2003. The respondents were older adults, aged 65 years or over (n = 9,414), from 8 municipalities across urban, suburban, and rural areas. The frequency of leisure time sports activity and total walking time were used as the outcome variables. Using geographic information systems (GIS), we measured residential density, street connectivity, number of local destinations, access to recreational spaces, and land slope of the respondents' neighborhoods, based on network distances with multiple radii (250 m, 500 m, 1,000 m). An ordinal logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between PA and BE measures.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Population density and presence of parks or green spaces had positive associations with the frequency of sports activity, regardless of the selected buffer zone. The analysis of total walking time, however, showed only a few associations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings provide mixed support for the association between PA and the characteristics of BE measures, previously used in Western settings. Some characteristics of the neighborhood built environment may facilitate leisure time sports activity, but not increase the total walking time for Japanese older adults.</p