Special Olympics Finding Aid

This finding aid gives both an overview of the history of the 1979 International Special Olmypics held at Brockport and a detailed look at the collections we have relating to that event

Blood Type Biochemistry and Human Disease

Associations between blood type and disease have been studied since the early 1900s when researchers determined that antibodies and antigens are inherited. In the 1950s, the chemical identification of the carbohydrate structure of surface antigens led to the understanding of biosynthetic pathways. The blood type is defined by oligosaccharide structures, which are specific to the antigens, thus, blood group antigens are secondary gene products, while the primary gene products are various glycosyltransferase enzymes that attach the sugar molecules to the oligosaccharide chain. Blood group antigens are found on red blood cells, platelets, leukocytes, plasma proteins, certain tissues, and various cell surface enzymes, and also exist in soluble form in body secretions such as breast milk, seminal fluid, saliva, sweat, gastric secretions, urine, and amniotic fluid. Recent advances in technology, biochemistry, and genetics have clarified the functional classifications of human blood group antigens, the structure of the A, B, H, and Lewis determinants and the enzymes that produce them, and the association of blood group antigens with disease risks. Further research to identify differences in the biochemical composition of blood group antigens, and the relationship to risks for disease, can be important for the identification of targets for the development of nutritional intervention strategies, or the identification of druggable targets

Human Microbiota, Blood Group Antigens, and Disease

Far from being just “bugs in our guts,” the microbiota interacts with the body in previously unimagined ways. Research into the genome and the microbiome has revealed that the human body and the microbiota have a long-established but only recently recognized symbiotic relationship; homeostatic balance between them regulates body function. That balance is fragile, easily disturbed, and plays a fundamental role in human health—our very survival depends on the healthy functioning of these microorganisms. Increasing rates of cardiovascular, autoimmune, and inflammatory diseases, as well as epidemics in obesity and diabetes in recent decades are believed to be explained, in part, by unintended effects on the microbiota from vaccinations, poor diets, environmental chemicals, indiscriminate antibiotic use, and “germophobia.” Discovery and exploration of the brain-gut-microbiota axis have provided new insights into functional diseases of the gut, autoimmune and stress-related disorders, and the role of probiotics in treating certain affective disorders; it may even explain some aspects of autism. Research into dietary effects on the human gut microbiota led to its classification into three proposed enterotypes, but also revealed the surprising role of blood group antigens in shaping those populations. Blood group antigens have previously been associated with disease risks; their subsequent association with the microbiota may reveal mechanisms that lead to development of nutritional interventions and improved treatment modalities. Further exploration of associations between specific enteric microbes and specific metabolites will foster new dietary interventions, treatment modalities, and genetic therapies, and inevitably, their application in personalized healthcare strategies

Reconfiguring the "other" in late nineteenth-century British utopian literature

Work on non-canonicalfin-de-siècle feminist utopian literature to date has focused on discovery and description as seen in the bibliographies of Sargent, Patai. and Suvin. This study examines non-canonical texts alongside canonical texts and moves beyond previous studies by exploring how English utopian writers redefine the cultural "Other" using the discourses of Empire, commerce, and science. Mikhail Bakhtin and Homi Bhabha emphasize the dialogic function of language in constructing and altering cultural boundaries, and their work provides a theoretical base for this study. The writers in this study, Mary Bramston, Elizabeth Burgoyne Corbett, Lady Florence Dixie, Amelia Garland Mears, William Morris, and H. G. Wells, imply that ideal societies will emerge only if nineteenth-century values and conventions are subverted. These writers attempt to put actual, as well as temporal distance between Utopia and fin-de-siècle England

The effects of Dalcroze eurhythmics on beat competency performance skills of kindergarten, first-, and second-grade children

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Dalcroze eurhythmics instruction on beat competency performance skills of kindergarten-2nd-grade children. A pretest-posttest control group served as the experimental design. Subjects for the study included six intact classes of kindergarten, 1st-, and 2nd-grade children from two rural public schools (n = 126). Treatment consisted of the experimental group (n = 65), kindergarten, 1st-, and 2nd-grade classes located in one school, receiving Dalcroze eurhythmics instruction and the control group (n = 61), kindergarten, 1st-, and 2nd-grade classes located in the other school, receiving traditional music instruction