a testament to sacrilege

a testament to sacrilege is an autofiction that handles queer identity, monstrosity, religious trauma, and mental illness. Refusing to bend into traditional narrative structure, the work instead fluctuates between the known and the not-known; a work that acts as wet cloth in either a balm or a drowning. What makes a monster? What does it mean to be good? Weaving narrative prose, essay writing, and memoir, “a testament to sacrilege” follows three phases in the life of the narrator and Mouse - a dissociative state the narrator is able to access only through trauma. Focused on the power of feminine relationships in the face of violence, the 40,000-word collage uses erasure text to simulate the experience of OCD as it is felt by the author. While the work is necessarily delicate, it is also hopeful - Mouse and the narrator learn to work through recovery. While the narrator is inevitably able to overcome her past, “a testament to sacrilege” is not interested in the specifics of suffering: instead, it is interested in what it takes to survive that suffering. The initial opening to “a testament of sacrilege” was the recipient of the 2021 Harvey Swados Fiction award

Exploring Extension Faculty Members\u27 First-Time Experiences With Funded Couple Relationship Education

Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Extension faculty members are increasingly involved in offering couple and relationship education (CRE), but some have limited background in this format of family life education. This study used a phenomological approach to examine the experiences of Extension faculty members who offered CRE in their respective counties for their first time. Data were collected through face-to-face and telephone interviews. Four themes emerged from the interview data. First, considerations for offering this type of education included valuing CRE, having sufficient and specific knowledge about the needs of the county for CRE, and access to other forms of resources (mentors, previous training, or funding). Second, successes were discussed in terms of creating positive partnerships, successful recruitment strategies, and resources (utilization of funds and getting trained in CRE for the event). Third, faculty members described challenges including a lack of partnerships, limited resources, recruitment struggles, and lack of sufficient funds. Fourth, the reflections from the faculty members included plans and changes for future programming as faculty members reflected back on their actual experiences. These findings provide guidance for Extension faculty members with limited experience who are interested in offering CRE

Union- and employer-assisted housing--prospects for supplying affordable housing assistance to Boston's Hotel and Restaurant Workers' Union

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1991.Title as it appears in the June, 1991 M.I.T. Graduate List: The union housing trust fund and its potential for spurring affordable housing assistance: Boston's Local 26.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 158-162).by Eric M. Alderete.M.C.P

Salsalate treatment improves glycemia without altering adipose tissue in nondiabetic obese hispanics.

ObjectiveSalsalate treatment has well-known effects on improving glycemia, and the objective of this study was to examine whether the mechanism of this effect was related to changes in adipose tissue.MethodsA randomized double-blind and placebo-controlled trial in obese Hispanics (18-35 years) was conducted. The intervention consisted of 4 g day(-1) of salsalate (n = 11) versus placebo (n = 13) for 4 weeks. Outcome measures included glycemia, adiposity, ectopic fat, and adipose tissue gene expression and inflammation.ResultsIn those receiving salsalate, plasma fasting glucose decreased by 3.4% (P < 0.01), free fatty acids decreased by 42.5% (P = 0.06), and adiponectin increased by 27.7% (P < 0.01). Salsalate increased insulin AUC by 38% (P = 0.01) and HOMA-B by 47.2% (P < 0.01) while estimates of insulin sensitivity/resistance were unaffected. These metabolic improvements occurred without changes in total, abdominal, visceral, or liver fat. Plasma markers of inflammation/immune activation were unchanged following salsalate. Salsalate had no effects on adipose tissue including adipocyte size, presence of crown-like structures, or gene expression of adipokines, immune cell markers, or cytokines downstream of NF-κB with the exception of downregulation of IL-1β (P < 0.01).ConclusionsFindings suggest that metabolic improvements in response to salsalate occurred without alterations in adiposity, ectopic fat, or adipose tissue gene expression and inflammation

Para-particle oscillator simulations on a trapped ion quantum computer

Deformed oscillators allow for a generalization of the standard fermions and bosons, namely, for the description of para-particles. Such particles, while indiscernible in nature, can represent good candidates for descriptions of physical phenomena like topological phases of matter. Here, we report the digital quantum simulation of para-particle oscillators by mapping para-particle states to the state of a qubit register, which allow us to identify the para-particle oscillator Hamiltonian as an $XY$ model, and further digitize the system onto a universal set of gates. In both instances, the gate depth grows polynomially with the number of qubits used. To establish the validity of our results, we experimentally simulate the dynamics of para-fermions and para-bosons, demonstrating full control of para-particle oscillators on a quantum computer. Furthermore, we compare the overall performance of the digital simulation of dynamics of the driven para-Fermi oscillator to a recent analog quantum simulation result.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl

Litigation in Argentina: challenging the tobacco industry

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the processes and outcomes of tobacco litigation in Argentina and to analyse the strategies of the tobacco industry to oppose litigation using tobacco industry documents. METHODS: A systematic search of tobacco industry documents on the internet dating from 1978 to 2002. Law library searches using Argentinean official and unofficial reports systems were combined with computerised online searches. RESULTS: There have been at least 15 failed litigation cases in Argentina and the tobacco industry presented a concerted defence in every claim regardless of cost. We categorised 11 cases as product liability and nicotine addiction, two as health care reimbursement, and two as criminal law and secondhand smoke. Industry strategies included hiring legal consultants from prestigious international and Argentinean law firms and developing litigation prevention programmes. Industry monitored legal academic meetings, controlled the development of new product liability legislation, obtained favourable opinions from experts, and closely observed the development of litigation in Argentina. CONCLUSION: The strategies used by the industry have been successful in preventing recovery for tobacco injuries through litigation. Argentinean health advocates and lawyers need to be aware of the roles and strategies of the tobacco industry in order to develop effective litigation in Argentina.Fil: Flores, M. L.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Barnoya, J.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Mejia, Raul Mariano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Hospital de Clínicas General San Martín; ArgentinaFil: Alderete, Ethel del Carmen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Perez Stable, E.J.. University of California; Estados Unido