Repeated Disasters and Chronic Environmental Changes Impede Generational Transmission of Indigenous Knowledge

Indigenous coastal communities are interdependent with the environment and families are vulnerable to the environmental changes that disrupt culture, continuity, and livelihood. The purpose of this study was to elucidate meaning from shared cultural perceptions of experiencing repeated disasters and other environmental changes among a United States Indigenous coastal community. This study is part of a larger community- engaged study and reports results from phenomological semi-structured in-depth qualitative interviews (n=19). Participants were enrolled tribal members with a strong ethnic identity and earned a majority of their income from subsistence activities. The results highlight that discrimination, which is part of the broader context of historical oppression, has set the stage for heightened vulnerability in Indigenous communities. Indigenous families are highly connected to their place and environment, yet environmental changes (e.g. repeated disasters, chronic land loss, and climate change) creates barriers for many elder participants pass on traditional knowledge and lifeways to their grandchildren and future generations. Indigenous peoples’ relationship with the land is spiritual, cultural, and place-specific. Interruption of Indigenous Peoples’ ability to interact with the land acculturation, lack of self-determination and discrimination are contemporary forms of trauma

Reaching Harmony Across Indigenous and Mainstream Research Contexts: An Emergent Narrative

Research with indigenous communities is one of the few areas of research encompassing profound controversies, complexities, ethical responsibilities, and historical context of exploitation and harm. Often this complexity becomes overwhelmingly apparent to the early career researcher who endeavors to make meaningful contributions to decolonizing research. Decolonizing research has the capacity to be a catalyst for the improved wellbeing and positive social change among indigenous communities and beyond. The purpose of this critical analysis is to reach harmony across mainstream and indigenous research contexts. We martial critical theory to deconstruct barriers to decolonizing research, such as power inequities, and identify strategies to overcome these barriers. First, we critically analyze the historical context of decolonizing research with indigenous communities. Next, we analyze the concept of “insider” and “outsider” research. We identify barriers and strategies toward finding harmony across indigenous and mainstream research paradigms and contexts

R-local Delaunay inhibition model

Let us consider the local specification system of Gibbs point process with inhib ition pairwise interaction acting on some Delaunay subgraph specifically not con taining the edges of Delaunay triangles with circumscribed circle of radius grea ter than some fixed positive real value $R$. Even if we think that there exists at least a stationary Gibbs state associated to such system, we do not know yet how to prove it mainly due to some uncontrolled "negative" contribution in the expression of the local energy needed to insert any number of points in some large enough empty region of the space. This is solved by introducing some subgraph, called the $R$-local Delaunay graph, which is a slight but tailored modification of the previous one. This kind of model does not inherit the local stability property but satisfies s ome new extension called $R$-local stability. This weakened property combined with the local property provides the existence o f Gibbs state.Comment: soumis \`{a} Journal of Statistical Physics 27 page

A DedA Family Membrane Protein Is Required for Burkholderia thailandensis Colistin Resistance

© Copyright © 2019 Panta, Kumar, Stafford, Billiot, Douglass, Herrera, Trent and Doerrler. Colistin is a “last resort” antibiotic for treatment of infections caused by some multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. Resistance to colistin varies between bacterial species. Some Gram-negative bacteria such as Burkholderia spp. are intrinsically resistant to very high levels of colistin with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) often above 0.5 mg/ml. We have previously shown DedA family proteins YqjA and YghB are conserved membrane transporters required for alkaline tolerance and resistance to several classes of dyes and antibiotics in Escherichia coli. Here, we show that a DedA family protein in Burkholderia thailandensis (DbcA; DedA of Burkholderia required for colistin resistance) is a membrane transporter required for resistance to colistin. Mutation of dbcA results in \u3e100-fold greater sensitivity to colistin. Colistin resistance is often conferred via covalent modification of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) lipid A. Mass spectrometry of lipid A of ΔdbcA showed a sharp reduction of aminoarabinose in lipid A compared to wild type. Complementation of colistin sensitivity of B. thailandensis ΔdbcA was observed by expression of dbcA, E. coli yghB or E. coli yqjA. Many proton-dependent transporters possess charged amino acids in transmembrane domains that take part in the transport mechanism and are essential for function. Site directed mutagenesis of conserved and predicted membrane embedded charged amino acids suggest that DbcA functions as a proton-dependent transporter. Direct measurement of membrane potential shows that B. thailandensis ΔdbcA is partially depolarized suggesting that loss of protonmotive force can lead to alterations in LPS structure and severe colistin sensitivity in this species

Hurricanes and Indigenous Families: Understanding connections with discrimination, social support, and violence on PTSD

This article uses the culturally grounded Framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience, and Transcendence (FHORT) to examine the experiences and impacts of hurricanes on indigenous (i.e., Native American) family members in the Gulf Coast and to identify how experiencing hurricanes and natural disasters, family and community support, adverse childhood experiences (ACE), discrimination, and intimate partner violence (IPV) may be related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among two Southeastern tribes. Results were drawn from a convergent mixed-methodology design, which incorporates ethnographic qualitative data and a culturally grounded quantitative follow-up survey. Thematic analysis of qualitative data with 208 participants from a coastal indigenous community revealed several emergent themes, namely (a) the impact of federal recognition on hurricane affected communities; (b) rapidly changing landscape, lives, and communities; and (c) family and personal effects of hurricane experiences. Descriptive and hierarchical regression analysis of 127 participants across two Southeastern tribes indicate that many participants frequently thought of losses from hurricanes and disasters, and that over one third of the sample met the criteria for clinically significant PTSD. Regression results affirmed the independent effects of hurricane experiences, ACE, community and family support as they relate to PTSD; yet IPV and discrimination were the strongest predictors of PTSD. Results reveal the extensive repercussions of hurricanes on indigenous families of the Southeast, which are inseparable from and exacerbated by insidious historical oppression, including discrimination, already experienced by these groups

Fluorescence and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic studies of the effect of the polymerization concentration on the properties of an amino acid-based polymeric surfactant

Chiral polymeric surfactants, also known as micelle polymers, have been developed over the past decade for use as chiral selectors in the analytical separation of enantiomers. In this study, fluorescence spectroscopy and pulsed field gradient NMR (PFG-NMR) were used to determine how the concentration at which the micelles were polymerized affects their size and structure. Ten different polymerization concentrations of sodium N-undecanoyl-L-valinate (L-SUV) were investigated, ranging from slightly below the critical micelle concentration (cmc) to 50 times greater than the cmc. Analysis of fluorescence probe data indicates that significant changes in the micropolarity and microviscosity of the polymer occurred as a function of the polymerization concentration. Pulsed field gradient NMR and fluorescence quenching were also used to investigate the changes in the size of the polymers as a result of the polymerization concentration. In addition, PFG-NMR revealed information concerning the polydispersity of the micelle polymers, which is a crucial factor in understanding the chiral interactions of these species

Comparative evaluation of the stability of two different dental implant designs and surgical protocols—a pilot study

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to compare a parallel wall design implant to a tapered apex design implant when placed in the posterior maxilla using two different surgical protocols. Methods Twenty-seven patients (30 implants) were divided into three groups. All implants were 4 mm wide in diameter and 8 mm long. Group A received 10 tapered implants (OSPTX) (Astra Tech OsseoSpeed TX™) using the soft bone surgical protocol (TXSoft). Group B received 10 tapered implants (OSPTX) (AstraTech OsseoSpeedTX™) using the standard surgical protocol (TXStd). Group C received 10 parallel wall implants (OSP) (AstraTech OsseoSpeed™) using the standard surgical protocol (OStd). All implants were placed in the posterior maxilla in areas with a minimum of 8-mm crestal bone height. Resonance frequency measurements (implant stability quotient (ISQ)) and torque values were recorded to determine initial implant stability. All implants were uncovered 6 weeks after placement and restored with a functionally loaded resin provisional screw-retained crown. Resonance frequency measurements were recorded at the time of implant placement, at 6 weeks and 6 and 12 months. Twelve months after implant placement, the stability of the implants was recorded and the final restorations were placed using custom CAD/CAM fabricated abutments and cement-retained PFM DSIGN porcelain crowns. After implant restoration, bone levels were measured at 6 and 12 months with standardized radiographs. Results Radiographic mean bone loss was less than 0.5 mm in all groups, with no statistically significant differences between the groups. Implant survival rate at 1 year was 93.3%, with 2/30 implants failing to integrate prior to functional loading at 6 weeks. No statistically significant difference was found between ISQ measurements between the three groups at all time intervals measured. Strong positive correlations were found between overall bone loss at 6 months and insertion torque at time of placement. A very weak correlation was found between insertion torque and ISQ values at time of implant placement. Conclusions Survival and stability of OSPTX and OSP implants is comparable. Osteotomy preparation by either standard or soft bone surgical protocol presented no significant effect on implant survival and stability for the specific implant designs