Bad Neighbors: A Look into the Complex Relations within the Creek Nation through the Acorn Whistler Crisis

Co-Winner for the Griswold Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Historical ScholarshipIn “Bad Neighbors: A Look into the Complex Relations within the Creek Nation through the Acorn Whistler Crisis of 1752,” Brooke Hamilton unveils a gripping mid-eighteenth century tale of intrigue and deception, in which an enduring property dispute almost ends in open hostilities between the Creek Indians and the Georgia government. The origins of the plot, hatched by the devious Bosomworth family to take greater control of the eastern trading path from Charleston to Creek country, tap deeply into disagreements between two neighboring tribes, the Cowetas and Cussetas, both striving to be the predominant clan among the Lower Creeks. Masterfully engaging current scholarship, Hamilton narrates how greed and tribal resentments precipitated the vicious sacrifice of an Upper Creek headman, Acorn Whistler. –Garret Olberdinghttp://history.ou.edu/journal-2014undergraduat

Analysis of anthropogenic effects on topsoil throughout the California Polytechnic State University campus in San Luis Obispo

Soils reflect the health of a landscape, and in many cases carry the burden of anthropogenic activity, continually changing in characteristics such as pH, soil texture, soil structure, carbon:nitrogen ratios (C:N), and chemical composition. In a study sampling six different soils on the California Polytechnic State University campus in San Luis Obispo, these five soil characteristics were tested for and the results were determined. Soil samples consist of the top 5-10 cm of soil profiles, with sample sites varying according to degree of human contact; the locations the samples were taken from are as follows: (1) Walters Creek Ranch pasture, which is situated on Highway 1 across from Cuesta College; (2) the wooded area next to the Cal Poly “P”; (3) the footpath/bike path going to and from Cal Poly campus and the Poly Canyon Village student housing development; (4) the pre-dug soil pits on the hillside, adjacent to the “P” (periodically used for soil science and soil morphology courses); (5) the bike path behind the parking structure on Grand Avenue next to the Performing Arts Center; (6) the footpath in the parking lot behind the red brick dormitories

Understanding Donor Intent: Legal and Ethical Lessons From a Religious Nonprofit

To maintain public trust, nonprofit agencies are legally and ethically obligated to steward gifts according to the donor\u27s intent. This paper examines a donor intent case complicated by more than fifty years of mismanagement of the funds. The authors highlight the legal and ethical obligations that board members and other stakeholders must abide by in managing a nonprofit to protect its reputation and 501(c)3 status. We examine the legal issues related to donor intent, findings in philosophy and moral psychology about quick/automatic and slow/deliberate ethical judgment processes, and practical implications for adoption by boards addressing donor intent challenges

Early-life exposure to gut microbiota from disease protected mice does not impact disease outcome in type 1 diabetes susceptible NOD mice

The microbial community making up the gut microbiota can profoundly influence intestinal homeostasis and immune system development, and is believed to influence the development of complex diseases including type 1 diabetes (T1D). T1D susceptible non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice have been shown to harbour a distinct microbiota to disease protected mice. We hypothesised that the T1D susceptible genetic background of NOD mice would be resistant to the introduction of a C57BL/6 derived microbiota. NOD and C57BL/6 mice were cohoused either continually from birth, from birth until weaning or from weaning onwards, allowing transfer of microbiota between the mice. Cohousing NOD with C57BL/6 mice from before birth, resulted in moderate changes to the gut microbiota, whereas initiating co-housing at weaning only led to minimal changes. Terminating cohousing at weaning reduced the changes in the microbiota composition. However, diabetes onset was not significantly delayed and there was no reduction in intestinal inflammation or the proportion of regulatory T cells in the co-housed NOD mice. However, insulin but not IGRP-specific CD8+ T cells were reduced by co-housing suggesting an epitope-specific modulation of the autoreactive response by the gut microbiota. These results suggest that the T1D susceptible genetic background of the NOD mouse was resistant to the introduction of a C57BL/6 derived microbiota. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Mapping heterogeneous buried archaeological features using multisensor data from unmanned aerial vehicles

There is a long history of the use of aerial imagery for archaeological research, but the application of multisensor image data has only recently been facilitated by the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Two archaeological sites in the East Midlands U.K. that differ in age and topography were selected for survey using multisensor imaging from a fixed-wing UAV. The aim of this study was to determine optimum methodology for the use of UAVs in examining archaeological sites that have no obvious surface features and examine issues of ground control target design, thermal effects, image processing and advanced filtration. The information derived from the range of sensors used in this study enabled interpretation of buried archaeology at both sites. For any archaeological survey using UAVs, the acquisition of visible colour (RGB), multispectral, and thermal imagery as a minimum are advised, as no single technique is sufficient to attempt to reveal the maximum amount of potential information

The role of cytoreductive nephrectomy and systemic therapy in the management of tumour thrombus in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Background: Outcomes for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) and tumour thrombus remain poor. Recent data suggest limited role for cytoreductive nephrectomy (CN) and data on thrombus response to systemic therapy (ST) is scarce. Here, we describe response and survival of patients with de novo mRCC and thrombi treated with ST with or without CN. Methods: Demographics, disease characteristics and survival of patients with de novo mRCC were collected. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in months (m) was calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method (log-rank). Results: Between 2002 and 2019, 226 patients with mRCC were identified, 64 (28.3%) had tumour thrombus out of which 18 (28.1%) received only ST. Among 12 evaluable patients, thrombus response, stability and progression were seen in 3 (25%), 6 (50%) and 3 (25%) patients, respectively. Median OS was similar for patients with and without tumour thrombus treated with systemic therapy alone [OS: 12.1 m (8.8–27.7) vs. 13.9 m (7.9–21.5), p = 0.87]. CN predicted for better OS in patients with tumour thrombus [OS: 29.4 m (17.4–48.9) vs. 12.1 m (8.8–27.7), p = 0.01]. Conclusion: In this retrospective series of patients with mRCC and tumour thrombus, addition of CN to ST improved outcomes. Validation of these findings with contemporary regimens is needed

Utilisation of an operative difficulty grading scale for laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets. Methods Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendall’s tau for dichotomous variables, or Jonckheere–Terpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis. Results A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both p < 0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROC = 0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all p < 0.001). Conclusion We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty