Don't Judge a Man by the Color of his Rag: The Reality and Resistance of Gangsta Rap Among Los Angeles Gang Members

This thesis shares interactive, performative stories regarding the intersection of gang culture and gangsta rap music. For a total of twenty-one days in a nine month span, I conducted ethnographic participant observation and in-depth interviews with sixteen former gang members and gangsta rap artists. While there I encountered, rode around, and hung with countless gang members belonging to both Crips and Bloods in South Central, Long Beach, Compton, and Inglewood. Although focusing on historic influences, this thesis travels through the present and positions itself as a future, utopic plot. The time period discussed in the thesis, 1986-1996, coincides with the first wave of gangsta rap and the years of active gangbanging and/or music training for these men. In the time discussed, the narratives and interviews have collectively shared one story: music was used to resist oppression while also reinforcing the oppressed mindset. By categorizing gangsta rap as a dystopian performative, I provide insight on the reality of music through reception and resistance of the LA Black Community. Through my journey to Los Angeles, I discovered that the reality of the music is deeper than the subculture; instead, it is planted in the larger community. Gangsta rap disrupted the ignorance of society and the ignored concerns of the Black community. It demanded attention and addressed Black oppression. Specifically, the time period encountered entrenched hardship built upon police tactics and the drug trade

Comprendre, évaluer et traiter la douleur de l’enfant en situation de polyhandicap [Understand, assess and manage the pain of children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities]

Children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities are highly vulnerable. It is related to their numerous medical issues, their reliance on complex care as well as support for daily living activities. They also have frequent reason to visit emergent care. The number of caregivers involved is usually understandably high. This combination of numerous medical issues and multiple procedure required, as benevolent as they are meant to be, will expose these children to potential pain. This article will summarize how to recognize and treat the pain in children with multiple disabilities

Novel transcriptomic panel identifies histologically active eosinophilic oesophagitis.

Eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE) is characterised by symptoms of esophageal dysfunction and oesinophil tissue infiltration. The EoE Diagnostic Panel (EDP) can distinguish between active and non-active EoE using a set of 77 genes. Recently, the existence of distinct EoE variants featuring symptoms similar to EoE, such as oesophageal dysfunction but lacking eosinophil infiltration, had been determined. We used oesophageal biopsies from patients with histologically active (n=10) and non-active EoE (n=9) as well as from healthy oesophageal controls (n=5) participating in the Swiss Eosinophilic Esophagitis Cohort Study (SEECS) and analysed the gene expression profile in these biopsies by total RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq). Moreover, we employed the publicly accessible RNA-seq dataset (series GSE148381) as reported by Greuter et al, encompassing a comprehensive genomic profile of patients presenting with EoE variants. A novel, diagnostic gene expression panel that can effectively distinguish patients with histologically active conventional EoE from patients with EoE in histological remission and control individuals, and from three newly discovered EoE variants was identified. Histologically Active EoE Diagnostic Panel (HAEDP) consists of 53 genes that were identified based on differential expression between histologically active EoE, histological remission and controls (p≤0.05). By combining the HAEDP with EDP, we expanded our knowledge about factors that may contribute to the inflammation in EoE and improved our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the disease. Conversely, we suggested a compact group of genes common to both HAEDP and EDP to create a reliable diagnostic tool that might enhance the accuracy of EoE diagnosis. We identified a novel set of 53 dysregulated genes that are closely associated with the histological inflammatory activity of EoE. In combination with EDP, our new panel might be a valuable tool for the accurate diagnosis of patients with EoE as well as for monitoring their disease course