I Sing Of Misogyny and Sexual Assault: Rape Culture in Contemporary American Pop Music

Rape culture as a term was coined in the 1970s, but it did not become part of the average vernacular until the past decade. While there is some scholarship on the subject, there is very little about its presence in media and pop culture, especially in music. The scholarship that does exist is focused on discussing the existence of rape culture or proving that it has a presence in media rather than contemplating what this means for the United States as a culture. This thesis aims to not only prove that rape culture is prominent in American pop music, but also to take a multi-disciplinary approach at analyzing this trend in order to consider possible consequences. Part One will argue for the presence of rape culture in American pop music by comparing song lyrics to general themes of rape culture as well as testimonials of sexual assault. Part Two will offer further scrutiny into the culture surrounding the songs analyzed in Part One by discussing them in context of the albums they are a part of, the music videos for them, and the lives of the artists who create them. Part Three will examine possible consequences of the perpetuation of rape culture in American pop music based on discussions of this tendency using different disciplines of study including a gender studies approach, a legal approach, and a psychoanalytical approach. This thesis is a call to action. While the paper will not go into extensive detail on how to eradicate the problem, it will discuss a few feminist responses that have and have not worked. The main goal of this paper is to bring light to an area of feminist study that has been lacking and to discuss why it is important to recognize the existence of rape culture as well as its presence in popular music

Simultaneous detection of invasive signal crayfish, endangered white-clawed crayfish and the crayfish plague pathogen using environmental DNA

Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) are important vectors for the introduction of novel pathogens which can, in turn, become drivers of rapid ecological and evolutionary change, compromising the persistence of native species. Conservation strategies rely on accurate information regarding presence and distribution of AIS and their associated pathogens to prevent or mitigate negative impacts, such as predation, displacement or competition with native species for food, space or breeding sites. Environmental DNA is increasingly used as a conservation tool for early detection and monitoring of AIS. We used a novel eDNA high-resolution melt curve (HRM) approach to simultaneously detect the UK endangered native crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes), the highly invasive signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) and their dominant pathogen, Aphanomyces astaci, (causative agent of crayfish plague). We validated the approach with laboratory and field samples in areas with known presence or absence of both crayfish species as well as the pathogen, prior to the monitoring of areas where their presence was unknown. We identified the presence of infected signal crayfish further upstream than previously detected in an area where previous intensive eradication attempts had taken place, and the coexistence of both species in plague free catchments. We also detected the endangered native crayfish in an area where trapping had failed. With this method, we could estimate the distribution of native and invasive crayfish and their infection status in a rapid, cost effective and highly sensitive way, providing essential information for the development of conservation strategies in catchments with populations of endangered native crayfish

Ramsey County Environmental Response Fund Impact Study

Report and poster completed by students participating in the Economic Development Fellowship Consulting Program, offered through the Office of University Economic Development in Spring 2019.This project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. Ramsey County collects a small percentage of the mortgage registry and deed tax to help fund the clean-up of contaminated land. This Environmental Response Fund (ERF) is leveraged with private investment and other public funding for redevelopment projects within the county. Since the program’s inception, 22 projects have received $5.7 million in funding and 200 acres have been remediated. Although the fund has been successful in cleaning up brownfields, little was known about the broader outcomes of the redevelopment projects completed after 2012, the last time an impact assessment was undertaken. Ramsey County Project Lead Mary Lou Egan worked with students in the Economic Development Fellows Consulting Program to evaluate the impact of ERF projects in terms of public and private investment leveraged, tax revenue generated, and jobs and housing units generated, and identified ways to strengthen and improve the program going forward. The students' final report and a poster summarizing the project are available.This project was supported by the Resilient Communities Project (RCP), a program at the University of Minnesota whose mission is to connect communities in Minnesota with U of MN faculty and students to advance community resilience through collaborative, course-based projects. RCP is a program of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA). More information at http://www.rcp.umn.edu

Rehabilitation versus surgical reconstruction for non-acute anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL SNNAP): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial

BackgroundAnterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is a common debilitating injury that can cause instability of the knee. We aimed to investigate the best management strategy between reconstructive surgery and non-surgical treatment for patients with a non-acute ACL injury and persistent symptoms of instability.MethodsWe did a pragmatic, multicentre, superiority, randomised controlled trial in 29 secondary care National Health Service orthopaedic units in the UK. Patients with symptomatic knee problems (instability) consistent with an ACL injury were eligible. We excluded patients with meniscal pathology with characteristics that indicate immediate surgery. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) by computer to either surgery (reconstruction) or rehabilitation (physiotherapy but with subsequent reconstruction permitted if instability persisted after treatment), stratified by site and baseline Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score—4 domain version (KOOS4). This management design represented normal practice. The primary outcome was KOOS4 at 18 months after randomisation. The principal analyses were intention-to-treat based, with KOOS4 results analysed using linear regression. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, ISRCTN10110685, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02980367.FindingsBetween Feb 1, 2017, and April 12, 2020, we recruited 316 patients. 156 (49%) participants were randomly assigned to the surgical reconstruction group and 160 (51%) to the rehabilitation group. Mean KOOS4 at 18 months was 73·0 (SD 18·3) in the surgical group and 64·6 (21·6) in the rehabilitation group. The adjusted mean difference was 7·9 (95% CI 2·5–13·2; p=0·0053) in favour of surgical management. 65 (41%) of 160 patients allocated to rehabilitation underwent subsequent surgery according to protocol within 18 months. 43 (28%) of 156 patients allocated to surgery did not receive their allocated treatment. We found no differences between groups in the proportion of intervention-related complications.InterpretationSurgical reconstruction as a management strategy for patients with non-acute ACL injury with persistent symptoms of instability was clinically superior and more cost-effective in comparison with rehabilitation management

Blood pressure status and post-exercise hypotension: an example of a spurious correlation in hypertension research?

A single bout of exercise lowers blood pressure (BP) for up to 24 h afterwards. The magnitude of this post-exercise hypotension (PEH) has been reported to be correlated most strongly to pre-exercise BP, and this apparent relationship has influenced position statements about the value of exercise in arterial hypertension. Nevertheless, this correlation could be adversely affected by mathematical coupling and regression-to-the-mean artefacts. Therefore, we aimed to examine the degree to which BP status moderates PEH while, for the first time, controlling for these statistical artefacts. A total of 32 participants, with pre-exercise mean arterial pressures of 65-110 mm Hg, cycled for 30 min at 70% peak oxygen uptake. Systolic BP and diastolic BP were measured (Portapres) before exercise and for 20 min after exercise. Changes in BP were regressed against pre-exercise values, and against the mean of pre- and post-exercise BP, among other indices that are also known not to be prone to artefacts. Correlations between pre-exercise BP and the exercise-mediated reductions were typical of those previously reported (r0.05), but not large enough to rule out spuriousness (P0.05). Artefact-free indices of BP status (pre- and post-exercise mean as well as an earlier independent measurement) did not correlate with reductions in BP (P>0.05), which were moderated more by peak oxygen uptake and time of day (P<0.05). These data indicate that, if statistical artefacts are not controlled for, the influence of BP status on the degree of PEH can be spuriously exaggerated to the extent that other more important moderators of BP change are masked

Master genotypes and crayfish plague data

Complete genotypes for all 9 populations of signal crayfish with their associated crayfish plague values (PFU and A level) and site coordinate

Data from: Genetic diversity and parasite facilitated establishment of the invasive signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) in Great Britain

Successful establishment of non‐native species is strongly influenced, among other factors, by the genetic variation of founding populations, which can be enhanced by multiple introductions through admixture. Coexisting pathogens can also facilitate the establishment of non‐native species by detrimentally impacting on the native fauna acting as novel weapons. The signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) is a highly invasive species, which has caused mass declines of native crayfish in Europe through displacement and transmission of the oomycete Aphanomyces astaci (crayfish plague), which is typically lethal to native European crayfish. However, whether Aphanomyces astaci may have facilitated the invasion of the signal crayfish is not known. We estimated the genetic diversity at microsatellite DNA loci, effective population size, and potential origins of seven infected and noninfected signal crayfish populations in Europe and one founder population in North America. Approximate Bayesian computation analysis and population structuring suggested multiple host introductions from diverse source populations, as well as higher heterozygosity among infected than uninfected populations, which could reflect a fitness advantage. Low effective population size, moderate heterozygosity, and lack of isolation by distance suggest that some invasive signal crayfish populations may not be fully established or that their genetic diversity may have been reduced by eradication attempts