Matriarchal Monsters: Literary Villians Through the Lens of Gender

The exposure of American readers to the literary monster culminates at an incredibly young and impressionable age. The genre of children’s literature seems to rely heavily on the impact of the presence of villainous monster characters. From the “boogey man” to “Cruella de Vil” to “The Grinch,” children are presented at a very young age with the character of evil. As a result of our early experience with villains, we as readers accept the “bad guy” created in a novel to be classified under the category of “monster.” However, most readers have never even pondered or questioned the label of the “monster.” Through my studies, I have found the concept of the monster to be one of the most complicated character types there is. In my exploration of the literary monster, I have uncovered a community of monsters whose analysis I believe is imperative to understanding the role of the monster in the novel. Although studies of the female monster in literature are abundant, ranging from mythological Greek characters such as Medusa to the supernatural Gothic females in the works of Charlotte Brontë and Mary Shelley, considerable research on a more specific group, the matriarchal monster, has yet to be conducted. The matriarchal monster is unique among all literary monsters both in her gender and in the accepted identity she is supposed to fulfill. As a woman and caretaker, the mother is meant to be a balance between gentle and strong. Because the matriarchal monster disturbs this balance by committing an act that is evil, I believe she is attributed even more evil qualities than a male monster who may commit the same monstrous act. In opposition to this double standard, I will argue that the matriarchal monster tends to be less evil than the typical literary monster, and that her actions tend to become almost heroic. Further, I will argue that the “monstrous” actions of the matriarchal monster result from a struggle for power within her societal structure, rather than from a desire to be evil or cause harm

Effects of Soil Moisture on Photosynthesis and Fluorescence in Heteromeles arbutifolia

Some plants have evolved to increase their chances of survival by being drought-adapted. Among those plant species is Heteromeles arbutifolia, native to California. Logically, the fact that Heteromeles arbutifolia tolerates the low supply of water makes this plant more likely to be within environments where the level of sun exposure is high. Thus, we hypothesized that lowering soil moisture will cause an increase in xylem pressure, causing an increase in photo-protection and florescence, and a decrease in photosynthetic rate. This has not been tested before on a native chaparral plant such as Heteromeles arbutifolia. The experiment was held as following: six H. arbutifolia were evenly divided up into a treatment group and a control group. Both groups were given equal hydration at the beginning of this experiment. From then on the control group maintained a constant daily rate of hydration as the experimental groups received no water. Data of photosynthesis, photo-protection, florescence, xylem pressure, and soil moisture were taken for both groups throughout the entire experiment. Data collection showed statistically significant results of comparing non-photosynthetic quenching to photosynthetic quenching in water-stressed plants and water-saturated plants. Significant correlations were drawn between the following: the fraction of non-photosynthetic quenching to xylem pressure, the fraction of non-photosynthetic quenching to soil moisture, the fraction of non-photosynthetic quenching versus the time since the last event of irrigation, and xylem pressure and the time since the plant was last irrigated. It was concluded that photo-protection rate increases with water stress, which supported the initial hypothesis in part. However, the study also concluded that there was not a significant difference between the two groups regarding the florescence rate

Cost, affordability and cost-effectiveness of strategies to control tuberculosis in countries with high HIV prevalence

Background: The HIV epidemic has caused a dramatic increase in tuberculosis (TB) in East and southern Africa. Several strategies have the potential to reduce the burden of TB in high HIV prevalence settings, and cost and cost-effectiveness analyses can help to prioritize them when budget constraints exist. However, published cost and cost-effectiveness studies are limited.Methods: Our objective was to compare the cost, affordability and cost-effectiveness of seven strategies for reducing the burden of TB in countries with high HIV prevalence. A compartmental difference equation model of TB and HIV and recent cost data were used to assess the costs (year 2003 US$prices) and effects (TB cases averted, deaths averted, DALYs gained) of these strategies in Kenya during the period 2004-2023.Results: The three lowest cost and most cost-effective strategies were improving TB cure rates, improving TB case detection rates, and improving both together. The incremental cost of combined improvements to case detection and cure was below US$15 million per year (7.5% of year 2000 government health expenditure); the mean cost per DALY gained of these three strategies ranged from US$18 to US$34. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) had the highest incremental costs, which by 2007 could be as large as total government health expenditures in year 2000. ART could also gain more DALYs than the other strategies, at a cost per DALY gained of around US$260 to US$530. Both the costs and effects of treatment for latent tuberculosis infection (TLTI) for HIV+ individuals were low; the cost per DALY gained ranged from about US$85 to US$370. Averting one HIV infection for less than US$250 would be as cost-effective as improving TB case detection and cure rates to WHO target levels. Conclusions: To reduce the burden of TB in high HIV prevalence settings, the immediate goal should be to increase TB case detection rates and, to the extent possible, improve TB cure rates, preferably in combination. Realising the full potential of ART will require substantial new funding and strengthening of health system capacity so that increased funding can be used effectively

What The Oregon Health Study Can Tell Us About Expanding Medicaid

The recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act includes a major expansion of Medicaid to low-income adults in 2014. This paper describes the Oregon Health Study, a randomized controlled trial that will be able to shed some light on the likely effects of such expansions. In 2008, Oregon randomly drew names from a waiting list for its previously closed public insurance program. Our analysis of enrollment into this program found that people who signed up for the waiting list and enrolled in the Oregon Medicaid program were likely to have worse health than those who did not. However, actual enrollment was fairly low, partly because many applicants did not meet eligibility standards.United States. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and EvaluationCalifornia HealthCare FoundationJohn D. and Catherine T. MacArthur FoundationNational Institute on AgingRobert Wood Johnson FoundationAlfred P. Sloan FoundationUnited States. Social Security Administratio

MESMER: Towards a Playful Tangible Tool for Non-Verbal Multi-Stakeholder Conversations

publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Environmental science and mental health review: final report to NERC valuing nature programme

The project sought to examine where and how the environmental sciences might contribute to the mental health domain, and to identify exemplar case studies, highlight gaps, and outline areas for potential future investment. The final report, which summaries findings from the project, is now published

Developing a National Implementation Strategy to accelerate Uptake of Evidence-Based Family Caregiver Support in Us Cancer Centers

OBJECTIVE: Characterize key factors and training needs of U.S. cancer centers in implementing family caregiver support services. METHODS: Sequential explanatory mixed methods design consisting of: (1) a national survey of clinicians and administrators from Commission-on-Cancer-accredited cancer centers (N = 238) on factors and training needed for establishing new caregiver programs and (2) qualitative interviews with a subsample of survey respondents (N = 30) to elicit feedback on survey findings and the outline of an implementation strategy to facilitate implementation of evidence-based family caregiver support (the Caregiver Support Accelerator). Survey data was tabulated using descriptive statistics and transcribed interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: top factors for developing new caregiver programs were that the program be: consistent with the cancer center\u27s mission and strategic plan (87%), supported by clinic leadership (86.5%) and providers and staff (85.7%), and low cost or cost effective (84.9%). top training needs were how to: train staff to implement programs (72.3%), obtain program materials (63.0%), and evaluate program outcomes (62.6%). Only 3.8% reported that no training was needed. Qualitative interviews yielded four main themes: (1) gaining leadership, clinician, and staff buy-in and support is essential; (2) cost and clinician burden are major factors to program implementation; (3) training should help with adapting and marketing programs to local context and culture; and (4) the Accelerator strategy is comprehensive and would benefit from key organizational partnerships and policy standards. CONCLUSION: Findings will be used to inform and refine the Accelerator implementation strategy to facilitate the adoption and growth of evidence-based cancer caregiver support in U.S. cancer centers

One-carbon metabolism in cancer

Cells require one-carbon units for nucleotide synthesis, methylation and reductive metabolism, and these pathways support the high proliferative rate of cancer cells. As such, anti-folates, drugs that target one-carbon metabolism, have long been used in the treatment of cancer. Amino acids, such as serine are a major one-carbon source, and cancer cells are particularly susceptible to deprivation of one-carbon units by serine restriction or inhibition of de novo serine synthesis. Recent work has also begun to decipher the specific pathways and sub-cellular compartments that are important for one-carbon metabolism in cancer cells. In this review we summarise the historical understanding of one-carbon metabolism in cancer, describe the recent findings regarding the generation and usage of one-carbon units and explore possible future therapeutics that could exploit the dependency of cancer cells on one-carbon metabolism