The Prisoner Who Cried Wolf, and Then Swallowed a Sprinkler Head

Case Presentation: A 37-year-old man presented from jail reporting foreign body ingestion of a sprinkler head. While initial radiography did not reveal the foreign body, subsequent imaging with computed tomography demonstrated the sprinkler head. When confronted with this discrepancy the patient admitted to having the sprinkler head in his possession and choosing to swallow it after his initial radiography.Discussion: This case demonstrates the importance of maintaining a high threshold for real illness in situations where there is suspected malingering, a situation not infrequently encountered in the emergency department

The Role of Anthropology in Retailing: An Autoethnographic Case Study

As demonstrated by examples from my family business, the techniques of anthropology have a significant role in retailing. The research methods of anthropology facilitate qualitative observations, formal or informal interviews, and dialogues. Accordingly, the “life story approach” can be particularly useful. Many of these techniques can be usefully applied by lay people with minimal formal training in the field. In this article, by using life story and autoethnographic approaches, I share several personal stories with the readers of how anthropology was used in the different businesses in which my family and I were involved. Those who share the same practical business experiences as I, may learn how daily business operations can be studied, developed and managed. As a business owner, I recognize the importance of anthropological methods which benefit the business community through practical applicatio

Reframing the Fields

The conception of metaphoric process elaborated by Mary Gerhart and Allan Russell illuminates a key mechanism often involved in the most significant advances in science and religion. Attention to this conceptual device provides a productive way to reframe the relationships and dialogues between the fields. The theory has compelling implications for reframing the understanding of theology and its task

Orbit discontinuities and topological models for Borel semiflows

Let $T_t$ be a Borel semiflow on a standard Polish space $X$. We say two distinct points $x$ and $y$ are ``instantaneously discontinuously identified'' (IDI) by the semiflow if $T_t(x) = T_t(y)$ for all t > 0. We define the concept of ``orbit discontinuity'', a generalization of IDI, and examine the prevalence and structure of orbit discontinuities for arbitrary Borel semiflows. In particular we show that points have only countably many orbit discontinuities and that the set of orbit discontinuities has measure zero with respect to any measure preserved by the semiflow. Additionally, if the semiflow preserves a Borel probability measure on $X$, we show that the Ambrose-Kakutani theorem can be adapted to find both an extension and a factor of the semiflow which are conjugate to the original semiflow except on a set of measure zero. Both the factor and extension are characterized by a Polish space called the ``base'' with a vertical semiflow consisting of repeated quotient maps onto successively larger closed subsets of the base together with a return-time transformation describing how points return to the base. The points where the conjugacy fails are the orbit discontinuities of the original semiflow. Furthermore, we develop the concept of ``orbit discontinuity'' from a measure-theoretic perspective. Assuming $T_t$ preserves a Borel probability measure $\mu$ on $X$, we show that for all points $x$ in an invariant set of full $\mu-$measure, there exist two "measure paths" $\mu_{x,t}^+$ and $\mu_{x,t}^-$ which give, for almost every time $t$, a natural distribution on the set of points $y$ with $T_t(x) = T_t(y)$. These measures are constructed by taking weak$^*-$ limits of conditional expectations. We show that these measure paths coincide and are weak$^*-$ continuous except at countably many times $t$. If the measure paths differ at $t = 0$ for some point $x$, then $x$ has an orbit discontinuity at time $0$

Perceptions of Adolescent Pregnancy Among Teenage Girls in Rakai, Uganda.

The leading causes of death and disability among Ugandan female adolescents aged 15 to 19 years are pregnancy complications, unsafe abortions, and childbirth. Despite these statistics, our understanding of how girls perceive adolescent pregnancy is limited. This qualitative study explored the social and contextual factors shaping the perceptions of adolescent pregnancy and childbirth among a sample of 12 currently pregnant and 14 never pregnant girls living in the rural Rakai District of Uganda. Interviews were conducted to elicit perceived risk factors for pregnancy, associated community attitudes, and personal opinions on adolescent pregnancy. Findings indicate that notions of adolescent pregnancy are primarily influenced by perceptions of control over getting pregnant and readiness for childbearing. Premarital pregnancy was perceived as negative whereas postmarital pregnancy was regarded as positive. Greater understanding of the individual and contextual factors influencing perceptions can aid in development of salient, culturally appropriate policies and programs to mitigate unintended adolescent pregnancies

E46K Parkinson's-linked mutation enhances C-terminal-to-N-terminal contacts in alpha-synuclein

Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with the deposition of fibrillar aggregates of the protein alpha-synuclein (alphaS) in neurons. Intramolecular contacts between the acidic C-terminal tail of alphaS and its N-terminal region have been proposed to regulate alphaS aggregation, and two originally described PD mutations, A30P and A53T, reportedly reduce such contacts. We find that the most recently discovered PD-linked alphaS mutation E46K, which also accelerates the aggregation of the protein, does not interfere with C-terminal-to-N-terminal contacts and instead enhances such contacts. Furthermore, we do not observe a substantial reduction in such contacts in the two previously characterized mutants. Our results suggest that C-terminal-to-N-terminal contacts in alphaS are not strongly protective against aggregation, and that the dominant mechanism by which PD-linked mutations facilitate alphaS aggregation may be altering the physicochemical properties of the protein such as net charge (E46K) and secondary structure propensity (A30P and A53T)

Deletion of Forkhead Box M1 Transcription Factor from Respiratory Epithelial Cells Inhibits Pulmonary Tumorigenesis

The Forkhead Box m1 (Foxm1) protein is induced in a majority of human non-small cell lung cancers and its expression is associated with poor prognosis. However, specific requirements for the Foxm1 in each cell type of the cancer lesion remain unknown. The present study provides the first genetic evidence that the Foxm1 expression in respiratory epithelial cells is essential for lung tumorigenesis. Using transgenic mice, we demonstrated that conditional deletion of Foxm1 from lung epithelial cells (epFoxm1−/− mice) prior to tumor initiation caused a striking reduction in the number and size of lung tumors, induced by either urethane or 3-methylcholanthrene (MCA)/butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). Decreased lung tumorigenesis in epFoxm1−/− mice was associated with diminished proliferation of tumor cells and reduced expression of Topoisomerase-2α (TOPO-2α), a critical regulator of tumor cell proliferation. Depletion of Foxm1 mRNA in cultured lung adenocarcinoma cells significantly decreased TOPO-2α mRNA and protein levels. Moreover, Foxm1 directly bound to and induced transcription of the mouse TOPO-2α promoter region, indicating that TOPO-2α is a direct target of Foxm1 in lung tumor cells. Finally, we demonstrated that a conditional deletion of Foxm1 in pre-existing lung tumors dramatically reduced tumor growth in the lung. Expression of Foxm1 in respiratory epithelial cells is critical for lung cancer formation and TOPO-2α expression in vivo, suggesting that Foxm1 is a promising target for anti-tumor therapy