Becoming the vanguard : children, the Young Pioneers, and the Soviet state in the Great Patriotic War

This dissertation combines institutional history and social analysis to provide a more nuanced depiction of the Soviet experience in the Great Patriotic War, a portrait which considers the experience of children, the state’s expectations of children, and an exploration of the institution responsible for connecting child and state, the V.I. Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization. It argues that the state’s expectations for children during the Great Patriotic War were issued primarily in order to save the floundering Young Pioneer organization. Though the Pioneers were supposed to lead children in all sorts of tasks and behaviors – a role they had fulfilled since their inception in 1922 – the organization nearly collapsed under the strain of wartime conditions in the early years of the war. In order to resurrect its image and secure its rightful place in the vanguard of children, the Pioneers launched a concerted effort to reassert its leadership. Language, values, and models of heroism were revamped to more accurately reflect the war. The internalization of these standards by children supported the Pioneers’ claim to leadership. Campaigns of action were launched to allow the Pioneers to claim ownership of children’s accomplishments. To guarantee success, the organization drew its ideas from preexisting activities – activities children were already doing in 1941-42, largely on local initiative. What had been conceived of and run as a prescriptive organization for two decades became a descriptive organization, subsuming all appropriate acts into the task of reestablishing the Pioneers at the forefront of Soviet childhood. This suggests that children had far more agency than previously assumed, and their many roles complicate the typical “child-victim” normally associated with the Great Patriotic War and its propaganda. The post-Stalingrad turnaround allowed the Pioneers the opportunity to reassert themselves. Becoming the vanguard, the organization established the foundations for a Pioneer-led heroism storied in Soviet history. Though internal problems continued to dog the Pioneers for years, the foundational story was established in the latter years of the war. Beginning in 1943, the organization began writing itself into the post-war victory narrative, alleging successful leadership among children and ignoring the near-catastrophe they had averted.Histor

The influence of phenocrysts in silicic magma degassing

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017Understanding the degassing process in magma is an important goal because of the first-order control it exerts on determining eruption style. Degassing in high viscosity magmas is of particular interest since these magmas tend to erupt explosively. However, the role of phenocrysts in the degassing process is still poorly constrained, though recent data indicate that the presence of phenocrysts should promote permeability development at lower porosities than in crystal-free magmas. This study specifically examined the effect of phenocrysts in a rhyolitic magma, but the results can also be applied to crystal-rich intermediate magmas that have rhyolitic matrix melts. Isothermal decompression experiments were conducted using powdered rhyolite (76 wt. % SiO2) and seeded with corundum (Al2O3) crystals to approximate magmas with 20 and 40 vol. % phenocrysts. Experiments were saturated at 900˚C and 110 MPa then continuously decompressed to final pressures between 75 and 15 MPa. Percolation threshold was determined by measuring permeability on a benchtop permeameter and measuring porosity from reflected light images. Additionally, vesicle structure was assessed by measuring pore throat radii from back-scattered electron images and plotting bubble size distributions. Finally, degassing state was checked by measuring dissolved water contents in the glass with Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analyses. The addition of at least 20 vol. % phenocrysts resulted in a decrease in percolation threshold from 70-80 vol. % porosity in crystal-free rhyolites to 55 vol. % porosity. Bubble size distribution patterns indicate that coalescence was more widespread as final pressure decreased and crystal content increased. Minimum pore throat radii in the 40 vol. % phenocryst series were larger than in the 20 vol.% phenocryst and crystal-free series. The dissolved water measurements indicate that these experiments degassed in equilibrium even at the fast decompression rate of 0.25 MPa/s. Calculations of the magnitude of outgassing from the decreased percolation threshold and timescales of pressure dissipation indicate that the presence of phenocrysts plays a role in the effusive-explosive cyclicity of Vulcanian-style eruptions

Case Study of Phonological Awareness and Narrative Intervention

My Senior Thesis was a year long case study. I provided Phonological Awareness Training and Narrative Intervention to a seven year old girl, S.C., diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy of a nondenerative type. S.C. has sever speech and physical impairments secondary to the Muscular Dystrophy. She also has visual perceptual deficits secondary to Duanes Syndrome (a disorder of visual convergence). Because of her disabilities, S.C. is unable to use speech or sign language as her primary means of communication and an Augmentative and Alternative communication device is required for communication purposes. S.C. currently uses a Dyna Vox 4000 to communicate. This computer features a dynamic screen and speech output. S.C. has been attending clinic therapy sessions at the Utah State University Speech-Language-Hearing Center for two years. The last year I was the primary clinician, I saw S.C. once a week for two semesters

Electrohydrodynamic models of warm-cloud electrification.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Meteorology, 1972.Bibliography: leaves 288-293.Ph.D

Trends in Diabetic Retinopathy, Visual Acuity, and Treatment Outcomes for Patients Living With Diabetes in a Fundus Photograph-Based Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Program in Bangladesh

IMPORTANCE: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of low vision among working-age adults. An estimated 6.9 million people in Bangladesh were living with diabetes in 2017, which is projected to increase to more than 10 million people in 2025. Currently, no standardized and/or large-scale DR screening program exists in Bangladesh. OBJECTIVE: To develop a novel fundus photograph–based eye screening model for early detection of DR to prevent vision loss in Bangladeshi individuals with diabetes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In this cross-sectional study, 49 264 patients with diabetes underwent opportunistic eye screening at 2 eye hospitals and 1 diabetic hospital in Bangladesh between June 1, 2010, and September 30, 2017. The data set was analyzed from April 8 to December 30, 2018. Technicians were trained to obtain 2-field digital fundus photographs and to grade each according to a standardized DR severity scale. Each patient was counseled and triaged for treatment using defined DR referral criteria. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Primary DR grading outcomes, visual acuity, and treatment outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 49 264 patients (54.3% male; mean [SD] age, 50.8 [12.3] years) underwent DR screening during a 7-year period. The DR prevalence rate across all 3 sites was 33% (95% CI, 33%-33%). Prevalence rates varied by center (Chittagong, 64.6% [95% CI, 64.0%-65.0%]; Dhaka, 39.8% [95% CI, 39.0%-41.0%]; and Feni, 13.0% [95% CI, 13.0%-14.0%]). Across all age groups, male patients were at higher risk of prevalent DR than female patients (odds ratio, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.90-2.07). The prevalence was 3.9% for preproliferative DR, 7.8% for proliferative DR, and 19.2% for maculopathy. Individuals with DR had significantly worse visual acuity than those with no DR (bestcorrected visual acuity, 0.35 vs 0.21 logMAR; P < .001). The rate of moderate visual impairment was 12.2%, and the rate of blindness was 2.5%. Primary treatments included laser photocoagulation (n = 1637), intravitreal injection (n = 1440), and vitrectomy (n = 309). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Screening Bangladeshi individuals known to have diabetes using fundus photography identified large numbers of patients with sight-threatening proliferative DR, maculopathy, and visual impairment or blindness. Expansion of eye screening services in Bangladesh is warranted as part of a national government eye care and diabetes health polic

Pre‐Eruptive Outgassing and Pressurization, and Post‐Fragmentation Bubble Nucleation, Recorded by Vesicles in Breadcrust Bombs From Vulcanian Activity at Guagua Pichincha Volcano, Ecuador

Breadcrust bombs formed during Vulcanian eruptions are assumed to originate from the shallow plug or dome. Their rim to core texture reflects the competition between cooling and degassing timescales, which results in a dense crust with isolated vesicles contrasting with a highly vesicular vesicle network in the interior. Due to relatively fast quenching, the crust can shed light on pre- and syn-eruptive conditions prior to or during fragmentation, whereas the interior allows us to explore post-fragmentation vesiculation. Investigation of pre- to post-fragmentation processes in breadcrust bombs from the 1999 Vulcanian activity at Guagua Pichincha, Ecuador, via 2D and 3D textural analysis reveals a complex vesiculation history, with multiple, spatially localized nucleation and growth events. Large vesicles (Type 1), present in low number density in the crust, are interpreted as pre-eruptive bubbles formed by outgassing and collapse of a permeable bubble network during ascent or stalling in the plug. Haloes of small, syn-fragmentation vesicles (Type 2), distributed about large vesicles, are formed by pressurization and enrichment of volatiles in these haloes. The nature of the pressurization process in the plug is discussed in light of seismicity and ground deformation signals, and previous textural and chemical studies. A third population (Type 3) of post-fragmentation small vesicles appears in the interior of the bomb, and growth and coalescence of Type 2 and 3 vesicles causes the transition from isolated to interconnected bubble network in the interior. We model the evolution of viscosity, bubble growth rate, diffusion timescales, bubble radius and porosity during fragmentation and cooling. These models reveal that thermal quenching dominates in the crust whereas the interior undergoes a viscosity quench caused by degassing, and that the transition from crust to interior corresponds to the onset of percolation and development of permeability in the bubble network

Abstract P4-04-16: Obesity-associated systemic interleukin-6 promotes pre-adipocyte aromatase expression via increased breast cancer cell prostaglandin E2 production

Obesity is associated with a worse breast cancer prognosis, particularly in estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) positive, postmenopausal patients. We hypothesized that this is mediated in part by an elevation in breast cancer cell cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production that results in greater local pre-adipocyte aromatase expression. We utilized an in vitro model of the obese patient's tumor microenvironment in which cultured MCF-7 breast cancer cells and pre-adipocytes were exposed to pooled serum from obese (OB; BMI ≥ 30.0 kg/m2) or normal weight (N; BMI 18.5–24.9 kg/m2) postmenopausal women. Exposure to OB versus N sera significantly increased MCF-7 cell COX-2 expression and PGE2 production. Pre-adipocyte aromatase expression was 89 % greater following culture in conditioned media (CM) from MCF-7 cells exposed to OB versus N sera (OB-CM and N-CM, respectively), a difference nullified by MCF-7 cell treatment with the COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib. Previous analysis of the sera revealed significantly higher interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentrations in the OB versus N samples. Depletion of IL-6 from the sera neutralized the difference in pre-adipocyte aromatase expression stimulated by OB-CM versus N-CM. Finally, CM from pre-adipocyte/MCF-7 cell co-cultures exposed to OB sera stimulated greater MCF-7 and T47D breast cancer cell ERα activity and proliferation in comparison to N sera. This study indicates that obesity-associated systemic IL-6 indirectly enhances pre-adipocyte aromatase expression via increased breast cancer cell PGE2 production. Investigation regarding the efficacy of a COX-2 inhibitor/aromatase inhibitor combination therapy in the obese postmenopausal patient population is warranted

The Role of the Insulin/IGF System in Cancer: Lessons Learned from Clinical Trials and the Energy Balance-Cancer Link

Numerous epidemiological and pre-clinical studies have demonstrated that the insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system plays a key role in the development and progression of several types of cancer. Insulin/IGF signaling, in cooperation with chronic low-grade inflammation, is also an important contributor to the cancer-promoting effects of obesity. However, clinical trials for drugs targeting different components of this system have produced largely disappointing results, possibly due to the lack of predictive biomarker use and problems with the design of combination therapy regimens. With careful attention to the identification of likely patient responders and optimal drug combinations, the outcome of future trials may be improved. Given that insulin/IGF signaling is known to contribute to obesity-associated cancer, further investigation regarding the efficacy of drugs targeting this system and its downstream effectors in the obese patient population is warranted

Obesity Suppresses Estrogen Receptor Beta Expression in Breast Cancer Cells via a HER2-Mediated Pathway

Obesity is associated with a worse breast cancer prognosis, while greater breast tumor estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) expression is correlated with improved therapy response and survival. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of obesity on breast cancer cell ERβ expression, which is currently unknown. We utilized an in vitro model of obesity in which breast cancer cells were exposed to patient serum pooled by body mass index category (obese (OB): ≥30 kg/m2; normal weight (N): 18.5–24.9 kg/m2). Four human mammary tumor cell lines representing the major breast cancer subtypes (SKBR3, MCF-7, ZR75, MDA-MB-231) and mammary tumor cells from MMTV-neu mice were used. ERβ expression, assessed by qPCR and western blotting, was suppressed in the two HER2-overexpressing cell lines (SKBR3, MMTV-neu) following OB versus N sera exposure, but did not vary in the other cell lines. Expression of Bcl-2 and cyclin D1, two genes negatively regulated by ERβ, was elevated in SKBR3 cells following exposure to OB versus N sera, but this difference was eliminated when the ERβ gene was silenced with siRNA. Herceptin, a HER2 antagonist, and siRNA to HER2 were used to evaluate the role of HER2 in sera-induced ERβ modulation. SKBR3 cell treatment with OB sera plus Herceptin increased ERβ expression three-fold. Similar results were obtained when HER2 expression was silenced with siRNA. OB sera also promoted greater SKBR3 cell viability and growth, but this variance was not present when ERβ was silenced or the cells were modified to overexpress ERβ. Based on this data, we conclude that obesity-associated systemic factors suppress ERβ expression in breast cancer cells via a HER2-mediated pathway, leading to greater cell viability and growth. Elucidation of the mechanism(s) mediating this effect could provide important insights into how ERβ expression is regulated as well as how obesity promotes a more aggressive disease