Constructing Identity Identity Construction

In this art-based study I will examine the construction of identity creating three life size figures utilizing metaphor and symbolism. I recorded and analyzed the process through reflections. The artist/teacher/researcher will provide conclusions based on art production and self-reflection

“Find One of Your Own Kind”: Auto-ethnography and my Aboriginal Women Ancestors

This thesis is an exploration by Badimaya women in my family to interrogate constructions of identity as a decolonising process and generates an account of survival against colonial oppression. The common thread uniting these different strands was my own perspectives, or auto-ethnography which used family stories as strong foundations for contemporary manifestations of a living, continuous indigenous culture. I was able to explore rich, deep and revealing content that documented a counter-colonial history in Australia

Extending an Effective Classroom-Based Math Board Game Intervention to Preschoolers’ Homes

The preschool years are a critical time for math development. Unfortunately, children from low-income backgrounds often enter kindergarten with lower math skills than middle-income peers, perhaps due to less math exposure at home. Few home-based math interventions are available for preschool age children; those that do exist are costly and difficult to implement. Interventions conducted in children’s schools using linear numeric board games developed by researchers have been particularly successful with low-income preschool children. Researchers have suggested they may be adapted for home-use by using commercially available board games, such as Chutes and Ladders, and teaching parents how to play. The two studies described in this paper explored the effectiveness of using Chutes and Ladders with a specialized counting procedure with Head Start families. Implementation proved to be challenging and children did not improve as much as in previous classroom-based interventions

Like Other Women: Perspectives of Mothers with Physical Disabilities

This article is based on interviews with ten women, ranging in age from 19 to 45 and living in the Puget Sound area of Washington State. Their disabilities are neurmuscular or musculoskeletal and include spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, post-polio and spina bifida. Their children range in age from 11 months to adulthood. The article focuses on specific issues and concerns regarding early childhood ranagement, and includes some discussion of pre-natal and cbstetrical care. Cann misconceptions concerning motherhood and disability are also discussed. men with disabilities also have special concerns as parents. Although their concerns are not addressed in this paper, they are not seen as any less important or deserving of attention. Work on this paper was made possible under Grant #10H53008032 from the Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Community Health Services, Family Planning Program, 1980

Exploring Attitudes of Future Educators About Sexual Minority Youth

Fifty-two secondary teacher candidates from a Canadian university completed questionnaires assessing levels of homoprejudice, knowledge of homosexuality, and perceptions of professional issues related to sexual minority youth. The level of homoprejudice in this sample was lower than in earlier studies with teachers, and lower homoprejudice was found to be significantly related to higher professional commitment and willingness to assist sexual minority students. As well greater knowledge of homosexual issues was significantly related to lower levels of homoprejudice, and men had significantly more homoprejudiced attitudes than women.Cinquante-deux stagiaires d’une université canadienne ont complété des questionnaires évaluant les préjugés contre l’homosexualité, les connaissances sur l’homosexualité et les perceptions des enjeux professionnels liés aux jeunes appartenant à une minorité sexuelle. Cet échantillon a démontré moins de préjugés face à l’homosexualité que ceux des études précédentes impliquant des enseignants; or, un rapport significatif existe entre des niveaux peu élevés de préjugés face à l’homosexualité d’une part, et un plus grand engagement des les jeunes membres d’une minorité sexuelle et une volonté accrue de leur venir en aide d’autre part. Un lien significatif existe également entre des connaissances plus importantes relatives aux enjeux touchant les homosexuels et des niveaux moins élevés de préjugés face à l’homosexualité. Finalement, les hommes ont démontré, de manière significative, plus d’attitudes homophobes que les femmes

Identification of pancreatic cancer invasion-related proteins by proteomic analysis

Background – Markers of pancreatic cancer invasion were investigated in two clonal populations of the cell line, MiaPaCa-2, Clone #3 (high invasion) and Clone #8 (low invasion) using proteomic profiling of an in vitro model of pancreatic cancer. Materials and methods – Using 2D-DIGE followed by MALDI-TOF MS, two clonal sub-populations of the pancreatic cancer cell line, MiaPaCa-2 with high and low invasive capacities were incubated on matrigel 24 hours prior to analysis to stimulate cell-ECM contact and mimic in vivo interaction with the basement membrane. Results - Sixty proteins were identified as being differentially expressed (>1.2 fold change and p ≤ 0.05) between Clone #3 and Clone #8. Proteins found to have higher abundance levels in the highly invasive Clone #3 compared to the low invasive Clone #8 include members of the chaperone activity proteins and cytoskeleton constituents whereas metabolism-associated and catalytic proteins had lower abundance levels. Differential protein expression levels of ALDH1A1, VIM, STIP1 and KRT18 and GAPDH were confirmed by immunoblot. Using RNAi technology, STIP1 knockdown significantly reduced invasion and proliferation of the highly invasive Clone #3. Knockdown of another target, VIM by siRNA in Clone #3 cells also resulted in decreased invasion abilities of Clone #3. Elevated expression of STIP1 was observed in pancreatic tumour tissue compared to normal pancreas, whereas ALDH1A1 stained at lower levels in pancreatic tumours, as detected by immunohistochemistry. Conclusion - Identification of targets which play a role in the highly invasive phenotype of pancreatic cancer may help to understand the biological behaviour, the rapid progression of this cancer and may be of importance in the development of new therapeutic strategies for pancreatic cancer

Murine Fig4 is dispensable for muscle development but required for muscle function

Abstract Background Phosphatidylinositol phosphates (PIPs) are low-abundance phospholipids that participate in a range of cellular processes, including cell migration and membrane traffic. PIP levels and subcellular distribution are regulated by a series of lipid kinases and phosphatases. In skeletal muscle, PIPs and their enzymatic regulators serve critically important functions exemplified by mutations of the PIP phosphatase MTM1 in myotubular myopathy (MTM), a severe muscle disease characterized by impaired muscle structure and abnormal excitation–contraction coupling. FIG4 functions as a PIP phosphatase that participates in both the synthesis and breakdown of phosphatidylinositol 3,5-bisphosphate (PI(3,5)P2). Mutation of FIG4 results in a severe neurodegenerative disorder in mice and a progressive peripheral polyneuropathy in humans. The effect of FIG4 mutation on skeletal muscle has yet to be examined. Methods Herein we characterize the impact of FIG4 on skeletal muscle development and function using the spontaneously occurring mouse mutant pale tremor (plt), a mouse line with a loss of function mutation in Fig4. Results In plt mice, we characterized abnormalities in skeletal muscle, including reduced muscle size and specific force generation. We also uncovered ultrastructural abnormalities and increased programmed cell death. Conversely, we detected no structural or functional abnormalities to suggest impairment of excitation–contraction coupling, a process previously shown to be influenced by PI(3,5)P2 levels. Conditional rescue of Fig4 mutation in neurons prevented overt muscle weakness and the development of obvious muscle abnormalities, suggesting that the changes observed in the plt mice were primarily related to denervation of skeletal muscle. On the basis of the ability of reduced FIG4 levels to rescue aspects of Mtmr2-dependent neuropathy, we evaluated the effect of Fig4 haploinsufficiency on the myopathy of Mtm1-knockout mice. Male mice with a compound Fig4 +/−/Mtm1 –/Y genotype displayed no improvements in muscle histology, muscle size or overall survival, indicating that FIG4 reduction does not ameliorate the Mtm1-knockout phenotype. Conclusions Overall, these data indicate that loss of Fig4 impairs skeletal muscle function but does not significantly affect its structural development.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112676/1/13395_2013_Article_83.pd

Hippocampal CA1 Transcriptional Profile of Sleep Deprivation: Relation to Aging and Stress

BACKGROUND: Many aging changes seem similar to those elicited by sleep-deprivation and psychosocial stress. Further, sleep architecture changes with age suggest an age-related loss of sleep. Here, we hypothesized that sleep deprivation in young subjects would elicit both stress and aging-like transcriptional responses. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: F344 rats were divided into control and sleep deprivation groups. Body weight, adrenal weight, corticosterone level and hippocampal CA1 transcriptional profiles were measured. A second group of animals was exposed to novel environment stress (NES), and their hippocampal transcriptional profiles measured. A third cohort exposed to control or SD was used to validate transcriptional results with Western blots. Microarray results were statistically contrasted with prior transcriptional studies. Microarray results pointed to sleep pressure signaling and macromolecular synthesis disruptions in the hippocampal CA1 region. Animals exposed to NES recapitulated nearly one third of the SD transcriptional profile. However, the SD-aging relationship was more complex. Compared to aging, SD profiles influenced a significant subset of genes. mRNA associated with neurogenesis and energy pathways showed agreement between aging and SD, while immune, glial, and macromolecular synthesis pathways showed SD profiles that opposed those seen in aging. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that although NES and SD exert similar transcriptional changes, selective presynaptic release machinery and Homer1 expression changes are seen in SD. Among other changes, the marked decrease in Homer1 expression with age may represent an important divergence between young and aged brain response to SD. Based on this, it seems reasonable to conclude that therapeutic strategies designed to promote sleep in young subjects may have off-target effects in the aged. Finally, this work identifies presynaptic vesicular release and intercellular adhesion molecular signatures as novel therapeutic targets to counter effects of SD in young subjects

Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study Linked External Data (LED): Protocol and practices for geocoding and assignment of environmental data

Our brain is constantly shaped by our immediate environments, and while some effects are transient, some have long-term consequences. Therefore, it is critical to identify which environmental risks have evident and long-term impact on brain development. To expand our understanding of the environmental context of each child, the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study® incorporates the use of geospatial location data to capture a range of individual, neighborhood, and state level data based on the child\u27s residential location in order to elucidate the physical environmental contexts in which today\u27s youth are growing up. We review the major considerations and types of geocoded information incorporated by the Linked External Data Environmental (LED) workgroup to expand on the built and natural environmental constructs in the existing and future ABCD Study data releases. Understanding the environmental context of each youth furthers the consortium\u27s mission to understand factors that may influence individual differences in brain development, providing the opportunity to inform public policy and health organization guidelines for child and adolescent health

Profiles in Community-Engaged Learning

To provide a snapshot of the many impressive manifestations of community-engaged learning at the University of San Francisco, a 2014-2015 Faculty Learning Community (FLC), supported by the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), has collected the following profiles of selected faculty members across all the schools and colleges. This report was prepared by members of the CTE’s Faculty Learning Community on Community-Engaged Learning: Kevin D. Lo, Facilitator (School of Management), Emma Fuentes (School of Education), David Holler (College of Arts and Sciences), Tim Iglesias (School of Law), Susan Roberta Katz (School of Education), Star Moore (Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good), Chenit Ong-Flaherty (School of Nursing and Health Professions), Jennifer Parlamis (School of Management) Susan Pauly-O’Neill (School of Nursing and Health Professions). Our intent with this report is to offer USF administrators and incoming faculty members a sense of what’s being done well in community-engaged learning (CEL), while also pointing out what challenges remain as we establish our identity as a university that prioritizes community engagement. (Incidentally, we prefer the term “community-engaged learning” to “service-learning,” which we feel more precisely defines the scope of our activities. For more about this designation, please see the Executive Report on Community Engaged Learning issued by this same committee in June 2015.) Community-engaged learning as defined by Eyler and Giles is “a form of experiential education where learning occurs through a cycle of action and reflection as students . . . seek to achieve real objectives for the community and deeper understanding and skills for themselves. In the process, students link personal and social development with academic and cognitive development . . . experience enhances understanding; understanding leads to more effective action.” (qtd. in Bandy, Vanderbilt Center for Teaching, “What Is Service Learning or Community Engagement?”). We invited at least two faculty members from each school/college to answer several questions about the application of CEL in their courses. After providing a brief overview of activities in each course, we asked each professor what works well and what challenges persist. The successes and the challenges, as you’ll see, vary widely, and yet they clearly delineate, limited though our present sample size is, the great variety and energy and commitment our faculty have demonstrated in working with community partners and students. It is our hope that this report is merely the beginning of a much more ambitious project to be taken up by the McCarthy Center which will provide many more profiles of professors in the months and years to come