Effects of Celiac Disease on Religion and Language

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that prevents people from digesting gluten. The diagnosis of Celiac impacts more than physical health, it irrevocably alters a person’s conception of self. Ordinary activities like airport travel, staying in hotels, and worship become complicated. For example, receiving Communion in the Roman Catholic faith is one of the ways people maintain their close relationship to God. Because the wafers used are made of gluten, those with Celiac are prevented from partaking in this sacred ritual. This leads to increased feelings of isolation and alienation from both the religious community and God. Another way it alters a person’s self-conception is by changing the very language they use. For instance, they might use new lingo such as the word “glutard.” A contraction of the words “gluten” and “retarded,” many use the term to inject humor into an often grim situation. It is an ironic term of self-reference used on social media when one has been exposed or is pointing out the dark humor that is often a part of life with Celiac disease. Those with Celiac disease often find these kinds of everyday experiences more problematic than those without, who often take these things for granted

Adaptations Of The Bacterial Flywheel For Optimal Mineral Cycling In Oligotrophic Surface Waters

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2008Nutrient cycling in a subarctic oligotrophic lake was explored using current kinetic theory for organisms adapted to low nutrient environments with emphasis on bacterial contributions to system function. Techniques were refined which minimize sample disturbance and contamination for the purpose of accurately measuring bacterioplankton activity. Seasonal variations in DNA content, cell mass, species composition, specific affinity for amino acids and cell yield were observed. Quasi-steady state formulae describe bacteria as a flywheel in nutrient cycling; energy is conserved within a relatively constant biomass by varying bacterial activity with nutrient availability. The bacterial flywheel paradigm provides a bacteriocentric view of mineral cycling, linking kinetics to specific cytoarchitectural properties while maintaining links to substrate and grazing pressures. As an extention of the microbial loop paradigm, the flywheel becomes essential at high latitudes. In winter, low solar input interrupts the microbial loop so that the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) pool is cycled through bacteria only. This activity allows bacterioplankton to persist through winter and respond rapidly to springtime warming and nutrients. Microbial adaptations to seasonal variations in nutrient availability and temperatures were examined within the bacterial flywheel framework. Organisms are well-adapted to a narrow (17°C) in situ temperature range. Activation energies for small warming were low at the temperature extremes (20.6 kJ mol -1 at 0.5°C; -32 kJ mol-1 at 17°C) and high in spring (110 kJ mol-1 at 1.2°C). Nutrition varies by season, supplied in large part by amino acids in spring and summer. Winter growth rates are at least 0.013 day-1 whereas partial growth rate on amino acids for that season is only 2.8 x 10-5 day -1. It is proposed that winter organisms rely on diffusion transport and/or shift toward concurrent use of a large suite of substrate types for growth and maintenance

Evaluating the perceived impact and legacy of master’s degree level research in the allied health professions: a UK-wide cross-sectional survey

Background: Post graduate master’s degree qualifications are increasingly required to advance allied health profession careers in education, clinical practice, leadership, and research. Successful awards are dependent on completion of a research dissertation project. Despite the high volume of experience gained and research undertaken at this level, the benefits and impact are not well understood. Our study aimed to evaluate the perceived impact and legacy of master’s degree training and research on allied health profession practice and research activity. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey design was used to collect data from allied health professionals working in the United Kingdom who had completed a postgraduate master’s degree. Participants were recruited voluntarily using social media and clinical interest group advertisement. Data was collected between October and December 2022 and was analysed using descriptive statistics and narrative content analysis. Informed consent was gained, and the study was approved by the university research ethics committee. Results: Eighty-four responses were received from nine allied health professions with paramedics and physiotherapists forming the majority (57%) of respondents. Primary motivation for completion of the master’s degree was for clinical career progression (n = 44, 52.4%) and formation of the research dissertation question was predominantly sourced from individual ideas (n = 58, 69%). Formal research output was low with 27.4% (n = 23) of projects published in peer reviewed journal and a third of projects reporting no output or dissemination at all. Perceived impact was rated highest in individual learning outcomes, such as improving confidence and capability in clinical practice and research skills. Ongoing research engagement and activity was high with over two thirds (n = 57, 67.9%) involved in formal research projects. Conclusion: The focus of master's degree level research was largely self-generated with the highest perceived impact on individual outcomes rather than broader clinical service and organisation influence. Formal output from master’s research was low, but ongoing research engagement and activity was high suggesting master’s degree training is an under-recognised source for AHP research capacity building. Future research should investigate the potential benefits of better coordinated and prioritised research at master’s degree level on professional and organisational impact

Using art and story to explore how primary school students in rural Tanzania understand planetary health: a qualitative analysis

Background The global planetary health community increasingly recognises the need to prepare students to investigate and address connections between environmental change and human health. As we strive to support education on planetary health themes for students of all ages, understanding students’ concepts of linkages between the health of people and animals, and their shared environments might advance educational approaches. Children living in villages bordering Ruaha National Park in Iringa Region, Tanzania, have direct experience of these connections as they share a water-stressed but biodiverse environment with domestic animals and wildlife. Livelihoods in these villages depend predominantly on crop and livestock production, including extensive pastoralist livestock keeping. Through qualitative research, we aim to explore and describe Tanzanian primary school students’ understanding of connections between human health and the environment

The Disability Cost Narrative: A Roundtable Discussion

The dominance of “cost narratives” in disability law and discourse warranted the inclusion of a scholarly roundtable discussion devoted to the topic. The transcription below captures this discussion among three disability legal scholars: Professors Elizabeth F. Emens, Kaaryn S. Gustafson, and Jasmine E. Harris

Musculoskeletal impairments after critical illness: a protocol for a qualitative study of the experiences of patients, family and health care professionals

Background: Survivors of critical care are at risk of long-term disability from musculoskeletal (MSK) impairments. These can have a biopsychosocial impact on the patient and their families with a reduction in health-related quality of life, increased health care utilization, caregiving roles and associated psychological distress. Aims: To understand the experiences of patients living with MSK impairments following critical illness, and family and health care professionals supporting them, to inform the development of a future intervention to improve MSK health following critical illness. Study Design: A four-site qualitative case study approach will be taken, with each of the four hospital sites and associated community services representing a case site. We will conduct semi-structured interviews with 10–15 patients/family members and 10–15 health care professionals about their experiences of MSK impairment following critical illness. Interviews will be audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis within a descriptive phenomenological approach. Alongside interview data, analysis of publicly available policy documentation, patient-facing materials and information from service leads at the four sites will be conducted. Discourse analysis will be used for this case study documentation. Results: This protocol describes a qualitative study exploring the experiences of patients living with MSK impairments following critical illness, and the family and health care professionals supporting them. Relevance to Clinical Practice: Data analysis will illuminate their experiences and enable data richness to contribute to the qualitative body of evidence of intensive care unit (ICU) survivors. These findings will inform the development of a complex intervention for MSK rehabilitation after critical illness

A choreographic experiment with mixed means for the purpose of communicating through the act of theatre

The purpose of this study was to experiment with mixed means for the purpose of communicating an idea through the act of theatre. The choreographer chose to use all elements of theatre at any time as they seemed necessary to the work and as they appeared to be the best method to communicate the various aspects of the idea to be expressed. The experiment attempted to combine arts for the purpose of creating a total effect. An eclectic method of approach was employed. The ideas to be communicated were concerned with the human condition and the nature of the existence of man in his world. The experiment involved writing the script, choreographing the dances, designing the set, designing the costumes, planning the lighting requirements and special effects to be employed, and directing all aspects of the production which culminated in a performance on April 20, 1972. The production was recorded on video tape

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA) balance in developmental outcomes

The DHA Intake and Measurement of Neural Development (DIAMOND) trial represents one of only a few studies of the long-term dose-response effects of LCPUFA-supplemented formula feeding during infancy. The trial contrasted the effects of four formulations: 0.00% docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)/0.00% arachidonic acid (ARA), 0.32% DHA/0.64% ARA, 0.64% DHA/0.64% ARA, and 0.96% DHA/0.64% ARA against a control condition (0.00% DHA/0.00% ARA). The results of this trial have been published elsewhere, and show improved cognitive outcomes for infants fed supplemented formulas, but a common finding among many of the outcomes show a reduction of benefit for the highest DHA dose (i.e., 0.96% DHA/0.64% ARA, that is, a DHA: ARA ratio 1.5:1.0). The current paper gathers and summarizes the evidence for the reduction of benefit at this dose, and in an attempt to account for this reduced benefit, presents for the first time data from infants' red blood cell (RBC) assays taken at 4 and 12 months of age. Those assays indicate that blood DHA levels generally rose with increased DHA supplementation, although those levels tended to plateau as the DHA-supplemented level exceeded 0.64%. Perhaps more importantly, ARA levels showed a strong inverted-U function in response to increased DHA supplementation; indeed, infants assigned to the formula with the highest dose of DHA (and highest DHA/ARA ratio) showed a reduction in blood ARA relative to more intermediate DHA doses. This finding raises the possibility that reduced ARA may be responsible for the reduction in benefit on cognitive outcomes seen at this dose. The findings implicate the DHA/ARA balance as an important variable in the contribution of LCPUFAs to cognitive and behavioral development in infancy