Building Indian Country’s Future through Food, Agriculture,Infrastructure, and Economic Development in the 2018 FarmBill

With the potential of approximately $1 trillion in spending over 10 years in rural America, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs authorized by the Farm Bill have the ability to build and support thriving economies in rural America. Nowhere is this potential greater, or needed, than in rural Tribal communities. This paper will examine why the unique circumstances of Tribal governments, individual Native American food producers, and Tribal citizens necessitate changes in several USDA programs to serve Indian Country. Further, it will review several policy changes in various titles of the next Farm Bill reauthorization that will help empower Tribal governments and individual Native food producers to utilize the full breadth of opportunities the Farm Bill offers and allow USDA to invest in Indian Country. This includes the ability to develop and expand Tribal infrastructure, utilities, broadband, water systems, and community buildings like hospitals and fire stations; provide the means for Native agriculture businesses to thrive; and continue to address and improve the health of American Indians and Alaska Natives supporting he already great work happening in Natives communities surrounding food and agriculture. Finally, this paper will discuss how improving the Farm Bill programs for Indian Country will help bolster our work to achieve the truest form of sovereignty: feeding ourselves in our own foods systems with our own foods

Insights From Pretzel Syndrome: The Role of STRADA in Neuronal Migration and Cortical Development

Pretzel Syndrome (also Polyhydramnios, Megalencephaly, and Symptomatic Epilepsy syndrome; PMSE) is a recently described rare neurodevelopmental disorder occurring in the Old Order Mennonite pediatric population, and characterized by intractable infantile-onset epilepsy, neurocognitive delay, craniofacial dysmorphism, and histopathological evidence of heterotopic neurons in subcortical white matter, suggestive of failed neuronal migration. PMSE is caused by a homozygous deletion of exons 9-13 of LYK5/STRADA, which encodes the pseudokinase STRADA, an upstream inhibitor of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Therefore, we hypothesize that STRADA plays a critical role in neuronal migration through modulating mTOR (specifically mTOR complex 1, mTORC1) signaling, and that therapeutic mTORC1 inhibition can ameliorate features of the PMSE disease phenotype. To test this hypothesis, we model PMSE in vitro using stable shRNA knockdown of STRADA (STRADA KD) in mouse neural progenitor cells (mNPCs). In vivo, we use in utero electroporation to create focal STRADA KD in the developing mouse brain. We show that STRADA depletion disrupts pathfinding and polarization in migrating mNPCs in vitro, and this effect can be rescued by inhibition of mTORC1 with rapamycin or of its downstream effector p70S6kinase (p70S6K) with PF-4708671 (p70S6Ki), indicating an mTORC1-specific dependence. We then define a pathway for this effect downstream of mTORC1, through insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) signaling to cofilin, and finally modulating actin dynamics. In vivo, we demonstrate that STRADA KD causes a cortical lamination defect in the mouse, which can be rescued with rapamycin treatment, confirming the dependence of STRADA\u27s effect on mTORC1 signaling and suggesting an important target for patient therapy. To correlate our mouse model with PMSE, we demonstrate congruent mTORC1 and downstream signaling and rescue of migration deficit with rapamycin and p70S6Ki in PMSE patient fibroblasts. Finally, we report reduction of seizure frequency with rapamycin treatment in previously intractable PMSE patients. Our findings define a novel role for STRADA in neuronal migration, demonstrate a mechanistic link between STRADA loss and mTORC1 hyperactivity in PMSE, and suggest that mTORC1 inhibition can serve as an effective therapeutic bio-target in PMSE as well as other devastating mTOR-associated neurodevelopmental disorders

Factors That Contribute to a Successful Secondary Vocational Education Program in the State of Mississippi

This study was designed to assess and identify factors that make a vocational program successful. Using qualitative methods for collection and analysis of data, vocational instructors and students in programs identified to be successful were interviewed to better depict the classroom setting, teachers, methods, etc. of these successful programs. Participants included instructors of and students enrolled in secondary vocational programs in the state of Mississippi identified to be most successful according to C-PAS test scores in each of the following training areas: Building Trades (carpentry), Business and Computer Technology, Marketing Management Technology, and Allied Health. MS-CPAS test scores were analyzed to identify the highest performing schools in four vocational disciplines. Several methods were used to gather information for an analysis to determine what factors are significant in making these programs successful. These methods included interviews, focus groups, and classroom observations. Focus groups were formed from students enrolled in said programs to gain information on student perception of the program. Guided interviews of the instructors of each program were conducted in order to identify teaching method, style, classroom and school environment, etc. Classroom observations were made to gain a third-party independent perspective of the programs. Using triangulation, the results generated from one method confirmed those of another. The researcher compared results from the observations, focus groups, and structured interviews. These methods identified factors that could be tested in order to replicate success in other vocational programs. These findings include, but are not limited to, the following: teacher quality, use of guided/leading questions, differentiated instruction, teacher enthusiasm, caring quality of the teacher, teacher\u27s involvement with students, celebration of achievement, fun and interactive classroom setting, classroom management, student recruitment, C-PAS preparation, classroom interaction between students and with the teacher, and the classroom layout. The findings from this study give school districts a framework by which to build their vocational programs. This study creates a foundation for further vocational research on the secondary level and provides support for researchers interested in showing the benefits of vocational education. .Recommendations for further study are indicated

Nucella ostrina

The most recent version of this chapter is at this URL. The archival versions of each species description are maintained in the full volumes of the first, second and third editions of “Oregon Estuarine Invertebrates”

Bindings, Blades, and Bottlenecks: Finding Equilibrium in an In-House Digitization Project

Lightning Talk given at ACRL New England Conference 2021. Starting in fall 2019, we embarked on an in-house pilot project to digitize our entire thesis and dissertation collection and ingest these works to the institutional repository. With undergraduate student workers doing all of the scanning, we are removing the binding of one copy of each thesis/dissertation and digitizing the resulting loose pages using a sheet feeder scanner. Surprisingly little has been written about this approach to digitization in libraries, perhaps because destroying physical copies of books is not often desirable or feasible. But in certain situations, this workflow can provide a very low-cost and relatively fast option for digitizing a collection. The best information we were able to find about taking books apart came from YouTube. For advice about heavy-duty paper cutters (guillotines) we relied on book arts listservs. As a result, we are learning on the job and adjusting as we go. For example, the new paper cutter blade went dull after merely two months because of the unexpectedly high number of books students were able to get through. Also because of the high volume of scanning, staff working on other pieces of the project – such as uploading the files to the repository, editing the catalog records, and even discarding the large volume of empty bindings – encountered a large bottleneck. After recalibrating and redistributing the workloads amongst the collaborative team, we are finding a balance where the various elements of the project are keeping pace. Given the limited amount of information available about in-house “destructive” digitization projects, our talk will be aimed at sharing valuable lessons learned from the experience

Management of anxiety disorders in Australian primary care

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent mental health conditions that are managed predominantly in primary care. Primary care refers to community-based health care that serves as the first point of contact within a health care system. It may be delivered in a range of settings (e.g., general practice clinics, community health centres), and by a range of health professionals (e.g., general practitioners [GPs], psychologists). However, most care is provided in general practice by GPs, who may act as primary treating professionals or coordinators of specialist care, among other roles. Previous research suggests the real-world management of anxiety in primary care favours medication, which does not align with clinical practice guidelines that emphasise psychological interventions. In particular, high rates of benzodiazepines have been a concern, as these medications are no longer recommended for anxiety except in the short-term under specific conditions. Despite the high prevalence of anxiety disorders, their management in the Australian health care system is under-researched compared with other common conditions such as depression. The current research project therefore aimed to examine anxiety disorder management in Australian primary care settings. A mixed-methods approach was used to explore treatment outcomes, real-world management practices, and consumer perspectives. Firstly, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to synthesise the evidence for treating anxiety in primary care. Findings demonstrated psychological treatments are effective in this setting, with larger effect sizes for treatment provided by a mental health specialist (e.g., clinical psychologist) than a non-specialist (e.g., general practitioner). Relatively few studies of primary care-specific pharmacological treatment were found. A second study described GP management of anxiety over 10 years through secondary analysis of a large, nationally representative study of GP activity. Consistent with previous research, medication was the most common strategy used to manage anxiety. However, trends over the period studied demonstrated an increase in referrals to psychologists and a decrease in the use of benzodiazepines. GP and patient characteristics also predicted the likelihood of different management strategies being used. High rates of management with benzodiazepines were found for certain groups despite the overall reduction in these medications. A third study involved an exploratory survey of consumers' experiences and priorities for treatment. Participants reported generally positive experiences of seeking help from a GP for anxiety. The majority of participants indicated effectiveness was the most important consideration for treatment, and considered 'how quickly the treatment works' to be less important. Suggestions to improve care for anxiety centred mainly on improving access and funding for psychologists, better training for GPs, and increasing community knowledge and awareness about anxiety. Overall, results from this research demonstrate the primary care management of anxiety is becoming more closely aligned with practice guidelines. However, integration of psychological treatments in primary care and high rates of benzodiazepine use for certain groups remains an issue in Australia. Exploratory research with consumers suggests improved provision of anxiety psychoeducation is also an area for improvement

Ripping off the Band-Aid: Scrutiny Bundling in the Wake of Social Disapproval

Activities that hazard the possibility of increased scrutiny are an unavoidable reality for many firms. While managers may face the need to engage in these activities, there is little research on when managers decide to do so. Existing theoretical perspectives on status quo deviations have not sufficiently addressed how managers order the firm’s essential activities that differ primarily in terms of the scrutiny those activities engender. Drawing from concepts in the accounting and political science literatures, we advance a “scrutiny-bundling” perspective that suggests that firms engage in scrutiny-hazarding action in the wake of social disapproval, assessed in this study via negative media coverage. We further theorize that a strong linkage between the focus of media coverage and the specific scrutiny-hazarding action exacerbates this relationship. We then contend that managers at firms that are either large in size or that perform well relative to their aspirations are less sensitive to social disapproval, and are therefore less likely to engage in scrutiny bundling. We test our hypotheses on a sample of 100 firms in the upstream petroleum industry and find general support for our theories

Conflict Minerals

This presentation will include an extensive review of literature of Conflict Minerals, particularly situations occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Conflict minerals, as defined by Salem Press Encyclopedia are raw minerals that derive from areas of armed conflict. The presentation will examine the history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, conflict minerals and its intersection with militant groups and the recovery process. We seek to portray historical events that led to this conflict and discuss current initiatives to combat this important social issue. Our goal is to raise awareness of the far reaching impact of this conflict on the Congolese people and other nations. We also aim to educate about ways to affect change

CBD

A comprehensive review of the scientific literature on the possible benefits of CBD, describing findings from both preclinical and human clinical studies. CBD (cannabidiol), a nonintoxicating compound derived from the cannabis plant, can be found in products ranging from lotion and smoothies to chewable gummies and pet treats. It's been promoted—but not always scientifically validated—as a treatment for medical conditions including psychosis, anxiety, pain, and even cancer. In this book, three leading cannabis researchers look at the science of CBD, offering a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on the possible benefits of CBD and describing their findings from both preclinical and human clinical studies. As it turns out, the current CBD fad has some basis in preclinical animal research that indicates potential beneficial effects. Clinical studies, hampered by regulations governing research with cannabis, have lagged behind the basic animal research. The authors examine what research shows about chemical and pharmacological aspects of CBD and CBD's interaction with THC, the main psychotropic compound found in cannabis. They go on to review the current state of knowledge about CBD's effectiveness in treating epilepsy, cancer, nausea, pain, anxiety, PTSD, depression, sleep disorders, psychosis, and addiction