Beyond the Book project: quantitative data and collateral documents for One Book, One Chicago

Quantitative data and collateral documents Chicago portion of the AHRC-funded project ‘Beyond the Book: Mass Reading Events and Contemporary Cultures of Reading in the UK, USA and Canada’, (2005-2008, grant number: 112166), a three-year interdisciplinary project. The study researched a selection of 21st-century reading events which employ mass media (TV and radio) and city-wide reading projects which employ the ‘One Book, One Community’ model. The primary aims of the transnational study were to investigate how mass reading events configure contemporary practices of reading and the cultural meanings of reading at local, national and international levels; to explain the uses and complexities of reading communities in different locations; to identify and analyse trans-national trends and differences in contemporary reading cultures and reading practices; and, to critique the popular function of literary fiction. The file contains the data collected from a series of an online survey of readers in Chicago. Convenience sampling was employed. The survey was advertised through adverts in newspapers, on-line advertisements; flyers and bookmarks distributed through public library systems and cultural centres; via email through the research team’s formal and informal social and professional networks. The data includes reading choice, habits and practices; participation in broadcast and community book programming; and, basic demographic information (anonymised). The statistical data is deposited in .sav .csv and .por formats. Collateral material includes: Codebook and the Survey. Content was created between ca. 2006-10-13 and 2008-08-25. Content was saved 2008-10-31. http://www.beyondthebookproject.org

Psalms and Work

Introduction to Psalms Book 1 (Psalms 1–41) Personal Integrity in Work (Psalm 1) Obedience to God (Psalm 2) Foes and opponents (Psalms 4, 6, 7, 17) Authority (Psalm 8) Business ethics (Psalms 15, 24, 34) Trusting God in the face of institutional pressure (Psalm 20) God’s presence in our struggles at work (Psalm 23) God’s guidance in our work (Psalm 25) Book 2 (Psalms 42–72) God’s presence in the midst of disaster (Psalm 46) Anxiety when unscrupulous people succeed (Psalms 49, 50, 52, 62) Book 3 (Psalms 73–89) The workplace consequences of personal failings (Psalm 73) The economic consequences of national wrongdoings (Psalm 81, 85) God’s grace in the midst of judgment (Psalm 86) Book 4 (Psalms 90–106) Working in a fallen world (Psalms 90, 101) Human creativity with God (Psalm 104) Book 5 (Psalms 107–150) God undergirds all work and productivity (Psalm 107) Virtues for those in business (Psalm 112) Participating in God’s work (Psalm 113) Producing true value at work (Psalms 127) The work of marriage, raising children, and caring for parents (Psalm 127, 128, 139) The right use of power (Psalm 136) God’s glory in all of creation (Psalm 146-150) Psalm 146 Psalm 147 Psalm 149 Psalm 148 Psalm 15

The Influence of Motion and Stress on Optical Fibers

We report on extensive testing carried out on the optical fibers for the VIRUS instrument. The primary result of this work explores how 10+ years of simulated wear on a VIRUS fiber bundle affects both transmission and focal ratio degradation (FRD) of the optical fibers. During the accelerated lifetime tests we continuously monitored the fibers for signs of FRD. We find that transient FRD events were common during the portions of the tests when motion was at telescope slew rates, but dropped to negligible levels during rates of motion typical for science observation. Tests of fiber transmission and FRD conducted both before and after the lifetime tests reveal that while transmission values do not change over the 10+ years of simulated wear, a clear increase in FRD is seen in all 18 fibers tested. This increase in FRD is likely due to microfractures that develop over time from repeated flexure of the fiber bundle, and stands in contrast to the transient FRD events that stem from localized stress and subsequent modal diffusion of light within the fibers. There was no measurable wavelength dependence on the increase in FRD over 350 nm to 600 nm. We also report on bend radius tests conducted on individual fibers and find the 266 microns VIRUS fibers to be immune to bending-induced FRD at bend radii of R > 10cm. Below this bend radius FRD increases slightly with decreasing radius. Lastly, we give details of a degradation seen in the fiber bundle currently deployed on the Mitchell Spectrograph (formally VIRUS-P) at McDonald Observatory. The degradation is shown to be caused by a localized shear in a select number of optical fibers that leads to an explosive form of FRD. In a few fibers, the overall transmission loss through the instrument can exceed 80%.Comment: 19 pages, 22 figure

Twittering on about mental health: is it worth the effort?

The medical community disseminates information increasingly using social media. Randomised controlled trials are being conducted in this area to evaluate effectiveness of social media with mixed results so far, but more trials are likely to be published in the coming years. One recent twitter randomised control trial using Cochrane Schizophrenia Group reviews suggests that tweets increase the hits to the target web page by about threefold and time spent on the web page is also increased threefold when referrals come in via twitter. These are early findings and need further replication. Twitter appeals to professionals, entertainers and politicians among others as a means of networking with peers and connecting with the wider public. Twitter, in particular, seems to be well placed for use by the medical community and is effective in promoting messages, updating information, interacting with each other locally and internationally and more so during conferences. Twitter is also increasingly used to disseminate evidence in addition to traditional media such as academic peer-reviewed journals. Caution is required using twitter as inadvertent tweets can lead to censure. Overall, the use of twitter responsibly by the medical community will increase visibility of research findings and ensure up to date evidence is readily accessible. This should open the door for further trials of different social media platforms to evaluate their effectiveness in disseminating accurate high-quality information instantaneously to a global audience

Greasing the wheels or a spanner in the works?:Regulation of the cardiac sodium pump by palmitoylation

The ubiquitous sodium/potassium ATPase (Na pump) is the most abundant primary active transporter at the cell surface of multiple cell types, including ventricular myocytes in the heart. The activity of the Na pump establishes transmembrane ion gradients that control numerous events at the cell surface, positioning it as a key regulator of the contractile and metabolic state of the myocardium. Defects in Na pump activity and regulation elevate intracellular Na in cardiac muscle, playing a causal role in the development of cardiac hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction, arrhythmias and heart failure. Palmitoylation is the reversible conjugation of the fatty acid palmitate to specific protein cysteine residues; all subunits of the cardiac Na pump are palmitoylated. Palmitoylation of the pump’s accessory subunit phospholemman (PLM) by the cell surface palmitoyl acyl transferase DHHC5 leads to pump inhibition, possibly by altering the relationship between the pump catalytic α subunit and specifically bound membrane lipids. In this review, we discuss the functional impact of PLM palmitoylation on the cardiac Na pump and the molecular basis of recognition of PLM by its palmitoylating enzyme DHHC5, as well as effects of palmitoylation on Na pump cell surface abundance in the cardiac muscle. We also highlight the numerous unanswered questions regarding the cellular control of this fundamentally important regulatory process

Suprachiasmatic VIP neurons are required for normal circadian rhythmicity and comprised of molecularly distinct subpopulations

The hypothalamic suprachiasmatic (SCN) clock contains several neurochemically defined cell groups that contribute to the genesis of circadian rhythms. Using cell-specific and genetically targeted approaches we have confirmed an indispensable role for vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-expressing SCN (SCN(VIP)) neurons, including their molecular clock, in generating the mammalian locomotor activity (LMA) circadian rhythm. Optogenetic-assisted circuit mapping revealed functional, di-synaptic connectivity between SCN(VIP) neurons and dorsomedial hypothalamic neurons, providing a circuit substrate by which SCN(VIP) neurons may regulate LMA rhythms. In vivo photometry revealed that while SCN(VIP) neurons are acutely responsive to light, their activity is otherwise behavioral state invariant. Single-nuclei RNA-sequencing revealed that SCN(VIP) neurons comprise two transcriptionally distinct subtypes, including putative pacemaker and non-pacemaker populations. Altogether, our work establishes necessity of SCN(VIP) neurons for the LMA circadian rhythm, elucidates organization of circadian outflow from and modulatory input to SCN(VIP) cells, and demonstrates a subpopulation-level molecular heterogeneity that suggests distinct functions for specific SCN(VIP) subtypes

The Emission and Distribution of Dust of the Torus of NGC 1068

We present observations of NGC 1068 covering the 19.7–53.0 μm wavelength range using FORCAST and HAWC+ on board SOFIA. Using these observations, high-angular-resolution infrared (IR) and submillimeter observations, we find an observational turnover of the torus emission in the 30–40 μm wavelength range with a characteristic temperature of 70–100 K. This component is clearly different from the diffuse extended emission in the narrow line and star formation regions at 10–100 μm within the central 700 pc. We compute 2.2–432 μm 2D images using the best inferred CLUMPY torus model based on several nuclear spectral energy distribution (SED) coverages. We find that when 1–20 μm SED is used, the inferred result gives a small torus size (<4 pc radius) and a steep radial dust distribution. The computed torus using the 1–432 μm SED provides comparable torus sizes, 5.1^(+0.4)_(-0.4) pc radius, and morphology to the recently resolved 432 μm Atacama Large Millimeter Array observations. This result indicates that the 1–20 μm wavelength range is not able to probe the full extent of the torus. The characterization of the turnover emission of the torus using the 30–60 μm wavelength range is sensitive to the detection of cold dust in the torus. The morphology of the dust emission in our 2D image at 432 μm is spatially coincident with the cloud distribution, while the morphology of the emission in the 1–20 μm wavelength range shows an elongated morphology perpendicular to the cloud distribution. We find that our 2D CLUMPY torus image at 12 μm can produce comparable results to those observed using IR interferometry

Healthcare, the Environment and Biomedicine

The final SSIR project aim: To better understand the factors that impact student well-being at the University of Richmond, with a focus on those that raise happiness and reduce stress.Goals and questions included: ● To find statistically significant data that correlates to who the happiest spidURs are ● Tried to separate student groups to identify individual factors ● Sought out students who had lowest stress, highest happinesshttps://scholarship.richmond.edu/ssir-presentations-2019/1000/thumbnail.jp

SOFIA/FORCAST resolves 30–40 μm extended dust emission in nearby active galactic nuclei

We present arcsecond-scale observations of the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) of seven nearby Seyfert galaxies observed from the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) using the 31.5 and 37.1 um filters of the Faint Object infraRed CAmera for the SOFIA Telescope (FORCAST). We isolate unresolved emission from the torus and find extended diffuse emission in six 37.1 um residual images in our sample. Using Spitzer/IRS spectra, we determine the dominant mid-infrared (MIR) extended emission source and attribute it to dust in the narrow line region (NLR) or star formation. We compare the optical NLR and radio jet axes to the extended 37.1 um emission and find coincident axes for three sources. For those AGNs with extended emission coincident with the optical axis, we find that spatial scales of the residual images are consistent with 0.1 - 1 kpc scale distances to which dust can be heated by the AGN. Using previously published subarcsecond 1 - 20 um imaging and spectroscopic data along with our new observations, we construct broadband spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of the AGNs at wavelengths 1 - 40 um. We find that three AGNs in our sample tentatively show a turnover in the SED between 30 - 40 um. Using results from Clumpy torus models and the Bayesian inference tool BayesClumpy, we find that the posterior outputs for AGNs with MIR turnover revealed by SOFIA/FORCAST have smaller uncertainties than AGNs that do not show a turnover.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figure