Enacted identities : a narrative inquiry into teacher writerly becoming

Field of study: Leaning, teaching and curriculum.Dr. Amy Lannin, Dissertation Supervisor.Includes vita."May 2018."This narrative inquiry explored the ways in which four mid-career English teachers construct themselves as W/writers and how those writerly identities are performed in their pedagogy. I curated data collected from extended interviews, journals, personal and professional writings to build narratives of these teachers-aswriters. Through these narratives and metaphorical thinking (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980), I analyzed the wholeness of each participant's experience with writing. Then, in stage two of the study, I used data collected from teaching observations to build a continuum of process --> product, employing Goffman's (1974) frame analysis to place the teachers within that continuum. This continuum represented the stable thread that continued through the teachers' personal and professional identities and led to three insights: (1) Those teachers who identified as Writers were more comfortable teaching writing processes (2) The desire to be seen as a "kind of W/writer or teacher" brings risk writing instruction and (3) Agency provides Writers a way to mitigate the risk of teaching writing.Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-256)

White paper : addressing complexity in writing intensive course assignments

"A central tenet of the WI courses at our university is the inclusion of “at least one writing assignment addressing a question for which there is more than one acceptable interpretation, explanation, analysis, or evaluation.” To interrogate how this element emerges in writing assignments, we designed a research study based on data from 300+ WI course proposals. As we worked through our analysis, we asked the following question: How do WI assignments engage students in the complexity of their disciplines?"--IntroductionJulie Birt, PhD (Coordinator, Campus Writing Program), Christy Goldsmith, PhD (Associate Director, Campus Writing Program, Assistant Teaching Professor, Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum)Includes bibliographical references

Individualising anti-cancer treatment: Optimising tracking accuracy and dose delivery in Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT)

MD (res)Introduction: Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) is a form of highly focal radiation therapy. Treatment delivery is largely guided (“tracked”) by gold-marker fiducials for non-spinal body sites. CyberKnife (CK) is purpose-built todeliver SBRT. Methods: An experimental system, using a radiotherapy “phantom”, was designed to assess the accuracy of the CK system in imaging static and migrating fiducials (Chapter 2). An assumption in fiducial-tracked treatments is that the exact arrangement of fiducials at planning CT is maintained at treatment. It is also crucial that relative Organ At Risk (OAR) and tumour position, is consistent between planning CT scan and treatment. The validity of this assumption was assessed by comparing fiducial locations on Planning and Treatment CTs (Chapter 3). The feasibility of achieving consistent bladder filling, and the impact of consistent filling on the ability to track translations/rotations in prostate cancer therapy was explored (Chapter 4). Uncertainties in treatment planning/delivery for CK prostate patients was explored, and ideal planning margins were calculated (Chapter 5). Optimum SBRT dose for localised pancreatic cancer, lymph node oligometastasis and oligometastatic breast cancer was explored (Chapter 6). Results: Imaging of fiducial position was accurate and reproducible across a clinically appropriate tracking range. However, findings highlighted the need for vigilance at treatment delivery. The reliability and “trackability” of implanted fiducials, as well as consistency of OAR position, varied according to tumour and implantation site. Guidelines were generated accordingly. Bladder filling/Margins guidelines have been generated. Radiobiological analysis has indicated that there is scope for cautious dose escalation in the SBRT treatment of pancreatic cancer. Analysis of SBRT-treated lymph node oligometastases has demonstrated that Local Control is 100% when SBRT is prescribed to a threshold 72Gy10. Conclusion: Refinements in patient preparation, fiducial placement, and dose/fractionation selection can optimise tracking accuracy and dose delivery in SBRT.THS

More than tears: associations between exposure to chemical agents used by law enforcement and adverse reproductive health outcomes

Despite routine law enforcement use of chemical agents for crowd control, the reproductive health safety profiles of these products are unknown. Moreover, limited evidence has documented a link between such exposures and adverse reproductive health outcomes including abnormal uterine bleeding and potential pregnancy disruption. This cross-sectional study examined reproductive outcomes in adults with uteri exposed to chemical agents used by law enforcement, more commonly known as “tear gas”. Participants were recruited through social media in the wake of police violence protests. Of the 1,276 participants included in analysis, 83% reported experiencing at least one of the outcomes of interest, included uterine cramping (69%), early menstrual bleeding (55%), breast tenderness (30%), and delayed menstrual bleeding (21%). Chemical agent exposure was significantly associated with higher odds of an adverse reproductive health outcome, those with 5 days or more of exposure have 2.6 times the odds (CI: 1.61, 4.22) of adverse outcomes and having a perception that one's menstruation may fluctuate according to psychosocial stressors was associated (OR = 1.94, CI: 1.36, 2.79) with a higher odds of an adverse reproductive health experience. These findings suggest a potential relationship between exposure to chemical agents and adverse reproductive health outcomes. Given the pervasive use of these chemical agents and their potential for reproductive health harm, further investigation into the safety of these products and their impacts on individual and community health is warranted urgently

Beyond Shielding: The Roles of Glycans in the SARS-CoV‑2 Spike Protein

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in more than 28,000,000 infections and 900,000 deaths worldwide to date. Antibody development efforts mainly revolve around the extensively glycosylated SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein, which mediates host cell entry by binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Similar to many other viral fusion proteins, the SARS-CoV-2 spike utilizes a glycan shield to thwart the host immune response. Here, we built a full-length model of the glycosylated SARS-CoV-2 S protein, both in the open and closed states, augmenting the available structural and biological data. Multiple microsecond-long, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations were used to provide an atomistic perspective on the roles of glycans and on the protein structure and dynamics. We reveal an essential structural role of N-glycans at sites N165 and N234 in modulating the conformational dynamics of the spike’s receptor binding domain (RBD), which is responsible for ACE2 recognition. This finding is corroborated by biolayer interferometry experiments, which show that deletion of these glycans through N165A and N234A mutations significantly reduces binding to ACE2 as a result of the RBD conformational shift toward the “down” state. Additionally, end-to-end accessibility analyses outline a complete overview of the vulnerabilities of the glycan shield of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein, which may be exploited in the therapeutic efforts targeting this molecular machine. Overall, this work presents hitherto unseen functional and structural insights into the SARS-CoV-2 S protein and its glycan coat, providing a strategy to control the conformational plasticity of the RBD that could be harnessed for vaccine development

Cytochrome P450 Allele CYP3A7*1C Associates with Adverse Outcomes in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Breast, and Lung Cancer.

CYP3A enzymes metabolize endogenous hormones and chemotherapeutic agents used to treat cancer, thereby potentially affecting drug effectiveness. Here, we refined the genetic basis underlying the functional effects of a CYP3A haplotype on urinary estrone glucuronide (E1G) levels and tested for an association between CYP3A genotype and outcome in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), breast, or lung cancers. The most significantly associated SNP was rs45446698, an SNP that tags the CYP3A7*1C allele; this SNP was associated with a 54% decrease in urinary E1G levels. Genotyping this SNP in 1,008 breast cancer, 1,128 lung cancer, and 347 CLL patients, we found that rs45446698 was associated with breast cancer mortality (HR, 1.74; P = 0.03), all-cause mortality in lung cancer patients (HR, 1.43; P = 0.009), and CLL progression (HR, 1.62; P = 0.03). We also found borderline evidence of a statistical interaction between the CYP3A7*1C allele, treatment of patients with a cytotoxic agent that is a CYP3A substrate, and clinical outcome (Pinteraction = 0.06). The CYP3A7*1C allele, which results in adult expression of the fetal CYP3A7 gene, is likely to be the functional allele influencing levels of circulating endogenous sex hormones and outcome in these various malignancies. Further studies confirming these associations and determining the mechanism by which CYP3A7*1C influences outcome are required. One possibility is that standard chemotherapy regimens that include CYP3A substrates may not be optimal for the approximately 8% of cancer patients who are CYP3A7*1C carriers

Enacted Identities: A Narrative Inquiry into Teacher Writerly Becoming

This narrative inquiry explored the ways in which four mid-career English teachers construct themselves as W/writers and how those writerly identities are performed in their pedagogy. I curated data collected from extended interviews, journals, personal and professional writings to build narratives of these teachers-as-writers. Through these narratives and metaphorical thinking (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980), I analyzed the wholeness of each participant’s experience with writing. Then, in stage two of the study, I used data collected from teaching observations to build a continuum of process —> product, employing Goffman’s (1974) frame analysis to place the teachers within that continuum. This continuum represented the stable thread that continued through the teachers’ personal and professional identities and led to three insights: (1) Those teachers who identified as Writers were more comfortable teaching writing processes (2) The desire to be seen as a “kind of W/writer or teacher” brings risk writing instruction and (3) Agency provides Writers a way to mitigate the risk of teaching writing