Hindsight

“Time travel is theoretically impossible, but I wouldn\u27t want to give it up as a plot gimmick.”—Isaac Asimov “Of all the concepts in Speculative Fiction, Time Travel is probably the one that, over time, has provided us with the most possibilities for storytelling, and therefore the one that has been (clocked as having been) exploited the most.”—TVtropes.org Hindsight is a one-hour long show with an eight-episode arc per season. It is a story of authenticity and gimmicks, privilege and disadvantage, mediocrity and exceptionalism. These are all pretty big concepts, and yeah, we look at them on a macrocosmic scale, but the main focus is on the microcosmic: the real story is about Tallulah Alford, a millennial who’s been working at the same dead-end job for ten years, in the same dead-end city that she grew up in. One day Tallulah discovers that time travel exists. Tallulah’s not the type of person who should be using a time machine

The Impact of a Sensory Garden Intervention for Individuals with Dementia

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of sensory gardens on agitation and quality of life for people with dementia. The sensory garden consisted of plants that stimulated all the senses. Four people diagnosed with dementia residing in assisted living participated in the multiple treatment single-subject design (A1-B-BC-A2) study. Baseline phase A1 lasted two-weeks, intervention B and BC were four-weeks each, and return to baseline A2 was two-weeks, for a total of 12 weeks. Intervention B was an indoor sensory garden and intervention BC was an approximated outside sensory garden. Data revealed positive trends following the sensory garden interventions on decreasing agitation and improving quality of life. Intervention B worked best for two participants and intervention BC for the remaining two participants. Applications to recreational therapy practice are provided

An electrophysiological study in the rat on the role of central and peripheral mediators in prolonged nociception

This in vivo pharmacological study has used electrophysiological techniques to investigate the mechanisms and control of prolonged nociception. Formalin injection into the receptive field was used as a prolonged stimulus and the activity of nociceptive neurones located within the spinal cord was recorded in the halothane anaesthetized intact rat. Acute electrically evoked activity of these neurones resulting from both A and C fibre inputs was used as a comparison. The response of dorsal horn neurones to formalin was biphasic and lasted about 60 minutes. The first peak firing began immediately following injection of the formalin and lasted for about 5 minutes. Following a period of inactivity the neurone once again started firing, usually about 25 minutes following the formalin administration and this second peak persisted for approximately 35-40 minutes. This profile of activity is very similar to the pain related behaviour observed in conscious animals following formalin administration. Correlations were sought between the electrically evoked properties of the neurones and their responses to formalin. Intravenous and intrathecal administration of mu opioids inhibited both peaks of the formalin response. Using peripheral and intrathecal administration of bradykinin and selective B1 and B2 receptor antagonists, evidence was provided for a role of the bradykinin B2 receptor in the peripheral generation of the second peak of the response. The role of excitatory amino acids within the spinal cord was investigated. The non-selective antagonist γ-D-glutamyl glycine (DOG) reduced both the electrically evoked A and C fibre responses and both peaks of the formalin response. Selective antagonists at the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, 5-DL-amino phosphonovaleric acid (AP5), ketamine and MK801 were administered intrathecally and intravenously. Ketamine reduced the 'wind up' of the neurones (the frequency dependent potentiation of dorsal horn neurone responses to repetitive C fibre stimulation) and all the compounds selectively reduced the second peak of the formalin response with little effect on the first peak. Nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated in both bradykinin and NMDA mediated events. An inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis administered into the receptive field and intrathecally reduced both peaks of the formalin response whilst systemic administration resulted in a selective inhibition of the second peak. However, intrathecal administration of the NO precursor L-arginine unexpectedly reduced both the electrically evoked A and C fibre responses and both peaks of the formalin response. Although these results are suggestive of a role for NO in both peripheral and spinal mediation of nociceptive events, the high doses required, route dependent effects and contradictory result with L-arginine suggest the involvement of this molecule is complex. Whilst administration of selective mu and delta opioid agonists into the receptive field had no effect on either peak of the formalin response, a selective kappa opioid agonist inhibited both peaks of the formalin response whilst having no effect on the acute electrically evoked A or C fibre responses. Thus the peripheral generation of the formalin response involves the actions bradykinin, via the B2 receptor, during the second phase and this may also involve the generation of nitric oxide. The afferent input is mediated within the spinal cord by excitatory amino acids acting at non-NMDA receptors during the first peak of the response, but during the prolonged activity of the second peak NMDA receptor involvement becomes important as well. It is possible that the NMDA receptor may be responsible for amplifying the response. This formalin evoked activity within the spinal cord may also involve nitric oxide. The formalin response can be modulated by opioids acting at the spinal level and at the peripheral level where only the kappa receptor appears to be effective. These results indicate some of the mechanisms involved in the generation and transmission of prolonged nociception and may provide future directions for the development of novel analgesics

Impacts of viral infection by Ma-LMM01 on microcystin production by Microcystis aeruginosa

Increasing global temperatures and nutrient availability from anthropogenic sources have contributed to climate change and pollution in waterways. Environmental changes have promoted annual harmful algal blooms (HABs), which have the potential to lead to conditions that negatively affect aquatic ecosystems and organisms that depend on them. HABs can impact water quality through the release of soluble toxins (e.g., microcystin), produced by cyanobacteria that can bypass standard drinking water processing protocols. It has been suggested that viral infections of cyanobacteria may contribute to increased production and release of microcystins. In this project, two hypotheses were assessed: 1) virus-mediated lysis releases toxins from a filterable intracellular form within Microcystis aeruginosa cells to an extracellular soluble toxin, and 2) viral infection induces a greater accumulation of intracellular toxins when compared to the non-infected controls. To evaluate these hypotheses, laboratory cultures of M. aeruginosa NIES 298 were infected with cyanophage Ma-LMM01, and levels of microcystins were quantified using ADDA-ELISA. An additional analysis included water sampling for viral abundance and microcystin concentration in Ford Lake, Ypsilanti MI. ADDA-assay revealed that viral infection of M. aeruginosa is correlated with higher accumulations of extracellular and intracellular microcystins. This research contributes to an understanding of the impacts of phagehost interactions on microcystin production and release into the environment

The application of the thermal energy analyser to the analysis of nitrosamines and organic nitrates

The thermal energy analyser (TEA) has been used as a detector to analyse five different types of samples of nitrosamines and organic nitrates. Results are presented for the analysis of nitrosodimethylamine in aqueous samples using capillary gas chromatography, with a detection limit of less than 20 ppb. Total nitrosamine content of personal hygiene products was determined using chemical denitrosation coupled to the TEA, with a similar lower limit. Nitroglycerin and pentaerythritoltetranitrate were analysed qualitatively in explosives residues. Attempts were made to quantify nitrosodiethanolamine in a dye, and nitroglycerin in blood, and the initial findings are presented

The power of belief: Innocents and innocence in children\u27s fantasy fiction

The power of belief is a reoccurring theme in fantasy fiction for children and young adults. Oftentimes such belief merely affects the internal make-up of children or child-likecharacters,giving them the confidence that they need to act upon the world, but at other times belief acts to magically impose an imagined reality onto a physical reality. Fairies are brought back from thedead, destinies are divined through a golden compass, phantom stags lead the way to hidden swords. This thesis explores the power of belief and its associations with the innocence of childhood as found in J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and Wendy, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Each of the novels that I explore features child characters whose belief in an imagined reality produces a profound effect on the world around her or him

Enhancing Student Academic Performance and Overall Health Through Standards-Based Physical Education

Standards-based physical education may have an impact on students’ academic performance. Many studies support this notion. In many schools, physical education curricula are being greatly reduced. They may be removed or replaced with other programs. It is a common perception that physical education is an extra curricular activity and can be characterized as “free time” or recess. The purpose of this study is to analyze quality indicators of standards-based physical education programs in a select setting in an urban middle school. The research literature yields studies with mixed results. However in a meta analysis of the research in this area, there is support for the positive influence on students academic learning. The study follows qualitative research design using interview protocals. Participants included an expert in the area of physical education and middle school students in an urban setting. Overall, findings indicated that students had the ability to transfer information learned in physical education to other subject areas and life situations that occur beyond the classroom. Additionally, teaching standards-based physical education has an impact on students’ total academic experience. Physical education holds a value to students as it prepares them to live an healthy and active lifestyle. Results indicated that in a focused standards-based physical education program where students are taught to make conscious choices, they are better prepared to choose and implement positive behaviors. Also, it provides students with the resources and education they need to become physical and health literate

Impact of prescribed burning for oak regeneration on forest vegetation, white-footed mouse populations, and Lyme disease

In 2009 and 2010, we investigated the impacts of prescribed burns for oak forest management on understory vegetation, white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) abundance and survival, and questing blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) abundance and tick attachment load. In 2010, understory vegetation diversity and richness significantly decreased as percent burn increased. White-footed mouse abundance and survival were not different between burned and unburned sites; however, abundance was significantly higher in 2009. Attached tick load was significantly higher in 2010, but did not differ between burned and unburned sites. However, tick load increased 3.5 fold in burned sites between years while tick load increased 8 fold in the unburned area. Questing tick abundance was significantly lower in the burned area than the unburned area in both years. These results could assist land managers in developing multipurpose approaches for using prescribed burning for oak forest management

An Evaluation of the Utility of Reading Curriculum-Based Measurement as Progress Monitoring Tools and Predictors of Comprehension

Many American students struggle with reading, particularly in the area of comprehension. As such, early identification of reading difficulties, use of evidenced-based interventions, and monitoring of student reading progress over time is essential. Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is a technically adequate, efficient tool whose features and design make it a good candidate for early identification and progress monitoring purposes, especially within a response to intervention framework. However, there is still some uncertainty regarding the utility of reading CBM as progress monitoring tools. Specifically, the literature has suggested that variability in the difficulty of CBM materials may influence how well these tools measure student growth over time. The present study aimed to reduce CBM variability by using field-testing and rank-ordering of performance means to create two equivalent second-grade reading CBM passage sets. These sets were derived from larger pools of extant, commercially-available passage sets. One passage set included oral reading fluency and story recall tasks. The second passage set was comprised of Maze tasks. These passage sets were then used to monitor progress in second-grade students who were at-risk for reading problems. Scores from each type of task were also used to determine which was the best predictor of student performance in reading comprehension. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze student growth on CBM measures, as well as predict reading comprehension. Results indicated that only Maze tasks were sensitive to individual student growth over the study, and were the strongest predictors of reading comprehension in this sample compared to oral reading fluency and recall. Implications, limitations, and future directions are also discussed