The Curious Case of Solu Khumbu: A Study of the Effects of Tourism in the Town of Junbesi

Before 1953, the year that Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summited Everest, almost all Sherpas were subsistence farmers, traders, and herders. But ever since the 1980’s, Sherpas have taken over the trekking industry in this region. The increase of tourism and the monopolization of this industry have altered the livelihoods of Sherpas in Solu Khumbu. However, most tourism related research on Solu Khumbu has been done primarily on upper Khumbu, which has been affected by tourism drastically differently than Solu. I will be doing a case study of how the changes in tourism have affected Junbesi, a popular agriculture based town on a major route to Everest. I conducted 7 interviews with various residents of Junbesi including schoolteachers, lodge owners, and shopkeepers. I first asked questions about what kinds of things were changing tourism over time, and then I asked specific questions on how tourism had affected agriculture, economy, the physical geography and environment, culture, labor, and education. Everyone I interviewed was on the same page about the questions of factors of change but most had different opinions about how tourism had affected the specific part of their lives. However, what I was surprised about was that reoccurring trend of nonchalance about the trend of decreasing tourism and how the village viewed the future of their economy. Their nonchalance made me examine more deeply the implications of what tourism had done to Junbesi and how the village had been reacting and using tourism in ways, that one might not originally think

Language as Function or Fashion? Multilingual Identity Formation Through Korean Language Learning

This research examines identity in relation to the Korean language learning experiences of non-Korean and ethnic Korean learners. Based on participant observation and interviews done in Toronto and an international online survey, I use a language-ideological perspective to look at why and how people choose to learn (or not learn) a particular language. Specifically, I analyze how nationalist, functionalist and cosmopolitan language ideologies position learners in various ways and in turn, affect their sense of ethnic, cultural and other forms of identity. I show how these ideologies are interrelated and have different effects on how the identities of non-Koreans and ethnic Koreans are constructed based on their respective statuses as outgroup and ingroup members learning Korean. This research provides a better understanding of the motivations behind heritage and minority language learning, and suggests a less homogeneous conceptualization of heritage language learners

Furniture Build Project

A multi-disciplinary team was assembled to design and build composite furniture for customers across campus. The intent was to create lasting, useful items that would showcase interdepartmental work and the flexibility of composites as a design material. Students were required to discuss what image wants to be evoked by the department/entity, pitch customer with 3D printed renderings, design for aesthetics and mechanical performance, and create the furniture. Additional requirements were to incorporate 2 different manufacturing technologies and at least 3 different materials. The result of this work was the design of two items and the creation of one item

Lipid Transfer Inhibitor Protein (Apolipoprotein F) Concentration in Normolipidemic and Hyperlipidemic Subjects

Lipid transfer inhibitor protein (LTIP) is an important regulator of cholesteryl ester transfer protein function. We report the development of an immunoassay for LTIP and its use to quantify LTIP in plasma of varying lipid contents. A rabbit antibody against bacterially produced recombinant LTIP detected two LTIP isoforms in plasma differing in carbohydrate content. This antibody was used in a competitive, enzyme-linked immunoassay that uses partially purified LTIP bound to microtiter plates. To optimize LTIP immunoreactivity, plasma samples required preincubation in 1% Tween-20 and 0.5% Nonidet P-40. In normolipidemic plasma, LTIP averaged 83.5 mg/ml. LTIP was 31% higher in males than in females. LTIP was positively associated with HDL cholesterol in normolipidemic males but not in females. In hypertriglyceridemic males, LTIP was only 56% of control values, whereas in hypertriglyceridemic females, LTIP tended to increase. Additionally, in males with normal cholesterol and triglyceride (TG) ≤ 200 mg/dl, LTIP varied inversely with plasma TG. Overall, we have confirmed the negative association between plasma TG levels and LTIP previously suggested by a small data set, but now we demonstrate that this effect is seen only in males. The mechanisms underlying this gender-specific response to TG, and why LTIP and HDL levels correlate in males but not in females, remain to be determined

The physical nature of spiral wave patterns in sunspots

Recently spiral wave patterns (SWPs) have been detected in 3-min oscillations of sunspot umbrae, but the nature of this phenomenon has remained elusive. We present a theoretical model which interprets the observed SWPs as the superposition of two different azimuthal modes of slow magnetoacoustic waves driven below the surface in an untwisted and non-rotating magnetic cylinder. We apply this model to SWPs of the line-of-sight velocity in a pore observed by the Fast Imaging Solar Spectrograph installed at the 1.6 m Goode Solar Telescope. One- and two-armed SWPs were identified in instantaneous amplitudes of line-of-sight Doppler velocity maps of 3-min oscillations. The associated oscillation periods are about 160 seconds, and the durations are about5 minutes. In our theoretical model, the observed spiral structures are explained by the superposition of non-zero azimuthal modes driven 1600 km below the photosphere in the pore. The one-armed SWP is produced by the slow body sausage (m= 0) and kink(m= 1) modes, and the two-armed SWP is formed by the slow body sausage (m= 0)and fluting (m= 2) modes of the magnetic flux tube forming the pore

Anti-Tuberculosis Drugs and Adverse Events

Anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs can cause adverse drug reactions, particularly the older second-line drugs. Early intervention and adequate management of adverse drug reactions are important to prevent complications. Laboratory testing at baseline and during treatment, in addition to clinical monitoring, is protocolized to improve patient and treatment management. This chapter provides an overview of the most frequent and severe adverse effects caused by the first-and second-line drugs used for the treatment of tuberculosis. An approach on how to manage the adverse drugs effects is briefly described.</p

Anti-Tuberculosis Drugs and Adverse Events

Anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs can cause adverse drug reactions, particularly the older second-line drugs. Early intervention and adequate management of adverse drug reactions are important to prevent complications. Laboratory testing at baseline and during treatment, in addition to clinical monitoring, is protocolized to improve patient and treatment management. This chapter provides an overview of the most frequent and severe adverse effects caused by the first-and second-line drugs used for the treatment of tuberculosis. An approach on how to manage the adverse drugs effects is briefly described.</p