James S. Allen and Communist Organization of the Depression South in the 1930s

This thesis examines the methods and means by which the Communist Party of theUnited States organized in the US South during the 1930s. With a focus on the “Negro Questionâ€, I hope to show that local, rather than national or international, concerns animated CPUSA organizing. To that end, the records of James S. Allen, a key CPUSA theoretician, are used to explore the relationships between local Southern sub-organizations and the CPUSA leadership. His organizing in the South is crucial to the avenues that Communists organized and utilized his writings to shape Party policy and engagement with African Americans of the South. This thesis also plays close attention to the Scottsboro Trial as a key moment of mass mobilization and party reception as the American Communist Party organized demonstrations and support to the International Labor Defense with Allen’s influence and expertise within the Party. With the ILD’s support of the Scottsboro Trial, the inroads and organization of the CPUSA in the South were greatly aided and served as an example of Southern organization of the Communist party and Allen’s impact as a scholar and promoter of a Communist Answer to the “Negro Question.â

Dietary supplementation with pollen enhances survival and Collembola boosts fitness of a web-building spider

Uncertainties exist about the value of non-prey food for predators that are commonly food-limited, and the dietary conditions where non-prey foods are beneficial for carnivorous species. Prior studies show that large quantities of pollen grains are intercepted in the webs of web-building spiders. We examined the nutritional benefits of pollen as a non-prey food for a common ground-dwelling, sheet web-building spider, Mermessus fradeorum (Berland) (Araneae: Linyphiidae). These predators were provided diets of prey or no prey in the presence and absence of pollen. Treatment effects were quantified by measuring predator body nutrient composition, survival, body size, and offspring production. Per unit dry weight, pollen had less nitrogen and lipids than prey, although relative quantities of these nutrients per meal were not measured. Dietary treatments altered the body tissue composition of the spiders, leading to the highest N content and lipid reserves in spiders provided with Collembola. Supplementing diets with pollen increased both juvenile and adult survival, and the greatest survivorship and offspring production was observed when spiders were provided diets of Collembola supplemented with pollen. Our results show that Collembola are high-quality prey for spiders and pollen has positive effects on nutritional status and survival of a carnivorous species. Foraging on plant material potentially promotes population growth at early and late developmental stages by supplementing diets of poor-quality prey, and preventing starvation when prey are scarce

A systematic review of the intrapersonal correlates of motivational climate perceptions in sport and physical activity

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to systematically review and appraise the achievement goal literature (1990-2014) with a view to identifying the intra-individual correlates of motivational climate perceptions, and to identify research gaps and avenues in need for further development. Design: Systematic review. Method: Four databases were searched, leading to 104 published studies being sampled (121 independent samples) that met inclusion criteria. Correlates were grouped into 17 categories and qualitative analysis focussed on identifying the associations predicted by achievement goal theory. Effect sizes were calculated using the Hunter-Schmidt method for correcting sampling error. Results: A total population size of 34,156 (χ=316.3, σ=268.1) was sampled in the analysis, with the published mean ages ranging from 10.0 to 38.2 years (χ=16.5 years, σ=4.7). Perceptions of a task or mastery climate were consistently associated with a range of adaptive motivational outcomes including perceived competence, self-esteem, objective performance, intrinsic forms of motivational regulation, affective states, practice and competitive strategies and moral attitudes, and the experience of flow. Perceptions of an ego or performance climate were positively associated with extrinsic regulation and amotivation, negative affect, maladaptive strategy use, antisocial moral attitudes and perfectionism, but negatively associated to positive affect and feelings of autonomy and relatedness. Conclusions: After reviewing the sum total of research in this topic area, the authors appraise the options for future research to make meaningful progress in developing understanding of the social determination of motivation in sport and physical activity settings

Human perceptions of sports equipment under playing conditions

Assessment of sports equipment ‘performance’ is generally derived from physical and technical parameters, such as power, speed, distance and accuracy. However, from a psychological perspective, players need to feel comfortable with their equipment and confident in its properties. These factors can only be measured via the subjective assessment of individual perceptions. Using a study of a group of elite golfers as an example, this paper presents a formalised approach for eliciting and structuring player’s descriptions of their perception of sports equipment. Qualitative methods of inquiry are employed to generate perceptions from a group of professional golfers (n=15) during play testing. The equipment characteristics of significance to the golfers emerged from an inductive analysis of their responses. However, whilst this method of representation of the results was invaluable in identifying the key components or dimensions of a player’s sub-jective perception, it was insufficient to describe the potential relationships between the dimensions. With this in mind, a new technique, entitled structured relationship modelling, was developed to illustrate these associations. Ten general dimensions emerged from the analysis, of which three are presented in this paper along with a section of the relationship model. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of qualitative techniques for eliciting human perceptions and of structured relationship models for representation of the associations found

A Systematic Review of Exercise Prescription in Patients with Intermittent Claudication: Does Pain Matter?

Background: Current guidelines for intermittent claudication advocate exercise at moderate to maximal claudication pain. However, adherence rates to supervised exercise programmes (SEP) remain poor and claudication pain is a contributing factor. Limited evidence suggests that moderate or pain-free exercise may be just as beneficial and may be better tolerated. However, it remains unclear what ‘level’ of claudication pain is optimal for improving functional outcomes. We therefore conducted a systematic review to synthesise the evidence for exercise prescribed at different levels of claudication pain. Methods: The CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase and CINAHL databases were searched up to October 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that directly compared at least 2 different intensities of claudication pain were included. Outcome measures included walking performance, adherence, quality of life and vascular function. Results: Of 1,543 search results, 2 studies were included. Maximal walking distance improved by 100–128% in the moderate-pain SEP groups, and by 77–90% in the pain-free SEP groups. Importantly, there were no significant differences between the moderate-pain and pain-free SEP groups in either study for improvements in walking performance, though comparison to a maximal-pain SEP group was not made. Conclusions: The efficacy of SEPs for patients with intermittent claudication is irrefutable, though there is no consensus on the optimal level of pain. Therefore, adequately powered RCTs are required to compare the effect of pain-free SEPs, moderate-pain SEPs and maximal-pain SEPs on functional outcomes. (PROSPERO ID: CRD42020213684)

A systematic investigation of the protein kinases involved in NMDA receptor-dependent LTD: evidence for a role of GSK-3 but not other serine/threonine kinases

Background: The signalling mechanisms involved in the induction of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-dependent long-term depression (LTD) in the hippocampus are poorly understood. Numerous studies have presented evidence both for and against a variety of second messengers systems being involved in LTD induction. Here we provide the first systematic investigation of the involvement of serine/threonine (ser/thr) protein kinases in NMDAR-LTD, using whole-cell recordings from CA1 pyramidal neurons. Results: Using a panel of 23 inhibitors individually loaded into the recorded neurons, we can discount the involvement of at least 57 kinases, including PKA, PKC, CaMKII, p38 MAPK and DYRK1A. However, we have been able to confirm a role for the ser/thr protein kinase, glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3). Conclusion: The present study is the first to investigate the role of 58 ser/thr protein kinases in LTD in the same study. Of these 58 protein kinases, we have found evidence for the involvement of only one, GSK-3, in LTD