note to self

“note to self” is a 2D animated film completed as the thesis project for my MFA degree. This film uses experimental imagery and often abstract visual metaphor to tell a narrative story that discusses suicide, self-harm, depression, trauma, mental health, and the complicated issues surrounding these subjects. “note to self” tells the story of a teenage girl fighting through her struggles and uncertainties in the metaphysical space of her own mind. Sienna, the protagonist, has resolved to kill herself and is working through her conflicted feelings to rationally explain why. Posed as a conversation with a part of her own psyche, a sort of “demon” which exists in the form of a spirited, floating mouth, Sienna explores her reasons for leaving life. On this journey she encounters many creatures and traverses many places that represent her experiences, traumas, psychological issues, and discontentment with life and the world. Due to this, she has decided that death is her best option. This isn’t so easy, however, as she is soon confronted about her decision by the specter of her future self. The future-self, a character that has been pursuing her in the background for the duration of the film, reveals to Sienna that she’s worth waiting for, and that, in truth, Sienna does have hope. In the end, Sienna decides to have mercy on herself: her future self, whoever she is, has the right to exist. She deserves a chance and, as this future self is a new and distinct person from Sienna, it is not Sienna’s life to take. Sienna fights her way back to life. The imagery throughout the film is metamorphic and expressive to represent the feelings and energy throughout the film as Sienna, and the audience, experiences them. This film was created using primarily 2D, hand-drawn, digital animation, relying on varying line, color, and texturing styles for each part of the film. While there was a prepared script and narrative created for the film, the art style and production were created through a more atypical, experimental process that relied strongly on the emotional context of the scene and the expressive nature of art. The final result was a sequence of scripted scenes that were animated and filled with art in an expressive and partially spontaneous process to create a more raw and genuine communication of the protagonist’s story and ideas. This process, while unusual and difficult to manage (in large part due to its novelty to me), made for authentic representations of highly personal, even controversial issues and enhanced the emotional value of the film. In regard to its subject matter, it is necessary to acknowledge the content of the film and the motivations that lead to its creation. By proceeding with this film, it was a task in itself to consider the various statements and discussions surrounding the sensitive topics of suicide, depression, psychological disorders, and mental health in general. Not only was it imperative to develop a background of intensive research into the subject, but also (perhaps more critically) to get in touch with my own feelings, experiences, and history on the subjects presented. It would be dishonest to deny that the sentiments expressed by the character are, in large and small ways, deeply felt emotions and sincere perspectives that I have encountered both personally and through others close to me. Naturally, this served as the creative palette for my work. It was both a crucial resource for me to draw from and inform my art creation process, and the basis upon which I pursued this film even despite some doubts in the onset. Drawing from inherently, severely, personal battles and difficulties with the topic at hand, this film did at times take its toll in nearly every space of my life. It was an increasingly challenging film to make in many ways, and yet it brilliantly also became one of the most cathartic and artistically honest experiences of my life

Evidence of taxonomic and functional recovery of macroinvertebrate communities following river restoration

River ecosystems have been heavily degraded globally due to channel hydromorphological modifications or alterations to catchment-wide processes. Restoration actions aimed at addressing these changes and restoring ecological integrity are increasing, but evidence of the effectiveness of these actions is variable. Using a rare 7-year before-after-control-impact (BACI) study of restoration of a lowland groundwater-fed river in England, UK, we explore changes in the macroinvertebrate community following the removal of impoundments and channel narrowing to aid restoration of physical processes. Restoration activity prompted significant taxonomic and functional responses of benthic invertebrate communities in the 4 years post-restoration. Specifically, significant gains in taxonomic and functional richness were evident following restoration, although corresponding evenness and diversity measures did not mirror these trends. Restoration activities prompted a shift to more rheophilic taxa and associated traits matching the physical changes to the channel and habitat composition. Temporal changes were clearer for taxonomic compositions compared to the functional properties of macroinvertebrate communities, indicating a functional redundancy effect of new colonists inhabiting restored reaches following restoration. The results highlight the value of long-term BACI studies in river restoration assessments, as well as project appraisals incorporating both taxonomic and functional observations. We highlight the urgent need of such studies to provide evidence to inform effective river restoration strategies to address future changes such as adaption to climate change and the biodiversity crisi

A blueprint of state-of-the-art techniques for detecting quasi-periodic pulsations in solar and stellar flares

Quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) appear to be a common feature observed in the light curves of both solar and stellar ares. However, their quasi-periodic nature, along with the facts that they can be small in amplitude and short-lived, make QPPs difficult to unequivocally detect. In this paper, we test the strengths and limitations of state-of-the-art methods for detecting QPPs using a series of hare-and-hounds exercises. The hare simulated a set of ares, both with and without QPPs of a variety of forms, while the hounds attempted to detect QPPs in blind tests. We use the results of these exercises to create a blueprint for anyone who wishes to detect QPPs in real solar and stellar data. We present eight, clear recommendations to be kept in mind for future QPP detections, with the plethora of solar and stellar are data from new and future satellites. These recommendations address the key pitfalls in QPP detection, including detrending, trimming data, accounting for coloured noise, detecting stationary-period QPPs, detecting QPP with non-stationary periods, and ensuring detections are robust and false detections are minimized. We find that QPPs can be detected reliably and robustly by a variety of methods, which are clearly identied and described, if the appropriate care and due diligence is taken

Defining severity of personality disorder using electronic health records: short report

Severity of personality disorder is an important determinant of future health. However, this key prognostic variable is not captured in routine clinical practice. Using a large clinical data-set, we explored the predictive validity of items from the Health of Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) as potential indicators of personality disorder severity. For 6912 patients with a personality disorder diagnosis, we examined associations between HoNOS items relating to core personality disorder symptoms (self-harm, difficulty in interpersonal relationships, performance of occupational and social roles, and agitation and aggression) and future health service use. Compared with those with no self-harm problem, the total healthcare cost was 2.74 times higher (95% CI 1.66–4.52; P < 0.001) for individuals with severe to very severe self-harm problems. Other HoNOS items did not demonstrate clear patterns of association with service costs. Self-harm may be a robust indicator of the severity of personality disorder, but further replication work is required

A mixed-method investigation of patient monitoring and enhanced feedback in routine practice: Barriers and facilitators

Objective: To investigate the barriers and facilitators of an effective implementation of an outcome monitoring and feedback system in a UK National Health Service psychological therapy service. Method: An outcome monitoring system was introduced in two services. Enhanced feedback was given to therapists after session 4. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used, including questionnaires for therapists and patients. Thematic analysis was carried out on written and verbal feedback from therapists. Analysis of patient outcomes for 202 episodes of therapy was compared with benchmark data of 136 episodes of therapy for which feedback was not given to therapists. Results: Themes influencing the feasibility and acceptability of the feedback system were the extent to which therapists integrated the measures and feedback into the therapy, availability of administrative support, information technology, and complexity of the service. There were low levels of therapist actions resulting from the feedback, including discussing the feedback in supervision and with patients. Conclusions: The findings support the feasibility and acceptability of setting up a routine system in a complex service, but a number of challenges and barriers have to be overcome and therapist differences are apparent. More research on implementation and effectiveness is needed in diverse clinical settings

Safety profile of autologous macrophage therapy for liver cirrhosis

This work was supported by a Medical Research Council UK grant (Biomedical Catalyst Major Awards Committee; reference MR/M007588/1) to S.J. Forbes. We thank Z.M. Younossi (Center for Outcomes Research in Liver Diseases, Washington, DC, USA) for academic use of the CLDQ instrument and L.J. Fallowfield (Sussex Health Outcomes Research & Education in Cancer (SHORE-C), University of Sussex, UK) for advice about health-related quality of life assessment.Peer reviewedPostprintPostprintPostprintPostprin

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Art/Act: A WGS Online Magazine

22 pages“Art, Activism, and Popular Culture” (WGS 199) investigates how art and activism intersect to address pressing contemporary social issues concerning gender, race, and sexuality. In particular, the course focuses on how art is utilized as feminist activism, and vice versa, to address social issues such as the prison industrial complex, sexual assault, media production, institutional critique, and HIV/AIDS. The course takes on a special emphasis on how artists-activists-students have utilized art to organize and create change on the college campus. Along with rigorous reading and writing, in the Winter 2016 term, students also engaged in the topic of art and activism through constructionist learning— learning through creating—in a special lab component of the class. In collaboration with the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, students participated in a special museum activity to explore art history and the politics of institutional critique on campus