Understanding Environmental Art: A Case Study of Jason deCaires Taylor\u27s Coral Greenhouse (2019)

This thesis highlights the need for a new way to analyze environmental art. In the past, environmental artwork has been discussed in terms of the abstract concepts that drove their creation and the role they played in moving artists outside of the gallery space in the1960s and 70s. However, in recent years environmental artists are increasingly driven by themes of environmental conservation and preservation, using scientific research as the basis of their designs. Because of the shift in focus, developing a new way to discuss environmental art that takes into consideration the influence scientific research has on art production and public reception, in addition to looking at formalist aspects and historical contexts of the artwork, is more important than ever. By using Jason deCaires Taylor’s exhibition Coral Greenhouse (2019) as a case study, this thesis aims to demonstrate the multiple ways coral conservation research altered the physical appearance of the art works as well as the critical responses from both art and scientific communities, thus proving the need for a more comprehensive way to analyze this type of environmental art in the future

Fertility Preferences in the Relationship Context in Ghana

Background Fertility preference is a commonly used term that refers to an individual’s desire for more children. It is important at the aggregate level for projecting future fertility trends and evaluating family planning programs and policies. At the individual level, it is used for understanding childbearing and family planning use. Better understanding of fertility preferences—especially within the relationship context—can help gain further understanding of the measure and help individuals and couples better plan and space their children. Methods For this dissertation, I analyzed quantitative data from two datasets in Ghana. Using two rounds of data from the Family Health and Wealth Study (FHWS) for Aim 1, I assessed factors related to changes in fertility preferences, and focused on four relationship quality scales. Using data from women in couples in the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) for Aim 2, I performed multinomial logistic regressions to understand how women’s empowerment—as measured by their participation in household decision-making—was related to accurate perceptions of their partners’ fertility preferences. I also tested to see if couple communication mediated the relationship between decision-making and preferences. For Aim 3, I used a modified Poisson regression to see if couple communication was related to being concordant with a partner on fertility preferences. Results Around 30% of women in the FHWS changed preferences between rounds. In the adjusted logistic regression model, none of the relationship quality scales were significantly associated with the outcome. A few covariates were associated with a change in preferences over time, such as age and the birth of a child between data collection rounds. Among coupled women in the DHS sample, 55.8% of women had accurate perceptions, 21.3% had inaccurate perceptions, and 22.9% had unknown perceptions of their partners fertility preferences. Women with no say in their husband’s earnings were significantly more likely to have inaccurate perceptions. Couple communication—as measured by men’s report of a discussion of family planning with a wife/partner—did not mediate this relationship in our sample. Women of Muslim faith were more likely to have unknown perceptions of their partner’s preferences. Approximately 25% of women were discordant on their partners’ fertility preferences. Discussion of family planning, as reported by men, was not significantly associated with concordance, although both parity and polygamy were positively associated with discordance. Conclusions Fertility preferences are often used for policy-making, programs, and research. This dissertation examined preferences in the context of the relationship, especially related to the quality of that relationship and extent of couple communication. With a better understanding of individual and couples’ preferences for more children (or not), we can better serve their reproductive needs and desires

Water Quality and Health of Coral Reefs

This study estimates the impacts of degraded water quality parameters and a continued warmer climate on coral reef abundance in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS). Degraded water quality effects can be directly observed in corals’ reduced recruitment, decreased calcification, shallower depth distribution limits, altered composition (more heteroptrophic fauna), and loss of biodiversity (ISRS, 2004). The following species Scleractinia, stony coral, and Octocorallia, soft coral, are the primary focus of this study. Understanding the effects of increased turbidity, nitrates, silicates, and temperature on coral cover is crucial given the important ecosystem and economic roles coral reefs play. Analysis of the 10-year data on coral coverage and nutrient concentration in the FKNMS indicates that enhanced levels of nitrite and nitrate combined significantly reduce total coral coverage in the Keys. Initially elevated levels of silicate enhance the abundance of corals, however, excessive levels result in significant decline in coral ecosystem. The regression results also show that the increased turbidity is associated with low coral coverage and warmer climate negatively impacts coral abundance. Analyzing by types of corals, stony corals exhibit more sensitivity to nutrient pollution and enhanced turbidity levels relative to octocorals. Both types of corals remain sensitive to warmer climate. The results of this research have significant policy implications. For policy making related to the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary, this research suggests that management efforts geared towards efficient water pollution control can greatly enhance coral reef abundance in the Keys. Furthermore, coordinated efforts at local, regional, and national levels may deem vital for the achievement of these sustainability goals. General implication of the results are that corals remain highly sensitive to climatic and anthropogenic stressors even in marine sanctuaries, and these effects are likely severe and more alarming for reefs in unprotected areas

Data Theatre as an Entry Point to Data Literacy

Data literacy is a growing area of focus across multiple disciplines in higher education. The dominant forms of introduction focus on computational toolchains and statistical ways of knowing. As data driven decision-making becomes more central to democratic processes, a larger group of learners must be engaged in order to ensure they have a seat at the table in civic settings. This requires a rethinking to support many paths into data literacy. In this paper we introduce "data theatre," a set of activities designed for data novices that may have limited experience or comfort with spreadsheets, math, and other quantitative operations. Through iterative co-design over three workshops, we tested and produced two activity guides for educators, building on long-standing practices in participatory theatre that center social justice and liberation. Our initial findings provide very early evidence that this approach can help these learners overcome hesitations to working with information, begin building a critical perspective when viewing data, and create emotionally impactful data stories told through theatrical performance. This prototype work suggests to us that the concept of "Data theatre" warrants further study to build a more robust understanding of its affordances and limitations.Peer reviewe

Homeless community of Alamance County : an action oriented community diagnosis

This document contains an analysis of interviews, focus groups, and relevant background information on the homeless community in Alamance County. The data were compiled by a group of five graduate students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Public Health, as part of a community assessment, also known as Action-Oriented Community Diagnosis (AOCD). An AOCD is a process through which a student team works with a community to identify strengths and challenges, presents the findings at a community forum, and facilitates the development of tangible action steps to help the community address the identified challenges. The process involves both research and practice. Bill Adams, executive director of the Allied Churches of Alamance County, and Karen Webb, of the Alamance-Caswell-Rockingham Local Management Entity (formerly the Alamance-Caswell Area Mental Health Program), requested the AOCD in order to learn more about homelessness in the county. Another goal of the assessment was to examine the assets and challenges of service providers who work with individuals experiencing homelessness. The information presented in this document is intended for use as a reference and a resource, and may inform program planning, grant writing, and future community forums. The first section of this report contains background information on homelessness and Alamance County. The second part of the document contains a description of the AOCD methods and a summary of community strengths and challenges, including eight domains that emerged from interviews and focus groups with service providers and individuals experiencing homelessness. These eight domains are: mental health, employment, housing, transportation, substance abuse, reentry from prison or psychiatric facilities, perceptions of homelessness, and communication among service providers or between service providers and homeless individuals. The third part of the document contains a description of the community forum, planned by the community and student team, during which project findings were presented and tangible action steps were generated to address the challenges that emerged during the AOCD process. Finally, the student team’s recommendations conclude the report. The scope of this report is limited to the adult homeless community in Graham and Burlington because that is where most services are concentrated. For the purposes of this AOCD, the homeless population is defined broadly, but most interviewees are shelter guests and many are new residents of Alamance County. The student team presented their findings at a community forum, called Homelessness: Creating Community Change, held on April 27, 2007 at the First Christian United Church of Christ in Burlington. The event brought together more than 160 homeless and formerly homeless individuals, service providers and general community members with an interest in homelessness, to identify and discuss action steps related to the identified themes. The action steps and key discussion points from the forum are listed in Appendix C, and a general presentation of the forum planning process and schedule of events is contained in the body of this document. To conclude, this document describes the AOCD process and analyzes the experiences, perceptions, and frustrations of people experiencing homelessness, and the people who serve them, in Alamance County. The primary data, secondary data, recommendations, and action steps contained in this report may be used to guide future program planning and grant-writing. The student team thanks the people of Alamance County for the challenging work they have done already, and the action steps they have committed to take in the future, to improve the lives of people experiencing homelessness.Master of Public Healt

Social Norms Measurement: Catching up With Programs and Moving the Field Forward.

To date, there are numerous normative change programs for AYSRH in the field and going to scale [1]. Many of these are doing so, however, with scant evidence of the desired normative change outcomes, resulting largely from the fact that social norms\u27 measurement has lagged behind [2,3]. As programs are developed to shift social norms to improve adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health (AYSRH) outcomes, rigorous but practical approaches are needed to identify the social norms that are influencing behaviors, measure changes in social norms, and understand how these changes impact behavioral outcomes

Acetaminophen-cysteine adducts during therapeutic dosing and following overdose

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Acetaminophen-cysteine adducts (APAP-CYS) are a specific biomarker of acetaminophen exposure. APAP-CYS concentrations have been described in the setting of acute overdose, and a concentration >1.1 nmol/ml has been suggested as a marker of hepatic injury from acetaminophen overdose in patients with an ALT >1000 IU/L. However, the concentrations of APAP-CYS during therapeutic dosing, in cases of acetaminophen toxicity from repeated dosing and in cases of hepatic injury from non-acetaminophen hepatotoxins have not been well characterized. The objective of this study is to describe APAP-CYS concentrations in these clinical settings as well as to further characterize the concentrations observed following acetaminophen overdose.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Samples were collected during three clinical trials in which subjects received 4 g/day of acetaminophen and during an observational study of acetaminophen overdose patients. Trial 1 consisted of non-drinkers who received APAP for 10 days, Trial 2 consisted of moderate drinkers dosed for 10 days and Trial 3 included subjects who chronically abuse alcohol dosed for 5 days. Patients in the observational study were categorized by type of acetaminophen exposure (single or repeated). Serum APAP-CYS was measured using high pressure liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Trial 1 included 144 samples from 24 subjects; Trial 2 included 182 samples from 91 subjects and Trial 3 included 200 samples from 40 subjects. In addition, we collected samples from 19 subjects with acute acetaminophen ingestion, 7 subjects with repeated acetaminophen exposure and 4 subjects who ingested another hepatotoxin. The mean (SD) peak APAP-CYS concentrations for the Trials were: Trial 1- 0.4 (0.20) nmol/ml, Trial 2- 0.1 (0.09) nmol/ml and Trial 3- 0.3 (0.12) nmol/ml. APAP-CYS concentrations varied substantially among the patients with acetaminophen toxicity (0.10 to 27.3 nmol/ml). No subject had detectable APAP-CYS following exposure to a non-acetaminophen hepatotoxin.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Lower concentrations of APAP-CYS are detectable after exposure to therapeutic doses of acetaminophen and higher concentrations are detected after acute acetaminophen overdose and in patients with acetaminophen toxicity following repeated exposure.</p

Physiotherapy for functional motor disorders: a consensus recommendation.

BACKGROUND: Patients with functional motor disorder (FMD) including weakness and paralysis are commonly referred to physiotherapists. There is growing evidence that physiotherapy is an effective treatment, but the existing literature has limited explanations of what physiotherapy should consist of and there are insufficient data to produce evidence-based guidelines. We aim to address this issue by presenting recommendations for physiotherapy treatment. METHODS: A meeting was held between physiotherapists, neurologists and neuropsychiatrists, all with extensive experience in treating FMD. A set of consensus recommendations were produced based on existing evidence and experience. RESULTS: We recommend that physiotherapy treatment is based on a biopsychosocial aetiological framework. Treatment should address illness beliefs, self-directed attention and abnormal habitual movement patterns through a process of education, movement retraining and self-management strategies within a positive and non-judgemental context. We provide specific examples of these strategies for different symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Physiotherapy has a key role in the multidisciplinary management of patients with FMD. There appear to be specific physiotherapy techniques which are useful in FMD and which are amenable to and require prospective evaluation. The processes involved in referral, treatment and discharge from physiotherapy should be considered carefully as a part of a treatment package

Characterization and plant expression of glyphosate-tolerant enolpyruvylshikimate phosphate synthase

Abstract BACKGROUND: Glyphosate tolerance is a dominant trait in modern biotech crops. RESULTS: A gene encoding a glyphosate-tolerant EPSP synthase (aroA 1398 ) from bacterial strain ATX1398 was cloned and characterized. The protein is initiated at a GTG translational start codon to produce a protein that provides robust glyphosate resistance in Escherichia coli (Mig) Cast &amp; Chalm. The aroA 1398 protein was expressed and purified from E. coli, and key kinetic values were determined (K i = 161 µM; K m (PEP) = 11.3 µM; k cat = 28.3 s −1 ). The full-length enzyme is 800-fold more resistant to glyphosate than the maize EPSP synthase while retaining high affinity for the substrate phosphoenol pyruvate. To evaluate further the potential of aroA 1398 , transgenic maize events expressing the aroA 1398 protein were generated. T 0 plants were screened for tolerance to glyphosate sprays at 1.3× commercial spray rates, and T 1 plants were selected that completely resisted glyphosate sprays at 1×, 2× and 4× recommended spray rates in field trials. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that aroA 1398 is a suitable candidate for conferring glyphosate tolerance in transgenic crop plants