A Historical Study Of Irvin Cooper: Choral Music Educator And Founder Of The Cambiata Concept

Military officers and psychologists have argued that the human experience of killing in combat is directly related to physical proximity between combatants. With the advent of remote controlled weapons and advanced optics, that argument has proven untrue. This thesis, through analysis of contemporary war literature and film, proposes that a better paradigm for understanding and anticipating the human experience of killing in combat is the view the soldier maintains of him/herself and of the other as similarly human. The contemporary soldier may view both the enemy and him/herself as human, subhuman, or inhuman; this view is closely tied to constructed narratives. Unfortunately, the contemporary warrior narrative encourages a dehumanization of the enemy and the numbing of the soldier, simultaneously hindering the soldier\u27s ability to process traumatic experiences in war and opening the door to unethical action. Today, technologies greatly influence the soldier\u27s perception of the enemy and are commonly the mediums through which the enemy is encountered, but the technologies are ambivalent to the soldier\u27s mindset and experience. This thesis argues that soldiers must be intentional about the narratives they construct in order to see both themselves and the enemy as similarly human. This approach, while acknowledging that war will always be traumatic, encourages an ethical and moral execution of war and simultaneously aims to limit moral injury inflicted by a betrayal of what\u27s right or soul wound

Interaction of a heterodimerization partner with glucocorticoid receptor (GR), androgen receptor (AR) and GR/AR hybrids

Abstract only availableSteroid hormones are a class of compounds that play a role in regulating many functions. Glucocorticoid hormone is a compound in this class, which helps maintain homeostasis, including regulation of production of γ-fibrinogen, a protein that plays a major role in blood clotting. Glucocorticoid hormone acts by binding to an intracellular receptor protein called the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). GR bound to glucocorticoid then moves to the nucleus, where it interacts with another protein, Xenopus Glucocorticoid Receptor Accessory Factor (XGRAF), to form a heterodimer. This heterodimer binds to an upstream regulatory region of the DNA coding for the γ-fibrinogen gene that is composed of a binding site for XGRAF adjacent to a half GR recognition site (a classical GR response element consists of two elements). Binding of this heterodimer to the recognition sites regulates transcription of the γ-fibrinogen gene. The dimerization interaction relies on specific amino acid sequences on both proteins. These experiments will examine the amino acids on GR that are involved in heterodimerization with XGRAF. Androgen receptor (AR), is very similar to GR, so examining the differences in binding in the presence of XGRAF due to the substitutions could help determine what regions of GR are essential to XGRAF binding. To study the heterodimerization, several constructs that incorporate AR at different parts of GR in place of the normal sequence were expressed in a bacterial system and then isolated for analysis. The proteins were used in gel mobility shift assays which allow detection of the interaction between the nuclear receptors and XGRAF. After studying the binding of these constructs we have determined that the parts of AR that were substituted for GR still allow heterodimerization with XGRAF. Since both GR and AR have the ability to interact with XGRAF, we can speculate that similar types of heterodimerization mechanisms for nuclear receptors could be more common than previously thought.Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Opportunity Progra

Accelerating topical anaesthesia using microneedles

Background/Aims: Topical anaesthetics reduce pain during venous access procedures in children. However, clinical use is hindered by a significant anaesthetic onset time. Restricted diffusion of the topical anaesthetic through the stratum corneum barrier is the principal reason for the delayed onset. Microneedles can painlessly pierce the skin. This study evaluated microneedle pre-treatment of ex vivo human skin as a means to increase the rate of tetracaine permeation, in order to accelerate the onset of anaesthesia. Methods: Franz-type diffusion cells were used to determine permeation of a commercial tetracaine formulation, Ametop gel, through human skin epidermis. Microneedle-assisted permeation was compared to untreated epidermis. Upon completion of permeation studies the epidermal membranes were visually characterised. Results: At 30 minutes 5.43 μg/cm2 of tetracaine had permeated through untreated membrane compared to 12.13 μg/cm2 in microneedle treated membrane. Insertion of a hypodermic needle created a large single channel in the epidermis (approximately 4250μm2) whilst the punctured surface area following microneedle treatments was estimated to be 75,000μm2. Conclusion: Pre-treatment of skin with microneedles significantly enhances the permeation of tetracaine. Microneedles have the potential to more than halve the onset time for anaesthesia when applying Ametop gel

Projections of annual rainfall and surface temperature from CMIP5 models over the BIMSTEC countries

Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand brings together 21% of the world population. Thus the impact of climate change in this region is a major concern for all. To study the climate change, fifth phase of Climate Model Inter-comparison Project models have been used to project the climate for the 21st century under the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5 over the BIMSTEC countries for the period 1901 to 2100 (initial 105 years are historical period and the later 95 years are projected period). Climate change in the projected period has been examined with respect to the historical period. In order to validate the models, the mean annual rainfall has been compared with observations from multiple sources and temperature has been compared with the data from Climatic Research Unit (CRU) during the historical period. Comparison reveals that ensemble mean of the models is able to represent the observed spatial distribution of rainfall and temperature over the BIMSTEC countries. Therefore, data from these models may be used to study the future changes in the 21st century. Four out of six models show that the rainfall over India, Thailand and Myanmar has decreasing trend and Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka show an increasing trend in both the RCP scenarios. In case of temperature, all the models show an increasing trend over all the BIMSTEC countries in both the scenarios, however, the rate of increase is relatively less over Sri Lanka than the other countries. The rate of increase/decrease in rainfall and temperature are relatively more in RCP8.5 than RCP4.5 over all these countries. Inter-model comparison show that there are uncertainties within the CMIP5 model projections. More similar studies are required to be done for better understanding the model uncertainties in climate projections over this region

A USP28-53BP1-p53-p21 signaling axis arrests growth after centrosome loss or prolonged mitosis

Precise regulation of centrosome number is critical for accurate chromosome segregation and the maintenance of genomic integrity. In nontransformed cells, centrosome loss triggers a p53-dependent surveillance pathway that protects against genome instability by blocking cell growth. However, the mechanism by which p53 is activated in response to centrosome loss remains unknown. Here, we have used genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 knockout screens to identify a USP28-53BP1-p53-p21 signaling axis at the core of the centrosome surveillance pathway. We show that USP28 and 53BP1 act to stabilize p53 after centrosome loss and demonstrate this function to be independent of their previously characterized role in the DNA damage response. Surprisingly, the USP28-53BP1-p53-p21 signaling pathway is also required to arrest cell growth after a prolonged prometaphase. We therefore propose that centrosome loss or a prolonged mitosis activate a common signaling pathway that acts to prevent the growth of cells that have an increased propensity for mitotic errors

A quantitative assessment of shoot flammability for 60 tree and shrub species supports rankings based on expert opinion

Fire is an important ecological disturbance in vegetated ecosystems across the globe, and also has considerable impacts on human infrastructure. Vegetation flammability is a key bottom-up control on fire regimes, and on the nature of individual fires. Although New Zealand (NZ) historically had low fire frequencies, anthropogenic fires have considerably impacted indigenous vegetation as humans used fire extensively to clear forests. Few studies of vegetation flammability have been undertaken in NZ, and only one has compared the flammability of indigenous plants; this was a qualitative assessment derived from expert opinion. We addressed this knowledge gap by measuring the flammability of terminal shoots from a range of trees and shrubs found in NZ. We quantified shoot flammability of 60 indigenous and exotic species, and compared our experimentally derived ranking with expert opinion. The most flammable species was the invasive exotic shrub Ulex europaeus, followed by Eucalyptus viminalis, Pomaderris kumeraho, Dacrydium cupressinum, and Lophozonia menziesii. Our experimentally derived ranking was strongly correlated with expert opinion, lending support to both methods. Our results are useful to ecologists seeking to understand how fires have and will influence NZ’s ecosystems, and for fire managers identifying high-risk landscapes, and low flammability species for ‘green firebreaks’

Pharmacist-independent prescriber deprescribing in UK care homes : Contextual factors associated with increased activity

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank the residents, families, pharmacists, medical practice staff and care home staff who contributed to CHIPPS. Funding information: This study is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) for Health Research (NIHR) Translating Research into Policy funding scheme (Award ID: NIHR202053). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A quantitative assessment of shoot flammability for 60 tree and shrub species supports rankings based on expert opinion

Fire is an important ecological disturbance in vegetated ecosystems across the globe, and also has considerable impacts on human infrastructure. Vegetation flammability is a key bottom-up control on fire regimes, and on the nature of individual fires. Although New Zealand (NZ) historically had low fire frequencies, anthropogenic fires have considerably impacted indigenous vegetation as humans used fire extensively to clear forests. Few studies of vegetation flammability have been undertaken in NZ, and only one has compared the flammability of indigenous plants; this was a qualitative assessment derived from expert opinion. We addressed this knowledge gap by measuring the flammability of terminal shoots from a range of trees and shrubs found in NZ. We quantified shoot flammability of 60 indigenous and exotic species, and compared our experimentally derived ranking with expert opinion. The most flammable species was the invasive exotic shrub Ulex europaeus, followed by Eucalyptus viminalis, Pomaderris kumeraho, Dacrydium cupressinum, and Lophozonia menziesii. Our experimentally derived ranking was strongly correlated with expert opinion, lending support to both methods. Our results are useful to ecologists seeking to understand how fires have and will influence NZ’s ecosystems, and for fire managers identifying high-risk landscapes, and low flammability species for ‘green firebreaks’

Stroke in children with posterior fossa brain malformations, hemangiomas, arterial anomalies, coarctation of the aorta and cardiac defects, and eye abnormalities (PHACE) syndrome: a systematic review of the literature.

Background and purposePHACE is an acronym for posterior fossa brain malformations, hemangiomas, arterial anomalies, coarctation of the aorta and cardiac defects, and eye abnormalities. Several case reports of arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) in individuals with PHACE have been published, but risk factors for AIS in PHACE have not been clearly defined. The objective of this article is to review all cases of stroke in PHACE in children and describe clinical characteristics that may be associated with an increased risk of AIS.MethodsA literature and registry search was conducted to identify patients with PHACE who had experienced AIS. Data were analyzed to determine age of onset, presenting signs and symptoms, and clinical features among this cohort compared with PHACE without AIS.ResultsTwenty-two individuals with PHACE and AIS were identified. Imaging of the arteries of the head and neck was reported in 20 of 22. Narrowing or nonvisualization of at least 1 great cerebral vessel was present in 19 of 20 and of those, 15 had ≥ 2 vessels involved. Aortic arch anomalies were reported in 13 of 22 individuals.ConclusionsAplasia, hypoplasia, or occlusion of a major cerebral artery appears to be a significant risk factor for AIS in children with PHACE, especially when >1 vessel is involved or if there is coarctation of the aorta