Here on campus, I live in Victor McCormick Hall – VMC. Who was Victor McCormick and why was the hall named after him?

Abbot Pennings answers a question about Victor McCormick and VMC, the hall named after him; archived from the SNC website

Fluoroquinolone-mediated inhibition of cell growth, S-G2/M cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis in canine osteosarcoma cell lines.

Despite significant advancements in osteosarcoma research, the overall survival of canine and human osteosarcoma patients has remained essentially static over the past 2 decades. Post-operative limb-spare infection has been associated with improved survival in both species, yet a mechanism for improved survival has not been clearly established. Given that the majority of canine osteosarcoma patients experiencing post-operative infections were treated with fluoroquinolone antibiotics, we hypothesized that fluoroquinolone antibiotics might directly inhibit the survival and proliferation of canine osteosarcoma cells. Ciprofloxacin or enrofloxacin were found to inhibit p21(WAF1) expression resulting in decreased proliferation and increased S-G(2)/M accumulation. Furthermore, fluoroquinolone exposure induced apoptosis of canine osteosarcoma cells as demonstrated by cleavage of caspase-3 and PARP, and activation of caspase-3/7. These results support further studies examining the potential impact of quinolones on survival and proliferation of osteosarcoma

Assessment and Evaluation of Organized Exercise and Socialization Project on Older Adults

Background and Significance According to Berridge et al. (2020), Covid-19 has created a “double pandemic.” In addition to the virus, significant declines in the physical and mental health of senior community members, the reduction in the management of chronic conditions, and social isolation due to pandemic protocols preventing community members to gather have created a health care crisis. Based on research by Bae et al. (2019) there is evidence that a multicomponent intervention that includes socialization, physical conditioning, and cognitive activities show an improvement in working memory and improved physical conditioning. Problem and Purpose Statement The inability to socially interact during Covid-19 has been reported as being a contributing factor to reduced quality of life, increased depression, and a reduction in physical activity (Lebrasseur et al., 2021). According to Nicholson (2012), social isolation creates a cascade of negative social and physical health outcomes that involve not just loneliness, but declining cognitive function, and frankly, de-conditioning of social abilities. Hanson & Jones (2015) found that walking groups improve older adults\u27 health, quality of life, and compliance with exercise programs. According to Zubala et al. (2017), safe, effective, and inclusive programs that include social support and enjoyable physical activity encourage long-term participation. The purpose of this program is to initiate scheduled socialization events at the clinical site, culminating in a monthly event that combines physical activity and socialization that is within the activity level of the residents to reduce social isolation as well as improve physical conditioning. Methods Using Lewin’s Change Model, the project was organized in a way that would encourage a letting go, or unfreezing, of old patterns followed by a change period (Lewin, 1947). Finally, relearned replacement behavior would be the new normal. The unfreezing portion of our program included several weeks of socialization and involvement of the residents in the planning. The goal was to reduce individual resistance and build community ownership of the event and improve resident cognition. Residents provided feedback that indicates that they are currently in the change phase of the model with feedback that included a desire to replicate the program and make it a regular event. The refreezing process will occur as the community site takes up the mantle and continues to implement social exercise activities. Using a survey, outcomes were measured only once after exposing the group of participants to the intervention. The objective was to evaluate if the residents were negatively or positively affected by the weekly scheduled social time and if they felt that they had benefited from combining social time with physical activity at the once-monthly exercise intervention. The survey was conducted via electronic format (Google Form). Participants were interviewed and answers were entered by hosts of the event. The survey utilized an evidence-based method to assess participants (Davis et al., 2018) and assessed quantitative data regarding completion of the course loop of walking as well as likelihood to participate again using a Likert scale model for quantitative analysis (Polit et al., 2017). Results/Outcomes The project was successfully implemented in a low-income senior housing facility and has provided important post-intervention assessment information for the development of sustainable social exercise programs. Results were measured by a single post-intervention survey. The total number of survey samples taken from participants was 17. In the survey results, 13 participants (81.3%) agreed that they completed the course loop, and 8 participants (47.1%) agreed that the course loop was enough exercise for the day. In terms of promoting social interaction, 9 participants (52.9%) either met at least one resident or interacted with another resident while they are in the course loop. Lastly, 16 participants (94.1%) overall agreed that they would participate in another Wednesday walk in the future. These percentages reveal that majority of participants successfully completed the exercise program while also socializing with other residents. In the post-intervention survey, participant comments and suggestions include “make the walk longer,” “avoid going down the steep path,” “too many germs,” “I like to walk by myself,” “create groups to walk together would be better,” and “announcement was helpful.” This feedback will be considered when planning an additional walk in the future. Limitations Limitations included communication barriers with residents and site management. There were also language barriers that prevented residents from participating in the project. The cold weather was a big factor in the residents not wanting to participate or do additional laps around the walking course. Another limitation was that residents preferred to go to a location away from the clinical site. The nearby park was considered unsafe to have the event due to a large homeless population that had taken over the grounds, so the event occurred on clinical site grounds. After surveying some of the residents who couldn’t join the event, we found that those residents were not joining due to a schedule conflict where they were trying to do errands and were otherwise occupied. Sustainability Almost all necessary project tools were sourced from the community site, except for poster board, markers, and chalk for advertising. The outlined course for the walk remained on the site grounds. All refreshments, tables, and carafes involved in the event were donated by onsite dining facilities. Therefore, all costs associated with the event were under the $30 allocated budget. Due to the low cost, any replication of the event will have minimal fiscal impact on the organizer. According to the post-test survey administered to staff on site, the staff agreed the walk was successful and made an impact on the community. Additionally, an outline of project interventions, methods for data collection, and sourcing of tools were provided to the community site if replication is desired. Advertising and communication with residents regarding the event were done through previously existing methods of communication in the community: monthly newsletter, morning announcements via PA system, event flyers, and large poster boards. The event activity, budget, and location are replicable using the same communication methods already present at the facility, resulting in this to be a highly replicable and sustainable project. Implications for Practice In the rise of the pandemic, isolation was a strategy that was utilized to prevent the transmission of Covid-19. During these unprecedented times, older adults are at risk for social and physical de-conditioning that negatively impacts their health. Our project’s goal was to create an event that targeted improvement in quality of physical health and social wellbeing. The findings from our research suggest a continuation of a socializing event that promotes physical activity for the residents at the community site. Implications for practice include prioritizing communication with management, utilizing on-site resources, and advertising the event to the residents. A liaison interacting directly with management provides a consistent spokesperson for the project with little error for miscommunication between the team. With a maximum budget of$30 for the project, we highly suggest utilizing resources on-site. To welcome residents to our event, we provided refreshments courtesy of on-site dining services. To announce and advertise our events, we utilized an overhead speaker system to deliver information to the residents, courtesy of security services. We had the desire to invite outside volunteers for more community involvement with the event, however due to time restraints and policies in place for Covid-19, we were unable to do so. In the absence of a pandemic, we recommend incorporating additional community members to assist with the event. Per the feedback from staff and residents, it was suggested that we incorporate a scheduled weekly walk with cascading start times for groups to limit the number of walkers on the course. It was also suggested that we create permanent signage for advertisement and to reflect the conditions of the walk for unpredictable weather. Overall, the organization of an event that promotes physical health and social wellbeing is highly recommended for this population. References Bae, S., Lee, S., Lee, S., Jung, S., Makino, K., Harada, K., Harada, K., Shinkai, Y., Chiba, I., & Shimada, H. (2019). The effect of a multicomponent intervention to promote community activity on cognitive function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: A randomized controlled trial. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2018.11.011 Berridge, C., Parsey, C.M., Ramirez, M., Freitag, C., Johnson, I.M., Allard, S.W. (2020). Caring for Washington’s older adults in the COVID-19 pandemic: Interviews with organization leaders about the state of social and healthcare services. Davis, G.C., Baral, R., Strayer, T., Serrano, E.L. (2018). Using pre- and post-survey instruments in interventions: determining the random response benchmark and its implications for measuring effectiveness. Public Health Nutr. (6):1043-1047. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980017003639. Epub 2017 Dec 21. PMID: 29262871 Ettehad, D., Emdin, C. A., Kiran, A., Anderson, S. G., Callender, T., Emberson, J., Rahimi, K. (2016). Blood pressure lowering for prevention of cardiovascular disease and death: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet, 387(10022), 957–967. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(15)01225-8 Hanson, S., & Jones, A., (2015). Is there evidence that walking groups have health benefits? A systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine 49(710-715). Lebrasseur, A., Fortin-Bédard, N., Lettre, J., Raymond E, Bussières, E.L., Lapierre, N., Faieta, J., Vincent, C., Duchesne, L., Ouellet, M.C., Gagnon, E., Tourigny, A., Lamontagne, M.È., Routhierm, F. (2021). Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Older Adults: Rapid Review. JMIR Aging. (2). https://doi.org/10.2196/26474. PMID: 33720839; PMCID: PMC8043147 Lee, L. L., Mulvaney, C. A., Wong, Y. K. Y., Chan, E. S., Watson, M. C., & Lin, H. H. (2021). Walking for hypertension. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD008823.pub2 Lewin, K. (1947). Frontiers in group dynamics: Concept, method and reality in social science; equilibrium and social change. Human Relations 1(1): 5–41. Nicholson, N.R. (2012). A review of social isolation: an important but underassessed condition in older adults. J Prim Prev. 33(2–3):137–52. Polit, D. F., Beck, C. T. (2017). Lippincott CoursePoint for Polit’s Essentials of Nursing Research. https://coursepoint.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9781496375612/epubcfi/6/136[%3Bvnd.vst.idref%3Dch010-sec02]!/4/2[main_container]/2/62/1:183[onl%2Cy. Zubala, A., MacGillivray, S., Frost, H., Kroll, T., Skelton, D. A., Gavine, A., Gray, N. M., Toma, M., & Morris, J. (2017). Promotion of physical activity interventions for community dwelling older adults: A systematic review of reviews. PloS one, 12(7), e0180902. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.018090

Prospectus, August 21, 2013

OBAMA SIGNS STUDENT LOAN DEAL; States tightening rules on college loans; College survival guide money matters: How to survive your first year on campus - without going broke; Essential skills for college freshmen; Boosting inclusion on campus; Are humans hard-wired for racial prejudice?; Tanney\u27s shot at the real thinghttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2013/1009/thumbnail.jp

Resource Prospector Propulsion Cold Flow Test

For the past year, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and Johnson Space Center have been working on a government version of a lunar lander design for the Resource Prospector Mission. A propulsion cold flow test system, representing an early flight design of the propulsion system, has been fabricated. The primary objective of the cold flow test is to simulate the Resource Prospector propulsion system operation through water flow testing and obtain data for anchoring analytical models. This effort will also provide an opportunity to develop a propulsion system mockup to examine hardware integration to a flight structure. This paper will report the work progress of the propulsion cold flow test system development and test preparation. At the time this paper is written, the initial waterhammer testing is underway. The initial assessment of the test data suggests that the results are as expected and have a similar trend with the pretest prediction. The test results will be reported in a future conference

Subjects with medial and lateral tibiofemoral articular cartilage defects do not alter compartmental loading during walking

Background Healthy cartilage is essential for optimal joint function. Although, articular cartilage defects are highly prevalent in the active population and hamper joint function, the effect of articular cartilage defects on knee loading is not yet documented. Therefore, the present study compared knee contact forces and pressures between patients with tibiofemoral cartilage defects and healthy controls. Potentially this provides additional insights in movement adaptations and the role of altered loading in the progression from defect towards OA. Methods Experimental gait data collected in 15 patients with isolated cartilage defects (8 medial involvement, 7 lateral-involvement) and 19 healthy asymptomatic controls was processed using a musculoskeletal model to calculate contact forces and pressures. Differences between two patient groups and controls were evaluated using Kruskal-Wallis tests and individually compared using Mann-Whitney-U tests (alpha <0.05). Findings The patients with lateral involvement walked significantly slower compared to the healthy controls. No movement adaptations to decrease the loading on the injured condyle were observed. Additionally, the location of loading was not significantly affected. Interpretation The current results suggest that isolated cartilage defects do not induce significant changes in the knee joint loading distribution. Consequently, the involved condyle will capture a physiological loading magnitude that should however be distributed over the cartilage surrounding the defect. This may cause local degenerative changes in the cartilage and in combination with inflammatory responses, might play a key role in the progression from articular cartilage defect to a more severe OA phenotype

Cultural omnivores or culturally homeless? Exploring the shifting cultural identities of the upwardly mobile

The concept of the cultural omnivore has become increasingly influential in cultural sociology. Its proponents argue that it has now become a badge of honour to be eclectic and omnivorous in one’s cultural preferences and explicitly not be seen as an exclusivist cultural ‘snob’. It is even argued that omnivorousness represents a new source of social and cultural capital, enhancing one’s ability to communicate with diverse groups and nurturing greater cultural and political tolerance. Drawing on a large-scale survey of British comedy taste and 24 follow-up interviews, this paper strongly challenges existing representations of the cultural omnivore. Among comedy consumers, I only find omnivorousness among one social group; the upwardly mobile. However, notably, the culture switching of these respondents does not seem to yield the social benefits assumed by other omnivore studies. In contrast, the life histories of these respondents reveals that omnivorousness is more a bi-product of life trajectories - whereby lowbrow comedy taste is established during childhood but then highbrow taste is added as cultural capital resources grow. Significantly, though, this combination of tastes has more negative than positive implications, leaving socially mobile respondents largely uncertain of their cultural identities. While they lack the ‘natural’ confidence to communicate new, more legitimate, tastes as embodied cultural capital, their upwardly mobile trajectory means they are also acutely aware that the tastes of their youth are socially unacceptable and aesthetically inferior. In short, these comedy consumers are more accurately described as culturally homeless, caught with one foot in two different taste cultures

Emergence of a globally dominant IncHI1 plasmid type associated with multiple drug resistant typhoid.

Typhoid fever, caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi), remains a serious global health concern. Since their emergence in the mid-1970s multi-drug resistant (MDR) S. Typhi now dominate drug sensitive equivalents in many regions. MDR in S. Typhi is almost exclusively conferred by self-transmissible IncHI1 plasmids carrying a suite of antimicrobial resistance genes. We identified over 300 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within conserved regions of the IncHI1 plasmid, and genotyped both plasmid and chromosomal SNPs in over 450 S. Typhi dating back to 1958. Prior to 1995, a variety of IncHI1 plasmid types were detected in distinct S. Typhi haplotypes. Highly similar plasmids were detected in co-circulating S. Typhi haplotypes, indicative of plasmid transfer. In contrast, from 1995 onwards, 98% of MDR S. Typhi were plasmid sequence type 6 (PST6) and S. Typhi haplotype H58, indicating recent global spread of a dominant MDR clone. To investigate whether PST6 conferred a selective advantage compared to other IncHI1 plasmids, we used a phenotyping array to compare the impact of IncHI1 PST6 and PST1 plasmids in a common S. Typhi host. The PST6 plasmid conferred the ability to grow in high salt medium (4.7% NaCl), which we demonstrate is due to the presence in PST6 of the Tn6062 transposon encoding BetU