Indefinite Ethnicity in Fact and Fiction: Invisible Color or Honkified Meanderings ?

Passing, both standard and reverse, is the process of changing ethnicity. The methodology of reverse passing varies, but claiming no color is ineffective in fact and fiction as can be seen in James McBride\u27s The Color of Water, Shirlee Taylor Haizlip\u27s The Sweeter the Juice, Danzy Senna\u27s Caucasia, and Rosellen Brown\u27s Half a Heart. The characters in these texts attempt indefinite ethnicity by denying color and are prone to restlessness and failure until they accept racial duality

Psychological distress, power and leaving care: a social justice approach

Social work aims to promote human wellbeing through “social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people” (AASW, 2010, p. 7). To achieve these aims, it is important to consider the various power dynamics within society. Much of the current research in the mental health field is examining the link between power imbalances and psychological distress (Johnstone et al., 2018; Morley, 2003). Understanding power, however, is fraught with complexities, and understanding power within a social work and social justice context is further complicated. The intersectionality of mental health, biomedical discourse, power dynamics and issues arising from transitioning from care (whilst acknowledging the young person’s experiences in care and prior to care) is similarly complex, and confusion around the social workers’ role understandably reflects this. This paper argues that if we acknowledge and work with the positive power that exists, we can challenge current discourses that utilise negative power, and together we can create better outcomes for care leavers

Factors affecting benthic diatom assemblages in shallow, lowland lakes

In lowland, shallow lakes, benthic diatom assemblages are affected by several parameters, including nutrient concentration, seasonality, light, and substrate. This thesis aims to establish which factors most affect these assemblages and explores the feasibility of using these organisms to monitor standing water quality. A one-year field study was carried out in five shallow lakes of varying trophic status in Norfolk, UK, in which a set of substrata (submerged, emergent and floating plants, and lake sediment) were collected for diatom harvesting. A range of physical and chemical parameters of the water column were measured on each sampling occasion. These data were subjected to multivariate analyses (PCA, DCA, RDA, variance partitioning). Diatom optima and tolerances for certain parameters were calculated and biodiversity indices were used to assess differences between diatom communities over substrates and time. Based on patterns observed in the one-year study, namely that some differentiation in diatom community composition was evident between plant species, two sets of experiments were carried out in situ. The first involved plastic plants placed into three of the lakes to assess diatom community differentiation according to plant morphology. One set was a control, whilst the other was placed into a mesh cage to reduce grazing by invertebrates. Higher numbers of diatom species were observed on the grazed plants, and vertical colonisation differences were evident. The highly divided leaved plants appeared to develop a community similar to that of the less divided leaved plants. The second experiment involved bamboo canes placed into reed beds at two sites to assess community changes along a light gradient. Actual Phragmites stems were also sampled to measure the differences between the artificial substrate and the natural ones. The epiphytic community appeared to respond to changes in light intensity and the canes developed a flora similar to that of the real stems. The factors most affecting the benthic diatom communities were substrate, and to a lesser extent, total phosphorus and light. Submerged plants are recommended as the optimal substrate for monitoring as they combine practicality with sensitivity

Final Report of the Evaluation of the San Mateo County Children's Health Initiative

Summarizes key findings from a five-year evaluation of the county's Children's Health Initiative -- its outreach and enrollment efforts, the impact on children enrolled in the Healthy Kids program, areas for improvement, and financing challenges

THE INFLUENCE OF SURFACTANTS ON THE SORPTION OF PHENANTHRENE IN NATURAL WATERS

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widely recognised as harmful, persistent organic pollutants, whilst surfactants are more easily degraded but their ubiquitous use both domestically and industrially ensures their presence in natural waters. Owing to both their hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties, surfactants are capable of both adsolubilisation and solubilisation of co-contaminants, hence, their presence in natural waters is considered extremely significant. The purpose of this research was to determine how surfactants and PAHs influence each other in estuaries where both are co-disposed. This study is the first to employ environmentally realistic concentrations of surfactants and to use natural particles in order to determine how changes in surfactant behaviour impinge on the sorption of a representative PAH to sediment. The experimental method employed involved tracing the solubility and sorption of a '''C-labelled PAH (phenanthrene) in the presence of representative surfactants from the three main groups, i.e., anionic, nonionic and cationic. Initially the four compounds were examined in isolation at two temperatures (8°C and 20°C), salinities and particle concentrations. The next stage involved incorporating each surfactant with phenanthrene in the same experiment and repeating the range of variables. Solubility and adsorption of phenanthrene in the presence of Triton X-100, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) or hexadecyltrimethylammonium iodide (HDTMA) proved to be highly complex. The adsorption, expressed as a Freundlich coefficient, KF was generally nonlinear and varied according to surfactant type, salinity, temperature, and contact sequence. The overriding influence, however, was sediment particulate matter (SPM) concentration. On some occasions the surfactants in isolation displayed unusual particle concentration effects (PCE), such as an increase of surfactant in the aqueous phase as the SPM concentration increased. Despite this, they all generally exaggerate the more typical PCE displayed by phenanthrene, where the particle-water partition coefficient is reduced as particle concentration increases. This effect is then modified by temperature and contact sequence, which has important environmental implications with regard to removal or release of compounds stored within sediments. However, overall, at environmentally relevant concentrations, the surfactants appear to enhance sorption, rather than solubility, with HDTMA the most effective surfactant at removing phenanthrene from the aqueous phase.BMT Marine Information Systems Limited Southampton and AstraZeneca Brixha

End-of-life care and dementia

In the UK, research continues to confirm that people with certain chronic illnesses, such as chronic lung disease and cardiac failure, represent the ‘disadvantaged dying’ compared to those with terminal cancer. But what is the situation for people dying with advanced dementia and what is the experience of their carers? Practical guidance for clinicians is scarce. In Standard 7 of the National Service Framework for Older People, which covers mental health, there is mention neither of how care should be provided nor of how patient choice should be ensured for people with dementia at the end of life. In the UK, 5% of the population aged 65 and over and 20% of those aged 80 and over have dementia similar prevalence figures are found in the USA. Current predictions suggest that the number of people with dementia will increase by 40% by 2026 and will double by 2050. The increased demand for end-of-life care for people with dementia will be associated with major social and economic costs, but what is the current standard of such care? How can the quality be improved? And how should future services be configured to cope with this increasing need? In this paper, we review current knowledge around end-of-life care in dementia, discuss the clinical challenges and ethical dilemmas presented to carers, consider the difficulties in delivering such care and suggest practical approaches to improve the quality of such care

Role-emerging placements in pharmacy undergraduate education: perceptions of students

Context: Role-emerging placements (REPs) can be a unique opportunity for pharmacy students to understand patient care issues and see the value of a multi-disciplinary team. Description: Optional REPs were piloted in an MPharm degree course, in a range of day hospitals and patient groups. This project aimed to evaluate students’ perceptions on the placement’s contribution to their professional development. Evaluation: Twenty percent of the 59 students who attended the placement participated in two focus groups. High satisfaction with their REP was reported, with an emphasis on increased understanding of the role of multidisciplinary teams, patient perceptions and impact on pharmaceutical care. Although introducing a new scheme brought some challenges, these are not insurmountable. As such, the benefits of REPs are likely to be ongoing and the results are therefore encouraging for other Schools of Pharmacy. Future plans: REPs will become an integral part of this University’s MPharm syllabus

The use of Multiple Displacement Amplified DNA as a control for Methylation Specific PCR, Pyrosequencing, Bisulfite Sequencing and Methylation-Sensitive Restriction Enzyme PCR

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Genomic DNA methylation affects approximately 1% of DNA bases in humans, with the most common event being the addition of a methyl group to the cytosine residue present in the CpG (cytosine-guanine) dinucleotide. Methylation is of particular interest because of its role in gene silencing in many pathological conditions. CpG methylation can be measured using a wide range of techniques, including methylation-specific (MS) PCR, pyrosequencing (PSQ), bisulfite sequencing (BS) and methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme (MSRE) PCR. However, although it is possible to utilise these methods to measure CpG methylation, optimisation of the assays can be complicated due to the absence of suitable control DNA samples.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To address this problem, we have developed an approach that employs multiple displacement based whole genome amplification (WGA) with or without <it>SssI</it>-methylase treatment to generate CpG methylated and CpG unmethylated DNA, respectively, that come from the same source DNA.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Using these alternately methylated DNA samples, we have been able to develop and optimise reliable MS-PCR, PSQ, BS and MRSE-PCR assays for CpG methylation detection, which would otherwise not have been possible, or at least have been significantly more difficult.</p