Pet Advocate Program for the Homeless in Missoula, MT

Studies have shown the importance of the relationship that homeless individuals, including victims of domestic violence, have with their pets. This relationship can often create a barrier to accessing emergency shelters since not many shelters accept pets. This paper examines the need to create a community-wide program in Missoula, MT which provides a way to house pets while their owners access emergency shelters. The final section of this paper proposes a “Pet Advocate Program” that could be adopted by the Humane Society of Western Montana

A study of the relationships between intelligence quotient, school marks and success in swimming

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Protein based technologies to identify, study, and control intracellular processes

2017 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.Proteins are increasingly used as basic research tools and therapeutics. Their large size, complex structure, and functional group diversity, by virtue of amino acids, often permit recognition of surfaces that challenge small-molecules. Fundamentally, this thesis describes protein based solutions to identifying macromolecules that function inside mammalian cells, enabling visualization and the study of complex biological processes in cellular environments. It also describes the development of engineered polycationic cell-penetrating nanobodies that access the cytosol and thus possibly represent a general solution to intracellularly targeted biologics drug discovery. Collectively, the work described in this thesis reports on: (1) a prostate cancer cell-selective cell penetrating peptide, and its optimization; (2) cell-penetrating nanobodies that access the cytosol of mammalian cells; (3) the use of engineered protein assemblies for bioanalytical reagents and to visualize transcription and translation in mammalian cells, and; (4) a new protein reassembly-based technology to measure cytosolic residence of intracellularly delivered proteins. Technologies and methods described in this work advance the use of proteins in basic science and therapeutically-relevant environments

The possibilities of different geographies

'The Possibilities of Different Geographies’ is the title of a dance work Jane Carr and Bruce Sharp  first created in 1997 that investigated the significance of human embodiment. Twenty years later they revisited the themes informing their earlier work in order to create a participatory performance-installation focused on the significance of the embodied dimensions of intersubjective experience.   The authors present the philosophical and political ideas underpinning their aims to challenge the boundaries that act as limits upon how humans experience their embodied identities and reflect on how, in developing the project, artistic and activist principles became interwoven. They describe the creation of movement scores for participants to perform and consider how elements of movement, sound, lighting and opportunities for reflection contribute to an environment that affords creative participation focused on the intercorporeal dimension of human geographies.

Resident Perceptions of a Controversial Annual Event

A survey of 880 residents revealed diverse attitudes toward Gold Coast Schoolies Week, an annual high school-leaver celebration characterized by partying and drinking. ‘Conditional supporters’ (33%) or ‘conditional opponents’ (34%) provided complex assessments of costs and benefits, as per social exchange theory, that include considerations of ‘noncosts’ and ‘nonbenefits’. With regard to social representations, ‘opponents’ (18%) are more likely to be influenced by mass media, social circles and negative personal exposure, whilst ‘supporters’ (15%) are more likely to rely on their own and their children’s schoolie experience. Balanced media coverage is one means for improving resident perceptions

The uncertainty contagion: Revealing the interrelated, cascading uncertainties of managed retreat

Managed retreat presents a dilemma for at-risk communities, and the planning practitioners and decisionmakers working to address natural hazard and climate change risks. The dilemma boils down to the countervailing imperatives of moving out of harm’s way versus retaining ties to community and place. While there are growing calls for its use, managed retreat remains challenging in practice—across diverse settings. The approach has been tested with varied success in a number of countries, but significant uncertainties remain, such as regarding who ‘manages’ it, when and how it should occur, at whose cost, and to where? Drawing upon a case study of managed retreat in New Zealand, this research uncovers intersecting and compounding arenas of uncertainty regarding the approach, responsibilities, legality, funding, politics and logistics of managed retreat. Where uncertainty is present in one domain, it spreads into others creating a cascading series of political, personal and professional risks that impact trust in science and authority and affect people’s lives and risk exposure. In revealing these mutually dependent dimensions of uncertainty, we argue there is merit in refocusing attention away from policy deficits, barrier approaches or technical assessments as a means to provide ‘certainty’, to instead focus on the relations between forms of knowledge and coordinating interactions between the diverse arenas: scientific, governance, financial, political and socio-cultural; otherwise uncertainty can spread like a contagion, making inaction more likely

Antenna mechanism of length control of actin cables

Actin cables are linear cytoskeletal structures that serve as tracks for myosin-based intracellular transport of vesicles and organelles in both yeast and mammalian cells. In a yeast cell undergoing budding, cables are in constant dynamic turnover yet some cables grow from the bud neck toward the back of the mother cell until their length roughly equals the diameter of the mother cell. This raises the question: how is the length of these cables controlled? Here we describe a novel molecular mechanism for cable length control inspired by recent experimental observations in cells. This antenna mechanism involves three key proteins: formins, which polymerize actin, Smy1 proteins, which bind formins and inhibit actin polymerization, and myosin motors, which deliver Smy1 to formins, leading to a length-dependent actin polymerization rate. We compute the probability distribution of cable lengths as a function of several experimentally tuneable parameters such as the formin-binding affinity of Smy1 and the concentration of myosin motors delivering Smy1. These results provide testable predictions of the antenna mechanism of actin-cable length control

Household ownership and use of insecticide treated nets among target groups after implementation of a national voucher programme in the United Republic of Tanzania: plausibility study using three annual cross sectional household surveys.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of the Tanzania National Voucher Scheme on the coverage and equitable distribution of insecticide treated nets, used to prevent malaria, to pregnant women and their infants. DESIGN: Plausibility study using three nationally representative cross sectional household and health facility surveys, timed to take place early, mid-way, and at the end of the roll out of the national programme. SETTING: The Tanzania National Voucher Scheme was implemented in antenatal services, and phased in on a district by district basis from October 2004 covering all of mainland Tanzania in May 2006. PARTICIPANTS: 6115, 6260, and 6198 households (in 2005, 2006, and 2007, respectively) in a representative sample of 21 districts (out of a total of 113). INTERVENTIONS: A voucher worth $2.45 ( pound1.47, euro1.74) to be used as part payment for the purchase of a net from a local shop was given to every pregnant woman attending antenatal services. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Insecticide treated net coverage was measured as household ownership of at least one net and use of a net the night before the survey. Socioeconomic distribution of nets was examined using an asset based index. RESULTS: Steady increases in net coverage indicators were observed over the three year study period. Between 2005 and 2007, household ownership of at least one net (untreated or insecticide treated) increased from 44% (2686/6115) to 65% (4006/6198; P<0.001), and ownership of at least one insecticide treated net doubled from 18% (1062/5961) to 36% (2229/6198) in the same period (P<0.001). Among infants under 1 year of age, use of any net increased from 33% (388/1180) to 56% (707/1272; P<0.001) and use of an insecticide treated net increased from 16% (188/1180) to 34% (436/1272; P<0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, household ownership was positively associated with time since programme launch, although this association did not reach statistical significance (P=0.09). Each extra year of programme operation was associated with a 9 percentage point increase in household insecticide treated net ownership (95% confidence interval -1.6 to 20). In 2005, only 7% (78/1115) of nets in households with a child under 1 year of age had been purchased with a voucher; this value increased to 50% (608/1211) in 2007 (P<0.001). In 2007, infants under 1 year in the least poor quintile were more than three times more likely to have used an insecticide treated net than infants in the poorest quintile (54% v 16%; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The Tanzania National Voucher Scheme was associated with impressive increases in the coverage of insecticide treated nets over a two year period. Gaps in coverage remain, however, especially in the poorest groups. A voucher system that facilitates routine delivery of insecticide treated nets is a feasible option to "keep up" coverage

The influence of socioeconomic deprivation on multimorbidity at different ages: a cross-sectional study

&lt;b&gt;Background&lt;/b&gt; Multimorbidity occurs at a younger age in individuals in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation but little is known about the 'typology' of multimorbidity in different age groups and its association with socioeconomic status.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Aim&lt;/b&gt; To characterise multimorbidity type and most common conditions in a large nationally representative primary care dataset in terms of age and deprivation.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Design and setting&lt;/b&gt; Cross-sectional analysis of 1 272 685 adults in Scotland.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Method&lt;/b&gt; Multimorbidity type of participants (physical-only, mental-only, mixed physical, and mental) and most common conditions were analysed according to age and deprivation.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Results&lt;/b&gt; Multimorbidity increased with age, ranging from 8.1% in those aged 25–34 to 76.1% for those aged &#8805;75 years. Physical-only (56% of all multimorbidity) was the most common type of multimorbidity in those aged &#8805;55 years, and did not vary substantially with deprivation. Mental-only was uncommon (4% of all multimorbidity), whereas mixed physical and mental (40% of all multimorbidity) was the most common type of multimorbidity in those aged &#60;55 years and was two- to threefold more common in the most deprived compared with the least deprived in most age groups. Ten conditions (seven physical and three mental) accounted for the top five most common conditions in people with multimorbidity in all age groups. Depression and pain featured in the top five conditions across all age groups. Deprivation was associated with a higher prevalence of depression, drugs misuse, anxiety, dyspepsia, pain, coronary heart disease, and diabetes in multimorbid patients at different ages.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Conclusion&lt;/b&gt; Mixed physical and mental multimorbidity is common across the life-span and is exacerbated by deprivation from early adulthood onwards