Between crime and colony: Interrogating (im)mobilities aboard the convict ship

Recent literature in carceral geography has attended to the importance of mobilities in interrogating the experience and control of spaces of imprisonment, detention and confinement. Scholars have explored the paradoxical nature of incarcerated experience as individuals oscillate between moments of fixity and motion as they are transported to/from carceral environments. This paper draws upon the convict ship – an example yet to gain attention within these emerging discussions – which is both an exemplar of this paradox and a lens through which to complicate understandings of carceral (im)mobilities. The ship is a space of macro-movement from point A to B, whilst simultaneously a site of apparent confinement for those aboard who are unable to move beyond its physical parameters. Yet, we contend that all manner of mobilities permeate the internal space of the ship. Accordingly, we challenge the binary thinking that separates moments of fixity from motion and explore the constituent parts that shape movement. In paying attention to movements in motion on the ship, we argue that studies of carceral mobility must attend to both methods of moving in the space between points A and B; as micro, embodied and intimate (im)mobilities are also played out within large-scale regimes of movement

A Generalizable Multimodal Scrub Training Curriculum in Surgical Sterile Technique

Introduction: Recent endeavors from governing bodies such as the AAMC have formally recognized the importance of aseptic technique. AAMC guidelines include activities that all graduating physicians should be able to perform with minimum indirect supervision and were developed to recognize these needs. For example, the skills necessary for aseptic technique include daily safety habits and general physician procedures. Methods: We developed a scrub training curriculum and evaluated the program through a quasi-experimental study with a pre- and posttest design. Questions were developed to examine students' perceived knowledge and skills as related to the objectives of the course and to their anxieties, concerns, and future training needs. Results: Between February 2020 and March 2020, 44 students completed the curriculum. Students indicated that self-efficacy significantly increased in all aspects of the curricular goals following curriculum completion. Students identified understanding OR etiquette as the most anxiety-provoking element associated with scrub training. They felt that more time could be spent elucidating this etiquette. On the other hand, tasks such as surgical hand hygiene were the least anxiety-inducing. Discussion: We share this multimodal scrub training curriculum, mapped to the AAMC's guidelines, to reduce variability in teaching strategies and skills acquisition through a standardized curriculum. Also, we effectively imparted these skills and instilled a sense of confidence in learners as they worked to provide their best in patient care and safety

Principles of genetic circuit design

Cells navigate environments, communicate and build complex patterns by initiating gene expression in response to specific signals. Engineers seek to harness this capability to program cells to perform tasks or create chemicals and materials that match the complexity seen in nature. This Review describes new tools that aid the construction of genetic circuits. Circuit dynamics can be influenced by the choice of regulators and changed with expression 'tuning knobs'. We collate the failure modes encountered when assembling circuits, quantify their impact on performance and review mitigation efforts. Finally, we discuss the constraints that arise from circuits having to operate within a living cell. Collectively, better tools, well-characterized parts and a comprehensive understanding of how to compose circuits are leading to a breakthrough in the ability to program living cells for advanced applications, from living therapeutics to the atomic manufacturing of functional materials.National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U.S.) (Grant P50 GM098792)National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U.S.) (Grant R01 GM095765)National Science Foundation (U.S.). Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (EEC0540879)Life Technologies, Inc. (A114510)National Science Foundation (U.S.). Graduate Research FellowshipUnited States. Office of Naval Research. Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (Grant 4500000552

Physiological regulatory networks: ecological roles and evolutionary constraints

Abstract: Ecological and evolutionary physiology has traditionally focused on aspects of physiology one at a time. Here, we discuss the implications of considering physiological regulatory networks (PRNs) as integrated wholes, a perspective that reveals novel roles for physiology in organismal ecology and evolution. For example, evolutionary response to changes in resource abundance might be constrained by the role of dietary micronutrients in immune response regulation, given a particular pathogen environment. Because many physiological components impact more than one process, organismal homeostasis is maintained, individual fitness is determined, and evolutionary change is constrained (or facilitated) by interactions within PRNs. We discuss how PRN structure and its system-level properties could determine both individual performance and patterns of physiological evolution

Understanding Perceptions of Appalachian Englishes

As entities immersed in mythologies of being isolated, unchanging, monolithic, and monolingual, what people know about Appalachian Englishes comes with a fair share of misunderstandings. This paper explores various data sets and analyses from research in linguistics as a field to bring together the many diverse and nuanced understandings about perceptions of the varieties of English spoken in, across, and around the Appalachian Mountains. To elucidate the (mis)conceptions that surround these varieties, I present research from educational linguistics, dialectology, sociophonetics, linguistic anthropology, and other fields where language, communication, and perception are jointly engaged, presenting the rather bleak picture of places, peoples, and languages shrouded in pejoration. Going beyond what has already been said, I also present some research in progress aimed specifically at measuring what Appalachian Englishes are and where they can be found. Using a perceptual dialectology approach (e.g., Preston 1989, Cramer and Montgomery 2016), and drawing heavily on Ulack and Raitz (1982), this project asks nonlinguists to indicate whether they believe any Appalachian varieties of English exist, and, if so, where, given a map, such varieties can be found. In addition to the map drawing task, participants are also asked what characteristics they associate with Appalachia, its people, and its languages. Preliminary engagement with this type of data reveals that, like in Ulack and Raitz, insiders, outsiders, and cognitive outsiders vary in how they perceive Appalachian Englishes, but the major (primarily negative) stereotypes still surface, even for those who value their Appalachianness