Strengthening the Therapeutic Relationship Through Mirroring in a Dance/Movement Therapy Group for People with Alzheimer\u27s Disease: A Descriptive Study

The purpose of this research was to explore the dance/movement therapy intervention of mirroring within a Chacian modality and its effects on creating, maintaining, and deepening a therapeutic relationship between two women who are living with Alzheimer’s and the researcher/facilitator, a dance/movement therapy intern. This research project was part of an internship at an adult day center for people living with Alzheimer’s. Six, half-hour, videotaped dance/movement therapy sessions were devoted to this thesis study. The indicators, which exemplified that a therapeutic relationship was created, maintained, and deepened were changes in facial expressions and postural shifts. These indicators were noted through two forms of data collection and analysis. First, the researcher’s journal entries were written after each therapy session and were analyzed using content and conceptual analysis. Secondly, shape flow (see Appendix A), defined by Kestenberg as the growing and shrinking of the body in which expressions of feelings are communicated to self and others (Kestenberg Amighi, Loman, Lewis, & Sossin, 1999), was observed through video analysis and recorded on a movement coding sheet in response to the intervention of mirroring. Findings concluded that a relationship was created and maintained throughout the dance/movement therapy sessions as evidenced by three themes related to group cohesion, shared movement, and the expression of feelings. These themes correlated with growing shape flow as reflected in more open postures and brighter affects

Surveillance and Epidemiology of the Pertussis Resurgence in the United States, 1990-2010.

After a period of successful control, pertussis or whooping cough has, in the past decade, had large nationwide epidemics with a new adolescent risk-group. The surveillance confirmation criteria for pertussis included DNA testing by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) beginning in 1997, which is more sensitive than the culture gold-standard laboratory test, especially in adolescents and adults. This dissertation uses surveillance date from the state of Michigan to retrospectively assess the internal validity of reported pertussis surveillance cases. Data from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention evaluated characteristics predictive of high incidence counties. Michigan pertussis records (2000 - 2010) were evaluated according to the clinical case definition; a third included positive PCR results. Confirmed and probable cases comprised 69.4% of the data, and another 14% could have been confirmed had an adequate cough length been reported. An odds of insufficient cough duration was reported among PCR positive cases, 2.9 (95% CI: 1.57 - 2.79) times greater than in those without PCR positive results. Similar findings were observed for cases confirmed by culture and epidemiologic linkage. These findings show confirmatory criteria are frequently given precedence over the clinical case definition. We recommend that the case definition be more internally consistent with regard to the role of positive laboratory results. This dissertation illustrates that the current pertussis surveillance case definition has high internal validity. Surveillance cases need to be held to more stringent criteria for verification than for medical diagnosis, since it is the basis for allocation of time and resources for case and outbreak investigation. County-level regression analysis of socio-structural risk-factors in national United States pertussis data (1990 - 2008), indicated that denser counties with a higher prevalence of healthcare barriers and poor child health were associated with decreased pertussis incidence. We observed an element of disease risk associated with county-level factors. Our findings could be explained either by low rates of disease or a less developed surveillance structure. Further research to identify the county elements driving the risk differential is needed to tailor both vaccination and outbreak response efforts to local needs.PHDEpidemiological ScienceUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102294/1/jkknapp_1.pd

Young families under stress: outcomes and costs of Home-Start support

Supporting parents is central to the current government’s approach to improving children’s lives. However, little is as yet known about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of family support services. This study evaluates one of these – Home-Start – which is currently one of the largest family support organisations in the UK. Established over thirty years ago, it offers volunteer home visiting support to families with children under five years of age.Comparing a study group of young families who received Home-Start support with a comparison group who did not, the study explores the mothers’ views and needs at the outset of the study. It reports their views one year later, and considers the outcomes at that stage. The economic situation of the families and their receipt of services over time are analysed, and the cost-effectiveness of Home-Start is addressed. The concluding chapter summarises the key findings of the study.The authors found that although the mothers who had received the support of a Home-Start volunteer obviously valued the service, there was no clear evidence that it had made a positive difference to them in terms of outcomes, relative to those of the families in the comparison group. They suggest that the results did not therefore point to a cost-effectiveness advantage for Home-Start. Given that the support was offered only on a low intensity basis (one home visit per week), the authors suggest that a longer term follow up would be advisable before reaching firm conclusions about the impact of the service

Disruptive technology for vector control: the Innovative Vector Control Consortium and the US Military join forces to explore transformative insecticide application technology for mosquito control programmes

Malaria vector control technology has remained largely static for decades and there is a pressing need for innovative control tools and methodology to radically improve the quality and efficiency of current vector control practices. This report summarizes a workshop jointly organized by the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) and the Armed Forces Pest Management Board (AFPMB) focused on public health pesticide application technology. Three main topics were discussed: the limitations with current tools and techniques used for indoor residual spraying (IRS), technology innovation to improve efficacy of IRS programmes, and truly disruptive application technology beyond IRS. The group identified several opportunities to improve application technology to include: insuring all IRS programmes are using constant flow valves and erosion resistant tips; introducing compression sprayer improvements that help minimize pesticide waste and human error; and moving beyond IRS by embracing the potential for new larval source management techniques and next generation technology such as unmanned “smart” spray systems. The meeting served to lay the foundation for broader collaboration between the IVCC and AFPMB and partners in industry, the World Health Organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and others

Automated Determination of [Fe/H] and [C/Fe] from Low-Resolution Spectroscopy

We develop an automated spectral synthesis technique for the estimation of metallicities ([Fe/H]) and carbon abundances ([C/Fe]) for metal-poor stars, including carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars, for which other methods may prove insufficient. This technique, autoMOOG, is designed to operate on relatively strong features visible in even low- to medium-resolution spectra, yielding results comparable to much more telescope-intensive high-resolution studies. We validate this method by comparison with 913 stars which have existing high-resolution and low- to medium-resolution to medium-resolution spectra, and that cover a wide range of stellar parameters. We find that at low metallicities ([Fe/H] < -2.0), we successfully recover both the metallicity and carbon abundance, where possible, with an accuracy of ~ 0.20 dex. At higher metallicities, due to issues of continuum placement in spectral normalization done prior to the running of autoMOOG, a general underestimate of the overall metallicity of a star is seen, although the carbon abundance is still successfully recovered. As a result, this method is only recommended for use on samples of stars of known sufficiently low metallicity. For these low-metallicity stars, however, autoMOOG performs much more consistently and quickly than similar, existing techniques, which should allow for analyses of large samples of metal-poor stars in the near future. Steps to improve and correct the continuum placement difficulties are being pursued.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures; accepted for publication in A

Target gene selectivity of the myogenic basic helix–loop–helix transcription factor myogenin in embryonic muscle

AbstractThe myogenic regulatory factors MyoD and myogenin are crucial for skeletal muscle development. Despite their importance, the mechanisms by which these factors selectively regulate different target genes are unclear. The purpose of the present investigation was to compare embryonic skeletal muscle from myogenin+/+ and myogenin−/− mice to identify genes whose expression was dependent on the presence of myogenin but not MyoD and to determine whether myogenin-binding sites could be found within regulatory regions of myogenin-dependent genes independent of MyoD. We identified a set of 140 muscle-expressed genes whose expression in embryonic tongue muscle of myogenin−/− mice was downregulated in the absence of myogenin, but in the presence of MyoD. Myogenin bound within conserved regulatory regions of several of the downregulated genes, but MyoD bound only to a subset of these same regions, suggesting that many downregulated genes were selective targets of myogenin. The regulatory regions activated gene expression in cultured myoblasts and fibroblasts overexpressing myogenin or MyoD, indicating that expression from exogenously introduced DNA could not recapitulate the selectivity for myogenin observed in vivo. The results identify new target genes for myogenin and show that myogenin's target gene selectivity is not based solely on binding site sequences

Mifepristone increases mRNA translation rate, triggers the unfolded protein response, increases autophagic flux, and kills ovarian cancer cells in combination with proteasome or lysosome inhibitors

The synthetic steroid mifepristone blocks the growth of ovarian cancer cells, yet the mechanism driving such effect is not entirely understood. Unbiased genomic and proteomic screenings using ovarian cancer cell lines of different genetic backgrounds and sensitivities to platinum led to the identification of two key genes upregulated by mifepristone and involved in the unfolded protein response (UPR): the master chaperone of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), glucose regulated protein (GRP) of 78 kDa, and the CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous transcription factor (CHOP). GRP78 and CHOP were upregulated by mifepristone in ovarian cancer cells regardless of p53 status and platinum sensitivity. Further studies revealed that the three UPR-associated pathways, PERK, IRE1α, and ATF6, were activated by mifepristone. Also, the synthetic steroid acutely increased mRNA translation rate, which, if prevented, abrogated the splicing of XBP1 mRNA, a non-translatable readout of IRE1α activation. Moreover, mifepristone increased LC3-II levels due to increased autophagic flux. When the autophagic–lysosomal pathway was inhibited with chloroquine, mifepristone was lethal to the cells. Lastly, doses of proteasome inhibitors that are inadequate to block the activity of the proteasomes, caused cell death when combined with mifepristone; this phenotype was accompanied by accumulation of poly-ubiquitinated proteins denoting proteasome inhibition. The stimulation by mifepristone of ER stress and autophagic flux offers a therapeutic opportunity for utilizing this compound to sensitize ovarian cancer cells to proteasome or lysosome inhibitors.Fil: Zhang, Lei. University Of South Dakota; Estados UnidosFil: Hapon, María Belén. University Of South Dakota; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Goyeneche, Alicia A.. University Of South Dakota; Estados Unidos. McGill University; CanadáFil: Srinivasan, Rekha. University Of South Dakota; Estados UnidosFil: Gamarra Luques, Carlos Diego. University Of South Dakota; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Callegari, Eduardo A.. University Of South Dakota; Estados UnidosFil: Drappeau, Donis D.. University Of South Dakota; Estados UnidosFil: Terpstra, Erin J.. University Of South Dakota; Estados UnidosFil: Pan, Bo. University Of South Dakota; Estados UnidosFil: Knapp, Jennifer R.. University of Kansas; Estados UnidosFil: Chien, Jeremy. University of Kansas; Estados UnidosFil: Wang, Xuejun. University Of South Dakota; Estados UnidosFil: Eyster, Kathleen M.. University Of South Dakota; Estados UnidosFil: Telleria, Carlos Marcelo. University Of South Dakota; Estados Unidos. McGill University; Canadá. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Studying the complexity of change: toward an analytical framework for understanding deliberate social-ecological transformations

Faced with numerous seemingly intractable social and environmental challenges, many scholars and practitioners are increasingly interested in understanding how to actively engage and transform the existing systems holding such problems in place. Although a variety of analytical models have emerged in recent years, most emphasize either the social or ecological elements of such transformations rather than their coupled nature. To address this, first we have presented a definition of the core elements of a social-ecological system (SES) that could potentially be altered in a transformation. Second, we drew on insights about transformation from three branches of literature focused on radical change, i.e., social movements, socio-technical transitions, and social innovation, and gave consideration to the similarities and differences with the current studies by resilience scholars. Drawing on these findings, we have proposed a framework that outlines the process and phases of transformative change in an SES. Future research will be able to utilize the framework as a tool for analyzing the alteration of social-ecological feedbacks, identifying critical barriers and leverage points and assessing the outcome of social-ecological transformations

Performance of a constructed wetland in Grand Marais, Manitoba, Canada : removal of nutrients, pharmaceuticals, and antibiotic resistance genes from municipal wastewater

Background The discharge of complex mixtures of nutrients, organic micropollutants, and antibiotic resistance genes from treated municipal wastewater into freshwater systems are global concerns for human health and aquatic organisms. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are genes that have the ability to impart resistance to antibiotics and reduce the efficacy of antibiotics in the systems in which they are found. In the rural community of Grand Marais, Manitoba, Canada, wastewater is treated passively in a sewage lagoon prior to passage through a treatment wetland and subsequent release into surface waters. Using this facility as a model system for the Canadian Prairies, the two aims of this study were to assess: (a) the presence of nutrients, micropollutants (i.e., pesticides, pharmaceuticals), and ARGs in lagoon outputs, and (b) their potential removal by the treatment wetland prior to release to surface waters in 2012. Results As expected, concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus species were greatest in the lagoon and declined with movement through the wetland treatment system. Pharmaceutical and agricultural chemicals were detected at concentrations in the ng/L range. Concentrations of these compounds spiked downstream of the lagoon following discharge and attenuation was observed as the effluent migrated through the wetland system. Hazard quotients calculated for micropollutants of interest indicated minimal toxicological risk to aquatic biota, and results suggest that the wetland attenuated atrazine and carbamazepine significantly. There was no significant targeted removal of ARGs in the wetland and our data suggest that the bacterial population in this system may have genes imparting antibiotic resistance. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that while the treatment wetland may effectively attenuate excess nutrients and remove some micropollutants and bacteria, it does not specifically target ARGs for removal. Additional studies would be beneficial to determine whether upgrades to extend retention time or alter plant community structure within the wetland would optimize removal of micropollutants and ARGs to fully characterize the utility of these systems on the Canadian Prairies.