Soft City: Reclaiming Urban Public Spaces for Play

This thesis explores the relationship between children’s play and urban public spaces. What kinds of play are prioritized, and consequently, what ways of learning are celebrated above others? How are public spaces serving or not serving to nurture children’s development and joy? The thesis design project is a strategic plan for spatial activism. Using a “guerilla architecture” approach, I am developing a series of workshops with the local community that culminate in collectively designed urban installations. This participatory design process enables people to perceive public spaces in new ways, and it invites community members and children to become active parts of their own everyday living environment

Student perspectives on a collaborative international doctorate of pharmacy program

Objectives: To evaluate the educational experience and teaching methods of the collaborative Doctorate of Pharmacy (PharmD) program between the University of Malta (UM) and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Methods: A 41-question survey was developed to identify student demographics, satisfaction with the PharmD program and the utility of the current curricular components. Students who enrolled in the program in May 2017 were invited to participate. The survey contained open-ended, 5-point Likert, and multiple-choice type questions. The primary outcomes were the overall satisfaction and student motivations for pursuing the program. Secondary outcomes included the level of difficulty of courses, evaluation of assessment methods, and confidence in an interdisciplinary team. Results: Thirty-six students completed the survey (a response rate of 83.7%). The mean age was 30.1 ± 7.9 years. The majority of the students pursued the PharmD program to improve their knowledge, skills, and opportunity for obtaining a clinical position. The mean overall satisfaction of the program was 3.81 ± 1.1 (5 = very satisfied). Among the core courses, Pharmacotherapeutics had the highest overall satisfaction (4.45 ± 0.91) and level of difficulty (3.84 ± 0.51). Students felt that the tutorials/recitation case discussion sessions were the most effective teaching method (48.4%) and ranked faculties conducting case-based lectures highest for overall performance. Most students felt somewhat confident (54.8%) for participating in a multidisciplinary team. Conclusions: The UM/UIC PharmD Program is a unique program, utilizing a hybrid model of teaching, including distance education, to expose students to a broad and challenging curriculum in clinical pharmacy practice. Students are satisfied with this collaborative, international postgraduate PharmD program.peer-reviewe

Functional muscle hypertrophy by increased insulin-like growth factor 1 does not require dysferlin.

IntroductionDysferlin loss-of-function mutations cause muscular dystrophy, accompanied by impaired membrane repair and muscle weakness. Growth promoting strategies including insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) could provide benefit but may cause strength loss or be ineffective. The objective of this study was to determine whether locally increased IGF-1 promotes functional muscle hypertrophy in dysferlin-null (Dysf-/- ) mice.MethodsMuscle-specific transgenic expression and postnatal viral delivery of Igf1 were used in Dysf-/- and control mice. Increased IGF-1 levels were confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Testing for skeletal muscle mass and function was performed in male and female mice.ResultsMuscle hypertrophy occurred in response to increased IGF-1 in mice with and without dysferlin. Male mice showed a more robust response compared with females. Increased IGF-1 did not cause loss of force per cross-sectional area in Dysf-/- muscles.DiscussionWe conclude that increased local IGF-1 promotes functional hypertrophy when dysferlin is absent and reestablishes IGF-1 as a potential therapeutic for dysferlinopathies