Schizophrenia’s Relationship with Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality

Premature morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) disproportionately affects individuals with schizophrenia. This research paper systematically reviews articles that examine the theories and causes of increased CVD risk in individuals with schizophrenia. The findings of the review indicate that there are biological, environmental and sociocultural components of the relationship between schizophrenia and cardiovascular disease. Inflammation from the progression of chronic schizophrenia appears to play a part. The side-effect profile of the medications used to treat schizophrenia cause CVD risk factors. The secondary and tertiary symptoms of the disease process result in problems in motivation, cognitive function and self- isolation, all which contribute to CVD risk. Sociocultural factors such as increased poverty, homelessness and food insecurity are also higher in this population, which are associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity. In conclusion, further research into contributing factors and funding for services is needed to better understand this issue and reduce the associated public health disparities

You’ve Got a Friend in Things: Thing Theory and Consumerism in Children’s Films

Thing theory has gained traction in recent years after Bill Brown’s essay codified the theory. Using his definition of things and their distinction from objects, as well as drawing from Jane Bennett’s work with the thing/object divide, in particular examining the flat ontology they seek to create between things and humans, I look at the genre of children’s films and how the anthropomorphized characters play into this distinction. After examining two specific films, The Brave Little Toaster and the Toy Story series, I conclude that they subvert the hierarchy laid out by thing theory, and that things are instead a less desirable form of being compared to objects. These films support objects as a preferred method of being, and from this, estrangement with the world is eliminated but consumerism is supported. After examining another film in that vein, Beauty and the Beast, I consider the implications that children’s films have in our society, and how this potentially informs the adult lives of my generation and others following. The things in these beloved films that children grow up with perhaps contribute to the consumerist nature that adults find themselves participating in. Rather than alleviating anxieties about consumerism, these movies instead create anxieties alongside dismantling Brown and Bennett’s flat ontology

Annotation of Two Soil Mycobacteriophages: JacoRen57 and DrLupo

We discovered two novel Mycobacteriophagesfrom soil samples. JacoRen57 is a singleton, most closely related to cluster AB phages. DrLupois a member of the rare H2 sub-cluster containing only one other member. Both phages exhibit a siphoviridaemorphotype, double-stranded DNA genome, and a non-contractile tail. The genome of JacoRen57 is composed of 52,411 base pairs with a 56.7% GC content and includes genes and plaque morphology that suggest a lytic life cycle. The genome is organized according to the following order from the left to right arm: 33 forward genes followed by 16 reverse genes and 24 forward genes. We identified functions for 33 of the 73 protein coding genes using bioinformatics software. The 70,030 base-pairgenome of DrLupohas a 57.5% GC content and contains genes that support a lytic life cycle. We identified 110 forward genes and assigned functions to 25 of them

Competition as a Potential Motivator for Blood Donation

Introduction. Investigating motivational factors for blood donation is invaluable to understanding how to increase blood availability. Our study evaluates the perceived effect of competition as an intrinsic motivator for blood donation.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1193/thumbnail.jp

WeWood

Between the ubiquitous TOMS Shoes and Gap’s RED campaign, the idea of “feel good fashion” isn’t new, and yet many still say there’s no better way to be stylish and green than to have a WeWood watch on your wrist

The MMC BioBank is a Resource that Supports Biomedical Research

Mission: To provide normal and diseased annotated human biospecimens to the research community that supports discoveries leading to improved patient therapies and advances in personalized medicine.https://knowledgeconnection.mainehealth.org/lambrew-retreat-2021/1052/thumbnail.jp

The ALMA-PILS survey: gas dynamics in IRAS 16293-2422 and the connection between its two protostars

Context. The majority of stars form in binary or higher order systems. The evolution of each protostar in a multiple system may start at different times and may progress differently. The Class 0 protostellar system IRAS 16293-2422 contains two protostars, "A" and "B", separated by similar to 600 au and embedded in a single, 10(4) au scale envelope. Their relative evolutionary stages have been debated. Aims. We aim to study the relation and interplay between the two protostars A and B at spatial scales of 60 au up to similar to 10(3) au. Methods. We selected molecular gas line transitions of the species CO, H2CO, HCN, CS, SiO, and C2H from the ALMA-PILS spectral imaging survey (329-363 GHz) and used them as tracers of kinematics, density, and temperature in the IRAS 16293-2422 system. The angular resolution of the PILS data set allows us to study these quantities at a resolution of 0.5 \u27\u27 (60 au at the distance of the source). Results. Line-of-sight velocity maps of both optically thick and optically thin molecular lines reveal: (i) new manifestations of previously known outflows emanating from protostar A; (ii) a kinematically quiescent bridge of dust and gas spanning between the two protostars, with an inferred density between 4 x 10(4) cm(-3) and similar to 3 x 10(7) cm(-3); and (iii) a separate, straight filament seemingly connected to protostar B seen only in C2H, with a flat kinematic signature. Signs of various outflows, all emanating from source A, are evidence of high-density and warmer gas; none of them coincide spatially and kinematically with the bridge. Conclusions. We hypothesize that the bridge arc is a remnant of filamentary substructure in the protostellar envelope material from which protostellar sources A and B have formed. One particular morphological structure appears to be due to outflowing gas impacting the quiescent bridge material. The continuing lack of clear outflow signatures unambiguously associated to protostar B and the vertically extended shape derived for its disk-like structure lead us to conclude that source B may be in an earlier evolutionary stage than source A