Beyond Patienthood: Integrative medicine, healing environments and the journey toward new selfhood.

The purpose of this study is to learn about the relationship between participation in an integrative medicine program and the impact upon the social identities of seven individuals with cancer. Data were collected via semi-structured, face-to-face interviews and observations in the clinic space, and analyzed using a constant comparison method. All of the participants reported a change in their social identities as they transitioned between illness and wellness. The sub-themes that emerged included: the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as a means of fighting cancer after chemotherapy ended, maintaining health becoming a main occupation, and the “cancer filter” through which all other experiences are viewed, shaping the post-treatment phase of life. Overall, findings suggest that seeking CAM played a role in the participants’ transitions from selves defined by patient status, to new selves, with new perspectives

Numerical Calculation of Coherent Synchrotron Radiation Effects Using TraFiC4

Coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) occurs when short bunches travel on strongly bent trajectories. Its effects on high-quality beams can be severe and are well understood qualitatively. For quantitative results, however, one has to rely on numerical methods. There exist several simulation codes utilizing different approaches. We describe in some detail the code TraFiC4 developed at DESY for design and analysis purposes, which approaches the problem from first principles and solves the equations of motion either perturbatively or self-consistently. We present some calculational results and comparison with experimental data. Also, we give examples of how the code can be used to design beamlines with minimal emittance growth due to CSR

The Unsuspecting CAM User: Cancer patients and the changing nature of holistic health

The number of cancer patients using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the United States is growing, yet little is known about the meaning these activities have for users. Current literature supports the assumption that stigma surrounding CAM and holistic health practices are responsible for the reluctance of many cancer patients to self-identify as CAM users. This study explored the frequency of use, and familiarity with CAM among 25 female patients at a Midwestern oncology clinic. Findings suggest that patients need to be asked about CAM use multiple times and in multiple formats to gain an accurate assessment. Also, the assumptions about stigma may no longer be the reason patients are less than forthcoming about CAM use. The rise of integrative medicine and shifting boundaries of the holistic health movement may be equally, or in some cases, more responsible for the reluctance for CAM users to self-identify

Multi-Scale Simulation of Viscoelastic Fiber-Reinforced Composites

This paper presents an effective algorithm to simulate the anisotropic viscoelastic behavior of a fiber-reinforced composite including the influence of the local geometric properties, like fiber-orientation and volume fraction. The considered composites consist of a viscoelastic matrix which is reinforced by elastic fibers. The viscoelastic composite behavior results anisotropic due to the local anisotropic fiber-orientations. The influence of the local time-dependent viscoelastic properties are captured within two elastic microscopic calculations for each fiberorientation in the composite part. These calculations can be performed within a preprocessing step, and thus no expensive, time-dependent viscoelastic multi-scale simulation has to be carried out to incorporate the local properties. The advantage of the presented approach is that the locally varying microscopic properties can be captured in a one-scale simulation within a commercial finite element tool like ABAQUS

Collaborating Within to Support Systems Change: The Need For — and Limits of — Cross-Team Grantmaking

To be responsive to the many facets of communities’ challenges and solutions, the Kresge Foundation works intentionally at the intersections of its seven grantmaking areas. One way it fulfills this intention is by awarding cross-team grants, which involve financial and intellectual contributions from multiple Kresge programs in order to enable cross-sector, multidisciplinary work among grantees. As Kresge’s cross-team practice has grown and the field has increasingly expressed interest in cross-sector approaches to addressing long-standing challenges, Kresge partnered with the strategic learning firm Informing Change to explore how this approach to grantmaking and greater degree of internal collaboration is working from the point of view of Kresge staff and what enables or inhibits it, as well as whether and in what ways grantees uniquely benefit from cross-team grants. This article highlights key findings from this exploration, including grantees’ appreciation for Kresge’s cross-team approach. Nevertheless, the resource-intensive level of the foundation’s internal collaboration compelled many Kresge staff to seek evidence of impact in the short term, despite the challenges inherent in measuring complex, emergent, and unpredictable cross-sector work. Kresge’s experience with cross-team grantmaking surfaces a deeply embedded challenge across philanthropy: the historical practice of structuring grantmaking work by program content area is often misaligned with the urgent need to work across sectors to drive complex systems change. As philanthropy seeks to support collaboration among grantees and launches new multifunder collaboratives to affect systems change, structures within foundations may need to change to actualize this ideal

The Impact of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, a Potential Risk Factor to Endometrial Cancer, on the Quality of Sleep

Abstract Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder in women during their reproductive age. Recent studies showed that PCOS may be a risk factor to the development of endometrial cancer. This risk factor may be associated with sleep disorders including sleep-disordered breathing and excessive daytime sleepiness. The mechanisms leading to this high prevalence of sleep disorders in PCOS have not yet been identified. However, possible causes include alterations in body fat composition due to excess androgen levels and/or the effects of the metabolic syndrome. These effects on sleep disorders may have an impact on daily physical activities

A novel acetyl xylan esterase enabling complete deacetylation of substituted xylans

Background: Acetylated 4-O-(methyl) glucuronoxylan (GX) is the main hemicellulose in deciduous hardwood, and comprises a beta-(1 -> 4)-linked xylopyranosyl (Xylp) backbone substituted by both acetyl groups and alpha-(1 -> 2)-linked 4-O-methylglucopyranosyluronic acid (MeGlcpA). Whereas enzymes that target singly acetylated Xylp or doubly 2,3-O-acetyl-Xylp have been well characterized, those targeting (2-O-MeGlcpA) 3-O-acetyl-Xylp structures in glucuronoxylan have remained elusive. Results: An unclassified carbohydrate esterase (FjoAcXE) was identified as a protein of unknown function from a polysaccharide utilization locus (PUL) otherwise comprising carbohydrate-active enzyme families known to target xylan. FjoAcXE was shown to efficiently release acetyl groups from internal (2-O-MeGlcpA) 3-O-acetyl-Xylp structures, an activity that has been sought after but lacking in known carbohydrate esterases. FjoAcXE action boosted the activity of alpha-glucuronidases from families GH67 and GH115 by five and nine times, respectively. Moreover, FjoAcXE activity was not only restricted to GX, but also deacetylated (3-O-Araf)2-O-acetyl-Xylp of feruloylated xylooligomers, confirming the broad substrate range of this new carbohydrate esterase. Conclusion: This study reports the discovery and characterization of the novel carbohydrate esterase, FjoAcXE. In addition to cleaving singly acetylated Xylp, and doubly 2,3-O-acetyl-Xylp, FjoAcXE efficiently cleaves internal 3-O-acetyl-Xylp linkages in (2-O-MeGlcpA)3-O-acetyl-Xylp residues along with densely substituted and branched xylooligomers; activities that until now were missing from the arsenal of enzymes required for xylan conversion.Peer reviewe

A model for the creation of human-generated metadata within communities

This paper considers situations for which detailed metadata descriptions of learning resources are necessary, and focuses on human generation of such metadata. It describes a model which facilitates human production of good quality metadata by the development and use of structured vocabularies. Using examples, this model is applied to single and multiple communities of metadata creators. The approach for transferring vocabularies across communities is related to similar work on the use of ontologies to support the development of the semantic web. Notable conclusions from this work are the need to encourage collaboration between the metadata specialists, content authors and system designers, and the scope for using accurate and consistent metadata created for one context in another context by producing descriptions of the relationships between those contexts