The construction of racial identity in infants of mixed parentage

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.In recent years there has been much debate in this country around the issue of race, and specifically around the role of 'black' children placed trans-racially for adoption. Little attention has been focused on the situation of mixed-race infants in their natural families. This study aims to explore the origins of racial identity development in mixed-race infants; consider how family relationships affect this development; study some of the effects of parents own identity development on the development of racial identity in children; and examine how parents and children negotiate racial cultural and gender differences within the family. The study was carried out in three phases; two intensive infant observations were conducted over several months; semi-structured interviews with five white mothers; and a second set of interviews was carried out with nine sets of parents, employing the 'life history' approach. The thesis considers the current debate around interracial families. This debate is then placed within the wider discussion on the development of racial awareness, preference and identity, and the role of racism in contemporary society. Theories of the genesis of prejudice are discussed, as are the studies which consider the racial preferences of children. The condition of mixed-race people as viewed by the marginal theorists is addressed, and the nature of interracial sexual partnerships. Previous studies have focused on racial awareness and preference. In order to focus on identity, the thesis discusses theories of identity development which encompass the sociological, cognitive and psychoanalytic perspectives. These theories were used as a basis for the first two phases of the study. These 'modernist' theories are critiqued, in the light of 'post-modernist' theories of race and identity on which the third phase is then based. These interviews concentrate on families' constructions of difference and identity. After discussing the methodologies of previous studies in the area a methodology is set out for this study. The first two phases were aimed at discovering causal links between mother's pasts, their parenting behaviour and their children's emerging racial identities. In the third part the method aimed at obtaining parents' life stories, establishing narrative rather than causal links. Stories were analyzed to confirm similarities and differences in how families deal with race and culture issues. The observations and interviews all showed that racial and cultural issues were significant in all the families, and formed part of the infants' milieu from a very early age. However these issues were dealt with very differently in various families. Some were concerned about 'race' and colour, while others were more focused on culture, religion or nationality. Conflict in some families became racialised, while in other families gender or cultural issues caused more difficulties. Racism was experienced by all the 'black' parents, but its effects were very variable. All the families felt that their children were in a process of developing positive 'mixed' identities. Qass was found to be a critical factor which influenced the way racial identity was constructed. The thesis concludes with a re-examination of the notions of 'race', 'identity' and 'development', and shows that the 'structural-developmental' model of identity development shared by social-work anti racist and psychoanalytic theory is too narrow and prescriptive, and should be replaced by a new theory of 'narrative identity' based on post-modernist insights

"Only White People can be Racist: What does Power have to do with Prejudice?"

Social researchers and activists who use the sociological definition of racism – that 'Racism = Prejudice + Power' – generally aim to attain racial equality by equalising differences in social power among racial groups. However, this definition can be taken to extreme when the role of social power is given disproportionately more weight than the role prejudice in explaining the occurrence and entrenchment of racism in society, such as assertions that racism is synonymous with White supremacy. Such a definition is logically flawed, demonstrates reverse racism, is disempowering for individuals from all racial groups who strive for racial equality, and absolves those who do not. We examine how the recent literature on cultural competency may provide a more effective strategic framework for reducing racism. Cultural competency is a move away from ethnocentrism and towards respect and value for cultural difference, with no racial group treated as a reference point around which the discourse on race relations revolves. In short, by properly acknowledging the role of prejudice, and not exclusively focusing on power, all racial groups can be better empowered to take responsibility for protecting the human right to racial equality

A Rare Presentation of Plasmablastic Lymphoma in a HIV-negative Male Status-post Liver Transplantation

Introduction: Plasmablastic lymphoma, a rare and aggressive form of Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, rarely presents as a retroperitoneal mass.  There are no case reports in the literature of plasmablastic lymphoma presenting in living, HIV-negative patient status post liver transplantation.Presentation of Case: We report the case of a 63 year-old HIV-negative male status post liver transplant who presented with weakness and obstructive uropathy. Imaging showed a large mass in the retroperitonium. Biopsy revealed plasmablastic lymphoma. CHOP therapy was initiated and after six cycles, the retroperitoneal mass regressed in size; however, cytology from pleural fluid revealed that the disease remained. It has been 9 months since initial diagnosis and he was started on salvage chemotherapy with ESHAP however he subsequently developed a treatment related myelodysplastic syndrome with trisomy 12.Conclusions: The present case is used to explore the presentation and treatment of plasmablastic lymphoma, and to review the literature concerning the rarity of this disease in the setting of a HIV-negative patient status post solid organ transplantation

Modeling of gas generation from the Cameo coal zone in the Piceance Basin, Colorado

The gas generative potential of the Cretaceous Cameo coal in the Piceance Basin, northwestern Colorado, was evaluated quantitatively by sealed gold tube pyrolysis. The H/C and O/C elemental ratios show that pyrolyzed Cameo coal samples follow the Van Krevelen humic coal evolution pathway, reasonably simulating natural coal maturation. Kinetic parameters (activation energy and frequency factor) for gas generation and vitrinite reflectance (Ro) changes were calculated from pyrolysis data. Experimental Ro results from this study are not adequately predicted by published Ro kinetics and indicate the necessity of deriving basin-specific kinetic parameters when building predictive basin models. Using derived kinetics for Ro evolution and gas generation, basin modeling was completed for 57 wells across the Piceance Basin, which enabled the mapping of coal-rank and coalbed gas potential. Quantities of methane generated at approximately 1.2% Ro are about 300 standard cubic feet per ton (scf/ton) and more than 2500 scf/ton (in-situ dry-ash-free coal) at Ro values reaching 1.9%. Gases generated in both low- and high-maturity coals are less wet, whereas the wetter gas is expected where Ro is approximately 1.4–1.5%. As controlled by regional coal rank and net coal thickness, the largest in-place coalbed gas resources are located in the central part of the basin, where predicted volumes exceed 150 bcf/mi^2, excluding gases in tight sands

Gene expression profiles among murine strains segregate with distinct differences in the progression of radiation-induced lung disease.

Molecular mechanisms underlying development of acute pneumonitis and/or late fibrosis following thoracic irradiation remain poorly understood. Here, we hypothesize that heterogeneity in disease progression and phenotypic expression of radiation-induced lung disease (RILD) across murine strains presents an opportunity to better elucidate mechanisms driving tissue response toward pneumonitis and/or fibrosis. Distinct differences in disease progression were observed in age- and sex-matched CBA/J, C57L/J and C57BL/6J mice over 1 year after graded doses of whole-thorax lung irradiation (WTLI). Separately, comparison of gene expression profiles in lung tissue 24 h post-exposure demonstrated \u3e5000 genes to be differentially expressed (P\u3c0.01; \u3etwofold change) between strains with early versus late onset of disease. An immediate divergence in early tissue response between radiation-sensitive and -resistant strains was observed. In pneumonitis-prone C57L/J mice, differentially expressed genes were enriched in proinflammatory pathways, whereas in fibrosis-prone C57BL/6J mice, genes were enriched in pathways involved in purine and pyrimidine synthesis, DNA replication and cell division. At 24 h post-WTLI, different patterns of cellular damage were observed at the ultrastructural level among strains but microscopic damage was not yet evident under light microscopy. These data point toward a fundamental difference in patterns of early pulmonary tissue response to WTLI, consistent with the macroscopic expression of injury manifesting weeks to months after exposure. Understanding the mechanisms underlying development of RILD might lead to more rational selection of therapeutic interventions to mitigate healthy tissue damage

A multivariate finite mixture latent trajectory model with application to dementia studies

Dementia patients exhibit considerable heterogeneity in individual trajectories of cognitive decline, with some patients showing rapid decline following diagnoses while others exhibiting slower decline or remaining stable for several years. Dementia studies often collect longitudinal measures of multiple neuropsychological tests aimed to measure patients’ decline across a number of cognitive domains. We propose a multivariate finite mixture latent trajectory model to identify distinct longitudinal patterns of cognitive decline simultaneously in multiple cognitive domains, each of which is measured by multiple neuropsychological tests. EM algorithm is used for parameter estimation and posterior probabilities are used to predict latent class membership. We present results of a simulation study demonstrating adequate performance of our proposed approach and apply our model to the Uniform Data Set from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center to identify cognitive decline patterns among dementia patients

Pelvic inflammatory disease during the post-partum year.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the occurrence of, and risk factors for, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) occurring during the post-partum year. METHODS: Demographic and clinical data for women who delivered a term infant with 5-minute Apgar score > or = 8 from 1992 through 1999 at a large urban hospital were extracted from an electronic medical record system. RESULTS: During the study period, 15 206 deliveries occurred among 12 549 women. PID was diagnosed during the post-partum year of 148 (1.0%) deliveries. In univariate analysis, young age, black race, and both pre-delivery history and post-partum diagnosis of chlamydial and gonococcal infection were associated with PID. In multivariate analysis, only young age and a positive test for gonorrhea before delivery or post-partum were independent predictors of PID. CONCLUSIONS: Pelvic inflammatory disease was diagnosed during the post-partum year in 1% of women studied. Young maternal age was an important demographic risk factor. Further investigation of post-partum STD acquisition and progression to PID is needed to determine whether women are at increased risk following delivery

Detection of a random alteration in a multivariate observation when knowing probable direction

An observation from a multivariate distribution may be subject to perturbation in a known subset of the variables. A likelihood radio statistic is developed to test whether or not there has been an addition of a random quantity in a prespecified direction to an observation from a multivariate normal distribution. When the variance of this addition is unknown, a secondarily Bayes approach is used to eliminate this variance which acts as a nuisance parameter. The testing procedure is based on a distribution-free tolerance interval.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/27380/1/0000409.pd

Baseline Performance of NCAA Athletes on a Concussion Assessment Battery: A Report from the CARE Consortium

Background Sport-related concussion and repetitive head impact exposure in contact sports continue to receive increased attention in public and medical spheres. The Concussion Assessment, Research and Education (CARE) Consortium, a multicenter cooperative, was established to study the natural history of concussion in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) collegiate student-athletes across 29 colleges and universities in the United States. The purpose of this investigation is to provide normative data from the CARE Consortium and evaluate for differences between sport categories. Methods NCAA student-athletes were evaluated annually for general demographics and sport-specific characteristics before the start of the competitive season. We collected demographic and medical history information and evaluated each student-athlete’s neurocognitive function, neurological status, postural stability, and self-reported symptoms. Sports were categorized by the amount of contact typically associated with the sport (i.e., contact, limited contact, non-contact). Comparisons between the three sport categories for the evaluated variables were made using linear or zero inflated negative binomial regression models adjusted for gender, concussion history, and household income. Results Over a 2-year period (August 2014–July 2016), 15,681 NCAA athletes completed preseason evaluations. Overall, 53% of the athletes were in the contact sport group, 31% were in the limited contact group and 17% were in the non-contact group. After adjusting for covariates, there were statistically significant differences found between athlete groups, although the differences and effect sizes were small and not clinically significant. The contact sport group had better scores on Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment Testing (ImPACT®) visual and verbal memory, Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) symptom checklist, and Brief Symptom Inventory–18 (BSI-18), but slower ImPACT reaction time and worse scores on Standardized Assessment of Concussion (SAC). Further, the data indicate that some ImPACT score distributions were noticeably different from those presented in the technical manual. Conclusions In this large, racially and socio-economically diverse cohort of male and female college athletes, we found no evidence that student-athletes participating in contact sports have clinically meaningful deficits in pre-season cognitive and balance testing. They also did not report significantly more symptoms of psychological distress when compared with student-athletes in non-contact or limited contact sports. In addition, the data suggest potential limitations when using published ImPACT norms when evaluating injured athletes