Talking the Walk: An Autoethnography of Pedestrianism in Chicagoland

This autoethnographic account of pedestrianism in Chicagoland aims to remind us of the sensory, social, and emotional experiences walking can provide, and how an environment centered around automobiles affects those experiences. It utilizes participant observations and refers to literature from a wide range of disciplines to construct a story of walks in downtown Aurora and Chicago, Illinois that illuminates factors at play in the shaping of the pedestrian experience in urban areas

The Relationship Between Sexual Functioning and Sleep Quality in A Female Undergraduate Student Sample

A relative lack of literature exists regarding the relationship between sexual functioning and sleep quality in women. The current study assessed these constructs in a sample of 260 undergraduate female students via online administration of relevant measures for sleep quality, sexual functioning, stress, and medical conditions and prescription medications. The relationship between sleep quality and sexual functioning was positive but not significant, even when controlling for relevant variables such as stress. As such, future research might seek to clarify this relationship and to identify variables that mediate or moderate this relationship

What Christians Should Expect: Life Immediately After Death

This paper examines Old Testament, New Testament, ancient Jewish, Near Eastern, and Christian documents to determine what the Word of God says about life immediately after death (afterlife). I will not examine references to the resurrection or to end times. The research for this paper from primary, secondary, and tertiary sources will be examined and explained, and the conclusions drawn will identify the passages in Scripture and other scholarly sources that explain life immediately after death for believers of Jesus Christ. Theological documents, cultural interpretations, societal perspectives, as well as biblical teachings will be examined to establish understanding, reassurance, and guidance to those struggling to understand the immediate afterlife. Analyzing Christian thought and expectations of the afterlife leads to greater understanding of a Christian’s eternal destiny. The Old Testament prophets wrote of Sheol as the place of the dead, and their understanding progressed, from Sheol being a place for the deceased, to a place of judgment for the wicked and a place of reward for the righteous. Ecclesiastes 12:7 NKJV reads, “the spirit will return to God who gave it.” In the New Testament Jesus described the afterlife as Paradise and Abraham’s Bosom. Paradise was Jesus’ term for the immediate afterlife, as that was the common Jewish and Greek term for a place of transcendent, blissful, and peaceful life with God, and He offered that hope of salvation to the dying man on the cross. Paradise and Abraham’s Bosom are terms Jesus used to describe the transcendent afterlife for true disciples of Christ. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, described heaven as the residence of God and humble and devout persons that have confidence only in God (Matt. 5). Heaven identifies the abode of God and pseudepigrapha writings speak of multiple heavens. Pseudepigrapha writings are studied by theologians, are not canonical, but support Paul’s narrative of the third heaven. The idea of multiple heavens is recorded by Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:2–4. The transcendent afterlife has its source as the love of God, which is best expressed in John 3:16 NKJV, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The love of God is infinite and embraces all people. Our afterlife is dependent on the choices we make in this life. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes the virtues that lead to eternal life in the kingdom of God (Matt. 5:3-12)

Community Land Trusts: A Help or Hindrance to Community Development in the United States

The availability of affordable housing in the United States continues to be an issue for Americans who are on the brink of homelessness, rely on housing subsidies, or struggle to pay their mortgages or rents. These issues, as well as the gentrification threat that community development poses to low-income residents can have deleterious effects on democratic participation and community development efforts. One proposed solution to these problems is the implementation of more community land trust programs nationally. This paper will assess the practicality of CLTs, and what such an implementation would mean for individuals, government entities, community members, and community development efforts

Adolescent Help-Seeking: The Promise of Text Counseling

This qualitative study addresses the need for additional approaches to reaching youth who are struggling with mental health issues. The paper describes common barriers to serving a youth population, especially in a time of crisis. It explores the use of text counseling as a therapeutic response to youth in crisis or distress. It discusses the use of empowerment theory when developing and implementing services for a youth population. The study concludes with a description and discussion of the common themes identified through an inductive secondary data analysis of 14 text counseling sessions. The findings from this study were consistent with previous research. First, adolescent girls between the ages of 14-17 years old were the most frequent texters in this study. Second, youth quickly and openly make intimate disclosures about their feelings and thoughts when using a text platform. Third, and perhaps most importantly, adolescents do reach out for help when they are feeling overwhelmed, distressed, self-destructive and suicidal. Ongoing research in this area has the potential to strengthen our understanding of how to best serve and respond to the mental health needs of adolescents. Ideas for future research in this area are suggested

Pharmacological activation of PPARβ/δ preserves mitochondrial respiratory function in ischemia/reperfusion via stimulation of fatty acid oxidation-linked respiration and PGC-1α/NRF-1 signaling

Funding Information: The work was supported by core institutional funds and the Graduate Program “Applications of Biology” of the School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Funding Information: The authors thank Dr Reinis Vilskersts for his assistance during ex vivo experimental procedures and Stanislava Korzh for her assistance during high resolution fluorespirometry procedures. This article is based upon work from COST Action EU-CARDIOPROTECTION CA16225 supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2022 Papatheodorou, Makrecka-Kuka, Kuka, Liepinsh, Dambrova and Lazou.Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury leads to significant impairment of cardiac function and remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor β/δ (PPARβ/δ) confers cardioprotection via pleiotropic effects including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions; however, the underlying mechanisms are not yet fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of PPARβ/δ activation on myocardial mitochondrial respiratory function and link this effect with cardioprotection after ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). For this purpose, rats were treated with the PPARβ/δ agonist GW0742 and/or antagonist GSK0660 in vivo. Mitochondrial respiration and ROS production rates were determined using high-resolution fluororespirometry. Activation of PPARβ/δ did not alter mitochondrial respiratory function in the healthy heart, however, inhibition of PPARβ/δ reduced fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and complex II-linked mitochondrial respiration and shifted the substrate dependence away from succinate-related energy production and towards NADH. Activation of PPARβ/δ reduced mitochondrial stress during in vitro anoxia/reoxygenation. Furthermore, it preserved FAO-dependent mitochondrial respiration and lowered ROS production at oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS)-dependent state during ex vivo I/R. PPARβ/δ activation was also followed by increased mRNA expression of components of FAO -linked respiration and of transcription factors governing mitochondrial homeostasis (carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1b and 2-CPT-1b and CPT-2, electron transfer flavoprotein dehydrogenase -ETFDH, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma co-activator 1 alpha- PGC-1α and nuclear respiratory factor 1-NRF-1). In conclusion, activation of PPARβ/δ stimulated both FAO-linked respiration and PGC-1α/NRF -1 signaling and preserved mitochondrial respiratory function during I/R. These effects are associated with reduced infarct size.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Using Excel and VBA for Excel to Learn Numerical Methods

Spreadsheets, by virtue of being distributed with office suites, are availablein most computers, and can be used efficiently in the solution of numericalmethods. In this paper we present calculations for numerical methods,specifically, solution to equations, using one of the most popular spreadsheetsoftware currently available, namely, Microsoft Office's EXCEL. Spreadsheet calculations can be performed by simply using formulas in the spreadsheetcells, or by creating programs (subroutine programs, or SUBs, and FUNCTION programs) using a programming language accessible through the spreadsheet interface. EXCEL uses exclusively a language called Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).Microsoft Excel is a excellent tool for students to learn numerical methods.It makes easy to construct illustrative examples, to experiment with them,and to plot results in graphical forms. The paper outlines the reasons forchoosing Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) for Excel. Certain topics ofinterest with regard to VBA for Excel are explored, and sample programs are included Some illustrative examples are presented to demonstrate the use of Goal Seek and Solver features as a powerful tool for solving of some problems inhydro engineering