Ubumwe: Together We Grow

In January of 2016, ETL traveled to Rwanda to document the role that women play in agriculture as a force for economic stability and gender equality from Minnesota to Rwanda. Ubumwe, meaning “unity” in Kinyarwanda, explores the difficulties presented to women farmers, as well as the immense strength the women gain economically, socially, and personally within their communities

Nibi Eteg: Where the Water Is

Over this past year, ETL produced a documentary on the spiritual and cultural significance individuals have with water. The two stories the team chose to parallel were from the perspectives of Hindu individuals in India and the band of Chippewa Native Americans in Red Lake, Minnesota. Both of these stories explored the connection people share with water, either by religious or cultural practice. Throughout the film, we identified the presence of a gap within American ties to water. The gap, we learned, is not a failure in forming a connection, nor understanding the significance of water, but that individuals struggle to perceive the connection they have with water. In failing to form connection, we succeed at forming apathy towards the water we survive by. Following our documentary premiere, ETL worked in partnership with 13 other campus clubs and organizations ranging from Women’s Leadership and Campus ministry to Chemistry Club and College Democrats and Republicans, to put together Water Week, a week-long journey allowing students to see the importance of and connection we share with water as we walk along our everyday lives. This initiative is one that will continue every year with these clubs, and we hope will expand to even more as the years continue

Luen Hai: Decoding the Connection

The birth of technology has made staying in touch with one another simple, but in staying connected with each other, there has been a loss of the connection with our planet. The increasing amount of electronic waste around us daily has demonstrated the failure in finding sustainable ways to dispose of it. Fascinated by this issue, ETL traveled to Hong Kong to document what is happening to our e-waste, and what we can do about it. After sharing the documentary with our community, ETL was able to partner with the sustainability offices at CSB/SJU to begin a sustainable depository for e-waste within our immediate community. In addition to the depository, we also researched the best e-waste deposit centers within the Twin Cities, where the majority of our students are from, so that sustainable e-waste recycling doesn’t end upon graduation

IL-1β, in contrast to TNFα, is pivotal in blood-induced cartilage damage and is a potential target for therapy

Joint bleeding after (sports) trauma, after major joint surgery, or as seen in hemophilia in general leads to arthropathy. Joint degeneration is considered to result from the direct effects of blood components on cartilage and indirectly from synovial inflammation. Blood-provided proinflammatory cytokines trigger chondrocytes and induce the production of cartilage-degrading proteases. In the presence of erythrocyte-derived iron, cytokines stimulate radical formation in the vicinity of chondrocytes inducing apoptosis. To unravel the role of interleukin (IL) 1β and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α in the pathogenesis of this blood-induced cartilage damage, the effect of antagonizing these cytokines was examined in human in vitro cultures. Addition of recombinant human IL-1β monoclonal antibody or IL-1 receptor antagonist resulted in a dose- and time-dependent protection of cartilage from blood-induced damage. In higher concentrations, almost complete normalization of cartilage matrix proteoglycan turnover was achieved. This was accompanied by a reduction in IL-1β and IL-6 production in whole blood cultures, whereas TNFα production remained unaffected. Interestingly, addition of a TNFα monoclonal antibody, although demonstrated to inhibit the direct (transient) effects of TNFα on cartilage, exhibited no effect on blood-induced (prolonged) cartilage damage. It is demonstrated that IL-1β is crucial in the development of blood-induced joint damage, whereas TNFα is not. This hierarchical position of IL-1β in blood-induced joint damage warrants studies on targeting IL-1β to potentially prevent joint degeneration after a joint bleed

NOX Inhibitors - A Promising Avenue for Ischemic Stroke

NADPH-oxidase (NOX) mediated superoxide originally found on leukocytes, but now recognized in several types of cells in the brain. It has been shown to play an important role in the progression of stroke and related cerebrovascular disease. NOX is a multisubunit complex consisting of 2 membrane-associated and 4 cytosolic subunits. NOX activation occurs when cytosolic subunits translocate to the membrane, leading to transport electrons to oxygen, thus producing superoxide. Superoxide produced by NOX is thought to function in long-term potentiation and intercellular signaling, but excessive production is damaging and has been implicated to play an important role in the progression of ischemic brain. Thus, inhibition of NOX activity may prove to be a promising treatment for ischemic brain as well as an adjunctive agent to prevent its secondary complications. There is mounting evidence that NOX inhibition in the ischemic brain is neuroprotective, and targeting NOX in circulating immune cells will also improve outcome. This review will focus on therapeutic effects of NOX assembly inhibitors in brain ischemia and stroke. However, the lack of specificity and toxicities of existing inhibitors are clear hurdles that will need to be overcome before this class of compounds could be translated clinically