Using Meisenbach\u27s Typology to Classify Stigma Management Strategies and their Effects

Jamie Shapiro & Lia Lombino There are certain traits people possess that lead to stigmatization and mistreatment by others. A stigma is traditionally defined as an identity discrediting mark on someone of questionable moral status (Goffman, 1963). Despite extensive research on stigma, there is an absence of research that studies the role of communication in stigma and the impact of utilizing different communicative strategies when managing stigma. The purpose of the current study is to validate Meisenbach’s (2010) typology of stigma management communication, which is based on accepting or challenging personal and private stigma. Meisenbach proposes four different stigma management strategies: accepting the stigma, evading/reducing the offensiveness of the stigmatized trait, avoiding, and rejecting the stigma. The study also extends Meisenbach’s (2010) typology by determining the lasting effects of stigma management strategies, by investigating whether stigma management strategies correspond with people feeling better or worse following a supportive conversation. Participants (N = 203) engaged in supportive conversations about a stigmatized trait with a confederate. Two coders analyzed the conversations to determine the category of typology used. The results of this study support Meisenbach’s (2010) theory and provide practical implications, such as suggestions for identity management for someone coping with a stigmatized trait

The systematics of oxygen isotopes in chironomids (Insecta:Diptera): a tool for reconstructing past climate

Oxygen isotope ratios have become an indispensable tool in elucidating past climates. In recent years the chitinous remains of chironomid larvae (Insecta: Diptera: Chironomidae), which are abundant in most lacustrine sediments, have received increasing attention as a proxy for reconstructing the oxygen isotope composition of past lake waters (δ18Olakewater). The interpretation of stratigraphic changes in the oxygen isotopic composition of chironomid remains (δ18Ochironomid) is underpinned by the fundamental assumption that δ18Ochironomid is primarily reflective of δ18Olakewater, which itself is intimately associated with climate. In this investigation a series of laboratory and field-based calibration studies were conducted, with the aim of contributing to the development of δ18Ochironomid as a tool in palaeoclimate reconstructions. All analyses were performed on purified chironomid remains using a high temperature conversion elemental analyser (TC/EA) coupled, via a ConFlo III open split interface unit, to a Delta V Advantage isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS). Compositional heterogeneity and exogenous contamination are known to have a deleterious influence on δ18O determinations from chitinous remains, including chironomids. In order to produce meaningful δ18Ochironomid measurements, non-amino polysaccharide impurities present in chironomid samples were eliminated through a series of liquid solvent-based extractions (2:1 DCM: MeOH, 0.25M HCl, 0.25M NaOH) performed at 20°C for 24 hours. The chosen reaction conditions were based on the results of a systematic study evaluating the influence of chemical pre-treatments on the δ18O of contemporary chironomid head capsules isolated from commercially grown larvae. To date the absence of a standardised pre-treatment procedure has hindered inter-laboratory comparisons, therefore it is recommended that analysts employ a similar protocol in the future. Laboratory and field-based calibration studies indicate that the interpretation of δ18Ochironomid is not straightforward, with signals influenced to varying degrees by δ18Olakewater, temperature and secondary factors (e.g. diet). The findings of these calibration studies were used to construct a novel chironomid-carbonate palaeothermometer, which was applied to δ18Ochironomid and δ18Obulk_carbonate records obtained from a Late-glacial sediment sequence (Hawes Water, UK). Although the general climate trends reported by this approach are generally in good agreement with other palaeoclimate reconstructions from the region, absolute temperature estimates were unrealistically low (ranging between −9 and +11°C). Based on the limited available data the spurious temperature estimates were attributed to diagenetic alteration. The strong correlation observed between the two independent δ18O records indicates that diagenetic alterations are likely to have retained some of the original isotopic signature. Despite the efforts of this investigation it is clear that this approach remains in its infancy, with further extensive calibration studies necessary. However, the results presented in this thesis demonstrate that in suitable limnological settings δ18Ochironomid has great potential for elucidating past climates

Metodo sperimentale per la stima dei carichi a compressione su elementi strutturali lignei in opera.

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Estudio del impacto de las figuras retóricas en la publicidad gráfica

En esta tesina se ha observado la influencia que tienen las figuras retóricas en el perceptor a la hora de decodificar un mensaje publicitario. Para ello, se han analizado cuáles han sido las figuras retóricas más premiadas en los festivales de publicidad mundial y el impacto que tienen éstas en las personas. En una sociedad visual, en donde la imagen es el código más utilizado para comunicarse, las figuras retóricas no están exentas al cambio y han sabido adaptarse a las nuevas exigencias comunicacionales

Experimental determination of the temperature dependence of oxygen-isotope fractionation between water and chitinous head capsules of chironomid larvae

Oxygen-isotope values of invertebrate cuticle preserved in lake sediments have been used in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, generally with the assumption that fractionation of oxygen isotopes between cuticle and water (\upalpha_{\text{cuticle}-\text{H}_{2}\text{O}}) is independent of temperature. We cultured chironomid larvae in the laboratory with labelled oxygen-isotope water and across a range of closely controlled temperatures from 5 to 25 °C in order to test the hypothesis that fractionation of oxygen isotopes between chironomid head capsules and water (\upalpha_{\text{chironomid}-\text{H}_{2}\text{O}}) is independent of temperature. Results indicate that the hypothesis can be rejected, and that \upalpha_{\text{chironomid}-\text{H}_{2}\text{O}} decreases with increasing temperature. The scatter in the data suggests that further experiments are needed to verify the relationship. However, these results indicate that temperature-dependence of \upalpha_{\text{chironomid}-\text{H}_{2}\text{O}} should be considered when chironomid δ18O is used as a paleoenvironmental proxy, especially in cases where data from chironomids are combined with oxygen-isotope values from other materials for which fractionation is temperature dependent, such as calcite, in order to derive reconstructions of past water temperature

A New Family of Jumonji C Domain-Containing KDM Inhibitors Inspired by Natural Product Purpurogallin

Aberrant epigenetic modifications are involved in cancer development. Jumonji C domain-containing histone lysine demethylases (KDMs) are found mainly up-regulated in breast, prostate, and colon cancer. Currently, growing interest is focusing on the identification and development of new inhibitors able to block the activity of KDMs and thus reduce tumor progression. KDM4A is known to play a role in several cellular physiological processes, and was recently found overexpressed in a number of pathological states, including cancer. In this work, starting from the structure of purpurogallin 9aa, previously identified as a natural KDM4A inhibitor, we synthesized two main sets of compound derivatives in order to improve their inhibitory activity against KDM4A in vitro and in cells, as well as their antitumor action. Based on the hypothetical biogenesis of the 5-oxo-5H-benzo[7]annulene skeleton of the natural product purpurogallin (Salfeld, 1960; Horner et al., 1961; Dürckheimer and Paulus, 1985; Tanaka et al., 2002; Yanase et al., 2005) the pyrogallol and catechol units were first combined with structural modifications at different positions of the aryl ring using enzyme-mediated oxidative conditions, generating a series of benzotropolone analogs. Two of the synthetic analogs of purpurogallin, 9ac and 9bc, showed an efficient inhibition (50 and 80%) of KDM4A in enzymatic assays and in cells by increasing levels of its specific targets, H3K9me3/2 and H3K36me3. However, these two compounds/derivatives did not induce cell death. We then synthesized a further set of analogs of these two compounds with greater structural diversification. The most potent of these analogs, 9bf, displayed the highest KDM4A inhibitory enzymatic activity in vitro (IC50 of 10.1 and 24.37 μM) in colon cancer cells, and the strongest antitumor action in several solid and hematological human cancer cell lines with no toxic effect in normal cells. Our findings suggest that further development of this compound and its derivatives may lead to the identification of new therapeutic antitumor agents acting through inhibition of KDM4A

Climate reconstruction from paired oxygen-isotope analyses of chironomid larval head capsules and endogenic carbonate (Hawes Water, UK) - Potential and problems

Temperature and the oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O) of meteoric water are both important palaeoclimatic variables, but separating their influences on proxies such as the δ18O of lake carbonates is often problematic. The large temperature variations that are known to have occurred in the northern mid-latitudes during the Late Glacial make this interval an excellent test for a novel approach that combines oxygen-isotope analyses of chironomid larval head capsules with co-occurring endogenic carbonate. We apply this approach to a Late Glacial lake sediment sequence from Hawes Water (NW England). Oxygen-isotope values in chironomid head capsules show marked variations during the Late Glacial that are similar to the oxygen isotope record from endogenic carbonate. However, summer temperature reconstructions based on the paired isotope values and fractionation between chironomids and calcite yield values between −20 and −4 °C, which are unrealistic and far lower than reconstructions based on chironomid assemblages at the same site. The composition of a limited number of samples of fossil chironomid larval head capsules determined using Pyrolysis gas-chromatography mass spectrometry indicates the presence of aliphatic geopolymers, suggesting that diagenetic alteration of the head capsules has systematically biased the isotope-derived temperature estimates. However, a similar trend in the isotope records of the two sources suggests that a palaeoclimate signal is still preserved