Elsie: A Screenplay

Elsie is a 57 page, one-hour screenplay. A modern adaptation of a true story, Elsie tells the tale of Elsie Whitman, a young housewife unhappy in her marriage and looking for a way out. When her estranged sister arrives, she finally finds the strength to do the unthinkable. Our story opens with the arrival of Elsie\u27s sister, Marianne, and the departure of her husband, John. Alone in the house together, the sisters relationship grows complex. Marianne begins to see Peter, a young man with a mysterious past. However, when Elsie is wronged by John, she jumps into bed with Peter. The interweaving plot comes to a close as Elsie and Marianne finally decide to take matters into their own hands. The story explores the theme of women\u27s independence in a modern world. While women’s equality has progressed drastically in the last 50 years, major disparities still exist, especially in the way media portrays gender norms. Elsie seeks to engage in this discussion by portraying strong, modern women in oppressive situations and by deviating from traditional gender portrayals in modern media

Age modification of the relationship between C-reactive protein and fatigue: findings from Understanding Society (UKHLS)

Background: Systemic inflammation may play a role in the development of idiopathic fatigue, that is, fatigue not explained by infections or diagnosed chronic illness, but this relationship has never been investigated in community studies including the entire adult age span. We examine the association of the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) and fatigue assessed annually in a 3-year outcome period for UK adults aged 16–98. Methods: Multilevel models were used to track fatigue 7, 19, and 31 months after CRP measurement, in 10 606 UK individuals. Models accounted for baseline fatigue, demographics, health conditions diagnosed at baseline and during follow-up, adiposity, and psychological distress. Sensitivity analyses considered factors including smoking, sub-clinical disease (blood pressure, anaemia, glycated haemoglobin), medications, ethnicity, and alcohol consumption. Results: Fatigue and CRP increased with age, and women had higher values than men. CRP was associated with future self-reported fatigue, but only for the oldest participants. Thus, in those aged 61–98 years, high CRP ( > 3 mg/L) independently predicted greater fatigue 7, 19, and 31 months after CRP measurement [odds ratio for new-onset fatigue after 7 months: 1.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.21–2.92; 19 months: 2.25, CI 1.46–3.49; 31 months: 1.65, CI 1.07–2.54]. No significant longitudinal associations were seen for younger participants. Conclusions: Our findings support previously described CRP–fatigue associations in older individuals. However, there are clear age modifications in these associations, which may reflect a contribution of unmeasured sub-clinical disease of limited relevance to younger individuals. Further work is necessary to clarify intervening processes linking CRP and fatigue in older individuals

Investigación conductual sobre memoria de trabajo: integrando métodos cualitativos y cuantitativos

The long lasting opposition between qualitative and quantitative methods for studying behaviour has been overridden by interdisciplinary work in which methods can be combined to approach animal and human behaviour, thus contributing to drawing rigorous and useful conclusions. We show an example of this by combining a quasi-experimental design and descriptive methods to study working memory for the resolution of a spatial problem task (the Tower of Hanoi) in a neuropsychiatric hospital inpatient with amnesia and executive deficits. Results from the quasi-experiment showed that the patient acquired strategies to solve the task with a high level of efficiency (F3/35 = 7, 19, p < .01). Qualitatively speaking, the patient developed more than one strategy to solve the problem, which indicates the presence of learning based on working memory. In the light of these findings, we discuss issues of mixed methods research and suggest the importance of developing mixed methods to study behaviour. Key words: Behavioural research, mixed methods, Tower of Hanoi, working memory RESUMEN La oposición duradera entre métodos cualitativos y cuantitativos para estudiar el comportamiento ha sido anulada por el trabajo interdisciplinario en que los métodos pueden combinarse para enfocar el comportamiento humano y animal, contribuyendo así a obtener conclusiones útiles y rigurosas. Se presenta una muestra, combinando métodos descriptivos y un diseño cuasiexperimental para estudiar la memoria de trabajo en la resolución de una tarea de problema espacial (la Torre de Hanoi), en un paciente internado en un hospital neuropsiquiátrico con amnesia y déficit ejecutivo. Resultados del cuasiexperimento demostraron que el paciente adquirió estrategias para resolver la tarea con un alto nivel de eficiencia (F3/35 = 7, 19, p < .01). Cualitativamente el paciente desarrolló más de una estrategia para resolver el problema, lo cual indica la presencia de aprendizaje basado en memoria de trabajo. A la luz de estos resultados, se discuten métodos de investigación mixtos y se sugiere la importancia de desarrollar métodos mixtos para estudiar el comportamiento.La oposición duradera entre métodos cualitativos y cuantitativos para estudiar el comportamiento ha sido anulada por el trabajo interdisciplinario en que los métodos pueden combinarse para enfocar el comportamiento humano y animal, contribuyendo así a obtener conclusiones útiles y rigurosas. Se presenta una muestra, combinando métodos descriptivos y un diseño cuasiexperimental para estudiar la memoria de trabajo en la resolución de una tarea de problema espacial (la Torre de Hanoi), en un paciente internado en un hospital neuropsiquiátrico con amnesia y déficit ejecutivo. Resultados del cuasiexperimento demostraron que el paciente adquirió estrategias para resolver la tarea con un alto nivel de eficiencia (F3/35 = 7, 19, p < .01). Cualitativamente el paciente desarrolló más de una estrategia para resolver el problema, lo cual indica la presencia de aprendizaje basado en memoria de trabajo. A la luz de estos resultados, se discuten métodos de investigación mixtos y se sugiere la importancia de desarrollar métodos mixtos para estudiar el comportamiento.Fil: Bacigalupe, Maria de Los Angeles. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Cs.naturales y Museo. Division Etnografia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Tujague, María Paula. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Spath, Griselda M.. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Cs.naturales y Museo. Division Etnografia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lahitte, Hector Blas. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Cs.naturales y Museo. Division Etnografia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Semiclassical time--dependent propagation in three dimensions: How accurate is it for a Coulomb potential?

A unified semiclassical time propagator is used to calculate the semiclassical time-correlation function in three cartesian dimensions for a particle moving in an attractive Coulomb potential. It is demonstrated that under these conditions the singularity of the potential does not cause any difficulties and the Coulomb interaction can be treated as any other non-singular potential. Moreover, by virtue of our three-dimensional calculation, we can explain the discrepancies between previous semiclassical and quantum results obtained for the one-dimensional radial Coulomb problem.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures (EPS

Preliminary efficacy of a brief family intervention to prevent declining quality of life secondary to parental bone marrow transplantation

The primary purpose of this research was to develop and evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of a brief, cost-effective family-focused intervention to promote adaptive coping and quality of life throughout a parent's bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Targeted outcomes were cohesion, decreased use of avoidance coping, open communication and effective management of emotional distress. Participants included an intervention group of 31 families and 29 families in a control group who received usual care. Each family included the BMT recipient, a partner/caregiver and children 10-18 years old. The intervention included two dyadic sessions for the BMT recipient and the partner/caregiver, one individual session for the caregiver and two digital video discs (DVDs) for children. Statistical analyses indicated that the intervention had a positive impact on at least one aspect of the adaptation of each family member. Caregivers reported the most distress but benefitted least from the intervention, whereas recipients and children reported improvement in distress. Ratings of satisfaction/acceptability were high, with 97% responding that they would recommend the intervention to others. Plans for future research include increased intervention intensity for the caregiver, a larger more diverse sample and implementation over an extended period post BMT

Explant-derived human dental pulp stem cells enhance differentiation and proliferation potentials

Numerous stem cell niches are present in the different tissues and organs of the adult human body. Among these tissues, dental pulp, entrapped within the 'sealed niche' of the pulp chamber, is an extremely rich site for collecting stem cells. In this study, we demonstrate that the isolation of human dental pulp stem cells by the explants culture method (hD-DPSCs) allows the recovery of a population of dental mesenchymal stem cells that exhibit an elevated proliferation potential. Moreover, we highlight that hD-DPSCs are not only capable of differentiating into osteoblasts and chondrocytes but are also able to switch their genetic programme when co-cultured with murine myoblasts. High levels of MyoD expression were detected, indicating that muscle-specific genes in dental pulp cells can be turned on through myogenic fusion, confirming thus their multipotency. A perivascular niche may be the potential source of hD-DPSCs, as suggested by the consistent Ca(2+) release from these cells in response to endothelin-1 (ET-1) treatment, which is also able to significantly increase cell proliferation. Moreover, response to ET-1 has been found to be superior in hD-DPSCs than in DPSCs, probably due to the isolation method that promotes release of stem/progenitor cells from perivascular structures. The ability to isolate, expand and direct the differentiation of hD-DPSCs into several lineages, mainly towards myogenesis, offers an opportunity for the study of events associated with cell commitment and differentiation. Therefore, hD-DPSCs display enhanced differentiation abilities when compared to DPSCs, and this might be of relevance for their use in therapy

The structural analysis of Cu(111)-Te (√3 × √3) R30° and (2√3 × 2√3)R30° surface phases by quantitative LEED and DFT,

The chemisorption of tellurium on atomically clean Cu(111) surface has been studied under ultra-high vacuum conditions. At room temperature, the initial stage of growth was an ordered 23×23R30° phase (0.08 ML). An ordered 3×3R30° phase is formed at 0.33 ML coverage of Te. The adsorption sites of the Te atoms on the Cu(111) surface at 0.08 ML and 0.33 ML coverages are explored by quantitative low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and density functional theory (DFT). Our results indicate that substitutional surface alloy formation starts at very low coverages

Prospects for the development of odour baits to control the tsetse flies Glossina tachinoides and G. palpalis s.l.

Field studies were done of the responses of Glossina palpalis palpalis in Côte d'Ivoire, and G. p. gambiensis and G. tachinoides in Burkina Faso, to odours from humans, cattle and pigs. Responses were measured either by baiting (1.) biconical traps or (2.) electrocuting black targets with natural host odours. The catch of G. tachinoides from traps was significantly enhanced (~5×) by odour from cattle but not humans. In contrast, catches from electric targets showed inconsistent results. For G. p. gambiensis both human and cattle odour increased (>2×) the trap catch significantly but not the catch from electric targets. For G. p. palpalis, odours from pigs and humans increased (~5×) the numbers of tsetse attracted to the vicinity of the odour source but had little effect on landing or trap-entry. For G. tachinoides a blend of POCA (P = 3-n-propylphenol; O = 1-octen-3-ol; C = 4-methylphenol; A = acetone) alone or synthetic cattle odour (acetone, 1-octen-3-ol, 4-methylphenol and 3-n-propylphenol with carbon dioxide) consistently caught more tsetse than natural cattle odour. For G. p. gambiensis, POCA consistently increased catches from both traps and targets. For G. p. palpalis, doses of carbon dioxide similar to those produced by a host resulted in similar increases in attraction. Baiting traps with super-normal (~500 mg/h) doses of acetone also consistently produced significant but slight (~1.6×) increases in catches of male flies. The results suggest that odour-baited traps and insecticide-treated targets could assist the AU-Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC) in its current efforts to monitor and control Palpalis group tsetse in West Africa. For all three species, only ~50% of the flies attracted to the vicinity of the trap were actually caught by it, suggesting that better traps might be developed by an analysis of the visual responses and identification of any semiochemicals involved in short-range interaction

An evaluation of metal removal during wastewater treatment: The potential to achieve more stringent final effluent standards

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2011 Taylor & Francis.Metals are of particular importance in relation to water quality, and concern regarding the impact of these contaminants on biodiversity is being encapsulated within the latest water-related legislation such as the Water Framework Directive in Europe and criteria revisions to the Clean Water Act in the United States. This review undertakes an evaluation of the potential of 2-stage wastewater treatment consisting of primary sedimentation and biological treatment in the form of activated sludge processes, to meet more stringent discharge consents that are likely to be introduced as a consequence. The legislation, sources of metals, and mechanisms responsible for their removal are discussed, to elucidate possible pathways by which the performance of conventional processes may be optimized or enhanced. Improvements in effluent quality, achievable by reducing concentrations of suspended solids or biochemical oxygen demand, may also reduce metal concentrations although meeting possible requirements for the removal of copper my be challenging

Restless Legs Syndrome Prevalence and Clinical Correlates Among Psychiatric Inpatients: A Multicenter Study.

Background There are only limited reports on the prevalence of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in patients with psychiatric disorders. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and clinical correlates in psychiatric inpatients in Germany and Switzerland. Methods This is a multicenter cross-sectional study of psychiatric inpatients with an age above 18 years that were diagnosed and evaluated face-to-face using the International RLS Study Group criteria (IRLSSG) and the International RLS severity scale (IRLS). In addition to sociodemographic and biometric data, sleep quality and mood were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). In addition to univariate statistics used to describe and statistically analyze differences in variables of interest between patients with and without RLS, a logistic model was employed to identify predictors for the occurrence of RLS. Results The prevalence of RLS in a sample of 317 psychiatric inpatients was 16.4%, and 76.9% of these were diagnosed with RLS for the first time. RLS severity was moderate to severe (IRLS ± SD: 20.3 ± 8.4). The prevalences in women (p = 0.0036) and in first-degree relatives with RLS (p = 0.0108) as well as the body mass index (BMI, p = 0.0161) were significantly higher among patients with RLS, while alcohol consumption was significantly lower in the RLS group. With the exception of atypical antipsychotics, treatment with psychotropic drugs was not associated with RLS symptoms. Regarding subjective sleep quality and mood, scores of the PSQI (p = 0.0007), ISI (p = 0.0003), and ESS (p = 0.0005) were higher in patients with RLS, while PHQ-9 scores were not different. A logistic regression analysis identified gender (OR 2.67; 95% CI [1.25; 5.72]), first-degree relatives with RLS (OR 3.29; 95% CI [1.11; 9.73], ESS score (OR 1.09; 95% CI [1.01; 1.17]), and rare alcohol consumption (OR 0.45; 95% CI [0.22; 0.94] as predictors for RLS. Conclusions Clinically significant RLS had a high prevalence in psychiatric patients. RLS was associated with higher BMI, impaired sleep quality, and lower alcohol consumption. A systematic assessment of restless legs symptoms might contribute to improve the treatment of psychiatric patients