"The House of the Irish" : Irishness, history, and memory in Griffintown, Montréal, 1868-2009

This dissertation examines the arc of Irish-Catholic identity in Griffintown, a working-class neighbourhood of Montreal, over the course of the "long" twentieth century, from 1868 to 2009. Griffintown is significant as it was both the first and last Irish-Catholic neighbourhood of the city. Situating the working-class Irish-Catholics of Griffintown within a postcolonial framework, this dissertation examines the development and functioning of a diasporic Irish culture in Montréal. We see how that culture operated in Griffintown, at times shielding the residents of the neighbourhood from goings on in the wider city and nation, and at other times allowing for the forging of common cause across class lines within the Irish-Catholic community of Montréal. In the years following World War II, Irish-Catholic Griffintown disappeared from the landscape, owing to depopulation and the physical destruction of the neighbourhood. We then see how Irish-Catholic identity in Montréal as a whole broke down, as the Irish made common cause with the Anglo-Protestants of the city to forge a new alliance: Anglo-Montréal. Thus situated, the Anglophone population of the city girded itself in a defensive posture for the linguistic, cultural, economic, and constitutional strife that dominated life in Montréal over the second half of the twentieth century. In the years since the second referendum on Quebec sovereignty in 1995, Irish identity has undergone a renaissance of sorts in Montréal, due to both developments locally and the reinvigoration of the Irish diaspora globally since the 1980s. In this process, we see the intersection of history and memory as Griffintown has become the site of Irish memory and remembrance on Montréal's cultural landscape. The Irish of Montréal, then, have used Griffintown as a means of claiming their space on the cultural landscape of the city and to demonstrate their long-standing connection to Montréal. In effect, Griffintown has allowed the Irish in Montréal to re-claim their stake as one of Montréal's "founding nations.

Anthropometric and Performance Perspectives of Female Competitive Surfing

Purpose: To evaluate the anthropometric profiles of female surfers and to identify whether any anthropometrical factors might predict competitive ranking. Secondly to evaluate the activity profile of female competitive surfing with respect to environmental conditions using GPS derived measures. Methods: Following institutional ethical approval n = 31 female competitive surfers underwent anthropometric assessment (mean age: 20.49, s = 5.32 years, stature: 165.2, s = 4.8 cm; body mass: 63.0, s = 6.8 Kg) a subsample (n = 22) wore GPS units during competition at four different locations with varied surfing conditions. Results: The mean somatotype values the surfers was found to be (Endo-Meso-Ecto) 4.06 – 4.15 – 2.01. Significant correlations (p <0.05) were found between National ranking and triceps, medial calf skinfolds, sum of six skinfolds, body fat percentage and sum of eight skinfolds. Percentage time sitting, paddling and riding were 62.58% ± 10.18%, 30.70% ± 9.44% and 6.73% ± 2.91% respectively. The mean ride time, maximum ride time, total time spent riding and the total distance surfing were significantly correlated with the round of the competition. Furthermore, the number of rides, time spent riding, percentage of total distance surfing and percentage time riding were correlated with heat placement (p < 0.05). Time spent sitting was associated with poorer heat placements (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Body fat levels are associated with national ranking in competitive female surfers. The number of waves ridden in a heat, the length of the rides and activity levels were significantly related to heat placement and competition progression. Keywords: Body composition; sports; somatotypes; athletic performance/physiology; Muscle, skeletal; body size; body mass index; GPS; wave conditions; competition

The Grizzly, February 15, 1980

J-Board Hears USGA Controversy • Victory Over Swarthmore: Men\u27s Basketball Captures Title • Reber Spends Semester In England • USGA Notes • Letters to the Editor • Basketball Downs K-town • MAC Championships • Lacrosse Looking Good • Spider Wrestler Line-up • The FUNdamentals of Freestyle Skiinghttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1033/thumbnail.jp

High Rate of Mobilization for blaCTX-Ms

The blaCTX-Ms have been mobilized to plasmids more frequently than other class A β-lactamases

Adjunctive rifampicin to reduce early mortality from Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (ARREST): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia is a common and serious infection, with an associated mortality of ~25%. Once in the blood, S. aureus can disseminate to infect almost any organ, but bones, joints and heart valves are most frequently affected. Despite the infection's severity, the evidence guiding optimal antibiotic therapy is weak: fewer than 1,500 patients have been included in 16 randomised controlled trials investigating S. aureus bacteraemia treatment. It is uncertain which antibiotics are most effective, their route of administration and duration, and whether antibiotic combinations are better than single agents. We hypothesise that adjunctive rifampicin, given in combination with a standard first-line antibiotic, will enhance killing of S. aureus early in the treatment course, sterilise infected foci and blood faster, and thereby reduce the risk of dissemination, metastatic infection and death. Our aim is to determine whether adjunctive rifampicin reduces all-cause mortality within 14 days and bacteriological failure or death within 12 weeks from randomisation. METHODS: We will perform a parallel group, randomised (1:1), blinded, placebo-controlled trial in NHS hospitals across the UK. Adults (≥ 18 years) with S. aureus (meticillin-susceptible or resistant) grown from at least one blood culture who have received ≤ 96 h of active antibiotic therapy for the current infection and do not have contraindications to the use of rifampicin will be eligible for inclusion. Participants will be randomised to adjunctive rifampicin (600-900 mg/day; orally or intravenously) or placebo for the first 14 days of therapy in combination with standard single-agent antibiotic therapy. The co-primary outcome measures will be all-cause mortality up to 14 days from randomisation and bacteriological failure/death (all-cause) up to 12 weeks from randomisation. 940 patients will be recruited, providing >80% power to detect 45% and 30% reductions in the two co-primary endpoints of death by 14 days and bacteriological failure/death by 12 weeks respectively. DISCUSSION: This pragmatic trial addresses the long-standing hypothesis that adjunctive rifampicin improves outcome from S. aureus bacteraemia through enhanced early bacterial killing. If proven correct, it will provide a paradigm through which further improvements in outcome from S. aureus bacteraemia can be explored.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Effect of a test-and-treat approach to vitamin D supplementation on risk of all cause acute respiratory tract infection and covid-19:phase 3 randomised controlled trial (CORONAVIT)

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of population level implementation of a test-and-treat approach to correction of suboptimal vitamin D status (25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) <75 nmol/L) on risk of all cause acute respiratory tract infection and covid 19. DESIGN: Phase 3 open label randomised controlled trial. SETTING: United Kingdom. PARTICIPANTS: 6200 people aged ≥16 years who were not taking vitamin D supplements at baseline. INTERVENTIONS: Offer of a postal finger prick test of blood 25(OH)D concentration with provision of a six month supply of lower dose vitamin D (800 IU/day, n=1550) or higher dose vitamin D (3200 IU/day, n=1550) to those with blood 25(OH)D concentration <75 nmol/L, compared with no offer of testing or supplementation (n=3100). Follow-up was for six months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the proportion of participants with at least one swab test or doctor confirmed acute respiratory tract infection of any cause. A secondary outcome was the proportion of participants with swab test confirmed covid-19. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios and associated 95% confidence intervals. The primary analysis was conducted by intention to treat. RESULTS: Of 3100 participants offered a vitamin D test, 2958 (95.4%) accepted and 2674 (86.3%) had 25(OH)D concentrations <75 nmol/L and received vitamin D supplements (n=1328 lower dose, n=1346 higher dose). Compared with 136/2949 (4.6%) participants in the no offer group, at least one acute respiratory tract infection of any cause occurred in 87/1515 (5.7%) in the lower dose group (odds ratio 1.26, 95% confidence interval 0.96 to 1.66) and 76/1515 (5.0%) in the higher dose group (1.09, 0.82 to 1.46). Compared with 78/2949 (2.6%) participants in the no offer group, 55/1515 (3.6%) developed covid-19 in the lower dose group (1.39, 0.98 to 1.97) and 45/1515 (3.0%) in the higher dose group (1.13, 0.78 to 1.63). CONCLUSIONS: Among people aged 16 years and older with a high baseline prevalence of suboptimal vitamin D status, implementation of a population level test-and-treat approach to vitamin D supplementation was not associated with a reduction in risk of all cause acute respiratory tract infection or covid-19. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04579640

Hyperfunctional complement C3 promotes C5-dependent atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome in mice

Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is frequently associated in humans with loss-of-function mutations in complement-regulating proteins or gain-of-function mutations in complement-activating proteins. Thus, aHUS provides an archetypal complement-mediated disease with which to model new therapeutic strategies and treatments. Herein, we show that, when transferred to mice, an aHUS-associated gain-of-function change (D1115N) to the complement-activation protein C3 results in aHUS. Homozygous C3 p.D1115N (C3KI) mice developed spontaneous chronic thrombotic microangiopathy together with hematuria, thrombocytopenia, elevated creatinine, and evidence of hemolysis. Mice with active disease had reduced plasma C3 with C3 fragment and C9 deposition within the kidney. Therapeutic blockade or genetic deletion of C5, a protein downstream of C3 in the complement cascade, protected homozygous C3KI mice from thrombotic microangiopathy and aHUS. Thus, our data provide in vivo modeling evidence that gain-of-function changes in complement C3 drive aHUS. They also show that long-term C5 deficiency is not accompanied by development of other renal complications (such as C3 glomerulopathy) despite sustained dysregulation of C3. Our results suggest that this preclinical model will allow testing of novel complement inhibitors with the aim of developing precisely targeted therapeutics that could have application in many complement-mediated diseases

Dietary nitrate supplementation enhances high-intensity running performance in moderate normobaric hypoxia, independent of aerobic fitness.

Nitrate-rich beetroot juice (BRJ) increases plasma nitrite concentrations, lowers the oxygen cost (V̇O2) of steady-state exercise and improves exercise performance in sedentary and moderately-trained, but rarely in well-trained individuals exercising at sea-level. BRJ supplementation may be more effective in a hypoxic environment, where the reduction of nitrite into nitric oxide (NO) is potentiated, such that well-trained and less well-trained individuals may derive a similar ergogenic effect. We conducted a randomised, counterbalanced, double-blind placebo controlled trial to determine the effects of BRJ on treadmill running performance in moderate normobaric hypoxia (equivalent to 2500 m altitude) in participants with a range of aerobic fitness levels. Twelve healthy males (V̇O2max ranging from 47.1 to 76.8 ml kg(-1)·min(-1)) ingested 138 ml concentrated BRJ (∼15.2 mmol nitrate) or a nitrate-deplete placebo (PLA) (∼0.2 mmol nitrate). Three hours later, participants completed steady-state moderate intensity running, and a 1500 m time-trial (TT) in a normobaric hypoxic chamber (FIO2 ∼15%). Plasma nitrite concentrations were significantly greater following BRJ versus PLA 1 h post supplementation, and remained higher in BRJ throughout the testing session (p  0.05). These findings suggests that a high nitrate dose in the form of a BRJ supplement may improve running performance in individuals with a range of aerobic fitness levels conducting moderate and high-intensity exercise in a normobaric hypoxic environment