To Cement the Bond of Friendship :The Joan of Arc Statue in New Orleans, 1958-2020

This thesis presents a study of the importance of statuary related to historical memory and influence focusing on the Joan of Arc Statue in New Orleans, Louisiana. Gifted to the city in 1958 and installed in 1972 officially in the wake of Charles de Gaulle’s visit, the Joan of Arc Statue has been the subject of controversy and a costly reinstallation in the French Quarter. This thesis, using primary evidence from court cases, interviews, and newspapers, traces Joan’s significance and use as a site of memory and link between France and the City of New Orleans

Lack of associations between rest/activity rhythms and cognition in healthy middle-aged and young adults

Understanding contributing factors to cognitive variation in healthy middle-aged and young adults may highlight mechanisms for interventions for pathologies of cognition and cognitive decline with age. Rest activity rhythms (RARs), as a proxy for variation in circadian functioning, have been related to normative variation in cognitive functioning among older adults. However, these findings have not yet been extended to young and middle-aged adults. The two following studies aimed to address this gap by investigating the relationship between RARs and cognitive functioning in middle-aged and young adults. Healthy middle-aged participants (n = 402, M = 42.9 year old, SD = 7.29) from the Adult Health and Behavior II project (n = 218; 54.1% female; Study 1) and healthy young adults (n = 109; M = 23.74 years old, SD = 3.32) from The Effects of Dose-Dependent Sleep Disruption on Fear and Reward Study (women n = 65; 56.9%; Study 2) underwent neuropsychological testing and wore an actiwatch. Actigraphy data was used to extract RAR measures for each participant and was quantified using both parametric (rhythm height and rhythm timing) and nonparametric techniques (day-to-day stability of rhythms and rhythm fragmentation). Regression models in Study 1 and robust regression models in Study 2 were used to statistically predict cognitive performance while controlling for several demographic, sleep, and health behaviors. In Study 1, individuals who exhibited RARs with a lower height also performed better in the verbal proficiency domain relative to those with higher, more robust RARs. Post hoc analyses suggest the association is partially mediated by job type. We speculate that sedentary midday behavior required in certain jobs may obscure the circadian influence RARs. No other RAR and cognitive domain associations were found. Several factors that may contribute to the null results are considered, including using samples of convenience, potential masking of the circadian signal by sedentary job-related behavior, or the lack of a relationship between circadian variation and cognition. Additional research is required to confirm the possibility of masking by midday sedentary behavior and to test whether other measures of circadian functioning are related to cognitive performance in middle-aged and young adults

Clock Genes, Circadian Rhythms, and Mood Disorders: The Role of Positive Affect

Background: The master circadian clock maintains a ~24 hour rhythm via genetic feedback loops. Polymorphisms in master clock genes have been associated with markers of delayed rhythms and depression, suggesting delayed rhythms originating from variants in the master clock may create vulnerability to depression. Further, evening chronotype, a marker of delayed rhythms, is associated with depression. Recent research has found positive affect (PA) to be an important mediator in the relationship between evening chronotype and depression severity. PA exhibits a diurnal rhythm that is delayed and blunted in those with evening chronotype, suggesting the same master clock polymorphisms that predict chronotype may also predict PA rhythms. Therefore, it is hypothesized that polymorphisms in master clock genes will predict variations in PA rhythms and further, chronotype will mediate this relationship. Methods: Affect was measured every 45 minutes during waking hours for at least two workdays and one non-workday in 381 healthy Caucasian adults. Participants completed questionnaires on affect and chronotype. Genetic information was extracted from blood samples and genotyped for four polymorphisms (CLOCK 3111 C/T, PER3 G647V, BMAL 1420 A/G, CRY1 rs8192440) that were used to create a gene risk score. Results: The PA rhythm on workdays differed significantly based on chronotype. PA phase timing, but not amplitude, significantly differed across chronotype. The proposed clock gene risk score did not predict either PA rhythm measures or chronotype. Discussion: Study results support the association between chronotype and PA rhythm, specifically in phase timing. Although the gene risk score was not predictive, other polymorphisms that may affect the circadian clock may be important for future studies. Results suggest that chronotype is more predictive of phase timing than amplitude, and may be an important factor in continuing research in vulnerabilities to depression

Examining Gender Differences in Pain Treatment Recommendations

poster abstractUnderstanding how pain treatment decisions are made has important clinical implications for healthcare. Research suggests that men and women receive disparate pain care, however, little is known about the specific treatment recommendations that are differentially made for men and women. The purpose of this study was to examine differences between the types of pain treatments recommended for men and women. Undergraduate psychology students from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and the University of North Texas (UNT) (n=621) made treatment recommendations for 8 chronic pain patients after reading a vignette describing the patient’s pain and watching a video of each patient completing a pain-inducing task (i.e., transition between sitting and standing). Participants made pain treatment recommendations for each patient using separate 0-100 visual analogue scales (VASs). Dependent samples t-tests indicated that participants were more likely to recommend workplace accommodations (t(620)= -3.05, p= .002, d= 0.17), disability compensation (t(620)= -7.77, p< .001, d= 0.44), and opioid medications (t(620)= -5.16, p< .001, d= 0.29) for men compared to women. Moreover, participants were more likely to recommend psychological therapy (t(620)= 4.59, p< .001, d= 0.26), rest (t(620)= 7.80, p< .001, d= 0.44), and diet/exercise (t(620)= 2.97, p= .003, d= 0.17) for women compared to men. These results are consistent with social psychological theories of gender-based stereotyping and suggest that men’s pain was perceived to be more legitimate, severe, and disabling than was women’s pain. Future studies are needed to examine how these differences affect pain outcomes and whether knowledge of these factors can improve training for future health care providers

A comparison of race-related pain stereotypes held by White and Black individuals

Pain judgments are the basis for pain management. The purpose of this study was to assess Black and White participants’ race-related pain stereotypes. Undergraduates (n=551) rated the pain sensitivity and willingness to report pain for the typical Black person, White person, and themselves. Participants, regardless of race, rated the typical White person as being more pain sensitive and more willing to report pain than the typical Black person. White participants rated themselves as less sensitive and less willing to report pain than same-race peers; however, Black participants rated themselves as more pain sensitive and more willing to report pain than same-race peers. These findings highlight similarities and differences in racial stereotypic pain beliefs held by Black and White individuals

An Exploratory Study Using Participation Plans for Inclusive Social Studies Instruction

Limited research exists on teaching social studies content, including intervention research, in inclusive settings for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The purpose of this exploratory project was to evaluate the use of participation plans for supporting students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in inclusive high school social studies classrooms. The study addressed two questions: (1) To what extent can students with IDD learn prioritized social studies content and skills in inclusive secondary settings? and (2) How do participation plans support students in learning prioritized social studies content and skills in inclusive general education settings? A university research team supported a public high school staff to employ a single-case, multiple baseline design across prioritized skills (knowledge of content, vocabulary, and summarization) and participants. Results showed students’ correct responses increased across prioritized skills after the team began using the participation plans. This discreet intervention exhibits promise for school staff (i.e., teachers, paraprofessionals) needing mediating tools for effective inclusive education. We discuss implications for future research and practice

Exploring the Value of Academic Librarians’ Participation in Journal Clubs

Journal clubs are meetings where participants engage in discussion or appraisal of professional literature and research. This study investigates the perceived value of librarians’ participation in journal clubs. Using a hermeneutic dialectic process, we built a construction of the value of journal club participation based on interviews with academic librarians. In the construction, we demonstrate that librarians and their organizations benefit from the informal professional learning that takes place in journal clubs, by developing professional knowledge, building and strengthening communities of practice, increasing research capacity, and closing the research-to-practice ga

Methane and sulfate dynamics in sediments from mangrove-dominated tropical coastal lagoons, Yucatan, Mexico

Porewater profiles in sediment cores from mangrove-dominated coastal lagoons (Celestún and Chelem) on the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, reveal the widespread coexistence of dissolved methane and sulfate. This observation is interesting since dissolved methane in porewaters is typically oxidized anaerobically by sulfate. To explain the observations we used a numerical transport-reaction model that was constrained by the field observations. The model suggests that methane in the upper sediments is produced in the sulfate reduction zone at rates ranging between 0.012 and 31 mmolm-2 d-1, concurrent with sulfate reduction rates between 1.1 and 24 mmol SO2- 4 m-2 d-1. These processes are supported by high organic matter content in the sediment and the use of non-competitive substrates by methanogenic microorganisms. Indeed sediment slurry incubation experiments show that non-competitive substrates such as trimethylamine (TMA) and methanol can be utilized for microbial methanogenesis at the study sites. The model also indicates that a significant fraction of methane is transported to the sulfate reduction zone from deeper zones within the sedimentary column by rising bubbles and gas dissolution. The shallow depths of methane production and the fast rising methane gas bubbles reduce the likelihood for oxidation, thereby allowing a large fraction of the methane formed in the sediments to escape to the overlying water column

Propionibacterium acnes bacteriophages display limited genetic diversity and broad killing activity against bacterial skin isolates.

UnlabelledInvestigation of the human microbiome has revealed diverse and complex microbial communities at distinct anatomic sites. The microbiome of the human sebaceous follicle provides a tractable model in which to study its dominant bacterial inhabitant, Propionibacterium acnes, which is thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of the human disease acne. To explore the diversity of the bacteriophages that infect P. acnes, 11 P. acnes phages were isolated from the sebaceous follicles of donors with healthy skin or acne and their genomes were sequenced. Comparative genomic analysis of the P. acnes phage population, which spans a 30-year temporal period and a broad geographic range, reveals striking similarity in terms of genome length, percent GC content, nucleotide identity (&gt;85%), and gene content. This was unexpected, given the far-ranging diversity observed in virtually all other phage populations. Although the P. acnes phages display a broad host range against clinical isolates of P. acnes, two bacterial isolates were resistant to many of these phages. Moreover, the patterns of phage resistance correlate closely with the presence of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat elements in the bacteria that target a specific subset of phages, conferring a system of prokaryotic innate immunity. The limited diversity of the P. acnes bacteriophages, which may relate to the unique evolutionary constraints imposed by the lipid-rich anaerobic environment in which their bacterial hosts reside, points to the potential utility of phage-based antimicrobial therapy for acne.ImportancePropionibacterium acnes is a dominant member of the skin microflora and has also been implicated in the pathogenesis of acne; however, little is known about the bacteriophages that coexist with and infect this bacterium. Here we present the novel genome sequences of 11 P. acnes phages, thereby substantially increasing the amount of available genomic information about this phage population. Surprisingly, we find that, unlike other well-studied bacteriophages, P. acnes phages are highly homogeneous and show a striking lack of genetic diversity, which is perhaps related to their unique and restricted habitat. They also share a broad ability to kill clinical isolates of P. acnes; phage resistance is not prevalent, but when detected, it appears to be conferred by chromosomally encoded immunity elements within the host genome. We believe that these phages display numerous features that would make them ideal candidates for the development of a phage-based therapy for acne

A Formative Evaluation of the Family Strengthening Program in the Treasure Valley

Family Advocates, a nonprofit organization serving families in the Treasure Valley in Idaho, offers the Family Strengthening Program. This is a 20-week program providing weekly meetings for families who need to develop strong family cohesion, resilience, and parenting skills to maintain healthy families. The program uses the Strengthening Families’ approach with an emphasis on the protective factors framework and provides incentives to participants for participation. A third-party evaluation team from a local university conducted a formative evaluation of the program to help improve its quality. The evaluation team used both goal-based and goal-free, needs-based evaluation approaches, and analyzed quantitative and qualitative data. This included survey data from past weekly sessions, Facebook alumni group communications, and group interviews and surveys with participants, graduates, volunteers, and staff. The triangulated data indicated that program participants were highly satisfied with the program and felt the program helped improve their protective factors. The data also revealed the parents’ perceptions regarding program incentives as well as their preference for learning in socialized contexts. Based on the formative evaluation results and considering the participants’ perceptions and experiences, the program amended their curriculum and incentive plans to better accommodate the participants’ needs