There\u27s No Place Like Home

Megan Griffith \u2716 writes about homesickness for SNC parents in Summer 2015

Peanut Butter Two Of Us: How Speech-To-Text Technology Interprets Stuttered Speech

Kristin PelczarskiThe iPhone is a popular smartphone that is widely available. It includes many features that are meant to simplify aspects of daily life, including hands-free typing via speech dictation. However, the current speech-to-text technology limits users who have disordered speech such as a stutter (Rudzicz, 2012; Tu, Wisler, Berisha, & Liss, 2016). The purpose of this pilot study was to gather preliminary data on the accuracy of an iPhone’s speech-to-text feature when presented with stuttered speech. Three different stutter types were simulated in three different positions (initial, medial, final), and the list of stimuli consisted of six different utterance lengths. The iPhone’s responses were recorded, evaluated, and interpreted. Results show that the iPhone made the most errors on repetition stutters, and the most common type of error was the addition of words into the utterance. The staggering amount of errors made by the iPhone when a stutter was present suggest that while the hands-free technology is helpful for many users, there is still a large population that is excluded from its full capabilities. The topic should be further explored in order to create a more inclusive speech-to-text feature for those with disordered speech

Naughty in the Aughties, 21st Century British Adolescent Culture and Alienation in Skins Seasons 1-2

This thesis explores representations of British youth culture and adolescent identity formation in the ‘first generation’ (seasons 1-2) of the British television teen drama Skins (2007-8). Like its peers in the Teen TV genre, Skins focuses on normative teenage angst and rebellion that results in ‘naughty behavior’: sex, drug and alcohol use, and conflict with and alienation from parents. Skins sets itself apart from genre standards by heightening and glamorizing the way these behaviors are visually depicted. Furthermore, the characters experience very few substantial consequences or repercussions from parents or other authority figures, but rather repercussions come from within their own close-knit group. The primary source of tension in the series occurs during the moments when the group of friends challenge the cultural, biological and ideological constraints under which they find themselves when their preoccupied, self-involved, neglectful, and otherwise overbearing parents directly contribute to the conditions that fuel their excessive ‘naughtiness.’ The series creators, writers, producers and actors promote Skins as an authentic representation of teenage experience and this thesis ultimately seeks to explore the implications of this representation in order to gain a better understanding of British youth culture in the new millennium

Best practices for bioinformatic characterization of neoantigens for clinical utility

Neoantigens are newly formed peptides created from somatic mutations that are capable of inducing tumor-specific T cell recognition. Recently, researchers and clinicians have leveraged next generation sequencing technologies to identify neoantigens and to create personalized immunotherapies for cancer treatment. To create a personalized cancer vaccine, neoantigens must be computationally predicted from matched tumor-normal sequencing data, and then ranked according to their predicted capability in stimulating a T cell response. This candidate neoantigen prediction process involves multiple steps, including somatic mutation identification, HLA typing, peptide processing, and peptide-MHC binding prediction. The general workflow has been utilized for many preclinical and clinical trials, but there is no current consensus approach and few established best practices. In this article, we review recent discoveries, summarize the available computational tools, and provide analysis considerations for each step, including neoantigen prediction, prioritization, delivery, and validation methods. In addition to reviewing the current state of neoantigen analysis, we provide practical guidance, specific recommendations, and extensive discussion of critical concepts and points of confusion in the practice of neoantigen characterization for clinical use. Finally, we outline necessary areas of development, including the need to improve HLA class II typing accuracy, to expand software support for diverse neoantigen sources, and to incorporate clinical response data to improve neoantigen prediction algorithms. The ultimate goal of neoantigen characterization workflows is to create personalized vaccines that improve patient outcomes in diverse cancer types

Psychosocial factors involved in memory and cognitive failures in people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome

Background: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is characterized by persistent emotional, mental, and physical fatigue accompanied by a range of neurological, autonomic, neuroendocrine, immune, and sleep problems. Research has shown that psychosocial factors such as anxiety and depression as well as the symptoms of the illness, have a significant impact on the quality of life of people with ME/CFS. In addition, individuals may suffer from deficits in memory and concentration. This study set out to explore the relationships between variables which have been found to contribute to cognitive performance, as measured by prospective and retrospective memory, and cognitive failures. Methods: Eighty-seven people with ME/CFS answered questionnaires measuring fatigue, depression, anxiety, social support, and general self-efficacy. These were used in a correlational design (multiple regression) to predict cognitive function (self-ratings on prospective and retrospective memory), and cognitive failures. Results: Our study found that fatigue, depression, and general self-efficacy were directly associated with cognitive failures and retrospective (but not prospective) memory. Conclusion: Although it was not possible in this study to determine the cause of the deficits, the literature in this area leads us to suggest that although the pathophysiological mechanisms of ME/CFS are unclear, abnormalities in the immune system, including proinflammatory cytokines, can lead to significant impairments in cognition. We suggest that fatigue and depression may be a result of the neurobiological effects of ME/CFS and in addition, that the neurobiological effects of the illness may give rise to both fatigue and cognitive deficits independently

Membranous Glomerulonephritis With Crescents.

INTRODUCTION: Membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) is rarely associated with necrotizing and crescentic glomerulonephritis (NCGN). METHODS: We report the clinical and pathologic findings in 15 patients with MGN and NCGN associated with anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibodies (ANCAs), anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM), or anti-phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) antibodies. RESULTS: The cohort consisted of 15 patients: 7 males and 8 females with a median age of 63 years (range: 18-79). In 12 of 15 patients, MGN and NCGN were diagnosed at the time of the biopsy, and in 3 cases, MGN predated the NCGN. ANCA was positive in 7 cases (6 MPO myeloperoxidase (MPO)-ANCA and 1 PR3-ANCA), anti-GBM antibodies were detected in 5 cases, and anti-PLA2R antibodies were found in 2 cases. One case was negative for all antibodies. Microscopic hematuria was present in all but one patient who was anuric, and median urinary protein-to-creatinine ratio was 819.5 mg/mmol (range: 88-5600). Pathologic evaluation revealed MGN and NCGN with crescents involving 28% of glomeruli (median; range: 5%-100%). Follow-up was available for all 15 patients; all were treated with steroids; 10 with cyclophosphamide, and 6 also received rituximab. At a median follow-up of 72 months, 9 had stabilization or improvement of renal function, 6 had progressed to end-stage renal disease, and 4 died during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: MGN with crescents associated with ANCAs or anti-GBM antibodies is a rare dual glomerulopathy. Patients present with heavy proteinuria, microscopic hematuria, and acute kidney injury and should be treated for a rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. Prognosis is variable, and 40% of patients progress to end-stage renal disease

Personalized ctDNA micro-panels can monitor and predict clinical outcomes for patients with triple-negative breast cancer

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in peripheral blood has been used to predict prognosis and therapeutic response for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients. However, previous approaches typically use large comprehensive panels of genes commonly mutated across all breast cancers. Given the reduction in sequencing costs and decreased turnaround times associated with panel generation, the objective of this study was to assess the use of custom micro-panels for tracking disease and predicting clinical outcomes for patients with TNBC. Paired tumor-normal samples from patients with TNBC were obtained at diagnosis (T0) and whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed to identify somatic variants associated with individual tumors. Custom micro-panels of 4-6 variants were created for each individual enrolled in the study. Peripheral blood was obtained at baseline, during Cycle 1 Day 3, at time of surgery, and in 3-6 month intervals after surgery to assess variant allele fraction (VAF) at different timepoints during disease course. The VAF was compared to clinical outcomes to evaluate the ability of custom micro-panels to predict pathological response, disease-free intervals, and patient relapse. A cohort of 50 individuals were evaluated for up to 48 months post-diagnosis of TNBC. In total, there were 33 patients who did not achieve pathological complete response (pCR) and seven patients developed clinical relapse. For all patients who developed clinical relapse and had peripheral blood obtained ≤ 6 months prior to relapse (n = 4), the custom ctDNA micro-panels identified molecular relapse at an average of 4.3 months prior to clinical relapse. The custom ctDNA panel results were moderately associated with pCR such that during disease monitoring, only 11% of patients with pCR had a molecular relapse, whereas 47% of patients without pCR had a molecular relapse (Chi-Square; p-value = 0.10). In this study, we show that a custom micro-panel of 4-6 markers can be effectively used to predict outcomes and monitor remission for patients with TNBC. These custom micro-panels show high sensitivity for detecting molecular relapse in advance of clinical relapse. The use of these panels could improve patient outcomes through early detection of relapse with preemptive intervention prior to symptom onset

Kate 2008 Spring

Each year, kate seeks to: explore ideas about normative gender, sex, and sexuality work against oppression and hierarchies of power in any and all forms serve as a voice for race and gender equity as well as queer positivity encourage the silent to speak and feel less afraid build a zine and community that we care about and trusthttps://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/kate/1008/thumbnail.jp

The Vehicle, Fall 2007

Table of Contents Is This Thing On?Nichole D\u27Antoniopage 1 Death Came KnockingJacob Dawsonpage 5 Awaiting DecemberRebecca Griffithpage 9 ginamarieElizabeth Hoodpage 11 She LongsJennifer O\u27Neilpage 12 ForgottenStephanie Drozdpage 13 Art House WomanGreg Harrellpage 14 Young Woman OlderAmanda Vealepage 15 FirstRebecca Griffithpage 17 FlowJacob Dawsonpage 19 Am Animal AwareDanielle Meyerpage 20 Geneva 04\u27Stephanie Guyerpage 21 Poland, 1942.Jennifer O\u27Neilpage 22 Witness to the Atrophy of ForestsDanielle Meyerpage 23 Helvellyn IJacob Fosterpage 24 Three Out of Five Ain\u27t BadThomas McElweepage 25 FarceAmanda Vealepage 31 Strength of EmotionJennifer O\u27Neilpage 32 About the Authors Art Submissions Prerequisite for a RequiemJenna Smithcover Girl 3Jenna Smithpage 14 ManJenna Smithpage 16 Give Peace a ChanceMegan Mathypage 16 GraceJennifer O\u27Neilpage 20 Oh, the Places You\u27ll Go!Megan Mathypage 23https://thekeep.eiu.edu/vehicle/1086/thumbnail.jp