“Where Happily Ever After Happens Every Day”: Disney’s Official Princess Website and the Commodification of Play

This article interrogates Disney’s web presence as manifested in its official Princess website, http://disney.go.com/princess, arguing that this new media platform is one way that Disney commodifies play. While the site is only one part of a complex web of texts that forms Disney Princess, it serves a crucial cultural function. As a legitimate Disney site, it has an aura of authenticity; as a site with a dual implied audience of young children and their parents, it is a key way to shape consumers and track online habits. This article argues that despite a persistent emphasis on individual choice, this site works to control and regulate play, substituting Disney-inflected notions of “specialness” for actual user agency.   DOI: 10.1353/jeu.2011.001

Changes in reflectin protein phosphorylation are associated with dynamic iridescence in squid

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of The Royal Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of The Royal Society Interface 6 (2010): 549-560, doi:10.1098/rsif.2009.0299.Many cephalopods exhibit remarkable dermal iridescence, a component of their complex, dynamic camouflage and communication. In the species Euprymna scolopes, the light-organ iridescence is static and is due to reflectin protein-based platelets assembled into lamellar thin-film reflectors called iridosomes, contained within iridescent cells called iridocytes. Squid in the family Loliginidae appear to be unique in that the dermis possesses a dynamic iridescent component, with reflective, colored structures that are assembled and disassembled under the control of the muscarinic cholinergic system and the associated neurotransmitter acetylcholine (Mathger et al. 2004). Here we present the sequences and characterization of three new members of the reflectin family associated with the dynamically changeable iridescence in Loligo and not found in static Euprymna iridophores. In addition, we show that application of genistein, a protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor, suppresses acetylcholine- and calcium-induced iridescence in Loligo. We further demonstrate that two of these novel reflectins are extensively phosphorylated in concert with the activation of iridescence by exogenous acetylcholine. This phosphorylation and the correlated iridescence can be blocked with genistein. Our results suggest that tyrosine phosphorylation of reflectin proteins is involved in the regulation of dynamic iridescence in Loligo.We gratefully acknowledge support from Anteon contract F33615-03-D-5408 to the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA and grant # W911NF-06-1-0285 from the Army Research Office to D.E.M

Implementation of an Outpatient HD-MTX Initiative

Introduction: Methotrexate (MTX) a folate antagonist is often given in high doses (≥500 mg/m2) to treat a variety of disease processes. While inpatient administration has been the norm, outpatient administration, has been shown to be safe, effective, and patient centered. Here in we describe development of an outpatient HDMTX protocol and our initial experience. Methods: All patients were to receive their first cycle of HDMTX in the hospital to ensure they tolerate it well and also to use this time to assist in training for home administration. The outpatient protocol involved continuous IV sodium bicarbonate, along with oral leucovorin and acetazolamide. Patients were required to visit the infusion center daily for labs and methotrexate levels. Clear criteria for admission were developed in the case of delayed clearance or methotrexate toxicity. Results: Two patients completed the safety run-in phase. Both patients tolerated treatment well. There were no associated toxicity. Methotrexate cleared within 3 days for all cycles. Both patients were able to follow the preadmission instructions for sodium bicarbonate and acetazolamide. The patients reported adequate teaching on the protocol and were able to maintain frequency of urine dipstick checks. Conclusion: We developed and implemented an outpatient protocol for high dose methotrexate. This study largely details the development of this protocol and its initial safety evaluation. More work needs to be done to assess its feasibility on a larger number of patients who receive more cycles in the outpatient setting

“In Sickness and in Health”? Disclosures of Genetic Risks in Dating

Individuals who have, or are at risk for, various genetic disorders face many challenges concerning disclosures of genetic information in dating situations. We conducted a qualitative interview study of 64 individuals confronting Huntington's disease, breast cancer, or Alpha‐1 antitrypsin deficiency, examining what issues these individuals encountered, and how they viewed and addressed these—including issues of understandings, privacy, and disclosures of genetic information to various groups (e.g., family members). Incidental to the primary research questions addressed, participants also often described a series of dilemmas in dating situations that they and/or family members, friends, and fellow patients faced of whether to date, and if so, whether, what, how, why, and when to disclose their genetic risk or illness. At times, these individuals feared and experienced rejection, and hence delayed, avoided, or opposed disclosure, or disclosed indirectly or inadvertently. These data are reported in this paper and highlight the importance of patients, their loved ones, genetic counselors, and other health care providers being aware of these issues, and appreciating the complex factors involved, which can affect patients’ coping and social support. This paper, the first to explore several key aspects of disclosures of genetic information in dating, thus suggests needs for public and professional education, and future research in this area

The IDENTIFY study: the investigation and detection of urological neoplasia in patients referred with suspected urinary tract cancer - a multicentre observational study

Objective To evaluate the contemporary prevalence of urinary tract cancer (bladder cancer, upper tract urothelial cancer [UTUC] and renal cancer) in patients referred to secondary care with haematuria, adjusted for established patient risk markers and geographical variation. Patients and Methods This was an international multicentre prospective observational study. We included patients aged ≥16 years, referred to secondary care with suspected urinary tract cancer. Patients with a known or previous urological malignancy were excluded. We estimated the prevalence of bladder cancer, UTUC, renal cancer and prostate cancer; stratified by age, type of haematuria, sex, and smoking. We used a multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression to adjust cancer prevalence for age, type of haematuria, sex, smoking, hospitals, and countries. Results Of the 11 059 patients assessed for eligibility, 10 896 were included from 110 hospitals across 26 countries. The overall adjusted cancer prevalence (n = 2257) was 28.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 22.3–34.1), bladder cancer (n = 1951) 24.7% (95% CI 19.1–30.2), UTUC (n = 128) 1.14% (95% CI 0.77–1.52), renal cancer (n = 107) 1.05% (95% CI 0.80–1.29), and prostate cancer (n = 124) 1.75% (95% CI 1.32–2.18). The odds ratios for patient risk markers in the model for all cancers were: age 1.04 (95% CI 1.03–1.05; P < 0.001), visible haematuria 3.47 (95% CI 2.90–4.15; P < 0.001), male sex 1.30 (95% CI 1.14–1.50; P < 0.001), and smoking 2.70 (95% CI 2.30–3.18; P < 0.001). Conclusions A better understanding of cancer prevalence across an international population is required to inform clinical guidelines. We are the first to report urinary tract cancer prevalence across an international population in patients referred to secondary care, adjusted for patient risk markers and geographical variation. Bladder cancer was the most prevalent disease. Visible haematuria was the strongest predictor for urinary tract cancer