Anarcha

Anarcha is a multidisciplinary, multi-authored performance project. Its intent was to explore the intersection of trauma, African American history and disability studies through embodiment. The basic structure of the work was developed by the principal collaborators, but new writing, song and visual materials were added at each performance site. The collaborators used writings from public workshops to augment and enhance the basic script material. The zip files contain materials related to Anarcha, such as variations of the script, images, syllabi, programs, notes, letters, and other files. The zip files are organized by versions of the performance delivered at various locations, including Montgomery, Alabama, Davidson College, University of California - Berkeley, University of Michigan, and New Bern, North Carolina.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154039/1/Audio.ziphttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154039/3/Lisa_Steichmann_Photos.ziphttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154039/4/Montgomery_Alabama_May_16_2006.ziphttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154039/5/Davidson_February_26_2007.ziphttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154039/6/Berkeley_March_11_to_15_2007.ziphttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154039/7/University_of_Michigan_April_4_2007.ziphttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154039/8/New_Bern_NC_Residency_July_7_2007.ziphttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154039/10/File_manifest_Anarcha.pdfDescription of Audio.zip : Audio clipsDescription of Lisa_Steichmann_Photos.zip : Photographs by Lisa SteichmannDescription of Montgomery_Alabama_May_16_2006.zip : May 2006 Montgomery, AlabamaDescription of Davidson_February_26_2007.zip : February 2007 DavidsonDescription of Berkeley_March_11_to_15_2007.zip : March 2007 BerkeleyDescription of University_of_Michigan_April_4_2007.zip : April 2007 University of MichiganDescription of New_Bern_NC_Residency_July_7_2007.zip : July 2007 New Bern, NCDescription of File_manifest_Anarcha.pdf : zip files contents lis

An Unusual Clinical Presentation of Merkel Cell Carcinoma: A Case Report

Introduction. Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare, aggressive neuroendocrine cell carcinoma arising in the sun-exposed skin of elderly patients. Most of these tumors are located in the dermis. An unusual clinical presentation of such a tumor in the subcutis, if not biopsied, may be easily mistaken as a benign lesion. Case Presentation. An 83-year-old white woman presented with a several-month history of a painless 7 mm subcutaneous mass that was initially thought to be a lipoma. A conservative follow-up was planned. At the insistence of the patient, an excisional biopsy of the mass was performed revealing a subcutaneous Merkel cell carcinoma. The tumor cells stained positively for CK 20, chromogranin, and synaptophysin. No other primary or metastatic tumors found after a thorough work-up. The patient was treated with local irradiation. She remains disease free at her six-month follow-up visit. Conclusion. When a new growth is encountered in the sun-exposed skin of elderly patients, a biopsy is warranted even if the lesion clinically appears benign

Natural Observation of Alcohol Price and Promotions at Bars: Implications for Alcohol Misuse Prevention

Alcohol misuse among young adults remains a primary public health concern given the wide range of short- and longterm physical, social, and societal consequences of the behavior. On-premise drinking establishments, which allow alcohol consumption on site (i.e., bars), are frequent locations for young adult alcohol use. Risks for alcohol misuse within the bar setting are key factors to identify for prevention. Notably, alcohol price and promotions are associated with alcohol consumption among young adults. This study sought to develop and pilot test an observational protocol to assess the alcohol environment at on-premise drinking establishments. Following qualitative exploration of salient risk factors in these settings through focus groups with young adults, an observational tool was adapted and tested in a feasibility study. The refined tool was then pilot tested with two independent data collectors conducting natural observation at 13 establishments in the downtown nightlife district of a small, southeastern city. High interrater reliability was noted. Descriptive summary statistics of bar characteristics demonstrate low alcohol prices with variability across types of alcohol (e.g., beer, wine, and liquor), greater numbers of alcohol promotions inside rather than outside the building, and higher rates of manual versus electronic age verification procedures. Observational assessment of alcohol price and marketing at on-premise drinking establishments as described in this study is needed to inform prevention policy and programs to reduce harms associated with young adult alcohol misuse

Network Psychometrics

This chapter provides a general introduction of network modeling in psychometrics. The chapter starts with an introduction to the statistical model formulation of pairwise Markov random fields (PMRF), followed by an introduction of the PMRF suitable for binary data: the Ising model. The Ising model is a model used in ferromagnetism to explain phase transitions in a field of particles. Following the description of the Ising model in statistical physics, the chapter continues to show that the Ising model is closely related to models used in psychometrics. The Ising model can be shown to be equivalent to certain kinds of logistic regression models, loglinear models and multi-dimensional item response theory (MIRT) models. The equivalence between the Ising model and the MIRT model puts standard psychometrics in a new light and leads to a strikingly different interpretation of well-known latent variable models. The chapter gives an overview of methods that can be used to estimate the Ising model, and concludes with a discussion on the interpretation of latent variables given the equivalence between the Ising model and MIRT.Comment: In Irwing, P., Hughes, D., and Booth, T. (2018). The Wiley Handbook of Psychometric Testing, 2 Volume Set: A Multidisciplinary Reference on Survey, Scale and Test Development. New York: Wile

Deletion of cytosolic gating ring decreases gate and voltage sensor coupling in BK channels

Large conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels (BK channels) gate open in response to both membrane voltage and intracellular Ca(2+). The channel is formed by a central pore-gate domain (PGD), which spans the membrane, plus transmembrane voltage sensors and a cytoplasmic gating ring that acts as a Ca(2+) sensor. How these voltage and Ca(2+) sensors influence the common activation gate, and interact with each other, is unclear. A previous study showed that a BK channel core lacking the entire cytoplasmic gating ring (Core-MT) was devoid of Ca(2+) activation but retained voltage sensitivity (Budelli et al. 2013. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1313433110). In this study, we measure voltage sensor activation and pore opening in this Core-MT channel over a wide range of voltages. We record gating currents and find that voltage sensor activation in this truncated channel is similar to WT but that the coupling between voltage sensor activation and gating of the pore is reduced. These results suggest that the gating ring, in addition to being the Ca(2+) sensor, enhances the effective coupling between voltage sensors and the PGD. We also find that removal of the gating ring alters modulation of the channels by the BK channel’s β1 and β2 subunits