Crossing the Pond: The Influence of Southern Appalachian Old-Time on Contemporary Irish Music

Numerous studies examine Irish traditional music influencing old-time music, but few examine the influence of old-time on contemporary Irish. As our societies become more global, folk music travels faster and becomes more open to influence. Thes influences can be heard in the music of “Alfi” and “Lankum,” two ensembles steeped in Irish traditional music. This study defines common musical elements of old-time and examines the use of those elements in two recordings: Alfi’s, “Jubilee” and Lankum’s, “The Old Man from Over the Sea.” Much of my data comes from interviews with Irish and American musicians and my own professional knowledge, gaining a deeper understanding of the musical decisions made by members of Alfi and Lankum. This study adds to the formal literature relating to old-time and Irish traditional music. More importantly, it helps fill a gap in the literature by adding to the discussion of the dissemination of traditional music

Bridging the Information Gap for Ulcerative Colitis Patients

Nearly all humans, throughout the course of their life, have been diagnosed with everything from a mild cold, to a viral infection, or perhaps a diagnosis of a chronic condition. Upon experiencing symptoms, patients are exposed to a plethora of information. The Internet holds home remedies, for those wary of the doctor\u27s office, or there are advice boards where people share their experiences, trials, and tribulations. In some cases, the doctor is the purveyor of the information and written materials are sent home with the patient dictating the regimen to follow to achieve wellness. However, some patients, particularly ulcerative colitis patients, find themselves without these written materials and without access to health information specifically tailored to their needs. Patients must forage for information while trying to maintain their health after diagnosis. This study explores the holes in the information-sharing process through interviews and surveys, focusing specifically on patients, technical medical writers, and gastroenterologists. The study finds most ulcerative colitis patients do not receive the information they need

IV Prenatal Nicotine Exposure Modulates α6, α7, and α4β2 Nicotinic Acetylcholinergic Receptor Subunit Expression In Male And Female Neonatal And Adolescent Rat Offspring: An Autoradiographical Analysis

Maternal smoke exposure produces long-term adverse cognitive and behavioral outcomes in offspring, including an increased likelihood of attention problems (e.g., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; ADHD) and drug abuse. Preclinical research shows that gestational exposure to nicotine, the primary psychoactive compound in tobacco smoke, influences the neurodevelopment of attention and reward neuronal circuits. This study investigated hypotheses about five brain regions, to determine if prenatal nicotine (PN) exposure altered expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). A low dose, intravenous nicotine (IV) exposure method was used to administer nicotine (0.05 mg/kg/injection) or saline, 3x/day on gestational days 8–21 (Treatment). Brain tissue was collected from both male and female offspring (Sex), on postnatal days (PND) 10 and 35 (Age). Autoradiography quantified [125I]-Epibatidine, [125I]α-Bungarotoxin, [125I]α-Conotoxin MII binding, to measure putative α4β2, α7, and α6-containg nAChR subunit expression levels. It was hypothesized that α4β2, α7, and α6- subunit-containing nAChRs in the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA), Nucleus Accumbens Core (NAc), prefrontal cortex (PFC), Pendunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus (PPTg), and Hippocampus, would have significantly different expression levels between PN and prenatal saline (PS) groups (Treatment). Males were expected to have higher levels of nAChR expression across regions, and tissue from older (PND35; adolescent) subjects was hypothesized to also have higher levels of nAChR expression, compared to neonates (PND10). Following autoradiography, receptor expression levels were analyzed with the MicroBrightField software Densita, measuring receptor density as Luminance value, (a lower Luminance value indicates greater density of receptors). A total of 10 rodent dams contributed four offspring each (n=40), and the obtained Luminance values underwent preliminary statistical screening, to determine if variance analyses should proceed with Luminance as a Random Effect variable. If Litter did not have a significant effect (conservative p\u3e0.250), a between-subjects Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used; if Litter had a significant effect on the shape of Luminance distribution (conservative p\u3c0.250), statistical analyses continued with Litter as a Random Effect in a Mixed Models Linear (MML) analysis. Post-hoc analyses determined the retrospective power of each observed significant effect, based on sample size and parameter estimates derived from either ANOVA or MML. Statistically significant, sufficiently powered, main effects of Treatment were found for α4β2 nAChR expression levels in the VTA and NAcc, but no Treatment effect was found in the PPTg. As hypothesized, α7 nAChRs expression levels were lower for PN rats; the effect was only seen in the NAcc, with no significant Treatment effect found in the VTA or PFC. In the Hippocampus, Treatment was a significant main effect, but the PN group expressed more α7 nAChRs than the PS group. A statistically significant, sufficiently powered, main effect of Sex was found only in the PFC; as hypothesized, Males expressed greater density of α4β2 nAChRs. Statistically significant, sufficiently powered, main effects of Age were found for α4β2 nAChR expression in the PFC and PPTg; in the PFC, the effect was opposite: older rats expressed fewer α4β2 nAChRs. No age differences were found in the VTA or NAcc. For n α7 nAChRs, Age had a significant main effect in the Hippocampus, with adolescents expressing lower density of receptors, compared to neonates. No statistically significant, sufficiently powered effects for α6-containing nAChRs for Treatment, Sex, or Age were found. In addition to the five hypothesized regions, 12 more brain areas were analyzed for α4β2, α7, and α6-subunit containing nAChR expression levels. Those results are presented in tandem with the hypothesized findings in the Results section of this report

Ethnic Identity and Migrant Youth

This study sought to examine the relationship between ethnic identity and the grade and gender of the subjects. Changes in ethnic identity over time were also analyzed. Students attending grades four through eight of the Nyssa Migrant School summer program participated in this study. One hundred twenty-four participants completed the pretest, eighty-nine completed the posttest, with a total of seventy-nine completing both the pretest and posttest. Students responded to the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure, which examined the subcategories of belonging and exploration to comprise the overall ethnic identity level. Scores were compared by grade and by gender at pretest and at posttest. Scores were also examined in those same subgroups for a change over time in the 79 subjects completing both the pretest and posttest. Though not statistically significant, results indicated a trend for males as a whole to show a greater increase in overall ethnic identity over the course of the summer school program than their female counterparts. Results also showed an increase (although not statistically significant) in ethnic identity for the group as a whole over the course of the six-week program, warranting further investigation into the summer program\u27s effectiveness for enhancing ethnic identity. This aforementioned increase was more pronounced in children in the older grades, supporting a developmental progression of ethnic identity. At both the pretest and posttest, adjusted means for belonging were statistically significantly higher than those for exploration, F(l, 77) = 171.03,p = .000; F(l, 77) = 141.12,p = .000, respectively. Implications of these findings for future programs and future research are discussed

Novel tools for engineering eukaryotic cells using a systems level approach.

Engineered cellular systems are a promising avenue for production of a wide range of useful products including renewable fuels, commodity and specialty chemicals, industrial enzymes, and pharmaceuticals. Achieving this breadth of biological products is facilitated by the diversity of organisms found in nature. Using biological and engineering principles, this diversity can be harnessed to make efficient and renewable bio-based products. Such advancements rely upon our ability to modify host genetics and metabolism. This work focuses on the development of new biotechnological tools which enable cellular engineering, and the implementation of these tools in eukaryotic systems. Mammalian cell engineering has important implications in protein therapeutics and gene therapy. One major limitation, however, is the ability to predictably control gene expression. We address this challenge by examining critical aspects of gene expression in human cells. First, we evaluate the impact of selection markers, a common mammalian expression element, on cell line development. In doing so, we determine that Zeocin is the best selection agent for human cells. Next, we identify loci across the genome that support high level expression of recombinant DNA and demonstrate their advantage for stable integration. Finally, we optimize a Cre recombinase based methodology that enables efficient retargeting of genomic loci. Collectively, this work augments the current genetic toolbox for human cell lines. Beyond basic gene expression, there is interest in understanding global interactions within the cell and how they relate to phenomena including gene regulation, expression and disease states. Although our tools are not yet sufficient to study these phenomena in many hosts, methods can be developed in lower eukaryotes and then adapted for more complex hosts later. We demonstrated two methods in S. cerevisiae that utilize a systems-level approach to understand complex phenotypes. First, we developed condition-specific codon optimization that utilizes systems biology information to optimize gene sequence in a condition-specific manner. Additionally, we developed a Graded Dominant Mutant Approach which can be used to dissect multifunctional proteins, understand epigenetic factors, and quantitatively determine protein-DNA interactions. Both can be implemented in many cellular hosts and expand our ability to engineer complex phenotypes in eukaryotic cell systems.Chemical Engineerin

Time outdoors and the prevention of myopia

Recent epidemiological evidence suggests that children who spend more time outdoors are less likely to be, or to become myopic, irrespective of how much near work they do, or whether their parents are myopic. It is currently uncertain if time outdoors also blocks progression of myopia. It has been suggested that the mechanism of the protective effect of time outdoors involves light-stimulated release of dopamine from the retina, since increased dopamine release appears to inhibit increased axial elongation, which is the structural basis of myopia. This hypothesis has been supported by animal experiments which have replicated the protective effects of bright light against the development of myopia under laboratory conditions, and have shown that the effect is, at least in part, mediated by dopamine, since the D2-dopamine antagonist spiperone reduces the protective effect. There are some inconsistencies in the evidence, most notably the limited inhibition by bright light under laboratory conditions of lens-induced myopia in monkeys, but other proposed mechanisms possibly associated with time outdoors such as relaxed accommodation, more uniform dioptric space, increased pupil constriction, exposure to UV light, changes in the spectral composition of visible light, or increased physical activity have little epidemiological or experimental support. Irrespective of the mechanisms involved, clinical trials are now underway to reduce the development of myopia in children by increasing the amount of time they spend outdoors. These trials would benefit from more precise definition of thresholds for protection in terms of intensity and duration of light exposures. These can be investigated in animal experiments in appropriate models, and can also be determined in epidemiological studies, although more precise measurement of exposures than those currently provided by questionnaires is desirable

The Spitfire Grill

Kennesaw State University’s Department of Theatre and Performance Studies (TPS) will present “The Spitfire Grill” November 16-20 at the Onyx Theater on the Kennesaw campus. “The Spitfire Grill” offers a heartwarming story about finding redemption and building meaningful relationships in one’s new home. A parolee arrives in a small Wisconsin town and struggles to find her place in a community of troubled souls who gather at a well-worn diner. Her presence sparks re-connections and reconciliations that bring the community together.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/theatreprograms/1000/thumbnail.jp

Exploring mothers’ experiences of accessing an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for an autistic child attending mainstream school in the United Kingdom

© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Many autistic children are educated in mainstream settings, yet despite the benefits it can present challenges for the children and their parents. A legal framework for accessing support for school age children in England are Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP). Whilst there are anecdotal accounts on accessing EHCPs for autistic children, research is limited. To expand knowledge, six mothers (aged between 31 and 44) of autistic children (aged between 6 and 15) were interviewed about their EHCP experiences. A reflexive thematic analysis resulted in the following themes: Barriers for accessing educational support; the process of obtaining an EHCP; impact on mothers; trying to find glimmers of hope. The main finding was an intimidating and overwhelmingly difficult process mothers had to navigate to access an EHCP. The ensuing battle left them with feelings of isolation, anxiety, and hopelessness; alongside a sense that the systems set up to help were found to work against them. Nevertheless, some mothers were determined to find glimmers of hope for the benefit of their child’s development. For autistic children to access the benefits of mainstream education, wider systemic changes are urgently needed. This would also vicariously support parental wellbeing.Peer reviewe

A PROBIT MODEL ANALYSIS OF FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMPTION OF FRESH SWEET CORN IN MAJOR U.S. MARKETS

In an effort to more effectively utilize its resources to promote fresh sweet corn, the Fresh Supersweet Corn Council contracted with the Florida Agricultural Market Research Center (FAMRC) of the University of Florida to conduct a comprehensive consumer survey. The consumer survey was designed to investigate consumer preferences, attitudes, and behavior regarding the purchase and consumption of fresh sweet corn. A total of 1,031 consumer telephone interviews were conducted in Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia between September 7 and November 3, 2001. Respondents' revealed very limited consumption in the winter, spring, and fall seasons and consumers' perceptions that sweet corn is not available in these seasons. Probit models are estimated to determine effects of seasonalityConsumer/Household Economics,