Power and Proximity: The Politics of State Secession

State secession is a rare occurrence in the international system. While a number of movements seek secession, the majority fail to achieve statehood. Of the exceptional successes, many have not had the strongest claims to statehood; some of these new states look far less like states than some that have failed. So what accounts for these secessions? I argue that the politics of regional actors drive the process. If a secessionist movement does not have the support of actors in the region, it will not achieve statehood. There are three mechanisms through which regional actors can determine outcomes: (1) they can provide tangible support to the secessionist movement; (2) they can provide diplomatic support to the movement by framing the conflict to the international community or acting as a gatekeeper between the movement and the international community; and (3) they can shape great power policy in the region. Through an analysis of six secessionist movements across three regions, I seek to demonstrate that regional actors hold the key to explaining variation in the recognition of secessionist states

Primer selection impacts specific population abundances but not community dynamics in a monthly time-series 16S rRNA gene amplicon analysis of coastal marine bacterioplankton.

Primers targeting the 16S small subunit ribosomal RNA marker gene, used to characterize bacterial and archaeal communities, have recently been re-evaluated for marine planktonic habitats. To investigate whether primer selection affects the ecological interpretation of bacterioplankton populations and community dynamics, amplicon sequencing with four primer sets targeting several hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene was conducted on both mock communities constructed from cloned 16S rRNA genes and a time-series of DNA samples from the temperate coastal Santa Barbara Channel. Ecological interpretations of community structure (delineation of depth and seasonality, correlations with environmental factors) were similar across primer sets, while population dynamics varied. We observed substantial differences in relative abundances of taxa known to be poorly resolved by some primer sets, such as Thaumarchaeota and SAR11, and unexpected taxa including Roseobacter clades. Though the magnitude of relative abundances of common OTUs differed between primer sets, the relative abundances of the OTUs were nonetheless strongly correlated. We do not endorse one primer set but rather enumerate strengths and weaknesses to facilitate selection appropriate to a system or experimental goal. While 16S rRNA gene primer bias suggests caution in assessing quantitative population dynamics, community dynamics appear robust across studies using different primers

The need for medical education reform: genomics and the changing nature of health information

No course in genetics can prepare the practicing physician to interpret whole-genome data. We argue that genetics is a microcosm of the changing dynamics of the practice of medicine. It illustrates the perfect storm of exponential increases in raw data with undetermined clinical relevance, ease of access to large amounts of data via the internet and shifting expectations of the doctor-patient relationship and the very mechanisms of health care delivery. Educational reform is needed across the continuum of medical education, from the student to the faculty training them, and requires a shift in focus from factual knowledge to data management and interpretation

Motivation: An Occupational Therapists Guide for Motivating Young Male Clients with Spinal Cord Injuries

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2010), males account for approximately 80% of those who endure a spinal cord injury (SCI). Most newly diagnosed clients with spinal cord injuries are between the ages of 15-35 years (50%-70%) (CDC, 2010). Occupational therapists often work with clients who have sustained a SCI. It is in the best interest of the profession and our clients to address the psychosocial impact motivation can have on clients\u27 recovery. According to authors of research, a major problem to participation in treatment with clients who had a spinal cord injury was a lack of motivation (Chan et aI., 2000; Craig et ai., 2009; Kennedy, Evans, & Sandhu, 2009; Lohne & Severinsson, 2004). Due to clients\u27 possible decrease in occupational participation following a SCI, motivation may be a barrier to recovery. There is limited research in occupational therapy regarding the use of motivation for clients with SCI as an intervention tool. In one study, Wahman, Biguet, and Levi (2006) indicated that motivation is a key factor in increasing client participation in activities. By engaging in activities clients are either improving or maintaining health and preventing secondary conditions. The purpose of this project was to develop a guide to address motivation in young male clients following spinal cord injury (SCI). Historically, there has been little research that addressed motivation in relationship to engagement in occupations following SCI. For the purposes of this project, the authors examined the role motivation has in recovery of SCI for young male adults and developed an occupational therapy guide to address client motivation. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to explore the physical and psychological effects of clients who sustained a SCI. Furthermore, the authors conducted a theoretical review and explored literature that addressed the role of motivation in clients who sustained a SCI. Currently, there is limited research and programs available that specifically addresses motivation in clients engaging in SCI rehabilitation. Therefore, an occupational therapy guide was developed for occupational therapists working with young male clients who sustained a SCI. This guide was developed using the theoretical concepts of the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) and Occupational Adaptation (OA). The guide will direct clinicians to use motivational concepts as intervention strategies. This will give occupational therapists a resource to utilize when motivation is a ban-ier to client participation in meaningful occupations. By motivating a client with SCI, his participation in meaningful occupations increases. In return, young male clients with SCI have an improved quality of life. The development of this guide follows the occupational therapy process: assessment, intervention, and outcome measures. Previous evidence from authors of research indicated the benefits of addressing motivation. In return, a clinician\u27s guide for occupational therapists to address motivation in SCI recovery will increase clients\u27 participation in activities to increase overall quality of life

Effects of Climate Change on Pasture Production and Forage Quality

Why Study Climate Change and Pastures? Pastures cover more than 14 million hectares in the eastern half of the United States and support grazing animal and hay production while also contributing to the maintenance of overall environmental quality and ecosystem services. Climate change is likely to alter the function of these ecosystems. This manipulative field experiment evaluated the effect of warming and additional precipitation on forage production and quality. What Did We Do? We initiated a multi-factor climate change study, elevating air temperature (+3º C) and increasing growing season precipitation (+30% of long-term mean annual), in a central Kentucky pasture managed for hay production. Treatments began in May 2009 and have run continuously since. We measured the effects of warming and increased precipitation on pasture production, forage quality metrics, and for endophyte-infected tall fescue, ergot alkaloid concentrations. What Have We Learned? Effects of warming and increased precipitation on total yearly pasture production varied depending on the year of study; however, climate treatments never reduced production below that of the ambient control. Effects on forage quality metrics were relatively subtle. For endophyte-infected tall fescue, warming increased both ergovaline and ergovalinine concentrations (+40% of that in control ambient plots) throughout the study. These results indicate that central Kentucky pastures may be relatively resilient to future climate change; however, warming induced increases in ergot alkaloid concentrations in endophyte-infected tall fescue suggests that animal issues associated with fescue toxicosis are likely to be exacerbated under future climatic conditions. Future Plans We will continue this study for one more growing season and then destructively harvest it (in Fall 2013)

Goal-Focused Emotion-Regulation Therapy (GET) for young adult survivors of testicular cancer: a pilot randomized controlled trial of a biobehavioral intervention protocol.

BackgroundTesticular cancer diagnosis and treatment, especially given its threat to sexuality and reproductive health, can be distressing in the formative period of young adulthood and the majority of young survivors experience impairing, distressing, and modifiable adverse outcomes that can persist long after medical treatment. These include psychological distress, impairment in pursuit of life goals, persistent physical side effects, elevated risk of secondary malignancies and chronic illness, and biobehavioral burden (e.g., enhanced inflammation, dysregulated diurnal stress hormones). However, few targeted interventions exist to assist young survivors in renegotiating life goals and regulating cancer-related emotions, and none focus on reducing the burden of morbidity via biobehavioral mechanisms. This paper describes the methodology of a randomized controlled biobehavioral trial designed to investigate the feasibility and preliminary impact of a novel intervention, Goal-focused Emotion-Regulation Therapy (GET), aimed at improving distress symptoms, emotion regulation, goal navigation skills, and stress-sensitive biomarkers in young adult testicular cancer patients.MethodsParticipants will be randomized to receive six sessions of GET or Individual Supportive Therapy (ISP) delivered over 8 weeks. In addition to indicators of intervention feasibility, we will measure primary (depressive and anxiety symptoms) and secondary (emotion regulation and goal navigation skills, career confusion) psychological outcomes prior to (T0), immediately after (T1), and 12 weeks after (T2) intervention. Additionally, identified biomarkers will be measured at baseline and at T2.DiscussionGET may have the potential to improve self-regulation across biobehavioral domains, improve overall cancer adjustment, and address the need for targeted supportive care interventions for young adult cancer survivors.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov, NCT04150848. Registered on 28 October 2019

Teacher librarian influence on students\u27 self-selection of books

This qualitative case study reports the influence of the Teacher Librarian on students’ book selection strategies in a well-resourced, genrefied, and professionally-staffed school library. This study consisted of 57 seventh grade students from a large suburban middle school in Iowa. During regularly scheduled library visits, students were presented with three book promotion strategies: book talks, book displays, and student-produced visual book suggestions called shelf-talkers. Three themes emerged over the six weeks of the study in response to the research questions. Theme 1 is Ask a Friend: Over Half of Students Are Influenced by Social Interaction to Share and Seek Feedback about Books Among Peers. Theme 2 is It’s a Good Starting Place: Over Half of Students Feel Drawn to Their Favorite Genre When Browsing, and Theme 3 is Putting It All Together: Teacher Librarian Book Promotion Efforts Are What Make Social Browsing and Genre Browsing Successful. The preferred method for selecting books for 56% of the students was browsing and conferring with a friend or classmate. Browsing in one’s favorite section of the genrefied library was preferred by 65% of the students. Of the teacher initiated book promotion strategies, shelf-talkers were most preferred by students, with 50% of students responding positively, further supporting the students’ desire for social interaction, even through peer recommendations, when selecting books for pleasure reading

The origin of love: possibilities with/in of trans performance

This paper is a discussion of the way drag kings and transmasculine performers perform gender as a way to make personal, social, civil and legal change. This project began primarily focused on dramatizing trans as a dimension of sexual heterogeneity and trans performance as making space for gender heterogeneity. However, the project transformed to reflect the radically heterogeneous world of gender variant performance. The range of political engagement varies widely from what I would consider dangerously unreflexive reiterations of the worst of gender stereotypes to transformative performances of difference that open up possibilities for understanding gender variance and engaging people in political action. Nonetheless, most of these performers, even those who are not particularly skilled in performance per se, are performing courage. These performers are putting their bodies on the line to help audiences think, see and feel through the everyday threats (psychological, physical, sexual, political) they face. These performances are demonstrating not just the reality of difference as it already exists, but also ways to re/form the world so that gender variant people can access a full range of possibilities for a livable life. This project is an exploration of their experiences through their voices and critical theory. The people with whom I spoke are those who work to resist messages of oppression and stage messages of hope and possibility. They are creating critical work that strives to make this world not just welcoming to diverse subjectivities, but also a site of social change. Through their words and work I explore some of the questions such as: What motivates gender variant performers to perform? How do gender variant performers grapple with other intersecting identities they either bring to or represent on stage? Why performance? What are the erotics of gender variant performance? What is masculinity in a gender variant performance context? How might their performances contribute to, or complicate, claims that all gender is performative? Is this work making social change