Life of chaos, life of hope: Dystopian literature for young adults

As dystopian literature grows in popularity, teacher librarians many not fully understand the themes found within this new subgenre. The purpose of this research was to describe the themes in positively reviewed dystopian literature for young adults. Themes found during the research included: resilience of the protagonist, survival, government control, social conformity, and love between the protagonist and another young adult. Novels from 2001-2010 were analyzed for themes and lessons for young adults. Thirteen positively reviewed novels were chosen, read, and coded by the researcher. After the first reading of the novels, one novel was eliminated, leaving 12 novels to be reported. The five themes were established through the analysis; five lessons presented to the readers will be described in the conclusions

Interplay between Lipids and Branched-Chain Amino Acids in Development of Insulin Resistance

Fatty acids (FA) and FA-derived metabolites have long been implicated in the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Surprisingly, application of metabolomics technologies has revealed that branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) and related metabolites are more strongly associated with insulin resistance than many common lipid species. Moreover, the BCAA-related signature is predictive of incident diabetes and intervention outcomes and uniquely responsive to therapeutic interventions. Nevertheless, in animal feeding studies, BCAA supplementation requires the background of a high-fat diet to promote insulin resistance. This Perspective develops a model to explain how lipids and BCAA may synergize to promote metabolic diseases

Effect of Progressive Weight Loss on Lactate Metabolism: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE:Lactate is an intermediate of glucose metabolism that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. This study evaluated the relationship between glucose kinetics and plasma lactate concentration ([LAC]) before and after manipulating insulin sensitivity by progressive weight loss. METHODS:Forty people with obesity (BMI = 37.9 ± 4.3 kg/m2 ) were randomized to weight maintenance (n = 14) or weight loss (n = 19). Subjects were studied before and after 6 months of weight maintenance and before and after 5%, 11%, and 16% weight loss. A hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp procedure in conjunction with [6,6-2 H2 ]glucose tracer infusion was used to assess glucose kinetics. RESULTS:At baseline, fasting [LAC] correlated positively with endogenous glucose production rate (r = 0.532; P = 0.001) and negatively with insulin sensitivity, assessed as the insulin-stimulated glucose disposal (r = -0.361; P = 0.04). Progressive (5% through 16%) weight loss caused a progressive decrease in fasting [LAC], and the decrease in fasting [LAC] after 5% weight loss was correlated with the decrease in endogenous glucose production (r = 0.654; P = 0.002) and the increase in insulin sensitivity (r = -0.595; P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS:This study demonstrates the interrelationships among weight loss, hepatic and muscle glucose kinetics, insulin sensitivity, and [LAC], and it suggests that [LAC] can serve as an additional biomarker of glucose-related insulin resistance

Direct force-measuring transducer used in blood pressure research

Direct force measuring transducer acts as an arterial tonometer, gives a direct readout to instrumentation, and is unaffected by ambient noise. It uses a semiconductor strain gage which is deflected by pressure pulses in the artery. The deflection changes the resistance of the gage and alters the voltage reading on the associated instrumentation

Information Seeking and Behavior Among Collectors of Vinyl Records

The study presented in this paper explores the information seeking and behavior of committed collectors of vinyl records. Through a series of thorough, semi-structured interviews with hobbyist collectors, this study provides a deeper understanding of how they search for, assess, share, and utilize different types of information to support their collecting activities. Patterns and themes in the interview data are evinced through qualitative coding and analysis. In doing so, this study introduces new contexts and perspectives to the field of leisure and information studies, and contributes additional insight into how non-professional collectors and other serious hobbyists address their information needs without the support of a formal institution or organization.Master of Science in Library Scienc

DISTANCE GRADIENT OF VOCALIZATION DISCRIMINATION AND AGGRESSION IN NEIGHBORHOODS OF RUFOUS-AND-WHITE WRENS (THRYOPHILUS RUFALBUS)

Vocalization-based communication networks have been observed in multiple animal taxa. Many territorial animals in these communication networks tend to act differentially towards their neighbors compared to farther-removed strangers given competitive pressure in habitats. My study investigated communication among rufous-and-white wrens (Thryophilus rufalbus), and whether this involves greater aggression towards neighbors or towards strangers. T. rufalbus vocally defend territories year-round and have been shown to exhibit ability to discriminate between vocalizations of neighbors versus strangers (neighbor-stranger discrimination, NSD). I quantified whether T. rufalbus demonstrates different levels of aggression upon hearing played-back vocalizations from close-by neighbors, neighbors of adjacent neighbors, and most distant strangers. Multiple measured parameters exhibited such a gradient of aggression in a population of T. rufalbus in Monteverde, Costa Rica, particularly time spent vocalizing and number of songs performed while defending. Response intensity increased for both of the latter parameters from strangers to neighbor-neighbors and to direct neighbors. Other variables that increased, albeit less significantly, in the same direction (from strangers to neighbor-neighbors to neighbors), included bandwidth and range between minimum and maximum frequencies of vocalizations. My study thus demonstrates a gradient of aggression in defensive behaviors of T. rufalbus that is consistent with what has been termed the nasty neighbor effect of more aggressive responses to simulations of intrusions by neighbors compared to strangers. This gradient of aggression may involve eaves-dropping behavior (listening to the interactions of other individuals) as described in other species of wren that frequently listen to and identify vocalizations of individuals of the same species more than a territory away

Disrupted Maturation of the Microbiota and Metabolome among Extremely Preterm Infants with Postnatal Growth Failure

Growth failure during infancy is a major global problem that has adverse effects on long-term health and neurodevelopment. Preterm infants are disproportionately affected by growth failure and its effects. Herein we found that extremely preterm infants with postnatal growth failure have disrupted maturation of the intestinal microbiota, characterized by persistently low diversity, dominance of pathogenic bacteria within the Enterobacteriaceae family, and a paucity of strictly anaerobic taxa including Veillonella relative to infants with appropriate postnatal growth. Metabolomic profiling of infants with growth failure demonstrated elevated serum acylcarnitines, fatty acids, and other byproducts of lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation. Machine learning algorithms for normal maturation of the microbiota and metabolome among infants with appropriate growth revealed a pattern of delayed maturation of the microbiota and metabolome among infants with growth failure. Collectively, we identified novel microbial and metabolic features of growth failure in preterm infants and potentially modifiable targets for intervention

The Creation of a Bilingual Children's Book to Promote Breastfeeding to Acculturating Latin@s

The purpose of this project is to write a children’s book that promotes breastfeeding to acculturating Latin@s. María’s Mamá’s Milk or La leche de la mamá de María is about a little girl named María whose mother is about to give birth. María wonders what the new baby will eat, and through a series of encounters with breastfeeding mothers and babies and many poignant questions, she learns that babies only need one special food to thrive: their mamas’ milk. Through normalizing breastfeeding for all ages, questioning feelings of shame around breastfeeding, and educating people about important breastfeeding information, this book aims to empower more Latinas to breastfeed and encourage open discussion about breastfeeding practices in the United States. Research has shown that as Latinas acculturate, they are less likely to breastfeed because of the deleterious effects of anti-breastfeeding culture in the United States. This book is targeted at children aged 5-7 and is available in a bilingual version that targets English speakers and an additional version entirely in Spanish