Calling Dick Tracy! Or, Cellphone Use, Progress, and a Racial Paradigm

The hero and phone-watch from Dick Tracy are evoked regularly in news and studies of cellphone use. This paper argues that the racial paradigm of White law enforcer and Dark law-breaker in the comic strip resonates in contemporary evocations and in discussions of cellphone use and crime. Representations of mobile communication and racialized criminality in Dick Tracy were inspired by the 1930s “war on crime” that intersected with wireless innovations and with lynching. This paper interprets that repeated evocation of the comic strip is a “perverse nostalgia” for an old-fashioned form of law and order premised on racialized violence and viewing

Cellulore phenomenon : promoting and policing cellular phones in Canada

Using a discursive analysis and cultural studies model, this thesis explores how we are understanding, rationalizing, resisting and embracing the cellphone by telling stories about how people use it. "Cellulore" is an original descriptive phrase used in this thesis to describe the stories people share and the popular media publish and broadcast about strange, odd, boorish and even dangerous or potentially deadly activities related to cellphone use. In the "utopic" and "dystopic" stories of cellulore, there are cautious, dismissive, and indecisive opinions about the meaning and value of the cellphone in our everyday lives. The aim of this thesis is to reveal how five taken-for-granted processes have promulgated the cellphone, supported unequal access to it, and helped to make the object meaningful in different ways to different social groups. Production, consumption, representation, identification, and regulation are the five processes. I propose that cellulore is the moment of articulation which binds these processes in relation to the cellphone. Together they have resulted in the cellphone acquiring a new register of meaning and value not associated with related communication technology like the landline telephone or with other portable technologies like the beeper or Walkman ® . Cellphone use is provoking a redefinition of "mobile privatisation" as users speak private conversations aloud in public spaces instead of private spaces. Cellulore serves the function of helping us to understand, negotiate, and contribute to the changes affecting distances and distinctions between public and private spaces, between social groups, and between individuals

Proteomic investigation of the MDM2 interactome and linear motif interactions

The oncoprotein MDM2 has an integral role in cancer development via multiple signalling pathways. Two proteomic mass spectrometry screens, label-free with spectral counting quantitation and 8-plex iTRAQ were used to identify proteins up or downregulated over time by the MDM2 targeting drug Nutlin. A subset of previously identified MDM2 binding partners were identified as altered after Nutlin treatment, along with proteins which have not as yet been linked to MDM2 or p53. Proteins altered two hours after Nutlin treatment were screened for sequence similarity to an MDM2 binding consensus motif based on the BOX-I region of p53. Peptides corresponding to this motif were validated for MDM2 binding, and the mode of binding investigated using competition ELISA and thermal denaturation assays. Known MDM2 ligands such as Nutlin were shown to have a range of effects on the binding of these newly identified MDM2 peptides, which may be attributed to allosteric regulation of MDM2. The effects of Nutlin on two full length proteins identified by the MS screens, CypB and NPM, were confirmed in vivo. In vitro binding of MDM2 to CypB and PK, which contain BOX-I like motifs, was also demonstrated validating proteomic mass spectrometry screens as a method to identify new protein-protein interactions. To further investigate the potential of linear motifs to modulate protein-protein interactions, a peptide aptamer targeting the protein AGR2 was tested for effect on AGR2 and p53 in a cancer cell line

Supporting Parents With Mental Health Needs in Systems of Care

Summary: Community-based systems of care (SOCs) must address both the needs of parents with mental illness and the needs of their children. Learning more about the challenges faced by SOCs in this area, and the strategies they implement to overcome them, provides insights with implications for the broader field. This project was intended to learn more about efforts to assess parents’ mental health needs, effectively engage and support them, and improve system coordination and access to services to inform service delivery and system reform, especially for those involved in both child welfare and mental health. This report presents information gathered from a small sample of federally funded SOC communities between March and October 2010. Project directors, lead family contacts, clinical supervisors, family partners, and other staff , along with representatives of partner organizations, especially child welfare, generously shared information about their approaches to policies and practices designed to support whole families—children, youth, and parents or other caregivers

Family Members with Overlapping Mental Health Needs Require the Transformation of Systems and Services

Women and men with a lifetime prevalence of psychiatric disorder are at least as likely to be parents as are adults without psychiatric disorder. The majority of adults in all diagnostic categories are parents, including those meeting criteria for affective and anxiety disorders, PTSD, and non-affective psychosis. Children with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) receiving services in Systems of Care (SOCs) programs may have multiple family risk factors. Family-centered, strengths-based practices require a paradigm shift in the way administrators and providers view and intervene with children and adults. Presented at The Santa Fe Summit on Behavioral Health, the American College of Mental Health Administration, Santa Fe, New Mexico, March 2005

Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Preclinical Markers of Cardiovascular Risk in Toddlers

Objective: Links between secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and cardiovascular disease in adults are well established but seldom reported during childhood. Although rates of smoking have decreased, young children from low-income backgrounds remain likely to be exposed to SHS. The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between SHS exposure in young children and several preclinical markers of cardiovascular risk that have been established as relevant to adult populations. Methods: 139 children, 2–5 years of age, were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. SHS exposure was objectively determined by hair nicotine level; a comprehensive panel of clinical markers (AM blood pressure, fasting glucose & insulin, lipid profiles, inflammation) and research markers (markers of oxidation, endothelial stress, and endothelial repair) of cardiovascular risk status were assessed. Univariate and multivariate linear regression were used to evaluate relationships between SHS exposure and cardiovascular risk markers. Results: Hair nicotine levels were directly correlated with blood pressure and serum CRP, and inversely correlated with serum HDL and endothelial cell progenitor cell prevalence. In multivariate analyses, these relationships remained when controlled for age, sex, BMI z-score, maternal education, and method of payment. Additionally, in multivariate analyses, hair nicotine level was significantly negatively correlated with total anti-oxidant capacity. Conclusions: These results support the view that SHS exposure in the very young has a detectable relationship with several markers of cardiovascular risk, long before the emergence of clinical disease. Further studies to define mechanisms and strategies to prevent and mitigate these risks early in life are warranted

Análisis de la Calidad de Servicio desde la Percepción del Usuario en las Instituciones de Salud Pública en la Ciudad de Panamá, 2022

The quality of the health service perceived by the user is currently gaining more importance since it offers a real picture of the opportunities for improvements in health care. This research aims to: Analyze the user's perception of the quality of service in public health institutions in Panama City.Materials and method: The methodology used was based on a mixed research approach, since it gathers quantitative data which obtains numerical and qualitative data which obtains data from the user's perspective; It is cross-descriptive since it measures the data at a single moment in time, where the variables will be quality of service as an independent variable and user perception as a dependent variable; the research design is non-experimental, since the variables are not manipulated; the sources of information are secondary since it was obtained from information in the database; A study was carried out with the SERVQUAL survey method, which allows measuring user satisfaction, a sample of 75 respondents was taken, techniques were applied; that allowed us to identify the user's perception of the quality of service in public health institutions in Panama City. Results: The result shows that 53.3% of the respondent’s express dissatisfaction according to the quality they perceive with the quality of service in public health institutions in Panama City, where human resources, quality management systems can be some of these causes. Conclusion: With the study of these dimensions through the perception of the user, it was determined that the quality of the service is low and in the same way the variable of user satisfaction.La calidad del servicio en la salud percibida por el usuario en la actualidad gana más importancia ya que ofrece un panorama real de las oportunidades de mejoras en la atención a la salud. Esta investigación tiene como objetivo analizar la percepción del usuario sobre la calidad de servicio en las instituciones de salud pública en la ciudad de Panamá en el año 2022. La metodología y materiales utilizada se basó en un enfoque de investigación mixta, ya que reúne datos cuantitativo los cuales obtienen datos numéricos y cualitativos los cuales obtienen datos desde la perspectiva del usuario;  es transversal y descriptivo ya que mide los datos en un solo momento del tiempo, donde las variables serán calidad de servicio como variable independiente y la percepción del usuario como variable dependiente; el diseño de la investigación es no experimental, pues, no se manipulan las variables; las fuentes de información son secundarias ya que se obtuvo de información de la base de datos; se realizó un estudio con método de encuesta SERVQUAL el cual permite medir la satisfacción del usuario, se tomó una muestra de 75 encuestados, se aplicó técnicas que permitieron identificar cual es la percepción del usuario sobre la calidad de servicio en las instituciones de salud pública en la Ciudad de Panamá. El resultado muestra que un 53.3 % de los encuestados manifiestan insatisfacción de acuerdo con la calidad de servicio que perciben en las instituciones de salud pública en la ciudad de Panamá, donde el recurso humano, el sistema de gestión de calidad pueden ser algunas de estas causas. Podemos concluir que con el estudio de estas dimensiones a través de la percepción del usuario se analizó que la calidad del servicio es baja y en igual forma la variable de satisfacción del usuario

Autopathogenic T Helper Cell Type 1 (Th1) and Protective Th2 Clones Differ in Their Recognition of the Autoantigenic Peptide of Myelin Proteolipid Protein

We previously generated a panel of T helper cell 1 (Th1) clones specific for an encephalitogenic peptide of myelin proteolipid protein (PLP) peptide 139–151 (HSLGKWLGHPDKF) that induces experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) upon adoptive transfer. In spite of the differences in their T cell receptor (TCR) gene usage, all these Th1 clones required W144 as the primary and most critical TCR contact residue for the activation. In this study, we determined the TCR contact residues of a panel of Th2/Th0 clones specific for the PLP peptide 139–151 generated either by immunization with the PLP 139–151 peptide with anti– B7-1 antibody or by immunization with an altered peptide Q144. Using alanine-substituted peptide analogues of the native PLP peptide, we show that the Th2 clones have shifted their primary contact residue to the NH2-terminal end of the peptide. These Th2 cells do not show any dependence on the W144, but show a critical requirement for L141/G142 as their major TCR contact residue. Thus, in contrast with the Th1 clones that did not proliferate to A144-substituted peptide, the Th2 clones tolerated a substitution at position 144 and proliferated to A144 peptide. This alternative A144 reactive repertoire appears to have a critical role in the regulation of autoimmune response to PLP 139–151 because preimmunization with A144 to expand the L141/G142-reactive repertoire protects mice from developing EAE induced with the native PLP 139–151 peptide. These data suggest that a balance between two different T cell repertoires specific for same autoantigenic epitope can determine disease phenotype, i.e., resistance or susceptibility to an autoimmune disease