Boom, bust and beyond: Arts and sustainability in Calumet, Michigan

Cycles of boom and bust plague mining communities around the globe, and decades after the bust the skeletons of shrunken cities remain. This article evaluates strategies for how former mining communities cope and strive for sustainability in the decades well beyond the bust, using a case study of Calumet, Michigan. In 1910, Calumet was at the center of the mining industry in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but in the century since its peak, mining employment steadily declined until the last mine closed in 1968, and the population declined by over 80%. This paper explores challenges, opportunities, and progress toward sustainability associated with arts-related development in this context. Methods are mixed, including observation, interviews, document review, a survey, and secondary data analysis. We follow Flora and Flora’s Community Capitals Framework to analyze progress toward sustainability. Despite key challenges associated with the shrunken city context (degraded tax base, overbuilt and aging infrastructure, diminished human capital, and a rather limited set of volunteers and political actors), we find the shrunken city also offers advantages for arts development, including low rents, less risk of gentrification, access to space, and political incentive. In Calumet, we see evidence of a spiraling up pattern toward social sustainability resulting from arts development; however impacts on environmental and economic sustainability are limited

Simulation and data processing of GOMOS measurements

In this paper the data simulation and data inversion studies for stellar occultation measurements are discussed. The specific application is the Global Ozone Monitoring by Occultation of Stars (GOMOS) instrument which has been proposed for the first European Platform, Polar Orbiting Earth Mission (POEM-1)

Haastavan käyttäytymisen ilmeneminen ja sen ennaltaehkäisy pedagogisin tuen keinoin varhaiskasvattajien kuvaamana

Tiivistelmä. Tämä tutkielma käsittelee lasten haastavan käyttäytymisen ilmenemistä ja sen ennaltaehkäisyä pedagogisin tuen keinoin varhaiskasvattajien kuvaamana. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää, millaisen lasten käyttäytymisen varhaiskasvattajat kokevat haastavana ja millaisia pedagogisia tuen keinoja he käyttävät haastavan käyttäytymisen ilmenemisessä sekä ennaltaehkäisyssä. Tutkimus toteutettiin laadullisena tutkimuksena ja sen analyysimenetelmänä käytettiin aineistolähtöistä sisällönanalyysia. Aineisto kerättiin helmikuun 2023 aikana Webropol -kyselylomakkeen avulla. Kysely sisälsi kymmenen avointa kysymystä, pois lukien taustatietokysymykset. Kyselyyn vastasi 19 henkilöä kaikilla ammattinimikkeillä työskenteleviä varhaiskasvattajia. Tulosten mukaan vastaajat kokivat lasten haastavan käyttäytymisen ilmenevän monin eri tavoin, jota kuvattiin lapsen aggressiivisuutena, joustamattomuutena, vaaratilanteiden syntymisenä, tunneilmaisun haasteina, reaktiivisuutena ja säännöllisenä ohjauksen tarpeena. Näistä aggressiivista käyttäytymistä kuvattiin kuitenkin eniten haastavana. Vastauksissa haastavan käyttäytymisen ilmenemiseen vaikutti myös pedagogisen osaamisen puute, joka näkyi kasvattajan keinottomuutena, kuten resurssin tai osaamisen puutteena. Tulokset osoittivat, että varhaiskasvattajat käyttävät työssään pedagogisia tuen keinoja monipuolisesti. Pedagogisia tuen keinoja kuvattiin kasvattajan ammatillisuuteen, pedagogiikan toteuttamiseen, pedagogiseen arviointiin ja kehittämiseen sekä yhteistyöhön liittyen. Haasteena vastaajat kokivat lisäkoulutuksen ja osaamattomuuden puutteen. Yhteistyö kaikkien toimijoiden välillä, erityisesti lapsiryhmän oman tiimin kesken, nähtiin tärkeänä osana haastavan käyttäytymisen arviointia ja kehittämistä. Tutkimuksen keskeisenä johtopäätöksenä voidaan todeta, että lapsuuden ja varhaiskasvatuksen tieteellisten juurien ymmärtäminen on pedagogisten tuen keinojen toteuttamisen ydin haastavan käyttäytymisen ilmenemiseen ja ennaltaehkäisyyn

Detection of a low-grade enteroviral infection in the islets of Langerhans of living patients newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes

Journal ArticleThis is an author-created, uncopyedited electronic version of an article accepted for publication in Diabetes. The American Diabetes Association (ADA), publisher of Diabetes, is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it by third parties. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available in Diabetes, May 2015, vol. 64, no. 5 pp. 1682-1687 in print and online at http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/64/5/1682.abstractThe Diabetes Virus Detection study (DiViD) is the first to examine fresh pancreatic tissue at the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes for the presence of viruses. Minimal pancreatic tail resection was performed 3-9 weeks after onset of type 1 diabetes in six adult patients (age 24-35 years). The presence of enteroviral capsid protein 1 (VP1) and the expression of class I HLA were investigated by immunohistochemistry. Enterovirus RNA was analyzed from isolated pancreatic islets and from fresh-frozen whole pancreatic tissue using PCR and sequencing. Nondiabetic organ donors served as controls. VP1 was detected in the islets of all type 1 diabetic patients (two of nine controls). Hyperexpression of class I HLA molecules was found in the islets of all patients (one of nine controls). Enterovirus-specific RNA sequences were detected in four of six patients (zero of six controls). The results were confirmed in various laboratories. Only 1.7% of the islets contained VP1(+) cells, and the amount of enterovirus RNA was low. The results provide evidence for the presence of enterovirus in pancreatic islets of type 1 diabetic patients, which is consistent with the possibility that a low-grade enteroviral infection in the pancreatic islets contributes to disease progression in humans.Academy of FinlandSouth-Eastern Norway Regional HealthAuthorityNovo Nordisk FoundationPEVNET (Persistent Virus Infection in Diabetes Network) Study GroupEuropean Union’s Seventh Framework ProgrammeSwedish Medical Research CouncilDiabetes Wellness FoundationJDR

Application of digital PCR for public health-related water quality monitoring

Digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) is emerging as a reliable platform for quantifying microorganisms in the field of water microbiology. This paper reviews the fundamental principles of dPCR and its application for health-related water microbiology. The relevant literature indicates increasing adoption of dPCR for measuring fecal indicator bacteria, microbial source tracking marker genes, and pathogens in various aquatic environments. The adoption of dPCR has accelerated recently due to increasing use for wastewater surveillance of Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) -the virus that causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The collective experience in the scientific literature indicates that well-optimized dPCR assays can quantify genetic material from microorganisms without the need for a calibration curve and often with superior analytical performance (i.e., greater sensitivity, precision, and reproducibility) than quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Nonetheless, dPCR should not be viewed as a panacea for the fundamental uncertainties and limitations associated with measuring microorganisms in water microbiology. With dPCR platforms, the sample analysis cost and processing time are typically greater than qPCR. However, if improved analytical performance (i.e., sensitivity and accuracy) is critical, dPCR can be an alternative option for quantifying microorganisms, including pathogens, in aquatic environments.Peer reviewe

Enterovirus-associated changes in blood transcriptomic profiles of children with genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes

Aims/hypothesis Enterovirus infections have been associated with the development of type 1 diabetes in multiple studies, but little is known about enterovirus-induced responses in children at risk for developing type 1 diabetes. Our aim was to use genome-wide transcriptomics data to characterise enterovirus-associated changes in whole-blood samples from children with genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes. Methods Longitudinal whole-blood samples (356 samples in total) collected from 28 pairs of children at increased risk for developing type 1 diabetes were screened for the presence of enterovirus RNA. Seven of these samples were detected as enterovirus-positive, each of them collected from a different child, and transcriptomics data from these children were analysed to understand the individual-level responses associated with enterovirus infections. Transcript clusters with peaking or dropping expression at the time of enterovirus positivity were selected as the enterovirus-associated signals. Results Strong signs of activation of an interferon response were detected in four children at enterovirus positivity, while transcriptomic changes in the other three children indicated activation of adaptive immune responses. Additionally, a large proportion of the enterovirus-associated changes were specific to individuals. An enterovirus-induced signature was built using 339 genes peaking at enterovirus positivity in four of the children, and 77 of these genes were also upregulated in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells infected in vitro with different enteroviruses. These genes separated the four enterovirus-positive samples clearly from the remaining 352 blood samples analysed. Conclusions/interpretation We have, for the first time, identified enterovirus-associated transcriptomic profiles in whole-blood samples from children with genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes. Our results provide a starting point for understanding the individual responses to enterovirus infections in blood and their potential connection to the development of type 1 diabetes.Peer reviewe

Enterovirus-associated changes in blood transcriptomic profiles of children with genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes

Aims/hypothesis Enterovirus infections have been associated with the development of type 1 diabetes in multiple studies, but little is known about enterovirus-induced responses in children at risk for developing type 1 diabetes. Our aim was to use genome-wide transcriptomics data to characterise enterovirus-associated changes in whole-blood samples from children with genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes. Methods Longitudinal whole-blood samples (356 samples in total) collected from 28 pairs of children at increased risk for developing type 1 diabetes were screened for the presence of enterovirus RNA. Seven of these samples were detected as enterovirus-positive, each of them collected from a different child, and transcriptomics data from these children were analysed to understand the individual-level responses associated with enterovirus infections. Transcript clusters with peaking or dropping expression at the time of enterovirus positivity were selected as the enterovirus-associated signals. Results Strong signs of activation of an interferon response were detected in four children at enterovirus positivity, while transcriptomic changes in the other three children indicated activation of adaptive immune responses. Additionally, a large proportion of the enterovirus-associated changes were specific to individuals. An enterovirus-induced signature was built using 339 genes peaking at enterovirus positivity in four of the children, and 77 of these genes were also upregulated in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells infected in vitro with different enteroviruses. These genes separated the four enterovirus-positive samples clearly from the remaining 352 blood samples analysed. Conclusions/interpretation We have, for the first time, identified enterovirus-associated transcriptomic profiles in whole-blood samples from children with genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes. Our results provide a starting point for understanding the individual responses to enterovirus infections in blood and their potential connection to the development of type 1 diabetes.Peer reviewe