Transfer of Power from Christ to Self: A Close Reading of Emily Dickinson’s Poem 454

The United States of America was founded largely on the idea of religious freedom. The laws of this country were written with religious references weaved in and out of the political wording, and on its money was written “In God We Trust”. The Christian church is an establishment which, even after suffering many forms of persecution, has held power for thousands of years. While this power was said to be based in the truths of scripture, many argue that the real power stemmed from corruption. Emily Dickinson challenges the idea of established Christianity, and the typically held interpretation of freedom of religion, with her poetry, giving her readers the idea that freedom from religion is what she as an individual sought. While it is not known whether Dickinson herself was a Christian, what is clear through her poetry is that she struggled with its need for conformity and for submission to either a higher power or to an establishment. This can be seen through her use of religious phrases, hymn form, and references to Christ as a tool. She subtly yet boldly argues that Christianity’s true power lies with the people, rather than with Christ himself. This essay will look at Dickinson’s use of the word “he” as Christ, the word “I” as the poet herself, and the importance of her use of capitalization to show a shifting of power from Christ to self. By focusing on poem 454 as it is presented in the R.W. Franklin edition of her poetry, as well as incorporating passages from Biblical scripture, and by referring to previous poems in which Dickinson employs the same strategy of writing, this analytical interpretation will strive to highlight where Emily Dickinson implies true power lies

The Issue of Naturalism

Atheism is becoming more prominent in our culture every day. With this rise in atheism, or maybe even as one of the driving forces in the rise of atheism, comes naturalism. Naturalism is not a new concept; the ideas it rests on have been developing for centuries. This worldview, especially when applied as a way of life, can have drastic effects. It stands in opposition of both religion and scientific theory making claims that are no less philosophical than any other worldview. Modern naturalism, which has fully developed fairly recently, is not only incompatible with science, but also detrimental to both theistic faith and scientific thought

MCC Nipissing East 2 (20.IR.253) and MCC Nipissing East 3 (20.IR.254): A Cross Site Comparison of Archaic Sites on Isle Royale National Park

This thesis will discuss recent excavations and subsequent analysis, of two previously unknown sites located on Mid-Late Archaic relict beach shores at Isle Royale National Park. The sites are believed to possibly be connected to the Minong Mine, the oldest and largest precontact copper mine in North America to date, located in the McCargoe Cove area of the island. At these sites, lithics and copper were recovered as the only cultural remains of the people who inhabited these two areas. The sites were compared, not only to each other, but also to other Archaic sites found on similar relict beaches island wide. These artifacts and subsequent Archaic site comparisons are utilized to assign these two sites a function. It was determined that both of these sites functioned as field camps, specifically as a copper and lithic manufacturing sites for these first visitors to Isle Royale

Attention Deficit HyperactivityDisorder (ADHD): Survey Report

In the spring of 2016, the New Hampshire Pediatric Improvement Partnership (NHPIP) conducted an online survey of NH pediatric and family practice clinicians to understand practice patterns, comfort level, and support needs relative to caring for pediatric patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Of the clinicians surveyed, 138 responded yielding a 13% response rate

The Forum: Spring 2011

Spring 2011 journal of the Honors Program at the University of North Dakota. The issue includes stories, poems, essays and art by undergraduate students.https://commons.und.edu/und-books/1064/thumbnail.jp

A Response to New Investment and Development: STRATEGIES FOR PRODUCING EQUITABLE OUTCOMES IN THE HARRISON NEIGHBORHOOD

Professional paper for the fulfillment of the Master of Public Policy degree.Why Equitable Development Strategies are Necessary for Harrison As Harrison experiences new investment in public infrastructure as well as an influx of affluent residents, it is crucial that structural changes be made to address its’ history of inequality, discrimination, and disinvestment that the residents of Harrison have been experiencing for generations. Any new development that occurs in the Harrison neighborhood must be equitable and increase the quality of life outcomes such as affordable housing, quality education, living wage employment, healthy environments, and transportation options. Public and private investments, programs, and policies directly or indirectly affecting Harrison must meet the needs of existing residents, taking into account past history and current conditions. Equitable development should be used as a tool to advance racial equity and increase the capacity of people of color and low-income people to strengthen their communities and determine their own future and what they anticipate the future of their neighborhood to become. Equitable development will be successful when long-standing residents, residents who have faced substantial barriers to opportunity, experience beneficial outcomes from the growth at the same rate or more than the new “gentry”

Validation and Characterization of a Novel Blood–Brain Barrier Platform for Investigating Traumatic Brain Injury

The Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) is a highly-selective physiologic barrier responsible for maintaining cerebral homeostasis. Innovative in vitro models of the BBB are needed to provide useful insights into BBB function with CNS disorders like traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI is a multidimensional and highly complex pathophysiological condition that requires intrinsic models to elucidate its mechanisms. Current models either lack fluidic shear stress, or neglect hemodynamic parameters important in recapitulating the human in vivo BBB phenotype. To address these limitations in the field, we developed a fluid dynamic novel platform which closely mimics these parameters. To validate our platform, Matrigel-coated Transwells were seeded with brain microvascular endothelial cells, both with and without co-cultured primary human astrocytes and bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells. In this article we characterized BBB functional properties such as TEER and paracellular permeability. Our platform demonstrated physiologic relevant decreases in TEER in response to an ischemic environment, while directly measuring barrier fluid fluctuation. These recordings were followed with recovery, implying stability of the model. We also demonstrate that our dynamic platform is responsive to inflammatory and metabolic cues with resultant permeability coefficients. These results indicate that this novel dynamic platform will be a valuable tool for evaluating the recapitulating BBB function in vitro, screening potential novel therapeutics, and establishing a relevant paradigm to evaluate the pathophysiology of TBI

Original research: longitudinal evaluation of cognitively demanding daily function using performance-based functional assessment highlights heterogeneous trajectories in cognitive and functional abilities in people with Parkinson’s disease

BackgroundLongitudinal assessment of functional abilities in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is needed to determine the efficacy of cognitive interventions in providing meaningful improvements in daily life. Additionally, subtle changes in instrumental activities of daily living may precede a clinical diagnosis of dementia and could aid earlier detection of and intervention for cognitive decline.ObjectiveThe primary goal was to validate the longitudinal application of the University of California San Diego Performance-Based Skills Assessment (UPSA). An exploratory secondary goal was to determine whether UPSA may identify individuals at higher risk of cognitive decline in PD.MethodsSeventy participants with PD completed the UPSA with at least one follow-up visit. Linear mixed effects modeling was used to identify associations between baseline UPSA score and cognitive composite score (CCS) over time. Descriptive analysis of four heterogeneous cognitive and functional trajectory groups and individual case examples was performed.ResultsBaseline UPSA score predicted CCS at each timepoint for functionally impaired and unimpaired groups (p < 0.01) but did not predict the rate change in CCS over time (p = 0.83). Participants displayed heterogenous trajectories in both UPSA and CCS during the follow-up period. Most participants maintained both cognitive and functional performance (n = 54), though some displayed cognitive and functional decline (n = 4), cognitive decline with functional maintenance (n = 4), and functional decline with cognitive maintenance (n = 8).ConclusionThe UPSA is a valid measure of cognitive functional abilities over time in PD. Given the heterogeneity of functional and cognitive trajectories, this performance-based assessment did not predict cognitive decline with this relatively short follow-up. Further work is needed to understand longitudinal functional assessments in PD-associated cognitive impairment

A Geospatial Approach To Identify Patterns of Antibiotic Susceptibility at a Neighborhood Level in Wisconsin, United States

The global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) varies regionally. This study explores whether geospatial analysis and data visualization methods detect both clinically and statistically significant variations in antibiotic susceptibility rates at a neighborhood level. This observational multicenter geospatial study collected 10 years of patient-level antibiotic susceptibility data and patient addresses from three regionally distinct Wisconsin health systems (UW Health, Fort HealthCare, Marshfield Clinic Health System [MCHS]). We included the initial Escherichia coli isolate per patient per year per sample source with a patient address in Wisconsin (N = 100,176). Isolates from U.S. Census Block Groups with less than 30 isolates were excluded (n = 13,709), resulting in 86,467 E. coli isolates. The primary study outcomes were the results of Moran\u27s I spatial autocorrelation analyses to quantify antibiotic susceptibility as spatially dispersed, randomly distributed, or clustered by a range of - 1 to + 1, and the detection of statistically significant local hot (high susceptibility) and cold spots (low susceptibility) for variations in antibiotic susceptibility by U.S. Census Block Group. UW Health isolates collected represented greater isolate geographic density (n = 36,279 E. coli, 389 = blocks, 2009-2018), compared to Fort HealthCare (n = 5110 isolates, 48 = blocks, 2012-2018) and MCHS (45,078 isolates, 480 blocks, 2009-2018). Choropleth maps enabled a spatial AMR data visualization. A positive spatially-clustered pattern was identified from the UW Health data for ciprofloxacin (Moran\u27s I = 0.096, p = 0.005) and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole susceptibility (Moran\u27s I = 0.180, p \u3c 0.001). Fort HealthCare and MCHS distributions were likely random. At the local level, we identified hot and cold spots at all three health systems (90%, 95%, and 99% CIs). AMR spatial clustering was observed in urban areas but not rural areas. Unique identification of AMR hot spots at the Block Group level provides a foundation for future analyses and hypotheses. Clinically meaningful differences in AMR could inform clinical decision support tools and warrants further investigation for informing therapy options