Aging Under Erasure

Aging is a multifaceted journey that is different for everyone. It is a fluid process; there is no one predictable moment or age when a particular experience takes place. For that reason, the series “Aging Under Erasure” encompasses a myriad of subjects to emphasize and illustrate the diversity and complexity of the process. My work visualizes the feelings, observations, and realities of aging in an attempt to create understanding, alter perceptions, and contemplate the universality of change. The works are inspired by personal experience, dialogical practice, and academic research. Using paper and/or traditional and unusual mosaic materials and techniques, the artworks unite concept with material attributes to convey their message

The ecology of fear in estuarine communities: cascading effects of multiple predators

The role of predation has long influenced our understanding of ecological processes from the individual to the landscape level. Recent interest in the role of nonconsumptive effects of predators, or the consequences of prey defensive behaviors in response to predation risk, has revolutionized how ecologists perceive the role of predators in ecological communities. From focusing on how individual predators affect prey risk taking behaviors and foraging tactics, to the consequences of these behavioral shifts for ecosystem functions and services including primary production, nutrient cycling and energy transfer, we now know that the mere presence of predators can sometimes be more important than their lethal effects on prey density. However, predicting the cascading effects of multiple predator assemblages is often challenging and counterintuitive due to the consequences of behavioral interactions among predators and their prey. I tested the effects of predator presence, identity and richness on prey and basal resources in field and mesocosm experiments based on estuarine communities. By allowing predators to scare but not consume their prey, I examined the generality of nonconsumptive predator effects in these systems across multiple predator species. Predators had varying effects on prey density and the strength of a given prey antipredator behavior, with cascading effects on prey populations and resource dynamics over time. The presence of multiple predators heightened prey antipredator behavior, including reductions in foraging rates, and promoted basal resources despite changes in predation risk. Changes in predator diversity may have profound consequences for marine communities by altering the strength of both consumptive and nonconsumptive predator-prey interactions, with consequences for the strength of a trophic cascade. Complex food web models incorporating both consumptive and nonconsumptive pathways are necessary to understand and predict the effects of ongoing declines in predator abundance and diversity

Windrush scandal: by accident or design?

The decision by Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, in January 2023 to scrap the pledge by the Government to implement key reforms of Windrush Lessons Learned review exposes the shameful history of successive UK governments towards Caribbean people. This involves decades of immigration law and policies, and the ongoing racism, racial inequalities and injustices that older Caribbean migrants – the so-called Windrush Generation – and their descendants continue to experience (Runnymede Trust, 2018)

Constructing a grounded theory of critical illness survivorship; the dualistic worlds of survivors and family members

Aim of the study: To understand the critical illness trajectory from patient and relative perspectives. Background: In the context of increasing survivorship from critical illness, it is important to enhance our understanding of the subjective experience of survivors and their families. The need to consider the legacy of critical care beyond physiological survival is imperative. Methods: Using a constructivist grounded theory methodology, in‐depth interviews were undertaken with survivors of critical illness (n = 16) and family members (n = 15). Constant comparative analysis and data collection occurring concurrently with theoretical sampling commencing from the outset. EQUATOR guidelines for qualitative research (COREQ) applied. Findings: Survivors of critical illness invariably experienced vivid, hallucinatory experiences which placed them in a different world or liminal space. The core difficulty can be summarised as follows: Survivors have little recall of the factual events of their critical illness but relatives have lived the whole event in a very real and ingraining manner. This can result in family members and survivors experiencing different versions of the critical illness episode. Conclusion: Survivors of critical illness, together with family members, experience challenges when endeavouring to readjust to life post critical care. This study has identified a middle range theory of dualistic worlds between and within the survivor and family member experiences. Exploring the dynamic interplay between intrapersonal, interpersonal and societal factors has provided theoretical insights with practice implications in relation to surviving critical illness. Relevance to clinical practice: The findings from this study highlight the need for a rehabilitation infrastructure following critical illness to support the existing UK national guidance, ensuring the individual and holistic needs of survivors and their families are met. Conversations with survivors and their families around critical illness survivorship are frequently absent and needed early in the recovery period

Safety and pharmacokinetics of MM-302, a HER2-targeted antibody–liposomal doxorubicin conjugate, in patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer: A phase 1 dose-escalation study

BackgroundThis phase 1 dose-escalation trial studied MM-302, a novel HER2-targeted PEGylated antibody-liposomal doxorubicin conjugate, in HER2-positive locally advanced/metastatic breast cancer.MethodsPatients were enrolled in four cohorts: MM-302 monotherapy (8, 16, 30, 40, and 50 mg/m2 every 4 weeks [q4w]); MM-302 (30 or 40 mg/m2 q4w) plus trastuzumab (4 mg/kg q2w); MM-302 (30 mg/m2) plus trastuzumab (6 mg/kg) q3w; MM-302 (30 mg/m2) plus trastuzumab (6 mg/kg) and cyclophosphamide (450 mg/m2) q3w.ResultsSixty-nine patients were treated. The most common adverse events (AEs) were fatigue and nausea. Grade 3/4 AEs of special interest included neutropenia, fatigue, mucosal inflammation, anemia, thrombocytopenia, febrile neutropenia, and palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia. The MTD was not reached. With MM-302 ≥ 30 mg/m2, overall response rate (ORR) was 13% and median progression-free survival (mPFS) 7.4 months (95% CI: 3·5-10·9) in all arms. In 25 anthracycline-naïve patients, ORR was 28·0% and mPFS 10·9 months (95% CI: 1·8-15·3). Imaging with 64Cu-labeled MM-302 visualized tumor-drug penetrance in tumors throughout the body, including the brain.ConclusionMM-302 monotherapy, in combination with trastuzumab, or trastuzumab plus cyclophosphamide, was well tolerated and showed promising efficacy. The selected phase 2 MM-302 dose was 30 mg/m2 plus 6 mg/kg trastuzumab q3w

Flowcell Systems for Single Molecule Detection

The present invention provides compounds, methods and systems for sequencing nucleic acid using single molecule detection. Using labeled NPs that exhibit charge-switching behavior, single-molecule DNA sequencing in a microchannel sorting system is realized. In operation, sequencing products are detected enabling real-time sequencing as successive detectable moieties flow through a detection channel. By electrically sorting charged molecules, the cleaved product molecules are detected in isolation without interference from unincorporated NPs and without illuminating the polymerase-DNA complex

Flowcell Systems for Single Molecule Detection

The present invention provides compounds, methods and systems for sequencing nucleic acid using single molecule detection. Using labeled NPs that exhibit charge-switching behavior, single-molecule DNA sequencing in a microchannel sorting system is realized. In operation, sequencing products are detected enabling real-time sequencing as successive detectable moieties flow through a detection channel. By electrically sorting charged molecules, the cleaved product molecules are detected in isolation without interference from unincorporated NPs and without illuminating the polymerase-DNA complex