Unnormal Sisterhood: Girls Of Color Writing, Reading, Resisting, And Being Together

This practitioner research (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009) study explores how a multiracial inquiry group of girls of color mobilized their literacies in service of building solidarity with one another across nondominant differences (Lorde, 2007). The stories and theories of the eight girls in the group, which they named the Unnormal Sisterhood, are centralized in this dissertation in service of adding nuance to conversations about the needs, desires, and brilliance of girls of color. Informed by feminist of color epistemologies (e.g. Anzaldúa, 1983; Collins, 2000; Lorde, 2007), postpositive realist perspectives (Mohanty, 2000; Moya, 2000), sociocultural perspectives of literacy (e.g. Street, 1984), and culturally sustaining/responsive literacy pedagogies (e.g. Ladson Billings, 1995; Paris & Alim, 2017), this study inquires into how the writing practices of girls of color and the pedagogies that center them might provide a platform for the development of what I’ve theorized as “unnormal sisterhood,” a new form of sociality produced as girls of color work towards self and group definitions that honor their simultaneous differences and connectedness. Using ethnographic methods, I gathered data including fieldnotes, interviews, focus groups, and artifacts, and utilized in Vivo and thematic coding and analytic memos to unearth findings. The first finding from this study is that the centralization of girls’ narratives, theories, and understandings in literacy curriculum can help girls of color establish important notions of resistant self-love. Their narratives resist dominant and deficitizing discourses and, instead, illustrate their complexity, artistry, and brilliance. The second finding is that as girls of color engage literate activities that allow them to engage in one an others’ stories and theories, they can progress towards conceptions and enactments of solidarity that honor difference, thereby allowing them to better understand not only how to fight for their own, but also their sisters’ rights and humanity. The third finding is that as girls of color engage in literate activities that center their stories, theories, and ways of knowing, they are able to name and build incisive critiques of systemic oppression

An assessment of myotube morphology, matrix deformation and myogenic mRNA expression in custom-built and commercially available engineered muscle chamber configurations

There are several three-dimensional (3D) skeletal muscle (SkM) tissue engineered models reported in the literature. 3D SkM tissue engineering (TE) aims to recapitulate the structure and function of native (in vivo) tissue, within an in vitro environment. This requires the differentiation of myoblasts into aligned multinucleated myotubes surrounded by a biologically representative extracellular matrix (ECM). In the present work, a new commercially available 3D SkM TE culture chamber manufactured from polyether ether ketone (PEEK) that facilitates suitable development of these myotubes is presented. To assess the outcomes of the myotubes within these constructs, morphological, gene expression, and ECM remodeling parameters were compared against a previously published custom-built model. No significant differences were observed in the morphological and gene expression measures between the newly introduced and the established construct configuration, suggesting biological reproducibility irrespective of manufacturing process. However, TE SkM fabricated using the commercially available PEEK chambers displayed reduced variability in both construct attachment and matrix deformation, likely due to increased reproducibility within the manufacturing process. The mechanical differences between systems may also have contributed to such differences, however, investigation of these variables was beyond the scope of the investigation. Though more expensive than the custombuilt models, these PEEK chambers are also suitable for multiple use after autoclaving. As such this would support its use over the previously published handmade culture chamber system, particularly when seeking to develop higher-throughput systems or when experimental cost is not a factor

Annual Survey of Virginia Law: Domestic Relations

The General Assembly did not take any action regarding the Family Court issue in 1997. In 1996, funding for the family court was delayed until June 1, 1998, subject to state funds being sufficient to provide adequate resources ... for the court to carry out the purposes of [Virginia Code section 20-96] and to fulfill its mission to serve children and families of the Commonwealth

The mechanobiology of tendon fibroblasts under static and uniaxial cyclic load in a 3D tissue engineered model mimicking native ECM

Tendon mechanobiology plays a vital role in tendon repair and regeneration; however, this mechanism is currently poorly understood. We tested the role of different mechanical loads on extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling gene expression and the morphology of tendon fibroblasts in collagen hydrogels, designed to mimic native tissue. Hydrogels were subjected to precise static or uniaxial loading patterns of known magnitudes and sampled to analyse gene expression of known mechano‐responsive ECM‐associated genes (Collagen I, Collagen III, Tenomodulin, and TGF‐β). Tendon fibroblast cytomechanics was studied under load by using a tension culture force monitor, with immunofluorescence and immunohistological staining used to examine cell morphology. Tendon fibroblasts subjected to cyclic load showed that endogenous matrix tension was maintained, with significant concomitant upregulation of ECM remodelling genes, Collagen I, Collagen III, Tenomodulin, and TGF‐β when compared with static load and control samples. These data indicate that tendon fibroblasts acutely adapt to the mechanical forces placed upon them, transmitting forces across the ECM without losing mechanical dynamism. This model demonstrates cell‐material (ECM) interaction and remodelling in preclinical a platform, which can be used as a screening tool to understand tendon regeneration

Changing teacher education in Sweden: Using meta-ethnographic analysis to understand and describe policymaking and educational changes

This article derives from policy ethnographic research on teacher-education change in Sweden concerning the development of a unified profession with a common professional-knowledge base. This was a social democratic government policy for teacher education from the 1950s up until 2007, when the newly elected right wing government turned away from unification and toward re-traditionalisation. Based on a meta-ethnographic analysis of the policy ethnographies the article illustrates resistance toward unification and raises critical questions concerning the intellectual foundations and integrity of reform processes. Attempts are also made to locate the disclosures in relation to international research

Monosodium Iodoacetate delays regeneration and inhibits hypertrophy in skeletal muscle cells in vitro

Objective Osteoarthritis (OA) is a musculoskeletal disease which contributes to severe morbidity. The monosodium iodoacetate (MIA) rodent model of OA is now well established, however the effect of MIA on surrounding tissues post injection has not been investigated and as such the impact on phenotypic development is unknown. The aim of this investigation was to examine the impact of MIA incubation on skeletal muscle cells in vitro, to provide an indication as to the potential influence of MIA administration of skeletal muscle in vivo. Methods C2C12 skeletal muscle myotubes were treated with either 4.8μM MIA or 10μM Dexamethasone (DEX, positive atrophic control) up to 72hrs post differentiation and sampled for morphological and mRNA analyses. Results Significant morphological effects (fusion index, number of myotubes and myotube width, p0.05). Conclusions These data indicate a significant impact of both DEX and MIA on regeneration and hypertrophy in vitro and suggest differential activating mechanisms. Future investigations should determine whether skeletal muscle regeneration and hypertrophy is affected in the in vivo rodent model and the potential impact this has on the OA phenotypic outcome

Surveillance or self-surveillance? Behavioral cues can increase the rate of drivers' pro-environmental behavior at a long wait stop

By leaving their engines idling for long periods, drivers contribute unnecessarily to air pollution, waste fuel, and produce noise and fumes that harm the environment. Railway level crossings are sites where many cars idle, many times a day. In this research, testing two psychological theories of influence, we examine the potential to encourage drivers to switch off their ignition while waiting at rail crossings. Two field studies presented different signs at a busy rail crossing site with a 2-min average wait. Inducing public self-focus (via a “Watching Eyes” stimulus) was not effective, even when accompanied by a written behavioral instruction. Instead, cueing a private-self focus (“think of yourself”) was more effective, doubling the level of behavioral compliance. These findings confirm the need to engage the self when trying to instigate self-regulatory action, but that cues evoking self-surveillance may sometimes be more effective than cues that imply external surveillance

Search for the electric dipole moment of the electron with thorium monoxide

The electric dipole moment of the electron (eEDM) is a signature of CP-violating physics beyond the Standard Model. We describe an ongoing experiment to measure or set improved limits to the eEDM, using a cold beam of thorium monoxide (ThO) molecules. The metastable $H {}^3\Delta_1$ state in ThO has important advantages for such an experiment. We argue that the statistical uncertainty of an eEDM measurement could be improved by as much as 3 orders of magnitude compared to the current experimental limit, in a first-generation apparatus using a cold ThO beam. We describe our measurements of the $H$ state lifetime and the production of ThO molecules in a beam, which provide crucial data for the eEDM sensitivity estimate. ThO also has ideal properties for the rejection of a number of known systematic errors; these properties and their implications are described.Comment: v2: Equation (11) correcte

Limits on the monopole magnetic field from measurements of the electric dipole moments of atoms, molecules and the neutron

A radial magnetic field can induce a time invariance violating electric dipole moment (EDM) in quantum systems. The EDMs of the Tl, Cs, Xe and Hg atoms and the neutron that are produced by such a field are estimated. The contributions of such a field to the constants, $\chi$ of the T,P-odd interactions $\chi_e {\bf N} \cdot {\bf s}/s$ and $\chi_N {\bf N} \cdot {\bf I}/I$ are also estimated for the TlF, HgF and YbF molecules (where ${\bf s}$ (${\bf I}$) is the electron (nuclear) spin and ${\bf N}$ is the molecular axis). The best limit on the contact monopole field can be obtained from the measured value of the Tl EDM. The possibility of such a field being produced from polarization of the vacuum of electrically charged magnetic monopoles (dyons) by a Coulomb field is discussed, as well as the limit on these dyons. An alternative mechanism involves chromomagnetic and chromoelectric fields in QCD.Comment: Uses RevTex, 16 pages, 4 postscript figures. An explanation of why there is no orbital contribution to the EDM has been added, and the presentation has been improved in genera