Ready Cash on Easy Terms: Local Responses to the Depression in Lee County

When the Great Depression spread to southwest Florida, it caught an unprepared population by surprise. In response, the people of Lee County united in an effort to use local public and private resources to alleviate want. Although moderately successful at first, community efforts alone could not surmount the hardship brought by the Depression. Only massive federal aid would accomplish that goal, bringing in its wake, however, other unforeseen results. New Deal programs did reduce economic trauma, but they also fundamentally altered attitudes about the causes of proverty and about the purpose of federal assistance. Ultimately, New Deal grants were used for unnecessary and extravagant, though prestigious, community improvements. Assisting the poor became a purely incidental goal

The Origins and Development of the Gentlemanly Ideal in the South: 1607-1865.

The purpose of this study is to examine the origins and development of the gentleman in the South. It begins with an examination of Castiglione\u27s The Courtier. Castiglione provided a discussion of the ideal man of Renaissance Italy. His ideal man, the courtier, possessed cultivation, character, and class. Together, these attributes made up the complete, or universal man. The Renaissance idea of the complete man profoundly influenced all later thought concerning the nature of the gentleman. The English embraced Castiglione\u27s idea of a complete man, but they immediately adapted it to suit their own needs. The English placed much greater emphasis upon the gentleman\u27s duty to his nation and to his fellow man. In addition, the English stressed Christian morality, expecting the gentleman to be both charitable and humble, and they also stressed the importance of the bourgeois virtures of frugality and industry. The influence of the English ideal on the colonial South is clearly identifiable. Colonists read the English advice literature which recommended the development of gentlemanly attributes, and they recommended that others follow the English ideal. Although southerners embraced the basic elements of the ideal of the English gentleman, they also adapted it to suit colonial conditions. Colonists believed that the gentleman had to possess a natural simplicity which reflected their rural life. They celebrated simplicity as one of the required virtues. Ante-bellum southerners were indebted to Castiglione, the English, and their own colonial forebearers for their gentlemanly ideal. According to their letters, diaries, commencement addresses, and novels, southerners believed that the gentleman ought to be a complete man, possessing the requisite elements of class, character, and cultivation. He should possess a noble obligation to serve his nation and his fellow man; he should possess the Christian virtues of humility and charity; he should possess the bourgeois virtues of industry and frugality; and he should possess a rural simplicity. The ideal of the gentleman in the South evolved out of the European tradition, but it also began to develop distinctive characteristics during the ante-bellum period. Morality and honor, which had always played a role in the gentlemanly ideal, became the two most distinctive characteristics of the gentleman of the South. Those two attributes were eventually to become the most striking features of the southern gentlemen

Critical appraisal of vaccine approaches to control bovine mastitis

Despite their interest to combat mastitis, vaccines are few and underused, owing to limited efficacy. The mammary gland may have established with its pathogens a modus vivendi that favours the settlement of chronic subclinical infections. Reprogramming this immune response in a way that favours bacteriological cure but spares the secretory function presents a major challenge to immunologists. To improve vaccine efficacy, stress should be put on research on T lymphocyte-dependent immune defenses. In this view, improved knowledge of mammary lymphocyte populations, in association with systems vaccinology approaches, should offer new prospects for the development of efficient vaccines.Les vaccins contre les mammites sont peu nombreux à être commercialisés et peu utilisés en raison d’une efficacité limitée. Il semble que la mamelle ait établi avec ses agents pathogènes un modus vivendi qui favorise le maintien d’infections chroniques subcliniques. La reprogrammation de cette immunité par la vaccination dans un sens favorisant l’élimination des infections sans compromettre la fonction sécrétoire pose un défi majeur aux immunologistes. Pour améliorer l’efficacité des vaccins, les défenses immunitaires dépendantes des lymphocytes T ne devraient plus être négligées. Dans cette optique, une meilleure connaissance des populations lymphocytaires mammaires, associée aux approches de la vaccinologie systématique, devrait offrir de nouvelles perspectives de développement de vaccins efficaces

Increase of Escherichia coli inoculum doses induces faster innate immune response in primiparous cows

The objective of the current study was to evaluate the dynamics of infection and the immunological response to varying numbers of Escherichia coli injected into the mammary glands of primiparous cows during the periparturient period. Primiparous cows have been shown to be more resistant to intramammary E. coli challenge, and an increase of the inoculum dose by 2 log(10) units induced a more rapid clinical response and clearance of the organisms. Recognition of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a key event in the innate immunity response to gram-negative infection and is mediated by the accessory molecules CD14 and LPS-binding protein (LBP). Primiparous cows were inoculated with 1 x 10(4) (Group A; n = 8) or 1 x 10(6) (Group B; n = 8) cfu E. coli P4:O32 in their 2 left quarters during the periparturient period. Clinical examination and analysis of blood and milk parameters, including IL-8, complement fragment 5a (C5a), LBP, and soluble CD14 (sCD14), were performed from d -4 to d +3 relative to infection. Primiparous cows in Group B initiated a more rapid clinical response following intramammary infection (IMI), resulting in typical clinical signs and changes in blood and milk parameters approximately 3 h earlier compared with primiparous cows in Group A. Based on average milk production in the noninfected quarters on d +2 postinoculation, all heifers reacted as moderate responders. Distinct differences in the kinetic patterns of rectal temperature, somatic cell count (SCC), IL-8, C5a, LBP, and sCD14 were observed between both groups during the early phase of inflammation. Both C5a and IL-8 increased before cellular influx into the infected glands, followed by increases in sCD14 and LBP. In conclusion, primiparous cows are able to clear an intramammary E. coli infection efficiently. Moreover, increasing the inoculum dose induces a more rapid inflammatory reaction, mainly because of early activation of the innate host immune response

SILLVR: Streaming Interlibrary Loan Video Resources

This paper is an overview of SILLVR (Streaming Interlibrary Loan Video Resources), an innovative, collaborative pilot project that facilitates interlibrary loan (ILL) for streaming video. Conceived of by Auraria Library staff, SILLVR leverages partnerships with streaming video vendors and the Colorado Alliance for Research Libraries to enable library-to-library borrowing of streaming video media. This paper begins by briefly investigating the history and landscape of interlibrary loan, the loaning of electronic and “new” media, as well as how libraries collaboratively work towards increased ILL access and how this work supports equity. The second half of the paper details the creation of SILLVR, from its conception to the partnerships it has engendered and the workflows that will make it a reality

A Critical Appraisal of Probiotics for Mastitis Control

The urge to reduce antimicrobials use in dairy farming has prompted a search for alternative solutions. As infections of the mammary gland is a major reason for antibiotic administration to dairy ruminants, mammary probiotics have recently been presented as a possible alternative for the treatment of mastitis. To assess the validity of this proposal, we performed a general appraisal of the knowledge related to probiotics for mammary health by examining their potential modes of action and assessing the compatibility of these mechanisms with the immunobiology of mammary gland infections. Then we analyzed the literature published on the subject, taking into account the preliminary in vitro experiments and the in vivo trials. Preliminary experiments aimed essentially at exploring in vitro the capacity of putative probiotics, mainly lactic acid bacteria (LABs), to interfere with mastitis-associated bacteria or to interact with mammary epithelial cells. A few studies used LABs selected on the basis of bacteriocin production or the capacity to adhere to epithelial cells to perform in vivo experiments. Intramammary infusion of LABs showed that LABs are pro-inflammatory for the mammary gland, inducing an intense influx of neutrophils into milk during lactation and at drying-off. Yet, their capacity to cure mastitis remains to be established. A few preliminary studies tackle the possibility of using probiotics to interfere with the teat apex microbiota or to prevent the colonization of the teat canal by pathogenic bacteria. From the analysis of the published literature, it appears that currently there is no sound scientific foundation for the use of probiotics to prevent or treat mastitis. We conclude that the prospects for oral probiotics are not promising for ruminants, those for intramammary probiotics should be considered with caution, but that teat apex probiotics deserve further research

Gender equality and climate change mitigation: Are women a secret weapon?

An orthodox assumption frames gender equality as a panacea to the climate crisis, whereby empowering women is assumed to have tremendous positive effects on countries' environmental performances. However, the gender-climate nexus literature often disregards feminist epistemology, detrimentally integrating harmful gendered assumptions within its analyses, and therefore policy recommendations. To remedy this, links between gender equality and climate change mitigation action were investigated, through a mixed-method approach, which includes feminist theories. Two metrics of gender equity, the Global Gender Gap Index and the Gender Inequality Index, and their correlations to a sustainability metric, the Environmental Performance Index, were analyzed. This quantitative analysis was enriched by 13 interviews with gender-climate experts. Results showed that, despite statistically significant correlations between both gender equality indices and the Environmental Performance Index, the positive relationship between gender equality and environmental performances is contextual and multi-faceted. Disregarding situated gender constructs, understanding gender as binary, and positing women as a homogeneous group, all mask multiple interactions between gender equality and climate change mitigation. Unveiling these interactions necessitates better integration of radical gender theories within climate change science through interdisciplinary research, permitting epistemological pluralism. To further this, a methodological framework is proposed, to help guide environmental researchers willing to consider gender in their work. Furthermore, the impact of gender mainstreaming within climate policies is explored, presenting subsequent policy recommendations. Finally, findings and the systemic transformation potential of gender equality, amongst other forms of equality, are discussed, reinforcing the idea that there is no climate justice without gender justice, and that justice and equality are cornerstones of sustainable societies

Repertoire of Escherichia coli agonists sensed by innate immunity receptors of the bovine udder and mammary epithelial cells

Escherichia coli is a frequent cause of clinical mastitis in dairy cows. It has been shown that a prompt response of the mammary gland after E. coli entry into the lumen of the gland is required to control the infection, which means that the early detection of bacteria is of prime importance. Yet, apart from lipopolysaccharide (LPS), little is known of the bacterial components which are detected by the mammary innate immune system. We investigated the repertoire of potential bacterial agonists sensed by the udder and bovine mammary epithelial cells (bMEC) during E. coli mastitis by using purified or synthetic molecular surrogates of bacterial agonists of identified pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs). The production of CXCL8 and the influx of leucocytes in milk were the readouts of reactivity of stimulated cultured bMEC and challenged udders, respectively. Quantitative PCR revealed that bMEC in culture expressed the nucleotide oligomerization domain receptors NOD1 and NOD2, along with the Toll-like receptors TLR1, TLR2, TLR4, and TLR6, but hardly TLR5. In line with expression data, bMEC proved to react to the cognate agonists C12-iE-DAP (NOD1), Pam3CSK4 (TLR1/2), Pam2CSK4 (TLR2/6), pure LPS (TLR4), but not to flagellin (TLR5). As the udder reactivity to NOD1 and TLR5 agonists has never been reported, we tested whether the mammary gland reacted to intramammary infusion of C12-iE-DAP or flagellin. The udder reacted to C12-iE-DAP, but not to flagellin, in line with the reactivity of bMEC. These results extend our knowledge of the reactivity of the bovine mammary gland to bacterial agonists of the innate immune system, and suggest that E. coli can be recognized by several PRRs including NOD1, but unexpectedly not by TLR5. The way the mammary gland senses E. coli is likely to shape the innate immune response and finally the outcome of E. coli mastitis

Preinfection in vitro chemotaxis, phagocytosis, oxidative burst, and expression of CD11/CD18 receptors and their predictive capacity on the outcome of mastitis induced in dairy cows with Escherichia coli.

Four to 6 wk after parturition, 12 cows in second, fourth, or fifth lactation were experimentally infected in one gland with Escherichia coli. The capacity of chemotaxis, phagocytosis, oxidative burst, and expression of CD11/CD18 receptors to predict the severity of IMI was measured. Bacterial counts in the infected quarter, expressed as area under the curve, and residual milk production in the uninfected quarters were compared to determine severity of the infection. Although these two outcome parameters were highly negatively correlated, regression models with preinfection tests for leukocyte function fitted best with bacterial counts as an outcome parameter. Of the preinfection tests for leukocyte function, chemotaxis best predicted the outcome of the IMI that had been experimentally induced by E. coli. The number of circulating peripheral leukocytes just prior to inoculation was used to predict 52 and 45% of the severity of IMI for bacterial counts and residual milk production, respectively. As a categorical variable, parity predicted 75 and 56% of the severity of IMI expressed as bacterial counts and residual milk production, respectively. Because of the strong effect of parity on the outcome of the experimentally induced mastitis, analysis was performed to discriminate between second parity cows and older cows. Significant differences were found for the number of circulating peripheral leukocytes and for the expression of CD11b/CDl8 and CD11c/CD18 receptors between younger and older cows