Excavating Childhood: Fairytales, Monsters and Abuse Survival in Lynda Barry’s What It Is

This article investigates the excavation of abused childhood in Lynda Barry’s What It Is. Looking at the centrality of childish play, fairy tales and the Gorgon in the protagonist’s effort to cope with maternal abuse, it argues that comics complicate the life narrative and allow the feminist reconfiguration of the monstrous mother of Western psychoanalysis and art

Genetic signature of human longevity in PKC and NF-κB signaling.

Gene variants associated with longevity are also associated with protection against cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer's disease, suggesting that common physiologic pathways act at the interface of longevity and cognitive function. To test the hypothesis that variants in genes implicated in cognitive function may promote exceptional longevity, we performed a comprehensive 3-stage study to identify functional longevity-associated variants in ~700 candidate genes in up to 450 centenarians and 500 controls by target capture sequencing analysis. We found an enrichment of longevity-associated genes in the nPKC and NF-κB signaling pathways by gene-based association analyses. Functional analysis of the top three gene variants (NFKBIA, CLU, PRKCH) suggests that non-coding variants modulate the expression of cognate genes, thereby reducing signaling through the nPKC and NF-κB. This matches genetic studies in multiple model organisms, suggesting that the evolutionary conservation of reduced PKC and NF-κB signaling pathways in exceptional longevity may include humans

Genetic signature of human longevity in PKC and NF- κB signaling

Gene variants associated with longevity are also associated with protection against cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting that common physiologic pathways act at the interface of longevity and cognitive function. To test the hypothesis that variants in genes implicated in cognitive function may promote exceptional longevity, we performed a comprehensive 3- stage study to identify functional longevity- associated variants in ~700 candidate genes in up to 450 centenarians and 500 controls by target capture sequencing analysis. We found an enrichment of longevity- associated genes in the nPKC and NF- κB signaling pathways by gene- based association analyses. Functional analysis of the top three gene variants (NFKBIA, CLU, PRKCH) suggests that non- coding variants modulate the expression of cognate genes, thereby reducing signaling through the nPKC and NF- κB. This matches genetic studies in multiple model organisms, suggesting that the evolutionary conservation of reduced PKC and NF- κB signaling pathways in exceptional longevity may include humans.To test the hypothesis that variants in genes implicated in cognitive function may promote exceptional longevity, we performed a 3- stage study to identify functional longevity- associated variants in ~700 candidate genes in up to 450 centenarians and 500 controls by target capture sequencing analysis. We found an enrichment of longevity- associated genes in the nPKC and NF- kB signaling pathways by gene- based association analyses. Functional analysis of the top three gene variants (NFKBIA, CLU, PRKCH) suggests that non- coding variants reduce signaling through the nPKC and NF- kB.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/168447/1/acel13362.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/168447/2/acel13362_am.pd

“Master Race”: Graphic Storytelling in the Aftermath of the Holocaust

This chapter argues that an early graphic story, “Master Race,” published in 1955 by comics artist Bernie Krigstein and scriptwriter Al Feldstein, considered “one of the finest stories ever to appear in the comics form,” anticipated the emergence of the evolving and expanding genre of Holocaust graphic narratives. With memory as the controlling trope, graphic novelists and illustrators, through the juxtaposition of text and image, extend the narrative of the Holocaust into the present, creating a midrashic imperative to reconstruct and reanimate the experience of the Shoah. In recreating moments of traumatic rupture, dislocation, and disequilibrium, graphic narratives contribute to the evolving field of Holocaust representation by establishing a visual testimony to memory

The Professional Ex- Revisited: Cessation or Continuation of a Deviant Career?

An ongoing question is whether participation in deviance is fluid or stable. In a 1991 article, Brown introduced the concept of the “professional ex-,” an individual who uses former deviant status as a springboard into a counseling career. The professional ex- thus exits a deviant career, transforming it into a legitimate status. In the current article, the authors present a different perspective, grounded in self-control theory. The 1990s substance abuse treatment industry scandals in Texas provide the framework. A case study of one agency, in-depth interviews with fifteen professional ex-s employed by the agency, official records, and newspaper accounts of the scandals are used to explore the issues of stability and generality. Findings suggest that at least some professional ex-s continue to engage in other forms of deviance, providing support to Gottfredson and Hirschi's claim that the propensity to engage in deviance is both general and stable.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Evidence for gene-smoking interactions for hearing loss and deafness in Japanese American families

BackgroundThis study investigated the relationship between smoking and hearing loss and deafness (HLD) and whether the relationship is modified by genetic variation. Data for these analyses was from the subset of Japanese American families collected as part of the American Diabetes Association Genetics of Non-insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus study. Logistic regression with generalized estimating equations assessed the relationship between HLD and smoking. Nonparametric linkage analysis identified genetic regions harboring HLD susceptibility genes and ordered subset analysis was used to identify regions showing evidence for gene-smoking interactions. Genetic variants within these candidate regions were then each tested for interaction with smoking using logistic regression models.ResultsAfter adjusting for age, sex, diabetes status and smoking duration, for each pack of cigarettes smoked per day, risk of HLD increased 4.58 times (odds ratio (OR) = 4.58; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): (1.40,15.03)), and ever smokers were over 5 times more likely than nonsmokers to report HLD (OR = 5.22; 95% CI: (1.24, 22.03)). Suggestive evidence for linkage for HLD was observed in multiple genomic regions (Chromosomes 5p15, 8p23 and 17q21), and additional suggestive regions were identified when considering interactions with smoking status (Chromosomes 7p21, 11q23, 12q32, 15q26, and 20q13) and packs-per-day (Chromosome 8q21).ConclusionsTo our knowledge this was the first report of possible gene-by-smoking interactions in HLD using family data. Additional work, including independent replication, is needed to understand the basis of these findings. HLD are important public health issues and understanding the contributions of genetic and environmental factors may inform public health messages and policies