Supports to improve the lives of adults with FASD : an enthnographic study of a mentorship program

This ethnographical study provides a better understanding into the daily lives of adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), it demonstrates how mentorship can increase their quality of life and finally it provides recommendations on how to best support them. FASD is a life-long disability that diminishes a person’s cognitive and adaptive functioning. In this study, adults with FASD and their mentors were interviewed at the CUMFI (Central Urban Métis Federation Inc.) Wellness Centre, a mentorship program for individuals with cognitive disabilities in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to determine the adult’s need for support, what supports were received, how effective that support was and how to improve the support. This research was approached through critical ethnography and the result is a call for social change to help individuals with FASD. The CUMFI Wellness Centre is an effective mentorship model that could be used to design other mentorship programs for adults with FASD across the country. In this study, it was determined that the adults with FASD involved in the mentorship program at the CUMFI Wellness Centre had increased self-esteem and a better quality of life. Mentorship can help adults with FASD to find housing, buy groceries, receive community supports and maintain a healthy lifestyle which will help them function better in society. Support and mentorship provides safeguards to decrease the likelihood of adults with FASD ending up on the streets, in jails, hospitals and treatment centers. We must respond to the needs of these individuals and their families and provide supports for them. It is ethical that we do so as these individuals were not responsible for their cognitive disability from the prenatal alcohol to which they were exposed. It is practical and cost-effective to assist this population so that they can healthy and productive members of our society

Immigrant Social-Economic Landscape Changes and Ethno-Racial Border Formation in Columbus, Ohio

In this study we analyze new immigrant gateways in the U.S. and the role African and Latino immigrants play in reinventing urban spaces while culturally and economically regenerating neighborhoods juxtaposed to orthodox city planning practices. Through this research we aim to further understand how urban space is produced at divergent scales in the era of heightened globalization. Through this understanding we analyze how the contestation over how urban space is used and consumed leads to distinctive forms in the production of urban space and the subsequent unintended formation of newly perceived cultural borders, often based upon race and ethnicity. Through our analysis we theorize who defines what the city means, and who is allowed to make decisions about how social economic space is produced and consumed in the city along the lines of border construction

Immigrant Social-Economic Landscape Changes and Ethno-Racial Border Formation in Columbus, Ohio

In this study we analyze new immigrant gateways in the U.S. and the role African and Latino immigrants play in reinventing urban spaces while culturally and economically regenerating neighborhoods juxtaposed to orthodox city planning practices. Through this research we aim to further understand how urban space is produced at divergent scales in the era of heightened globalization. Through this understanding we analyze how the contestation over how urban space is used and consumed leads to distinctive forms in the production of urban space and the subsequent unintended formation of newly perceived cultural borders, often based upon race and ethnicity. Through our analysis we theorize who defines what the city means, and who is allowed to make decisions about how social economic space is produced and consumed in the city along the lines of border construction

Voices of First-Generation Students: An Examination of First-Generation Stories on Collegiate Websites

This qualitative research analyzed how four-year, public institutions represent first-generation students that attend their colleges, on their websites, and what those first-generation students share about their experiences. Twenty-nine institutions that were a part of a recognized list of colleges that have exemplary first-generation programs were utilized for this study. A critical analysis was performed to discuss and evaluate the themes that were discovered from fifty different first-generation student stories. Results indicated that first-generation students’ stories shared on collegiate websites shared similar experiences, with emerging themes being: Aspirations, family connections, engagement, and mindset. A summary of the themes, limitations, future research, and a final reflection are discussed

Fog as a Water Supply in Desert Environments

Rain and snow are not the only sources of water in arid environments. Substantial amounts of water enter watersheds through the interception of fog droplets by vegetation. This process of fog deposition is especially productive in mountainous areas where the fog is produced by the advection of clouds over the terrain. The combination of fog, with low visibilities, and moderate winds, leads to high fog fluxes that can be utilized by vegetation or artificial fog collectors. Fog water has been shown to be responsible for 20 to 30% of the water inputs in high elevation forests in the Eastern US. The percentage may approach 100% in isolated forests on the west coast of South America. FogQuest is a registered charity that utilizes large fog collectors to provide clean water for villages in some of the world’s driest environments. Fog collection projects can provide water at times of the year when no rain falls. This paper will present results from projects in countries such as Chile, Peru, Guatemala, Yemen, Eritrea and Nepal. Evaluations of fog fluxes using a Standard Fog Collector showed that on desert mountains in Chile, Yemen and Eritrea, measured fluxes ranged from 1 to 10 liters of water per square meter of mesh per day. Given the 50% efficiency of the SFCs, this means that in the driest times of the year, there was from 2 to 20 L m-2 day-1 of fresh water moving over the surface. How this water is collected and used to benefit people will be described in the presentation

Comparative analysis of the human serine hydrolase OVCA2 to the model serine hydrolase homolog FSH1 from S. cerevisiae

Over 100 metabolic serine hydrolases are present in humans with confirmed functions in metabolism, immune response, and neurotransmission. Among potentially clinically relevant but uncharacterized human serine hydrolases is OVCA2, a serine hydrolase that has been linked with a variety of cancer-related processes. Herein, we developed a heterologous expression system for OVCA2 and determined the comprehensive substrate specificity of OVCA2 against two ester substrate libraries. Based on this analysis, OVCA2 was confirmed as a serine hydrolase with a strong preference for long-chain alkyl ester substrates (\u3e10-carbons) and high selectivity against a variety of short, branched, and substituted esters. Substitutional analysis was used to identify the catalytic residues of OVCA2 with a Ser117-His206-Asp179 classic catalytic triad. Comparison of the substrate specificity of OVCA2 to the model homologue FSH1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae illustrated the tighter substrate selectivity of OVCA2, but their overlapping substrate preference for extended straight-chain alkyl esters. Conformation of the overlapping biochemical properties of OVCA2 and FSH1 was used to model structural information about OVCA2. Together our analysis provides detailed substrate specificity information about a previously, uncharacterized human serine hydrolase and begins to define the biological properties of OVCA2