Resurrecting Gaelic: Modernity and Heritage Language Revival in Scotland in a Comparative Perspective

Many people from across the world have little or no connection to their heritage languages. Whether this loss is caused by conquest, colonialization, or simply lack of parent-child transmission, many believe that they are missing an integral part of their cultural identity and want to reclaim the languages of their forebearers. There is wide debate about how, why, and if this linguistic reclamation and revitalization should happen because, in the face of modernity and language evolution, the best solutions are not always clear. What constitutes successful language revitalization in the modern world, and why does it happen? Gaelic in Scotland is a telling example

What We Build In Its Place: Police Abolition and Alternative Responses to Drug Overdoses and Mental Health Crises in Canada and the United States

This project examines the idea of police abolition and presents tangible alternative responses that more comprehensively address the complex issues arising from drug overdoses and mental health crises. Through secondary data analysis, this major research project explores police resource allocation, history, and theories of abolition, drawing parallels between initiatives in both Canada and the United States that present alternative responses to police involvement. This research helps to demonstrate the feasibility of non-police solutions to drug overdoses and mental health crises, highlighting their effectiveness in delivering compassionate, non-violent responses that prioritize the health and well-being of those in need of help and their communities. By examining existing police alternatives arising out of the communities that live with these challenges, this project adds to the ongoing dialogue on police abolition, inspiring readers to begin questioning the purpose of the police and considering what alternative means of creating public safety can look like

Derived demand for tobacco by type and origin

The recent overhaul of the tobacco program was prompted in part by the increased use of imported tobacco in domestic cigarette manufacturing. A large portion of the blame for the loss in market share was placed on the high U.S. support prices for domestically produced tobacco. A more market oriented tobacco program was instituted to make U.S. tobacco more price competitive in both the domestic and export markets. The purpose of this study was to examine the demand for tobacco and analyze the nature of the price linkages occurring within the domestic market. Price and expenditure linkages for the entire domestic market were examined, and these linkages were also studied for the components of tobacco imports. The Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) of Deaton and Muellbauer (1980a, 1980b) was applied to model the domestic market and the import market from 1971-1986. In the domestic market, prices are a significant determinant of budget shares. The demand for domestic flue-cured tobacco reacts strongly with changes in the price for imported flue-cured and hurley tobacco. A price increases in one of these tobacco types will produce a significant increase in the other\u27s market share. Domestic hurley tobacco and oriental tobacco are relatively secure in the U.S. market with limited substitution available for these tobaccos. Prices are an important determinant of import market shares as well. Additionally, the decreasing average nicotine content of U.S. cigarettes has a significant role in the manner in which the U.S. imports tobacco. Brazil and Canada have benefitted in the import market, while Greece and Mexico are adversely affected by the lowering of the nicotine level. Tobacco imports arrive in the U.S. from countries operating under democratic and centrally planned governments, and from countries in various stages of economic development. Tobacco imports can therefore be classified by the economic group of its source, i.e. imports originating from developed, less developed, or centrally planned economies. The import price of an economic group\u27s tobacco was found to play a marginal role in how the U.S. imports tobacco. The wide variances of individual country prices within an economic group limits the inferences possible from this type of disaggregation. Developed countries were found to be, on average, a low price import, suggesting that factors such as government subsidies may play a part in determining market shares. The findings of the study indicated generally inelastic demands for each type of tobacco. Elastic price responses were found for imported flue-cured and burley tobacco in the domestic market. In the import market, elastic price responses were found for Greece, Canada, and centrally planned countries. The elasticities are subject to skepticism however, since some own-price elasticities were positive

The effect of atorvastatin (and subsequent metformin) on adipose tissue acylation-stimulatory-protein concentration and inflammatory biomarkers in overweight/obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Copyright © 2019 Sathyapalan, Hobkirk, Javed, Carroll, Coady, Pemberton, Smith, Cianflone and Atkin. Background: Atorvastatin has been shown to improve cardiovascular risk (CVR) indices in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Low-grade chronic inflammation of adipose tissue may link PCOS and adverse CVR. In pro-inflammatory states such as PCOS, spontaneous activation of the alternative pathway of complement results in increased generation of acylation stimulating protein (ASP) from adipocytes irrespective of body mass index. Methods: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of atorvastatin on markers of adipose tissue dysfunction and inflammation; acylation-stimulating-protein (ASP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and monocyte-chemoattractant-protein-1 (MCP-1) in PCOS. This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study where 40 medication-naive women with PCOS and biochemical hyperandrogenaemia were randomized to either atorvastatin 20 mg daily or placebo for 12 weeks. Following the 12 week randomization; both group of women with PCOS were subsequently started on metformin 1,500 mg daily for further 12 weeks to assess whether pre-treatment with atorvastatin potentiates the effects of metformin on markers of adipose tissue function We conducted a post-hoc review to detect plasma ASP and the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL6 and MCP-1 before and after 12 and 24 weeks of treatment. Results: There was significant reduction in ASP (156.7 ± 16.2 vs. 124.4 ± 14.8 ng/ml

Trends from 1987 to 2004 in sudden death due to coronary heart disease: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study

Few data are available on the secular changes in sudden coronary heart disease (CHD) death in U.S. communities

Oral abstracts 3: RA Treatment and outcomesO13. Validation of jadas in all subtypes of juvenile idiopathic arthritis in a clinical setting

Background: Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score (JADAS) is a 4 variable composite disease activity (DA) score for JIA (including active 10, 27 or 71 joint count (AJC), physician global (PGA), parent/child global (PGE) and ESR). The validity of JADAS for all ILAR subtypes in the routine clinical setting is unknown. We investigated the construct validity of JADAS in the clinical setting in all subtypes of JIA through application to a prospective inception cohort of UK children presenting with new onset inflammatory arthritis. Methods: JADAS 10, 27 and 71 were determined for all children in the Childhood Arthritis Prospective Study (CAPS) with complete data available at baseline. Correlation of JADAS 10, 27 and 71 with single DA markers was determined for all subtypes. All correlations were calculated using Spearman's rank statistic. Results: 262/1238 visits had sufficient data for calculation of JADAS (1028 (83%) AJC, 744 (60%) PGA, 843 (68%) PGE and 459 (37%) ESR). Median age at disease onset was 6.0 years (IQR 2.6-10.4) and 64% were female. Correlation between JADAS 10, 27 and 71 approached 1 for all subtypes. Median JADAS 71 was 5.3 (IQR 2.2-10.1) with a significant difference between median JADAS scores between subtypes (p < 0.01). Correlation of JADAS 71 with each single marker of DA was moderate to high in the total cohort (see Table 1). Overall, correlation with AJC, PGA and PGE was moderate to high and correlation with ESR, limited JC, parental pain and CHAQ was low to moderate in the individual subtypes. Correlation coefficients in the extended oligoarticular, rheumatoid factor negative and enthesitis related subtypes were interpreted with caution in view of low numbers. Conclusions: This study adds to the body of evidence supporting the construct validity of JADAS. JADAS correlates with other measures of DA in all ILAR subtypes in the routine clinical setting. Given the high frequency of missing ESR data, it would be useful to assess the validity of JADAS without inclusion of the ESR. Disclosure statement: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest. Table 1Spearman's correlation between JADAS 71 and single markers DA by ILAR subtype ILAR Subtype Systemic onset JIA Persistent oligo JIA Extended oligo JIA Rheumatoid factor neg JIA Rheumatoid factor pos JIA Enthesitis related JIA Psoriatic JIA Undifferentiated JIA Unknown subtype Total cohort Number of children 23 111 12 57 7 9 19 7 17 262 AJC 0.54 0.67 0.53 0.75 0.53 0.34 0.59 0.81 0.37 0.59 PGA 0.63 0.69 0.25 0.73 0.14 0.05 0.50 0.83 0.56 0.64 PGE 0.51 0.68 0.83 0.61 0.41 0.69 0.71 0.9 0.48 0.61 ESR 0.28 0.31 0.35 0.4 0.6 0.85 0.43 0.7 0.5 0.53 Limited 71 JC 0.29 0.51 0.23 0.37 0.14 -0.12 0.4 0.81 0.45 0.41 Parental pain 0.23 0.62 0.03 0.57 0.41 0.69 0.7 0.79 0.42 0.53 Childhood health assessment questionnaire 0.25 0.57 -0.07 0.36 -0.47 0.84 0.37 0.8 0.66 0.4

Knowledge Gaps, Challenges, and Opportunities in Health and Prevention Research for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders: A Report From the 2021 National Institutes of Health Workshop.

Asian Americans (AsA), Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) comprise 7.7% of the U.S. population, and AsA have had the fastest growth rate since 2010. Yet the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has invested only 0.17% of its budget on AsA and NHPI research between 1992 and 2018. More than 40 ethnic subgroups are included within AsA and NHPI (with no majority subpopulation), which are highly diverse culturally, demographically, linguistically, and socioeconomically. However, data for these groups are often aggregated, masking critical health disparities and their drivers. To address these issues, in March 2021, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, in partnership with 8 other NIH institutes, convened a multidisciplinary workshop to review current research, knowledge gaps, opportunities, barriers, and approaches for prevention research for AsA and NHPI populations. The workshop covered 5 domains: 1) sociocultural, environmental, psychological health, and lifestyle dimensions; 2) metabolic disorders; 3) cardiovascular and lung diseases; 4) cancer; and 5) cognitive function and healthy aging. Two recurring themes emerged: Very limited data on the epidemiology, risk factors, and outcomes for most conditions are available, and most existing data are not disaggregated by subgroup, masking variation in risk factors, disease occurrence, and trajectories. Leveraging the vast phenotypic differences among AsA and NHPI groups was identified as a key opportunity to yield novel clues into etiologic and prognostic factors to inform prevention efforts and intervention strategies. Promising approaches for future research include developing collaborations with community partners, investing in infrastructure support for cohort studies, enhancing existing data sources to enable data disaggregation, and incorporating novel technology for objective measurement. Research on AsA and NHPI subgroups is urgently needed to eliminate disparities and promote health equity in these populations

Equalization of four cardiovascular risk algorithms after systematic recalibration: individual-participant meta-analysis of 86 prospective studies

Aims: There is debate about the optimum algorithm for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk estimation. We conducted head-to-head comparisons of four algorithms recommended by primary prevention guidelines, before and after ‘recalibration’, a method that adapts risk algorithms to take account of differences in the risk characteristics of the populations being studied. Methods & Results: Using individual-participant data on 360737 participants without CVD at baseline in 86 prospective studies from 22 countries, we compared the Framingham risk score (FRS), Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE), pooled cohort equations (PCE), and Reynolds risk score (RRS). We calculated measures of risk discrimination and calibration, and modelled clinical implications of initiating statin therapy in people judged to be at ‘high’ 10 year CVD risk. Original risk algorithms were recalibrated using the risk factor profile and CVD incidence of target populations. The four algorithms had similar risk discrimination. Before recalibration, FRS, SCORE, and PCE overpredicted CVD risk on average by 10%, 52%, and 41%, respectively, whereas RRS under-predicted by 10%. Original versions of algorithms classified 29–39% of individuals aged \u3e_40years as high risk. By contrast, recalibration reduced this proportion to 22–24% for every algorithm. We estimated that to prevent one CVD event, it would be necessary to initiate statin therapy in 44–51 such individuals using original algorithms, in contrast to 37–39 individuals with recalibrated algorithms. Conclusions: Before recalibration, the clinical performance of four widely used CVD risk algorithms varied substantially. By contrast, simple recalibration nearly equalized their performance and improved modelled targeting of preventive action to clinical need

The Dog Was Dead: A Capstone Project in Performance

This website is meant to be an all-encompassing representation of my process, education, and experience working on this production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It is meant to showcase the work I put into my characters and how I grew throughout the process, both as an actor and as a person. To me, theatre is as much visual and tangible as it is performative and imaginary, and I hope that you will find this to be showcased here. You may find quotes from the rehearsal room, various pictures, mood boards, and other visual representations of my experience sprinkled throughout this website. As much as I am an actor, I am a visual artist as well, and I felt that this was the most meaningful way to approach my senior project in performance: putting thoughts into both words and images. I want this to be a visual journey as much as it is an experiential one. I want to approach this as an artist would

Ranch Management Practices in the Sandhills of Nebraska: Managing Production

This report represents the second in a two-part series that summarize a comprehensive survey of Nebraska Sandhills range cattle operations. The focus of this report is on management of the production aspects of the ranch business and provides details on pasture and meadow management, hay production, crops, breeding programs, nutritional programs, and maintaining the health of the herd