Black Winter: Letting Go

This culminating experience serves to captivate the audience by taking them on a musical journey by using the real-life experiences of the author and conveying them into a musical domain, allowing listeners to feel the emotions that the author felt. The album itself consists of 11 original songs that are very versatile and unique, but maintain a consistent theme. The genre of the album is Alternative R&B with a splash of Hip-Hop, as the artists look to use a modern and original style of musical harmony to translate these experiences to the audience. The album was produced entirely by the author, but the singing and songwriting was done by one of the authors’ close friends who offered her voice to help bring the project to life. The research consists of a wide variety of artists of different musical styles who have graced the world with meaningful music and visuals. The author has studied how these artists have reached success musically through lyricism, emotional significance in music, and unique visuals that have contributed to a forever evolving industry, as he wishes to touch the listeners on a deeper level than just hearing.https://remix.berklee.edu/graduate-studies-production-technology/1223/thumbnail.jp

Yes, Mmmm, Snaps: The Influence of the Call and Response Tradition of the Black Church into Forensics

The forensics community has long been hailed as one of the most accepting, progressive, and open-minded segments of the academy. However, minority competitors and coaches continually face a myriad of challenges in terms of acceptance within the community. Many scholars have argued for more inclusiveness within the activity in terms of representation and acceptance of literature from diverse perspectives (Robinson & Allen, 2018; Rogers et al., 2003; Billings, 2000), however, very little attention has been placed on the issue of behavioral norms and expectations within rounds. More specifically, no article to date has explored the impact of culture on audience reactions and behaviors within forensics. Many students, especially students of color, have been conditioned to engage in what is commonly referred to as the call and response tradition of the church from a young age. Snaps, mmmms, and other verbal and nonverbal expressions are a part of this engagement. Therefore, this paper argues that similar expressions within forensic rounds flow from this tradition and thus warrant an evaluation. We will use a critical race theory (CRT) lens to argue that the failure to recognize these behavioral norms as being culturally bound, at best misses the point of audience feedback and at worst upholds the idea that the only way to properly engage in performance is to conform to whiteness

An Evolving Role for Cancer Rehabilitation in the Era of Low‐Dose Lung Computed Tomography Screening

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer‐related death worldwide, and is often detected in the later stages. Use of low‐dose chest computed tomography in at‐risk patients provides earlier detection and is being adopted as the standard screening tool, replacing less precise methods of radiography and sputum cytology. In the past, late detection of disease meant that rehabilitation interventions attempted to salvage function and to improve aerobic capacity to the point where patients could tolerate the sometimes‐extensive oncologic treatment, including lobectomy or pneumonectomy. Earlier detection may shift this toward more often addressing specific neuromusculoskeletal impairments, such as postthoracotomy pain or peripheral neuropathy, as patients with early‐stage disease may not be as debilitated by chronic disease or metastases as those with late‐stage lung cancer. Patients with advanced disease, however, will still require rehabilitation interventions, and this fragile population creates unique challenges. Rehabilitation professionals should look for ways to expand care to lung cancer patients, as both the number of those treated and the 5‐year survival rate are expected to increase.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147113/1/pmr2s407.pd

Extralegal Punishment Factors: A Study of Forgiveness, Hardship, Good-Deeds, Apology, Remorse, and Other Such Discretionary Factors in Assessing Criminal Punishment

The criminal law\u27s formal criteria for assessing punishment are typically contained in criminal codes, the rules of which fix an offender\u27s liability and the grade of the offense. A look at how the punishment decision-making process actually works, however, suggests that courts and other decisionmakers frequently go beyond the formal legal factors and take account of what might be called extralegal punishment factors (XPFs). XPFs, the subject of this Article, include matters as diverse as an offender\u27s apology, remorse, history of good or bad deeds, public acknowledgment of guilt, special talents, old age, extralegal suffering from the offense, as well as forgiveness or outrage by the victim, and special hardship of the punishment for the offender or his family. Such XPFs can make a difference at any point in the criminal justice process at which decisionmakers exercise discretion, such as when prosecutors decide what charge to press, when judges decide which sentence to impose, when parole boards decide when to release a prisoner, and when executive officials decide whether to grant clemency, as well as in less-visible exercises of discretion, such as in decisions by police officers and trial jurors. After a review of the current use and rationales behind eighteen common XPFs, in Part I, the Article reports in Part II the results of an empirical study of lay intuitions regarding the propriety of taking such factors into account in adjusting the punishment that otherwise would be imposed, the extent of any adjustment to be made, as well as an assessment of how the views might change with different kinds of offenses and how they might vary with demographic factors. Part III examines the implications of the study findings for current law and practice, with special attention to the problem of disparity in application that is invited by the high levels of disagreement on the proper role of some XPFs and the problem of conflicts between lay intuitions and current law and practice. It is not uncommon that there is strong support for reliance upon XPFs that current practice ignores and little support for reliance upon XPFs the current practice commonly relied upon

Defining the current distribution of the imperiled Black-spotted Newt across south Texas, USA

The Black-spotted Newt (Notophthalmus meridionalis) is a chronically understudied salamander species, with many aspects of its natural history, ecology, and distribution poorly known. Previous studies using traditional methodologies have had limited success documenting N. meridionalis on the landscape, detecting individuals at 6% (7 of 114) and 1% (2 of 221) of sites surveyed. A novel environmental DNA (eDNA) assay was designed and implemented with the goals of assessing the current distribution of N. meridionalis across south Texas, USA, and better understanding the conditions for positive eDNA detections. We conducted eDNA sampling and traditional surveys at 80 sites throughout south Texas. Notophthalmus meridionalis was detected at 12 localities in total: four localities using eDNA surveys, four localities using traditional methods, and four localities with both methodologies. eDNA detections were obtained from five counties, including one where N. meridionalis has never been reported and another where N. meridionalis has not been observed since the 1930s. eDNA detections were obtained in all four seasons, generally following moderate to heavy rainfall events. Our results support the increased use of eDNA surveys to detect rare and cryptic amphibians and to better understand the current distribution of this imperiled species

Health-Related Fitness and Energy Expenditure in Recreational Youth Rock Climbers 8-16 Years of Age

International Journal of Exercise Science 8(2): 174-183, 2015. Information on the characteristics of youth rock climbers is minimal. The purpose was to 1) Determine the influence of a three-month program of bouldering and vertical rock climbing on the anthropometry and health-related physical fitness of relatively novice youth climbers, and 2) determine whether rock climbing and bouldering in novice youth climbers can provide adequate levels of moderate to vigourous physical activity (US DHHS, 2008). Fifteen participants (11 males and 4 females; mean age = 11.5 ± 2.3 years) from a newly established youth climbing team were assessed twice weekly during their normal two-hour training sessions at a local rock gym. Body composition, flexibility, grip strength, and anthropometric estimates of somatotype were measured in August and November. Heart rate (HR) monitors recorded average activity heart rate (AHR), peak heart rate (HRpeak), and estimated energy expended (EE-kcals) during each climbing session. Basic descriptive statistics were run; repeat measure ANOVAs were used to assess changes between times. Estimated percent body fat did not change, but individual skinfolds (biceps and supraspinale) decreased significantly (

Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy re-irradiation for locally recurrent rectal cancer: outcomes and toxicity

Background: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) has emerged as a potential therapeutic option for locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC) but contemporaneous clinical data is limited. We aimed to evaluate the local control, toxicity and survival outcomes in a cohort of patients previously treated with neoadjuvant pelvic radiotherapy for non-metastatic LRRC, now treated with SBRT. Methods: Inoperable rectal cancer patients with ≤ 3 sites of pelvic recurrence and > 6 months since prior pelvic radiotherapy were identified from a prospective registry over 4 years. SBRT dose was 30Gy in 5 fractions, daily or alternate days, using cumulative organ at risk dose constraints. Primary outcome was local control (LC). Secondary outcomes were progression free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), toxicity and patient reported Quality of Life scores (QoL) using EQ-VAS tool. Results: 30 patients (35 targets) were included. Median GTV size was 14.3cm3. 27/30 (90%) previously received 45-50.4Gy in 25/28 fractions, with 10% receiving an alternative prescription. All patients received the planned re-irradiation SBRT dose. The median FU was 24.5 months (IQR 17.8 – 28.8). The 1-year LC was 84.9% (95% CI 70.6 – 99) and a 2-year LC was 69% (95% CI 51.8 – 91.9). The median PFS was 12.1 months (95% 8.6 – 17.66) and median OS was 28.3 months (95% CI 17.88 – 39.5 months). No patient experienced >G2 acute toxicity and only 1 patient experienced late G3 toxicity. Patient reported QoL outcomes were improved at 3 months following SBRT (Δ EQ-VAS, +10 points, Wilcoxon signed rank, p=0.009). Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that, for small volume pelvic disease relapses from rectal cancer, re-irradiation with 30Gy in 5 fractions is well tolerated and achieves an excellent balance between high local control rates with limited toxicity