36 research outputs found
Traditional Cultural Artmaking Practices and Their Impact on Wellness
This study explores the impact that traditional artmaking can have on the wellness of individuals who continue to practice their traditional crafts. Limited research has explored how culturally adapted art therapy practices and culturally relevant materials can promote wellness and alleviate emotional and acculturation challenges for multicultural populations. This research included a case study approach that invited five participants who regularly engaged in a traditional artmaking practice to continue their practice for four consecutive weeks and reflect on their sense of wellness after each traditional artmaking engagement. Over the four weeks, participants completed an initial survey to assess their baseline sense of wellness, weekly surveys that included the WHO-5 Well-being Index, and a final interview over Zoom web conferencing. Through a thematic analysis of the qualitative data, the researchers recognized two overarching themes: (1) the sense of wellness through experiencing a connection to culture, and (2) connection to heritage and present-moment awareness. The survey results revealed that environmental stressors often impacted the participantâs ability to rate wellness in connection to their artmaking practice and that their practice was a helpful distraction that positively impacted wellness. This research suggests that engaging in traditional cultural art practices can increase an individualâs sense of wellness through a deeper connection to their culture and their present-moment awareness. Further studies regarding traditional cultural artmaking practices and their impact on wellness may inspire and support art therapists in decolonizing therapeutic approaches and empowering multicultural communities and individuals
Investigating the Diabetic Brain: The Effects of Pioglitazone and Insulin on the Cellular Processes and Pathology of Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimerâs disease (AD) is the sixth leading cause of death in the US. Some
researchers refer to AD as âType III Diabetesâ because of reported glucose metabolism
dysfunction. Preclinical studies suggest increasing insulin decreases AD pathology, although
the mechanism remains unclear. To sensitize insulin signaling, this study activated
Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma using intranasal co-administration of
pioglitazone (PGZ) and insulin. This method targeted the site of action to reduce peripheral
effects and to maximize impact in transgenic mice expressing AD pathology. Data from
GC-MS fluxomics analysis suggested that PGZ+Insulin increased glucose metabolism in the
brain. Immunohistochemistry with relevant antibodies was used to identify AD pathological
markers in the subiculum, indicating that PGZ+Insulin decreased pathology compared to
Insulin and Saline. This suggests that increasing glucose uptake in the brain alleviated AD
pathology, further clarifying the role of insulin signaling in AD pathology.Gemston
Maria Coswayâs Hours: Cosmopolitan and Classical Visual Culture in Thomas Macklinâs Poets Gallery
Thomas Macklinâs Gallery of Poets opened at the Mitre Tavern in Fleet Street in 1788 with the aim to âdisplay British Geniusâ through âPrints Illustrative of the Most Celebrated British Poetsâ. Early newspaper coverage promised âa monument of the powers of the pencil in England, as the Vatican is at Romeâ. The incongruous juxtaposition between Fleet Street and the Vatican spells out the cosmopolitan ambition of the literary gallery phenomenon through its real and imagined geographies of display. Through the format of the paper gallery of prints, Macklinâs Poets offered the inventions of British Poets as a repository of painting. This chapter examines how the cosmopolitan idiom of the paper gallery is negotiated in the first number of Macklinâs Poets. This essay examines the extent to which this ambition was achieved in the first Number of Macklinâs Poets which carried an engraving of Maria Coswayâs The Hours, originally a painting with an impressively European iconographic heritage. The painting was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1783, and was retroactively associated by Macklin with Thomas Grayâs âOde on the Springâ. The trope of the Hours brought with it a weighty provenance derived from classical marble bas-relief, through the antiquarian pages of Pietro Santi Bartoli and Bernard de Montfaucon to Flaxmanâs designs for Wedgwood plaques and vases. Coswayâs name also imported into Grayâs poem her reputation as a cosmopolitan, cultured woman who had completed the Grand Tour and who moved in elite circles including those of the Prince of Wales in London and the Duke of Orleans, Pierre dâHancarville and Thomas Jefferson in Paris. The iconographies of the painting, the print, and the poem articulate a European cosmopolitan tradition for British Art
Applications and clinical trial landscape using Toll-like receptor agonists to reduce the toll of cancer
Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which serve as a bridge between innate and adaptive immunity, may be viable treatment targets. TLRs are the first line of defense against microbes and activate signaling cascades that induce immune and inflammatory responses. Patients with âhotâ versus âcoldâ tumors may respond more favorably to immune checkpoint inhibition, and through their downstream effects, TLR agonists have the potential to convert âcold tumorsâ into âhot tumorsâ making TLRs in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors, potential targets for cancer therapies. Imiquimod is a topical TLR7 agonist, approved by the FDA for antiviral and skin cancer treatments. Other TLR adjuvants are used in several vaccines including Nu Thrax, Heplisav, T-VEC, and Cervarix. Many TLR agonists are currently in development as both monotherapy and in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors. In this review, we describe the TLR agonists that are being evaluated clinically as new therapies for solid tumors