Progressive Maternity and Reproductive Justice: The Identity of Motherhood as a Conduit of American Social Policy

For this thesis, I explore the following research questions: How did primary actors such as the activists and scholars within the Progressive Maternity and Reproductive Justice movements use and construct maternal and gender identities within their respective movements? What are the policy implications for building coalitions around gender and motherhood? I argue that the Progressive Maternity movement embraces motherhood as an identity by which we coalesce and create policy, while the Reproductive Justice movement has a nuanced understanding of motherhood and gender, with a rejection of the notion that citizenship is contingent on motherhood at the center of their political agenda. I conclude that Progressive Maternity makes motherhood conditional on cultural conformity, and is thus inaccessible for marginalized persons, while Reproductive Justice entitles marginalized persons to opportunity, access, and participation, and thus has a wider reach and impact on our diverse society

Protective effects of phytocompounds from Alpinia calcarata (Haw.) Roscoe in Freund’s adjuvant induced arthritis in rats

186-193Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory autoimmune disorder of unknown etiology which affects multiple joints and causes cartilage erosion. Due to the side effects associated with the conventional treatment strategies, alternate medicine using plant extracts is on the rise for the treatment of arthritic conditions. In the present study, we evaluated the anti-arthritic potential of two phytocompounds from Alpinia calcarata (Haw.) Roscoe, a potential medicinal herb, locally called ‘Kolinji’, used in traditional medicine. The selected compounds, fenchol and 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol, were evaluated for their efficacy in Freund’s complete adjuvant induced arthritis in rats. Arthritis assessment was done by measuring the paw volume, paw size, arthritic score and body weight. Various hematological and biochemical parameters were assessed on the last day of the study. Histological and radiological analysis of the ankle joints was done. The compounds treated at both doses (50 and 100 mg/kg body wt.) showed a dose dependent decrease in paw volume, paw size and arthritic score following arthritis induction. Treatment with the standard drug (diclofenac) and phytocompounds were followed by favourable outcome in the altered hematological parameters and the level of liver enzymes. The radiological and histological analysis also confirmed the anti-arthritic potential of these compounds. The results revealed the potential of the plant for use in the therapeutic management of rheumatoid arthritis

Protective effects of phytocompounds from Alpinia calcarata (Haw.) Roscoe in Freund’s adjuvant induced arthritis in rats

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory autoimmune disorder of unknown etiology which affects multiple joints and causes cartilage erosion. Due to the side effects associated with the conventional treatment strategies, alternate medicine using plant extracts is on the rise for the treatment of arthritic conditions. In the present study, we evaluated the anti-arthritic potential of two phytocompounds from Alpinia calcarata (Haw.) Roscoe, a potential medicinal herb, locally called ‘Kolinji’, used in traditional medicine. The selected compounds, fenchol and 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol, were evaluated for their efficacy in Freund’s complete adjuvant induced arthritis in rats. Arthritis assessment was done by measuring the paw volume, paw size, arthritic score and body weight. Various hematological and biochemical parameters were assessed on the last day of the study. Histological and radiological analysis of the ankle joints was done. The compounds treated at both doses (50 and 100 mg/kg body wt.) showed a dose dependent decrease in paw volume, paw size and arthritic score following arthritis induction. Treatment with the standard drug (diclofenac) and phytocompounds were followed by favourable outcome in the altered hematological parameters and the level of liver enzymes. The radiological and histological analysis also confirmed the anti-arthritic potential of these compounds. The results revealed the potential of the plant for use in the therapeutic management of rheumatoid arthritis

<em>In vitro</em> Assessment of Selected Benzoic Acid Derivatives as Anti-Inflammatory Compounds

330-336Inflammation is a major reason of pathophysiology of several diseases, causing a number of disarrays. The present research involved exploring inhibition of soybean 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) by various benzoic acid derivatives (eudesmic acid, veratric acid, cumic acid, and syringic acid) and their kinetics studies, comparing with vanillin as a standard reference. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) was performed to determine kinetics of the biomolecular interactions. Further, molecular docking studies were performed using GLIDE module of Schrodinger software to determine the inter-molecular interactions between the ligand and the target. Result underlined that four of the investigated derivatives exhibited potent inhibition of 5-LOX in a competitive manner with IC50 values <60 µM. ITC study demonstrated that all derivatives bind effectively with a single domain of the target. Molecular docking studies revealed that all the four candidates displayed good interaction with the target. As found from Glide scores, veratric acid interacted stronger than other derivatives (GLIDE Score of -10.72 kcal/mol), forming two hydrogen bonds with residues GLN514 and GLN716, quite similar to the standard reference. ITC and GLIDE score analyses showed difference in the binding strength of the derivatives. This study would help in developing novel inhibitors, anti-inflammation as well as understanding mechanism(s) of ligand-enzyme interaction

Imitating the Robots: Measuring Memory Flexibility with Monolingual and Bilingual Preschoolers

Millions of children in the United States are growing up hearing multiple languages. Memory flexibility is the ability to apply information from a past experience to future situations that are perceptually different from the initial learning experience and differs between monolinguals and bilinguals during infancy. We use a new, non-verbal object sequencing imitation task (OSI) to measure memory flexibility changes in monolingual and bilingual preschoolers. In the OSI task, children imitate target actions to produce a final pose on a robot figure. Children are tested with different robots than those used to demonstrate the target actions to test memory flexibility. We hypothesized that both monolingual and bilingual children would imitate the sequences significantly above baseline, but bilingual preschoolers would do so at a greater rate than their monolingual peers. To test this hypothesis, we visited 101 3-year-olds in their homes. An experimenter demonstrated 2- to 5-step sequences on one robot, and children were tested on a functionally similar but perceptually different robot. All preschoolers performed significantly above baseline on the total composite percentage score (the correct number of movements and pairs summed across all sequences, divided by the possible maximum score). There were no significant differences between monolinguals and bilinguals in baseline and test trials. We repeated the same pattern of results using a multi-level model, including all trials. The common binary classification of bilinguals and monolinguals often does not adequately describe the complex experience of growing up in a bilingual environment. Modeling the heterogeneity that arises from growing up in a bilingual home is important for understanding how this arrangement could impact an individual&rsquo;s cognitive development. To consider such heterogeneity, we implemented latent profile modeling to identify language groups based on a series of variables such as L2, L3 exposure, speakers&rsquo; nativeness to the languages, and speakers&rsquo; proficiency and identified three profiles (low, medium, and high multilingual exposure). The pattern of results remained the same. We conclude that memory flexibility differences exhibited during infancy may plateau during early childhood

Imitating the Robots: Measuring Memory Flexibility with Monolingual and Bilingual Preschoolers

Millions of children in the United States are growing up hearing multiple languages. Memory flexibility is the ability to apply information from a past experience to future situations that are perceptually different from the initial learning experience and differs between monolinguals and bilinguals during infancy. We use a new, non-verbal object sequencing imitation task (OSI) to measure memory flexibility changes in monolingual and bilingual preschoolers. In the OSI task, children imitate target actions to produce a final pose on a robot figure. Children are tested with different robots than those used to demonstrate the target actions to test memory flexibility. We hypothesized that both monolingual and bilingual children would imitate the sequences significantly above baseline, but bilingual preschoolers would do so at a greater rate than their monolingual peers. To test this hypothesis, we visited 101 3-year-olds in their homes. An experimenter demonstrated 2- to 5-step sequences on one robot, and children were tested on a functionally similar but perceptually different robot. All preschoolers performed significantly above baseline on the total composite percentage score (the correct number of movements and pairs summed across all sequences, divided by the possible maximum score). There were no significant differences between monolinguals and bilinguals in baseline and test trials. We repeated the same pattern of results using a multi-level model, including all trials. The common binary classification of bilinguals and monolinguals often does not adequately describe the complex experience of growing up in a bilingual environment. Modeling the heterogeneity that arises from growing up in a bilingual home is important for understanding how this arrangement could impact an individual’s cognitive development. To consider such heterogeneity, we implemented latent profile modeling to identify language groups based on a series of variables such as L2, L3 exposure, speakers’ nativeness to the languages, and speakers’ proficiency and identified three profiles (low, medium, and high multilingual exposure). The pattern of results remained the same. We conclude that memory flexibility differences exhibited during infancy may plateau during early childhood