How to Read Shakespeare while Duck-sitting in Outer Suburbia

'I originally wrote this as a Prologue to a series of three short stories that are part of my dissertation which looks at the cultural capital of reading in contemporary Perth.

The cultural capital of reading in the early 21st Century: A creative and critical study

Advances in technology, as well as shifts in the socio-cultural landscape, have democratised and created new forms of reading so that today the term reading itself is contested. This creative-based thesis, examining how an individual’s socio-economic and education background shapes their reading identity and informs their reading practices, consists of two components: a small anthology of creative writing and a dissertation based on qualitative research. The stories in the anthology—including traditional and experimental short fiction and a dramatic script—represent the perspectives of an array of characters in diverse settings for whom reading, broadly defined, matters in different ways. In capturing the minutiae and nuance of everyday practices often taken for granted or difficult to capture in traditional scholarly writing, these creative pieces illustrate the tensions constituting the field of reading. Each piece, and the themes inspiring and embedded in the creative work, are those that emerged from the thesis’s critical component. The dissertation is a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews conducted with 14 Western Australian teenagers. Using French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital as a point of departure, the study examines and reflects on the ways older teenagers in the final years of secondary school value various forms of reading in situated contexts. The study finds that reading practices are shaped largely in response to a participant’s home and school culture and the value of each practice is context-dependent; yet participants determined the legitimacy of these practices according to institutionally sanctioned notions about reading. Using rich descriptions and imaginative insights to explore how individual dispositions influence and challenge various practices, the thesis makes a combined critical and creative contribution to the existing body of work on reading as a socio-cultural practice

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase-dependent activation of Btk is required for optimal eicosanoid production and generation of reactive oxygen species in antigen-stimulated mast cells

Activated mast cells are a major source of the eicosanoids PGD(2) and leukotriene C(4) (LTC(4)), which contribute to allergic responses. These eicosanoids are produced following the ERK1/2-dependent activation of cytosolic phospholipase A(2), thus liberating arachidonic acid, which is subsequently metabolized by the actions of 5-lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase to form LTC(4) and PGD(2), respectively. These pathways also generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which have been proposed to contribute to FcepsilonRI-mediated signaling in mast cells. In this study, we demonstrate that, in addition to ERK1/2-dependent pathways, ERK1/2-independent pathways also regulate FcepsilonRI-mediated eicosanoid and ROS production in mast cells. A role for the Tec kinase Btk in the ERK1/2-independent regulatory pathway was revealed by the significantly attenuated FcepsilonRI-dependent PGD(2), LTC(4), and ROS production in bone marrow-derived mast cells of Btk(-/-) mice. The FcepsilonRI-dependent activation of Btk and eicosanoid and ROS generation in bone marrow-derived mast cells and human mast cells were similarly blocked by the PI3K inhibitors, Wortmannin and LY294002, indicating that Btk-regulated eicosanoid and ROS production occurs downstream of PI3K. In contrast to ERK1/2, the PI3K/Btk pathway does not regulate cytosolic phospholipase A(2) phosphorylation but rather appears to regulate the generation of ROS, LTC(4), and PGD(2) by contributing to the necessary Ca(2+) signal for the production of these molecules. These data demonstrate that strategies to decrease mast cell production of ROS and eicosanoids would have to target both ERK1/2- and PI3K/Btk-dependent pathways

White rice consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: meta-analysis and systematic review

Objectives To summarise evidence on the association between white rice consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes and to quantify the potential dose-response relation

Method and Meaning: Selections from the Gettysburg College Collection

What is art historical study and how it should be carried out are fundamental questions the exhibition Method and Meaning: Selections from the Gettysburg College Collection intends to answer. This student-curated exhibition is an exciting academic endeavor of seven students of art history majors and minors in the Art History Methods course. The seven student curators are Shannon Callahan, Ashlie Cantele, Maura D’Amico, Xiyang Duan, Devin Garnick, Allison Gross and Emily Zbehlik. As part of the class assignment, this exhibition allows the students to explore various art history methods on individual case studies. The selection of the works in the exhibition reflects a wide array of student research interests including an example of 18th century Chinese jade chime stone, jade and bronze replicas of ancient Chinese bronze vessels, a piece of early 20th century Chinese porcelain, oil paintings by Pennsylvania Impressionist painter Fern Coppedge, prints by Salvador Dalí and by German artist Käthe Kollwitz, and an early 20th century wood block print by Japanese artist Kawase Hasui. [excerpt]https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/artcatalogs/1014/thumbnail.jp

Stand for Something or Fall for Everything: Predict Misinformation Spread with Stance-Aware Graph Neural Networks

Although pervasive spread of misinformation on social media platforms has become a pressing challenge, existing platform interventions have shown limited success in curbing its dissemination. In this study, we propose a stance-aware graph neural network (stance-aware GNN) that leverages users’ stances to proactively predict misinformation spread. As different user stances can form unique echo chambers, we customize four information passing paths in stance-aware GNN, while the trainable attention weights provide explainability by highlighting each structure\u27s importance. Evaluated on a real-world dataset, stance-aware GNN outperforms benchmarks by 32.65% and exceeds advanced GNNs without user stance by over 4.69%. Furthermore, the attention weights indicate that users’ opposition stances have a higher impact on their neighbors’ behaviors than supportive ones, which function as social correction to halt misinformation propagation. Overall, our study provides an effective predictive model for platforms to combat misinformation, and highlights the impact of user stances in the misinformation propagation

The role of E2f4 in cell cycle exit and bone development

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Biology, 2009.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Includes bibliographical references.Members of the E2F family of transcription factors are critical downstream effectors of the pocket protein family and mediate the regulation of genes required for cellular proliferation. The repressive E2Fs act in association with the pocket proteins to promote a G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle. These complexes recruit histone deacetylases to target gene promoters to prevent the transcription of genes required for cell cycle progression. As cell cycle exit is often concomitant with differentiation, it is not surprising that mutation of the E2Fs and pocket proteins results in defective development and differentiation. Mutation of the most abundant E2F, E2F4, is known to disrupt the proper differentiation of several cell types, including erythrocytes and respiratory epithelium cells. Here, I analyzed a novel role for E2f4 in bone development. I found that mutation of E2f4 causes defects in intramembranous and endochondral bone development. The calvarial bones of the skull exhibit the most severe defect in development, which is caused by a significant delay in differentiation of osteoblasts. I showed that E2f4 loss does not alter the differentiation potential of osteoblast progenitors. Instead, loss of E2f4 impairs the ability of these cells to exit the cell cycle and increases the pool of undifferentiated progenitor cells, delaying bone formation. To further elucidate the role of E2f4 in cell cycle exit and differentiation, I have generated conditional E2f4 knockout mice.(cont.) Analysis of these mice will address the cell autonomous roles E2f4 plays during differentiation and development, in addition to establish compensatory roles E2f4 may share with other E2F family members. Taken together, this work has established the in vivo role of E2f4 in osteoblast differentiation and bone development. Furthermore, this work opens new fields of study regarding E2f4 function during mouse development.by Emily S. Miller.Ph.D

Associations of Leg Fat Accumulation with Adiposity-Related Biological Factors and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome

The association between regional fat mass distribution and cardiometabolic risk factors has been inconsistent in the literature, and data for ethnic minority groups, such as non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics, are lacking. We aimed to examine this association among 8802 US residents who participated in the 1999-2004 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Body composition was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Leg fat indices included leg fat mass (FM), leg fat mass percent (FM%), leg to whole body FM ratio (leg/whole) and leg to trunk FM ratio (leg/trunk). We evaluated the correlation between leg fat indices and adiposity-related risk factors, as well as the association of these indices with metabolic syndrome (MetS). After adjusting for covariates including age, gender, and trunk FM or trunk FM%, higher leg FM and leg FM% were, in general, correlated favorably with adiposity-related risk factors and associated with lower odds of MetS in all ethnicities, including non-Hispanic whites and blacks and Hispanic groups. In addition, in all multivariate-adjusted models, leg/whole and leg/trunk ratios were strongly associated with lower levels of most risk factors and decreased odds of MetS in these ethnicities (all odds ratios comparing extreme quintiles < 0.1). Our results show that leg fat accumulation is inversely associated with adiposity-related biological factors and risk of MetS in both whites and ethnic groups, suggesting that regional fat distribution plays an important role in the etiology of adiposity-related diseases in these populations

Estimands in Hematologic Oncology Trials

The estimand framework included in the addendum to the ICH E9 guideline facilitates discussions to ensure alignment between the key question of interest, the analysis, and interpretation. Therapeutic knowledge and drug mechanism play a crucial role in determining the strategy and defining the estimand for clinical trial designs. Clinical trials in patients with hematological malignancies often present unique challenges for trial design due to complexity of treatment options and existence of potential curative but highly risky procedures, e.g. stem cell transplant or treatment sequence across different phases (induction, consolidation, maintenance). Here, we illustrate how to apply the estimand framework in hematological clinical trials and how the estimand framework can address potential difficulties in trial result interpretation. This paper is a result of a cross-industry collaboration to connect the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) E9 addendum concepts to applications. Three randomized phase 3 trials will be used to consider common challenges including intercurrent events in hematologic oncology trials to illustrate different scientific questions and the consequences of the estimand choice for trial design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Template language for describing estimand in both study protocols and statistical analysis plans is suggested for statisticians' reference.Comment: 5 tables, 1 figur