Coping Strategies of Female Holocaust Survivors

This paper describes how Holocaust survivors learned to help themselves and to reestablish their sense of community and self-worth. Sixteen female survivors were interviewed regarding their post-war adjustment. Data from the interviews revealed three themes which the women employed to cope with their post-war stress. These important factors in the adaptation process include establishing a family, building a community, and using work as therapy

The Development in al-Ghazālī's Epistemology

The paper is concerned with the development in al-Ghazālī's theory of knowledge, which evolved through various stages. Both al-Ghazālī’s life and writings reflect this development. As a student, he began his academic life with an interest in traditional Islamic studies such as jurisprudence. After he assumed his first teaching position at the Nizāmīyah school of Baghdad he became a methodological skeptic, a situation which prompted him to study all schools of thought available at the time in search for peremptory knowledge (‘ilm al-yaqīn). From skepticism he moved to Sufism, and finally there are indications that he ended up studying the traditions (Ḥadith) of Prophet Muhammad (SAS), which led many to claim that he shifted to the methodology of the traditionalists [ahl al-hadīth] and that he abandoned Sufism

A Better Path for Maine: The Case for Decriminalizing Drugs

No one should die or have their life derailed because they, or someone they love, uses drugs. But that is what is happening in Maine because of criminalization: There are very real economic and social costs because Maine criminalizes drug use and possession. We talked to more than 150 people -- those who have been arrested for drug crimes, their family members as well as prosecutors, defense attorneys, treatment providers, and harm reduction workers.In these pages, we'll detail the enormous toll that drug laws take on our communities. Our data is pulled from interviews conducted in person, over the telephone, and on Zoom. We also submitted public records requests and reviewed academic public health research, as well as local and national media stories covering drug policy.The report illustrates the harm that criminalization does to individuals and their families and how much money the state has spent to do so. Our recommendations will not only help people who use drugs, but will mean wiser investments of public funds.We hope this report will make a new way in Maine, one that turns away from old systems of punishment and towards an investment in communities and connection

Vyanzo vya Mitengo ya Wahusika Mashujaa katika Tungo za Kitendi za Kiswahili: Uchunguzi wa Riwaya-Tendi ya \u27Siri Sirini\u27

Kifasihi, mitengo (umoja ‘mtengo’) inajumuisha kutengwa na kujitenga kwa wahusika mashujaa katika muktadha wa kisaikolojia, kiutendaji na kimazingira (Hegel, 1949; Seeman, 1959; Durkheim, 1964; Chiduo na wenzake, 2016). Utokeaji wake katika namna mbalimbali umefanya hata vyanzo vyake kuwa ni mahuluti, mintarafu ya tafiti zilizopo ambazo zimejikita zaidi katika mitengo ya kimazingira (Propp, 1968; Kunene, 1985; Senkoro, 1997; Michaux, 2003). Suala hili ndilo limechochea makala hii ambayo inachunguza vyanzo vya ujitokezaji wa mitengo mbalimbali ya wahusika mashujaa kupitia utungo wa Siri Sirini. Nadharia ya Mtengo na Mkabala wa Kitaamuli umetumika kuchanganua data za utafiti huu. Vyanzo vilivyobainika kusababisha mitengo ya wahusika mashujaa ni pamoja na suala la hofu ya kiongozi mkuu kwa shujaa, shujaa kutoridhishwa na utendaji wa kisiasa, mwito binafsi wa shujaa kitaifa, utanguzi wa miiko ya kimila na shujaa kukwepa uhasama wa kiakraba. Makala imepanua maarifa kuhusu mambo yanayoibua mitengo ya wahusika mashujaa wa tungo za kitendi, kwani imefanikiwa kujumuisha vyanzo mbalimbali vinavyosababisha mitengo ya namna zote (ya kijiografia, kiutendaji na kisaikolojia) kwa ujumla wake. Matokeo yamepanua pia ufafanuzi wa dhana hii ya mitengo katika fasihi na imetambulisha ufaafu wa nadharia ya ‘Mtengo’ katika uchambuzi wa kazi za kifasihi

Livestock and meat industry trends and restructuring technology for the meat industry in Taiwan, R.O.C.

Call number: LD2668 .R4 ASI 1988 C54Master of ScienceAnimal Sciences and Industr

Novel genetic engineering tools for functional alteration of mammalian gut microbiomes

The gut microbiome is an integral component of the human body that plays a role in many physiological processes. Dysbiosis, an imbalance of the microbiome, has been associated with disease states including inflammatory bowel disease, type II diabetes, and obesity, and moreover, contributes to the pathogenesis of these states. Understanding the functional mechanisms governing microbial ecology and microbe-host interactions is essential to understanding the microbiome’s role in health and disease. However, at present, functional genetic studies of diverse natural mammalian gut microbiomes remain challenging, due to a lack of genetic tools for bacteria outside of a handful of well-studied model organisms. Altering the metagenome of a complex microbial community requires novel platform technologies for genetic engineering which can operate in a generalized fashion across many different host organisms. In this thesis, I present two novel genetic tools designed for genetic modification of bacterial communities. The first, the Cas-Transposon platform, is a host-independent targeted genome editing tool that utilizes programmable, targeted transposases to mediate site-specific gene insertions into user-defined loci. The Himar1 transposase naturally inserts transposases into random TA dinucleotides in a genome, but when fused to the dCas9 RNA-guided, DNA-binding protein, the fusion protein Himar1-dCas9 targets transposon insertions to a single TA site. The activity of Himar1-dCas9 was characterized using in vitro experiments, demonstrating that site-specific transposition is dependent on guide RNA (gRNA) orientation relative to the target site and the sequence surrounding the target site, but robust to variations in DNA and protein concentration, presence of background DNA, and temperature. We additionally showed that the Cas-Transposon platform is capable of performing site-specific transposition into a plasmid in vivo in E. coli, although further optimization of the system may be necessary to effect site-specific transposition into a genomic locus. The Himar1-dCas9 protein is the first example of a transposase that inserts transposons into locations programmable by an RNA, making it a novel tool for gene insertion and knockout in potentially any organism, without relying on DNA repair by a host cell. Metagenomic Alteration of Gut microbiome by In situ Conjugation (MAGIC) is an approach to directly modify gut bacteria in their native habitat by harnessing naturally occurring horizontal gene transfer activity to deliver engineered DNA. Because many gut bacteria are difficult to cultivate and thus difficult to genetically manipulate in the laboratory, MAGIC uses donor bacteria, delivered directly into the gut environment, to conjugate mobile vectors bearing engineered genetic payloads. Using payloads with selectable markers, we identified organisms across 4 major phyla of gut bacteria that were amenable to genetic modification with libraries of conjugative vectors we created. Using a lab-adapted E. coli strain as a donor, we achieved transient expression of the engineered payload in the microbiome. We also demonstrated that engineered native gut bacteria containing conjugative vectors could be deployed back into the gut to stably recolonize and mediate secondary transfer of the payload into other microbes, potentially enabling long-term infiltration of the payload into the metagenome. The results from this study suggest that both short-term and long-term genetic alteration of the metagenome are possible by choosing different donors, and that the MAGIC platform could enable development of more diverse microbial chasses for synthetic biology applications. MAGIC could also be used to create personalized engineered probiotics for diagnostic or therapeutic applications. In Chapter 4 of this thesis, we explored the targeted use of MAGIC to genetically modify Segmented Filamentous Bacteria, a gut commensal that is important for immune regulation but recalcitrant to in vitro cultivation. The Cas-Transposon and MAGIC technologies expand our capabilities in the areas of targeted genome editing and gene delivery into bacteria, respectively. Together, they form a suite of complementary approaches to genetically engineer undomesticated gut commensal bacteria and probe the functional genetic networks in the gut microbiome, which will enhance our understanding of microbiome ecology and host-microbiome interactions. In addition, the expanded range of genetic manipulations made possible by these tools may enable production of more diverse, perhaps personalized, probiotics containing engineered functions, such as sensing disease markers or drug delivery

Proprioceptive Coupling within Motor Neurons Drives C. Elegans Forward Locomotion

Locomotion requires coordinated motor activity throughout an animal’s body. In both vertebrates and invertebrates, chains of coupled central pattern generators (CPGs) are commonly evoked to explain local rhythmic behaviors. In C. elegans, we report that proprioception within the motor circuit is responsible for propagating and coordinating rhythmic undulatory waves from head to tail during forward movement. Proprioceptive coupling between adjacent body regions transduces rhythmic movement initiated near the head into bending waves driven along the body by a chain of reflexes. Using optogenetics and calcium imaging to manipulate and monitor motor circuit activity of moving C. elegans held in microfluidic devices, we found that the B-type cholinergic motor neurons transduce the proprioceptive signal. In C. elegans, a sensorimotor feedback loop operating within a specific type of motor neuron both drives and organizes body movement.Chemistry and Chemical BiologyPhysic

Hip Disarticulation in Wound Care: A Case Series

Introduction Hip disarticulation (HD) is a radical lower extremity amputation performed by carefully transecting all muscles and nerves surrounding the hip joint and separating the leg at the joint capsule. This procedure accounts for only 0.5% of all lower extremity amputations in the United States. It is generally performed due to malignant tumors, trauma and limb ischemia. However, it also has a role to play in wound care including management of severe lower extremity infections. It is considered a last resort to be used as a life-preserving measure under emergent circumstances due to high rates of morbidity and mortality. Cases In this case series, we discuss four patients who underwent hip disarticulation specifically for wound care management. The procedure was performed due to various indications including necrotizing fasciitis, gangrene, stump necrosis from previous above the knee amputation and septic arthritis secondary to chronic osteomyelitis. Three of the operations were planned and one was emergent. The procedure was performed successfully in all four patients. Furthermore, all patients were eventually able to be discharged home or to a long term care facility. Conclusion Overall, we conclude that HD should be reserved as a life-saving treatment for various indications including infections or wounds that fail other modalities, limb ischemia, trauma and malignancy. Ideally, this procedure would be planned and done on proper candidates; however, hip disarticulation should still be a consideration in the emergent setting regardless of most optimal patients due to its life saving potential

Characterization of METTL16 as a cytoplasmic RNA binding protein

mRNA modification by N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is involved in many post-transcriptional regulation processes including mRNA stability, splicing and promotion of translation. Accordingly, the recently identified mRNA methylation complex containing METTL3, METTL14, and WTAP has been the subject of intense study. However, METTL16 (METT10D) has also been identified as an RNA m6A methyltransferase that can methylate both coding and noncoding RNAs, but its biological role remains unclear. While global studies have identified many potential RNA targets of METTL16, only a handful, including the long noncoding RNA MALAT1, the snRNA U6, as well as the mRNA MAT2A have been verified and/or studied to any great extent. In this study we identified/verified METTL16 targets by immunoprecipitation of both endogenous as well as exogenous FLAG-tagged protein. Interestingly, exogenously overexpressed METTL16 differed from the endogenous protein in its relative affinity for RNA targets which prompted us to investigate METTL16’s localization within the cell. Surprisingly, biochemical fractionation revealed that a majority of METTL16 protein resides in the cytoplasm of a number of cells. Furthermore, siRNA knockdown of METTL16 resulted in expression changes of a few mRNA targets suggesting that METTL16 may play a role in regulating gene expression. Thus, while METTL16 has been reported to be a nuclear protein, our findings suggest that METTL16 is also a cytoplasmic methyltransferase that may alter its RNA binding preferences depending on its cellular localization. Future studies will seek to confirm differences between cytoplasmic and nuclear RNA targets in addition to exploring the physiological role of METTL16 through long-term knockdown