The Wondrous Orientalism of Lord Dunsany: Traditional and Non-traditional Orientalist Narratives in \u3ci\u3eThe Book of Wonder\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3eTales of Wonder\u3c/i\u3e

In this study of Lord Dunsany’s “Oriental” fairy tales, House-Thomas divides Dunsany’s technique and aims into “traditional” Oriental tales, of the sort Edward Said describes in his theories of Western Orientalist art and literature, and non-traditional, post-modern tales in which Orientalism is turned upside-down and the West is turned into the Other. This paper won the Alexei Kondratiev Student Paper Award at the 2012 Mythcon in Berkeley

LA RIVER STEW-MAP: The Los Angeles River Stewardship Mapping & Assessment Project

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project (STEW-MAP) was applied in the Los Angeles River Watershed to answer the questions: Who are the active environmental stewardship groups in my area and where, why, and how are they caring for the land? STEW-MAP defines a “stewardship group” as a civic organization or group that works to conserve, manage, monitor, transform, educate on and/or advocate for the environment. Leveraging national expertise and previous regional investment in Los Angeles County STEW-MAP, the Los Angeles (LA) River STEW-MAP provides detailed information on the geographical footprint and collaborative relationships of organizations working in the Los Angeles River watershed. LA River STEW-MAP researchers developed an inventory of 535 environmental stewardship organizations working in the LA River Watershed; and collected survey data from 107 of those organizations. Some highlights of the resulting data analysis included: The majority of groups (57%) were 501(c)3 nonprofits, with less than ten percent representing other legal designations. The next largest group was city/local government, chosen by just nine percent of respondents. The government was identified as providing funding to over two-thirds of responding stewardship organizations; and the network results showed that government agencies were often identified by respondents as groups that they go to for collaboration, knowledge, and funding related to environmental projects. This may reflect the historical development, land ownership, and current political climate of the LA River—all of which are largely led by agencies at all levels of government. Responding groups tended to be younger and smaller, and heavily reliant on volunteer labor. Most groups had been founded since the 1990s, with nearly a quarter of groups founded in just the past ten years. The median number of staff reported by the responding organizations was 9 full-time and 3 part-time. Notably, the average hours respondents reported from occasional volunteers was 152 hours/month, the equivalent of almost a month of full-time work. Education is a focus of stewardship organizations. Education-related responses were prominent throughout the results. LA River stewardship groups are playing a key role in educating their communities about the watershed and broader environmental issues. Stewardship groups support local environments AND communities. “Community” was prevalent in mission statement analysis, “community improvement and capacity building” was among the most chosen focus areas, and “community organizing” was identified by nearly half of respondents as a service they provide. LA River STEW-MAP results reflected the watershed approach of the study, with “stream/river/canal,” “stormwater management,” and “watershed/sewershed” representing three of the top five most chosen stewardship site types, and water quality/water conservation among the top three most chosen focus areas. However, when asked to consider the influence of eight water-related plans and programs on their work, LA River Watershed plans were not influential to the average responding organization. This dilution of influence of any one plan or program may be attributed to the large number of ongoing planning efforts within the watershed. It also may highlight a need for even greater engagement with stewardship groups in watershed plan implementation. The highest geographic concentration of stewardship was found in downtown Los Angeles around the LA River. Other areas of high stewardship concentration were the northeastern area of the watershed, within the Angeles National Forest. Groups identified over 1200 collaborative, knowledge, or funding relationships related to environmental stewardship. Since respondents were able to write in their responses, this provided the opportunity to add new groups not included in the initial inventory of stewardship organizations. The “hubs” of activity in the stewardship network were mostly 501(c)3 nonprofit groups, and government agencies from the local to the federal level. These results are reported in detail in this report. The project also produced two publicly available online mapping tools where users can further explore the geographic and social network data. The summary statistics, initial maps and network analyses provided here offer an extensive look at stewardship across the LA River Watershed. There is great potential across the data types for more intensive examination. Future analyses may include spatial, social network, or other explorations of this rich dataset to better understand environmental stewardship in the Watershed. The results and mapping tools have numerous possibilities for application in practice. Examples from previous STEW-MAPs include using the spatial data to help guide prioritization of urban forestry efforts to meet sustainability goals; and searching the STEW-MAP database in a particular area to help mobilize a community network in response to a specific issue. These are two of many examples compiled by the national STEW-MAP Community of Practice, which the LA River Watershed organizations may participate in and use as a resource. It is important to note that the LA River STEW-MAP survey only reached about 20% of the initial list of organizations. Thus, follow-up work could include on the ground outreach to increase the response rate. LA River STEW-MAP has the potential to be a dynamic, regularly updated database and map that provides a current view of stewardship across the watershed rather than a snapshot in time. The LA River Urban Waters Federal Partnership may be a good place to discuss possibilities for further development and ongoing maintenance of the database and mapping tool.https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cures_reports/1007/thumbnail.jp

Expanding current definitions of environmental stewardship through organizational mission statement analysis

In recent years, environmental stewardship has been emphasized as one solution to social-ecological sustainability concerns, especially at the local scale. The Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project (STEW-MAP) is a national research program developed by the USDA Forest Service that has been implemented at numerous locations in the United States and internationally. This study compared the mission statements of environmental stewardship groups in the Los Angeles River Watershed to previously proposed definitions and frameworks of organizational environmental stewardship to see how well they were reflected. A thematic analysis of the mission statements was also carried out to identify locally important themes and priorities. Results show that, although often consistent, the mission statements do not always reflect existing concepts around environmental stewardship. Additionally, environmental stewardship is not always explicit in the mission statements of organizations that are known to conduct these activities. We suggest that non-traditional groups that engage in stewardship work (i.e., research institutions) as well as groups focused on social issues are overlooked actors in sustainable city goals. A more comprehensive definition of environmental stewardship may be needed to bridge the gap between research and practice

Associations of region-specific foot pain and foot biomechanics: the framingham foot study

BACKGROUND. Specific regions of the foot are responsible for the gait tasks of weight acceptance, single-limb support, and forward propulsion. With region foot pain, gait abnormalities may arise and affect the plantar pressure and force pattern utilized. Therefore, this study’s purpose was to evaluate plantar pressure and force pattern differences between adults with and without region-specific foot pain. METHODS. Plantar pressure and force data were collected on Framingham Foot Study members while walking barefoot at a self-selected pace. Foot pain was evaluated by self-report and grouped by foot region (toe, forefoot, midfoot, or rearfoot) or regions (two or three or more regions) of pain. Unadjusted and adjusted linear regression with generalized estimating equations was used to determine associations between feet with and without foot pain. RESULTS. Individuals with distal foot (forefoot or toes) pain had similar maximum vertical forces under the pain region, while those with proximal foot (rearfoot or midfoot) pain had different maximum vertical forces compared to those without regional foot pain (referent). During walking, there were significant differences in plantar loading and propulsion ranging from 2% to 4% between those with and without regional foot pain. Significant differences in normalized maximum vertical force and plantar pressure ranged from 5.3% to 12.4% and 3.4% to 24.1%, respectively, between those with and without regional foot pain. CONCLUSIONS. Associations of regional foot pain with plantar pressure and force were different by regions of pain. Region-specific foot pain was not uniformly associated with an increase or decrease in loading and pressure patterns regions of pain

Effect of smoking status on lung function, patient-reported outcomes, and safety among COPD patients treated with glycopyrrolate inhalation powder: pooled analysis of GEM1 and GEM2 studies.

BackgroundSmoking is a major risk factor for COPD and may impact the efficacy of COPD treatments; however, a large proportion of COPD patients continue to smoke following diagnosis.MethodsThis post-hoc analysis of pooled data from the replicate 12-week, placebo-controlled GEM1 and GEM2 studies assessed the impact of smoking status on the efficacy and safety of glycopyrrolate 15.6 μg twice daily vs placebo in patients with moderate-to-severe COPD. Data from 867 patients enrolled in GEM1 and GEM2 were pooled for analysis and grouped by smoking status (57% current smokers, 43% ex-smokers). Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) area under the curve from 0 to 12 h, trough FEV1, forced vital capacity, St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) total score, COPD assessment test (CAT) score, transition dyspnea index (TDI) focal score, daily symptom scores, and rescue medication use were assessed in current smokers and ex-smokers. Incidences of adverse events (AEs) and serious AEs (SAEs) were also assessed.ResultsTreatment with glycopyrrolate resulted in significant improvements in all lung function measures, independent of smoking status. In both current and ex-smokers, changes from baseline in trough FEV1 were less marked in patients taking inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) than those not receiving ICS. Changes from baseline in SGRQ total score and rescue medication use were significantly greater with glycopyrrolate compared with placebo, regardless of smoking status. Changes in the CAT score, TDI focal score, and daily symptom scores significantly improved versus placebo, but only in current smokers. Improvements in patient-reported outcomes (PROs) with glycopyrrolate relative to placebo were numerically greater in current smokers than ex-smokers. The incidences of AEs and SAEs were similar regardless of smoking status.ConclusionsIn this post-hoc analysis of GEM1 and GEM2, glycopyrrolate use led to significant improvements in lung function, independent of baseline smoking status; improvements were less marked among patients receiving background ICS, regardless of baseline smoking status. Improvements in PROs were greater with glycopyrrolate than placebo, and the magnitude of changes was numerically greater among current smokers. The safety profile of glycopyrrolate was comparable between current smokers and ex-smokers

Studies of Adult and Larval Zebra Mussel Populations in Conesus Lake, NY

The goal of this study was to assess the status of the zebra mussel population (Family Dreissinidae, species Dreissena polymorpha) in Conesus Lake by sampling benthic adults and planktonic larvae during the summer reproductive season. Another invasive dreissinid bivalve, the quagga mussel, D. bugensis, has firmly established itself in some of the larger Finger Lakes, including Seneca and Canandaigua Lake. Therefore a second goal of this study was to determine if quagga mussels had invaded Conesus Lake. In this report we provide data on population numbers and size distribution of adult zebra mussels and describe temporal patterns of larval density and cohort development. Water quality data for are also provided for a deep-water station where larvae were sampled. Our observations indicate that, while populations of adult mussels have declined by about 20% since the year 2000, adult densities and the supply of larvae are still moderately high and the species seems to be well established in Conesus Lake

The influence of nano MgO and BaSO4 particle size additives on properties of PMMA bone cement

A common technique to aid in implant fixation into surrounding bone is to inject bone cement into the space between the implant and surrounding bone. The most common bone cement material used clinically today is poly(methyl methacrylate), or PMMA. Although promising, there are numerous disadvantages of using PMMA in bone fixation applications which has limited its wide spread use. Specifically, the PMMA polymerization reaction is highly exothermic in situ, thus, damaging surrounding bone tissue while curing. In addition, PMMA by itself is not visible using typical medical imaging techniques (such as X-rays required to assess new bone formation surrounding the implant). Lastly, although PMMA does support new bone growth, studies have highlighted decreased osteoblast (bone forming cell) functions on PMMA compared to other common orthopedic coating materials, such as calcium phosphates and hydroxyapatite. For these reasons, the goal of this study was to begin to investigate novel additives to PMMA which can enhance its cytocompatibility properties with osteoblasts, decrease its exothermic reaction when curing, and increase its radiopacity. Results of this study demonstrated that compared to conventional (or micron) equivalents, PMMA with nanoparticles of MgO and BaSO4 reduced harmful exothermic reactions of PMMA during solidification and increased radiopacity, respectively. Moreover, osteoblast adhesion increased on PMMA with nanoparticles of MgO and BaSO4 compared with PMMA alone. This study, thus, suggests that nanoparticles of MgO and BaSO4 should be further studied for improving properties of PMMA for orthopedic applications