Drama as a hopeful practice when navigating liminal times

This article presents results from a study where applied drama interventions were deployed in four different groups to build capacities to re-imagine economics. Participants were interviewed or entered dialogue with each other after completing the drama work. Through a close reading of one of the conversations that stands out as glowing in the research material and with inspiration from rhizomatic analysis, we identify four nodes that point to drama as a hopeful practice during insecure times. The dramatic arts have historically facilitated the navigation of localized political and economic tensions, but research and practice has not seemingly addressed the transitions to more holistic forms of development embedded within the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent Work and Inclusive Economic Growth. Conceptualizing this transition as liminal, we argue for the use of drama(tic) arts to navigate this state. The node Space for emotions articulates drama as a possibility to embrace and integrate difficult emotions. The node Openings and invitations – a new learning experience describes drama as an unconventional form of teaching that opens for creativity and new understandings. The third node Pretending towards new realities points to how the imaginative aspects of drama can give experiences of new pretended states beyond the liminal. Finally, the node Discomfort and its reinterpretations shows how challenging aspects of drama can be understood as in itself creating a liminal state where the unexpected can emerge. Findings echo the transformatory potential of drama(tic) arts in prior environmental and sustainability education research but extend it in the specific context of navigating and re-imagining economic growth (SDG8), and point to specific qualities of drama when trying to move towards sustainability in difficult times

#dssf16+1: Library-led Digital Scholarship for Undergraduates at a Small Institution

Librarian R.C. Miessler and Digital Scholarship Fellows Keira Koch, Julia Wall, and Lauren White were invited to speak to at the Pennsylvania Library Association, College and Research Division, Spring Conference about their experiences with the first cohort of the Digital Scholarship Summer Fellowship

#dssf16: Library-led Digital Scholarship for Undergraduates at a Small Institution

In the summer of 2016, Gettysburg College’s Musselman Library piloted the Digital Scholarship Summer Fellowship (DSSF), a library-led, student-centered introduction to digital scholarship. The Fellowship, a 10-week, paid, summer program for rising sophomores and juniors, is programmatic, based on a curriculum designed to introduce the student fellows to digital tools, project management, documentation, and the philosophy behind digital scholarship. The Fellowship aimed to create a digital scholarship community of practice at Gettysburg College, collaborating with educational technologists and faculty engaged in digital scholarship to support the needs of the first cohort; in addition, the Fellowship supported the digital scholarship activities of students participating in other summer research programs. R.C. Miessler, coordinator of the Digital Scholarship Summer Fellowship, will discuss the creation, development, implementation, and future of the program. The student fellows, Keira Koch, Julia Wall, and Lauren White, will reflect on their experience and present the digital projects they created

Automatic Mapping of Atrial Fiber Orientations for Patient-Specific Modeling of Cardiac Electromechanics using Image-Registration

Knowledge of appropriate local fiber architecture is necessary to simulate patient-specific electromechanics in the human heart. However, it is not yet possible to reliably measure in-vivo fiber directions, especially in human atria. Thus, we present a method which defines the fiber architecture in arbitrarily shaped atria using image registration and reorientation methods based on atlas atria with fibers predefined from detailed histological observations. Thereby, it is possible to generate detailed fiber families in every new patient-specific geometry in an automated, time-efficient process. We demonstrate the good performance of the image registration and fiber definition on ten differently shaped human atria. Additionally, we show that characteristics of the electrophysiological activation pattern which appear in the atlas atria also appear in the patients' atria. We arrive at analogous conclusions for coupled electro-mechano-hemodynamical computations

Adjuvant medical therapy in cervical dystonia after deep brain stimulation: A retrospective analysis

Background: There is limited information on optimization of symptomatic management of cervical dystonia (CD) after implantation of pallidal deep brain stimulation (DBS). Objectives: To describe the long-term, real-world management of CD patients after DBS implantation and the role of reintroduction of pharmacologic and botulinum toxin (BoNT) therapy. Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients with focal cervical or segmental craniocervical dystonia implanted with DBS was conducted. Results: Nine patients were identified with a mean follow-up of 41.7 ± 15.7 months. All patients continued adjuvant oral medication(s) to optimize symptom control post-operatively. Three stopped BoNT and four reduced BoNT dose by an average of 22%. All patients remained on at least one medication used to treat dystonia post-operatively. Conclusion: Optimal symptom control was achieved with DBS combined with either BoNT and/or medication. We suggest utilization of adjuvant therapies such as BoNT and/or medications if DBS monotherapy does not achieve optimal symptom control

Apparently synonymous substitutions in FGFR2affect splicing and result in mild Crouzon syndrome

BACKGROUND: Mutations of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) account for a higher proportion of genetic cases of craniosynostosis than any other gene, and are associated with a wide spectrum of severity of clinical problems. Many of these mutations are highly recurrent and their associated features well documented. Crouzon syndrome is typically caused by heterozygous missense mutations in the third immunoglobulin domain of FGFR2. CASE PRESENTATION: Here we describe two families, each segregating a different, previously unreported FGFR2 mutation of the same nucleotide, c.1083A>G and c.1083A>T, both of which encode an apparently synonymous change at the Pro361 codon. We provide experimental evidence that these mutations affect normal FGFR2 splicing and document the clinical consequences, which include a mild Crouzon syndrome phenotype and reduced penetrance of craniosynostosis. CONCLUSIONS: These observations add to a growing list of FGFR2 mutations that affect splicing and provide important clinical information for genetic counselling of families affected by these specific mutations

Apparently synonymous substitutions in FGFR2 affect splicing and result in mild Crouzon syndrome

Background: Mutations of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) account for a higher proportion of genetic cases of craniosynostosis than any other gene, and are associated with a wide spectrum of severity of clinical problems. Many of these mutations are highly recurrent and their associated features well documented. Crouzon syndrome is typically caused by heterozygous missense mutations in the third immunoglobulin domain of FGFR2.Case presentation: Here we describe two families, each segregating a different, previously unreported FGFR2 mutation of the same nucleotide, c.1083A>G and c.1083A>T, both of which encode an apparently synonymous change at the Pro361 codon. We provide experimental evidence that these mutations affect normal FGFR2 splicing and document the clinical consequences, which include a mild Crouzon syndrome phenotype and reduced penetrance of craniosynostosis.Conclusions: These observations add to a growing list of FGFR2 mutations that affect splicing and provide important clinical information for genetic counselling of families affected by these specific mutations

The FKBP5 Gene Affects Alcohol Drinking in Knockout Mice and Is Implicated in Alcohol Drinking in Humans

FKBP5 encodes FK506-binding protein 5, a glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-binding protein implicated in various psychiatric disorders and alcohol withdrawal severity. The purpose of this study is to characterize alcohol preference and related phenotypes in Fkbp5 knockout (KO) mice and to examine the role of FKBP5 in human alcohol consumption. The following experiments were performed to characterize Fkpb5 KO mice. (1) Fkbp5 KO and wild-type (WT) EtOH consumption was tested using a two-bottle choice paradigm; (2) The EtOH elimination rate was measured after intraperitoneal (IP) injection of 2.0 g/kg EtOH; (3) Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was measured after 3 h limited access of alcohol; (4) Brain region expression of Fkbp5 was identified using LacZ staining; (5) Baseline corticosterone (CORT) was assessed. Additionally, two SNPs, rs1360780 (C/T) and rs3800373 (T/G), were selected to study the association of FKBP5 with alcohol consumption in humans. Participants were college students (n = 1162) from 21–26 years of age with Chinese, Korean or Caucasian ethnicity. The results, compared to WT mice, for KO mice exhibited an increase in alcohol consumption that was not due to differences in taste sensitivity or alcohol metabolism. Higher BAC was found in KO mice after 3 h of EtOH access. Fkbp5 was highly expressed in brain regions involved in the regulation of the stress response, such as the hippocampus, amygdala, dorsal raphe and locus coeruleus. Both genotypes exhibited similar basal levels of plasma corticosterone (CORT). Finally, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in FKBP5 were found to be associated with alcohol drinking in humans. These results suggest that the association between FKBP5 and alcohol consumption is conserved in both mice and humans

Incidence, prevalence and risk factors for low back pain in adolescent athletes : a systematic review and meta-analysis

Please read abstract in the article.http://bjsm.bmj.comhj2023Sports Medicin

Factors Associated with Lifetime HIV Testing in Texas by Race/Ethnicity

Introduction: In United States, roughly 1/5 of all HIV infected persons remain undiagnosed. Because HIV testing is critical to improve prevention efforts, more research is needed to understand the characteristics of individuals who get tested for HIV. Methods: This secondary analysis of the 2010 Texas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System used data from 9,744 respondents between 18-64 years of age to evaluate the relationship between demographic characteristics (gender, race/ethnicity, age, area of residence, education, marital status, employment status, and income), healthcare characteristics (insurance status, having a primary provider, and access to healthcare), and HIV risk behaviors with ever having received an HIV test. Results: Significant associations between gender, age, area of residence, marital and employment status, and HIV risk behaviors and HIV testing in a Texas population by race/ethnicity were observed. Conclusions: These findings have important implications for future research into racial/ethnic disparities between lifetime HIV testing, and can help guide practitioners who work with populations at risk for HIV/AIDS in Texas