New and emerging technologies for the treatment of inherited retinal diseases: a horizon scanning review.

The horizon scanning review aimed to identify new and emerging technologies in development that have the potential to slow or stop disease progression and/or reverse sight loss in people with inherited retinal diseases (IRDs). Potential treatments were identified using recognized horizon scanning methods. These included a combination of online searches using predetermined search terms, suggestions from clinical experts and patient and carer focus groups, and contact with commercial developers. Twenty-nine relevant technologies were identified. These included 9 gene therapeutic approaches, 10 medical devices, 5 pharmacological agents, and 5 regenerative and cell therapies. A further 11 technologies were identified in very early phases of development (typically phase I or pre-clinical) and were included in the final report to give a complete picture of developments 'on the horizon'. Clinical experts and patient and carer focus groups provided helpful information and insights, such as the availability of specialised services for patients, the potential impacts of individual technologies on people with IRDs and their families, and helped to identify additional relevant technologies. This engagement ensured that important areas of innovation were not missed. Most of the health technologies identified are still at an early stage of development and it is difficult to estimate when treatments might be available. Further, well designed trials that generate data on efficacy, applicability, acceptability, and costs of the technologies, as well as the long-term impacts for various conditions are required before these can be considered for adoption into routine clinical practice

Video Games and Violent Crime

Psychology studies of the effects of playing video games have found emotional responses and physical reactions associated with reinforced violent and anti-social attitudes. It is not clear, however, whether these markers are associated with increases in one's preferences for anti-social behaviors or whether virtual behaviors act to partially sate one's desire for actual antisocial behaviors. Violent or criminal behaviors in the virtual world and in the physical world could plausibly be either complements or substitutes. A finding of one versus the other would have diametrically opposing policy implications. I study the incidence of criminal activity as related to a proxy for increased gaming, the number of game stores, from a panel of US counties from 1994 to 2004. With fixed county and year effects, I can examine if changes relative increases in gaming in an area are associated with relative increases or decreases in criminal activity. For six of eight categories of crime, more game stores are associated with significant declines in crime rates. Proxies for other leisure activities, sports and movie viewing, do not have a similar effect. For confirmation, I also find that mortality rates, especially mortality rates stemming from injuries, also are negatively related to the number of game stores

EULOGY for choir and brass quintet

For my thesis, I wrote a musical work called Eulogy. It is a composition for brass quintet and choir that makes use of contrast, both in regard to the text and the music. Juxtaposing elements are used in order to give character to sections and to also create a hierarchy of moments. Through an examination of how contrasts are used, the way in which the music works can be determined. This paper defines the meaning of musical contrast and the ways in which it applies in Eulogy and then categorizes the different contrasts based on the functionality in the piece. Simultaneous and nonsimultaneous contrasts are found to work differently within the work to either recontexutalize and idea or to change existing musical material

Rationalizing the E-Rate: The Effects of Subsidizing IT in Education

Starting in 1998, the E-Rate program has provided $2.25 billion to subsidize Internet access in schools and libraries serving low income populations in the US. I analyze the effect of E-Rate subsidies on educational outcomes for Texas high schools over the 1994-2003 time period. Consistent with previous economic analyses, I find few, if any, improvements in student achievements. I do find evidence that experienced teachers are reallocated within districts toward schools receiving E-Rate grants. I also find evidence that the pool of college entrance exam takers is affected by E-Rate grants such that relying on average scores could lead to incorrect conclusions

Little Tallassee: a Creek Indian colonial town

This dissertation explores the role of the Upper Creek Indian town of Little Tallassee in Creek History, beginning with the town’s origins during the 1740s and 1750s and ending with its decline in the late 1780s and early 1790s. Little Tallassee is a unique place as it was a product of a colonial encounter and originated as a center of Euro-exchange and Atlantic trade. Yet under the leadership of headman and warrior Emistisiguo, Little Tallassee evolved into a prominent Creek town that saw the creation of a formal town structure as well as a ceremonial space in which to conduct international diplomacy and manage trade. The vast majority of American Indian histories of the Native South have attached Little Tallassee’s identity to its most notable resident, Alexander McGillivray, a mixed-ancestry Creek and arguably one of the most notable historical figures to emerge out of the American Southeast. Contrary to existing historiography, I argue that Alexander McGillivray was first and foremost a trader who held little political authority within Creek society. An examination of the town’s history reveals Emistisiguo to have been the individual most responsible for Little Tallassee’s prominence as a Creek town within Creek society. McGillivray’s activities actually contributed to the town’s subsequent decline. Placing Little Tallassee at the forefront of Creek and colonial American historiography challenges the current scholarship on Alexander McGillivray’s power and authority and restores agency to Creek Indians at the local level in their own domestic and foreign affairs. Scholars have cast their gaze far too long at western-educated mestizos and cultural brokers like Alexander McGillivray, and as a result have obscured other Native architects of diplomacy and trade who dominated the economic and social realms of Indian societies throughout the eighteenth century. By restoring credit to Emistisiguo as the engineer behind the transformation of Little Tallassee from a mere trading post to a leading Upper Creek town and center of diplomacy, this dissertation addresses this significant oversight in Creek and Southeastern Indian historiography

MICROBIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO DISEASE PHENOTYPES

The unseen world of microbes has a profound affect on everyday life. Complex microbial communities play a role in everything from climate regulation to human health and disease pathogenesis. Advancements in the field of Metagenomics are providing a window into the world of microbial communities with an unprecedented resolution. Next-generation sequencing technology is allowing researchers to describe the relationships between these complex microbial communities and their host environments. The research in this dissertation investigates these complex microbial host relationships and the various tools and techniques needed to conduct metagenomic research. Chapter 1 presents a current overview of techniques at the disposal of researchers conducting metagenomics experiments. Topics discussed include qualitative DNA fingerprinting techniques, comparison between Next-generation sequencing platforms, and how to handle statistical analysis of large metagenomic datasets. Chapter 2 deals with the development of Peak Studio, a platform independent graphical user interface, intended to be a pre-processing tool for researchers conducting DNA fingerprinting experiments. Chapter 3 explores how time and microenvironment influence the structure of gut microbial communities in a mouse model. Two experimental cohorts of mice are analyzed through the use of Illumina HiSeq sequencing of the 16S rRNA targeted V6 hypervariable region. Also considered are the effects over time of inoculating mice with a founder microbial community. In total, this dissertation emphasizes the importance of experimental design and the development and use of technology in the exploration of complex microbial communities

Student perception of the classroom environment in secondary school physical education

The purpose of the study was to investigate student perception of the classroom environment in physical education. The study compared perceptions of male and female secondary school students in classes taught by male and female teachers. A total of 822 students from six schools in the State of South Carolina participated in the study. Students were randomly selected from the required physical education classes of 23 male and female teachers. The Learning Environment Inventory (LEI) and an information questionnaire were administered to all students. The LEI, based on the Getzels and Thelen multidimensional theory of classrooms, was a 105-item questionnaire which tested for 15 classroom dimensions typical of secondary school classes. Data were analyzed on 10 groups formed by student sex and the amount of class time spent with a teacher of a particular sex. This technique was employed due to the variable organization structures which existed within the schools. Collection of data occurred at a time when legal mandates had been issued for coeducational physical education classes

The effects of lifestyle activity modification (LAM) or a structured exercise program on non-traditional cardiovascular risk factors in African-American women

"The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of lifestyle activity modification (LAM) and structured exercise on the non-traditional cardiovascular risk factors C-reactive protein (CRP) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), in sedentary, African American Women. Subjects were randomized to a control group, a structured exercise group, or LAM group for a twelve week intervention. A repeated measures ANOVA showed that both the exercise and LAM group significantly improved their predicted VO2max and daily physical activity level. The exercise group significantly decreased their percent body fat and the control group significantly increased their waist circumference, while there were no changes in the LAM group. There were no changes in insulin, glucose, CPR or PAI-1. Results show that both LAM and structured exercise improved cardiovascular fitness and prevented an increase in waist circumference in this cohort, but neither improved levels of CRP or PAI-1."--Abstract from author supplied metadata

A comparison of two methods of teaching beginning golf : expository versus guided discovery

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of two teaching methods, expository and guided discovery, in skill and knowledge learning of golf at the beginning level. The subjects were sixty college women attending Coker College, Hartsville, South Carolina, during the academic year 1969-1970. The subjects were enrolled in four classes of beginning golf. Two classes were designated as the expository group and two as the guided discovery group. The golf unit was constructed using the swing theory as stated by Hicks and Griffin. (11) The unit lasted fifteen weeks and classes met two days a week for fifty minutes a session. Three subjects were dropped from the study for reason of absences. At the end of the unit the subjects were evaluated by means of the Porter-Gaskin five iron full swing skill test (48), an eighteen hole course play, and a fifty item objective knowledge test constructed by the experimenter. However, due to a low internal reliability rating, the knowledge test was not included as a criterion measure of golf understanding

Distinctions between sociometric status groups : internalizing difficulties

Theoretical conceptualizations of internalizing difficulties, particularly depression, suggest that there is a relationship between social relationships and internalizing difficulties. The present study examined one important social relationship in preadolescence--peer relationships--and its association with internalizing difficulties. Seven sociometric status groups or subgroups were identified, and multiple indices of internalizing difficulties were assessed, including depressed mood, hopelessness, loneliness, fear of negative evaluation, social avoidance and distress, and negative self-worth. Fourth and fifth graders participated in group sociometric testing (conducted in three data collection waves at various southeastern elementary schools), and, from this sample, children who satisfied the criteria for one of seven sociometric status groups participated. These children (n= 1092) were mailed questionnaire packets, completed them at home, and then returned them via mail (n = 251). Results indicate different means for each sociometric status group or subgroup across the measures of internalizing difficulties. Internalizing difficulties were particularly pronounced for the rejected-submissive and neglected status groups