State Folk Arts Programs: Achievements, Challenges And Needs

State Arts Agencies Folk Arts Peer Group Planning Committee in association with the American Folklore Society National Assembly of State Arts Agencies National Endowment for the Arts, Folk and Traditional Arts Progra

Postural influences on the mechanical and neural components of the cardiovagal baroreflex

Aim: The ability to maintain arterial blood pressure when faced with a postural challenge has implications for the occurrence of syncope and falls. It has been suggested that posture-induced declines in the mechanical component of the baroreflex response drive reductions in cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity associated with postural stress. However, these conclusions are largely based upon spontaneous methods of baroreflex assessment, the accuracy of which has been questioned. Therefore, the aim was to engage a partially open-loop approach to explore the influence of posture on the mechanical and neural components of the baroreflex. Methods: In nine healthy participants, we measured continuous blood pressure, heart rate, RR interval and carotid artery diameter during supine and standing postures. The modified Oxford method was used to quantify baroreflex sensitivity. Results: In response to falling pressures, baroreflex sensitivity was similar between postures (P = 0.798). In response to rising pressures, there was an attenuated (P = 0.042) baroreflex sensitivity (mean ± SE) in the standing position (-0.70 ± 0.11 beats min-1 mmHg-1) compared with supine (-0.83 ± 0.06 beats min-1 mmHg-1). This was explained by a diminished (P = 0.016) neural component whilst standing (-30.17 ± 4.16 beats min-1 mm-1) compared with supine (-38.23 ± 3.31 beats min-1 mm-1). These effects were consistent when baroreflex sensitivity was determined using RR interval. Conclusion: Cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity in response to rising pressures is reduced in young individuals during postural stress. Our data suggest that the mechanical component is unaffected by standing, and the reduction in baroreflex sensitivity is driven by the neural component

Critical accommodations: Washington, Hollywood, and the World War II housing shortage

This article explores the extraordinary currency that the Washington housing crisis achieved during World War as a topic of popular joking. Looking at films, radio broadcasts, posters and other contemporary materials, I argue that the housing crisis provided a cultural scenario through which wartime audiences and the popular media could address (and express) ambivalent responses to the official paradigms of dutiful citizenship. In particular, I examine how a cycle of Hollywood films, mostly romantic comedies, make use of the housing crisis as a springboard for stories that examine the broader social and emotional accommodations required within the mobilized culture of wartime

Assessment of human baroreflex function using carotid ultrasonography: what have we learnt?

The arterial baroreflex is critical to both short- and long-term regulation of blood pressure. However, human baroreflex research has been largely limited to the association between blood pressure and cardiac period (or heart rate) or indices of vascular sympathetic function. Over the past decade, emerging techniques based on carotid ultrasound imaging have allowed new means of understanding and measuring the baroreflex. In this review, we describe the assessment of the mechanical and neural components of the baroreflex through the use of carotid ultrasound imaging. The mechanical component refers to the change in carotid artery diameter in response to changes in arterial pressure, and the neural component refers to the change in R-R interval (cardiac baroreflex) or muscle sympathetic nerve activity (sympathetic baroreflex) in response to this barosensory vessel stretch. The key analytical concepts and techniques are discussed, with a focus on the assessment of baroreflex sensitivity via the modified Oxford method. We illustrate how the application of carotid ultrasound imaging has contributed to a greater understanding of baroreflex physiology in humans, covering topics such as ageing and diurnal variation, and physiological challenges including exercise, postural changes and mental stress