Ec-static Images: Reading Spirits in Eduardo L. Holmberg’s Viaje maravilloso del Señor Nic-Nac

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Languages and Literature of Bard College

The activity of amyloid beta binding alcohol dehydrogenase in Alzheimer's disease

The mitochondria are a vibrant hub for many problems that occur in Alzheimer’s disease. The enzyme amyloid-ß binding alcohol dehydrogenase (ABAD) and Cyclophilin D (CypD) are two key mitochondrial proteins that have essential functions in Alzheimer’s disease. ABAD is crucial in the generation of energy via the ß-oxidation of fatty acids, and CypD has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease through the initiation of necrosis. Changes in glucose metabolism have been observed in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease sufferers. This suggests that neurons require an alternative energy source that can bypass glycolysis in order to produce energy. The oxidation of fatty acids is crucial at this point as the products of this catabolism can feed into the second stage of the respiratory cycle. In Alzheimer’s disease, Amyloid-ß (Aß) has been found to bind to ABAD distorting the catalytic site changing its activity. The first objective of this thesis was to investigate a potential previously reported interaction between ABAD and CypD. To explore this further, FRET analysis and immunoprecipitation studies were conducted. Though no strong interactions were observed from the immunoprecipitation studies, live cell FRET analysis did reveal a small/weak interaction between CypD and ABAD. Additional studies also showed a decrease in ABAD activity in the presence of CypD, suggesting that there could be functional consequences from this interaction between CypD and ABAD.I also explored the effect of changing cellular energy sources on the activity of ABAD. ABAD activity was found to increase under conditions of reduced glucose in both HEK 293 and SK-N-SH cells expressing ABAD. In addition, Alois Alzheimer initially reported changes in lipids. These reported changes in lipids were explored under conditions where there was increased expression of ABAD and in the presence of Aß. On the whole, the changes suggested that there was a shift in the metabolism of fatty acids when ABAD was expressed further implying a change in energy sources in the Alzheimer’s disease brain

We Come from the Stars: Genealogies of Black and Indigenous Co-Resistance in Mni Sota Makoce

In this paper, I reflect on my experiences as an Anishinaabekwe, Sicangu Oyate queer woman organizing at Macalester College and beyond–that have shaped my major research interests on the convergences of Indigenous intergenerational healing, art, and youth organizing. From the fight to assert Anishinaabe sovereignty against the Line 3 oil pipeline in Northern Minnesota to honoring the lives of Black relatives who were stolen by Minnesotan police forces, 2020-2021 have been years of massive social upheaval. What does Black and Indigenous solidarity/co-resistance look like today, in the past and how can it continue here in Mni Sota Makoce? How is this work limited at a predominantly white institution such as Macalester College? Building on the work of Macalester Alum Guy Chinang ’20 how do institutions that practice neoliberal multiculturalism constrain radically emancipatory futures? What are the possibilities opened through intergenerational healing, art, and youth organizing? I argue that the collaborative community space opened through Powwow X: Expanded Cinema here at Macalester College–presented by Missy Whiteman and organized by P.I.P.E. and the DML on November 19th, 2021–models the abilities of art, activism, and ceremony to help Black and Indigenous peoples heal and generate new worlds. The beauty of Black and Indigenous solidarity work needs to be recognized and celebrated, while also practicing truth-telling and accountability

The influence of home: Place attachment and its role in environmental concern and behavior in the Great Lakes region.

The influence of place attachment on environmental concerns, attitudes, and behavior is not yet well defined. Identity helps to drive decision-making, and as part of one’s history, attachment to place may play a role in informing one’s attitudes and actions. Understanding the strength of this influence on issues of both global and local scales is of particular interest to this study. Great Lakes residents’ opinions and selfreported behavior were measured via survey (n=133). A series of hierarchical multiple regressions were used to explore whether place attachment was a significant predictor of climate change attitudes, conservation behavior, and concerns about local environmental issues. Findings from these analyses reveal that place attachment exerts a much stronger influence on concerns about local environmental issues, while political orientation arose as a stronger influence of broader, more global environmental issues. Further study of place attachment in relation to these issues at the local level may help deepen our understanding of how to encourage pro-environmental behaviorHonors (Bachelor's)REPLACEEnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112273/1/Allen-Wickler_PITEthesisfinal.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112273/2/Allen-Wickler_Survey.pdfDescription of Allen-Wickler_PITEthesisfinal.pdf : ThesisDescription of Allen-Wickler_Survey.pdf : Thesis Surve

Learning about Professionalism within Practice-based Education: what are we looking for?

Health and social care professions are being held to account concerning their professionalism in ways that would have been unprecedented in the recent past. Students of the School of Health Sciences (HSC) within the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the United Kingdom have professionalism taught and assessed in a number of ways and have overt opportunities to develop their professional performance during practice education. In order to augment this further, a UEA Professionalism Charter has been developed, which helps students to define, learn and apply professionalism in a particular way. Since professionalism is being scrutinised by a number of bodies it is important that there is agreement about its nature. Without an overt definition of professionalism from the Health and Care Professions Council (the regulatory body for occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy) this study set out to explore what could be learned about this body’s perspective through analysis of its Fitness to Practice hearings. The outcome revealed that a definition could be identified and that this bears a close resemblance to that used within the UEA Professionalism Charter. The study therefore supports the continued use of the Charte

Design, validation and dissemination of an undergraduate assessment tool using SimMan® in simulated medical emergencies

Background: Increasingly, medical students are being taught acute medicine using whole-body simulator manikins. Aim: We aimed to design, validate and make widely available two simple assessment tools to be used with Laerdal SimMan (R) for final year students. Methods: We designed two scenarios with criterion-based checklists focused on assessment and management of two medical emergencies. Members of faculty critiqued the assessments for face validity and checklists revised. We assessed three groups of different experience levels: Foundation Year 2 doctors, third and final year medical students. Differences between groups were analysed, and internal consistency and interrater reliability calculated. A generalisability analysis was conducted using scenario and rater as facets in design. Results: A maximum of two items were removed from either checklist following the initial survey. Significantly different scores for three groups of experience for both scenarios were reported (p0.90). Internal consistency was poor (alpha<50.5). Generalizability study results suggest that four cases would provide reliable discrimination between final year students. Conclusions: These assessments proved easy to administer and we have gone some way to demonstrating construct validity and reliability. We have made the material available on a simulator website to enable others to reproduce these assessments

Does suprascapular nerve block reduce shoulder pain following stroke: a double-blind randomised controlled trial with masked outcome assessment

© 2010 Allen et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background Shoulder pain is a common complication of a stroke which can impede participation in rehabilitation programs and has been associated with poorer outcomes. The evidence base for current medical and therapeutic management options of hemiplegic shoulder pain is limited. This study will evaluate the use of suprascapular nerve block injection as part of an interdisciplinary approach to the treatment of shoulder pain following stroke. The technique has previously been proven safe and effective in the treatment of shoulder pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis and degenerative shoulder conditions but its usefulness in a stroke population is unclear. Methods/Design A double blind randomised placebo controlled trial will assess the effect of a suprascapular nerve block compared with placebo in a population of 66 stroke patients. The trial will measure effect of injection on the primary outcome of pain, and secondary outcomes of function and quality of life. Measurements will take place at baseline, and 1, 4 and 12 weeks post intervention. Both groups will continue to receive routine physiotherapy and standard ward care. Discussion The results of this study could reduce pain symptoms in persons with mechanical shoulder pain post stroke and provide improvement in upper limb function

Dentists’ Perceptions of their Professional Roles in the context of Referral Decisions in Primary Dental Care in England

Background Within Primary Dental Care (PDC), there is variation in dentists’ views about who should be treated in general dental practices and who should be referred to community dental services (CDSs), creating confusion about where patients can access dental care. Aims This research aimed to explore the meanings which general dental practitioners (GDPs) and community dentists in England ascribe to their roles. It focused on why they make, accept or decline patient referrals within PDC. Methods I conducted a configurative systematic review of literature about referrals within PDC in the UK. Data were synthesised using Critical Interpretive Synthesis. I interviewed ten GDPs and twelve community dentists working in England, covering topics informed by the systematic review. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings Synthesising the literature showed that referral decisions were influenced by non-clinical factors including policies, financial contracts and dentists’ perceptions and values. Authors rarely reported directly from the perspective of primary care dentists. The interview study findings showed that the business of dentistry defined GDPs’ roles. Obscure rules and complex care systems underpinned community dentists’ roles. Participants depicted vulnerable people within ‘no man’s land’, situated between GDPs and community dentists. Vulnerable people included frail, older people, anxious and socially excluded adults, and children with high levels of disease. I identified three typologies of dentists. ‘Entrepreneurs’ felt no allegiance to the NHS and no obligation to treat vulnerable patients. ‘Altruistic carers’ cared for complex, deserving patients, rather than vulnerable patients. ‘Pragmatic carers’ accommodated some vulnerable patients but felt constrained from doing so by structural barriers. Conclusions This study adds to our understanding of why dentists make, accept or decline referrals within PDC in England. It suggests that failure to resolve structural barriers or to consider dentists’ values will hinder attempts to reduce inequalities in access to PDC in England

Ideological factors in selected fields of policy-making in India.

The thesis deals with the relationship between ideology and policy-making. The main concern is the development of agrarian policy in India since Independence, but this topic necessarily has roots and ramifications which extend much further, both backwards into time and laterally into other aspects of policy. The aim is also to consider how relevant are various sociological definitions of, and approaches to, ideology, for dealing with the problem of its relationship to policymaking. The question of whether ideology is to be defined as manifest doctrine, or as underlying and possibly implicit evaluative assumption, is as important as whether ideology is to be interpreted primarily in a psychological, social structural or functional 'systems' context. An application of some of these approaches to the successive stages of political debate in India shows that no one type of approach can by itself adequately account for the nature of prevailing ideology and its relationship to policy or potential policy. But the various approaches may be subdivided and combined to provide ideal-type characterisations of the way in which ideology plays an active role in political situations. It appears, however, that in such ideal-types the elements of a power - or structure - based interpretation of ideology tend to dominate. Finally, there is the problem of how the changing nature of 'official' ideology and policy in India, manifested in the swing from an advocacy of relatively socialist to relatively 'pragmatic' solutions, is to be described. There is a danger of constructing a false dichotomy between 'ideology' on the one hand and 'pragmatism' on the other. This can only be resolved by looking at the way in which the role of ideology has changed over time, and especially in the context of the rising and declining power of Congress and the Government