Studies Directed toward the Synthesis of Asymmetric Loline Alkaloids

This thesis discusses the progress toward the synthesis of asymmetric loline alkaloids. Lolines are polycyclic pyrrolizidine alkaloids that contain four contiguous stereocenters and a strained ether bridge. Lolines are present in symbiotic relationships between grass species and fungal endophytes and act as a natural pesticide and feeding deterrent that protects the grass host from insects, yet are believed to possess low toxicity to mammals. Our Scheerer 2nd generation synthesis takes precedent from the 1st generation Scheerer synthesis, but with some key changes. The synthetic route has fewer steps, a different nitrogen protecting group, and usage of stereoselective tethered aminhydroxylation 3rd generation conditions. Other key reactions include Petasis borono-Mannich addition and ring closing metathesis using Hoveyda-Grubbs 2nd generation catalyst

New Repetitions: Questions and Suggestions for a More Trauma-Informed Production Process

Trauma-informed care’s basic premise is that people are shaped by what has happened to them and what they have had to do to survive it. There is no shortage of examples to this effect, especially in our post-#MeToo and post-#WeSeeYouWAT culture. It’s easy to spot what isn’t working, but much harder to do something differently. That requires unlearning the decades of training and practice embedded in the performing arts. It requires us to deconstruct the perpetuated harm, justified by the cultural value of survival, grit, and the starving artist myth, though many of us, as educators, were taught those same rules when we were students. This article offers practical questions and suggestions for this process of deconstruction, specifically targeting every phase in the life cycle of a production

An Afterschool Toolkit for Implementing Occupation-Based Activities

Each day in America, millions of kids go home to an empty house after school (Afterschool Alliance, 2009, p.1). The Afterschool Alliance (2009) indicates that based on a 2009 survey of30,000 families, there are more children unsupervised each afternoon in the U.S. and the demand for afterschool programming is higher than ever. In the United States, 30% of middle school students and 4% of elementary aged children are responsible for taking care of themselves and only 15% currently participate in an afterschool program (Afterschool Alliance, 2009, pg. 4). Students are at particular risk during these hours, millions are unsupervised each afternoon and the unmet need is huge (Afterschool Alliance, 2009). According to the 2000 U.S. Census, minors constitute approximately 25.7% of the U.S. population and many live in environments that may limit their education, health, and social well-being (Hishinuma, Chang, Sy, Greaney, Morris, Rehuher & Nishimura, 2009, p. 988). Evidence is mounting that where and how youth spend their time outside of normal school hours has important implications for their development (Durlak & Weissberg, 2007, p5). The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics (2009) states that youth who participate in a wide range of activities such as volunteering or after school activities are likely to have positive developmental outcomes. The focus of this scholarly project was to develop an occupation-based toolkit to aid in the development of after school programs. Occupation-based refers to an activity that is purposeful and meaningful to the individual who is performing it (Frank, Fishman, Crowley, Blair, Murphy, Montoya, et. al., 2001). In addition to occupation-based activities, a number of areas are addressed to promote positive youth development using meaningful activities that have been shown to be effective in current afterschool programs. A literature review was conducted to identify: 1) the youth most at risk who could benefit from afterschool programming; 2) what are the barriers to accessing afterschool programs; 3) the best practices of afterschool programming and; 4) what is the potential role of occupational therapy (OT) in afterschool programming. During the literature review best practices were identified as: meaningful, occupation-based activities, life skills, creative exploration, communication and social interaction and physical activity. The findings from the literature review resulted in the development of an occupation-based toolkit. The best practices mentioned above, built the foundation upon which the toolkit was developed. Barriers found in the literature review, were also addressed in the toolkit. The toolkit is a resource that Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants and teachers can use to implement an occupation-based afterschool program. The Afterschool Toolkit for Implementing Occupation-Based Activities was designed to meet the needs of youth in low-income households who would benefit from the opportunity to participate in an afterschool program. The goal of this toolkit was to provide occupation-based activities to increase the positive outcomes gained from participation in afterschool programs such as; positive youth interactions, establishment of essential life skills and development of healthy physical routines and leisure interests

Deep Chandra Observations of the Compact Starburst Galaxy Henize 2-10: X-rays from the Massive Black Hole

We present follow-up X-ray observations of the candidate massive black hole (BH) in the nucleus of the low-mass, compact starburst galaxy Henize 2-10. Using new high-resolution observations from the Chandra X-ray Observatory totaling 200 ks in duration, as well as archival Chandra observations from 2001, we demonstrate the presence of a previously unidentified X-ray point source that is spatially coincident with the known nuclear radio source in Henize 2-10 (i.e., the massive BH). We show that the hard X-ray emission previously identified in the 2001 observation is dominated by a source that is distinct from the nucleus, with the properties expected for a high-mass X-ray binary. The X-ray luminosity of the nuclear source suggests the massive BH is radiating significantly below its Eddington limit (~10^-6 L_Edd), and the soft spectrum resembles other weakly accreting massive BHs including Sagittarius A*. Analysis of the X-ray light curve of the nucleus reveals the tentative detection of a ~9-hour periodicity, although additional observations are required to confirm this result. Our study highlights the need for sensitive high-resolution X-ray observations to probe low-level accretion, which is the dominant mode of BH activity throughout the Universe.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters. 7 pages, 4 figure