Tears of a Clown

For my honors thesis project, I chose to write a screenplay entitled, “Tears of a Clown”. This story, which is roughly based on my life, is about two clowns who wind up falling in love and working together in the circus. This story loosely shadows my life in the sense that I myself wanted to pursue a career in standup comedy rather than clowning. The main difference between my life and the life of the main character was that despite the fact that I did not fail at being a standup comedian, I chose to pursue an alternative route of learning to be a comedic writer. I developed the initial concept for “Tears of a Clown” back during my days in middle school. One day, I decided to make a short film about a clown whose girlfriend left him for the cotton candy vendor in the circus. This was the birth of what would later become the basic idea for my script. In, the fall of 2005, I began my first screenwriting class. One of the first assignments was to pitch three ideas for the screenplay that you were considering to write during the course of a semester. I chose to write “Tears of a Clown” over the other two ideas because when I had gone to dinner, I heard the song “Tears of a Clown” and took that as a sign from above. The actual process of writing the script was an entirely new experience for me. Being that this was my first script, I spent a great deal of time trying to create nothing less than perfection. In the end I was happy with the product that I had created. In conclusion, I now realize that when writing a screenplay, there are usually several drafts that are completed until the final product is completed. I look back at this experience and realize what a wonderful opportunity it was because it allowed me to gain a perspective on what it is like to be a screenwriter

Mi Casa Es Su Casa: The Benefits of a HUD Mediation Program for Resolving Housing Accommodation or Modification Disputes Between Landlords and Tenants with Disabilities

After first providing a background on federal housing laws that prohibit discrimination based on disability, this article then proceeds to describe and analyze the remedies available to tenants who have experienced disability discrimination. The article concludes that, not only are such remedies as filing a complaint or pursuing litigation difficult and time-consuming, they could also damage the long-term relationship between the parties and preclude the possibility of creative remedies that satisfy the needs of both parties. The article finishes by proposing that HUD develop an agency-wide mediation program based on the model of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) mediation program, with a mediator who specializes in federal housing laws and who has experience with mediating disability accommodation disputes

Atrasentan and renal events in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease (SONAR): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Short-term treatment for people with type 2 diabetes using a low dose of the selective endothelin A receptor antagonist atrasentan reduces albuminuria without causing significant sodium retention. We report the long-term effects of treatment with atrasentan on major renal outcomes. Methods: We did this double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial at 689 sites in 41 countries. We enrolled adults aged 18–85 years with type 2 diabetes, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)25–75 mL/min per 1·73 m 2 of body surface area, and a urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR)of 300–5000 mg/g who had received maximum labelled or tolerated renin–angiotensin system inhibition for at least 4 weeks. Participants were given atrasentan 0·75 mg orally daily during an enrichment period before random group assignment. Those with a UACR decrease of at least 30% with no substantial fluid retention during the enrichment period (responders)were included in the double-blind treatment period. Responders were randomly assigned to receive either atrasentan 0·75 mg orally daily or placebo. All patients and investigators were masked to treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was a composite of doubling of serum creatinine (sustained for ≥30 days)or end-stage kidney disease (eGFR <15 mL/min per 1·73 m 2 sustained for ≥90 days, chronic dialysis for ≥90 days, kidney transplantation, or death from kidney failure)in the intention-to-treat population of all responders. Safety was assessed in all patients who received at least one dose of their assigned study treatment. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01858532. Findings: Between May 17, 2013, and July 13, 2017, 11 087 patients were screened; 5117 entered the enrichment period, and 4711 completed the enrichment period. Of these, 2648 patients were responders and were randomly assigned to the atrasentan group (n=1325)or placebo group (n=1323). Median follow-up was 2·2 years (IQR 1·4–2·9). 79 (6·0%)of 1325 patients in the atrasentan group and 105 (7·9%)of 1323 in the placebo group had a primary composite renal endpoint event (hazard ratio [HR]0·65 [95% CI 0·49–0·88]; p=0·0047). Fluid retention and anaemia adverse events, which have been previously attributed to endothelin receptor antagonists, were more frequent in the atrasentan group than in the placebo group. Hospital admission for heart failure occurred in 47 (3·5%)of 1325 patients in the atrasentan group and 34 (2·6%)of 1323 patients in the placebo group (HR 1·33 [95% CI 0·85–2·07]; p=0·208). 58 (4·4%)patients in the atrasentan group and 52 (3·9%)in the placebo group died (HR 1·09 [95% CI 0·75–1·59]; p=0·65). Interpretation: Atrasentan reduced the risk of renal events in patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease who were selected to optimise efficacy and safety. These data support a potential role for selective endothelin receptor antagonists in protecting renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk of developing end-stage kidney disease. Funding: AbbVie

Missions, mythologies and the search for non-European allies in the anti-Islamic holy war, 1291-c. 1540

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